Kodak Specialty Chemicals offers Near Infrared Dyes for Label Applications

Kodak Specialty Chemicals offers

Near Infrared Dyes for Label Applications

Comprehensive portfolio of labeling solutions

to be featured at LABELEXPO Americas 2012

(Rochester, New York, September 10, 2012) – For more than a century, Eastman Kodak Company (www.kodak.com/go/specialtychemicals) has operated at the intersection of imaging science and materials science, offering scientific expertise and a history of innovation in functional dyes from the Visible to the Near Infrared (NIR) range.

“In labeling applications, NIR dyes have both machine readability and covert security features – due to the lack of absorption in the visible range,” said John Harder, Senior Chemist, Kodak Specialty Chemicals. “This unique combination has helped protect valuable documents, packaging and other authentic materials from unauthorized copying, forging, counterfeiting, and other fraudulent use.”

Harder said some of Kodak’s commercial uses of NIR dyes include imaging film with infrared lasers, used in various applications. For example, an NIR dye can be used to absorb the energy from the laser to develop an image on a film. Second, an NIR dye can be used in a separate layer to prevent back reflections from the supporting layer.

In a third instance, an NIR dye can be used as a filter dye coated in the layer above the imaging layer. “These dyes should be shorter in wavelength and act to filter out light not coming from the laser energy,” Harder said.

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Kodak Specialty Chemicals offers an extensive portfolio of NIR dyes, encompassing wide applications from organic solvent coatings, thermal transfer, and direct thermal to ink.

In addition to the NIR applications, unique color formers for direct thermal application are also available.

Kodak offers NIR dyes composed of different chemical classes from Cyanines, Diimminiums to Ni complexes with unique characteristics that lend themselves to diverse applications.

Kodak’s expertise also extends to various modes of formulation ranging from soluble – water or organic – to dispersions – nano-particulate or aggregates. For example the same dye can have different spectral characteristics depending on application either as a solution or an aggregate, and can show bathochromic shifts greater than 100 nm.

In addition, Kodak has demonstrated aqueous nanoparticle dispersions of NIR pigments using proprietary milling technology. Harder said this is an attractive option to ink makers and other consumers as it combines the stability of pigments and ease of formulation of water-soluble dyes. “The increased surface area resulting from nanoparticle dispersion leads to increased potency of the dye, and lower absorption in the visible range,” he said.

“The combination of scale, chemical classes and formulation options offers a comprehensive set of solutions for our customers,” said Nagraj Bokinkere, Technical Director, Kodak Specialty Chemicals.

See the full line of Kodak NIR dyes. Visit Booth #5606 at LABELEXPO Americas 2012, September 11-13^th at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Chicago, or email Rajiv Balasubramaniam, PhD., at rajiv.balasubramaniam@kodak.comfor an interview.

SUMMARY

A complete set of NIR dyes is available for various imaging applications from Coatings, Thermal to Inks. For more information about Kodak functional and IR dyes, call Nagraj Bokinkere, Director of Business Development, Kodak Specialty Chemicals, at nagraj.bokinkere@kodak.com (tel. +1 585-722-9038), or visit us on the web at www.kodak.com/go/specialtychemicals.

About Kodak

As the world’s foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of images, information, and printing to enrich their lives.

In the graphic communications industry, Kodak serves customers in the printing, publishing, packaging and enterprise markets with intelligent solutions for competitive advantage and greater return on investment. For more information, visit www.kodak.com/go/specialtychemicals