Sun's New Inks For American Wide Format Inkjets

Sun Chemical is launching a line of inkjet inks to be sold in the fast-growing North American after-market for wide-format digital printing.

Sun Chemical is launching a line of inkjet inks to be sold in the fast-growing North American after-market for wide-format digital printing.

The company will market the inkjet products under the Streamline brand.

The inks, both solvent and water-based, can be used for digital proofing, POP signs, murals, banners vehicle graphics and billboards and outdoor display applications.

Streamline inks can be used on wide-format digital printing devices from most major manufacturers, added the company.

For those printers who utilise screen and digital printing devices within the same facility, Sun Chemical said it can now serve all ink requirements by offering products from Streamline and its Coates Screen brand.

Sun Chemical said that it has been active in the digital inkjet market for a number of years, providing large quantities of raw materials and finished inks to the industry.

According to the company, many printers tend to use inks supplied by their digital press manufacturer, under that manufacturer's brand.

The printers are concerned that the process of switching inks could be difficult, time-consuming and risky.

MaryAnn Johns, market development manager for Sun Chemical North American Inks, said many printers do not realise that there are alternatives available.

She commneted: "Some printers fear that there could be damage to their machinery caused by the inks from third-party ink suppliers or that the colours would not match, creating the need to change colour reproduction profiles.

But our formulating approach ensures colour consistency so it's unlikely there would be any need to re-profile presses.

Also, the inks from Sun Chemical are fully compatible with inks supplied by original equipment manufacturers, so there is no need to flush machines, a process that wastes valuable time and can take several hours.

It can take as little as 45 minutes for our ink to be loaded and printing." The Streamline inks are compatible with a wide range of media and have an expected outdoor life of up to three years, she added.

Mark Levin, president of Sun Chemical North American Commercial Group, said sales in after-market inkjet ink sales are growing at double-digit annual rates.

He added that Sun Chemical is drawing on its global expertise in the segment to provide an affordable solution for the thousands of digital presses being used in the North American market.

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