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Print buyer demand for immediate applications—an application that can be finished immediately after printing and delivered to the customer within 24 hours—has grown exponentially over the last decade. As consumers, our expectation for delivery time first shortened with the rise of online ordering and it only grew stronger during the pandemic. Today, this buying pattern has expanded to commercial purchases, including wide format print.
Over the last several years, Keypoint Intelligence has been tracking and forecasting the migration away from solvent-based ink formulations that require out-gassing before finishing to UV and resin/latex inks that can provide durable graphics within the new expected turnaround times.
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Last week, Roland DG (arguably one of the top manufacturers of eco-solvent roll-to-roll printers) announced six new devices across two ink segments to its TrueVIS line of printers. The UV segment will include a high-production print/cut line with the LG-640/540/300 and an economical line with the MG-640/340. The resin segment consists of the announcement of the AP-640 resin printer. The AP-640, co-developed by Roland DG and Brother (branded as Brother’s WF1-640), further validates resin/latex technology in the wide format space. These two leading printer manufacturers will now join the competitive ranks of HP, Epson, and Ricoh in a print solution space that is continuing to develop at an ever-increasing rate.
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Keypoint Intelligence Opinion
With such a large installed base, eco-solvent will still be the predominant technology for durable outdoor graphics for quite some time. However, with the continued evolution of UV and resin/latex as well as the acceptance of these technologies by leading eco-solvent manufacturers, the growth of ink technology to provide immediate applications is growing as fast as the turnaround time demand that is fueling the innovation.
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