We all got used to the idea that when you buy a printer you actually putting yourself into rat race of endless cartridge replacement. You can get a printer almost at no cost upfront, but pay pretty money for the ink later on.

The Japaniese printer manufacturer, Epson, some time ago started to change the paradigm by selling printer with long lasting in cartridges. Now it has went even further: the company introuced a printer that can run without needing to refill for two whole years!
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It’s hard to believe how expensive it was recently for commercial printers to produce high-quality output on the offset coated paper! Inside of just printing, one needed to pre-or-post coat ordinary paper or to purchase specialty inkjet coated paper. But now with the introduction of the new Xerox High Fusion Ink the problem will be eliminated. This ink possesses special formula allowing to optimize printing and drying on offset coated media including matte, silk and even glass stock from 60 to 250 gsm (and it also works with a range of uncoated media).

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Good news for the Instagram account owners and those people who prefer printing professional-grade photos at home. Global technology producer of digital printing systems—Epson—has launched ultra-powerful and robust printing/scanning solution with a range of productivity features geared towards photo enthusiasts, hobbyists and home office users.

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Recently, Ricoh has launched two new fabric printers providing advanced functionality for faster, easier and more flexible apparel printing. The RICOH Ri 3000 / Ri 6000 allow to start printing a pattern on a cloth in two clicks thanks to intuitive software and to do it very quickly thanks to 27 seconds print speeds. Moreover, they are Direct to Garment (DTG) gadgets meaning that they are specially designed to print on ready-made clothes and things like shirts, socks, canvas grocery bags, and they even can produce metallic foil applications. (more…)

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EFI™ is one of the world leaders in client-oriented digital printing innovation and it is its VUTEk® GS3250LXr Pro LED printer running SuperFlex Ink, on the base of which Orbus Exhibit & Display Group has developed more productive, qualified fabric-printing capabilities for the growing “soft signage” market.

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HP earlier this week announced breakthroughs in printer ink, printer toner, and media technologies that allow customers to get color printing quality comparable to offset printing.

The list of the HP’s breakouts includes:

• ColorSphere Toner
• Dual Drop Volume Technology
• Enhanced ‘Low Melt’ Monochrome Toner
• ColorLok Media
• XL Inkjet Print Cartridges
• Simple Black range of cartridges
• Dual Pack LaserJet Cartridges

Now let us see what is what and who is who. (more…)

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Printing is still an important part of any business, regardless the natural for business desire to slash the costs by printing less. Printing is still not a technology “green” enough for the adepts of paperless office, but it has greatly improved in recent years.

For instance, Xerox, apart from the laser and inkjet printer printers, has been actively promoting its solid ink technology as more “environmentally-friendly” with a “reduced carbon footprint.”

Actually, the mother of solid ink technology was in 1991 the Tektronix that developed it as a printing technology for office use. 9 years later, in 2000, Xerox acquired the Tektronix and added it as a brand line together with other lines of its printing products.

So, here is what you may want to know about solid inks. (more…)

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Here is another device from the family of “The World’s Mosts and Firsts”. This is a wide-format Solara ion inkjet printer by Gerber.

The printer can print on virtually any surface that is up 64 inches wide and up to 1 inch thick! When it comes to printing speed, the device covers up to 639 square feet per hour at a resolution of up to 1440 dpi on rigid and rollable media. Gerber Solara ion printer makes printouts that can last up to 3 years outdoors without lamination.

So, what actually make this printer world’s first? Of course, it’s the technologies behind it.

Solara ion printer is the first to use GerberCAT cationic inks that dry instantly and are ready to use right after printing. Besides, these inks feature unmatched adhesion on materials problematic for other ink jet printers such as textiles or even glass.

Next is Cold Fire Cure technology that allows printing on wider range of heat sensitive media such as plastic, vinyl, fabric, and paper based materials. Needless to say, the technology produces no volatile organic compounds, no odors, and no environmental ozone.

As you can see, this is no ordinary device you would buy home. Gerber says that the device is targeted at printing applications such as billboards, fleet graphics or vehicle wraps.

Up to date, there is no any exact information on the price of this printer. Gerber, however, mentioned that the Solara ion offers better performance than any other such printer on the market today for under $150,000.

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At an event on March 10, 2008 in Tel Aviv, Hewlett-Packard offered a peek into future printing technologies, introducing a new inkjet printer that prints thousands of pages per minute and ink that retains its shine even when exposed to extreme elements.

HP’s water-based Latex Ink is specially formulated to embed in a surface and become part of a media print, said Stephen Nigro, senior vice president of HP’s graphics and imaging business. HP’s Latex Ink can withstand snow and rain and is useful for large-format media used on billboards and outdoor signs.

The company also launched the Inkjet Web Press printer, which can print up to 2,600 A4-sized color pages a minute at a cost of under US$0.01 per color page, Nigro said.

The Latex Ink includes a specially created formula, called latex polymer, that provides the print surface its durability and color, according to HP. Water-based ink ejected carries the latex polymer and pigment particles to the surface. The inks are 70 percent water and 30 percent of additives and other inks, HP said. The ink was developed by HP and HP Labs.

Unlaminated outdoor displays using the ink can last up to three years, while unlaminated in-window displays can last up to five years.

The printer cartridge uses recyclable material and the company has developed new recyclable substrates for the ink to make printing environmentally friendly, HP said. Other printing technology for large-format media include UV (ultraviolet) curable ink, which interacts with an ultraviolet light source to create a print.

HP also showed the Inkjet Web Press, a printer that prints up to 2,600 A4-sized color pages a minute. The printer will be able to print on pages up to 30 inches (76.2 centimeters) wide, Nigro said. It is targeted at replacing the printed pages coming from traditional offset presses.

A printing job with a traditional offset press takes hours and it’s not possible to print on demand. With a traditional offset press, a machine first creates a physical plate with the image etched on it, which is then sent to print. With the Inkjet Web Press platform, hitting the print button sends the image directly to a printer, making high-volume printing more productive by eliminating analog elements like a plate, Nigro said.

The printer is built around the Scalable Printing Technology (SPT) platform, which improves the quality of prints by spraying more ink on pages using thousands of nozzles on a single printhead. SPT is already in use on printers like HP’s Photosmart, Nigro said. HP introduced the Photosmart Minilab ml1000 inkjet printer earlier this year, which can print 4-by-6-inch photos as fast as 1,500 prints per hour.

Via www.cio.com

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…an attendee approached me with a question I’ve been asked a hundred times before. “Are these water-based inks or pigment inks?” I gave my usual response, “Well, both—actually,” then launched into an explanation about ink formulation theory, the history of inkjet printing, and the correct application for ink types. He proceeded to tell me I was wrong because someone at a printer manufacturer’s booth had just told him the opposite.

This is a beginning of a great article titled “Debunking the Myths of Digital Inks” by Tony Martin for Digital Photo Techniques magazine. I recommend everyone who interested in printing technologies and every inkjet printer user reading this article.

To answer the question in the title, I’ll allow myself to quote Tony Martin once again:

“The difference between a dye and a pimgent is simple to explain. A dye is a colorant that is fully dissolved into the carrier fluid, and the resultant ink is a true solution (Figure 2a). Once dissolved into the carrier fluid, a well-made dye should never separate or settle out. One dye ink analogy is that it’s like diluting a fruit juice with water. Once stirred, it never separates again—no matter how long you leave it. A pigment is a very fine powder of solid colorant particles suspended or dispersed throughout the carrier fluid (Figure 2b). A crude analogy for a pigment ink is that it resembles sandy-colored water in a river or at sea. If you look closely, you can see the particles of sand dispersed throughout the water.”

How exactly this difference affect image quality and work of inkjet printer in general you will learn from the acrticle.

Also, from “Debunking the Myths of Digital Inks” (PDF format, 135 Kb) will tell you:

• what the Golden Rule of inkjet printing is and how it helps with printer clogging
• why 100-years expected image life does not really matter
• whether use of third-party inks is going to void your printer’s warranty
• when you should use bulk ink feeders

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