14 Dec 2024

Mimaki introduces new silver ink for JV33 and CJV30 series

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 makes key shifts in senior management

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."

Fujifilm's polypropylene removable wall graphic film offers green solution to printers

 

FUJIFILM North America Corporation is continuing to put its customers 'in control' with a polypropylene wall graphic film that is part of a full selection of Fujifilm wide format UV and solvent roll media from the Graphic Systems Division's comprehensive print solutions portfolio. Ideal for the production of retail graphics, the PVC-free media provides printers with a recyclable backdrop that meets print buyers increasing demands for solutions that are less harmful to the environment.

Fujifilm's polypropylene wall graphic film is proven to outperform PVC-based wall graphics because it doesn't shrink, and offers easy installation and repositioning, using only a mild adhesive to eliminate surface damage when removed. The media was developed to provide optimal whiteness for excellent color and print quality, a characteristic of all the products in Fujifilm's family of wide format media, and includes a heavier liner for improved handling during printing.

"PVC film inherently shrinks and, to overcome this issue, large amounts of aggressive adhesives are required," said Terry Amerine, segment manager, Graphic Systems Division, FUJIFILM North America Corporation. "This makes installation very difficult and can result in damage to the underlying walls. By using polypropylene, shrinkage is no longer a concern and printers can offer their customers a recyclable solution eliminating the problems long associated with removable wall graphic films. As a result, we have seen a tremendous market response to this product."

All of Fujifilm's wide format media undergoes a series of rigorous tests to guarantee optimum performance on print quality, color development, maximum durability and ease-of-use. The media must demonstrate that it is easy to handle, and that it can stand up to the elements, resisting cracking and yellowing.

"Offering our customers wide format media that has met Fujifilm's strict standards of excellence as part of our total solutions package is just one more way we are putting them 'in control'," continued Amerine. "We work diligently to insure that all of our digital components work together and provide proven robust solutions that make our customers more successful."

In addition to its polypropylene wall graphic film, Fujifilm's Graphic Systems Division offers a full line of branded wide format media, including banner material, paper products, canvas, wall graphics, backlit film, perforated adhesive and non-adhesive window film and floor graphic materials.

The Graphic Systems Division of FUJIFILM North America Corporation is a total solutions provider who delivers solutions for workflow, process control, remote monitoring, color standardization, pressroom products, CTP, proofing, digital printing, wide format and more. Fujifilm also manufactures and distributes Sericol inks and is a leader in the development of UV inks for the screen printing, narrow web, and large format digital printing industries.

 

 

ITL flies the flag for British manufacture

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.

 

New Avery MPI 1005 Supercast Films: Partnering Advanced Digital Print Technologies

Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Products division has developed an enhanced  ‘second generation’ range of self-adhesive cast vinyls for wide-format digital print:   Avery MPI 1005 Supercast films.   The company’s ongoing commitment to continuous product enhancement has resulted in a range of products which outperforms its predecessors in terms of print consistency and surface smoothness.

All-round performance

Replacing the established Avery MPI 1005 products, the new Avery MPI 1005 Supercast films are, like their predecessors, supported by the Avery Graphics ICS Performance Guarantee.    As well as the standard Avery MPI Supercast 1005, the new range also includes Avery MPI Supercast Easy Apply RS.   Time-saving Avery Easy Apply RS technology enables graphics application teams to quickly and easily apply and reposition graphics without any unsightly wrinkles or air bubbles.

Fine print results

ICC profiles for the new products are available via the Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Products Division website, ensuring that converters can achieve the desired results on various printing platforms.

The products are being phased in from May onwards, and further details and samples are available from Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Products sales representatives.

Learn online at the Avery Graphics Academy

Signmakers and other graphics converters, graphics applicators, and designers can now expand their knowledge of their craft – online, in their own time, at their own computers.  The Avery Graphics Academy at www.academy.averygraphics.com is a new initiative from Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Products Division that broadens its professional service platform for the self-adhesive graphics industry.

‘How to’ videos and theory modules

The Avery Graphics Academy offers training courses aimed at showing how to achieve the best possible results with self-adhesive graphics of all kinds.   It includes a series of ‘how-to’ videos as well as theory study modules.    Topics covered include material selection for specific tasks; substrate preparation and cleaning;  application techniques (including vehicle wrapping);  and maintenance of applied graphics.   Each module incorporates a test in which students’ knowledge of the topic is assessed, and a ‘passed’ or ‘failed’ result registered.

Register online

Live now in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish, and with additional languages to follow, the Avery Graphics Academy provides everyone involved in the self-adhesive graphics industry with valuable practical insights.

Register at the Avery Graphics Academy at www.academy.averygraphics.com, or for further information about Avery Graphics professional products and services, visit the Avery Dennison Graphics and Reflective Products website, www.europe.averygraphics.com