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In less than 90 seconds, print 8x12, 8x10, 2-5x7, 2-6x8, or 4-4x6 photos per sheet. Choose from glossy or matte laminate and get prints that last a lifetime. What does it take to produce a true professional quality 8x10 print in less than 90 seconds? The KODAK PROFESSIONAL 1400 Digital Photo Printer. Whether you're in a studio, on location, or at home, you’ll get great prints, because this printer is optimized just for photos.

It's fast and it's easy. Sealed with a laminate, your prints will resist water and fingerprints; and they'll last a lifetime. Because the 1400 Digital Photo Printer uses dry technology, the price per print never changes regardless of image density or complexity. Print an 8x12, 8x10, or true A4, or print multiple images with 2-5x7, 2-6x8, or 4-4x6-inch photos per sheet. Choose from glossy or matte laminate. Suddenly, every print is worth framing! This printer has a resolution of 301dpi and will connect to a PC running Windows 2000/XP or a Mac running OCX 10.2+

To succeed in the world of digital photography: You need to increase features and speed, while driving costs out of your product; whether it's a digital camera or a photo-quality colour printer.

That's the challenge Kodak technologists faced when they set out to engineer a thermal dye-sublimation photo printer that could live on the desktop of a pro photographer, a hobbyist, or a small business, as inkjet printers have; and cost less than half the price of its predecessor, without sacrificing image quality.

To make it happen, the engineers focused on ways to accelerate the performance of the KODAK PROFESSIONAL 1400 Digital Photo Printer. The thermal printer, which uses a colour "donor" ribbon and a thermal print head, had to rip (raster image process) and print pictures faster - and with more consistent quality - than its predecessors.

Previous Kodak thermal printers took up to 150 seconds to print a single 8 x 10-inch image. To halve that process time in the Kodak 1400 printer, the engineers improved the stepper motors that drive each sheet through the printer, and upgraded to the faster USB 2.0 standard for a faster line time. As a result, the printer's rip and print speed dropped to as low as 77 seconds per sheet. (Users with USB 1.1 connectivity can connect the printer to their computer or network, but with slightly slower print speeds.)

Another challenge: variable media surfaces. Previous thermal printers favoured the glossy print media preferred by consumers and some advanced amateur photographers. However, pro photographers also use a matte - or satin finish media. Kodak engineers improved the way the printer laminates the matte coating onto the print media. By using firmware to adjust energy output from the thermal print head, and reducing vibrations as the paper passes through the printer, a more-uniform lamination is applied to create a consistent matte finish.

Technologists also found that modifying the firmware algorithms helped remedy another condition known as "thermal smear," in which some light-density and high-density colours didn't transition well on the paper, resulting in blurring between light and dark areas of prints.

Kodak engineers found that the earlier printer's thermal head couldn't adjust temperature quickly enough, thus retaining some of the darker colour. To correct this condition, they modified the Kodak 1400 printer's firmware, enabling the print head to modulate or "pulse" and adjust more quickly. The result: less thermal smear in matte prints, and less need for makeovers.

First to last consistency

Because the 1400 printer is a dry technology, it offers a more predictable printing alternative. Inkjet printers by nature use varying amounts of ink as a function of the image; a denser image with more dark areas consumes more dark ink, and users never know how many photo prints they'll get per ink cartridge.

With the KODAK PROFESSIONAL 1400 Digital Printer, photographers get the same number of prints from a print kit, which bundles together the donor ribbon cartridge and a 50- or 25-sheet EKTATHERM paper pack. Because the receiver media and donor ribbon are colour-matched, users can anticipate consistent print quality from their first print to the last. In addition, the coated paper stock is water-resistant from the moment it leaves the printer; no drying time is required.

The ribbon is installed in a carrier, which is inserted into the top of the printer. No threading is required. The paper is installed into a universal paper tray, which is inserted into the front of the machine.

Earlier Kodak thermal printers limited the single sheet size to 8.5 x 12 inches. By switching to a larger, universal paper tray for the 1400, photographers can print from either 12 or 14-inch media, consistent with the A4 size used internationally. Users can print four 4 x 6-inch prints per sheet, a true A4 image, or two 6 x 8-inch prints - the size offered in some wedding album formats.

A dustcover is now available from us for the Kodak 1400 Printer