Ink inspiration
Simply put, ink is the blood of the print industry. It pumps around printers of all shapes and sizes, producing all sorts of work for customers in a whole host of markets. But as industry professionals will know, when it comes to picking an ink, this process can be both long and quite troublesome.
Do you opt for a greener ink type such as water-based latex inks and deliver a more planet-friendly service to your customers? Or does the project you are working on require a certain type of ink in order to appease the client?
Here, Print Monthly explores some of the latest developments in ink and looks at the tools and products available to print service providers (PSPs) to ensure they are able to deliver high quality, reliable print on every job.
Speed and accuracy
One of the stand-out names in the inks market is Sun Chemical, which supplies a range of ink products to customers all around the world. One of the latest developments at Sun Chemical is SunConnect, a new, complementary solution to SunColorBox, designed for the flexo corrugated printing market.
Sun Chemical announced a number of new developments this year
According to Sun Chemical, SunConnect is an accurate and digital colour communication tool that will enable converters to communicate colour match request and quality control data on press directly from a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. It is an entry-level digital colour management solution giving converters the opportunity to upgrade in future to Sun Chemical’s SunColorBox – a unique set of tools and services that enables consistent and accurate digital colour communication throughout the entire packaging supply chain.
These applications and services, Sun Chemical says, are aimed at supporting packaging printers and converters to produce brand colours consistently, anywhere in the world, within a fully optimised digital process.
The SunConnect Digital Colour Sensor has been developed by Sun Chemical to align with the existing market reference device, ensuring compatibility with its standard colour matching procedures. In addition, the SunConnect app can assist press operators in controlling colour, based on digital data, while helping production managers identify opportunities for improvement and confirm production quality.
O Factoid: Sun Chemical employs more than 22,000 people around the worldO
Mehran Yazdani, president of global packaging materials and advanced materials at Sun Chemical, comments: “We are thrilled to announce the launch of SunConnect for the flexo corrugated printing market and to continue to expand our digital colour management portfolio. We hope that SunConnect can provide a breakthrough for flexo water-based packaging printing companies looking for a user-friendly, entry-level colour management solution.
“SunConnect eliminates the requirement of sending physical swatches back and forth between the customer and colour centre, improving colour accuracy and saving time and costs for both parties. This helps streamline the entire process and results in faster turnaround times for colour match requests.”
Sun Chemical also used the FESPA Global Print Expo to showcase its developments and advancements in a number of other areas, including Streamline TVL 2, the new ink series designed to support the sign, display, and graphics market for use with Roland’s SG2 and VG2 range of eco-solvent inkjet printers.
For superwide-format, Sun Chemical recently launched Streamline APR, formulated for Ricoh Gen 5 printheads and offering all of the advantages as sister product Streamline APY for Kyocera printheads. These include high colour strength, a reduction in ink consumption, and drying benefits.
In addition, SunJet, the global inkjet brand of Sun Chemical and DIC, used FESPA 2022 to showcase its most recent developments in inkjet chemistry, including collaborations with OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) partners, system integrators, and printhead manufacturers across a number of market sectors, including graphics, décor, textile, industrial, and packaging.
Making savings
Delving further into the inks market and GMG Color is a developer and provider of high-quality colour management software solutions. Paul Barnes, operations director at GMG, says inks and colour management go hand-in-hand and to get the most out of your inks, as well as ensure you are hitting colour targets accurately, PSPs need to consider the type of software they are running.
“With the rise of ink and material costs, savings are made from day one when investing in ink optimisation software,” Barnes says, adding: “Ink optimisation works by replacing expensive colour inks with black ink, but as well as cutting ink costs, there are less rejects from streaking and mottling. Increased speed is achieved through quicker drying time and workload is reduced by up to a third on inkjet heads, meaning significantly less wear and downtime.
With the rise of ink and material costs, savings are made from day one when investing in ink optimisation softwar}”
“The cost savings achieved from ink optimisation depend on a number of factors. The higher the ratio of image to text in your file, and the more colours used, the more you could save. The substrate used will also have an impact, as uncoated substrates absorb more ink, so the savings can be high here.”
So, what are the dangers of not paying enough attention to colour management software? What risks do PSPs run by not investing in and running quality software? Barnes simply says that if colour quality is important, then print businesses should look for a solution that both increases the levels of black ink and standardises the colour composition of PDF files.
With this, he highlights GMG InkOptimizer, which uses a print company’s existing RIP technology and applies GMG’s specially developed MX technology to ensure the colours that they are aiming for can be hit, and that they can be achieved next time you print through precise re-calibration.
GMG InkOptimizer uses existing RIP technology and applies GMG’s MX technology to ensure the desired colours are achieved
“This fully automated process better preserves the integrity of the black channel in comparison to ICC-based solutions,” Barnes explains, adding: “It works where the human eye reacts most sensitively – the grey balance – keeping greys neutral with no contamination, so they don’t become red or green in appearance.
Barnes says that GMG has two popular solutions for ink saving, depending on requirements. First, he explains the GMG inkOptimizer provides up to 30% ink savings with no degradation in colour, while secondly, the GMG G-Turbo profiles enable up to 50% ink savings for users, helping them save on the overall cost of production.
“As exact ink savings depend on multiple factors, GMG offers a free demonstration and ROI calculation based on your work – showing how much ink optimisation reduces the physical cost per sheet on existing equipment and can improve the quality of colour output with minimal effort,” Barnes adds.
Shifting expectations
Elsewhere, Pulse Roll Label Products specialises in ink, varnish, and coating solutions for the global label and package printing industry. Managing director Gary Seward says given the dynamic nature of the label industry, failing to keep on top of the latest ink trends can have ramifications for any printer.
“The landscape we find ourselves in is fast-paced and constantly changing. From the rising costs of doing business to changing legislation and shifting customer expectations, printers are under significant pressure to find efficiencies and ensure they can meet the increasingly bespoke needs of the brands they supply,” Seward explains.
Changing legislation and shifting customer expectations mean printers should pay careful attention to ink choice
“It’s clear that the retail market is becoming increasingly competitive and crowded. This means it is more important than ever that labels stand out on the shelves – the same old, same old, is not enough to catch the shopper’s eye, time and again. Investing and experimenting with new ink technologies is the key to achieving bold new designs that are faster, brighter, and more consistent, helping printers stay ahead of the curve while optimising print quality, costs, and efficiency.
“Coupled with this is the growing demand for sustainability. Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of how the things they buy impact the environment, from recyclability of the final product to waste in the supply chain. Ink manufacturers are constantly challenged to ensure their solutions meet today’s brand sustainability goals so staying ahead of the curve in ink technology can keep a business competitive.“
Seward goes on to say that PSPs need to consider other factors in addition to ink type. He explains while high-performance inks are key to achieving bold colour and graphic impact, other elements including the anilox, doctor blade, press type, substrate, and press room conditions all affect the final print performance – adding that shortcomings in any of these areas can have major ramifications for the final quality of a print.
To support its customers, Pulse Roll Label Products recently launched its new Fixed Anilox Printing system, which Seward says solves the inefficiency of needing to change anilox rollers between jobs by cutting down the number of variables that printers manage.
“Using high strength inks and a bespoke mixing database, this system enables the production of any possible spot colour using just one volume of anilox,” Seward says, adding: “This means a fixed set can be installed, significantly reducing downtime and saving printers considerable time and money.”
Also available from Pulse Roll Label Products is Puretone, which Seward says continues to be its best-selling ink solution. PureTone, he explains, helps converters to achieve bright and consistent prints every time, no matter what substrate they are using.
“This solution is the key to success with Fixed Anilox Printing,” he says, adding: “PureTone’s higher strength composition compared with other inks means it can be used with a low enough volume of anilox to achieve all colours. It also requires a lower coating weight, supporting lower migration, faster printing, and reduced ink usage.
“All of these combine to save converters time and money and offer them a level of control and simplicity that is the first of its kind in the label printing world.”
Looking to the future, Seward says label printers should pay careful attention to how they are using their ink, explaining that this area of the market is becoming more competitive as the sector consolidates. He warns that less efficient businesses risk getting left behind by their competitors if they cannot keep up with the latest processes.
“In this day and age, if you are failing to digitise, automate, and connect your workflows to drive out waste and inefficiency, you will cease to remain competitive,” Seward explains, adding: “Already, we can see some converters struggling with the number of new sustainable substrates coming to market.
At the same time, demand for short-run, fast turnaround jobs is increasing, and those printers with slower processes risk being unable to meet demand.
“These are challenges that only new technologies can solve; from inks that perform optimally on non-standard substrates, to equipment that can turnaround jobs more quickly, continual investment and development is critical to the modern printer’s ongoing success.”
Seward’s closing comments offer a suitable conclusion to this feature; not making use of the latest technologies in ink means you risk falling behind. Taking on these new offerings will help you keep pace with the competition and ensure success in the years to come.
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