Working with white ink can be a little overwhelming if you are not used to it. You have probably found yourself thinking, "I know white ink opens up new opportunities to grow, but is it worth it?" Or, "Is the maintenance worth the cost?"
If this sounds like you, we have put together a list of tips perfect for helping you with your white ink decision.
The Challenges of Working with White Ink
In the past, the wide-format ink options for white were UV and Solvent only. While still in production today, both have had real-world application challenges. UV white ink will yellow over time and solvent-based white ink doesn't hold the opacity needed.
With the HP Latex white, which debuted on the R Series hybrid printers, a new white ink was available that was very opaque and held true color (or lack thereof!). HP was then able to engineer this onto their smaller roll-to-roll printers on the 700W and 800W, bringing a robust white ink to 64" roll-to-roll printing.
White Ink Maintenance
Another big concern of getting white ink is the maintenance. Due to the nature of white ink, it has to be agitated constantly to avoid sedimentation (think milk and cream separating). For several printers, if you're not continually printing, you are pouring ink (and money) into the waste ink tank to avoid clogging the printhead or reducing the effectiveness of the ink.
The HP Latex white ink uses a system of rotating printheads in a separate chamber. Not printing white? No problem - plug your white ink printhead into the chamber and use it when needed. Suddenly white isn't wasting green.
What Else Can White Ink Do?
Sure, it's great for printing spot white on clear, but is that it? With latex white ink, you can also do underflood, overflood, and sandwich mode, which lets you print on metallic and specialty vinyl. No more weeding out white cut vinyl for applying to solid colors!
The second surface-mounted acrylic prints and window displays are two very popular applications for white ink also. The wow factor of the prints is surpassed only by the time saved from having to digitally print and factor in cut vinyl for white that some shops have no choice but to do.
No matter what application you have planned for your next white ink project, Grimco has everything you need for success. Check out our offering of HP White Ink and Printheads, as well as 3M™ Controltac™ Vinyl Print Film and Grimco's own exclusive product, Briteline Duration IM3205, a clear gloss flexible calendared PVC film great for decals and other graphic signage.