That's Not All Folks!

Just when it seems like inkjet has reached its pinnacle of capabilities, innovations in the printing technology open new markets.

INKJET PRINTING IS not the first thing most printers think of when they wake up in the morning. Inkjet's most common use in packaging is coding and marking—the least of printers' worries. But times are changing and so is inkjet technology, which may one day soon, play a much larger part in the printing of packaging materials.

Currently, inkjet printing has many benefits to boot. It prints very high resolution, up to 4,800 dpi, said Mark Strobel, vice president, sales and marketing, Primera Technology, Inc., "offering better quality than offset, flexo, or thermal transfer printing yet in short runs of labels." In addition, Strobel said, "Recent innovations in the technology have increased speeds to the point of being very practical for runs of up to 5,000 labels at a time."

Inkjet also has advantages over other printing methods, said Curtis Miller, president, Printing Technology Services, Inc. "Inkjet is very easy to set up and maintain, and has low equipment cost," he said. "Other package printing technologies such as flexo and offset cannot offer variable data capability, have much higher set-up cost, and are less flexible."

Furthermore, Miller said, "Inkjet can complement flexo and offset package printing if the right combination of pre-printed information is mixed with inkjet, thereby reducing set-up times for package printing using inkjet, while also lowering costs for long runs in flexo or offset."

While new developments in the technology are still coming about, inkjet is not new to package printing. About 25 years ago, continuous inkjet (CIJ) was the first to be commercialized in package coding, according to Jeff Norton, market development manager of Hewlett-Packard Co. In the '90s, thermal inkjet (TIJ) and piezo were introduced to package coding. All three come with pros and cons.

CIJ works well on porous and non-porous substrates, Norton said. According to Chuck Ravetto, director of marketing, small character coding, at Videojet Technologies, Inc., CIJ is the most flexible coding option on any substrate and can be used to print on already-filled and sealed packages.

Another benefit with CIJ is speed, but there are some drawbacks. "It's fast," Norton said. "But the technology tends to be messy, the solvent inks require special cleaning processes, and reliability is suspect."

TIJ, the technology offered by Hewlett-Packard, prints best on porous and semi-porous substrates only. In addition, Norton said, TIJ excels in uptime/reliability, cleanliness, and ease of use. TIJ also has superior print quality, at print resolutions up to 600 x 600 dpi.

Piezo, while its quality is almost as good as TIJ's and while it prints on both porous and non-porous substrates, can be expensive. "The cost of replacing printheads is thousands of dollars, instead of $30 for a new HP printhead," Norton said.

What's the competition?

Inkjet is up against other coding and marking technologies. Thermal transfer overprinting has a fair share of the marketplace and is best for thin films and form/fill/seal applications, Ravetto said. "It is a beneficial technology because it has digital print capabilities and good uptime vs. hot stamping and roller-coding," he said.

But, Norton said, thermal transfer's niche is in print-and-apply labels. And while thermal transfer prints on many different substrates, the cost to replace consumables like ribbons is very high and the speeds are much slower than inkjet, he said.

Laser ablation is taking some business from inkjet, said Jason Oliver, director of marketing and new business development at Jetrion. "In recent years, laser ablation has taken market share from inkjet, primarily due to the elimination of consumable costs," he said. "With no consumables like ink required and only the infrequent cost of laser replacement, laser ablation has become widely accepted."

Laser coders are best for colored paper, PET, rubber, and other plastics, Ravetto said. Other benefits include code permanence, very high uptime due to low maintenance, graphics and logos capabilities, and the ability for a larger marking field for printing large characters.

One downside to laser technology is the capital cost and the cleaning systems required to remove fumes from the air, Norton said. But, he added, "Laser is making a strong play in primary coding because it can print/etch on non-porous substrates."

Tomorrow's outlook

While most of inkjet printing today is black and white, tomorrow may hold a more colorful future for the technology. Color inkjet printing is still in the early stages, Oliver said, but there are some systems currently being used in the market for limited production runs. "Full color digital inkjet printing will play a significant role in the future of packaging," he said. "The timeline is still unknown, but UV color inkjet is found in production today, and a number of large equipment and ink developers are investing significant resources in this technology, all with a vision of changing the world of package printing," he said.

Oliver foresees a hybrid printing model that combines conventional plate printing with digital inkjet printing to make possible time-sensitive or variable information. "We believe the hybrid printing model, in which spot color inkjet is incorporated into a conventional press, will see rapid growth in the next decade," he said.

Currently, said John Palazzolo, product manager for Kodak Versamark, manufacturers are turning to inkjet for short-run commodity package printing. Kodak is currently working with an automotive parts manufacturer on digitizing their workflow to streamline manufacturing processes. "In the automotive application, the manufacturer will be using inkjet to print part descriptions, UPC codes and part numbers, all of which are variable. This company has about 1,200 SKUs of automotive parts that they manufacture, but only 15 different sized boxes. This allows them to dramatically streamline their printing," Palazzolo said. "The appropriate number of preprinted boxes will be pulled and printed with description, UPC code and part number using a Kodak Versamark DS4350 UV printing system just prior to the part being manufactured. This will integrate package printing into the manufacturing process—packaging on demand."

Palazzolo also said that consumer product companies are finding ways to take back space on the packaging using inkjet technology. For example, he said, "Cereal boxes have nutrition labels and ingredient lists which are typically printed in black and white. Ingredient lists often contain the verbiage, 'This product may contain one or more of the following' due to formulation changes as a result of rapidly shifting commodity prices—like food grade oils, for example. Real estate on packaging is golden, and versioning with inkjet allows manufacturers to print the actual ingredient the product contains. This takes out lines of text and allows the packaging to be used for selling the product."

New market avenues

Currently inkjet is finding new markets with its increased capabilities. TIJ can be integrated into RFID applications today, Norton said. "RFID tags can be written, applied, and verified, and then TIJ can print human-readable and barcode information directly on the box. The GUI [graphical user interface] can control all of the equipment needed to operate an RFID solution," he said.

TIJ can also play a vital role in security printing to protect brands from counterfeiting, diversion, and smuggling. "Special inks exist today in HP cartridges to help curb fraudulent activities worldwide," Norton said.

In addition, inkjet's flexibility is important as package designers continue the trend of changing packaging materials. Ravetto points to the move from glass jars to plastics such as with mayonnaise, and the switch from cans to pouches like with tuna. "With inkjet, we have inks that are so versatile that in some markets such as beverage, in a single plant, you can use the same ink to mark on a PET bottle, a paper box, and a metal can—all with the same ink and same equipment across the plant," said Ravetto.

The future is wide open, Strobel said. "Now that inkjet's speed, quality, and cost per label is so competitive compared to other technologies—and far more versatile as a digital technology instead of analog—you'll see the technology appearing in places that were never before possible. Label printing is just the beginning," he said.

by Kate Sharon

Associate Editor