JITF 2024: Final thoughts

This story is the third and final part of my overview of this year’s Japan Inkjet Technology Forum (JITF). In the first two parts I’ve covered the printheads and software that I encountered and for this part I’m mainly going to write about the various ink makers that were present.

More than any other element, ink in the inkjet world is where theory meets reality, where the fluid hits the substrate and hopefully sticks to it. New inks help to open up new applications and given the number of ink makers in Japan, JITF is a good place to dip into this world.

Sitech

I’ve already covered the Self-Curing Aqueous Pigment ink that Sitech discussed at the event. This relies on the water content within the ink either evaporating or absorbing into the substrate, which then triggers a chemical reaction to bind the pigments to the media, without requiring a large and expensive heating system. It’s suitable for both paper and textiles. 

Matsui

Matsui showed samples from its new powderless DtF system. As with most current DtF systems, this is a water-based ink. Essentially Matsui has added the adhesive binder to the ink in order to eliminate the need to use powder after the printing stage. The main advantage of a powderless design is to create a simpler system and remove the risk of contamination from the powder. It also leads to a softer hand feel as the ink film is thinner. 

However it does require new hardware, which most current users are not happy about, and the new hardware is more expensive though the final price per T-shirt is roughly similar. The printer has to be able to jet the new ink and it needs a straight path from the printer and through the finishing unit. In addition, the fixer machine has to generate more heat to cure the powderless ink.

Matsui has produced nine powderless colors though it’s up to the printer vendors to select their final inkset from those colors. The standard set up for most OEMs will be CMYK plus white but there is also green, orange, royal blue and light black. The set also includes a separate binder.

Mankiewicz Coatings

Mankiewicz Coatings, which mainly produces coatings for the automotive industry, used JITF to showcase its Cyconjet UV inkjet range of inks for industrial markets. This includes highly textured decorations for glass and various objects. Luisa Fontanella, sales director for inkjet, says the company had a good response at JITF, adding, “Many people are interested in the technology, and rules and regulation are a big topic. To get a good adhesion is not such a big thing but to do it with all the right regulation is special.”

She continued, “I would say that the speciality that we bring to the table is that we do custom solutions. So we are not one of the big players taking ink off the shelf that customers can test on their own. They can come to us with their ideas and the materials that they want to buy.”

The company has a good range of technologies, including printing to foils that can then be transferred to an object such as a glass bottle, as well as low migration inks for the cosmetic industry. She adds, “We also work with a machine builder that prints direct to the object. It all depends on the customer and what their requirements are. We have a testing center in Hamburg in Germany and we are able to test for any OEM worldwide.”

General

The Japanese ink maker General showed off a water-based ink that can dry without requiring a heater. This ink is still in development and will likely take another two to three years to finish. Consequently the business model is still to be decided but it could be suitable for several applications such as the education market or for internal car parts. 

Mastermind

Mastermind showed off a hybrid resin ink. Keisuke Ozawa, CEO and president of Mastermind, says, “The problem is that because of the water content you have to apply high temperature and that can damage the materials. But this ink dries around 40°C so it doesn’t affect the substrate and we can print on non-coated media.” It will work with many different materials but dries very fast and has very low VOC levels.

Elephantech

Elephantech, which specializes in making printed circuit boards using its own copper ink, showed off some of those boards. Takato Katahira, from Elephantech’s strategy and planning unit, says that the company’s approach has lead to a 95 % reduction in the amount of water used, as well as 70 % less copper and 75 % less CO2, adding, “This is already accepted for general production.”

DIC

DIC also took a stand at JITF, with Maki Nakano, from the printing inks and digital team, keen to show how the company has integrated the BASF Colours and Effects pigment business that DIC acquired in 2021. She explained, “DIC has a strong magenta and BASF has yellow, so together we have the number one share in the pigment market.” 

Cabot

Cabot primarily supplies water-based pigment dispersions for use with both thermal and piezo printheads. Satoru Yamada, Cabot’s senior sales manager for inkjet colourants in Japan, says that Cabot has 25 years experience in this, noting that ink is one of the most important elements in the inkjet business, “And we provide the pigment dispersion that’s a significant part of the ink formulation.” He points out that there are a lot of new printheads and applications, “So everyone is looking for the most suitable ink for their specific application and we are here to help our customers to formulate their ink, and their pigment dispersions.”

Cabot manufactures two types of pigment dispersion. The small molecule technology, or SMT, uses chemical treatment in the pigments to attach ionic groups to the surface of the pigment. Yamada explains that the particles repel each other which maintains their dispersion. The second type is encapsulated polymer dispersion, or EPD, where the polymer protects the pigment surface for better durability.

The Cabot dispersions work with CMYK inks and other colors such as orange and violet, but not white. Yamada adds, “We are planning to develop white ink dispersion but the cost is very high and it’s difficult to make without the particles sinking because they are very heavy. We can treat them but it’s not enough for long shelf because they are heavy.”

Up to now Cabot has mainly supplied the home and office printing markets but as these are declining the company is looking to move into new markets. He says that Cabot has considered the packaging market but that there is still limited demand, as well as textile plus the sign and graphic markets.

Mikuni

At last year’s JITF Mikuni, which also makes pigment dispersions, showed off its organic dispersions. For this year Mikuni has been able to produce very small particles with an organic layer that’s suitable for inkjet inks for printing to textiles and some flexible films. Natsuki Inoue, assistant group leader for R&D of Mikuni Color, says, “The advantage is to reduce some drying because you can print wet-on-wet and improve colour gamut.

He adds, “The scratch resistance is not so good but our product is only the receptive layer foundation so there’s no binder. If customers choose a binder then there might be more resistance.”

Mikuni has also developed a dispersion liquid that can absorb visible light and transmit infrared light. Inoue says, “It’s not cheap so we think this type will be used for mobile phone flash units.”

TriJet

I also came across Tri Tuladhar, who is one of the most useful people to know in the inkjet world. Tuladhar, who is based in the UK, runs an inkjet consultancy, TriJet, and specializes in solving complex rheology issues. This goes right to the heart of inkjet, particularly as manufacturers move into more functional fluids that are more challenging to jet. Consequently, he is highly in demand, and works with many inkjet vendors around the world.

He told me, “It’s a great market here in Japan. I work with lots of Japanese companies in Europe and the US and find that they don’t talk to each other, even though it’s the same company!” Tuladhar says there are some differences across the various countries, noting, “With the Europeans we provide the product first and then the support but with the Japanese you have to do a lot of support upfront but not so much afterwards.”

He added, “I think this event is very interactive, much more than I was expecting. And it’s been very good. There are quite good leads here for us. People want to be sure this is the right tool for them so we get a lot of questions and answers back and forth.”

Over the last couple of years I’ve come across a number of companies in Japan that are investigating electron beam curing, primarily for printing to food and cosmetic packaging. In theory, EB curing should produce similar results to UV curing but without the associated migration issues from harmful chemicals leaching through the packaging to the products. Many European companies point out that EB curing is expensive and believe that the development of water-based inks for flexible films will eventually solve this problem. Nonetheless, there are several Japanese companies that are looking at ways to cut the cost of EB curing.

Hamamatsu

Hamamatsu, for example, makes a low energy EB source and was also at JITF. Yuki Watanabe, from the production management group of Hammamatsu’s electron tube division, told me, “We want to apply this EB engine for an inkjet printer, which is under development.” However he says that it is difficult to find an inkjet ink in Japan for EB curing.

KNF

KNF showed off its FP series of pumps. These will work with any kind of ink. Nobuhiko Hosobata, sales manager for KNF Japan, says, “We assemble the pumps ourselves so we have low power consumption and high torque. We can customize the firmware.” He says that one advantage of being at JITF is that customers can come and talk about issues that they might feel are too small to bother with otherwise, noting, “But these things are also important.”

Riso

Riso unveiled its Integlide printing system at last year’s JITF and went on to formally launch it at the drupa show. This is designed for printing full color graphics to boxes and other packaging, both vertically and sideways. It was back again at this year’s JITF with Yukio Higuchi, who is in charge of business planning for Riso, explaining, “We improved the downward printing type so it’s smaller than last year. And we will sell it in Japan this year and start selling it in Europe and the US in 2025. The sideways one we would like to sell from 2026 in Europe, Japan and the US.” He says these are the main markets, adding, “At drupa some integrators talked with us about collaboration and some of those will start in 2025.”

Felix Schoeller

Another company making its debut at the show was the paper supplier Felix Schoeller. Tomoaki Kawaguchi, area sales manager, told me, “Last year I came to this show and this year we are exhibiting. We have some very good potential prospects so we are very happy.”

Cindy Chua Enriquez, vice president of Sales for the Greater Asia Region at Felix Schoeller, added, “Normally we only see the people using the machines but here we are seeing inside the machine builders. It gives us a chance to put a face to the products, and it’s worth travelling to talk to people.”

And this spirit of individuals from different companies meeting and talking face to face with each other is at the heart of the JITF. This is commonplace in Europe, with many conferences and trade shows to facilitate such interaction and ensures that those companies can both collaborate and sell their products to each other. Aki Ohno founded the JITF with the express purpose of bringing the same philosophy to Japan.

The idea could easily have run out of steam after the first couple of shows but instead it is continuing to grow as the Japanese industry has embraced the concept. Ohno has collaborated with other industry stalwarts, such as PODI and drupa, and now several Japanese multinationals bring their overseas staff to the event, while many Western companies time their meetings with Japanese customers to coincide with JITF. The result is an international event with a distinctly Japanese twist that’s highly focussed on cutting edge industrial inkjet and utterly compelling.

JITF will return in 2025, on 10 and 11 November, in the same venue at the TKP building opposite the Ichigaya station in Tokyo, Japan. You can find further details from Ohno-inkjet, which also includes Japanese translations of these reports. 

First published in the Print and Manufacturing Journal on 30 December 2024. Reprinted by permission.