Inkjet's Age, a print supplement to Quick Printing, is a business and technology brand dedicated to corporate and senior management and focusing on issues surrounding inkjet printing technology in all its forms. Inkjet's Age covers the industry news,
Issue link: https://quickprinting.epubxp.com/i/374926
www.MyPRINTResource.com SEPTEMBER 2014 • INKJET'S AGE 11 withstand the beating they take at in the postal stream." AmericanSeating, an- other Gilson client, said the inkjet press reproduces its wood-grain imagery more sharply than previous printing meth- ods—either digital or conventional. With its second-generation J Press rolling out this year, featuring VDP capability that is twice as fast, Fujifilm now counts 21 installations worldwide: four in the US, three in Europe, and 14 in Japan, reported Toshi Okada, manager of strategic product planning in North America. The new F folding carton model is specifically designed for package printing. The Challenge of Choice Paper Another reason Gilson likes its Fuji model is paper. While many inkjet presses require uncoated or specialized, pre-treated digital papers, the J Press uses standard coated and uncoated stocks. Once imaged, they can be treated like offset stock and simply dropped into ex- isting finishing equipment, Fujifilm said. "Not all paper behaves the same, es- pecially with regard to drying capacity," pointed out Documation COO Aalsma. Depending on the color gamut required, much transactional and book production today still is reproduced on non-treated, uncoated paper, upon which inkjet droplets blend together. Documation has had "incredible luck with Finch Paper's uncoated stock," said Aalsma, who also is testing an import from overseas. When it comes to coated papers, "90 percent to 95 percent of the time we try to run inkjet-treated stocks," he explained. "It saves us money, time, and headaches." For higher-quality inkjet web print- ing, the types of media available in the United States have increased substantially over the past 24 months—and are be- coming more affordable, according to HP's Murphy. Aalsma agreed, saying, "There are more offerings, and we expect to see even more good sheets at reason- able prices this fall." Applying liquid bonding agents to "off-the-shelf " papers while they are on press is a more cost-effective solution than using pre-treated papers. "It is definitely more affordable than buying [paper with] bonding agents," agreed Gardner of Hud- son Printing, which uses HP ColorPRO treated uncoated papers for jobs requiring ink coverage of more than 10 percent to 20 percent. "For [coated] glosses and mattes, especially satins and dulls, we almost have to run optimized papers," he noted. "Non-optimized paper inevitably hits the first roller, then scuffs from the turn bar mark sheets downstream." To date, Hudson has had success with Utopia Inkjet Gloss from Appleton Coated, which has provided a "great level of support." Nonetheless, "we test pa- pers every week. We're still not satisfied. There are issues in everything we run, in one area or another," he added. HP's ColorPRO technology, available since 2008, features a modified calcium- carbonate, colorless coating that enables paper-makers—including Appleton Coated, Georgia Pacific, International Paper, and Sappi—to adapt a wider VISIT US AT LABEL EXPO, BOOTH # 6524 LEADING & INNOVATING INKJET INKS FOR THE LABEL INDUSTRY 1201 EDISON DRIVE l CINCINNATI l OH l 45216 CALL US TODAY: 513-948-9000 WWW.COLLINSINKJET.COM Collins Inkjet is an industry leader in formulating and manufacturing water-based, solvent-based, oil-based, UV curable, LED curable, and EB inkjet inks for industrial applications. As consumer demands evolve and product SKU's increase, brand owners require more from their packaging, creating the ideal applications for digital inkjet printing– an area we know very well. Collins has a long history of creating custom inks for high-speed production printing. When it comes to package printing, this experience, paired with our formulation exper- tise has allowed us to hit the ground running and push the technology into new applica- tion space. CUSTOM INKS FORMULATED FOR YOUR SPECIFIC PACKAGING SUBSTRATE AND APPLICATION • LABELS • SHRINK SLEEVES • BOTTLES • PHARMA DEVICES • FOLDING CARTON • CORRUGATED • POLYS, PLASTICS, AND VINYLS • GLASS • FOILS • POUCHES For more information, visit MyPRINTResource.com/10004498