American tech company Eastman Kodak is launching Formulation E, a new water-based DTG ink and the company’s first ever ink for garment printing.
The new ink is being manufactured by Kodak in the US and China with Resolute having secured the contract to manufacture it in the UK.
Resolute’s manufacturing partner, Mexar Inkjet Solutions, will handle UK production using raw materials from Kodak, and Resolute will distribute the ink the UK and Europe.
“This exclusive partnership offers the full suite of Kodak high quality products including DTG inks, cleaning solutions, pre-treatments and spot colours for our OEM customers, at a stable price with no fear of supply issues caused by Brexit,” said Colin Marsh, Resolute’s managing director. “The product branding will be under our current trade mark, Resolute Ink and carry a specially designed ‘Powered by Kodak ink technology’ logo for authenticity once launched.”
Formulation E has been developed to work with Epson print heads and has undergone testing by Resolute over the past few months. Colin commented: “We are delighted with the performance and stability of this high-quality ink and associated products”. He added that Formuation E offers, “better pricing and is going to upset the market a little bit. It’s more economical than Image Armor”.
The new ink will be on the shelves by mid-May, and will be available from Resolute Inks and multi-brand distributor Ralawise.
Colin also revealed that the new ink will be developed for a range of print heads, with formulations for Ricoh and Kyocera being rolled out in 2020. There are no plans to introduce a Brother-compatible ink.
When asked whether Kodak has plans to introduce a DTG printer, Colin replied: “I can’t say, but there is more to come. I can say this is only the beginning.”
