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Small dots, big benefits
Big has had its day. From cars, to computers, to mobile phones, the message is that good things really do come in small packages. Being compact is a desirable commodity as technology enables us to produce an ever greater output, with minimal input.
There's no doubt that technology brings great opportunities and innovation, but it can be difficult to keep up with its relentless advance. The printing industry has benefited from invention and innovation as much as any other, but it can be difficult to keep abreast of what this new technology enables us to do. Nano technology, for example, is claimed to offer improved ink flow, faster drying and better stability but is this just hype, or does it really have the potential to take the production processes to a new level?
Optimal pigment dispersal
Nanodot technology is a new process which could have a dramatic influence on the field of large format inkjet sublimation. The process is said to ensure optimal pigment dispersion due to a combination of reducing the dye particles down to nanoparticles and fixing ionic polymers on the actual particles. In a nutshell, this helps ensure improved ink flow, faster drying and better stability during the print process. However, due to the huge production investment in the latest laser spectrometers and medical filtration systems involved in manufacturing nanodot inks, only one European company is currently producing them.
Originally developed in Italy, many countries including Australia and the US have started to use the nanodot technology with great success. This significant new technology was introduced in the Italian sportswear and garment manufacturing sector last summer, causing many production houses to change inks. At the same time, some major European flag makers began using the new ink technology and saw impressive results. The flag manufacturing industry operates a competitive price structure, so when one company starts using a new form of technology to improve results and cut production costs, its competitors are keen to follow suit. Thus far, the UK has been slow off the mark in making use of this new technology, but that could be about to change.
Eliminating friction
The theory behind Nano Pigmentation Technology (NPT) is relatively simple.
Head of R&D at J-Teck, Enrico Grasselli, explained: "With NPT sublimation ink, the dye particles are ground to sub micron size and ionically fixed. The combination of minute sizing and the fixing process reduces friction as the inks pass through the printing heads, yielding a more even dispersement within the ink fluid itself."
With versatility an important part of the printing process, various NPT inks have been developed for use on a range of different sublimation applications. When transfer printing, NPT ink can have the advantage of less paper cockling and even offers the possibility of using a more cost effective, lighter 100g paper.
Companies using the inks when working with direct to textile printing have also reported that the NPT inks bleed less and show higher colour values resulting in a higher quality print. Add to this the advantages of faster drying and pressing reducing production times further and the benefits are clear. Time is money, whatever marketplace your organisation operates in.
Less ink, lower costs
During the development and testing phase, creators J-Teck experimented with direct printing to coated and some uncoated textiles, in many cases resulting in a faster and more reliable result.
Grasselli continued: "Tests revealed that, no matter how the print was produced, if NPT inks were used with a good ICC profile, significantly less ink was used, due to the high dye density. Combined with a drop in downtime caused by fewer head clogs, and with less heat build up at the head prolonging the life of the print head itself, users have reported a potentially huge impact on reducing production costs."
J-Teck also claims improved ink stability during transport and storage, ensuring superior batch quality and consistent results for the user. Increased ease and speed of ink production using new high tech ink processing equipment at J-Teck's Como production plant in Italy ensures faster ink production times.
J-Teck's president Dr Gianni Cavallini commented: "As a company we have invested a lot of time and money in the technology to fully develop and test our product before we released it on to the market. Our stringent quality control procedures and faster production have enabled us to produce several different ink types and colours which cover specialist sublimation techniques. Tests show that they have an industry beating wash fastness and weatherability."
Printing, perhaps more than many industries, is keen to embrace a new technology if a competitive advantage can be gained. If it enables the user to do things faster, better, more cheaply and still stay reliable it is surely an innovation worth having. Only time will tell whether this is the start of a genuine revolution in the type of ink that becomes the industry standard, but if early results in other European countries are typical, Mark Beevers says his 20 years industry experience tells him nantodot pigment technology is likely to be making an impact for the foreseeable future.
http://www.sublimation-supplies.co.uk/
