DAY 1
INKJET CHEMISTRY OVERVIEW
Primers and inks | Plastics-specific chemistry
INKJET PHYSICS OVERVIEW
Printhead landscape (piezo, thermal and others) | Ink channel design | Fluid dynamics | Waveform generation and meniscus behaviour | Drop formation | Grayscale formation | Data path and printhead electronics
FLUID DELIVERY
Ink supply landscape | Meniscus and pressure control | Recirculation vs. gravity
TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM
Hardware, process, integration | Plastics printing machine overview | Machine design and modularity | Market segments
DAY 2
PRE-TREATMENT
Surface behaviour, energy and tension | One-time vs. multiple treatment | Flame and silane treatment | Influence of primers and additives | Ink adhesion strength and ink detachment | Hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic | Corona and plasma treatment
PRINTHEADS, INK CHARACTERISATION AND FUNCTIONALITY
Manufacturer overview | Object geometry (linear vs. helical jetting) | High resolution vs. high laydown | Waveforms | UV and water-based and solvent inks | The White Ink Dilemma | Ink composition and density | Surfactants, PIs and cosolvents | Temperature sensitivity | Safety and sustainability | Degassing and filtration
DROP WATCHING
Drop placement | Strategies for missing nozzles and image stitching | Grayscale generation vs. binary printing modes | Drop formation and waveform
DAY 3
INK FORMULATION
Solvent, UV and water-based ink formulation | Components and additives | Pigments (organic, inorganic) and dyes
CURING AND DRYING
IR and nIR | UV and UV LED | Curing issues by reflection around the object or in machine | Dosage and output | Wavelength influences
IMAGE QUALITY AND COLOUR MANAGEMENT
RIP overview | Colour gamut (CMYK vs. EG printing) | Spectrophotometers and light reflection on plastics | Traditional vs. spherical light sources | Printer linearisation and profiling | Ink saving strategies | Ink-surface dependencies and artefacts
DAY 4
PATENTS AND INNOVATIONS, MARKET AND TRENDS OUTLOOK
Selected patents and innovations from inkjet printing on plastics | Haptic lacquers and layering techniques | Helix vs. segmented print | 3D object printing software | Mergers and acquisitions | Supplier ecosystem
PERSPECTIVES OF THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY
Insights from the industry
SUSTAINABILITY
CO2 reduction with UV LED curing | Energy consumption | De-inking of organic vs. inorganic inks | Bio-plastics | Eco-solvents
PROBLEM SOLVING, OPEN DISCUSSION
Pre-treatment | Ink wetting, adhesion and robustness | Filling lines | Filled goods | Lip contact lines | Stitching and pinning | Printhead motion control Printing irregular shapes | Printhead motion control
Programme
2-5 December 2024, Selb, Germany
Monday, 2/12/24
13:00-13:30 Lunch and welcome
13:30-15:00 Inkjet chemistry overview
15:00-16:30 Inkjet physics overview
16:30-17:30 Fluid delivery
17:30-18:00 Technology ecosystem
Tuesday, 3/12/24
09:00-10:00 Pre-treatment
10:00-11:00 Printheads, ink characterisation and functionality, filtration
11:00-12:00 Drop watching
12:00-13:00 Lunch break
13:00-17:30 Practice sessions in groups: Surface treatment, Ink characterisation and filtration, Ink supply and drop watching
18:00 Social evening
Wednesday, 4/12/24
09:00-09:40 Ink formulation
09:40-10:20 UV curing
10:20-11:00 (N)IR drying
11:00-12:00 Image quality and colour management
12:00-13:00 Lunch break
13:00-17:30 Practice sessions in groups: UV curing, (N)IR drying, colour management
Thursday, 5/12/24
09:00-10:00 Patents and innovations, market and trends outlook
10:00-10:30 Perspectives of the plastics industry
10:30-11:00 Sustainability
11:00-12:00 Problem solving and open discussion
12:00-13:00 Certificates and (take-away) lunch
For whom
The ESMA Academy is targeted towards companies who:
• want to obtain a well-founded overview on digital printing technologies, especially on piezo inkjet, in order to make an educated decision to what extend inkjet technologies could be integrated into their production process.
• want to obtain basic inkjet know-how in order to plan a possible introduction of inkjet technologies into their organisation and facilitate their investment decisions.
• are planning to start with inkjet or have already installed inkjet equipment in their organisation but are still at the very beginning of the learning process.
Tutors
• Oliver Baatz, Pall
• Jochen Christiaens, ImageXpert
• Oliver Kammann, K-Flow Consulting
• Dominik Malecha, Kunststoff Institute Lüdenscheid
• Adam Strevens, Neatjet
• Tri Tuladhar, Trijet
ESMA Certificate
Participants will receive a certificate after attending all sessions.