Digital printing is rapidly expanding, with gains being made in textiles, signage and more. There are a number of major shows ahead that will highlight the inkjet market, with FESPA Digital 2016 the first on the schedule.
 
FESPA Digital 2016, the 10th anniversary of the Digital show, is being held in Amsterdam from March 8-11. It runs in conjunction with the European Sign Expo. With more than 430 exhibitors on hand, it will be showing the full range of inkjet equipment and consumables. On the ink side along, suppliers include Bordeaux, Chimigraf Iberica SL, EFI, Fujifilm, INX International Ink Co., JTeck-3, Kiian Digital, Nazdar, Sawgrass Technologies, Sensient Imaging Technologies and Sun Chemical.
 
Here are some of the anticipated highlights from ink manufacturers exhibiting at this year’s FESPA:
 
• Bordeaux (Hall 7, Stand S150) will be highlighting its new water-based pigment ink for every type of textile, including garments and home decoration. The company will also show its UV and solvent-based ink systems.
 
“As part of our continuous commitment to develop comprehensive yet simple solutions to the digital printing industry, we added a new product to our leading textile inks solutions and expended it with the game-changing pigment ink,” Guy Evron, director of marketing at Bordeaux, said.
 
• Fujifilm (H70, Hall 1) will feature its new Acuity LED 1600 II roll printer, which has printing speeds up to 33 sqm/hr and a maximum width of 1,610 mm.
  
• INX International Ink Co. (Hall 5, Stand M85) will offer a wide range of products at Fespa Digital. TRIANGLE brand inks will be represented by ESC eco-solvent inks that work in tandem with Epson Stylus SureColor wide format printers, and MGA UV curable inks that are intended for use with Durst RHO printers.
 
Running live in the booth will be a Roland XF-series printing with TRIANGLE RXV inks; a Mimaki JV-300 with MSS inks, an Epson F-2000 printing with TSE on t-shirts, and an HP FB-500 printing with HFB inks.
 
INX also will feature Prodigy and EVOLVE Advanced Digital Solutions, including inks designed for challenging industrial applications, such as an all new extended gamut stretchable UV curable ink for traditionally difficult plastics; a new UV curable ink set specifically designed for synthetic leather applications, and new ink options for textiles, glass, metal, corrugated packaging and film applications.
 
• J-Teck3 (Hall 1, Stand G50) will bring its portfolio of disperse dyes for sublimation and direct printing for markets such as sportswear and apparel, home furnishing and display graphics, to FESPA Digital this year. 
 
“We are confident that our innovative portfolio, with its exceptional image definition on polyester and synthetic fabrics, is the number one solution for textile printers,” Italo Mariani, J-Teck3’s sales director, reported.
 
J-Teck3 will show its new J-Cube inks, which are designed for printers with Kyocera, Ricoh, Konica Minolta and Panasonic printheads. The J-Cube water-based piezo inks, formulated for high-speed digital printers, feature the company’s Cluster Technology. J-Next inks are developed for Epson printheads, with J-Next aimed at coated and uncoated papers and J-Next Print designed for polyester for apparel and displays.
 
• Kiian Digital (Hall 5, Stand K20) will feature its sublimation inks designed for textile printing. The company notes that its Digistar inks feature 81 colors, and are compatible with wide format printheads from Epson (Digistar Hi-Pro), Kyocera (Digistar K-One), Panasonic and Ricoh (Digistar AIR).
 
“Digital printing is becoming increasingly popular in the textile and interior décor industry where color, performance and immediate availability are crucial,” Marco Girola, Kiian Digital marketing specialist, said.
 
• Nazdar Ink Technologies (Hall1 Stand J120) is bringing two new ink series to FESPA Digital, including the Nazdar 203 and Nazdar 130 Series. A plug and play ink alternative for Roland Eco Max 3 inks, the Nazdar 203 Series omit several raw materials facing regulatory restrictions in many countries within the EU. The new 130 Series inks are designed for Mimaki JV33, CJV, JV300 and JV150 printers that use Mimaki SS21 inks.
 
On the UV side, Nazdar is launching three new UV plug and play inks: Nazdar 702 Series for Oce Arizona; Nazdar 703 Series for Fujifilm Acuity; and Nazdar 705 Series for HP FB500/700.  Nazdar will also be highlighting its TX650 water-based, dye-sublimation inks.
 
• The big news from Sun Chemical (Hall 3, Stand C110) is the new SunTex line of digital inks for polyester and polyester-rich textiles. The first ink is a dye sublimation ink for transfer print applications, while the second is a direct print dispersed dye ink for flags and banners. Both inks should be printed onto polyester and polyester-rich textiles and materials.
 
Sun Chemical is also exhibiting Aquacure, the company’s next generation functional aqueous inkjet ink for wide format printing. On the solvent-based side, Sun Chemical will display its Streamline alternative inks for Epson, Mimaki, Mutoh, Roland and Vutek printers. In particular, the new Streamline ESL2 for Roland Pro 4 printers is a low odor eco-solvent ink, while Streamline TBJ is designed for the HP TurboJet.