Ink

Bordeaux Digital PrintInk, a developer and provider of  inkjet ink products for the graphic arts industry, announced today  the appointment of ScreenProducts as a distributor to sell and support its broad range of solutions in Benelux.  ScreenProducts is a major supplier for the screen printing and sign industry which makes Bordeaux's high quality Mild solvent, Eco solvent, UV and UV LED solutions for all popular wide and super-wide format digital printers, a good fit for its portfolio.

"ScreenProducts  partners with industry leaders to deliver world-class solutions to the digital  printing and sign industry and we are delighted to offer Bordeaux's sensibly priced solutions  to customers who are finding ink prices intolerably high," said Reidar van der Kolk, CEO of ScreenProducts.  "We recognized Bordeaux’s unrivaled leadership in providing high quality reliable ink solutions that address users demand for lower cost options and environmental friendly solutions.  Extra benefits are associated with Bordeaux's  Mix & Match capabilities, so that the transition from OEM inks can be carried out on the fly, without having to flush out or convert the machines."

"We are looking forward to our cooperation with  ScreenProducts  in the Benelux market," said Matthew Reijnders, sales manager at Bordeaux Digital PrintInk. "I am sure that ScreenProducts’ vast knowledge and experience will make this a very successful partnership as we introduce our range of solutions for Roland, Mimaki and Mutoh printers. "

Bordeaux Digital PrintInk Is demonstrating its inkjet ink solutions at Fespa Digital 2011 in Hamburg, Germany from May 24 – 27, 2011. Visit the company's booth at Hall A4, stand D38.

Bordeaux will be demonstrating their products and services on Stand D38 in Hall A4 at FESPA Digital

Wide format inkjet printer manufacturer Mutoh Belgium nv announces immediate availability of a new set of CMYK stretchable UV inks, called 3D UV.  Specifically developed for Mutoh’s Zephyr 65 UV inkjet printer, the Mutoh 3D UV ink offers 200 % elongation capabilities, making outputs fit for wrapping on 3D curved, riveted or corrugated surfaces.  This new non HAP, zero VOC and odourless ink will cover the widest possible range of roll-to-roll applications and is also suited for rigid printing. Available in one litre bottles, the new 3D UV inks are already covered by Avery Dennison’s® ICS Performance Guarantee.   Certification by other media manufacturers will follow.  Mutoh will market the inks all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa through its authorized distributor channel.

“The new 3D UV inks are an addition to our existing 2D UV and dedicated Traffic Sign inks for the Mutoh Zephyr printer platform.  The new 3D UV inks are the result of Mutoh’s ongoing commitment to develop innovative and sustainable printing solutions for large format print providers”, says Arthur Vanhoutte, President of Mutoh’s European operations.

“The new inks are ideally suited for existing solvent users or industrial users with focus on 3D wrapping, looking for a productive machine offering best print quality, roll and rigid compatibility and last but not least offering the flexibility to immediately laminate and apply prints.  Thanks to their extreme stretchability, they will allow the same application flexibility for fleet applications as conventional solvent printers, a feature not available on competitive high-end industrial UV systems.   As our 3D UV inks do not contain any VOCs and finished prints are odour-free, they will offer the same possibilities as water-based printers for indoor applications such as in-store decoration, branding, promotion and wayfinding”, Vanhoutte concludes.

“The fleet market is worldwide growing business”, says Nico Jansen, Avery Dennison’s GRPD – OEM Alliance Manager.  “During the past years, we have been witnessing a new trend whereby print providers are looking for alternatives for their existing solvent printers for fleet and architectural applications, offering more environmentally friendly features.   Mutoh’s 3D UV ink is a great alternative to solvent for fleet applications. Apart from their 200 % elongation capabilities, the inks also offer the unique advantage that prints are immediately ready for lamination and application.  This makes them a perfect solution too for architectural prints”

“We have extensively tested the performance, durability and applicability of Mutoh’s 3D UV inks.  Tests included lamination tests, UV fading tests, application tests on different surfaces including simple curves, compound curves and riveted surfaces, 3D wrap testing, leaving prints for 4 months on a car and removal tests.
Today, we are pleased to confirm that Mutoh 3D UV inks qualify for Avery’s ICS Performance Guarantee program for high quality 3D fleet wrapping applications.  Depending on the Avery digital media and graphics protection used, warranties up to 4 years are possible.”, Nico Jansen concludes.

 

Ink Mill Corporation is pleased to announce that the company has moved into new offices and manufacturing space.  The new Ink Mill facility, located at 6 Bay Rd., Sanbornton, NH, leverages state-of-the-art technology to ensure the highest-level of product quality and customer service and to provide infrastructure for the expansion of new ink technologies that are being developed.

"The move to a new and larger facility is made to accommodate growing sales trends and solidifies Ink Mill as a world-class organisation and manufacturer.  We work for the most demanding of clients and continuously strive to make those clients look good.  This new facility increases our capacity and will allow us to better serve our clients” says Stephen Mills, President.

The success of Ink Mill and the increased demand for its products and services in the digital ink market has made necessary the expansion into this new facility.  Ink Mill proudly serves a wide variety of world-class clients.

“The most important assets of Ink Mill Corporation are the people.  The employees of Ink Mill believe in our customer centric focus, and continually strive to only provide the highest quality of products and services.  This move better enables our employees to both grow professionally and also to continue to meet and exceed customer’s expectations,” adds Stephen Mills.

 

INX International Ink Co. has announced a price increase effective April 1, 2011.  Company officials cite the unprecedented upward price pressure on raw materials, transportation and the continued instability in the raw material supply chain as the major contributing factors for this new price increase. 

“Raw material increases are outpacing our mitigation efforts to a point that we are unable to absorb the impact of the increases anymore,” said INX President and CEO Rick Clendenning.  “Some of the major increases have been with select pigments and all resins used for litho inks, solvent based inks, water based inks and coatings.  We will continue our efforts to analyze our processes and implement cost savings initiatives, while bringing new innovations and technologies to our customers and the market.” 

INX International Ink Co. sales representatives are available to discuss with customers any specific questions or concerns related to this announcement.

INX International Ink Co. and INX Digital International Co. aimed high and hit all of their targets at the recently concluded FESPA Americas show in Orlando.  With a double barrel display of digital products for traditional printers looking to make the transition, plus the launch of the new Prodigy brand, there was plenty of traffic to be found in the booth throughout the February 24-26 event.

"INX Digital supported FESPA Americas for a number of reasons and we're glad we did.  It was a very worthwhile show," said Ken Kisner, President of INX Digital International.  "We thought this event was well positioned to cater to all of the Latin American and North American markets we are involved with.  We were right and it was extremely beneficial to visit with current dealers, meet potential new dealers for regions where we can use some help, and most importantly, garner some new business.

"The Latin American market is a key strategic target for our TRIANGLE brand of alternative inks in 2011," continued Kisner.  "However, it was refreshing to learn from our many booth visitors who understand that INX Digital is not just a single focus company.  This show proved to be a great door opener for the Prodigy brand with major industry integrators and OEMs.  We hosted a well-versed audience that was interested in hearing our message and learning more about what we can do to help them with their business."

On display in the booth were EVOLVE Advanced Digital Solutions, including the CP100 UV cylindrical printer that produced many colourful and decorative stainless steel water bottles using UV LED digital inks.  The highly cost-effective CP100 offers best in class performance and image quality for short-run production.  The UV LED digital inks used in the process provide faster curing with short turnaround times, in addition to more colour options and consistent output with better adhesion on a large variety of substrates.

Also featured was the global launch of PDQ inks and a variety of traditional inks.  The TRIANGLE brand PDQ inks are multipurpose, high performance mild solvent pigmented inks that are ideal for super wide format colour printing systems. 

The Prodigy business division has a twofold plan that will contain its focus on supplying products for Graphic Arts and directly serve OEMs, integrators and print head companies within the digital market.  Willis Reese, INX Digital's Global Director of Business Development, sees plenty of potential based on the industrial side of the market.  He plans to target Textile, Tile, Glass, Metal and Wood grain markets, in addition to packaging and label segments, with UV, water, and solvent-based products in the next two years.

"We have verbally promoted Prodigy for several months and it was wonderful to have so many new faces as well as existing customers stop by our booth and fully understand the global business strategy for Prodigy," Reese said.  "We came away from the show with many new opportunities in markets that are on our target list."

 

Hove-based TJ’s Visual Solutions has made significant savings by switching from OEM inks to Colorific’s range of inks.  Supported by Granthams, a business with over 100 years experience in the graphics industry, the transition to Colorific inks was seamless.  With ink cost savings of 50%, TJ’s Visual Solutions now wishes it had swapped over ages ago and would thoroughly recommend Colorific inks to other sign shops and printers.

TJ’s Visual Solutions (TJ’s), founded in 1992, is a dynamic company that creates bespoke visual branding solutions across a wide variety of media.  It has in-depth experience in all forms of signage, graphics and printing and is a specialist in vehicle livery – ranging from one off projects to entire fleets.

By the end of 2010, TJ’s became disillusioned with the inks supplied by OEMs for its 64” rebadged Mutoh ValueJet – upon which much of its output is printed.  The costs of OEM inks were continually rising and TJ’s was no longer able to rely on the next day delivery service from their supplier - despite putting the order in well before the cut-off time.

They had started to consider alternatives when they received a timely call from Sean Taylor, Consumables Specialist at Granthams.  Steve Irwin, Print Manager, at TJ’s comments, “We got chatting about various materials Grathams could supply us with, but became really interested when Sean said he could cut our ink costs by 50%.  We had heard all the horror stories regarding third party inks, but Sean assured us that there would be no problems with the changeover to Colorific.”

Granthams, established over 100 years ago, is a leading dealer in sign and display products.  It is one of Colorific’s resale partners.  Colorific offers one of the most comprehensive ranges of high quality mix and match, bio, eco- and full-solvent and UV inks, specifically developed for current wide format digital printers.  Colorific’s philosophy is simple:  for any given printer and application, it sources – from a channel of respected international ink manufacturers – ink solutions that are fully tested and proven in the field, with a track record of reliable and trouble-free performance.  Sold through its reliable network of resellers, including Granthams, Colorific-branded inks deliver uncompromised quality combined with outstanding customer service – all at an affordable price.

Granthams recommended that TJ’s switched to Colorific Pro VJ ink – a product specifically developed for the ValueJet line.  As Steve Irwin explains, “The Colorific Pro VJ inks were literally ‘plug and play’.  They intermixed with the OEM inks and didn’t require any flushing or special measures to get them working – the changeover was painless.”

The ink changeover was TJ’s Visual Solutions first experience of working with Granthams.  Steve comments, “They haven’t disappointed us.  We really value dealing with a company which has knowledgeable people at the other end of the phone.  They want to build a long-term working relationship with us rather than just focus on the quick sale.”

Steve Irwin summarises, “We would definitely recommend the transition to Colorific ink to other organisations.  We always thought that the OEM inks we purchased were expensive, and although we were initially hesitant to make the transition, we’re really glad we have.  The cost savings are great and we can rely on next day delivery.  There are probably plenty of similar sized sign shops and printers who are nervous to make the switch from OEM inks to alternate brands, but there’s now really no need to keep paying the over-the-top prices.  We’d read all the horror stories of changeovers gone wrong - days or weeks of downtime, costs of replacement printheads etc – but our transition to Colorific ink has been without a single hitch.  We now believe we are paying a bargain price for a high quality ink and wish we had swapped over ages ago.”

Further information on Colorific inks is available at www.colorificink.com