New EFI Ink Co-Branded for 3M MCS Warranty

EFI announced a new ink for its VUTEk GS5000r five-meter roll-to-roll digital printer. With EFI’s new ink, co-branded with and qualified by 3M, output from the GS5000r, on 3M media, will meet the requirements of the 3M MCS Warranty, the premier graphics guarantee in the industry. EFI VUTEk customers will be able to print the same applications they provide today, plus an extended range of applications offered by 3M’s materials, including long-term signage and fleet graphics, as well as reflective applications. The new ink is currently scheduled for commercial release in Q4 2010.

“EFI places a strong emphasis on making our customer’s business successful. As a result of the collaboration between EFI and 3M, this new ink set will help eligible customers create output covered by a best-in-class warranty, which will give our customers a differentiation against the competition,” said EFI president Fred Rosenzweig. “Adding a new 3M qualified ink set to our product portfolio is a great opportunity to showcase our strong partnership.”

“3M and EFI have worked together on piezo inkjet solutions since the mid-1990s. We are excited to announce this new ink as a result of our collaboration, as well as the extension of the 3M MCS Warranty to VUTEk GS5000r output produced with the new ink, 3M media, and applied according to 3M technical literature,” said Bob Doughty, vice president of 3M Commercial Graphics Division.

The MCS Warranty covers defects in finished graphics’ appearance for up to four years outdoors, including discoloration, fading, cracking, peeling, and other defects that make the graphics unsuitable for their intended purpose and up to five years for vehicle graphics.

These inks also come with an extended shelf life of 15 months. The new inks match the high standards of EFI’s current ink set in terms of adhesion and color gamut, and are highly flexible with noticeably lower odor than other UV inks. Warranty-qualifying output will be shown in EFI’s booth (413) at the 2010 SGIA Expo in Las Vegas (Oct. 13-16), with side-by-side comparative samples.