Solving the problem
Visual consistency from panel to panel is important for indoor wall murals.
Newer formulations for solvent-based inks have addressed these drawbacks by significantly reducing the amount of time required for off-gassing and curing, thus minimizing the business impact of this necessary step in the process between printing and finishing. When a graphic can dry in just six hours, after all, this makes same-day lamination possible
for solvent-based inkjet graphics, which is a substantial advancement for the industry and avoids the risks of rushing the process.
These new formulations deliver all of the same benefits as traditional solvent-based inks, including high image quality, robust durability and broad media compatibility, while drastically improving productivity
for PSPs and sign shops and, as a result, supporting the following trends.
Thinking small
By helping improve production speeds, today’s solvent-based inks have better-positioned wide-format inkjet printers to handle smaller-format jobs, such as stickers and magnets, allowing sign and graphic shops to expand their product offerings. Indeed, output that was traditionally handled with smaller printers can now be handled more efficiently by using larger presses.
The strong colour gamut, accuracy, ink density and brightness of solvent inkjet printing all work together to prevent graphics from looking as ‘flat’ as they can with other print methods. And even the smallest of text and finest of details can be printed clearly and legibly for promotional stickers and magnetized rolls, even for long print runs, thanks to advances in thin-film piezoelectric (TFP) printheads and variable droplet sizes.
Further, solvent inkjet technology offers direct-to-substrate printing, with no need to transfer the graphics afterwards, thus speeding up production beyond the time savings of quicker off-gassing.
Going big
Precise colour reproduction and image accuracy are not just desirable for small-format prints, of course. Providing consistency from graphic panel to graphic panel is key when brand marketers seek to incorporate wall murals and other large-scale images into their facilities. And reductions in solvent off-gassing time play a significant role in such projects.
When preparing a multi-panel application, any individual panel that is laminated too quickly, i.e. without proper off-gassing, will be softer than the others and, thus more prone to unwanted stretching and distortion when the installer is mounting it into place. This makes it much trickier to align the panels accurately side-by-side.
Another problem that can arise from insufficient off-gassing is overly aggressive adhesion, which in turn can make it much more difficult for an installer to reposition a graphic panel, should any on-site adjustments be needed.
Such issues can have a direct, negative impact on a PSP, as reprinted and reinstalled graphics may be needed to ensure high-quality results for the client. The reduced drying times of newer solvent-based inks avoid this risk. The quicker the graphics can be effectively laminated, the sooner they can be sent out for proper installation, speeding up the entire workflow and providing the turnarounds demanded by today’s clients.
Getting finer
A faster in-house workflow can also free up PSPs to take on additional types of jobs as new revenue streams. One example is expanding into the world of fine art reproduction, a marketplace where solvent-based inkjet printing can yield significant cost savings over traditionally dominant aqueous printing technologies.
These comparatively low costs are facilitated by the combination of high output and reduced curing time, enabling more efficient mass production of fine art. Same-day lamination is still a part of the overall process, as it is used to enhance the images’ sharpness, colour saturation and contrast levels.
Indeed, a PSP of any size can now offer fine art reproduction services at photographic quality and with quick turnarounds. These capabilities are revolutionizing the market for such work.
With files from Epson Canada, which supplies solvent-based inkjet printers. For more information, visit www.epson.ca/solvent.
