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Ink Type

Solvent-Based Inks

Kao produces solvent‑based inks for Thermal Inkjet (TIJ), Piezo Drop-on-Demand (DOD) printheads and flexographic printers that deliver high-quality printing on non-porous substrates.

Ink Details Common Applications Benefits Sustainability

Ink Details

Solvent inks offer high durability in extreme environmental conditions and resistance to scratch and high temperature, making them ideal for many types of products, packaging, and outdoor signage. These inks are typically used for printing packaging, marking and coding, high-impact graphics, such as vehicle wraps, billboards, banners, and adhesive decals.

Common Applications
Solvent inks are widely used for printing non-porous substrates, supporting inkjet printing applications across multiple industries.
Food packaging Pharmaceuticals
Automotive Parts Wide-format Signage
Labeling Beverage cans and bottles

 

For Thermal Inkjet and Piezo Inkjet Printers

For printing on metal, plastic, and other non-porous substrates, our solvent-based inkjet inks for TIJ and Piezo inkjet printers provide new solutions to old problems. When water-based inks can’t work for your printing needs, our solvent-based inks deliver superior results and value.

We’ve expanded our array of high-quality solvent inks to support printing on a variety of substrates, including:

  • Metal
  • Varnished materials
  • Plastics
  • Foils
  • Glass
  • Glossy Paper and Cardboard

 

Solvent-Based Inkjet Inks Available for These Printheads

HP | Funai | Dimatix | Ricoh | SII Printek | Xaar

 

TIJ Inkjet Inks to Consider

SIGMA for HP

Our newest solvent ink for HP Specialty Printing Systems, SIGMA, delivers unparalleled performance and the deepest blacks for improved HP industrial inkjet printers’ results. Our chemists set out to raise the bar.

 

Sigma Solvent Ink Performance

  • Shelf Life: 24 months
  • Decap: 12 hours
  • Curing: Instant and without heat
  • Deeper Black: Improved dye delivers richer black and crisp results
  • Durability: Light-fast, heat and water-resistant

NEXXO for Funai

Kao’s NEXXO strong solvent inks don’t degrade Funai’s new thermal inkjet ink cartridges. These inks expand options for printing on curved substrates because of the printhead’s increased throw distance. Using our NEXXO ink for Funai thermal inkjet cartridges supports faster line speeds at a higher resolution. Characters and numbers print with high legibility for optimum readability and scanability.

 

Nexxo Solvent Ink Performance

  • 10mm throw distance
  • Prints curved surfaces with 2x the throw distance at 300 dpi
  • Overall decap improvement
  • 12-month shelf life
  • No heat drying
  • Prints on more non-porous substrates

 

Benefits

Cost-effective/low cost of ownership

The primary advantage of solvent inks over water-based inks is that they can print on a wider range of substrates, including uncoated media. This results in lower consumable costs over time.

Production uptime/minimal downtime

Solvent ink usage has greater productivity, reduced downtime and waste, and higher-quality printing, which in turn improves supply chain efficiency.

Fast-drying

Solvent ink compositions provide faster drying on non-absorbent substrates and other substrates in comparison to water-based inks.

Adheres to a wide variety of substrates

Whether the substrate is porous or nonporous, absorbent or non-absorbent, solvent ink  offers a wider range of printing capabilities.

 

Sustainability

  • The extended shelf life and decap time of our SIGMA solvent ink reduces waste.
  • The heatless drying capabilities of our SIGMA and NEXXO inks saves energy and reduces carbon footprint.
  • Our solvent inks for TIJ and Piezo printers emit fewer VOCs* because the cartridges jets only the ink necessary for each print.

Learn More about Our Commitment to Sustainability

 

Flexographic Inks

Our solvent-based flexographic inks support the high-speed printing of non-porous substrates.  The inks dry quickly through evaporation and may be considered for food packaging.*

Common Applications
Flexographic printing is the fastest-growing system of printing in the world with multiple applications mostly used in.
Packaging for household, personal care, food, beverage Security and pharmaceutical labels
Labels for automotive and retail Flexible packaging
Laminate tubes Shrink sleeves

 

Benefits

Lightfast

Resistant to fading when exposed to light and other environmental conditions – water, freezing, web rub etc.

Flexible

Excellent elongation properties for stretch film and PP self-adhesive tapes.

Durable

Resistant to grease and abrasion.

 

Sustainability

  • For most solvent-based inks, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) level is typically 100 percent. The ability for flexo presses to dry the solvent-based ink with conventional ovens is well known at even the highest press speeds helping in sustainability.
  • The Environmental Protection Agency has worked with the flexographic industry in the design of a project to help flexographic businesses, promoting water-based inks for their low power consumption, and UV curable ink systems, because they use less ink.
  • Kao produces a solvent ink certified OK COMPOST. It is suitable for printing on compostable and biodegradable film.

Learn More about Our Commitment to Sustainability

*Third-party lab testing should be conducted to evaluate migration.