Digital Output - April 2008 - (Page 22)

Save a Landfill, Recycle a Cartridge Dry ink or toners and cartridges, while not necessarily “green” in their emissions, are recyclable. LexJet offers an Inkjet Cartridge recycling program. “The program greatly expands the re-use and recycling of the plastics used to manufacture original cartridges. The majority of returned cartridges are re-used for the production of ink replacement cartridges,” shares Regan Dickinson, marketing communications specialist, LexJet Corporation. Cartridges that qualify include Canon, Epson, and HP. Media Street also runs a recycling program for Epson cartridges. “Our Niagara systems and our refillable cartridges are ecologically friendly since they eliminate waste to our landfills by having a refillable system instead of throwing away cartridges,” explains Alan Kessler, director sales/marketing, Media Street, Inc. Xerox’s cartridge-free solid ink technology is as environmentally friendly as they come. A print using solid ink produces 90 percent less waste than a laser printer. When compared to a color laser printer, which products 157 pounds of waste after 100,000 prints, a solid ink printer only produces five pounds. According to Anne Stocum, manager, environmental market support, Xerox Corporation, solid ink is just as durable as a color laser or LED printer. She adds, “Solid ink is not water-soluble and will not run or bleed, making it a valuable solution for customers that use documents in inclement weather.” Nazdar’s Lyson Digital Printing Inks. What’s more, our new ink cartridge design is based on recyclable cardboard.” Output created with HP Latex inks withstands outdoor elements without compromising the image quality desired for indoor applications. Guaranteed for up to three years unlaminated, they are scratch, smudge, and water resistant on a range of HP media. The inks will eventually be used with HP Wide Scan Printing Technology, a new platform of industrial and commercial printing solutions that leverages HP Scalable Printing Technology. Roland’s Scrimger cites that aqueous inks are best suited for photograph and fine art giclée, posters, POP, and other indoor/temporary graphics. Aqueous inks featured in Roland’s Hi-Fi JET Pro II 54-inch printer are one option. For durable graphics, Roland recommends its ECO-SOL MAX inks, which are free of harmful VOCs. ECO-SOL MAX inks dry quickly and deliver the scratch, water, and alcohol resistance required for durability outdoors. The inks are part of Roland’s ECO-labeled printer line compliant with ISO 14021 standards and support coated and uncoated media, including biodegradable options. While many are adamant “green” inks are durable, others believe durability isn’t an issue at all. If a customer only needs a product for a short period of time, they shouldn’t have to worry about ink fading or corroding. PrintVillage’s Labella gives an example. “A banner announcing a grand opening or sale will not be used for ten years and even if the customer wished to use it for that long the material it is printed on will probably not last. The reality is that consumers need the product to serve its purpose and in most cases all they really need is a few months out of the product they are purchasing.” Others, such as Gandinnovations’ Reilly, argue that the durability question is no longer relevant, “It may have been a year or two ago, but the ‘green’ ink ingredients available these days do not compromise quality and durability issues.” UV inks are incredibly similar to solvent inks in both durability and appearance. Take for example EFI/Inkware’s BioVu ink is the first environmentally friendly solvent ink. Made out of corn, cotton, and wood pulp, 80 to 85 percent of the ink is renewable. “With BioVu inks the print quality isn’t compromised. They use the same pigments found in solvent inks, the same machine, and the printed output looks the same as solvent,” explains Scott Schinlever, “Clients want to ‘go green,’ but they also want image quality, ontime delivery, and the rest. Printers want to ‘go green,’ but they also want to meet operational goals.” --Christopher Howard, senior VP sales & marketing, Durst Image Technology US, LLC Triangle Digital INX’s UV curable products, ideal for outdoor applications. Recently, Kisner and Kisner had a customer use Triangle UV inks and express delight in the final output, admitting it had a solvent look. “He said the colors were ‘more vibrant, with more color depth,’” they comment. Bio inks, which represent less then .5 percent of the market today, according to a study by FILLINK, are also considered as durable as solvent inks. VP/GM, EFI/Inkware. These inks are durable, bond to uncoated surfaces, come in a range of colors, and have a fast drying time. The same pigments found in solvent inks are in BioVu inks allowing for some form of resistance to UV light and mechanical wear. companies mentioned RS# 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 COMPANY EFI/Inkware Durst Image Technology US, LLC FILLINK Fujifilm Sericol Gandinnovations Hewlett-Packard Leggett & Platt Digital Technologies LexJet Corporation Matan Digital Printers Media Street, Inc. Mutoh America, Inc. PrintVillage Raster Printers, Inc. Roland DGA Corp. Sawgrass Technologies, Inc. Triangle Digital INX Co. Ultraflex Systems, Inc. Xerox Corporation Digital Output April 2008 Aqueous inks, although some may question their fade resistance, also have their benefits. HP just introduced HP Latex inks to its aqueous based line. “They provide the benefits of solvent ink technology—such as outdoor durability—without imposing the typical environmental, health, and safety considerations,” WEB SITE explains Miller. There’s no www.efi.com need for air ventilation www.durstus.com equipment, no need to deal www.fillink.eu.com with hazardous waste. www.fujifilmsericol.com www.gandinnovations.com www.hp.com www.lp-digital.com www.lexjet.com www.matanprinters.com www.mediastreet.com www.mutoh.com www.theprintvillageshop.com www.rasterprinters.com www.rolanddga.com www.sawgrassink.com www.triangleinx.com www.ultrafleXX.com www.xerox.com Green Graphics In 2006, UK-based B&P Lightbrigade Group, released an environmentally friendly ink and media package, entitled Greengraphix. “We are very aware of the environmental impact of the choices we make in our business and feel others should follow. We make every attempt to track our carbon emissions and are trying to live carbon-neutral,” explains Pete Winter, marketing manager, B&P Lightbrigade Group. After testing their inks for over two years, the shop found that they were just as durable, if not better than the previous inks they had been using. They are in the process of converting all their printers over to bio solvent inks—eliminating the hazardous substances throughout the workforce. One of the more recent high profile projects B&P worked on was graphics for Live Earth 2007 in London. A 24-hour music event, its main mission is to combat the climate crisis. The customer specifically selected B&P because of their Greengraphix solution. Winter hopes that more clients become attracted to their bio solvent ink options. “We are constantly trying to convert our client base to our Greengraphix package of bio inks and environmentally friendly materials.” www.digitaloutput.net 22 http://www.efi.com http://www.durstus.com http://www.fillink.eu.com http://www.fujifilmsericol.com http://www.gandinnovations.com http://www.hp.com http://www.lp-digital.com http://www.lexjet.com http://www.matanprinters.com http://www.mediastreet.com http://www.mutoh.com http://www.theprintvillageshop.com http://www.rasterprinters.com http://www.rolanddga.com http://www.sawgrassink.com http://www.triangleinx.com http://www.ultrafleXX.com http://www.xerox.com http://www.digitaloutput.net http://www.digitaloutput.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Output - April 2008

Digital Output - April 2008

https://www.nxtbookmedia.com