NUtec Digital Ink is a leading and proudly South African UV-curable, water-based and solvent ink manufacturer located in Cape Town, supplying its ink solutions to over 120 countries around the world. Founded in 2009 by a team of digital printing ink pioneers, the company’s roots date back to the 1990s when the digital inkjet printing industry was still in its infancy. This article is the front cover story of the latest Sign Africa Journal.
In the mid to late 1990s, NUtec’s founders owned a business called Omnigraphics, a company which supplied automotive branding, fleet markings and digital printing to the graphic arts market. During this time, the Omnigraphics research and development (R&D) team formulated and manufactured solvent digital ink for Piezo print heads for the early VUTEk UltraVu and Idanit 162Ad (Scitex Novo) presses.
In 1999, a separate company called TechnoINK was formed to focus solely on the manufacture of solvent digital inks, eventually being bought in 2001 by Scitex Vision and renamed TechINK. TechINK and Scitex Vision were acquired by Hewlett Packard (HP) during 2005 and were producing up to 500 tons of solvent and UV cured inks a month, making it one of the largest digital ink manufacturing companies in the world at the time.
Since the formation of NUtec Digital Ink in 2009 by the original founders of TechINK, the company has evolved to become a global leading ink manufacturer for both OEM and alternative branded inks. Today, NUtec Digital Ink manufactures UV-curable, water-based and solvent inkjet inks which it supplies around the world via an extensive distribution network.
Ongoing research and development
As a leading manufacturer, ongoing R&D has proven key to the company’s success and reputation. With many world firsts behind its name, the company is a forerunner of new chemistries and inkjet applications, often under OEM brand names.
NUtec employs a dynamic R&D team, which includes:
•Chemists specialising in UV, water-based and solvent digital ink development.
•Printhead, rheology and waveform specialists.
•Integration specialists for single pass and multi pass systems.
•Engineering specialists for auxiliary component design.
The company regularly invests in development tools and equipment and currently has on-site:
•Print head laboratories with drop watcher and waveform analysis tools.
•Independent UV, water-based and solvent digital ink laboratories.
•Multiple R&D print rooms housing over 30 digital printing machines.
•Complete ink characterisation and extensive multi-layered quality control to ensure the performance and consistency of final product and application.
•State-of-the-art accelerated ageing test facility.
Analytical and quality control departments
Analytical chemists at NUtec test the robustness of all ink designs before approval into the manufacturing process by testing and verifying the specifications for the Quality Control (QC) team. All NUtec ink formulations are tested under stringent conditions, ensuring the overall integrity of the various NUtec products.
Chemical Regulatory Compliance
NUtec employs a dedicated team to ensure that all produced inks comply with international regulations for both manufacture and shipping. As an example, this would include REACH compliance for Europe as well as region specific safety labelling and chemical handling compliance. Safety data sheets are produced to ensure that all NUtec products adhere to local and international regulations before leaving the factories. This includes the latest GHS chemical classification and labelling compliance. The chemical regulatory and compliance department monitors international laws, ensuring NUtec products’ labelling and classifications are always up to date.
Sustainability and the environment
Preservation of the natural environment as well as the safety and well-being of its employees and customers have always been paramount to the company. This notion led to the development of the company’s Emerald ERP range in 2012. This line of digital printing inks contains no Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPS) as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency, making the inks safer for both the print operator and the environment. Further to this, NUtec invested in technology and equipment to develop water-based inks in 2014, leading to its Aquamarine water-based ink range.
The Aquamarine offering uses dispersed dye sublimation ink to print either directly or via transfer paper onto polyester-based textiles and other polyester-coated substrates like Chromadek, mugs and various promotional items. This is currently one of NUtec’s fastest growing product ranges, offering a friendlier digital printing ink solution.
Partnering with technical experts
As industry pioneers in the design, development and manufacture of digital printing inks, NUtec offers:
•Long-term relationships with OEMs, private label owners and distribution partners.
•An R&D team focused on providing innovative solutions for demanding applications.
•Expertise in packaging, bottles and pouches including capping, nozzle fitments and label solutions.
•Ink integration field support teams, ensuring customer satisfaction through ink installation, training, machine optimisation tuning and maintenance support.
•Development tools, which include fully equipped laboratories and print rooms.
•Multiple quality control stages for every product manufactured and full traceability for each ink batch produced.
Looking ahead, NUtec Digital Ink plans to further expand into new markets and territories, and to introduce innovative product applications which will positively impact the local and international markets, ensuring that the digital printing industry in South Africa remains at the cutting edge of this exciting sector.
NUTEC DIGITAL INK
+27 21 763 6990
info@nutecdigital.com
www.nutecdigital.com
