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Innovation never ceases, which is good.

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Often, less-noticed news stories have more impact than the big ones. Recent news stories, for example, have stated bio-fuels are a leading fuel alternative, and this may be true. However, such headlines have inspired commodity speculators (professional traders who try to buy futures low and sell them high) to buy crop advances, which, combined with the fuel-use demand, has caused the price of corn, soy and other fuel-conversion goods to rise.

Most of our food contains corn, in one fashion or another. Aspirin contains a corn byproduct, as does your lunchtime milkshake. Livestock producers also feed corn by-products to their cows, pigs and chickens, so expect all food prices to ascend. The International Food Policy Research Institute estimates basic food prices will increase 20 to 33% by 2010.

Add this percent to the price you’ll pay for bio-fuel.

Two separate, but recent announcements from SA Intl. (SAi), Philadelphia, and Hewlett-Packard (HP), San Jose, CA, will have a positive, down-the-road impact on signmaking. SAi has introduced its SIGN.com website (online design aids) and HP its latex-based inks for digital printing (a further push into the reduced-VOC, “green” ink field). SAi’s software engineers have given Sign.com extensive thought – it’s an excellent, online tool for signmakers and, also, a forward-thinking business model. HP says it will introduce its waterbased, latex ink, and an accompanying printer, at the DRUPA print tradeshow in Düsseldorf, Germany. The show, which runs from May 29 to June 11, is billed as “the world’s number-one trade fair for the print and media industry.” It’s expected to attract more than 400,000 visitors.

We asked Vince Cahill, an internationally renowned digital-ink and printhead authority, to report on HP’s waterbased, latex ink. Read his comments in this column’s sidebar (below and next page).

SAi’s Sign.com site features quality, downloadable clipart – bumblebee cartoons just don’t do it anymore – plus vehicle templates, a vehicle-wrap system, graphic fills, textures and fonts.

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In the site’s initial phase, the company says, you can browse, purchase and download individual files for all types of design and production aids. Even better, you can purchase extended support plans and various learning resources. These include the inferno, texture, camouflage, vehicle-template, window-tint, paint and font-ensemble collections as well as Flexi training guides, the EnRoute DVD, online training and extended support plans.

Other available features include key number and password ook-up, as well as a “My Downloads” file, so you can easily access your purchase history. The company has additional plans – content and functionality – for the site. If you’re not the online type, SAi’s value-added resellers offer the image collection on DVDs.

HP’s Latex Ink
By Vince Cahill

The word “latex” evokes a curious mix of reactions. When I recently mentioned the word (in connection with the new HP inkjet ink) to a number of Ph.D. chemists, they inquired as to which type of latex I was speaking. I used the layman’s terms HP used in its literature, having described it as a pigmented, non-allergenic synthetic in an aqueous and co-solvent carrier. My friends proceeded to speculate as to its likely chemical components and sounded, for a few moments, like horserace handicappers.

So, how much should one wager on HP’s latex offering? I have several HP-supplied print samples and performed my own basic tests on them. I wiped one with a Windex®- soaked paper towel. (The newer version of Windex, according to the manufacturers’ MSDS, contains hexyloxyethanol, ammonium hydroxide, isopropyl alcohol and water.) A visible amount of color transferred to the towel, but the action didn’t discernibly deteriorate the image. I also wiped the sample with water and mineral spirits, using light pressure, and saw no transfer or visible image deterioration. The test image even survived my pressure-washer test.

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Result: This waterbased, latex ink proved to be the most robust (aqueous-inkjet) ink that I’ve tested.

HP reports that its Image Permanence Lab tested the latex inkjet ink, alongside its solvent-based inks, using the SAE J1960 standard for various media (including automotive exterior materials). The lab tested colorfastness (against sunlight), plus moisture, scratch and smudge resistance. Based on its tests, HP claims three-year outdoor permanence on a range of unlaminated media and five-years on media laminated with Neschen Solvoprint Performance Clear 80.

Dr. Ross Allen
Despite having found the overall performance of the latex ink very impressive, I questioned some of HP’s statements. I also read a few contradictory press reports about this product and assumed a few limitations required some clarification. I contacted Dr. Ross Allen, a distinguished inkjet-technology developer and HP’s latex-inkjet ink point person. He disclosed, in some applications, the latex technology wouldn’t perform as well as many high-solvent inks, but added that it favorably compared to mild-solvent-based inkjet inks.

Dr. Allen referred to the “HP Latex Inks Backgrounder,” an HP publication that provides eight pages of latex-ink description and performance-testing details. It says HP’s latex ink provides clear advantages over solvent inks by reducing the total impact of printing on the environment, while providing “print durability and display permanence comparable to solvent inks.” It describes the inks as “pigmented, waterbased inks designed for commercial and industrial-printing applications” with its ink vehicle formulated from “a combination of water (~70%), co-solvents for aqueous inks (~30%) and additives.”

Dr. Allen and HP’s literature assured me the ink’s nontoxic co-solvents were similar to the co-solvents contained in its waterbased Designjet inks, the ones used in the HP5000 series of wide-format printers. He said HP will release the latex inks’ MSDS sheets when it ships the product.

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Low VOCs and ventilation
The “Backgrounder” tells of the ink’s “extremely low VOC emissions.” It also details how the co-solvents and additives facilitate ink flow by lowering the ink’s surface tension and, concurrently, cleaning the thermal-resister surface and nozzle plate. Interestingly, the co-solvents soften uncoated, vinyl media to improve ink adhesion.

HP says its yet-to-be-disclosed, latex-ink printer’s print and curing zones will be equipped with radiant heaters. Further, the printer won’t require special ventilation equipment, such as an attached, vapor-extraction or air-purification system, the company says.

A “Backgrounder” footnote says, “Special ventilation is not required to meet OSHA requirements on occupational exposure to VOCs from HP’s Latex Inks.” It further states, “Ventilation equipment installation is at the discretion of the customer – no specific HP recommendation is intended. Typically, no air-discharge permitting [is] required with inks that emit extremely low levels of VOCs. Customers should consult state and local requirements and regulations.”

HP latex ink and print systems are, likely, an improvement in environmental and worker safety over systems that use larger concentrations, and/or volumes, of VOCs. Nonetheless, all print/work areas should be ventilated to rid the air of any VOCs, plus the ink’s evaporative moisture and vapors from vinyl print media. Dr. Allen, for example, indicated the HP Wide Scan Printing Technology device the company plans to unveil at DRUPA can print between 400 to 800 sq.ft./hour. The evaporated moisture derived from such production will add discomfort to humid environments.

Scalable Print Technology
While refraining from disclosing much about the new latex printer before its DRUPA launch, Dr. Allen indicated it would employ three, staggered, Scalable Print Technology (SPT) thermal-inkjet (TIJ) printheads, each containing two, 1,200-dpi ink channels. Each head can print a swath 4.25 in. (108mm) wide. Each contains five printhead chips with 2,112 nozzles per chip or 1,056 nozzles per color, per chip. Each head has 10,560 nozzles or 5,280 nozzles per color. The head fires 12pl drops that operate at a maximum frequency of 24kHz. With all nozzles firing, each printhead could consume 180ml of ink each minute.

HP has pushed its thermal-inkjet technology far beyond what many thought possible. It overcame kogation (burnt-ink buildup on thermal actuators) issues by formulating inks which extend the usable life of its SPT-type heads from under a half liter of ink to over 32 liters.

Dr. Allen indicated that HP has placed beta versions of its new printer at user sites, but won’t ship commercial versions until year’s end. I plan to attend DRUPA and, soon after, will report more on HP’s Latex Ink Print Technology.

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