At the recent drupa, it also announced addition of new processless plate – SUPERIA ZD – to the Fujifilm SUPERIA product range
Fujifilm Corporation exhibited reference models of a pigment ink for water-based inkjet, to be used in flexible packaging, at drupa 2016.
Fujifilm is commercialising various inkjet related products under the “FUJIFILM Inkjet Technology” brand, a brand concentrating various Fujifilm technologies, and has introduced the B2 size digital press, the Jet Press 720S, originally made for commercial printing in the graphic arts industry. Fujifilm has further developed the technology used in the Jet Press 720S to create an ink technology for water-based inkjet capable of inkjet printing on flexible packaging film.
The bleeding of inkjet ink is an issue in the non-absorbent film substrates used in the flexible packaging. However, the application of “Rapic Technology” created during the development of the Jet Press 720S enables an ink droplet to retain its stability where it has landed, and clear image reproduction is made possible by combining with proprietary undercoating technology. The combination of these technologies with Fujifilm’s high-definition Samba printheads has allowed productivity of more than 30 metres per minute to be achieved while printing at 1200dpi high-definition, in full colour, enabling compatibility for digitalisation for the reverse printing of flexible packaging.
A print sample of water-based ink was exhibited at drupa in the “FUJIFILM Inkjet Technology” zone. An inkjet print sample of a shiny metallic ink currently under development was exhibited as well. The development of metallic ink meets the increasing demand for indoor signs, packages and label printing with metallic textures to give a luxurious look. Other exhibits included latest technologies in “inkjet printheads”, “inks”, “image optimisation” and various samples showcasing the possibilities for expansion in the digital print market, including commercial printing, wide-format, package printing and numerous other fields in the industry.
Addition of new processless SUPERIA ZD – to the SUPERIA range
Fujifilm also announced the launch of a new processless plate, SUPERIA ZD, which is available as part of Fujifilm’s SUPERIA portfolio following drupa 2016. Fujifilm has built on the advanced technologies behind its successful SUPERIA PRO-T3 processless plate to make SUPERIA ZD compatible with UV ink and ideal for longer run jobs, while offering all the reliability and stability features of SUPERIAPRO-T3. These advances open up the benefits of processless plates to a much wider range of printers than ever before.
The SUPERIA ZD processless plate incorporates three exciting new technologies –MGZ, HDN and s-HDS:
MGZ is a new graining structure, which has been added to Fujifilm’s MGV technology used in the SUPERIA PRO-T3 plate, to ensure the optimum ink/water balance on press. This new plate structure enhances the adhesion between the substrate and the exposed image, further improving the robustness of the plate during printing.
In order to ensure compatibility with UV inks, a new accelerator has been introduced. As a result, optical energy is used to efficiently cross-link the binders to produce a high density network (HDN). This HDN technology ensures the exposed image has a higher resistance against UV inks and related press chemicals.
Fujifilm’s newly developed “s-HDS” technology optimises the water holding properties of the surface of the non-image area. This enhances the resistance to toning and improves ink/water balance while retaining the fast on-press development characteristics of SUPERIA PRO-T3.
Like the SUPERIA PRO-T3 plate, the new SUPERIA ZD plate contributes to resource savings in five key areas: material, labour, energy, environment and water, while also offering the additional benefits of longer run lengths, web press suitability and enhanced chemical resistance – meaning that it is suitable for the latest UV press technologies including LED-UV and H-UV printing.
