Inkjet laminated flooring and furniture a new market opportunity?

At InPrint 2019 in Munich, from 12-14 November, inkjet ink expert Agfa and leading laminate manufacturer UNILIN will show how the combination of water-based primers and inkjet inks delivers a breakthrough for digital production printing of laminate flooring and furniture.

UNILIN and Agfa joined forces to investigate the feasibility of deploying inkjet printing for high-volume, high-speed production printing of decor paper used for laminate flooring and furniture.

At InPrint, they will present the outcome of their cooperation: specialised water-based ink-primer sets for high-speed roll-to-roll digital printing on decor paper for laminate flooring and furniture. The combination of dedicated, conventionally coated primers from UNILIN and perfectly matched Agfa pigmented inkjet inks delivers a wide color gamut with amazing print quality and low ink consumption. Sharply priced, these ink-primer sets will be competing head-to-head with high-volume gravure printing.

“Integration within existing manufacturing facilities is easy as this innovative technology is fully compatible with conventional processing including impregnation, pressing, cutting and milling,” says Jasmine Geerinckx, Business Development Manager UNILIN, division technologies.

Tom Cloots, Director Industrial Inkjet Agfa, adds: “As it is a digital process, inkjet printing can be used during the full life cycle of a design – from the start-up with a very small run, through high-volume production, up to the last few print batches when a specific design is being phased out. This flexibility enables a quick response to market needs, while minimizing unprofitable stock levels.”