Last week at Paperworld Frankfurt in Germany, nine companies announced their support of the ColorLok Paper Standard, with the goal of making better paper for better printing.
April, Domtar, Epson, HP, International Paper (IP), Kodak, Mondi, M-Real and Suzano have agreed to support the performance standards of ColorLok papers. In addition, Epson, HP and Kodak will support the use of ColorLok paper with certain printer models.
The benefits of ColorLok papers include bolder, sharper images, faster dry times, and improved reliability across a range of printing devices.
HP expects that a significant portion of the world's uncoated office papers will meet the standard by 2009. By incorporating ColorLok papers into their product lines, companies supporting the standard will offer their customers papers that can keep pace with advancements in printing technology found in digital printing systems.
It is expected that the new papers will introduce throughout 2008. Papers that use the ColorLok logo must pass a concise set of standards for print quality, as well as physical and electrostatic standards for quality and reliability.
The Rochester Institute of Technology - Printing Applications Laboratory has been selected to ensure compliance with these standards.
Criteria for meeting the ColorLok standards include image quality, dry time, and printer performance. Paper companies may use different means and technologies to meet or exceed that performance.
As of January 2008, a variety of branded papers that have passed the ColorLok performance specifications and employ the ColorLok logo will be sold around the world. These papers include:
• HP Everyday Papers (inkjet and multipurpose) – Worldwide
• Hammermill® Papers (produced by IP) – North America
• Duo (produced by IP) – UK and Germany
• Pol (produced by IP) – Poland, Central Europe
• Rey (produced by IP)– Western Europe
