Ink and Fluids

We surveyed production inkjet users on their use of and satisfaction with ink estimating tools. Executive summary available to all. Premium members can download full report.

Register (free) to view the January 26 webinar on ink estimating with AM Solutions, Data Reprographics and Inkjet Insight.

In industrial inkjet, water-based inkjet is undergoing a renaissance. When it comes to the most demanding applications, it is a challenge for aqueous inks to reach the required resistance properties without posing a longer term risk to blocking the head. This is where hybrids inks offer a potential solution.

Mark Bale discusses key development in energy curable inks for industrial applications including UV, e-beam and thermal curing.

With inkjet color management, we can see and troubleshoot the obvious things, but sometimes get stumped by inkjet issues hiding just below the surface. This post takes a look at three inkjet color issues that could be hiding in plain sight.

Domino Printing Sciences delivered a very well-orchestrated virtual launch event for their new, generation 7 digital label press. Read the over view of the N730i press representing the first major inkjet endeavor bringing together the technology assets of Domino and parent Brother Industries since their acquisition in 2015.

Press Release from Issuing Company PARSIPPANY, N.J., USA – June 2, 2020 – Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100

When it comes to print heads, the viscosity influence can be critical to the reliability of operation. To understand this, Mark Bale demonstrates in part two of his single pass series.

In the previous post How to Make an Inkjet Sandwich I talked about the potential different ways that ink can react to a substrate when used in combination with other fluids such as primers or post-coatings. Those interactions make it critical to optimize all the fluids for your entire process, prior to linearization and profiling, to avoid print defects such as color to color bleed and coalescence.

Our most recent white paper, sponsored by RICOH, examines the many factors that combine to create a quality inkjet solution for a particular market need. The production workflow and quality sensitivity varies significantly from one application segment to another. While some companies may be replacing one technology platform with another, others are challenged to maintain compatibility between inkjet and toner or offset platforms.

Ralf Schlözer provides an overview of key technology launches this week at InPrint Munich as well as insight into why this event is different and valuable.

Many printers practice ink management by limiting combined process inks (CMYK and +) through a color profiling process. TAC adjustment can help control ink costs, drying, curl and paper cockle by limiting the overall volume of ink printed. Let’s talk about how to find the the percentage value of a color at which we no longer gain any color value by adding ink.

Experimenting with your inkjet press is something that should be part of your monthly plan. Here is the second of three experiments to help you really get to know your press. The first experiment was about paper. Today we talk about ink volume.

Web-fed inkjet devices with UV or hybrid solvent/aqueous pigment inks are delivering amazing quality on an ever-expanding range of media. Factoring the cost of ink into your buying decision may make you think twice about going web or sheet fed.

Inkjet Tip of the Week: Some inkjet devices come with valuable cost-saving features. Here are a few to look out for:

Inkjet Tip of the Week – Use Ink Wisely. Using a standard, default profile could be costing you money. When creating custom profiles, be sure to print profiling patch charts with different TAC settings such as 260, 240 and 220,  for high, medium and low ink usage options. Print efficiently and economically based on the customer’s needs, not default settings.

Since the dawn of the age of high-speed inkjet presses buyers of those presses have been encouraged to buy their ink from the hardware vendor. Good reasons were given, including concerns about contaminating print heads and print quality. The reasons still stand – but options are emerging.

After the trainers leave and before you develop buyer’s remorse, there are tricks to living with your press that will allow you to maintain your inkjet excitement. That is the purpose of this series, starting with this first episode on dealing with ghosts.

Welcome to the latest post in the “Shift Happens” series. In this post, we will focus on aqueous ink chemistry and factors affecting color shift. Knowing the type of ink and understanding its chemistry is just as important as understanding how it reacts to your surface conditions. Find out why.

Printing from the first tower allows ink twice as long to dry helping reduce roller build up and print defects in finishing.