To support the packaging market, PTS, the German research center for fibre-based solutions, has invested in a high-quality full color inkjet printing system in order to have a possibility to perform material testing and analysis.
Because of the wide variety of substrates in the packaging environment, such as corrugated board and cardboard, which are also frequently used in the food sector, a system with water-based inks was the first choice.
After looking at the different solutions, the HP C250 from DJM proved to be the optimal choice. The C250 print module is a full color HP-based inkjet printing system, using the HP´s latest TIJ4.0 printhead techno- logy, similar to the large WebPress systems of the T-1100 and C500 class, and can be used flexibly on a laboratory scale. The C250 print module has a printing width of 4.25 inches (108 mm) and at a speed of up to 75 m/min at a resolution of 600 x 600 dpi.
For the application of PTS, DJM designed a complete solution where the C250 print module is installed on top of a linear transport system. With this configuration, PTS can quickly and easily produce test prints on a range of different substrates, enabling the assessment of material behaviour, optimisation of materials, within research and customer projects, and development of new surface solutions.
The system is fully controlled by DJM’s Kameleon controller software, allowing PTS to run with different file types. The C250 has short setup times due to the integrated printhead service station, allowing for automated cleaning. Especially the fast execution of test procedures at practice-relevant speeds was required by PTS could be provided by DJM.
The investment in the system was made possible by the INNO-KOM investment grant funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The printing system is already being used in ongoing research projects at PTS i.e. in IGF research project IGF 20425 BR, which deals with dimensional stability and curling behaviour of graphic and packaging papers. In the project IGF 21164 BG, the product properties of highly opaque coatings for inkjet printing are to be optimised through the use and targeted adaptation of the structure of the silica particle collective and their performance is tested and optimised using the new printing system.
In addition, the system is also available to customers and partners for their own developments and optimisations.
RELATED NEWS
