We developed a latex ink with excellent standards in safety, color reproducibility and jetting-reliability for inkjet printers. As well as being able to print on osmotic base materials (paper, etc.), it can also print on non-osmotic plastic base materials (PVC, PET, etc.).
Generally, latex ink is a heat-fusing type, which allows printing on various un-coated base materials even though it is a water-based ink. It should be handled in the same way as water pigment ink, but compared to conventional water-based pigment ink, it can be fused to the base material, making it waterproof and robust against scratches.
The latex ink developed by Ricoh employs water-based pigment ink technology, which is an eco-friendly ink that reduces VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions, so there is no need for special ventilation for the printer.
Ricoh's latex ink has a collection of color inks that include characteristic color inks such as orange and green, and a white ink; these are in addition to the process colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). Characteristic color inks make possible broad color-reproduction even for the sign graphics applications often used for printing photographs of ordinary commodities, characters, and the like. Regarding the white ink, because of its high opacifying properties, it can obtain high contrast when used for surface coat printing on transparent base materials such as shop front signboards; images are produced with good visibility. In addition, by using the homogeneous dispersion technology of the pigment, Ricoh's latex ink can obtain stable image density for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and PET films and the like, which are often used for sign-graphics applications. Furthermore, the ink has a special feature to produce high density color, not only on paper but on plastic base materials as well . It can be adapted to a broad range of base materials.
In an inkjet system, reliability is especially important. Ricoh's latex ink achieves superb jetting-reliability through high stabilization technology. Generally, to obtain high confidence in an inkjet system, many contrivances are exercised on ink, inkjet printhead, and the reliability conserving mechanism, etc.
Ink
Inkjet printhead
Maintenance Reliability
With Ricoh's latex ink, however, high confidence is possible without mounting complicated mechanisms in the inkjet system of the piezoelectric system. In addition, proprietary automatic head cleaning technology enables stable continuous printing, which is especially important in commercial printing.
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