Wider range of applications with multilayer print on round and shaped glass
From October 06th to October 09th, Durst, the specialist for industrial inkjet applications, will introduce its Rho Vetrocer, the digital glass printer of the next generation, at the Vitrum 2015 in Milan. Due to the ongoing development of the inkjet technology, introduced at the Glasstec 2014, Durst is now in a position to meet, more than any other exhibitor, the vision statement of this trade fair: "Anything is possible in the future of glass". The Durst Rho Vetrocer in fact will enable the usage of ceramic inks for digital printing, to quickly and conveniently and without any set-up times, print glass fronts, glass doors, divider walls for kitchens and glass frames. Durst offers a tremendous creative potentiality for glass applications and convinces with the high print quality and the stability of printed images. The new Rho Vetrocer includes an innovative media transport system, featuring suction cups located on the deck. Due to this special transport mechanism, the glass is registered with an extreme precision for the print and curing process and then returned to the starting position to carry out, for instance, one unique double vision or multilayer print process. Another innovation are the surface sensors, which allow the round shaped glass to be precisely positioned for the print.
"In many fields of application, Durst is the leading supplier of industrial print systems for the digital decoration of surfaces ", states Dr. Richard Piock, President of the Durst Phototechnik AG Board of Directors. "With our new Business Unit, Durst Industrial Inkjet Applikation GmbH in Lienz, we adapted the inkjet technology to glass printing, in order to eliminate any potential limitations, which affect traditional print processes, and to offer new application options, runs, styles and effects with the glass media. Our vertical integration will enable us, to successfully approach complex glass printing challenges. The Vitrum 2015 is a great opportunity for us to present the new options featured by our Rho Vitrocer. To us the slogan then becomes: "The glass future is now and we are making it happen."
Rho Vetrocer – Innovative glass printer with ceramic inks
In 2013, Durst opened the Durst Industrial Inkjet Application GmbH subsidiary in Lienz, to adapt its inkjet technology to other industrial fields. The introduction of the glass printer Rho Vetrocer at the Glasstec 2014, showed the possibility to adapt the glass media. Compared with available technology, operating in other fields, the glass printing technology was further developed, especially for such applications. For instance, the continuous flow technology of the Gamma ceramic printers – a continuous circulation system of inks inside print heads to avoid the sedimentation of ceramic inks – is optimized by new QSR print heads and the innovative fluid technology. At the research center in Lienz, the Rho Vetrocer Ink, an ink formed by inorganic pigments, frit, fluid vector and disposal, was specifically formulated to print on glass media. The ink is applied directly onto the glass, without primer, and during the baking stage in the oven it will be bound permanently. The ceramic ink is lead-, cadmium- and nickel-free, it is compliant with DIN regulations and, compared to other digital inks, may be formulated into a much wider color variety, particularly for red and yellow. A color management software, developed by Durst, enables the reproduction of RAL colors on glass.
Due to Durst's considerable experience in development and vertical integration, the Rho Vetrocer features a magnetic transport print cart, a bionic vector in an aluminum-titanium-silicon compound and Durst software for data processing and data management. With the new media transport system, using suction cups onto the cart, an outstanding 0.1 mm tolerance precision is achieved and various print processes can then run fully automated. Furthermore, the surface sensors, recording a higher number of edges/points, enable printing on rounded glass or glass with a rounded edge. After the print stage, a newly concepted infrared dryer, directly attached to the printer, performs the delicate curing process of ceramic inks, at a temperature of 110°C. The process is automatically adjusted by the surface sensors.
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