Michelman adds primer for water-based inkjet

Effectively printing on paper and synthetic substrates with sufficient quality and speed has been a challenge for water-based inkjet press manufacturers, as enabling adhesion and absorption of ink to the substrates has traditionally required applying primers at high coating weights.

Jan Denies, industry manager for Michelman’s Printing & Packaging Group, said this negatively affects the look and feel of the substrate, and increases material costs.

‘We have recently demonstrated a much more effective alternative. In collaboration with a number of inkjet press manufacturers, we have developed and tested an experimental primer, applied at coat weights less than a gram per square meter, that enhances adhesion of print receptive coatings to synthetic substrates. This allows full color printing on presses running at 200m/min (650ft/min), while using standard synthetic substrates. This technology can also be used as a print receptive coating for monochrome personalization using water-based inkjet inks.’

Michelman is exhibiting in hall 4, stand A24 at drupa 2016, and a number of inkjet printer manufacturers will be demonstrating its development at the show, highlighting samples including flexible packaging printed using water-based inkjet presses with various synthetic and polymer film substrates.

Read L&L’s preview of label and package printing and converting technology to see at drupa in issue 2, 2016, available to read here, and an extended online preview here