SCHAUMBURG, IL—When a leading European printer of contemporary art books went looking for a manufacturer of LED UV inks, it directed a meticulous search and conducted tests on various inks. Belgian printer Cassochrome determined INX International Ink Co had the type of high-quality inks to satisfy its printing requirements and has been using INXCure LW OSF inks on all its LED printing jobs since mid-2019.
“After one small trial with our INXCure LW OSF inks, Cassochrome immediately saw the potential of the ink and decided to do an extended trial,” said Frédéric Raia, business development manager for INX. “They want to grow in quality to achieve the highest standard for printing art books. The owner accepted this challenge because he knows and trusts the excellent quality of our LED ink series.”
Cassochrome was founded by Bernard Soens in 1973 as a lithographic printing house. Originally, it specialized in printing comic books as well as artist and carpet reproductions. Two decades ago, it began to focus its attention on art reproduction, specifically art books, due to its experience with color fidelity. Contemporary art continues to be a strong passion of Soens and his daughter, Laurence Soens, explaining his desire to utilize the best printing techniques available today.
INXCure LW OSF inks are UV curable and have been formulated for exceptional performance at high printing speeds. They are also suitable for the GRACoL G7 certification process, one of the many benefits that Raia says Cassochrome is experiencing.
“All of their jobs are run with LED inks and they now have better stability on press. Stability is extremely important so you don’t have to change the parameters every time. It makes printing the job much easier.”
Cassochrome’s jobs are run through a Komori Lithrone GX40 6-color press with LED drying. The inks have not only improved dot sharpness, but also extend the life of the AGFA Energy Elite Eco no-bake thermal printing plates.
“A big benefit of our INXCure LW OSF series is the ink transfers quickly,” concluded Raia. “The colors are ready in no time and it is less aggressive on the printing plates. With short runs, this means they have a minimum of paper waste. Overall, they are experiencing better printability and are very happy with the results.”