WetDot: ‘chemistry is primary enabler for industrial inkjet success’
As industries continue to move toward more flexible and digitally controlled production processes, industrial inkjet is expected to play an increasingly important role. Water-based ink systems in particular are gaining attention due to their potential advantages in sustainability, regulatory compliance and workplace safety. However, WetDot – a team of chemists, engineers and regulatory experts, claims the successful implementation of these technologies will continue to depend on deep expertise in fluid chemistry, materials science and process integration.
Giovanni M. Manca, R&D Director and co-founder at WetDot, who has worked in imaging and inkjet development for more than three decades, says: “Inkjet systems are becoming more powerful every year. But their success still depends on something fundamental: understanding the chemistry behind the droplets.”
Ink formulation, substrate interaction and process stability remain central challenges in the implementation of reliable industrial inkjet solutions. Unlike traditional analog printing technologies, industrial inkjet requires the precise interaction of multiple technical disciplines. Printheads, fluid dynamics, surface chemistry and substrate properties must work together under tightly controlled conditions. Even small variations in viscosity, surface tension or particle stability can lead to issues such as poor jetting reliability, nozzle clogging, insufficient adhesion or inconsistent colour reproduction.
Carsten Rühling, Managing Director and co-founder of WetDot, says: “For many companies entering industrial inkjet, the biggest surprise is how strongly chemistry influences the final printing performance. The ink is not just a colour carrier. It is an engineered fluid designed to interact with printheads, substrates and drying processes in a very specific way.”
Rühling spent more than a decade developing industrial inkjet formulations at Armor / Altkin Industrial Inks, where he worked on ink systems for applications such as dye sublimation, DTF, laminates, flooring, and coding & marking. During this time he developed formulations compatible with a wide range of industrial printheads, including Kyocera, Epson, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Fujifilm.
The evolution of inkjet printing has significantly expanded the range of potential applications. Early desktop printing focused primarily on colour reproduction and image quality. Industrial systems, however, must address a much broader set of requirements, including production speed, durability, environmental stability and regulatory compliance.
Manca adds: “In industrial inkjet, the ink is often the enabling technology. You must design formulations that perform reliably on very different surfaces, including porous and non-porous substrates, hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials, while maintaining stable jetting behaviour.”
Over the past three decades, digital printing technologies have transformed numerous industries, from textile decoration and packaging to flooring and functional materials. Each of these applications places very different demands on ink formulation and process design. Rühling explains: “The interaction between ink formulation and printhead architecture is also critical. A formulation that works perfectly with one printhead technology may behave completely differently in another system.”
The increasing use of inkjet technology in industrial manufacturing has significantly expanded the importance of materials science. Achieving stable jetting performance requires careful control of viscosity, particle size distribution, surface tension and long-term chemical stability. Many modern applications require inks to interact with complex substrates including polymers, coatings, composites and treated surfaces.
Chris Nicholas, Strategic Advisor to WetDot and founder of Smart Chemistry Limited, notes that this trend is opening new possibilities for digital manufacturing. “Inkjet is no longer just a printing technology. It has become a highly flexible materials deposition process that can be used for applications ranging from decorative printing to functional coatings and advanced manufacturing. This shift is driving increased demand for interdisciplinary expertise combining chemistry, engineering and process development.”
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