Agfa to augment inkjet ink production capacity

04 August 2020: Agfa will soon invest in the expansion of its inkjet ink production capacity to meet the growing demand. The new production facility located at Agfa’s headquarters in Mortsel, Belgium will enable Agfa to serve its current customers, as well as to be a key supplier of aqueous inkjet inks for a wide range of novel applications, according to Agfa’s media statement.

Its first target is the growing market of printing on décor paper for the production of laminate floorings and furniture panels, where inkjet printing with Agfa’s water-based inks delivers a very cost-effective solution. According to the company, there is a promising market of inkjet printing on packaging, especially on corrugated carton, delivering the most sustainable solution in terms of the material, as well as the printing process and ink.

In combination with Agfa’s existing facilities, the new plant will form a flexible and extremely efficient production center, where R&D and Quality Control teams will be co-located. Its manufacturing capacity should cover the expected growth rates of ink volumes for the next five to ten years.

Tom Cloots, Director Industrial Inkjet said “Our ink sales volumes have steadily grown year after year and we have gradually increased production capacity. The time has come for a new investment to keep up with growing market demands.”

Agfa develops and manufactures UV ink sets in close collaboration with a high number of OEMs of multi-pass and single pass printing solutions. For many years, Agfa has been active in the field of aqueous inkjet inks, which are based on specific pigment dispersion and ink technology. OEMs incorporate these ink sets in their inkjet printing systems for diverse applications, including laminate (flooring and furniture, printing on décor paper), corrugated carton and document printing, as well as for ongoing developments, especially packaging applications.