Businesses are always pushing for lower cost solutions, but this often comes at a price. When it comes to printing, projects can suffer if there is little or no understanding of materials, and the inks compatible with them.
With its low cost of production and durability, wide format printers are the perfect tool to create advertising for your business, being a highly cost-effective medium to deliver your brand message to a large audience.
When compared with conventional printers, inkjet printers require less ink, can reproduce content in double-quick time, and benefit from the quick drying nature of the inks used. The last of these will continue to play an increasingly prominent role in the future demand for wide format inkjet printers.
The varieties of ink that can be used in wide format printing are many, and choosing the right one can be tricky for those unfamiliar with them. Generally speaking, inks fall into 5 broad categories, each with their own advantages and drawbacks:
- Solvent inks
- Eco-solvent inks
- Aqueous inks
- UV curable inks
- Latex inks
The basic formulation for water-based inks first emerged over 60 years ago, and produces bright colors. The major drawback is that these colors fade very quickly when exposed to sunlight.
Eco solvent inks, on the other hand, are made from the by-product of the refining of petroleum. The popularity of these inks particularly as a wide format printer ink, has grown in recent times as they contain no volatile organic compounds, have a superior color quality and cost advantages over others types of inks and emit little or no toxic fumes or odor in the drying process.
One of the most efficient and effective inks suitable for wide format printers is Mutoh Eco Ultra Ink. This ink is extremely durable, adheres better with base substrates, is scratch resistant, provides vivid colors, dries quicker and emits almost no odor when compared with other eco solvent inks. STS Inks manufactures a compatible version which provides the same characteristics as the OEM but at a lower cost.
These replacement inks are manufactured using cutting-edge technology, are GBL-free, and Prop 65 and EN71-3 compliant as well. Currently, no other ink manufacturer provides these qualifications.
The quality of reproduced images will be apparent, and help communicate your brand message without having to worry if the materials used in the manufacturing process will stand the test of time.
