Velox has developed micro-pixel drop shape control, new technology that regulates each drop when printing digitally direct-to-shape so permitting high-quality production at scale.
Velox is a developer and manufacturer of industrial-grade direct-to shape digital decoration technologies for the rigid container industry. Its proprietary technology, based on uniquely formulated inks and dedicated deposition architecture, is claimed to, ‘introduce an entirely new approach to digital printing that is poised to disrupt the packaging decoration market.’
Micro-pixel drop shape control is part of this effort. Converters and fillers of tubes will be the first customers to benefit from the latest breakthrough in ink technology for the company’s IDS-PT series. Intended for extruded plastic and laminated tubes, the drop control technology is claimed to deliver exceptionally photorealistic accuracy in images, fine graphic elements, and ultra-sharp text and lines. This is alongside high ink efficiency and with no impact on Velox’s high decoration speed of 250 containers per minute (cpm) on the largest diameter and length tubes.
Specifically, micro-pixel drop shape control regulates each drop as it hits the substrate, creating drop diameters that are claimed to be up to 60% smaller than were previously possible with Velox’s ink technology, while allowing other drops of the same volume to spread and cover large areas. With the cosmetics and personal care markets having the highest demand for package decoration with extremely small text and fine details, as well as sharp and accurate photorealism, Velox noted that customers testing micro-pixel drop shape control have reported the level of accuracy and sharpness of even the smallest text and fine elements, like thin lines, as ‘comparable to analogue printing’. The quality of other decoration elements like images and gradients are even found to be superior.
Marian Cofler, CEO and co-founder at Velox, said, ‘Velox seeks to deliver the most innovative and cutting-edge technology in the digital decoration market to meet brands’ requirements. To accomplish this goal, we invest heavily in R&D to discover digital print quality breakthroughs, while continuously expanding our system architecture and ink capabilities to meet market demands. Micro-pixel drop shape control is a fine example of this, and feedback from customers is extremely positive.’
Micro-pixel drop shape control is part of Velox’s Variable Viscosity Ink (VVI) technology, which are specially developed and formulated digital UV inks that enable ‘excellent’ print properties, ‘unmatched’ decoration quality and high ink efficiency. VVI offers a wide colour gamut, high adhesion and abrasion resistance, substrate and surface-agnostic performance, and now an extremely small drop diameter for fine details and text, as well as a wide drop diameter for high ink coverage efficiency.
