At drupa 2024, we had the opportunity to interact with Marc Granero, inkjet sales manager at Kao Chimigraf, a global leader in inkjet printing technologies. Granero shared insights into some of the latest innovations Kao has introduced, focusing particularly on the key consumable component in inkjet printing – inkjet inks.
The company has an extensive global presence, with offices and production sites in America, Japan, and Europe. Granero emphasized the diverse range of ink technologies Kao has developed over the years, including UV inks, solvent inks, and oil-based inks. Recently, their focus has shifted towards water-based inks, showcased in two separate stands at drupa. These include water-based inkjet inks for direct film printing and their latest breakthrough, deinking technology.
Granero elaborated on this innovative deinking technology, which he described as a sustainable solution for recycling flexible packaging materials. “We developed a thermo switch polymer which reacts to a specific temperature in water. At 75 degrees Celsius, the ink detaches from the material, allowing it to be recycled through a filtration process,” he explained. This development makes it significantly easier to recycle flexible packaging by filtering the water to remove the ink.
The fundamental concept of the technology revolves around utilizing a variation in water temperature to initiate a chemical reaction. This reaction triggers the polymer, potentially integrated into the ink, to transition from adhering to the substrate to actively repelling from it, facilitating the ease of substrate recycling.
Granero further clarified the process, noting that, unlike traditional methods that use alkaline water, Kao’s technology uses normal water, preventing the ink from dissolving. “This means the ink can be separated and recycled more efficiently,” Granero said, highlighting the environmental benefits of their new technology.
Two years ago, Kao Chimigraf embarked on the development of this idea, originally conceiving it as a primer intended for recycling flexible films. Granero explained that traditionally, primer is used to enhance substrate adhesion and improve print quality, but Kao aimed to augment this primer technology with additional functionalities. He further elaborated that they now can integrate it directly into the ink for printing, eliminating the need for separate primer applications.
