Inkjet’s Age
Wedding invitation printed with metallic ink.
Samples printed with metallic ink on the Xerox Iridesse Production Press.
Playing with
Ink & Media
By Carol Brzozowski
From automotive parts to suitcases, there is hardly
anything that cannot serve as a substrate for printing
given the advances in ink and processes that have been
the driving factor in expanding the possibilities.
Josh McNaughton, Product Specialist for Xante Corporation,
notes the growth is in manufacturing.
“With the advancements of UV printing technologies,
many manufacturers are bringing these digital devices inhouse
to print on their own products as opposed to screen
printing or pad printing,” he pointed out. “Th ese manufacturers
want to produce more lean and just-in-time. Digital printing
off ers the fl exibility they need to print a wide variety of
products with very little make-ready compared to analog
printing equipment. We have seen digital printing used in
everything from automotive parts, puzzles, leather, compact
discs, and sporting goods.”
On the other hand, commercial print shops also are
getting into the digital market as they seek new revenue
opportunities away from their traditional markets,
McNaughton added.
“Newer UV printers allow the fl exibility for a shop to off er
everything from promotional products to signage, which
makes it very easy for a print shop owner to target many new
niches with only a single machine investment,” he said.
Dan Johansen, Senior Manager for wide format, commercial
and industrial printing business group, Ricoh USA,
noted that many printers, inspired by strides in wide format
inkjet’s versatility are embracing “incredible new substrates”.
Th anks to advanced specialized inks and enhanced printhead
technology, the industry’s options for unique substrates
have grown considerably to the point that printing service
providers (PSPs) can now utilize virtually every surface to
market their customers’ products and deliver messaging in
interesting, engaging ways, Johansen notes.
“With these advancements, printers and print buyers
are allowing their imaginations and their applications to
expand, unencumbered by the limitations of traditional
substrates,” he elaborated.
With the added capacity, speed and uptime provided by
inkjet, PSPs are expanding their portfolio of new applications
that they can print, noted Sheri Jammallo, Senior
Advisor, Marketing, Production Print Solutions, Canon
Solutions America.
“New development in inks such as with Chromera inks – a
fast-drying ink – open options for printers to use their inkjet
devices to print on inexpensive uncoated and untreated
digital off set papers and lightly inkjet-treated paper,”
Jammallo pointed out.
Chromera inks also are ideal for lightweight paper
24 Printing News June 2018 PrintingNewscom
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