Ink

As any good business owner knows, there are two basic ways to make your business more profitable: adjust pricing for higher margins, or lower your costs. Alternative inks can help with the latter, provided the ink that you select meets your company's needs and goals.

Nazdar Ink Technologies will co-sponsor the VFP Ink Technologies display at ICMA EXPO 2017, the two innovative companies joining forces to share their expertise in new products and technical applications for the card industry.

Xaar has launched the new Midas Ink Supply System for Original Equipment Manufacturers looking for a fast time-to-market and therefore lower development costs.The compact, reliable ink and fluid supply system is robust and easy to integrate, and is ideal for full production as well as prototype systems.

Its outstanding simplicity of integration is assured through its compact and light design, easiness to mount and install and small ink tank capacity; it also has an optional degasser and remote heater units. In addition, as the Xaar Midas has a modular design, it is suitable for a range of applications and is able to run multiple printheads out of the box as standard.

Ease of use is guaranteed by the Xaar Midas’s rapid start up time of less than 15 minutes and almost instant shutdown time of under five seconds. In addition, changing fluids takes less than 30 minutes via the software, and the system can be positioned up to 5 metres away from the printhead using a remote manifold.

Ink temperature can be controlled up to 65°C and ink is recirculated within the angled tank to avoid settling. This is particularly useful for heavily pigmented inks.

For OEMs looking for a robust ink supply system, the Xaar Midas incorporates a number of useful design features: a failsafe chamber that protects against ink loss during power failure, no moving parts inside the tank and no need for an external air source or vacuum pump.

Available in three variants, the Xaar Midas Ink Supply System is suitable for single or multiple printhead configurations. In addition it is fully compatible with the Xaar 501, Xaar 502, Xaar 1003 family, Xaar 2001 and Xaar 2001+ printheads – all of which incorporate Xaar’s TF Technology® ink recirculation system.

The Xaar Midas 450 offers up to 450 ml per minute recirculation flow rates, and has a 60 ml ink reservoir. This is ideal for advanced manufacturing, direct-to-shape and other applications jetting expensive fluids. The Xaar Midas 950C and 950X both have a fluid flow rate of up to 950 ml per minute, with a 150 ml ink reservoir, targeting high volume and high throughput printing.

Consistent high print quality is ensured in both single-pass and scanning modes by the integrated hydraulic meniscus measurement system. The system automatically compensates the meniscus pressure within the printhead as fluid levels inside the integrated fluid reservoir change during usage.

“The Midas range is the ideal choice for OEMs looking to accelerate time-to-market by reducing development requirements and costs, while also delivering the optimal performance for Xaar printheads,” explains Alan Mutch, Product Manager at Xaar. “With its compact footprint and range of options, we are delighted to be offering such a flexible ink supply system.  Anyone wishing to find out more should visit www.xaar.com/midas.”

Toyo Ink announced today the successful development of the Elex-one series of EB (electron beam) curable flexo inks.

Quality Print Services (QPS) has seen an increase in sales of its most easy-to-use alternative inks, suggesting a trend of UK sign and graphics companies looking to improve workflow efficiencies in the print room.

In particular, Chris Bailey, Director of QPS, says he has experienced a surge in print businesses choosing Nazdar 705 series ink, developed as a direct replacement for the HP FB 250 series inks for HP FB500/700 printer platforms. As it is a plug-and-play system, a new Nazdar 705 ink box is simply fitted directly behind an empty OEM box quickly and easily, with no requirement to flush or re-profile the RIP software and therefore no ink is wasted.

The Nazdar 705 series ink also offers excellent durability: its resistance to the effects of UV degradation and fading make it ideal for long-term outdoor use and its superior adhesion helps to resist edge chipping and peeling on both flexible and rigid materials, including challenging substrates such as fluted polypropylene and composites.

Nazdar 702 series ink, formulated as a direct replacement for Océ IJC256 series inks used on Océ Arizona printer platforms, and Nazdar 130 series ink, a true colour-match for the original Mimaki SS21 ink set, are also proving popular. Nazdar 130 is low-odour and is available in 2 litre bulk bags, compatible with the Mimaki Bulk Ink System, for even greater cost- and time-savings and efficiency. Both offer intense colours and excellent resistance to damage on printed output, even for long-term exterior applications.

"Across the sign and graphics industry we're seeing an increase in customers looking for products and equipment that is easy to use, both on a day-to-day basis and when they are first installed," says Chris Bailey.

"Margins are tighter than ever and downtime is not something print businesses can afford. Our plug-and-play alternative inks are fitted in seconds when needed – and with many formulations available in bulk options, operators can spend even less time preparing to run printers."

Bailey adds: "Our alternative inks are developed by Nazdar for specific printing systems to ensure equal or better quality, reliability, colour intensity and durability than OEM inks, but at a lower price point. It is no longer acceptable for reduced costs to be associated with reduced quality and printer reliability."

Furthermore, Nazdar inks are fully supported in the field by QPS's renowned team of engineers, so on rare occasions when customers encounter a problem QPS ensures they are back up and running with as little downtime as possible.

"Customers are demanding their ink and equipment service choices tick every one of their boxes, which Nazdar inks from QPS do," says Chris Bailey.

For more information about Nazdar inks and QPS's large-format print products and services, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +44 (0)1704 897575.

Xaar is delighted to announce a new partnership with Italian ink manufacturer Metco to deliver Xaar-approved Solvent Soluble Inks (SSI) for use in GS12C and GS40C variants of the Xaar 1003 printhead and the Xaar 2001 GS12C.