Eco-friendly inkjet technologies
By promoting inkjet printing technologies in the marketplace, Mimaki helps to increase adoption of eco-friendly print-on-demand strategies. This helps customers reduce excessive inventories and associated waste by printing only what’s needed.
Inkjet printing also eliminates the need for printing plates and the associated chemistry, water, and energy consumption required for conventional printing processes. In addition, since ink is applied only to image areas, inkjet printing uses less ink than conventional printing processes and does not require cleaning of ink wells and associated disposal of ink waste.
Mimaki established an inkjet lab to promote state-of-the-art inkjet solutions. Not only does this ensure innovative solutions for our target markets in the graphic arts, but also allows us to explore the use of inkjet technologies in other industries. One example is the development of JetLyzer, a machine designed to monitor ejected ink droplets to help establish optimum performance of inkjet heads. These projects contribute to our continual efforts to develop lower cost, more environmentally friendly production processes in the graphic arts and beyond.
Reduced environmental burdens
Historically, solvent inks have been used to create outdoor signage because of their durability and resistance to deterioration from sun, rain and wind. However, solvent inks emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that result in odors and release of high-burden chemical substances such as cyclohexanone into the atmosphere. As support has grown to reduce negative human impact on the environment, solvent inks are falling out of favor.
To address this issue, Mimaki was the first to develop an inkjet printer and low-odor solvent ink in 2002. In 2008, we continued these developments with the creation of a new eco-solvent ink, Eco-HS1, which reduces the environmental burden without sacrificing ink adhesion.
In 2004, Mimaki introduced a UV-curable inkjet printer that does not generate ozone or VOCs. Later that year, ahead of competitors, we introduced a UV LED curable inkjet printer that uses half the energy of conventional UV light systems. Today, UV LED curing is the preferred method among most manufacturers of UV-curable inkjet printers.
Mimaki is proud to have led the way in making UV inkjet printing more environmentally sustainable.
