The Compatibilty Quest
Ploughing tens of thousands of pounds into a printer is all well and good, but if the materials you are working with are not up to task, then you will almost certainly not be getting the most out of your equipment.
The good news for print service providers (PSPs) is that there is a huge array of inks available to them. OEM (original equipment manufacturer) inks can be supplied directly by the manufacturer while third-party inks come in from other providers, with each range covering everything from solvent and eco-solvent to UV and latex.
Here, Print Monthly takes a closer look at some of the latest options in OEM and third-party inks and finds out more about the products proving most popular with companies across the UK market.
Compatibility Is Essential
First up is Nazdar Ink Technologies, which, based in Kansas in the US, provides a wide range of ink products to customers around the world. Its portfolio includes digital inkjet, screen, and narrow web printing inks and chemical products, with each of these going through an intense development and testing process to ensure they offer print companies a reliable solution.
Nazdar offers a wide range of ink products across digital inkjet, screen, and narrow web printing
Bruce Ridge, director of technical service at Nazdar, says quality is most likely assumed when buying inks from most manufacturers and is very difficult to quantify until you have an actual product problem. He explains that among the core challenge for printers is the availability of ink products, given the shortages we experienced in the last couple of years.
Ridge also picks out compatibility as a key consideration for printers and the question of whether your inks will work well with your printer. He explains: “If we are talking about inkjet inks, compatibility is essential due to the damage incompatible inks may cause to your printer. This is not as critical for screen or flexo printers.
“When it comes to determining an ink type once you have decided which ink manufacturer to use, I would recommend using the SAFE criteria which determines which ink to use in this order: substrate, applications, finishing, and end-use. Then after all that, pricing would be the next consideration.”
I would recommend using the SAFE criteria to determine which ink to use in this order: substrate, applications, finishing, and end-use”
As to how to go about identifying reliable ink products that you can depend on, Ridge says one way of doing this is considering the warranty on offer from the manufacturer. Using inkjet as an example, he says print companies in this area should be looking to an ink manufacturer with a comprehensive ink warranty that outlines what to expect in support, should a product failure require machine service or repairs.
This, he explains, can be evaluated prior to switching inks in warranty documents provided to support the inks, adding that any established ink manufacturer should provide prompt comprehensive technical support.
“Ink manufacturers design inks around specific market requirements,” Ridge says, adding: “Those market requirements almost always dictate the raw materials used in the inks to achieve certain end-use functions such as flexibility, durability, and chemical resistance. These factors will affect the costs of the inks.
“High-cost end-use products will require the use of high-cost, high-quality inks. Supply chain issues and availability are not usually related to the quality of an ink. Printhead issues associated with an ink is usually a quality-related issue and needs to be carefully considered when changing from and to OEM ink. Third-party ink manufacturers like Nazdar demonstrate the support of their products with an Inkjet warranty programme.
“Nazdar has a history of industry leadership beginning with the introduction of the first commercial screen printing ink in 1922 and continuing to develop quality inks for the screen, inkjet, and flexo printing processes. This goes beyond the manufacturing of quality products to include a long history of providing product support, innovation, and industry association education.”
A Key Element
Elsewhere and another diversified supplier is Pulse Roll Label Products, which offers a range of ink, varnish, and coating solutions for the global label and packaging printing industry. Gary Seward, managing director at Pulse Roll Label Products, describes ink as the key element that transforms labels and packaging into a visually appealing sales tool. As such, printers need to select their ink carefully.
Gary Seward, managing director at Pulse Roll Label Products
“An ink’s formulation plays a key part in achieving consistent, high-quality printing,” Seward explains, adding: “But more than this, a company’s choice of ink can make or break its operational efficiency.
“Conscious choices around ink can lead to improved press setup, operation, and changeovers. Modern ink technology facilitates ground-breaking print processes that can increase throughput and reduce waste, with the end result of improving a printer’s profit margin. Overlooking the benefits of good ink selection can lead to these benefits being missed, and in today’s flexo market, every advantage matters if businesses want to stay competitive.”
Seward says there are too many examples of print companies prioritising cheaper inks at the expense of their overall efficiency. He explains that rather than being dazzled by low price per kilo ratios and using various aniloxes to achieve print results, printers should instead ask how an ink can streamline their operations.
“Most printers see the value of investing in high-quality presses,” Seward says, continuing: “However, many still skimp on their choice of ink. This can be compared to using cheap tyres on a new car; put simply, they are wasting the potential returns of their state-of-the-art equipment and missing out on significant time and cost savings.”
Seward goes on to say that lower-quality inks are often weaker or less well-balanced, meaning that when used for spot colours, they require multiple anilox changeovers to achieve the desired colour target. He says their strength is simply insufficient to achieve right-first-time colour performance, which in turn leads to downtime, waste, and potential variability.
“Companies miss out on the opportunity to eliminate the need for anilox changeovers and enable the printing of half and full tones using just one plate, attracting significant cost benefits to the operation,” he says.
Quality inks, Seward outlines, are those that unlock new efficiencies on existing equipment and maximise productivity by reducing press downtime, minimising ink spend, and increasing consistency.
“The solution lies in choosing an ink range with high strength, single pigment formulation, that offers low film weights and higher definition printing,” Seward says, adding: “Such inks let printers generate the entire colour gamut with just a single anilox and adopt a straightforward approach to colour reproduction, maximising throughput.”
As to how Pulse Roll Label Products can help, Seward picks out a number of solutions that are proving popular with its customers. These include PureTone, which has been designed to be both strong and balanced enough to support the Monolox Fixed Anilox Printing system – the combination of PureTone inks, the Pulse mixing database, and a single anilox.
“Due to their high strength, single-pigment formulation, PureTone inks enable the production of Pantone shades across all presses using a single anilox,” he says, adding: “Using this system, printers benefit from reduced variables and errors, and improved uptime, as well as being able to print solid, text, and tone from a single plate.
The latest innovations for label and packaging printers come in the form of a dual-cure UV LED ink addition, PureTone DC. Designed to support converters in transitioning from UV to UV LED curing at a pace that suits them, Seward says PureTone DC helps printers avoid costly ink management complexity during conversion while matching the strength of the existing PureTone range.
The Green Choice
Switching over to the OEM side of the market and HP offers a wide range of its own inks for use on HP printers. Focusing on one ink type in particular, one range that has seen a lot of interest in recent years is the HP Latex collection of inks. These water-based inks offer users a more environmentally friendly option than other inks as they produce less volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when compared to solvent, eco-solvent, and UV ink products.
In a world where customers are demanding a more sustainable service from their printing partners, HP says the use of inks like this could give print companies an advantage in the market – both in terms of output quality and environmental impact.
HP Latex inks are available in a white option
“Original HP inks are designed together with HP Latex printers to produce consistent results,” HP says, adding: “With reliable performance, you can minimise waste and downtime. While non-HP inks may cost less per litre, they can cause frequent printhead replacement, unsellable prints, and increased printer downtime and maintenance.
“Printers can sharpen the quality of any rigid substrate with the strong, vibrant colour gamut of HP Latex inks, and a thin ink layer preserving the media’s gloss feel. Use original HP Latex inks to maximise the life of HP printheads and ensure HP warranty protection.
“In addition to delivering outstanding image quality, consistency, and durability, our latest generation of HP Latex inks offer an attractive environmental profile to both print service providers and customers.”
These environmental benefits include being able to reach sensitive indoor spaces such as healthcare. The water-based HP Latex ink prints are odourless and low-emitting, meeting UL Greenguard Gold certification.
HP says these inks also make safe operations easier as they do not require hazard warning labels, while they meet stringent health and environmental criteria. Add in that they can be printed onto a wide range of eco-conscious media choices, and deliver prints that are recyclable, returnable, or non-hazardous and safe for disposal, and HP says this will open new doors for users.
“Not only do HP Latex printers deliver outstanding results on a wide range of media, but the original water-based HP Latex inks can add value to differentiate your business and help your customers meet their sustainability goals,” HP says.
From speaking to suppliers and manufacturers here, it is pretty clear that there are plenty of good options across both OEM and third-party inks. The key message is to ensure the inks you are working with are reliable and compatible with your machines in order to get the best results and keep the customer happy.
Your text here...
