Aqueous Inkjet is Still King Cincinnati OH

I know what you're thinking. Is this guy serious? With all of the new printer technologies that have been introduced in the past five years, how could aqueous inkjet technology still be king? This article will take the perspective that dollar-for-dollar, print-to-print, aqueous inkjet technology is still king of the castle.

We all know that aqueous inkjet printers have their limitations. Their relatively slower print speeds are not conducive to streamlining production. Even with 'outdoor' ink formulations, they don't have the capability to provide robust, unlaminated outdoor durability. Lagging behind the hot flatbed printing trend in the market right now, their inability to provide direct-to-board printing paved the way for the emergence of solvent and UV curable inkjet technology.

But don't be so quick to dismiss the staying power of aqueous inkjet. The low price point, ease of use, relative lack of maintenance, wider color gamut, ever-increasing photorealistic resolution, and broad range of available media choices solidify aqueous inkjet at the top. If you want to easily create an inexpensive, color accurate photograph, proof or layout, aqueous inkjet is the right choice. While the kingdom has lost some users over the past few years in the sign and outdoor market to solvent inkjet, the rise in popularity of solvent inkjet for outdoor applications has actually strengthened aqueous inkjet's reign for indoor photo and proofing markets.

Higher Resolutions for Photorealistic Output

This competition between aqueous and solvent technologies seems to have reinvigorated a stale hardware market with new life. In the past year we have seen exciting releases from key printer manufacturers, and we expect more innovation in the coming years. Today's aqueous inkjet printers are related only in classification to their early ancestors. Today's printers boast six to twelve colors, 2880 dpi, and a color gamut approaching or exceeding traditional silver halide technology. The extra ink channels enable these printers to deliver exceptional color as well as rich, neutral blacks, resolving a long-standing complaint about digital inkjet devices. We have also seen the first device with a built-in spectrophotometer and gloss coating capability, which bring aqueous inkjet one step closer to automated color management and a silver halide gloss finish.

The explosion of digital photography has also revitalized sales in the digital inkjet market. A process that used to include film, processing, proofing, and printing—which could take days to complete—can now be accomplished in just minutes. The advantages of digital photography far outweigh what skeptics once held as the "failure of digital" regarding color gamut, sharpness, detail, workflow and price. Remember the old arguments about CDs not sounding as good as vinyl records? Excuse me for a moment while I try to find my old record player…

There is a definite link between the success of the digital photography market and aqueous inkjet technology. With more and more photographers doing their own printing, the line is blurring between the traditional studio and the lab. Standard equipment for a portrait studio now includes at least one aqueous inkjet printer.

Yet there is more to the aqueous inkjet market than serving just professional photographers. These printers are the best choice for creative firms, art departments, prepress firms and artists. What is so great about aqueous inkjet technology that is available today?

Price

One of the easiest answers is price. With price points less than $5000 for a 17-inch unit, printers don't require a second mortgage to start printing. While the ink is often more expensive than solvent technology, the profiled workflow means fewer wasted prints and the low maintenance means less ink wasted during cleanings.

Footprint

Have you seen the size of the smallest solvent printers on the market? They're big. Many aqueous inkjet printers can fit right on top of your desk or right next to it. And you don't need a lot of extra room to access docking stations for cleaning or to mount 50-pound rolls.

Installation

What installation? Plug-and-play setup makes aqueous inkjet a very user-friendly solution to both novices and seasoned veterans. With no harmful fumes, there is also no venting required for aqueous inkjet.

Solvent printers require daily maintenance. Cleaning is often messy and, if it is not performed frequently enough, can lead to very costly repairs. The fumes from many of the inks available today necessitate outdoor venting or scrubber units. However, solvent print technology—even with the advances in eco-solvent ink—make sense for outdoor and larger size graphics. They can streamline production and provide better durability without lamination and can produce those larger format print jobs without tiling.

Quality

When discussing printers, it is easy to get caught up in everything other than the quality of the output. If you are looking to produce high quality photographic prints, aqueous is still king of the castle. These devices are also extremely easy to profile. Many brands of aqueous inkjet media come pre-profiled from the manufacturer. This makes a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) workflow that much easier to attain. If your media does not come with free profiles or you like to create your own profiles, aqueous inkjet is much easier to profile that solvent inkjet as there are no additional heat settings and heat zones to address.

Media Choices

Aqueous inkjet has a virtually endless array of compatible media available in the industry today - from papers and films to vinyls and textiles. Each category usually has multiple thicknesses, finishes and coatings, which can optimize ink load, dry time, or cross printer compatibility. The coatings on aqueous inkjet media are specially designed to provide superior performance.

While UV curable printers claim they print on virtually anything, there is no pre-established profile or color for half-inch plywood or frosted Plexiglas. With solvent inkjet technology, many media manufacturers are now starting to offer more than just uncoated vinyl—such as photopaper, backlit films and tradeshow film, yet the media of choice is still uncoated vinyl.

The Aqueous Castle

The worldwide installed base of aqueous inkjet printers far exceeds that of any other inkjet printer technology. While solvent and UV curable inkjet technologies have made significant headway in key markets and specific applications, today aqueous inkjet remains king of the indoor, high-resolution applications castle.

Dan Halkyard is director of Wide Format Supplies Marketing for Océ Imaging Supplies. He is responsible for all wide format media including display graphics, reprographics, and CAD product lines as well as the brand management and positioning of Océ Imaging Supplies. For additional product information, visit www.oceusa.com/imagingsupplies.