Kodak debuts photo printer

Eastman Kodak Co.'s Professional division in March rolled out a photo-size thermal printer dubbed the Kodak Professional 8657.

The $6,795 device uses a 33-MHz RISC processor to print at a resolution of 300 pixels per inch, the company said. Using continuous-tone thermal dye diffusion technology, the 8657 prints on media as large as 8.5 by 7 inches. Kodak said the maximum image area is 8 by 5 inches. The printer can produce an 8-by-5-inch image in about 50 seconds.

The printer, which the company said prints only raster images, ships with 32 Mbytes of RAM and features two SCSI ports and standard LocalTalk connectivity. An Ethernet card is available for $595.

Kodak includes a plug-in for exporting images from Adobe Photoshop to the 8657; the company also ships its own color control software with the printer.

Kodak Professional, a division of Eastman Kodak Co. of Rochester, N.Y., is at (716) 724-4000 or (800) 235-6325; fax (716) 724-0663; http://www.kodak.com/go/professional.