The Use of Inkjet in Packaging Applications

Abstract

There are several unique features in inkjet, which makes it almost the perfect printing method. For example, it is the only contactless printing method, so any substrate – flexible, rigid or fragile – can be printed. It is also an additive method, which means that multilayer structures or even 3D objects can be built, so many new applications for example in the areas of bio- and nanotechnology, decorative and fabrics printing, electronics, mechanical devices and combinatorial chemistry have been researched during last years.In the area of conventional printing, inkjet is also gaining ground rapidly in the application areas like wide format graphics, direct mailing, textile printing and high quality publishing. One of the most potential areas for inkjet is the packaging applications.In the packaging sector, inkjet has traditionally been used in the coding and marking applications. The lack of adequate print quality has prevented its use in the consumer packages, but now the situation is rapidly changing. This is due to the very fast development of inkjet printing head and ink technologies. VTT has actively been dealing with inkjet packaging projects for more than twelve years. In this article, findings of VTT's packaging research projects have been presented.