Pigment based inkjet is the latest technology used for digital label printing and food packaging. Pigment inks are generally cleaner then their dye based ink or UV ink counter parts.
This is especially important when considering food packaging, since most dye based inkjet printers and UV ink printers will not be able to pass Nestle or Swiss compliance for direct food contact.
The latest pigment ink printers are passing these certifications with flying colors, giving the food and beverage industry a much needed boost into digital printing.
While inkjet label printers have become the norm across the industry, the focus is just now shifting to water based pigments for printing high quality, color prints from digital files.
With the shift to pigment inkjet, specifically single pass inkjet such as the new Duraflex technology from Memjet, customers can now utilize pigment based ink for high volume label applications, as well as printing on flexible packaging like Mylar bags.
The latest technology for inkjet printing from Memjet allows for printing speeds up to 150’/min and resolutions up to 1600 x 1600 dpi. The resolution from the pigment inks allows for photo printing with beautiful tones and colors, and due to the increased durability of pigment ink over dye based ink, it is suitable for a variety of outdoor and indoor applications where you need the Label to last!
While pigment inkjet printing may be the future, pigment inks have been used for hundreds of years already! We discuss why these inks have transcended time below where we detail some of the major advantages to pigment inks.
We touched on some of them in the earlier part of this article, but pigment based inks are better for a variety of reasons.
One of the main reasons why they are better from a commercial standpoint is because they are made of naturally occurring minerals, whereas other inks are using harsh chemicals and dyes to create coloring.
Since pigment inks are natural, and they are bound in water rather than solvents, they are less hazardous and more food safe. We mentioned previously about Nestle and Swiss compliance. These certifications will be vital to any company who wants to print food labels or packaging digitally.
Another aspect that is often overlooked from water based pigment inks is the quality of the fine text. Other printing technologies have trouble printing down to 1pt or even 1/2 pt text. With the water based pigment inks from the ArrowJet Aqua 330R, these small text come out crisp and clear. Perfect for printing ingredient lists on the back of food packaging!
Finally, pigment based inks are longer lasting and have excellent UV and water resistance. There’s a reason why giclee prints are done using pigment inks. It’s because with the right materials and ink compounds, these prints can last up to 100 years! Archival pigment prints utilize the same ink formulations to assist in retaining color for longer periods of time since the pigment will not be broken apart by absorption, and then intertwined into fibers, fading, or shifting colors.
We get this question all the time, and the short answer is: It depends!
With the ArrowJet Aqua 330R we wanted to create a platform that could be tailored to whatever our customers wanted. This allows us to add things like inline lamination and finishing, as well as create duplex printing systems for various specialty materials.
The best way to understand the pricing for the ArrowJet Aqua 330R is to reach out to one of our knowledgeable sales reps who can walk you through the whole system, and help you determine what features you may want or need.
We also offer bundle pricing when the printer is paired with a finishing system, or form flex and seal machine for making mylar bags! Give us a call today to learn more about the exciting new (old) technology!
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