The prospect of waterless offset printing

The international waterless printing technology and new materials are developing rapidly. The use of waterless offset printing is also increasing. In Japan's Toppan Printing Co., waterless offset printing technology training has been used on high-speed rotary machines. According to relevant data, the market share of waterless offset printing in Europe is 6%-7%. It is 5%-6%, and according to FOGRA, the market share of waterless offset printing will increase to 10% by 2006. In addition to the proportion of printing in the Taiwanese province of China, waterless offset printing market in Asia Some countries in Southeast Asia also have a small number of applications.
In addition to experimental use in one or two provinces and cities such as Beijing, mainland China is no longer used in other places, and its market share is probably a few ten thousandths of a tenth. Therefore, waterless offset printing technology can only be considered as a new technology in China. Why has there been no progress in the Chinese printing industry since 1993?
The analysis of the reasons is mainly due to the fact that localization of the plate materials has not been resolved, the cost of imported products from Japan is 3-4 times more expensive, and the cost of ink is also 30% more expensive. Therefore, many companies are in the period of continuous decline in the current printing industry. Waterless offset printing technology can only be daunted. However, we must see that waterless offset printing technology has achieved great development in the early 1990s. In the waterless printing process, people's concern about the balance of the ink is eliminated, the volatilization of the harmful gas of the VOC/HAP is reduced, and the printing ability is high, which seems to be quite perfect. At the same time, people are still not satisfied with the status quo of waterless printing. For example, Toray, the sole holder of a patent for an analogless watermark version, is constantly developing to meet the growing demand. The long downtime of waterless printing makes many printers unwilling to use waterless offset printing, and the monopoly of the printing plate market has also affected new users.
With the continuous efforts of suppliers, the future development of waterless printing will soon change. Matik North America's sales department represents Codimag's new Viva 340 presses. They believe there is a lot of potential for waterless printing. Toray's monopoly of waterless printing plate patents will not be too long, the price of printing plates. Will fall, waterless printing inks will also have greater practicality. Sanki Company is also full of anticipation for the future of waterless offset printing. The company's new presses can provide waterless printing, and can also carry out appropriate post-press processing, including cold laminating, hot/cold bronzing, etc. All operations are Completed within a working cycle.
Another closely related to waterless printing is the heat generated during the drum grinding of the ink. Equipped with an important part - online temperature control system can maintain a constant temperature and ensure the stability of the ink viscosity. Therefore, Viva 340 uses separate cooling circuits on the ink path and UV drive devices, and also uses a separate plate cylinder cooling device. In summary, there is great potential for waterless offset printing.