Part 2 of a review of the IMI Europe Inkjet Printing Conference 2015
If you missed Part 1, it can be found here.
Inks
Sun Chemical discussed their low migration UV inks for primary food packaging printing. These inks are optimised for image and cure properties on Durst’s Tau 330 label and packaging press. The CMYK, orange, violet and white inks are available now. John Law, Managing Director of Sun Chemical, then explained their new Aquacure aqueous hybrid UV inks for use in flexible packaging. These inks have a lower film thickness on the final print (around 1-2 microns), have improved health and safety profile and low print odour. The inks contain 70-90% water and need to be dried first and then cured to give a robust film. The final print looks and feels like an analogue flexo or gravure print.
Sensient announced a new process that prints directly onto polyester – Elvajet Alpha. The process is aimed at printing light apparel fabrics and is compatible with Kyocera and Konica Minolta printheads. The new process promises much lower water and power usage than conventional polyester printing, while giving better print-through than sublimation inks.
New Technology Announcements
Mexar & Välinge announced their new powder jetting technology for décor printing which uses a special powder which is scattered onto the substrate: a design is then printed into the powder before being pressed into a highly robust finish. They also announced a new wood powder process, which allows freedom of colour background, incorporation of wear resistance particles into the surface and also enabling furniture to be printed with a three dimensional effect and partially transparent print layer.
TTP gave a joint presentation with Covestro (formerly Bayer Materials Science) on their new digital coating technology for “Industry 4.0”. The technology has a high viscosity capability for use with fluids such as polyurethane and cellulose paints and gravure inks, enabling deposition of digitally defined coatings and adhesives. This new technology also enables you to print difficult materials comprising large particles, as well as delivering large droplets to achieve high coating weights.
Alchemie Technology gave an overview of its Jetronica digital technology for material deposition applications of materials science, including medical applications, textile coating and additive manufacturing. The technology can also be used for the deposition of powders, which has exciting applications, for example in the manufacture of patient-specific drugs.
Ricoh Europe announced the new Ricoh Pro V60000 – a new colour production inkjet press optimized for graphics arts applications, printing at 1200 x 1200 dpi with variable drop size using Ricoh’s water-based pigment inks. It has a high-speed production capability of up to 120 m/min (at 600 x 600 dpi) and is expandable to meet future requirements with dryer units and additional coating stations. The capabilities of the press were demonstrated by Ricoh, printing the IMI Europe event guides for the conference, which looked fantastic!
HP announced their new PageWide Web Press T1100 corrugated packaging printer which uses their High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) printheads to produce higher quality with dual drop weight printing. The press uses colours as well as a bonding agent, optional primers and OPV and can be used to print onto coated and uncoated media.
Kodak announced their move from mass production to personalisation and went into more detail about their Kodak Prosper S-10 Imprinting System which won a PIA Intertech Award forprint quality and the variety of substrates able to be printed on.
If you missed the IMI Europe Inkjet Printing Conference and would like to view the presentations, they are available for purchase on our website at this link. The next IMI Europe Inkjet Printing Conference will be in early December 2016, watch out for further details!
Kirsty Inman & Tim Phillips, IMI Europe