Fujifilm exhibited pigment ink for water-based inkjet, to be used in flexible packaging, at drupa2016.

In a statement, Fujifilm said that the trend for short-runs, high-mix and quick turnarounds is ever-increasing in the packaging sector, and traditional analogue printing, the mainstream in the flexible package field, faced difficulties regarding turnaround, cost and environmental performance. This has led Fujifilm to further develop the technology used in the Jet Press 720S to create an ink technology for water-based inkjet capable of inkjet printing on flexible packaging film.

The bleeding of inkjet ink was an issue in the non-absorbent film substrates used in the flexible packaging, but the application of “Rapic Technology” created during the development of the Jet Press 720S enabled an ink droplet to retain its stability where it has landed, and clear image reproduction was made possible by combining with proprietary undercoating technology. 

The combination of these technologies with Fujifilm’s  Samba printheads allowed productivity of 30 metres per minute to be achieved while printing at 1200dpi in full colour, enabling compatibility for digitalisation for the reverse printing of flexible packaging.

Fujifilm is commercialising various inkjet related products under the “Fujifilm Inkjet Technology” brand, a brand concentrating various Fujifilm technologies, and has introduced the B2 size digital press, the Jet Press 720S, originally made for commercial printing in the graphic arts industry.