Printing ink manufacturer Zeller+Gmelin is expanding its portfolio with UV-curing and water-based products for inkjet printing. The decision to expand, made in 2019, is aimed at securing the future of the Zeller+Gmelin brand as a global manufacturer of printing inks in the segments of labels and packaging as well as molded parts and metal decoration. To this end, inkjet specialists were added to the existing team with its profound knowledge of ink formulation. At the same time, extensive investments were made in modern infrastructure for research and development as well as production. In addition, a printing laboratory dedicated for the inkjet process was set up.

Activities are concentrated on UV-curing and water-based inkjet ink systems. Zeller+Gmelin relies mainly on cooperation with system integrators and machine manufacturers for development, according to Jochen Christiaens, the digital printing specialist responsible for this strategic business area. The aim is to exploit synergies from knowledge of chemistry and inkjet technology, as well as from the application-related expertise the ink manufacturer has at its disposal thanks to their many years of networking in the rigid plastic, narrow web, metal decoration and packaging market segments.

Currently, development is taking place primarily for applications in large format printing and in the growing market for industrial digital printing for individual design on glass, plastic and metal. In addition, traditional business areas of the company such as narrow web, metal and molded article printing are also coming into focus. In these segments in particular, the transition from analog to digital printing technologies is in full swing. In this phase, Zeller+Gmelin assumes an essential role because, in addition to the development of new products and components, above all their integration at the cooperation partners is accompanied by the specialist knowledge of the expert team, true to the company motto “Expertly Done.”.

The knowledge that Zeller+Gmelin has in ink systems for analog printing processes is a valuable basis for development in the digital printing sector. In addition, the applications in the business unit Digital Print often hold new challenges in store. The difference is documented by the fact that in this market environment, we are talking about inks rather than printing inks. Digital inks are considerably less viscous than analog inks and consequently require adapted laboratory and analysis equipment as well as production facilities. For this reason, the company has set up an independent “Inkjet Application Lab” at its headquarters in Eislingen, equipped with a special printing system from ImageXpert. The equipment includes a camera for observing droplet formation, an LED dryer from Integration Technologies (ITL) for curing the ink, and facilities for pretreating substrates so that surface tension can be influenced. The jetting system is powerful enough so that Zeller+Gmelin’s “inkjet team” is able to replicate virtually any printing application and implement product developments largely in-house, the company says. 

A special feature of the inkjet business is also distribution. At present, the supply of ink is generally tied to a printing system and thus to a machine manufacturer. In label printing, print stores have not been able to choose from several suppliers, as it is the case with classic printing inks. Jochen Christiaens does not yet believe it will be possible in the next few years to offer ink series on the market that enable simple and fast changeovers in inkjet systems.

The same also applies when it comes to the possibility of changing and freely selecting available inks with special properties, e.g. low migration suitability, adhesion to difficult surfaces or low odour. Changing inkjet inks or suppliers quickly and easily in individual cases, depending on the range of services and catalog of requirements, is prevented by corresponding warranties and guarantees. According to Jochen Christiaens, it is therefore all the more important that machine suppliers validate several ink manufacturers. In this way, inkjet users have a wider choice. For example, Zeller+Gmelin is working towards offering inkjet products together with analog inks from a single source in the future.