Ink

Mimaki SS21 inks now available in 2 litre sacks – creating financial and environmental benefits.

Mimaki’s exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland, Hybrid Services Ltd, is pleased to announce new, more environmentally friendly and financially attractive 2 litre ink sacks for the popular Mimaki SS21 outdoor inks. These run in Mimaki’s MBIS (Mimaki Bulk Ink System) – an option for use with Mimaki’s JV33 and JV5 printer range – and provide 16 litres of onboard ink for ultra long print runs. Currently available in 440cc cartridges – which themselves form an integral part of Hybrid’s successful Let's Do More rebate linked recycling scheme, the introduction of the 2 litre ink sacks tackle the environmental issues that are commonly linked to plastic cartridges.

The 2 litre ink sacks offer an 18% saving over the 440cc cartridges, and require Mimaki’s MBIS to run with. Payback on the MBIS unit on even a JV33 can be easily achieved within 3 months of printing – with many thousands of pounds of extra savings made for the remainder of the first year alone! Savings when used with a Mimaki JV5 are achieved significantly faster and the whole system offers excellent value all round. The MBIS features auto switching between sacks and delivers the ink in a highly precise manner – ensuring the ultimate in print quality and head control.

Hybrid’s national sales manager, John de la Roche said of the inks’ introduction; “As Mimaki’s printers get more and more productive, the desire to hold larger volumes of ink on board grows. With the 2 litre sacks, we’ve answered that request, and added a substantial cost saving into the mix too.”

“Shipping the ink sacks without the plastic outers saves considerably on materials as well as reducing the carbon footprint. We’re pleased to be ticking so many environmental and financial boxes with this product launch.”

The 2 litre, SS21 ink sacks are available via Hybrid’s sign and graphics resellers.

 

INX Digital International Co. today unveiled its bold new look Web site at www.inxdigital.com

The new design unites all of the previous companies, including Triangle, Anteprima and others, that were acquired in the past three years and now operate under the INX Digital corporate umbrella.

Visitors to the Web site will find it to be much more user friendly than the old design.  A series of drop down menus provide a wide gamut of information previously unavailable.  The first menu item, About INX Digital, includes a message from INX Digital President Ken Kisner, in addition to a corporate fact sheet, news and events and sustainability information.

The Global Network section offers information to find a distributor and a separate support area.  OEM and Industrial Applications include resources, support and products, and the Evolve to Digital area offers videos, case studies and downloads.  A separate Alternative Inks products and support area promotes various solvent inks, in addition to UV curable, water-based and laminate products, plus parts and tools and technical support.

"The redesign of our Web site has been a priority for a long time, and I appreciate the support and patience exhibited by our customers," said Susie Mendelssohn, International Marketing Manager for INX Digital.  "We spent countless hours getting feedback from customers and others in the company to determine what we wanted to include.  This was a tireless task and I think the end result speaks for itself."

INX Digital has committed to a long range sustainability plan for nearly 10 years. A special section of the Web site details the company's ongoing efforts and provides a link to www.greeninx.com.  There is also a new section devoted to Company news.

 

 

Mimaki Engineering Co. Ltd has announced that the company will offer a new silver ink for its ES3 ink portfolio of eco-solvent inks for JV33 and CJV30 series of large format printers. Shipment of the new silver ink is expected to commence in October 2010.

 

1. Higher valued print products with a new silver ink

Metallic effects, such as gold or bronze as well as other color shades, can be achieved by combining Mimaki's new silver ink with full color ES3 ink, thus realizing astounding and eye-catching effects on print products. Silver inks enable print service providers to offer higher value to their customer's creative projects.

 

2. Compatibility with standard JV33 and CJV30 large format printers

Existing Mimaki's standard printers such as JV33 and CJV30*1 are compatible with the new silver ink. It is not necessary to acquire additional devices or equipment. Just by switching to ES3 ink and updating the firmware and the RIP software, Mimaki’s silver ink can be used.

 

3. Mimaki's proven RIP software RasterLinkPro5 for simplified output

Printing with silver ink requires no special knowledge or technical skills. Users can just choose the appropriate color from the metallic color library in RasterLinkPro5 and print their jobs with silver ink. In addition, RasterLinkPro5 enables output of all shades of metallic colors by calling up the feature chart for silver ink. Users can also devise their own or the appropriate customers' colors and metallic shades.

 

White ink availability

At the same time as silver ink is released, Mimaki will introduce and begin shipment of its new ES3 white ink. The new white ink is especially good for prints on transparent and colored substrates, which benefit greatly from white under print as colors will become more vivid and spectacular effects can be achieved.

 

Van Son Holland Ink Corporation, a leading global manufacturer of high performance printing inks for offset presses, today announced a key shift in the roles and responsibilities of three senior management staff members to prepare for future growth.

Effective immediately, former Van Son North American President Joe Bendowski has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer where he will oversee and direct all operations of the company with a particular focus on business development.

"Along with the President, I will develop and manage our strategic plan to advance the company's mission and promote profitability and future growth," Bendowski said. Bendowski will also maintain his seat on the board of directors for the entire Van Son Group of Companies worldwide to help seek new business opportunities for the potential expansion of the global organization.

To fill Joe Bendowski's position, Van Son has promoted former Vice President of Sales & Marketing, John Sammis, to President. Sammis has a proven track record for advancing position in the commercial sheet?fed printing ink market and will assume the direct leadership of all of the Company's functions with an emphasis on establishing and maintaining client relationships.

Finally, former National Sales Manger John Bendowski will take the helm of Vice President of Sales & Marketing. With an infectious enthusiasm for the ink business, John Bendowski has established a reputation for excellence within the industry. As Vice President of Sales and Marketing, he will be responsible for Van Son's nationwide sales and technical staff. He will also interact with our clients at the mid to executive level in order to reinforce and support Van Son's unique "Direct Through Distribution" network.

"Through this newly created management team we all can be confident that Van Son will continue to enhance its reputation as one of the most admired and respected companies in the Graphic Arts industry." said Joe Bendowski.

"Our goal is to keep evolving," added John Sammis. "So keep an eye on Van Son's new initiatives in the months to come."

The recent FESPA exhibition in Munich saw Ink Technologies (UK) Limited (ITL) showcase its newest alternative inks for wide-format digital technologies for the first time on the international stage. Earlier this year, the British company launched three products, VTV, MS5 True Solvent and i-BiO, all of which provide an innovative and cost-effective alternative for production onto rigid, flexible and textile materials. ITL offered printer owners insight into the versatility, efficiency and colour accuracy of its recent innovations, as well as being keen to share how good management and quality manufacture can combine to benefit all of its customers, both in Europe and further afield.

The company offers dedicated support and service to end users and has engineers based in several locations world-wide, including North America, Australasia and Asia. Its fundamental British quality standards are what attracts a broad international user base to its products and services and explained ITL's decision to brand its FESPA stand with the iconic British telephone box.

"Keeping research and development and quality control processes solely on UK shores has a multitude of advantages," explains Peter Williams, ITL's sales and marketing director. "Not only are we able to ensure the level of classic standards associated with fine British engineering, but there really is no substitute for the enhanced communication that only can be achieved by a tightly knit team which works face-to-face daily. It is this level of understanding which sets ITL apart in an age of outsourcing and ensures our pre-eminence in terms of efficiency, service and skilful production."

The first of ITL's new inks, Versatile Textile and Vinyl (VTV) has been popular since its launch due to its ability to produce results of equal quality on either textile or vinyl substrates, thus eliminating the need to change inks when switching material types. Other popular features include its resilience against fading and the strikingly vivid results and wide gamut produced with its CMYK, orange and green. VTV has proven to be a dependable addition to the solvent inks market due to both the stability of its colours and its potential to decrease costs significantly. In addition, ITL has taken measures to minimise the environmental impact of VTV, making it not only a convenient but also a greener choice for today's display producers as a mild solvent suitable for retail environments and other indoor spaces.

It is sustainability which is central to the second of ITL's innovations, MS5 True Solvent, an ink designed to work in tandem with Mimaki's JV5 printer series. Capable of reducing expenditure whilst maintaining colours consistent with the printers' original CMYKLcLm ink set, the MS5 is also able to withstand the elements, including extensive UV exposure, with an outdoor durability of up to 24 months.

"The MS5 produces rich results across an exhaustive spectrum of colours and is a hardy ink which really does stand the test of time," states Williams. "ITL has also been mindful of convenience when manufacturing this ink, so no cleansing of machines is necessary when swapping cartridges. In addition, companies can rest assured that storing the product on site prior to use will not diminish its effectiveness as it has a shelf-life of up to 18 months."

The third of ITL's options is the new i-BiO, an ink ideal for companies eager to improve their environmental practices. This mild-solvent choice, which is suitable for Mimaki, Mutoh, Roland and Uniform machines using Epson's DX3 or DX4 print-heads, offers all the colour density associated with more traditional inks whilst reducing VOCs and bettering the biodegradability of most mainstream alternatives.

The new ITL trio provides only a glimpse of the variety offered by the company in terms of ink-jet solutions for the wide- and superwide-format printing industries. Its fulsome catalogue boasts solvent inks - including eco- and mild versions - in addition to aqueous and UV-curable inks, all of which are compatible with the majority of widely used ink-jet printer brands.

"As a business committed to delivering first-class goods and robust customer support alongside efficient, reliable British manufacture across the industry internationally, ITL was excited to introduce its full spectrum of products and services to FESPA's visitors at this year's exhibition," continues Williams. "Our visitors were impressed by the results that can be achieved with ITL products, the delivery options and their lack of expense at a time when all companies are trying to keep their costs down."

Manufacturer and supplier of alternative digital inks, ITL (Ink Technologies (UK) Ltd) was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Cheshire, in the north of England. All manufacturing and product development takes places in the UK only and the company achieved the BS EN ISO 9001:2000 standard in 2006, upgraded to ISO 9001:2008 in early 2009. Its products span a multitude of applications, including eco- and full-solvent, aqueous-based, UV-curable and industrial coding and marking inks.

 

Cheshire-based company Ink Technologies (UK) Ltd (ITL) is reinforcing its continuing expansion with the appointment of Stephen Wright to the role of customer service executive. Having joined the company in April 2010, Wright will support and build upon ITL's commitment to keeping customer requirements and opinions at the forefront of its approach to the development and supply of high-quality alternative printing inks for small-, wide- and large-format production.

Wright brings his expertise in service and support to ITL and will build on the existing customer-focused mentality that exists within the company. "This is an exciting opportunity to develop customer service within a British business which has a positive approach to its market," enthuses Wright. "ITL has shown steady growth and a progressive ethos which extends across the company. This is evident not just from the expansion of the service team but also from its commitment to improving its environmental stance."

Wright is keen to implement a structured approach to improving customer experience by contacting key accounts and assessing and implementing their responses and recommendations. This will ensure that each customer receives a personalised service built directly around their requirements. "Customer service should be an organic process whereby the individual business calls for something and the provider responds appropriately to cater to the market's needs," he explains. "ITL has always understood this and I plan to further this approach in my new position."

Before his move to ITL, Wright's most recent role was to maintain the customer service portion of UK operations for chemicals company Lord Corporation Europe, based in Trafford Park, Greater Manchester, as it transferred operations to German and other European bases. "I am delighted to become part of a dynamic company which is committed to retaining and developing its manufacturing base from headquarters in the UK," Wright says. "ITL's global vision of quality means that it can provide a world-class service across its operations - including those closest to home."

Wright's wealth of experience in customer service operations is considerable and includes some 16 years at the Yellow Pages, and time as a DHL representative embedded at Kelloggs. "Steve has an incredibly strong skill set built over many years of expertise in customer service," explains Peter Williams, ITL's sales and marketing director. "I have no doubt this knowledge will transfer smoothly into the digital ink industry, complementing ITL's commitment to its customers."Â

As both internal customer service leader and a face for ITL's dedication to its clients, Wright is expanding the company's systems with the implementation of a new customer relationship management system (CRM). This will enable ITL to make service improvement an integral part of the company's operation, instilling regular monitoring of requirements and feedback from clients as regular practice for all employees.

"No two customers are alike," concludes Wright. "I maintain that companies which wish to build a strong client base must understand and respond to this fact - and I believe that ITL is doing just that."

Manufacturer and supplier of alternative small-, wide- and large-format digital ink-jet inks, ITL (Ink Technologies (UK) Ltd) was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Cheshire, in the north of England. All manufacturing and product development takes places in the UK only and the company achieved the BS EN ISO 9001:2000 standard in 2006, upgraded to ISO 9001:2008 in early 2009. Its products span a multitude of applications, including eco- and full-solvent, water-based, UV-curing and coding inks.