It is estimated that over the next decade, inkjet production printing technology and solutions will be a highly disruptive force in the graphic arts industry. Market research firm InfoTrends predicts that production color inkjet accounted for 42 percent of the total production digital color volume in 2014, and that by 2019 this value will rise to 57 percent.
Welcome to the “Zone of Disruption,” where inkjet-powered solutions are increasingly replacing cut sheet toner machines. The concept of disruptive inkjet-driven solutions is great, but some printer service providers are wondering, “Can inkjet really deliver results?”
Technology Drives New Applications
General Manager of Memjet Commercial Presses Bill Brunone says, “What printers need to understand is that the high-speed production inkjet available today is not just a replacement for offset. Instead, inkjet can be a key additional resource for large- and medium-sized printers who want to add a new level of value to the applications they offer to their customers. Now, more than ever, inkjet can provide large- and medium-sized print providers a whole new way of doing business.”
At Memjet, our development initiatives have contributed to inkjet’s surge in popularity.
Total Cost of Ownership
In recent years, inkjet-powered presses have come down in price, making them a more affordable alternative for many print providers. Today, the capital acquisition cost of many Memjet-powered solutions is lower than most 20” roll-fed color devices.
In addition, the cost of operating these devices is also often lower than other types of presses, making the total cost of ownership much more accessible for large- and medium-sized print providers.
Quality
Memjet-powered inkjet solutions can deliver a higher level of quality at remarkably faster speeds than had been previously possible — up to 1600 dpi resolution at the highest speed.
Ease of Use
Also at play is the ease of use these solutions provide. Because inkjet jobs require no special set-up or preparation, they are much faster and easier to produce.
It’s in the Printheads
These advances can be linked to the printheads used in single-pass inkjet-powered presses. These fixed printheads remain rigid over the substrate and can be flexibly assembled to create various widths and system speeds. The substrate passes underneath the fixed printheads only once to lay down all colors required—often without any additional heat, fusing, or curing processes. This process can be five to ten times faster than the throughput of toner-based systems and swathing inkjet systems. It also uses fewer moving parts and operates at a lower running cost.
New Lines of Business
In our next post, we’ll take a look at the way inkjet solutions can enable printers to open up additional lines of business.
See it Live at drupa 2016
Convinced that Memjet’s inkjet solutions can offer a new way of doing business? You can see demonstrations of these solutions and learn more about the “Zone of Disruption” at the Memjet stand during drupa. Visit rockyourprint.com to learn more.
