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Aggressive solvent inks/printers have been very popular in the wide-format printing industry because of the image quality, durability, and cost (the ink and printing materials are cheap and easy to come by). They are, however, among the most toxic printing technologies, requiring special ventilation because of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released into the air.
With the industry as a whole becoming more socially conscious and with continuing efforts to "go green" the question becomes what role do aggressive solvent printers have in the wide-format market going forward? Will they be replaced with more environmentally friendly options? We asked several experts in the field for their opinions on these questions and also asked what their companies are doing to address this issue.
Increased Competition
Rick Scrimger, vice president and general manager, Roland's Color Products Division, notes that while solvent printers were once the digital printing standard for outdoor durable graphics market, in recent years they have faced increasing competition from more environmentally friendly alternatives including eco-solvent, aqueous, and now bio inkjet printers.
The primary reason for this shift, according to Scrimger, is an increasing demand among consumers and government entities worldwide for products that preserve the environment. In the digital printing market, the primary focus has been on the development of more eco-friendly inks.
"Solvent inkjet printers come equipped with inks that include VOCs that require very diligent handling," Scrimger explains. "In addition to their environmental impact, inks that contain these compounds present health and safety concerns for shop employees and require expensive ventilation systems and special handling procedures during shipping and disposal."
Environmentally friendly inks, such as eco-solvents, by definition do not emit harmful levels of VOCs during normal digital printing operations. They are generally safe to use in a small business environment when handled according to EPA and OSHA guidelines.
"We expect the market for aggressive solvent printers to slow in the future due to the continued advancement of eco-solvent inks and other alternative inks," says Scrimger. "Many eco-solvent inks on the market today match the image quality, long-lasting durability and support for uncoated media that once distinguished solvent inks in the marketplace. Eco-solvent inks achieve this without the intensive handling and ventilation requirements of aggressive solvent inks."
Scrimger is quick to point out that while the overall market favors more environmentally friendly options, for high-volume shops equipped with proper handling, disposal and ventilation systems, aggressive solvent inkjet printers remain a viable option. "The lower ink and media costs involved in operating aggressive solvent inkjet printers can add up to considerable savings for these larger, more industrial shops," he says.
Scrimger expects eco-solvent inks to continue to take market share in both the outdoor and indoor wide-format printing markets. In the outdoor market, he says professionals are increasingly selecting eco-solvent inks to produce signs, banners, vehicle graphics and wraps, labels, decals and event graphics. While aqueous inks continue to be popular within the fine-art and photography markets (due to their expanded color gamut and higher image quality), Scrimger says eco-solvent inks are rapidly replacing aqueous inks for a majority of indoor applications and especially for retail applications.
"The market has recently seen the introduction of new bio inks that are even more eco-friendly," says Scrimger. "While these ink formulations hold promise for the future, their image quality and durability has yet to meet the industry's high standards. We expect demand for these inks to rise as the technology advances."
As for what Roland is doing to address the changing times, Scrimger points out that Roland pioneered the development of eco-solvent inks in 2003 with the introduction of ECO-SOL Ink. In 2005, Roland introduced ECO-SOL MAX for VersaCamm and SOLJET inkjets, delivering even better performance without emitting harmful VOCs.
"In 2008, we expect to introduce a new line of biodegradable media into our product offering for use with Roland eco-solvent inkjet printers," says Scrimger. "In the future, Roland will continue to work diligently and systematically to bring more eco-friendly solutions to market to serve our customers."
Still Vital
While the industry will continue to strive for more environmentally friendly printing solutions, Nils Miller, senior scientist for ink and media, at HP, says wide-format printers using solvent inks still play a very important role in the industry today and are essential for the creation of certain applications.
"Solvent inks offer a benefit in price, cost per copy and productivity and are extremely durable when used for outdoor applications," says Miller. "Solvent inks also have an advantage in terms of flexibility and are ideal for applications such as vehicle and building wraps."
While customer demand for "green" printing solutions continues to rise, Miller says it is likely that new solutions will become available, but, he adds, solvent inks remain important to the industry and are also evolving themselves with the development of alternatives such as non-HAPs solvent inks. Solvent inks still play an important role in the creation of durable outdoor and flexible applications, but UV and water-based inks, such as HP's Latex Ink Technology, are becoming more pervasive in high-speed, flexible and rigid applications.
"At this time, environmentally friendly ink options act as a complement to the existing aqueous, eco-solvent, hard solvent and UV-curable portfolio to expand digital signage applications and better meet Graphic Arts' customer needs," says Miller. "There is a great deal of research and development that needs to occur before these solutions can replace solvent inks."
HP is strategically moving towards offering new standards that will help customers have more comfortable print environments while also expanding the types of applications, from indoor to outdoor that can be developed.
"We recently announced the new HP Latex Ink Technologies, which offer an environmentally responsible, large-format printing alternative for a wide variety of outdoor and indoor applications," reports Miller. Designed with the environment in mind, the water-based HP Latex Inks complement HP's existing portfolio of UVC, solvent and non-HAPs solvent inks to offer high-quality production for a broad range of large-format applications, according to Miller.
"HP Latex Inks offer extremely durable output, vivid image quality, high productivity and a low total impact on the environment," says Miller. "The solution also allows print service providers to lower overall costs by reducing infrastructure and permit requirements, allowing for faster set-up time and location flexibility and also lessening environmental, health and safety considerations."
In addition to technology developments, Miller says HP is working to educate the graphic arts industry by developing an environmental footprint calculator, publishing white papers and establishing recycling guidelines for HP users.
Additional Options
Randy Paar, display graphics product manager, Wide Format Printing Systems, Océ North America, agrees that full-solvent printers are playing a decreasing role as the quality and performance of alternative inks—solvent and even UV—continually improve.
"Aggressive solvents will become more and more relegated to unique, specialized applications and media," says Paar. "The added emphasis on environmentally friendly printing is also accelerating the move away from using strong solvents."
This has already been happening with the eco-solvent inks currently used in the Océ CS9000 series, according to Paar. He says the VOC and odor-free nature of these inks makes them a more versatile, desirable alternative to a mild solvent. This allows users to operate in normal office-like environments without the need for an air-purification system. Paar says UV inks are also continuing in popularity for similar reasons. He points out that Océ is striving to educate the market and its customers about available choices.
"Many buyers are still unaware of the choices they have in making an environmentally conscious decision in their next printer purchase," Paar says. "Océ is continually looking at supporting green initiatives in our markets from reducing the power consumption in our products, to producing products that can be upgraded, made from, or become recycled rather than end up in a landfill." Paar also reports that Océ recently became members of the USGBC and SGP Partnership Advisory Committee.
Shifting Inks
Chuck Dourlet, VP of Marketing EFI VUTEk, says we have already seen a shift from "hot" solvents to mild or eco-solvent inks. While these inks aren't "green" he notes that they do lack the more aggressive solvent compounds like Cyclohexanone and MEK.
"Although less aggressive than traditional solvent inks, they're adequate for many low-abrasion, wide-format applications where a film overlaminate will be used," says Dourlet. "In terms of the superwide-format print market, where higher speed printing and extended durability is required, we're seeing a migration away from the use of traditional solvent inks as new technologies like UV and Bio-Solvents evolve."
Dourlet concedes that eventually we'll reach a point when customer demands will drive the transition from solvent (traditional and mild/eco) to greener technologies like Bio-Solvent and UV inks.
"This is happening now with larger corporations who are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and will eventually trickle down to mid-sized and small businesses," he says.
Before this happens, however, Dourlet says customers will need to see advancements in the print and media industries that drive the cost per print and durability for green technology to a level equal or better than that of traditional solvent output.
EFI VUTEk has introduced BioVU inks, a solvent ink that has been recognized by the EPA as a sustainable solution, according to Dourlet, and the company continues to develop green inks for use in wide and superwide format applications.
"VUTEk also takes an active role in testing and approving green media solutions developed by our many partners," states Dourlet.
Another Thought
Tom Reilly, vice president of Marketing and Advertising, Gandinnovations says the future for grand-format printing is in UV inks and 100 percent PE materials.
"They are becoming much cheaper and UV curable inks are more eco-friendly. This is the future," says Reilly.
Reilly reports that the Gandinnovations has just released their Jeti3348 jetstream, a three-meter UV RTR print at 2,500 sqft/hour. "This four-color digital printer is perfect for billboard and outdoor applications," says Reilly.
Steven Shaw is the former editor of Industrial Photography and Studio Photography. He writes for numerous trade magazines, including Studio, PTN and Kitchen & Bath Design News.
author: BY STEVEN SHAW