By Lisa Guerriero
Inkjet technology entered the print landscape over a decade ago, but its presence continues to expand. For the ultra-high volume color segment, continuous-feed inkjet presses deliver monthly duty cycles of ten million or higher. Cutsheet inkjet devices enter the high-volume printing segment, offering print speeds between one and ten million impressions per month.
Continuous-feed devices offer speeds between 500 and 1,000 feet per minute (fpm). As productivity improves, adoption steadily increases. “Since 2008 there really has been quite explosive growth,” observes Jim Hamilton, group director, InfoTrends. He notes that even during the 2008 to 2009 recession, the continuous-feed inkjet segment performed better than most other digital devices.
InfoTrends anticipates continued expansion for the high-volume, continuous-feed inkjet segment and predicts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.5 percent between 2014 and 2019 for the U.S., and 21.7 percent CAGR for Western Europe during the same time frame.
While less mature, the cutsheet inkjet production segment is expanding. Speeds of more than 200 pages per minute (ppm) are attainable. For instance, Canon recently introduced its Océ VarioPrint i300 cutsheet device, which delivers up to 294 letter-sized ppm—over 8,700 pages per hour. The device entered the market in June and the company estimates its average monthly duty cycle between two and five million.
Hamilton says the printer’s capability positions it in a “zone of disruption,” bridging the productivity gap between continuous-feed color inkjet and cutsheet color toner devices.
“There has been a tremendous shift in the industry within the past five years and during that timeframe, most adoption challenges have been overcome as production inkjet becomes a force in the market,” says Michael Poulin, senior manager, Canon Solutions America.
This article describes the current inkjet landscape, covering technology improvements and highlighting features of continuous-feed and cutsheet production inkjet devices.
Speed, Quality, and Capability
Continuous-feed inkjet represented 36 percent of 348 billion impressions in 2013. By 2018, InfoTrends expects global digital production color to exceed 725 billion impressions with inkjet representing about 58 percent.
While improved speed is a factor driving adoption, part of inkjet’s value is its ability to transform business models.
“You don’t buy a high-volume device just for short runs and quick turnaround work,” notes Hamilton, explaining that digital’s capacity for lights-out production and variable data increases its value.
Automated workflows and reduced touch points, as well as electronic finishing and collation, add to inkjet’s appeal. Specialty ink—including white for printing on packaging and Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) for financial applications—also increases its value.
“Today inkjet can offer printers many of the advantages that come with digital printing—from personalization to workflow automation and high-speed electronic collation to productivity and higher volume applications—often at a price point very comparable to offset,” explains Ed Wong, director, product marketing, Ricoh.
Transactional, promotional, and publishing drove high-volume continuous-feed inkjet adoption over the past decade.
“The transactional and direct mail segments had been waiting a long time for this speed, quality, and price in continuous-feed color. Once inkjet hit that, it was as easy as a multimillion dollar purchase can be,” says Hamilton.
Advancements in printhead technology provide improved color and resolution, enabling additional applications, allowing commercial print and packaging to migrate from traditional printing methods to continuous-feed inkjet printing.
“From posters to catalogs of all types, our customers have created revenue streams across a variety of industry verticals, including retail and grocery applications. From our perspective we aren’t waiting for something to happen to support commercial, we do it today,” says Pat McGrew, M-EDP, CMP, Hewlett-Packard (HP) inkjet high-speed production solutions.
Limited media capability previously restricted inkjet adoption. Ink and printhead developments address this barrier, enabling digital printing on lower cost offset stock. Paper treatment and drying systems are also available to improve media compatibility for inkjet devices.
“It will mainly come down to two things. Ink formulations that optimize performance on offset gloss and matte coated media without the need for pretreatment or bonding agents and printheads that improve the resolution and print quality to meet offset and toner standards,” predicts Deana Conyard, worldwide marketing manager, high-end production inkjet products, Xerox Corporation.
Continuous-Feed Printers
Continuous-feed presses offer numerous advantages for high- and ultra-high-volume production environments. Products on the market target different application needs with various speeds, printhead technology, and media capabilities.
Canon launched its new continuous-feed inkjet product in June, the Océ ImageStream 3500. The system prints up to 3,436 ppm with a maximum monthly volume of 111 million. It produces up to 19,200 B2 sheets per hour and offers 1,200×1,200 resolution at high speed, using piezoelectric drop on demand (DOD) printheads and pigment inks, which makes it suited to book, magazine, and commercial print. The Océ ImageStream 3500 handles standard offset media and prints on media up to 8.5 to 31 inches wide.
HP’s T410 Color InkJet Web Press produces over 5,000 full-color, letter-sized images per minute, or nearly 7,000 in monocolor. For monthly volume, it is capable of 140 in color or 175 million in monocolor. Targeting runs of one to 10,000, the roll-fed device handles media between 16 and 42 inches wide, 60 to 350 gsm. The InkJet Web Press line uses Scalable Printing Technology (SPT) to deliver sharp text, images, and uniform area fills at any speed. “SPT is designed to optimize press uptime. Multiple nozzles address each pixel to minimize print defects and reduce waste,” explains McGrew.
This year, HP released the T410 with its Priming Solution, which applies and dries HP’s priming agent across the web. The feature readies the paper for HP’s InkJet Web Press inks to enable printing on a variety of coated offset media with high color saturation, dark black optical density, and crisp text.
Still in development, High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) is a technology HP created to foster more applications for high-speed production inkjet. HDNA is designed to double the native resolution of current HP InkJet printheads from 10,560 to 21,120 nozzles, delivering 2,400 nozzles per inch. It supports dual drop weight per color for sharp text, fine lines, accurate skin tones, smooth gray and color transitions, and enhanced highlight and shadow detail. Nozzle redundancy ensures reliable and consistent printing.
Koenig & Bauer Group’s (KBA’s) RotaJET family offers multiple high-volume presses with web widths from 30.5 to 88.5 inches. With the RotaJET L series, web widths can be upgraded to accommodate new format requirements or increase output. All of the models use Kyocera printheads to provide 600×600 dpi native resolution, with enhanced quality from the two-bit multi-level and variable droplet sizes. The system includes an integrated cleaning system and the web-fed devices print with water-based pigment polymer ink.
Duty cycles start at 85 million per month for the 30.5-inch RotaJET 76, and increase for the wider width models. Many of the models print 500 fpm, which the company expects to raise to up to 1,000 fpm.
KBA recently released the RotaJET 168 and 225 from its RotaJET VL series. Designed for industrial applications, the devices print 15 and 20 square meters per hour, respectively. “The RotaJET VL, with web widths of up to 88 inches, is specially designed and already in daily operation for new industrial digital market segments like décor printing,” notes Klaus Schmidt, senior VP, marketing and corporate communications, KBA Group.
Kodak provides multiple options for continuous web-fed color inkjet production. It also features monochrome cutsheet and cut/web hybrids, which offer monthly page volumes of up to 36 million. For color web devices, the Prosper 6000 and Prosper 5000Xli each offer a duty cycle of up to 90 million, handle media up to 24.5 inches wide, and are suited to eight-, 12-, or 16-page signatures.
The Kodak Prosper 6000 model provides full-color, four-over-four output at up to 1,000 fpm. Its printheads are designed for use with water-based, micro-milled pigment ink. It delivers offset-like quality without compromising productivity, approaching 200 lines per inch on a range of media—including uncoated, coated, glossy, and silk papers. It is ideal for producing color variable data direct mailers, customized catalogs, books, newspapers, or TransPromo materials.
The Kodak Prosper 5000Xli, released last year, uses water-based nanotechnology ink and offers speeds up to 650 fpm for full-color, four-over-four output. Designed for efficiency, it produces up to 90 million A4 or U.S. letter pages per month.
Kodak’s continuous Stream Inkjet Technology allows the Prosper devices to be used in a variety of applications, from transactional and publishing to lottery and packaging. The technology “allows for compelling economics, high quality, and peerless productivity,” states Mansfield. The company also offers inline and offline optimizing stations that pre-treat media for use with its inkjet presses.
Debuting at Graph Expo, the Pitney Bowes AcceleJet Printing and Finishing System targets mid-volume transactional print and mail operations. The system offers a combination one-up roll-fed, high-quality duplex color inkjet print engine with integrated finishing.
The AcceleJet System provides a lower entry point for production inkjet printing and is designed to keep cost of ownership expenses low. It features Dual Print Modes and built-in flexible finishing options.
The Dual Print Modes let users fine-tune production to help tackle demanding color quality or service level agreements.
Inline finishing features include dynamic cross perforation, linear perforation, automated job separation, and servo-controlled precision cutting.
Ricoh’s web-fed inkjet offerings include the Pro VC60000 and the InfoPrint 5000 GP and MP. All three models feature piezoelectric DOD technology with Epson-made printheads, use water-based ink, and accept media up to 20.4 or 20.5 inches wide. The Ricoh Pro VC60000, released last year, produces more than 100,000 letter images per hour and offers a monthly duty cycle of 40,000 duplex. It renders up to 1,200×1,200 dpi and adjusts ink drop size dynamically for every pixel. It features two ten-liter containers for each color.
The InfoPrint 5000 models both offer 720×720 dpi resolution, with printheads designed to last an average of 18 months. They print 420 fpm—producing up to 40 million letter/A4 pieces per month.
The series includes a suite of measurement tools that enable quick, accurate ink estimates at the job costing stage and capture ink usage upon print completion. For example, Ink Savvy can reduce ink usage from ten to over 50 percent. It can also be used on coated stock. The MP model has the same features and benefits as the GP, but has additional options, including monochrome and MICR versions for customers that want to start transitioning these applications to inkjet.
Screen’s web-fed devices include five models in its TruepressJet 520 Series. The EX-Color, EX-Mono, S, ZZ, and HD all accommodate media up to 20 inches, use piezoelectric DOD technology, and use either dye or pigment ink.
The Screen TruePress 520 HD model, released this year, uses a proprietary printhead. It offers 1,200×1,200 resolution at speeds of up to 394 fpm, with a maximum monthly duty cycle of 45 million.
“Our newest device, the 520 HD, is targeted at commercial printers. The quality coming off this machine is better than high-end, high-volume color toner devices, more consistent, and total cost to produce is less than half the cost of using toner,” suggests Aron Allenson, sales engineer, high-speed inkjet, Screen.
The four other models in the series use Epson inkjet printheads and offer between 720×360 and 720×720 dpi. Depending on the model, speeds range between 210 and 722 fpm, with monthly maximum volumes of 20 to 100 million. The total cost of ownership is generally 20 to 30 percent lower than competing printers with similar image quality, adds Allenson.
TKS targets color newspaper production with the web-fed JETLEADER 1500. Typical output includes newspapers in the multi-section broadsheet and tabloid formats, as well as books and direct mail. The device offers a 170,000,000 average monthly duty cycle for A4, producing 492 fpm. It handles media up to 22 inches wide.
The JETLEADER 1500 uses Kyocera’s piezoelectric DOD printheads, which allow for water-based ink, ideal for newspaper printers that want to avoid ink rub off on readers’ fingers. The press is open source for ink. TKS designed a full complement of inline finishing that targets newspaper production, including a variable cutoff folder and a sheeter for cutsheet work.
The variable cutoff folder allows great flexibility in product size, which helps newspapers transform their business model, suggests Mike Shafer, VP of sales and marketing, TKS. To compensate for advertising or circulation declines, they can keep the press busy with commercial printing. “Having this kind of flexibility opens the door for additional work that was not possible with the more fixed format of a traditional offset press,” he says.
Xerox features a range of web-fed inkjet solutions, with average monthly volumes between two and 60 million depending on the device. All utilize piezoelectric DOD technology. Its Impika models offer adjustable print quality with up to three resolutions up to 1,200×600 dpi, and five drop sizes. Using water-based dye or HD pigment, speeds range from 416 to 833 fpm.
Xerox CiPress devices use waterless solid ink, allowing prints on plain, low-cost paper and lightweight media. Models offer either 600×600 or 400×600 dpi, enable MICR, and feature an intelligent scan bar for missing jet correction.
Xerox’s Impika products support stocks from 60 to 160 gsm on a range of plain, inkjet treated matte coated and silk stocks, while its CiPress inkjet technology supports 50 to 160 gsm. Both work well with plain offset media that does not require pretreatment or bonding agents. The company’s Impika HD ink formulations and CiPress waterless ink are optimized for quality and optical density on plain media, which minimizes the need for media advancements. “This is unique as pre-treatments, primers, bonding agents, or special coatings are not required to achieve high levels of image quality,” explains Conyard.
Xerox recently introduced the Rialto 900 Inkjet Press for continuous-feed production color. Offering an average monthly volume of 1.5 to five million impressions, the Rialto 900 prints single-pass, duplex jobs on narrow web—9.84 inches. It handles uncoated and untreated stocks as well as inkjet treated media.
Cutsheet Devices
An emerging segment, high-volume cutsheet inkjet is small but varied. Products offer a range of speeds and resolutions.
As previously mentioned, Canon launched its new cutsheet inkjet option, the Océ VarioPrint i300, earlier this year which complements its line of continuous-feed devices. The device attains speeds of nearly 300 ppm and over 8,700 pages per hour. It offers an estimated average monthly print volume of two to five million and an estimated monthly maximum volume of million. It is well suited to the book, magazine, and commercial print segments.
The device offers 600×600 dpi, in color, using Océ DigiDot piezoelectric DOD technology and pigment inks. It handles sheets of 8×8 to 13.8×19.7 inches, including standard offset stock. “We expect that with one Océ VarioPrint i300, a customer can accommodate the production output from two toner machines while still saving up to 40 percent in total running costs,” notes Poulin.
Fujifilm offers the J Press 720S for short runs, high-quality, and high-value work, and jobs requiring color consistency between versions and runs. Printing 2,700 sheets per hour, including variable data, it is compatible with standard offset stock. Fujifilm designed the cutsheet B2 device to produce output equal to, or better than, offset. It uses water-based pigment inks and offers 1,200×1,200 dpi native resolution.
Its Fujifilm Dimatix SAMBA printheads lay down droplets as small as two picoliters. Each B2-width print bar features 17 modular printheads—amounting to 34,816 nozzles per bar. “The SAMBA print bar also takes advantage of unique VersaDrop technology, allowing the size and shape of each ink drop to be precisely controlled and placed on the paper, resulting in fine lines and text,” says Ed Pierce, product marketing manager, FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division.
The J Press 720S handles media up to 20.9×29.5 inches, using an offset paper feed mechanism to ensure registration accuracy. The company’s Rapid Coagulation Primer prevents ink droplets from spreading when they hit paper, ensuring uniform ink formation regardless of paper type and preventing curling. An inline sensor system scans each sheet to maintain quality, modifying the printhead nozzle map and ink deposition parameters to correct deviations.
Konica Minolta is developing the KM-1 production inkjet press. The sheet-fed press will offer duplex printing in process color and a print size of 23×29.5 inches. The target monthly duty cycle is 1.5 million impressions. It will feature piezoelectric DOD printheads by Konica Minolta. The company predicts other inkjet advancements, with the potential for exploring larger sheet size, white ink, or spot varnish for a six-color mode.
RISO’s ComColor X1 Series offers several cutsheet models for color inkjet, with average monthly duty cycles of 65,000, with a maximum of 500,000. The five versions handle media up to 21.44 inches wide, with hourly output speeds of 90 to 150 depending on the model. Using oil-based ink and piezoelectric DOD technology, they provide 300×600 dpi.
Launched in 2013, the series features RISO’s FORCEJET technology. It utilizes 24 stationary piezoelectric printheads, and moves the paper across them instead of the other way around. “This approach has led to a straighter paper path, faster output, and the ability to print on a wide variety of media—all in a device with a smaller footprint, a shorter start-up time, lower power requirements, and fewer moving parts to replace,” describes Naoji Igarashi, VP/GM, sales division, RISO.
FORCEJET technology facilitates diverse media use. The ComColor X1 models accept a variety of uncoated stock, from 12- to 56-pound bond, including cardstock and cardboard, envelopes, and some forms of Tyvek.
Inkjet Evolution
As the continuous-feed inkjet market matures, it is increasingly able to compete with conventional printing methods. Advancements in ink technology, as well as expanded media capability, remove many of the barriers to adoption by improving image quality and lowering the cost of ownership.
Additionally, the potential for higher productivity in cutsheet inkjet is poised to disrupt the production segment. dps
Oct2015, DPS Magazine
