Wide-Format Comes of Age

Early conversions of aqueous-based printers to accept solvent-based inks were remarkably successful, and the divide between the low-end machines and the grand-format printer specialists began to narrow.

ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES: The drive toward UV-curable technology and the renewed interest in aqueous-based printers have also occurred because of environmental pressures and changes in attitude. The attraction of the relatively cheap output achievable from solvent-based printers for posters, banners and point-of-purchase applications has a major disadvantage in the odor that lingers on finished jobs and the fact that, as solvents are heavier than air, they tend to fall and taint in-store goods. In addition to being hazardous products for the printer to work with, this makes them unsuitable for use in food and fashion stores.