Roland DG recently showcased their newly-launched VersaUV S-Series UV-LED printer at InPrint in Munich. Visitors were captivated by the S-Series printing logos directly onto footballs – a quirky application intended to visually demonstrate the printer’s ability to image directly onto objects previously considered too high, too heavy or too complex for direct print.

Chicago, IL, September 6, 2017 –InPrint USA, the Industrial Print Show, will host the first Industrial Inkjet Conference May 1-2, 2018 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. The conference will showcase how inkjet technologies are transforming the manufacturing sector and will educate attendees on the opportunities and challenges in inkjet printing for industrial applications.

The uptake and popularity of UV-LED curing ink has been increasing over the past decade to a point where we can now say it is the ink of the moment. Businesses specializing in inkjet, screen, and narrow-web printing have embraced LED (light emitting diode) curing technology for its lifecycle cost, environmental, and versatility benefits compared to mercury lamps can, and have, created outstanding graphics and displays as a result.

Print providers are constantly having to walk a narrow tightrope when it comes to pursuing new opportunities, new applications, and new market segments. Which possibilities do you pursue, and which do you not? Do you allow what seems to be a “hot” market segment to pass you by – or do you take a chance on it, and perhaps have to let something you currently pursue fall by the wayside? And when do you make those decisions?

Nazdar's UV-LED inks have been specifically formulated to cure at 395 nanometers (nm). In general, UV-LED systems have a tolerance range of +/-5 nm and an nm output curve that is relatively narrow but spans approximately +/- 15 nm. The initiators selected for UV-LED inks target this range, but are also reactive outside this range. This means that UV-LED inks should be reactive to both UV-LED and mercury vapor curing systems. This may vary to some degree depending on the specific ink's color and pigment load.

InPrint Show’s newest survey polled 162 industrial printers around the world for a report focused on the potential of inkjet technology for the packaging market. When asked what sectors offer “the most immediate prospects for industrial print,” 74 percent of respondents pointed to packaging – up nearly 14 percent from last year’s survey. Décor was the second-most chosen response at 54 percent; functional print drew 33 percent of respondents.

Anticipated growth for industrial, digital inkjet print technology for production in functional, decorative and packaging printing sectors remains strong and buoyant, according to a new survey and report produced by I.T. Strategies for InPrint USA: The Industrial Print Show. 74% of survey respondents felt that the packaging sector has the greatest amount of expected growth in 2017.

Ahead of the InPrint USA Show 25-27 April in Orlando, The Industrial Print Blog flagged up 20 facts about industrial printing.