Tomorrow marks the closing of drupa, the world’s largest trade show covering the printing industry. After 11 days at Messe Dusseldorf in Dusseldorf, Germany, leading suppliers to the printing industry will head home with lots of new contacts and contracts.
 
drupa covers 19 halls and approximately 1.8 million square feet. Among the nearly 2,000 exhibitors on hand this year were many ink manufacturers, who had lots of new products and services to highlight.
 
EFI made a major announcement at EFI CEO Guy Gecht discussed the company’s new EFI AquaEndure water-based inkjet inks for packaging.
 
“Everyone has figured out that the combination of water-based inks and UV is a holy grail, but the ability to print it is key. This will really help our inkjet platform become more successful,” Gecht said. He added that AquaEndure will be ready in 2017.
 
“With the AquaEndure inks, there are a lot of benefits with an aqueous UV ink, in which water is the carrier,” Stephen Emery, VP, Ink Business, Jetrion and Rialco for EFI, added.  “The biggest challenge is eliminating the water. We are very optimistic about our ability to parlay this platform to our other technologies.”
 
“UV inks are certainly growing,” Emery said.  “Five years ago, we moved to LED, and now almost 100% of our printers are UV LED. We entered into the ceramic market a few years ago, and now it is 65% digital. What we learned from producing ceramic inks is efficiencies and lean practices. Now we’ve entered textiles and are producing our own reactive ink. It’s a very high growth area.”
 
Benny Landa, founder of Landa Nanographic, discussed his company’s new ink technology.
 
“We have a very strong patent base for our inks and machines,” Landa said. “We are building our pigment factory in Israel, which will also be used in other industries, including automotive. We supply inks to Komori. We give the inks for free through our pay-for-use program. We are talking about staggering amounts. We are shipping concentrates that will be diluted by the customer’s tap water, and the pages are completely deinkable.”
 
Matthieu Carni, business development manager at Siegwerk, talked about Siegwerk’s entry into the world of digital inks with its SicuraJet series of inks.
 
“Siegwerk is entering the digital market, beginning with UV inkjet for narrow web and labels and directly on packaging,” Carni reported. “We have been working on inkjet inks for three years, and we are already commercial. It is a fragmented market, but it will grow. We have partnerships with some OEMs, and we have a lab and pilot production unit in France near our UV and energy curing lab. We can formulate our ink, test it and run it on a production line.”
 
Packaging is a key area of focus for Toyo Ink.
 
“At drupa, we are emphasizing our new products for packaging,” said Shintaro Yamaoka, Toyo Ink Co., Ltd.  VP. “We are introducing our water-based flexo inks, which offer good lamination bonding. Aquaecol is our newest water-based gravure inks, and Aqua Liona is designed for water-based flexo.”
 
“Sterabeam, our new EB flexo and offset inks and coatings, will be launched soon,” added Masashi Takeda, 1st Overseas Section, 4th Technical Department, Printing R&D Division, Technical Center for Toyo Ink. “It is safe and clean, with no photoinitiators, solvent or water. It is easy to operate and is competitively priced.”
 
Toyo Ink’s partnership with KBA was big news at drupa.
 
“Over the years, we have had a lot of success collaborating with press manufacturers in Japan, and now we are developing close relationships with leading press manufacturers including KBA, W&H and Comexi,” Yamaoka said.
 
Flint Group had a wide range of inks and services at drupa 2016.
 
“Sheetfed LED is a most exciting development for us,” said Michael Kellen, VP sales/sheetfed, North America. “LED continues to grow in inks and coatings, and it is a transformational opportunity for printers. We have developed our XCURA inks for LED.  LED is coming more critical for the future of commercial and packaging printers. Our LED coatings are another frontier, and it is a market that is developing very quickly.”
 
Deanna Klemesrud
, global marketing director - Brand & Promo, Flint Group 
Packaging & Narrow Web, discussed the new XtraMileglobal packaging program launched at drupa 2016.
 
“XtraMile is our services solution program for our customers who want to increase their bottom line through increased productivity, reduced waste, training and environmental concerns,” said Klemesrud. “Our teams do a pressroom audit, including prepress. It is a real partnership with our customers, who can make these improvements that will benefit their bottom line.”
 
Rick Clendenning, president and CEO at INX International Ink Co., said that this year’s booth focused on the capabilities of the entire company, including parent company Sakata INX and INX Digital.
 
“It is a Sakata INX booth with our whole company represented,” Clendenning said. “The big benefit at drupa is that you can show off your global technologies and global footprint. You really get to see a lot of different people, whether they are customers, our distributors, and technical personnel.
 
“We are showing new machines, as well as new low migration technology for offset and UV flexo,” Clendenning added. “We have added UV/EB offset manufacturing in Spain and UV flexo production in France and the UK. Label and narrow web is one of our largest growth markets, and we are also adding onto our digital footprint. We are heavily involved in labels and shrink films.”
 
Hiro Iida, sales representative, America for T&K Toka’s Overseas Department, noted that the company’s UV inks were earning much attention from attendees.
 
“This is our very first time at drupa,” Iida said. “Our newest launch is Kireina, a powder-free ink. Our UV LED ink series is also growing, and LED is becoming huge. We are focused on UV LED and HD low energy curing systems. Printers are installing these systems more and more, and many companies are using our LED inks. Quality is our lifeline.”
 
 “The show has been great,” Iida added. “We are very busy. A lot of people are asking us about our inks, particularly LED and HUV, as well as UV flexo.”
 
“drupa is a very nice show for us,” said Hideyuki Hinataya, director and GM, Toka Ink International (Hong Kong) Ltd. “We have had a lot of guests from throughout the world. There are a lot of people interested in UV LED and our Kereina inks.”
 
Jan Schuite of Schuite and Schuite Druckfarben GmbH discussed his company’s Bionomic 2.0, its mineral oil-free heatset inks the company formulated in partnership with Total.
 
“There is concern over the migration of mineral oil on recycled paper getting into the food chain, and when Total came up with a new replacement for mineral oil, they came to us as we are the only heatset ink company doing R&D on this,” Schuite said. “In the past, there were some publishers who wanted to go mineral oil-free, which led us to look in this direction.”
 
“I saw samples and went into the lab, and Bionomic 2.0 was born,” added Marc De Geest of Schuite & Schuite. “The price was less expensive than 1.0, and Bionomic 2.0 is also drying better, so printers don’t have to raise the temperature as much. The VOC content of 2.0 is 25% lower.”
 
Daniel Gandner, director, marketing and communication, printing inks for Marabu Inks, said that Marabu had a wide range of new inks at drupa this year.
 
“We are showing new inks for pad printing,” said Gandner. “We are finding new applications all of the time. We have developed a fabric application that replaces tags on clothing. We havealso  developed a water-based spray ink for toys, like little animal figures for children. Solvent-based inks had previously been used, but our water-based inks are safer for the consumer, safer for employees and no longer require a solvent retention system. Our UV CP UV screen ink is ideal for cosmetic packaging, and fulfills all requirements for the cosmetic industry. drupa is the most important exhibition for us, and the early days were good.”
 
Clêo Vargas, export manager and marketing, Export Department at Chimigraf Iberica, S.L., noted that digital printing for corrugated cardboard and low migration inks are of particular interest at drupa 2016.
 
“The industry sees that digital is the future,” Vargas said. “We have been developing digital inks for more than 20 years.
 
Chimigraf Iberica also launched a new water-based ink for flexible packaging. “Our water-based inks for film are quite a new technology, and we are getting great results, as we can print 500 meters per minute on a Comexi press,” he added.
 
Vargas said that Chimigraf Iberica’s new solvent-less IdroStar Plus also is earning praise from customers.
 
“The technology of the ink is so well developed,” Vargas said. “Customers are converting their solvent-based machines to run this, which is great savings for them.”
 
Collins Inkjet showed its new EB inks during drupa 2016. “Our electron beam (EB) technologies are good for high volume applications,” said Lawrence Gamblin, president of Collins Inkjet. “EB has a small footprint and has a better solution for food labeling as there are no photoinitiators and migration is much better in limited tests. EB inks are much more stable. UV and UV LED are still dominant technologies.”
 
Wim van Mastrigt, managing director at Royal Dutch Printing Ink Factories Van Son, said that drupa is very good this year.
 
“There is a positive atmosphere, which is good for the industry. Printers are more optimistic,” van Mastrigt said. “The conventional sheetfed printing market is shrinking, but we are growing out. We are active in nearly 90 countries, including Africa and Eurasia, and there the conventional market is still growing. We are also growing our sales in the US year over year.”
 
Van Son is showing its PrimeBio sheetfed inks at drupa this year.
 
“PrimeBio is vegetable oil-based, and is 75% renewable,” said van Mastrigt. “PrimePack is a low migration ink for general packaging applications. We are also showing our AquaBase water-based flexo color concentrate.”
 
Dr. Hamid Shirazi, global technical promotions manager, FUJIFILM Imaging Colorants, noted many of the company’s ink offerings, which were showcased at FUJIFILM’s stand.
 
“We have been making inks since the 1980s. We make UV, water-based, aqueous UV and textile inks, thermoformable inks, artificial leather, edible inks, metallic inks and invisible inks. We leverage technologies from different parts of our business,” said Dr. Shirazi.
 
Benjamin Bornfleth, technical service for Epple Druckfarben AG, noted that UV LED and HUV are becoming bigger.
 
“We have new series for these as well as conventional UV,” Bornfleth said. “In UV, we have UV AtmosFair H for Komori, UV AtmosFair HR for KBA, UV AtmosFair LE for Heidelberg, as well as UV AllStar and UV FoilStar. In commercial, we are offering Premium PSO and Premium Fast Dry, which dries much faster and offers excellent rub resistance. BioFood is our next-generation series of low migration inks.”
 
Wikoff Color made its debut at drupa this year, focusing on its complete range of products.
 
“We are highlighting our entire product line, meeting customers and potential distributors,” said Daryl Collins, VP of national sales and regional operations at Wikoff Color.
 
“UV LED, conventional UV inks and coatings are of particular interest here,” added John Pettus, marketing manager/national sales at Wikoff Color.
 
Damon Geer, VP sales, Zeller+Gmelin North America, reported that LED and low migration are areas of interest at drupa this year. “In Europe, we are concentrating on LED, HUV and next generation low migration inks,” Geer said.
 
“LED inks for sheetfed offset in Europe are a big market. LED flexo will take time due to the cost of interdeck equipment,” added Juergen Walther, technical support, Division Printing Inks, Zeller+Gmelin GmbH & Co. KG.
 
Steve Fisher, managing director for Mirage Inks, discussed new products from the company. “Our Quartz Stellar UV Cationic Ink System offers enhanced flexibility and wear resistance,” he said. “Our High Strength UV Extended Color Gamut series is a UV free radical ink, and we are also showing our UV cationic ink that can be printed on glass.”
 
Stefan Zah, manager marketing communication at Proll KG, noted that Proll has made significant inroads into the automotive industry.
 
“Our Norilux DC lacquer offers excellent chemical resistance as well as grease and abrasion resistance,” said Zah. “It is solvent and UV cured, which makes it really durable. It can be metallic, textured, matt or other effects. For example, matt lacquers are ideal for automotive dials.”
 
Matthew Bornasconi, CTO for Opaltone, said that Opaltone’s seven-color printing replaces Lc, Lm and Lk with RGB.
 
“It expands the normal color range, giving printers brighter greens and cleaner oranges and blues, as well as a closer match to any Pantone or spot color,” Bornasconi reported. “It is more realistic to the RGB image on the screen.”
 
Typochimiki S.A., a Kapandriti, Greece specialist in sheetfed inks, made its debut at drupa this year. “This is our first time at drupa,” said Nikos Psaroulis, sales supervisor for Typochimiki S.A. “We expect that the sheetfed packaging market in Greece will be picking up.”
 
DLH Printing Inks Technology AG was on hand to show its inks for décor. “We are showing AquaDecor print structure for wood grain, pigmented inkjet inks and thermal and UV curable lacquers,” said Alexander Gutsche, a chemist at DLH.
 
Bordeaux Digital PrintInk showed its newest inks, including Eden, a universal textile ink that works for all applications.
 
“One of the biggest developments is our textile pigmented textile ink breakthrough,” said Nufar Kiryani, marcom manager for Bordeaux. “Traditionally, the textile was done by screenprinting. We found a lot of complexities in switching. With dyes in inkjet, you would need different types of inks for different fabrics. This leads to higher costs, and one print house would specialize in a certain type of fabric.
 
“With our pigmented Eden ink, a printer can print on any type of fabric with one ink and one process,” Kiryani reported. “The answer lies within the ink, not the equipment. It works for leather, silk or whatever type of fabric that is being printed, plus there is no pre- or post-treatment. We have had a huge reaction from customers at Itma and Fespa, and we already have huge names using our Eden inks. It is opening new business opportunities for print shops that have only specialized in one type of fabric before.”