By Arjen Evertse, Director Sales, Mimaki Europe
Sustainability – the topic at the top of the agenda, the goal to meet for every forward-thinking company, and the extremely valid reason regulations and laws are becoming ever more stringent. As a company, Mimaki is focused on sustainability for all of these reasons. Our unwavering responsibility to the environment and human health involves finding ways to keep sustainability at the forefront, whilst also bringing solutions to market that meet the high quality and productivity requirements our customers have come to expect.
To comply with environmental laws and adhere to leading brands’ sustainability policies, UV-LED is becoming the preferred technology across the Sign Graphics industry. It’s chosen for its energy efficiency, low VOC emissions and safer working conditions for operators. Mimaki is known for our market-leading UV-LED printers that deliver all of these sustainability benefits. However, we’re also big believers in taking a technology with significant benefits and finding ways to take it even further and achieve even greater results
Our latest innovation is a first for the industry. Mimaki’s ELH-100 and ELS-120 are our most advanced UV-LED flatbed inks to date, setting a new benchmark in sustainable, safe printing. What makes these inks so special? They are SVHC- (Substances of Very High Concern) and CMR- (Carcinogenic, Mutagenic and Reprotoxic substances) free. ELH-100 and ELS-120 inks also deliver the same exceptional print performance with 30% less odour than our former generation of inks. So, with these inks, we’re supporting ESG goals, offering a more environmentally friendly way to print, staying ahead of industry regulations (it’s expected that most, if not all, SVHC could be completely banned within 5 years’ time), and providing a better working environment for operators.
Being able to achieve the same scratch resistance, colour gamut, and adhesion with the ELH-100 and ELS-120 inks and support a more sustainable way of printing is an enormous step forward. Using these inks will not only support our customers’ own sustainability objectives but they can provide a true differentiator when selling to environmentally conscious brands.
There are so many compelling reasons to switch to the ELH and ELS inks but if I had to pick just one, I would say that the opportunity to ‘Print Different’ is the most persuasive. Now, you may say that I have cheated a little there as ‘Print Different’ perhaps isn’t strictly one thing! For me, it means finding new ways to go against the grain by being more sustainable, offering a high-quality, diverse range of products, and finding your competitive edge. However, these inks offer the chance to achieve this and, with environmental pressures mounting, now is the time to see what ‘Printing Different’ could mean to your business.
