Special Report by Abhay Sharma

In August 2008, Fujifilm invited media representatives to Kansas City to understand Fuji’s entry into production inkjet printing. Large format is now replacing traditional screen printing and is poised to snap at the heels of flexo and offset printing; Fujifilm have commandeered resources to ensure their success in this market sector.

Fujifilm corporation has begun a worldwide program to invest in a comprehensive and coordinated program in new technologies. The latest initiative is in the area of large/grand format inkjet printing for signage and other applications previously reserved for screen printing. Fuji has been assembling all the pieces of the puzzle. In recent years the company acquired the Sericol ink maker (Kansas City, MO), the print head company Dimatix (Lebanon, NH), and Avecia, a colorants company (UK and Delaware). It is very useful to have control over the colorants, the formulation and production of the inkjet ink, and manufacture of the inkjet heads. These underlying technologies are brought together –literally- in products such as the Inca range of large format inkjet printers. Fuji has partnered closely with Inca (Cambridge, UK) with whom they have a sole OEM relationship. Fuji has launched a new group called the Integrated Systems Group (ISG), to oversee all this integration and cooperation,. Apple computer is one example where a single manufacturer controls all the components, and we know how solid and reliable Apple computers are, so the prognosis is good for Fuji’s approach to inkjet!