july 2019 apollo ink water based inkjet ink for outdoor

APOLLO INKWater BasedInkjet Ink forOUTDOOR

I


Pablo M. Lee

July 2019


II

Contents

Introduction 1

FactoryVisit 4

EvaluationProcessPARTONE 6

EvaluationProcessPARTTWO 12

ANALYSIS 19

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IntroductionAPOLLO INKWater BasedInkjet Ink forOUTDOOR

1

What is exactly water based ink?Thesimpleansweristhatwaterbasedinkisanyinkwhichuseswaterasabasetocarrythepigment.Aruleisthatforshort-termindooruse,water-basedinksarefine.

Traditionally,waterbasedinkisdesignedtoprinthigh-resolutionphotographyforindoorapplications.However,toprotectlarge-formatprintsagainsttheelements(water,wind,andsunlight),youshouldlaminatewaterbasedinkjetprintsifyouplantousethemoutdoors.

Theneedtocoatmediaforoutdoorapplicationsmakesthistypeofinknotsuchapopularchoiceforprintingforexterioruse.


2

During APPPEXPO Shanghai 2019, FLAAR-REPORTS hadtheopportunitytogetintouchwithApolloInk,aninter-national inkjet inkmanufacturer, thatmade an upgradetotheformulaofthistypeofink,eliminatingtheneedtolaminateprintedmaterialwithwaterbasedink,returningittothetrackofthedemandingdigitalmarket.


3

During the exhibition the Apollo Ink staffmembers gave abriefintroductionanddemonstrationofthequalitiesofthisnewformulatotheFLAAR-REPORTSstaff(PabloM.Lee,Ma-riaRenéeAyauandDr.NicholasHellmuth).

FactoryVisitAPOLLO INKWater BasedInkjet Ink forOUTDOOR

4

After APPPEXPO 2019 Pablo M. LeeFLAAR-REPORTSInkSpecialist&SeniorEditor andDr.NicholasHellmuthwereflownbythecompanytovisittheJinanApolloInkjetSolutionCo.,LTDfactoryinJiyang,Chinawherewecould testandreview first hand this technology, thatpromises to come to revolutionize thedigital market in both economic andecologicalaspectsoftheindustry.


5

Duringourvisitwewereableto inspect the fa-cilitiesofthecompanyandverifythattheyhavemoderntechnologyandhighlytrainedpersonnel.

EvaluationProcessPARTONEAPOLLO INKWater BasedInkjet Ink forOUTDOOR

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EvaluationProcessPARTONE


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During the visit to the factory, we ran several printingtestsfromtheFLAAR-REPORTStechnicalfile,whichwasspecificallydesignedtoevaluateindetailtheprintquali-tyofboththeprinterandtheink.


8

TheFLAAR-REPORTStechnicalevaluationfilehasbeencer-tifiedbyseveralprintermanufacturersandRIPmanufactur-erstoensuretheaccuracyoftheresults.Thesetsofimageshave thegoal to standardizeevaluationsof inkjetprintersandsuppliesacrossseveralbrands.


9

Butsincewearenotevaluatingtheprinter,butthequalityoftheink,wealsocarryoutothertypesoftestsdedicatedtospecificallycheckingthequalityofthisink.

After being printed, the samples have a low odor, whichmakesthemsuitableforindooruse.


10

Water was applied to several printed samples and thenrubbedwithpapertoseeiftheinkcameofftheprints.Evenafragmentoftheprintedmaterialwasleftinaglassofwa-terformorethan12hourswithouttheimpressionofcolorchanges.


11

Butinadditiontoconductingseveraltestsduringthevisittothefactorywetooktheevaluationofthispromisinginkfurtheranddecidedtoputittothetestinarealenvironment,underrealconditionsandwhatbetterplaceforitthantheFLAAR-REPORTSheadquartersinGuatemaladuringtherainyseasoninthetropics.

FLAAR-REPORTShasitsofficeslocatedinvariouspartsofAmerica(GuatemalainCentralAmerica,SaintLouisinNorthAmerica)andsincewecovertheentireworldwearelookingforwardtoopentwomore(oneinEuropeandoneinChina).

Guatemalaitiscalledthecountryofeternalspringandessentiallyhasonlytwodistinctseasons:arainyseasonandadryseason.Itgenerallyhasaniceweatherwithaveragetemperaturearound22to28degreesCelsius(72to82°Fahrenheit)duringthedayandatnightitcoolsofftoanaverageof12to17degreesCelsius(54to63°Fahrenheit).

TherainyseasonstartsinMayandlaststillOctober;Junebeingthewettestmonth.(IfyouareplanningtocometoGuatemalaandyouarenotabigfanofrainyoushouldavoidthismonth).

EvaluationProcessPARTTWOAPOLLO INKWater BasedInkjet Ink forOUTDOOR

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EvaluationProcessPARTTWO


13

Tocarryoutthesetests,weusedthreeidenticalsamples,printed during our factory visit.One of themwas placedoutsidewhereitwasexposedtoinclementweather,anoth-erwasbeplaced indoorsbutwithdirectexposureto thesunandthethirdwasthecontroltestwhichwaskeptinacontrolledenvironment.

May 7th


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May 9th


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May 28th


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June 4th


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June 12th


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June 17th

ANALYSISAPOLLO INKWater BasedInkjet Ink forOUTDOOR

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ANALYSIS


20

ToevaluatethequalityandresistanceofthisnewOUTDOORWATERBASEDink,theprintedmaterialwasexposedformorethanfiftydays(weremoveditonJune26)totherainy/tropi-calclimateofGuatemala;tothencompareitwiththecontroltestandseethechangeshadocurred.


21

Tohaveabetterperspectiveoftheresultsandcontrastsinthesamples,wetooktheprintedsamplestoourinhausphotographic laboratory, wherewithmagnifying glassesandspeciallights,wereviewedandcomparedthechangesthattheprintspresentedcomparedtothecontrolsample.


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CONTROL PRINT


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INDOOR PRINT


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OUTDOOR PRINT


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Since the outdoor sample was removed,themostsignificantchangethatcouldbenoticedwerethewrinklesinthematerial;thisasaconsequenceofthesamplebeinghunginsteadofpastedoverarigidsurface.


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CONTROL INDOOR OUTDOOR

Whenexposingawaterbasedinkprintedmaterialtohigh-humidityweatherconditions,itwouldbeexpectedthattheprintingwouldfadealmostcompletelyoratleastthattheinkwouldrunwhichdidnothappenwiththesesamples.


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CONTROL INDOOR OUTDOORByplacingthesamplessidebysidewecanobservethatthetonalitieshavevariedslightlyinatolerableper-centage(somethingthathappensevenwithmaterialprintedwithUVorSolventink).


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CONTROL

INDOOR

OUTDOOR


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Afterhavingbeenexposedformorethanfiftydaystothesunandrainourwaterbasedprintedsamplewecouldverifytheresistanceandtoleranceofthiswater-basedinktohumidclimates.

Withitsbrightcolorsandthewiderangeofmaterialsonwhichitcanbeused,itleavesuswithagoodtasteandfeelingknowingthatthisnewinkoptioncancometorevolutionizethedigitalprintingmarketandmakingitalittlebitgreener.

AtthemomentthecompanyindicatesthattheinkisonlyavailableforEpsonheads,butifanycompanyrequiresiteasilycanbemodifiedforotherprintheadbrandsavailableinthemarket.

I’mlookingforwardtotrytheinkinmanyinnovativeandnotsotraditionalmaterialstofindoutwhatotherap-plicationswecantakeadvantagetotheuseofthisnewformula.


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Printi ng test by OKI at ISA 2018

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FESPA Mexico 2018 FESPA Berlin 2018 interviews

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