The Indigo printing process
HP Indigo printing technology uses liquid electronic ink to create an electrostatic latent image by transferring digital data from a laser to a photoelectric imaging platen (PIP). The liquid electronic ink is electrostatically attracted to the image area and subsequently transferred from the photo-imaging cylinder to the blanket cylinder, which finally transfers the ink to the print media. Prints are subjected to an instant drying process, ensuring that the ink cures quickly and is immediately usable
Because of the unique properties of indigo's liquid electronic inks, the plate cylinder rotates one week for each color printed during the transfer process and no ink marks are left on the blanket, allowing the Indigo press to print all color sequences with only one set of cylinders.
Step 1. The Photo Imaging Plate (PIP, Photo Imaging Plate) charging unit generates a charge on the imaging plate of the Indigo press and charges it evenly.
Step 2. Laser head (Laser array) laser head according to the RIP after processing the color of the dot matrix format with a scanning laser diode laser beam emitted on the imaging plate.
Step 3. Bindary Ink Developer (BID, Bindary Ink Developer) in the color sequence of a certain ink bin and imaging plate engaged in the articulation and the formation of ink images on the imaging plate. Negatively charged ink is transferred to the positively charged areas of the imaging plate, while the areas that do not require ink do not transfer any ink because they are more negatively charged.
Step 4. Ink transfer The ink image is transferred from the imaging plate to the heated blanket by the potential difference of the electric field.
Step 5. The heated blanket is heated to approximately 100 degrees Celsius, melting the resin in the electronic ink and forming a semi-dry, flat ink layer.
Step 6 .Ink Image Transfer The semi-dry ink image is transferred from the blanket to the substrate by embossing, and cures and adheres to the substrate immediately upon contact with the lower temperature substrate. The printing of one color is completed. The process is repeated until all colors have been printed. For web presses and thermal materials, all color sequences are stacked onto the blanket and the inked image is transferred in one pass.
Indigo Application Areas
HP Indigo electronic inks offer the widest range of print media suitability, with up to 3,250 certified substrates available, ranging from commonly used printing papers to a wide range of label materials, and from a wide range of card stocks to a wide range of films. For specialty papers and materials where surface tension or ink adhesion cannot be achieved, Indigo certified coating solutions can be used to pre-coat the substrate to print-ready condition.
Business printing, digital printing; image industry, photo books; card industry, ID cards and social security cards, etc.; folding boxes, digital proofing; flexible packaging; labels; publishing and printing and other printing areas, including various products such as albums, photos, pressure-sensitive labels, folding boxes, publishing and printing, blister packages, plastic cards, hang tags, shrink sleeve labels, wallpaper, DM sheets, heat transfer paper, flexible packaging, in-mold labels, balloons, etc. etc.
Sinopack Indigo Print Materials
Sinopack's Indigo printing materials include single-ply cardboards, mainly film products, with specialized Indigo coatings on the face, rolls of standard products in widths of 330 mm and lengths of 100m-6000m, and sheets of standard products in sizes of A3+, A3 and A4.
Commonly used indigo label material is 75mic Matte white PP, just PP molecular performance reasons will be through the printing process will have a little inward curling, we hereby launched a thick bottom Matte PP label material to solve this problem.
Sinopack Indigo label stock offers excellent print results and stability, while minimizing material waste, making it ideal for enterprise level HP Indigo printer label printing, so please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about printing supplies.
