Xennia's Tim Phillips describes the markets for digital product and surface decoration, including laminates and furnishing, ceramic tiles, wall coverings and glass. He then describes the challenges and opportunies for digital printing of these products. This talk was presented at the Decorative Surfaces Conference, Munich, Germany in April 2011.
Dr Alan Hudd, Managing Director of Xennia, gave this talk at the 20th IMI Annual Inkjet Conference in Las Vegas, USA in Feb 2011. The talk discusses the challenges and opportunities for inkjet decoration in a number of applications, including ceramics, textiles and functional material printing for applications such as solar energy generation.
Revolutionising Textile Decoration & Finishing With Digital Inkjet TechnologyXennia Technology
Xennia's Dr. Tim Phillips gave a talk at the Textile Coating & Laminating Conference in Cannes, France in Nov 2010, titled "Revolutionising textile decoration and finishing with digital inkjet technology". The talk discussed the great benefits of inkjet technology for textile decoration and finishing, with placement of precise quantities of fluid accurately on the substrate leading to increased productivity, reduced waste and environmental impact, combined with the possibility of adding advanced functionality.
Xennia's talk, given by Dr Alan Hudd, Xennia’s Managing Director, outlined the inkjet proposition as a manufacturing technique and the creation of new products through technology push and market pull. The talk also looks at the technology requirements and complexities, and discusses inkjet and new functional materials as part of the developing application processes. The talk will conclude with an outlook for device and product fabrication. The talk was presented at IMI's 1st Digital Manufacturing Conference in Florida, USA in June 2011.
Changing The Game: Inkjet Textile Decoration and FinishingXennia Technology
Xennia's Dr Alan Hudd discusses the market requirements for digital textiles, outlining the application drivers and challenges that need to be overcome, recognising the technology requirements for a complete production inkjet solution and finally, looks at digital finishing as a transformational technology. The talk was presented at IMI's 4th Annual Digital Printing Presses Conference in Florida, USA, June 2011.
Dr Alan Hudd, Managing Director of Xennia, gave this talk at the 20th IMI Annual Inkjet Conference in Las Vegas, USA in Feb 2011. The talk discusses the challenges and opportunities for inkjet decoration in a number of applications, including ceramics, textiles and functional material printing for applications such as solar energy generation.
Revolutionising Textile Decoration & Finishing With Digital Inkjet TechnologyXennia Technology
Xennia's Dr. Tim Phillips gave a talk at the Textile Coating & Laminating Conference in Cannes, France in Nov 2010, titled "Revolutionising textile decoration and finishing with digital inkjet technology". The talk discussed the great benefits of inkjet technology for textile decoration and finishing, with placement of precise quantities of fluid accurately on the substrate leading to increased productivity, reduced waste and environmental impact, combined with the possibility of adding advanced functionality.
Xennia's talk, given by Dr Alan Hudd, Xennia’s Managing Director, outlined the inkjet proposition as a manufacturing technique and the creation of new products through technology push and market pull. The talk also looks at the technology requirements and complexities, and discusses inkjet and new functional materials as part of the developing application processes. The talk will conclude with an outlook for device and product fabrication. The talk was presented at IMI's 1st Digital Manufacturing Conference in Florida, USA in June 2011.
Changing The Game: Inkjet Textile Decoration and FinishingXennia Technology
Xennia's Dr Alan Hudd discusses the market requirements for digital textiles, outlining the application drivers and challenges that need to be overcome, recognising the technology requirements for a complete production inkjet solution and finally, looks at digital finishing as a transformational technology. The talk was presented at IMI's 4th Annual Digital Printing Presses Conference in Florida, USA, June 2011.
Enhanced Functionality On Plastic Using Inkjet TechnologyXennia Technology
Kapser Nossent, Xennia’s R & D Sales Manager gave a keynote talk at SPE ANTEC, Boston, USA in May 2011, titled “Enhancing functionality on plastic using inkjet technology” discussing the advances in inkjet technology for this application, Xennia’s capabilities and potential market opportunities. The talk also outlined the market drivers, challenges and concluded with a future outlook on the technology and the application.
Trend Alert: The Evolving Role of Production InkjetMark Bohan
Production inkjet is evolving from the production of transactional document and books to a broad range of applications, including packaging. Its growth will be driving significant changes in the industry, including grabbing market share from offset and cut sheet digital applications. Managers need to understand the applications and the business case for implementing a production inkjet solution. Join an in-depth evaluation of how and why high-speed inkjet is creating new business opportunities.
The Pathway to Profitability through inkjet printing. The applications of inket printers in the modern world and case studies of businesses improving the customer experience with in house printing.
Importance of Design in Digital printing of Textiles. Various types of designs are illustrated to show that to be successful in ink jet printing of textiles its the design that matters. It is now possible to print by ink jet what earlier was not by conventional Textile printing
Steve Aranoff helps us all to understand the evolving opportunities with his 'How to make money from Digital Finishing' presentation given at the 2nd Global Channel Partners Summit held during Print 2013 in Chicago; for more information check us out on www.global-channel-partners.com
Inkjet: A Driver For Change In The Coatings IndustryXennia Technology
Xennia's Dr Kay Yeong presented a talk at the European Coatings Conference in Berlin, Germany in Oct 2010. The talk discussed the impact of inkjet technology on the packaging coatings industry.
The conference presented a suite of high-level technical papers, given by invited international experts, on topics such as sustainable packaging coatings, printable coatings, heat seal lacquers and hybrid barrier films.
Industrial Plastic Fabrications Ltd, 3D printing, Plastic CNC Machining and F...Leanne Smart
3D printing, Plastic CNC Machining and Fabrication of bespoke plastic parts.
covering a wide range of industries, including; Automotive, Aerospace, Medical, TV and Film, Electrical, scientific,
The i.creative team is offering you the new catalogue 2013 with the exclusive designs for the inkjet technology and the digital decoration for the ceramic and porcelain tiles.
Enhanced Functionality On Plastic Using Inkjet TechnologyXennia Technology
Kapser Nossent, Xennia’s R & D Sales Manager gave a keynote talk at SPE ANTEC, Boston, USA in May 2011, titled “Enhancing functionality on plastic using inkjet technology” discussing the advances in inkjet technology for this application, Xennia’s capabilities and potential market opportunities. The talk also outlined the market drivers, challenges and concluded with a future outlook on the technology and the application.
Trend Alert: The Evolving Role of Production InkjetMark Bohan
Production inkjet is evolving from the production of transactional document and books to a broad range of applications, including packaging. Its growth will be driving significant changes in the industry, including grabbing market share from offset and cut sheet digital applications. Managers need to understand the applications and the business case for implementing a production inkjet solution. Join an in-depth evaluation of how and why high-speed inkjet is creating new business opportunities.
The Pathway to Profitability through inkjet printing. The applications of inket printers in the modern world and case studies of businesses improving the customer experience with in house printing.
Importance of Design in Digital printing of Textiles. Various types of designs are illustrated to show that to be successful in ink jet printing of textiles its the design that matters. It is now possible to print by ink jet what earlier was not by conventional Textile printing
Steve Aranoff helps us all to understand the evolving opportunities with his 'How to make money from Digital Finishing' presentation given at the 2nd Global Channel Partners Summit held during Print 2013 in Chicago; for more information check us out on www.global-channel-partners.com
Inkjet: A Driver For Change In The Coatings IndustryXennia Technology
Xennia's Dr Kay Yeong presented a talk at the European Coatings Conference in Berlin, Germany in Oct 2010. The talk discussed the impact of inkjet technology on the packaging coatings industry.
The conference presented a suite of high-level technical papers, given by invited international experts, on topics such as sustainable packaging coatings, printable coatings, heat seal lacquers and hybrid barrier films.
Industrial Plastic Fabrications Ltd, 3D printing, Plastic CNC Machining and F...Leanne Smart
3D printing, Plastic CNC Machining and Fabrication of bespoke plastic parts.
covering a wide range of industries, including; Automotive, Aerospace, Medical, TV and Film, Electrical, scientific,
The i.creative team is offering you the new catalogue 2013 with the exclusive designs for the inkjet technology and the digital decoration for the ceramic and porcelain tiles.
With a view of engaging in a social cause on the eve of Engineer’s Day, we wish to visit to Anjuman-E-Mufidul Yatama Orphanage on the 6th of October, 2016.
It is also part of our S. P. M. assignment; it is like a small project for us which focuses on social area.
For this excursion, we have planned to distribute snacks, clothes, books along with some stationary things that can be useful for them, and conduct fun activities for the kids. A motivational lecture for the kids is also in our itinerary.
We print almost any rigid surface like glass, wood, acrylic, dibond and metals up to 50 mm thickness. Competitive prices on UV printing. Glass UV Printing, Wood UV Printing, Acrylic UV Printing, Dibond UV Printing.
For detailed information;
http://en.boranreklam.com/uv-printing/
Wide format inkjet technology- part 3 grand format printersUsman Ali
Grand-format printers are high-capacity inkjet printers that can print on rolls of vinyls, canvas, films, papers, and fabrics more than 100 inches wide.
3D printing, also known as additive printing technology, allows manufacturers to develop objects using a digital file and variety of printing materials.
Pixeljet® Glass printing machine is ideal for personalizing your products. The Pixeljet® Velocity flatbed printer is a versatile high volume UV flatbed printer capable of printing in an unlimited number of applications.
We are one of the best-equipped print houses in India. We are manufacturer of Signage and Printing services across India. We print ANY material - flex, vinyl, sunboard, glass, ceramic, canvas, leather, router cut signages, ACP signs, LED signs, acrylic signs, metal letters, mall signage, fire and safety signs, corporate signage , standees, canopies, POP stands, gondolas wood etc.
Is there a digital press in your folding carton future? It's here today with digital print solutions to supplement offset, flexography, and gravure. This paper describes the fundamental differences and best application for the various technologies including electrophotographic, ink jet, nanography, digital creasing, and laser cutting.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
Le nuove frontiere dell'AI nell'RPA con UiPath Autopilot™UiPathCommunity
In questo evento online gratuito, organizzato dalla Community Italiana di UiPath, potrai esplorare le nuove funzionalità di Autopilot, il tool che integra l'Intelligenza Artificiale nei processi di sviluppo e utilizzo delle Automazioni.
📕 Vedremo insieme alcuni esempi dell'utilizzo di Autopilot in diversi tool della Suite UiPath:
Autopilot per Studio Web
Autopilot per Studio
Autopilot per Apps
Clipboard AI
GenAI applicata alla Document Understanding
👨🏫👨💻 Speakers:
Stefano Negro, UiPath MVPx3, RPA Tech Lead @ BSP Consultant
Flavio Martinelli, UiPath MVP 2023, Technical Account Manager @UiPath
Andrei Tasca, RPA Solutions Team Lead @NTT Data
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
zkStudyClub - Reef: Fast Succinct Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge Regex ProofsAlex Pruden
This paper presents Reef, a system for generating publicly verifiable succinct non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs that a committed document matches or does not match a regular expression. We describe applications such as proving the strength of passwords, the provenance of email despite redactions, the validity of oblivious DNS queries, and the existence of mutations in DNA. Reef supports the Perl Compatible Regular Expression syntax, including wildcards, alternation, ranges, capture groups, Kleene star, negations, and lookarounds. Reef introduces a new type of automata, Skipping Alternating Finite Automata (SAFA), that skips irrelevant parts of a document when producing proofs without undermining soundness, and instantiates SAFA with a lookup argument. Our experimental evaluation confirms that Reef can generate proofs for documents with 32M characters; the proofs are small and cheap to verify (under a second).
Paper: https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1886
Observability Concepts EVERY Developer Should Know -- DeveloperWeek Europe.pdfPaige Cruz
Monitoring and observability aren’t traditionally found in software curriculums and many of us cobble this knowledge together from whatever vendor or ecosystem we were first introduced to and whatever is a part of your current company’s observability stack.
While the dev and ops silo continues to crumble….many organizations still relegate monitoring & observability as the purview of ops, infra and SRE teams. This is a mistake - achieving a highly observable system requires collaboration up and down the stack.
I, a former op, would like to extend an invitation to all application developers to join the observability party will share these foundational concepts to build on:
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
Welcome to the first live UiPath Community Day Dubai! Join us for this unique occasion to meet our local and global UiPath Community and leaders. You will get a full view of the MEA region's automation landscape and the AI Powered automation technology capabilities of UiPath. Also, hosted by our local partners Marc Ellis, you will enjoy a half-day packed with industry insights and automation peers networking.
📕 Curious on our agenda? Wait no more!
10:00 Welcome note - UiPath Community in Dubai
Lovely Sinha, UiPath Community Chapter Leader, UiPath MVPx3, Hyper-automation Consultant, First Abu Dhabi Bank
10:20 A UiPath cross-region MEA overview
Ashraf El Zarka, VP and Managing Director MEA, UiPath
10:35: Customer Success Journey
Deepthi Deepak, Head of Intelligent Automation CoE, First Abu Dhabi Bank
11:15 The UiPath approach to GenAI with our three principles: improve accuracy, supercharge productivity, and automate more
Boris Krumrey, Global VP, Automation Innovation, UiPath
12:15 To discover how Marc Ellis leverages tech-driven solutions in recruitment and managed services.
Brendan Lingam, Director of Sales and Business Development, Marc Ellis
SAP Sapphire 2024 - ASUG301 building better apps with SAP Fiori.pdfPeter Spielvogel
Building better applications for business users with SAP Fiori.
• What is SAP Fiori and why it matters to you
• How a better user experience drives measurable business benefits
• How to get started with SAP Fiori today
• How SAP Fiori elements accelerates application development
• How SAP Build Code includes SAP Fiori tools and other generative artificial intelligence capabilities
• How SAP Fiori paves the way for using AI in SAP apps
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
1. DIGITAL DECORATION OF
PRODUCTS AND SURFACES
Dr Tim Phillips
Xennia Technology Ltd
Presented at the Decorative Surfaces Conference
Munich, Germany, April 2011
2. TALK OUTLINE
1. Introduction to Xennia
2. Product and surface decoration
3. Technology issues
4. Application examples
4. Xennia helps customers lower
operating costs, increase productivity
and simplify mass customised production
by revolutionising manufacturing processes
5. Background
Xennia is the world‟s leading industrial inkjet solutions provider
14 year history, over 300 customer development programmes
World class reputation underpinned by a strong IP portfolio
Unique expertise in inkjet chemistry with strong engineering capability
Headquartered in UK, sales offices in US and China
Awarded Queen‟s Award for Enterprise in 2010
Offering reliable inkjet process solutions:
Inkjet modules and inks for OEM partners with market access
Printing systems and inks for end users through our distributors
6. From inkjet ideas ... to production reality
Feasibility studies Process development System design Production solutions
7. Xennia develops & supplies digital solutions based on
inkjet modules, systems and inks for industrial
applications
9. Product decoration
Huge demand for digital production decoration of products
Key drivers are:
Reduced costs
Print on demand means no need for large inventories
Increased productivity
Printing system spends the whole time printing
Faster response to customer demands
New designs can be introduced rapidly
Products can be personalised/customised on the fly
10. Key industrial applications I
Textiles
Ceramic tiles
Digital decoration of textiles:
Reel-to-reel textile production Digital decoration of:
Clothing Ceramic wall tiles
Flags, banners, awnings Ceramic floor tiles
Soft furnishings
11. Key industrial applications II
Architectural
glass Flooring & furniture
laminates
Digital glass printing applications:
Architectural features Digital decoration of:
Frosted effects Flooring laminates
Appliance glass Furniture laminates
(Automotive) Direct product printing
Edge banding
12. Key industrial applications III
Product
decoration
Wall coverings
Digital decoration of:
Digital decoration of:
Consumer wallpaper
Automotive glass/headlamps/fairings/parts
Commercial wallpaper
Safety/automotive helmets
Commercial vinyl coverings
Security wristbands/identity cards
Optical fibres, wires and connectors
Consumer appliances/products
etc.
13. KEY APPLICATIONS
Application Market Size Market Requirement Opportunity
Textiles Printed textiles $165Bn Cost effective RTR printing High productivity RTR with
(Reel to reel – RTR) with fast design aqueous dye inks
introduction
Ceramics 8Bn m2 tiles printed Wall/floor tile printing with High throughput fixed array +
(Tiles) annually digital capability ceramic inks
Yearly equipment sales Digital ceramic decal XY + ceramic inks (sampling)
>$800m printing
Wall/floor/furniture Decorative laminate Fast high quality digital wall High throughput fixed array +
coverings market $21.2 Bn covering printing solvent/aqueous inks
globally High productivity digital XY + UV inks
laminate/decor printing
Rigid furnishings
Glass Printed glass $1.3Bn High productivity High throughput fixed array +
(Architectural) production printing high temp inks
(Appliance) Fast turnaround batch XY + PVB inks/UV inks
printing
Ability to print non-flat
14. Textiles market
RTR digital textile market 2010
Hardware $137m (6% growth)
Ink $454m (15% growth)
Printed output value $1.3Bn (13% growth)
DTG digital textile market 2010
Hardware $184m (23% growth „opportunity for ~10,000 high end units‟)
Ink $145m (32% growth)
Printed output $2.45Bn (35% growth)
Systems from
Mimaki, Roland, Mutoh (low end)
Robustelli, Reggiani, Konica Minolta, Osiris (high end)
Inks from Huntsman, Dupont, Xennia, Dystar, BASF, Kiian, Sensient etc
Source: IT Strategies Spring 2009
15. Textile market drivers
Drivers towards digital printing
Reduced time to introduce new designs (few hours versus several days)
Lower energy consumption
Lower water and materials consumption
Reduced cost to introduce new designs (no requirement to make screens)
Competitive for shorter runs
Example: lower cost below1,200m for 8 colour screen versus typical digital
Current typical digital cost €3-5/m2
Average run length decreasing
Now below 2,000m, was 3,500m in 1994
Promise of even lower digital costs, lower at all run lengths
Huge potential for digital textile printing
Source: Gherzi 2008
16. Textile market requirement
Market requirement for RTR textiles
Printing system
High productivity (>300 m2/hr)
High reliability (>98% up time)
Cost effective
High quality (600+dpi, greyscale, 6+ colours)
Inks
Excellent colour performance (competitive with analogue)
Excellent fastness performance (competitive with analogue)
Ink costs that give printed cost < analogue for required run length
17. Ceramic tile market
Worldwide ceramic tile output > 9,500M sq m (2010)
Production focussed in Asia and EU (2009 numbers)
Asia 65.1% (+7.1% from 2008)
EU 12.6% (-24.8%)
Central/South America 10.5% (-0.8%)
Other Europe (incl. Turkey) 4.6% (-10.4%)
Equipment sales in 2008 > $800M
Difficult economic conditions in 2008
Good recovery now
Inkjet growth accelerating
Source: Ceramic World Review 2010
18. Ceramics market drivers
Shorter product lifecycles and print runs
Natural randomisation
Desire for greater product differentiation
Bevelled edges
Textured surfaces
Customisation and personalisation
Wider range of tile types
Different firing regimes for different materials
Thinner tiles use less material (inkjet is non contact)
Cost reduction – reduced inventory
Higher yield
Better quality
19. Ceramics market need
Market requirement for ceramic tile printing
Printing system
High productivity (>900 m2/hr)
High reliability (>98% up time)
Cost effective
High quality (300+dpi, greyscale,)
Good colour performance (4+ colours)
Inks
Excellent colour performance when fired
Good reliability in system
Lower operating costs
20. Decorative laminate market
US decorative laminate sales $6.4Bn in 2009
Forecast to rise 3.3% p.a. to 14 Bn ft2, $8.9 Bn in 2013
Global market > $21.2 Bn in 2009, Europe ~ 28.5%
Asia Pacific sales projected to exceed US sales by 2012
US demand breakdown (2008)
29% low basis weight papers
13% decorative foils
22% saturated papers
16% vinyl films
18% high pressure laminates
2% edge banding
Source: Pira Industrial Inkjet 2009, Freedonia Group
21. Decoration market drivers
Currently dominated by screen and flexo
Drivers towards inkjet
Move beyond commodity designs
Experimental fashions
Customised surfaces – logos & murals
Customisation and short runs
Market requirements
Flatbed digital printing of rigid furnishings up to 1.5 x 1.0 m
UV ink
Continuous printing of flexible laminate films/decor paper (width?)
Solvent/aqueous ink
Source: Pira Industrial Inkjet 2009
22. Wall covering market
Overall wall coverings market forecast to reach $26 Bn by 2015
Boosted by recovering world market and expansion in residential construction
UK: wall covering expenditure £315m, compared with £440m on ceramic
tiles (2009)
Down 6.5% on previous year
Source: Durability and Design, 2011
23. Wall covering market drivers
Currently dominated by flexo and gravure
Drivers towards inkjet
Faster introduction of new designs
Experimental fashions
Customised printing – murals etc
Shorter run lengths
Market requirements
Continuous printing of paper & vinyl wall coverings
Solvent/aqueous ink
Source: Freedonia
24. Glass decoration market
Worldwide fabricated glass market $66Bn in 2010
Standard flat glass plus value-added - laminated, insulating etc
Growth 5%
Applications
Construction (65%)
Automotive (25%)
Speciality (furniture, mirror) (10%)
Printed glass market $1.3Bn
Mainly architectural and appliance (plus automotive)
Mainly screen at present
Source: Pilkington Glass Report 2009
25. Glass decoration drivers
Drive to value-added products
Environmental, safety including earthquake, hurricane
Dominated by screen printing at present
Market requirements
27. Solution requirements
Industrial inkjet solutions must have the following:
Excellent image quality
Good durability of the printed image
Required productivity
Production reliability
User friendly and powerful software
28. Inkjet printing software
Image processing
Geometrical transforms
RIP
Colour management
Printhead-specific data
System integration
Managing system components
Receiving external commands
Variable image printing
Generating each image
Tracking and verification
29. Image quality
Goal is:
To create images with best possible look
To deposit materials with minimum error
The quality circle relates:
Customer perception (image quality)
e.g. sharpness, colourfulness, contrast
Physical image parameters (print quality)
e.g. optical density, line acuity, dot placement
Technology (ink, printheads, printer, etc)
30. Image durability
Durability of the printed image is vital
Durability must be sufficient for the application
Effects on durability from
Substrate (material, surface properties, dirt etc)
Ink (binders/monomers/oligomers)
Process (pre/post-treatment)
Adhesion of ink to required substrate
Cross-hatch tape/Scratch/Scuff/abrasion resistance
Film hardness
Solvent/water/specific chemical resistance
Fastness
Water/wash/humidity, Rub/crock, Light/UV, Dark/ozone
31. System productivity
Printhead/ink drop ejection frequency
Print resolution
Number of printheads/nozzles
Fixed array/scanning array configuration
Motion system
Post-treatment (drying/curing) system
32. System reliability
Ink/printhead/nozzle interaction
Printhead connections/wires/electronics
Ink system/pipework
Maintenance system
Software
UV systems
Verification system
Motion system/substrate handling
33. Major developments
Key driver
Ink chemistry
Key developments
UV/pigment inks
Greyscale printheads
Recirculating ink technology
Inkjet modules
Fixed array systems
Diagonal printing systems
34. Inkjet solution design
Balance between:
Quality
Productivity
Cost
Reliability
Ink/printhead/substrate interaction has to be understood
Inkjet process has to be robust and meet requirements
Inkjet process has to complement existing manufacturing process
Process has to be industrially robust
35. Integration – the key challenge
Wetting, drying, curing Fluid control
Ink chemistry
Substrate
Printheads
Motion system
Encoder/product detect Drive electronics, software
36. Process cost
Capital cost
Development cost/number of systems
System supply cost
Running cost
Ink cost
Ink usage
Productivity/availability
Consumables
Maintenance/spares
Utilities
37. Cost comparison with analogue
Cost factors to be taken into account
Analogue versus digital print run costs
Fixed costs £14.00
£12.00
System cost/depreciation/finance/spares £10.00
Analogue run cost (£/m2)
Print run cost (£/m2)
Digital run cost (£/m2)
£8.00
Energy costs/operator costs £6.00
Inventory storage (zero for digital) £4.00
£2.00
Running costs £0.00
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Print run length (m2)
System productivity/utilisation
Analogue versus digital print run costs
Run length
£14.00
£12.00
Setup time/setup cost £10.00
Analogue run cost (£/m2)
Print run cost (£/m2)
Digital run cost (£/m2)
Print yield
£8.00
£6.00
Ink coverage/cost/wastage £4.00
£2.00
Consumables £0.00
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Print run length (m2)
39. Glass decoration
Fixed array production system for high volume
Flatbed scanning system for small batches
Print onto:
Glass during manufacture
PVB film prior to lamination
Glass after manufacture
All need specific inks
Firing ink
PVB compatible ink
UV inks
40. Furnishing laminate decoration
Requirement for high throughput printing
Flexible laminates – papers and films
Also direct printing onto wood, MDF etc
Laminates
Solvent or aqueous inks
Compatibility with existing lamination process vital
Direct printing
UV (or solvent) inks
Edge banding
UV inks
Requirement for colour matching/metamerism
41. Typical laminate printing system
Fixed array high productivity system
Scalable width
Compatible with variety of processes
UV
Solvent
Pigmented inks
Compatible with any flexible substrate
43. Ceramic tile printing
560 or 720mm print width
Fixed array single pass printing
29m/min throughput
4 colours (expandable to 6)
Double throughput/double density version
Requires specialised inks
44. Wide format printing
Textiles, graphics, wall coverings etc
Printing configurations have pros and cons
Single pass fixed array wide area swath continuous web printing
High productivity
High complexity and cost
High risk (missing nozzle shows up) Single pass
Maintenance difficult without stopping
No error tolerance
Scanning XY systems
Multiple passes
Low productivity
Low complexity and cost
Low risk (nozzle redundancy)
Maintenance easy
Error tolerant
45. New concept
Reciprocating diagonal continuous single pass printing
1.6-3.0m
Two print bars printing complementary patterns
WO 2009/056641
46. Diagonal printing
High productivity
All nozzles are used efficiently
Continuous substrate motion
Quality
Greyscale high resolution printing
Disguise missing nozzles & head variability through software algorithms
Redundancy in software, not spare nozzles
No banding
Maintenance without stopping line
Same proven technology as XY systems
High reliability printheads
Flexibility to vary time spent on maintenance
48. Textile printing inks
Reactive dye inks
Suitable for cotton and cotton/polyester blends
High optical density even in single pass applications
High stability and fixation
Acid dye
For high quality silk printing
Disperse dye
For durable printing onto polyester
Pigment inks
UV cure inks
Including white for printing onto dark coloured textiles
Broad textile application - no post treatment required
Heat set inks
Advanced chemistry means competitive costs
49. Digital finishing
Major benefits of “digital finishing” provided by inkjet
Benefits
Multi functionality
Single sided application possible
Two sides can have different functions
Patterning
Functionality applied efficiently to textile surface only
Highly consistent coat weight
Environmental and energy savings
Applications
Slow release technology, Digital dyeing, Hydrophobic coatings
UV blocking, Fire retardant, Antimicrobial
50. Typical flatbed printer
Up to 6 colours (2x white)
Print area up to 4m x 2.6m
Throughput up to 100m2/hr
Optional vacuum table to secure product(s)
Optional turntable for easy load/unload
Recirculating ink systems
Integrated print software
52. Summary
Digital printing of decorative surfaces a very promising application
Key market drivers for personalisation and shorter runs
Technology challenges need to be understood and addressed
Important to develop specific solutions for particular applications