News & Events

Episode 1: Where Ink and Paper Meet         By Noel Ward, Editor@Large

 

It’s probably no coincidence that adoption of high-speed inkjet printing has been growing right along with the throughput speeds of the presses. But for all they offer, high-speed inkjet systems have typically lacked the ability to handle coated or glossy substrates. Now, thanks to changes in inks and papers, such stocks are speeding beneath the print heads of many inkjet presses. This expands the opportunities for print providers but not without some challenges.

 

Challenges

The first one comes as the ink hits the paper. While glossy or coated surfaces can enhance the visual “pop” of text and images on printed image, their “harder” surface resists ink penetration, limiting dot gain and the extent to which colors can merge. This can impact image quality because unlike offset presses, inkjet systems rely on some ink absorption into the outer layers of paper.

The next challenge is related: lack of absorption also causes drying problems because ink droplets sits on top of the substrate. Inks that aren’t compatible with the surface chemistry of the paper may not dry correctly or can scrap or chip off, so the ink must be dried before finishing takes place. Of course, this is not unique to inkjet presses. Offset prints can seem dry or nearly dry immediately after printing, but most printers still allow offset pages on coated or glossy stocks to dry for a day or two before any finishing takes place.

The difficulty for inkjet press and paper vendors, as well as print providers, is getting around this ink and paper problem so that high-speed inkjet presses can be true alternatives to offset presses. In finding the way around two choices have evolved. First, paper companies—in conjunction with press makers—are developing papers with surface chemistries compatible with inkjet inks. Second, some press makers have ways of treating glossy or coated papers with a “priming fluid” that helps them reliably accept inkjet inks. Of course, these strategies must work at the 400 to 800 feet-per-minute speeds of inkjet presses while ensuring the inks dry without smearing, smudging or offsetting during rewinding or finishing.

That all sounds great and is a bit of vendor-speak at the 30,000-foot view. But what is really happening?

 

The word on the ground

To find out I talked with or visited executives in companies that operate of some of the leading inkjet presses available today, including the Canon i300, HP T-Series, Konica Minolta KM-1, Fuji J-Press, Ricoh VC Pro 60000, Screen 520HD, and Xerox Trivor. The companies were these machines reside run applications ranging from direct mail to publishing to commercial printing, providing customers with offset, toner and inkjet printing, based on application, run length and customer need. The people I spoke with have all been commercial printers for at least a couple of decades and they emphasized one thing: successful print providers must provide toner, inkjet and offset printing if they are to retain business that might otherwise go to a competitor or get a bigger share of a customer’s wallet. In other words, you better have a full range of print technology if you are going to be competitive.

 

Glossy papers change the game

All the printers I talked with agreed that printing on coated or glossy stocks adds a new dimension to inkjet printing, making it more attractive for some applications. Lead among these is direct mail (DM).

For example, one company does a lot of DM work with auto manufacturers. “Glossy stocks make the cars and trucks look much better, which is part of brand identity,” says a Canon i300 owner. “The targeted variable content we add increases the value of the mail piece, but we still need the glossy stock to provide the look and feel our customers want.”

Another, a Ricoh VC Pro 60000 owner, produces a variety of direct mail materials that go to frequent casino patrons. “These have to be on coated stocks because casinos want the ‘bling’ that a glossy or coated stock provides,” he explains. “Our ability to print variable content, use a glossy stock, and turn the jobs quickly makes inkjet the best process.”

Before their inkjet machines arrived both firms preprinted shells on their offset presses and added variable content using monochrome laser printers. Short runs would sometimes be completely printed on a high-end toner press, but customers said the per-piece cost was too high. Now, inkjet presses running glossy or coated stocks are delivering the desired print quality while decreasing cost.

One of print execs I talked with had been on a panel I ran at a conference a few years back. He runs an entirely digital facility that is part of a company that provides all print technologies over multiple locations. His facility prints full-color books and booklets for healthcare and financial services companies, as well as targeted inserts for a variety of publications. Many of these jobs require coated or glossy stocks and are nearly all run on HP T-Series inkjet presses. He noted that the only exceptions are for documents with very high ink coverage, in which case the work is run on a toner press. This prompted me to ask other execs about this and I found that virtually all high ink coverage jobs tend to wind up on toner presses. It comes down to using the best tool for the job.

Running HP T-Series presses, the shop primarily uses various grades from Appleton Papers that are designed for those machines. The company turns to HP’s “bonding agent” for papers not approved (by HP) for the T-Series machines, including some coated stocks, and has not yet migrated to HP’s High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) which is said to deliver higher quality half-tones, color fills and smoother transitions. The shop also hasn’t made the leap to a “priming fluid” specifically intended for glossy papers.

 

 

Episode 2: To Prime or not to Prime? Print providers consider the value of priming fluids to improve ink adhesion on glossy stocks. 

 

The story so far: Inkjet printing on glossy and coated stocks is a Holy Grail of inkjet printing. But like in human relationships, there’s chemistry involved, only here it is the chemistry of inks and the surface of the paper. The technologies are advancing all the time, but for the moment it comes to one question:

 

To Prime or Not to Prime?

The surfaces of glossy or coated stocks are resistant to ink penetration. Inks must sit on the surface instead of being absorbed as happens on an uncoated paper. As noted in Episode 1, this results in two problems: the inks cannot spread into the paper fibers and can have trouble drying quickly, which can result in offsetting or smudging when the paper is rewound onto a take-up reel or stacked after printing. Complicating these issues is that inkjet presses use more ink to create an image than does an offset press.

Inkjet press vendors already offer treatments that help inks bond to uncoated offset stocks, and are upping the ante with “priming fluids” said to improve ink adhesion and color vibrancy on glossy or coated stocks. The ultimate goal is enabling printing on enough glossy or coated stocks so that printers will be able to shift more jobs from offset presses to inkjet systems. Or so the theory goes. But what is really happening?

The printers I talked with have found they can successfully print on many coated and some glossy stocks even when using the standard inks developed by press manufacturers. All had evaluated a range of potential papers using the latest standard inks their respective press vendors provided, so they had a good sense of what worked and what didn’t. More importantly, they did not work in a vacuum. Each printer also asked customers about inkjet image quality and substrate selection. They found that while the priming fluids add some visual appeal, they are not necessarily essential when using standard inks on glossy or coated stocks. The people I spoke with agreed that obtaining the best possible results on a coated stock would require a priming fluid, but that usage might come with the expense of print head upgrades and more costly inks. This made them reluctant to change, believing they could achieve satisfactory results with standard inks, thoughtful substrate selection, and in some cases slowing down the press.

Remember, these printers are all seeing customers shifting from cut-sheet, toner-based machines to continuous-feed inkjet, due in part to the significantly faster speeds of the inkjet presses. They said their customers were happy with the print quality, which combined with speed and the comparatively lower cost of the inkjet pages, provided a compelling rationale compared to the use of toner presses.

But technology marches on, with machines entering the market already designed to handle glossy and coated papers. A Belgian firm I spoke with was in a beta test that simultaneously evaluated a new press and its inks while running a wide range of coated, uncoated and glossy stocks. The owner says he has encountered few issues of any note when using the press supplier’s latest ink sets. Drying the ink was his (and the vendor’s) greatest concern but he has so far been able to run any stock his customers require at the press’s full rated speed.

But there's more to this than just laying down a fluid to aid ink adhesion. The right inks and the substrates are essential factors.

 

Ink and Substrates Matter You’ve always known that ink and substrates --especially the papers-- are critical elements. Yet the papers are not all created equal. So how do you decide?

 

Episode 3: Ink and Substrates Matter    

 

So you know inkjet is the game changer and has a lot of room to grow and change, and that an inkjet press running coated or glossy paper offers more paths to profitability. Priming fluids may have helped, but are not necessarily essential. So, it still comes down to putting the ink on the page, which is why Ink and Substrates Matter. 

 

Inks and Substrates Matter 

On any flavor of press, substrates have always been a key part print quality. All the print providers I spoke with described Mitsubishi’s SWORD iJET as the go-to choose when a glossy stock was needed, although each winced slightly when noting that SWORD can be nearly twice as expensive as uncoated papers. The price, they say, is limiting wider adoption, but they appreciate the paper’s advantages: a wide color gamut, quick drying, and the ink adhesion high-speed inkjet printing requires.

Other coated and glossy stocks are gaining ground. All the companies I spoke routinely test substrates and look closely at a wide range of issues. At the moment, heavy coverage remains an Achilles Heel for inkjet presses, a concern voiced by all inkjet press owners I spoke with. It comes down to a key difference between inkjet and conventional inks: offset inks are pressed into the paper while inkjet inks are sprayed onto a fast-moving substrate that must be quickly dried before being rewound (in the case of roll-to-roll presses) or stacked prior to finishing on a cut-sheet device. Drying remains a problem on coated and glossy stocks, but is one that is being solved. Watch for more innovations in this space, from equipment and paper suppliers alike.

 

Transitional thinking

Right now, even as demand increases for coated and glossy stocks, the combination of ink cost and the narrow range of substrates available limits the transition of jobs from offset to inkjet presses. The irony of the moment is not lost on any of the print execs. As you would expect, all say lower ink and substrate prices will help grow volume and broaden the range of applications.

Their anticipation is not misplaced. High-speed inkjet is becoming an alternative to both offset and high-end toner. In one facility I visited, the climate-controlled print room once housed several high-end toner presses. The plan there is to move out the last one when its lease expires, and the firm is evaluating other high-speed inkjet options to compliment the one presently in use.

“We have an Indigo for shorter runs where we need better quality than the inkjet press can provide, but we think a cut-sheet inkjet device is the best complement to our continuous feed system,” the operations exec told me. I couldn’t help but notice that a sales rep from an inkjet press maker was on-site the day I was there.

Another company, home to two eight-color offset presses, two toner machines and an inkjet press, calls the latter his “variable offset press.” Over the past few months two monochrome toner presses have left the air-conditioned room where the digital presses reside. The exec there envisions an additional inkjet press to handle volume being shed by the offset and toner systems. “I don’t see ever needing to invest in an offset press again.”

One described a recurring job that previously took about three days to run on the company’s cut-sheet toner system that was now completed in a single shift on an inkjet device. “Print quality is certainly part of it,” said that exec. “But we’re also finding that customers using variable data like being able to hold onto their data for an extra day or two to help refine their database. Others just want to run the job and get it to market sooner. Speed matters and the inkjet delivers that no matter what substrates we use.”

 

Pent-up demand

So suppose the costs of ink and glossy/coated stocks do come down. If that occurs, most current and prospective adopters of high-speed inkjet presses can probably anticipate a surge in customer demand. Just how much costs would drop, however, would be predicated on economies of scale: There have to be sufficient inkjet press installations with big enough volumes to help lower ink costs and enough page volume to drive down substrate costs. Or at least that’s the wish of the print providers. And will there be variable pricing based on print volumes? Of course.

If the guys I spoke with are any indication—and I suspect they are—high-speed inkjet printing at the point where many, perhaps even most, end-customers are willing to accept it as an alternative to offset printing. They all said print quality is largely a non-issue and that variable data use is increasing. The effect here is three-fold: First, longer jobs once run on offset presses are landing on inkjet machines as multiple shorter runs using a lot of variable data. That adds value to the content, which can increase revenue. Second, toner machines are being used less for adding variable content to offset shells and more for very short-run variable print runs. Finally, shorter jobs once produced on toner-based presses are being ganged together as longer runs on inkjet systems. Additionally, the execs all noted that many customers are either indifferent to or unaware of the type of press used, and that it is often the print provider who decides which press is used for a given job.

 

More change ahead

The economics of ink and substrate costs will become less of an issue as inkjet print volumes rise, although the broader issues of digital versus offset are likely to make inkjet the preferred press for tens of thousands of impressions, versus hundreds of thousands on offset presses. But in a world of shrinking print volumes inkjet will inevitably become more attractive.

Over the past decade I’ve watched the members of a direct mail and transactional print trade association I work with make the transition from toner to inkjet. One direct mail guy said he’d never move from offset to inkjet. But he has one inkjet press now, with another on order. And, over the calls and site visits that fed into this report I see the shift from offset to inkjet becoming nothing less than the way business is done. It is clear we have entered the Age of Inkjet.