Production inkjet technology has transformed direct mail, books and transactional printing.

By Erik Cagle

Easing the Apprehension

Uncertainty plays a role in keeping some printers from taking the leap into production inkjet. Concerns about image quality, operating costs, inkjet head replacements and paper are valid issues that any printer should be contemplating during the due diligence process.

To dispel some of the uncertainty, Noel Ward, editor of packagePRINTING magazine, offers these observations and suggestions:

Image quality is at least adequate for most applications that will run on an inkjet press.
Operating costs can vary widely. Rather than relying on vendors’ claims, talk with other printers who have machines similar to the one you’re considering to learn about true operating costs.
The technology is generally solid, works well and is reliable. But, as with any press, thorough training and ongoing learning is required to get the best results.
Head replacement is usually a top-of-mind concern, but in fact heads seem to be outlasting even vendor expectations. Again, tap other printers to get a real-world read on head life. And don’t be afraid to see what kind of agreement can be crafted with the vendor. Heads aren’t cheap, so you must have a clear understanding of costs and service requirements.
Using the right paper is critical with inkjet presses. Testing is urgently required here—preferably in your own print environment.

Though direct mail, books and transactional work seem to be the holy trinity of the production inkjet digital printing church, there are murmurs of a fertile ground beyond the big three that will open the door for commercial printing, package printing and beyond.

Unlike the onset of the digital printing revolution of the mid-1990s, when the market for such machines was undeveloped, this current trend toward continuous-feed and cutsheet inkjet press adoption is unmistakable. And, depending on your vantage point, production inkjet has yet to peak; were it a winter nor'easter, many would say the eye of the storm has not yet arrived.

InfoTrends Founder Charlie Pesko has heard from printers who have found applications outside of the book/direct mail/transactional range of items, while other areas such as newspapers and packaging have also reported some success.

The beauty of production inkjet in comparison to its toner-based cousin is that it operates at much higher speeds, notes Pesko. Maintaining those speeds on the back end, though, is the challenge. Setting up in-line or near-line tools—cutters, folders, stitchers, etc.—in a configuration that keeps operator intervention to a minimum can enhance productivity, shorten turnaround time and yield lower operating costs than traditional offset printing.

"The feeding and finishing aspects cannot be overlooked," Pesko stresses.

The greatest change has come with the expansion of inkjet paper weights and sizes, says Pesko. This has enhanced the number of products and applications available.

"With the sheetfed products, they can start to handle the heavy weights and some of the packaging elements," Pesko notes. "We can start to seriously look at packaging applications that exist now."

As to how inkjet digital printing will impact the commercial printing marketplace, Jim Hamilton—who, as group director for InfoTrends, is responsible for production consulting—feels that inkjet technology really stepped out into the spotlight during 2013. All the major worldwide shows—PRINT 13, FESPA, PrintPack India, China Print, Labelexpo, Pack Expo and SGIA—boasted a prominent inkjet flavor.

"The range of jetted materials and substrates is staggering," Hamilton proclaims. "Digital print technologies are commonly used on paper and to some extent plastics, but the use of inkjet for printing on foil, metal, ceramics, textiles, wood and glass are all on the rise. It's no surprise, then, that many of the production digital print announcements of 2013 focused on non-document applications like ceramics, labels, flexible packaging, folding cartons and corrugated boxes. In fact, one of the most exciting 3D print applications is in creating prototypes for use in package design. This helps manufacturers get products to market sooner and drives economic opportunity."

Wide-format Inkjet Advances

Hamilton also points out that inkjet printing has made "huge inroads" in indoor and outdoor wide-format graphics, label printing and color document printing. He is especially excited about wide-format inkjet, which offers printers the chance to capture more of the client's marketing budget with numerous applications and a range of product capabilities.

On the package printing end, Hamilton sees potential in up-and-coming B2-format cutsheet inkjet solutions, though other technologies (such as liquid toner) could also challenge inkjet for high-coverage work.

While there are certainly bumps on the road to widespread production inkjet adoption, a large percentage of capital investments during the last 12 to 18 months have centered around digital devices, and inkjet in particular. Noel Ward, editor of packagePRINTING magazine, feels that justifying the purchase of a high-speed inkjet system hinges on a printer being able to fill at least 50 percent of the machine's monthly duty cycle on day one—and reach 75 percent capacity within six to nine months.

"Given the monthly nut attached to the investment a big inkjet press requires, the jobs have to be lined up ahead of time, ready to go, or the press can become an enormous drag on cash flow," he observes.

Quality Considerations

Image quality of jobs run on today's inkjet presses is at least adequate for most applications. Improvements in the inks and papers used have driven these quality improvements and made it possible for production inkjet to make serious inroads into commercial work.

Mary Schilling, vice president of technical operations at Schilling InkJet Consulting, sees a number of paper-related issues that should be analyzed in the production inkjet arena. They include:

• Whiteness and brightness. Aqueous fluid dries by absorption, so the colorant, pigment or dye—whether using a coated or uncoated sheet—is entering the paper fibers and taking on the paper color. A whiter, brighter sheet is going to make the colors pop and look clean when the ink is introduced. A paper with a more yellow tint, then, will impact the inkjet colorant. On untreated paper it will become magnified, as there's nothing to keep the colorant on the surface.

• Paper porosity. Paper porosity is a concern in the offset process, but is a larger, critical factor in inkjet printing. Excess porosity in a sheet will cause the ink to dive down and through the paper, thus allowing the print to "show through" the paper.

• Paper weight. This correlates with the graphics being printed. When printing heavy coverage (30 percent and up for inkjet), a thin sheet is not going to accommodate as much ink. The ink will dive and the user will fail to garner the necessary build required for image and color quality.

Better Paper = Better Performance

"It boggles my mind that people invest $2 million to $6 million on a piece of high-speed aqueous inkjet equipment and then choose the cheapest paper they can find," Schilling observes. "It's like using low-grade gasoline in a Lamborghini; you're not going to get the performance you're looking for. In aqueous inkjet, a poor, uncoated, opaque or offset paper will not provide the surface required for good image and color quality.

"That's why offset printers are still hesitant with aqueous inkjet," she continues. "Traditional offset is accustomed to the paper costs and print quality that they currently have today. They wish to use the offset paper currently on the floor in their shop. High-speed aqueous inkjet requires a paper designed for the inkjet fluid, which is a higher-cost sheet than they currently use. Using regular offset paper does not produce the image quality needed to compete with offset. But it can be if they use the proper paper."

Schilling feels the most important factor is ink/fluid control. Use a thin paper with poor porosity, and the ink will dive in and saturate the paper. Then, when it's dried quickly, it will resemble "a sweater that came out of the dryer," riddled with paper cockle, show through and possibly some offsetting.

Among other considerations, Schilling sees the importance of designing the artwork to the type of ink and paper that's being used. Oftentimes, she notes, the designer will develop a project without having any input into what type of paper is used. A modified paper profile may be necessary for jobs requiring higher coverage and large image areas and color blocks used for full bleeds.

"Designers need to fully understand the high-speed inkjet process, the impact of ink and paper, as well as how it is being finished before the creative process starts. If designers understand the process, they will be able to manipulate the elements to achieve the creative look required. The designers have to be involved in the whole process."

The Book Sector

Production inkjet has fast become the book printing sector's best friend. The popular notion (a misconception) is that the printing of books is waning due to the emergence of e-books. In reality the electronic tome only accounts for 20-30 percent of publisher revenue. It is the long-run offset jobs that are actually taking a beating. Many of the larger U.S. book printers have invested heavily in high-speed inkjet presses.

Self-publishing is a driver of the short-run market, notes Marco Boer, vice president of I.T. Strategies and conference chair of the 2014 Inkjet Summit. Their hard copy run lengths number in the 200-300 range, which is in the production inkjet wheelhouse. It has also spawned a small group of non-traditional book manufacturers addressing the short-run needs of self-publishers. Sheetfed inkjet is the prime candidate to take care of a print run of a scant few copies.

Volume is the name of the game, and I.T. Strategies' research indicates that five million pages per month is the tipping point for production inkjet justification. From the book perspective, filling capacity can be hit and miss for seasonal work like educational printing, which goes dry during the first quarter of the calendar year.

What about quality? Well, a coffee-table book may require offset printing but, on the whole, Boer notes there is a greater level of acceptance than we might have witnessed 10 or 20 years ago.

"The [gap] between having the best in class and the average...is really not as big as it used to be," he contends. "I'm not saying that the quality of printing will go down, but we don't need it to be at the highest levels that we've always assumed we had to be at either."IPG

Inkjet Summit Returns

Given the overwhelming success of its inaugural performance last year, the Inkjet Summit is back next month with an expanded market segment focus and a larger pool of invitees.

The second annual Inkjet Summit will take place April 7-9 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The invitation-only event is aimed at senior managers and business executives from in-plants and printing companies looking to develop strategies, understand their options and make major investment decisions in the production inkjet digital printing space.

Qualified attendees will be treated to an all-expenses-paid experience where they will hear from the industry’s top experts in the inkjet printing space. The tightly crafted conference program mixes unbiased market information, education and peer-to-peer networking opportunities through keynote sessions, workshops and user panels featuring printers who have already invested in production inkjet printers. In addition, market segment-focused breakout sessions will cover book, direct mail, commercial and transactional printing applications.

Learn more about the Inkjet Summit at www.ijsummit.com.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 All

0 Comments

View Comments

Erik Cagle Author's page

The Possibilities of Production Inkjet