“To the inkjet world changing their name to Pixelle is quite fitting as it is Glatfelter’s performance inkjet brand compatible on high speed inkjet devices.” -Mary Schilling Find Pixelle Performance

Most inkjet printer manufacturers are either private (Durst) or part of a larger public company for which inkjet is only an element of their portfolio (HP, Canon, Ricoh, etc), so

Paper producer Zanders will increase the prices for all deliveries from 1 January 2019. The amount of the price increase will be individually discussed depending on the individual product, the respective market and customer.

Producing quality rich blacks and image details with inkjet can become a scary task. Learn how to control black details (shadows) by understanding the ink/paper/profile combinations that are spooking your results. Happy Halloween.

Have you ever wondered why it is difficult to find 3rd party ink suppliers for production inkjet devices? Mark Bale discusses the pros and cons of OEM supplied inkjet inks versus 3rd party and the key questions to ask if considering working with 3rd-party ink developers.

Before signing your inkjet deal, get the specs for power, ceiling height, load-bearing, square footage, humidity and more. You may find that changes need to be made to your environment that add cost and delay installation. Measure (at least) twice before you buy.

If you really want to know about the ins and outs of a new technology, don’t just talk to the sales and marketing people, talk to someone who has to keep the device up and running or fix it when it breaks. Meet Brian Gallipeau, Vice President, Field Service with Canon Solutions Americas.

Mark Hunt of Standard Finishing talks about the many ways that inkjet printing poses challenges for finishing vendors and how those challenges can be overcome. Over drying, not dry enough, curl and static are just a few of the fun facts of high-speed inkjet printing.

Mark Bale provides an overview of the important differences in inkjet ink characteristics that come from various components such as resins, solvents, humectants and surfactants. With an understanding of these components and how OEMs use them to differentiate their inks, you’ll be better informed next time you have a conversation with your supplier.

SCREEN’s flagship, high-speed production, inkjet web press has made yet another leap toward becoming the preferred technology for printers looking to either augment or replace aging offset equipment. Yields higher print speeds on coated litho stocks, expands lightweight paper capabilities, fine-tunes drying performance across all substrates.

Jennifer Eberle of Highnote discusses their recent conversion from toner to sheet-fed inkjet. Highnote produces a wide range of products including direct mail, brand collateral and signage. She has a great story to tell about how quickly the system was up and running, their ability to immediately convert volume to the device – they had added a second shift within the first few months – and the potential they see for moving into new markets. Spoiler alert, Jennifer is a big fan of Canon and the VarioStream 1300.

Inkjet Tip of the Week: Understand Total Cost of Paper to compare TCO TCP=Cost per carton weight (delivered) + cost of priming or spot treatment + excess ink usage+ excess drying energy. Papers not formulated for inkjet often use more ink and require additional drying energy. Measure TCP to fully understand TCO – every machine/ink/paper combination is different.

Overview and analysis of the RISO T2 Twin-Engine Cut Sheet printer scheduled for controlled release later this year with 10 units currently available in the U.S. and general availability in January 2019. Comparison to VarioStream i300 and Delphax elan 500 sheet fed devices.

Steve Welkley discusses the approach that Xerox has taken to help customers utilize and optimize the capacity of their production inkjet devices and grow inkjet pages.

Ed Jansen discusses customer requirements, professional services, software and support needs of inkjet installations. The goal? “Repeatable results, fewest possible human touches and operational efficiency.” Sponsored content.

Stop the (Ink) Bleeding. Check primed or inkjet coated print for color-to-color bleed/coalescence. Run test images w/ varying solid, single process & combined colors which touch or overlap. Create color areas > 4”x4” to see how ink volume of one image will spread or react to the primed/coated stock when touching another. If only printing pretty bitmap images, bleed effects can be hidden leaving print clarity surprises with solids and touching colors with hard edges.

Monitor Cross-Process Variance. Run a weekly test print showing solid color bars across the web. Include 100, 75 and 30% individual process color bars of at least 3” depth across the entire web width. Testing will show how well your paper path is controlled and identify any jet or head variation causing solid area defects.

In this video Elizabeth Gooding shows the event magazine developed by WhatTheyThink and Printing News and the trend toward inkjet compatibility with offset grades.

Mark Bale provides a deep dive into the differences in the approach to colorant carrier in the main categories of inkjet ink: aqueous, oil, hot-melt and UV curable. Ink chemistry matters and different approaches are better suited to specific applications.

Karen Weil, Director of Procurement for IWCO Direct, shares her impressions of Inkjet Insight’s market research on paper supply and her approach to securing paper for her client’s projects.