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As FLAAR grows in coverage of digital imaging and readership, we are adding FLAAR Reports on after-market third-party generic inks

AT Inks booth was at the FESPA Amsterdam trade show 2009.

Because FLAAR is read world-wide, and especially since the FLAAR Reports have become a de-facto resource for reviews, evaluations, and help in understanding the pros and cons of digital imaging, we are making a logical first step entering the world of after-market third party ink.

We avoided aftermarket third-party ink for the first seven years because we received over 27 water-based inkjet printers for evaluation. Most of our readers wished to learn how these HP, Canon, and Epson printers functioned with their original OEM ink.

But as FLAAR moved into covering UV-curable flatbed printers, eco-solvent, mild-solvent, bio-solvent, and grand-format full-solvent based inks, more and more of our readers asked about our opinions about third-party after-market inkjet inks.

So we have taken on this challenge. Indeed I have already visited three ink development and testing labs: NUR in Israel, a week at Bordeaux in Israel (on a separate trip), and a week at the headquarters of Sun LLC and Sunflower ink in Russia (no relationship to Sun Chemical).

Triangle INX at Shanghai 2007.

I have not yet visited Triangle, but they are an ink company that I see at most major trade shows around the world. Plus most of the printshops that I inspect in Guatemala use Triangle ink. I also know the owners and tech support of the company that imports Triangle ink into this part of Central America.

Large OEM ink companies are also becoming third-party after-market suppliers

Sun Chemical is moving more and more into offering ink as after-market under the Streamline brand name.

Fujifilm, owner of Sericol, shows Sericol ink in printers that are not made by Fujifilm.In other words, they too are seeking sales into the after-market ink world.

Dr. Hellmuth made a factory visit for NUR, in this photo you can see NUR ink lab.

Other companies we are curious about

Van Son is a booth I see frequently at trade shows. They are a huge company, but I have not seen their inks when I visit digital printshops and sign shops. Van Son seems to have entered inkjet several years ago but then dropped out of wide-format inkjet a few years later.

Lyson is another company I see at most major trade shows in the US and Europe. They were bought by Nazdar, which makes Lyson now all the more interesting. But when I inspected a sign shop in Guatemala, they said they used to use Lyson but it clogged the heads of their Chinese solvent printer, so they switched to InkWin ink, which they said was better.

Here is Nicholas Hellmuth (left) at Inkwin headquarters . Dr. Hellmuth made a factory visit in this company last year.

Pantone ColorVantage; but they were recently bought by X-Rite, so we will have to wait and see if they continue in the third party ink market.

Clearstar Coatings JetStar solvent ink is a product I don't see much, since I know Clearstar Coatings primarily for their coatings. It has been rumored that Clearstar was bought by a German ink company.

MegaInk is a company I see occasionally at trade shows but there are more booths at each show than there is time to visit them all.

MegaInk Company at FESPA 2007.

Other after-market ink companies

There are hundreds of small ink companies from China, Taiwan, Korea and India. You see them at the trade show in Shanghai, Istanbul, Italy. Many will be at DRUPA.

We will feature an ink company when they catch our attention. I had never heard of Sunflower ink before I happened to notice their booth at a Dubai print and packaging trade show in early 2007. What they showed me in the booth was sufficiently interesting that I made a trip to far-away Novosibirsk, Russia and spent a week learning more about their company. Three FLAAR Reports have resulted from this visit.

There is an ink company in India that I see exhibiting every year, both in Asia, Europe, and the US. They look like a professional group.

Naturally FLAAR is not interested to study ink brewed in a bathtub or made from chemical waste in a garage.

So if other ink companies make an impression on us as we visit a trade show, we will consider adding them to our coverage. Over 340,000 people a year, in over 62 countries, read this large-format web site (in 2008). Another 900,000+ people read our FLAAR Reports about water-based printers on www.wide-format-printers.org , www.FineArtGicleePrinters.org , and www.digital-photography.org (actually its more like over one million readers readers if you add all three together).

Sunflower ink factory, 2007.

 

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Most recently updated January 26, 2009.

First posted September 17, 2007.