Category Archive

Release Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2020 Press release from the issuing company BlueCrest is today announcing a new ink set and model, the IntelliJet® 20 HD with HP Brilliant Ink™.

This week HP provided a pre-drupa peek at the HP PageWide Web Press T250 HD and new Brilliant InkTM that will be added to its inkjet portfolio this year. Learn about the new capabilities of the device, available before the end of 2020, and how they compare to other devices already in the market from Canon, Ricoh and Screen.

Ralf Schlozer takes a careful look at aspects of the commercial printing market in Europe and where inkjet has and has not penetrated. Key adopters of different inkjet options are referenced along with expectations for future development.

Mike Todryk of IWCO Direct uses G7 color management across a range of production processes, including inkjet. In this post he lays to rest some misconceptions about G7 and its uses and shares insight on how the process can add value.

Let’s look at what’s in the industrial inkjet bucket, some estimates on the size of the market and the technical requirements that drive specialization of solutions to serve this highly varied segment.

Action Mailers, a major, family-owned, direct mail provider located near Philadelphia has completed the latest upgrade in their multi-phase transition from toner to inkjet. Marc Hoy shares lessons learned and the key benefits they have found from their investment.

In Europe, inkjet printing of books continues to have great success. And the good news? There is still room to grow in the book printing market. Ralf Schlozer shares information on top producers in Europe and key trends for 2020 and beyond.

Combination Creates Largest Specialty Papers Business in North America Advanced Capabilities Establish Pixelle as Specialty Papers “Center of Excellence”

Don’t let misconceptions deter you from evaluating 3D printing within your 2D printing business, but don’t go into it blindly. Ask yourself these questions as you consider expanding your inkjet business.

If you run light production equipment, you may not have given much thought to the Digital Front End of your printing device. There is no industry standard for what a DFE should encompass, or even a widely agreed set of guidelines. And, while you may have a choice of features and even vendors for the DFE, there hasn’t been much discussion of what should come next. What should you be asking for and when should you expect it?

Midland Paper, Packaging + Supplies, one of North America’s largest independent distributors of media for business communications, recently launched a new and innovative Specialty Media catalog for offset and digital sheet fed printers. The all-inclusive catalog merges media for major sheet fed print technologies into one unique publication. Offset, HP Indigo and Dry Toner substrates are all featured within one book.

In January, Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd. and OKI Data Corporation, the OKI Group’s printer company, concluded an exclusive international sales agreement for the distribution of OKI Data’s wide format inkjet printers. Under the terms of this agreement, the two companies will expand their sales alliance in Japan, announced in March 2019, to encompass overseas sales.

Jeff Matos shares his experience migrating to the 4th generation of inkjet at Broadridge Financial Solutions including special considerations for MICR and his experience with the RICOH Pro VC4000 in all its configurations.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leader in world-class printing technology, today announced the official launch of the MGI JETvarnish 3D One, a simple, compact and affordable digital embellishment press that provides sensory print applications for printers of every size.

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.

Just as there are many types of inkjet printheads and ink, there are many types of processes for inkjet drying. Most printers combine several processes to create a drying solution. Ralf Schlozer discusses the fundamental factors related to drying in document and packaging printing environments including absorption, phase change, radiation and evaporation. It’s dry – but important.

There is no industry standard for what should be included in a digital front end, and there is no universal template that guides how much control the inkjet DFE should expose to an operator to permit changes in how a job will be processed. As we enter the 2020s, this is something that should change. It’s time for the buyers of inkjet presses to identify their expectations, list the features that make a difference to their operation, and categorize the challenges they may have with their current DFE.

Kao Chimigraf hosted the first Kao Innovation Day, in Barcelona, that attracted representatives from 22 companies based in 6 countries. The event showcased the Kao Collins X-BAR, and two multi-printhead systems manufactured by Colordyne Technologies. Inkjet inks from Kao Collins were also shown by Kao Chimigraf, the European partner for both companies.

Inkjet Insight talks to Phil Self a VP at Ricoh USA, Inc. about its recent customer event. The event focused on opportunities for using inkjet within commercial and direct marketing business.

The METIS 3D Scanner creates opportunities for designers and printers think outside the box and expand creative applications for all print markets. Being able to reproduce 3D texture reproductions with existing UV printing equipment or providing scanning services for CGI/PBR (computer-generated imagery/physical based rendering) applications allows designers to not only visualize but customize and develop 3D patterns.