The power of inkjet printing in industrial applications

Agfa Graphics, during InPrint, are positioning themselves as a partner for integrating print into manufacturing. Agfa acts as a key partner and connector to anyone involved in the production flow, helping to integrate printing in a production process. Introducing digital print in manufacturing, contributes to just-in-time delivery and personalized or variable content, in an environment-friendly and sustainable way.

At InPrint 2015, Agfa will put a wide selection of industrial products on display, representing areas in which inks and fluids are used to produce digitally printed industrial products. Whether UV-curable or water-based, Agfa inks deliver the functional requirements for flooring and furniture on melamine base. Thanks to the consistent color and the low metamerism they behave similar to conventional gravure printing. Agfa also shows printed tubes and containers, customized shoes and personalized PET bottles, using its award winning patented low-migration inks, offering unique image quality and substrate adhesion for food packaging applications.

Agfa Graphics has a history as complete solutions provider in the graphics industry, also offering a portfolio of chemical consumables. They develop a wide variety of fluids including inkjet inks, primers and coatings. These inks are certified for many applications as diverse as product printing, packaging and interior decoration for example.

The list of applications for industrial inkjet is growing day by day across a wide variety of industries. This can involve Agfa Graphics’ state-of-the-art wide-format printers like Jeti Titan, Jeti Tauro, Jeti Mira or the Anapurna systems. In other industrial markets there may be a need for specific printing equipment that needs to be custom-designed—all enriched with targeted ink formulations to match specific application needs.

“Industrial customers enjoy the competitive advantage of having access to a process or solution that their competitors have not even thought about,” says Tom Cloots, Manager Marketing Industrial Inkjet. “Requirements can be quite different. Some inks must be compatible with coatings designed by the substrate supplier for instance. We have dedicated research teams to design specific inks or ink sets with the optimal performance. Case by case we decide to collaborate with a number of companies to integrate print in a specific industrial process.”