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| This new equip-ment […] allows us to offer a specia-lized service that is tailored to printers and industrialists who want to develop new printed applica-tions for electronics or other fields. |

Strategic PositioningThe new equipment, which allies exper-tise in printability, formulation of inks and printing techniques, allows ICI to offer a specialized service that is tailored to printers and industrialists who want to develop new printed applications for electronics or other fields.

Explosive Field

“The Institute’s positioning is to be the terminal station,” says its director. “We want to make the industrial prototypes and help companies. In the next years we will see the development of packaging with the ability to communicate, espe-cially with smart phones. This technology, called ‘near field communication (NFC)’, will use printed chips.”

“The main undertaking […] will be to show the industrial feasibility of innovative printed applications and their prototyping.”

A Unique Equipment for Unrivaled Printing Standards

ICI’s newly-acquired printing press, made in Omet’s workshop in Lecco, Italy, is one of a kind. It is based on a modified Varyflex V2 platform and it has been adap-ted to the needs of ICI and its partners. The press was transformed into an online multi-process press. Its main characte-ristics are the full interchangeability of the printing processes and the register accuracy.

This press is a good one and it is made for production. “It’s not some laboratory equipment,” explains Régent Bernier, the director of ICI’s flexography department. “It’s a choice we made in the beginning. We wanted something close to the reality of printers to be able to easily transfer the prototypes.” That aspect is crucial to his partner, Michel Martineau. “We wanted to get closer to manufacturing and not make something that exists only in a laboratory,” says the expert in printing techniques. The press

is an industrial machine that is used for research projects.

Interchangeable Multi-Processes and Registry Accuracy

The new press is different from its coun-terparts because of its multi-process func-tionality. This functionality exists in the industry, but it’s rare to use so many prin-ting processes on a single machine. The new press is able to go from silkscreen printing to heliogravure or flexography in the order needed to make the proto-types. “We needed a unique flexibility,” explains Régent Bernier. “We can print thin plastic films or thick cardboard, but also paper on the same printing press, and use three printing processes on five stations.” The printing press was made so that additional units can be added to allow ICI to offer more possibilities.

One of the goals is to add something more than colour to printed products and the final goal is to give them functiona-lities. “Conducting current, changing colours or ensuring a controlled release of an active substance” are examples of functionalities given by Christine Canet, director of ICI’s consulting services and applied research. According to her the goal is to target applications that are made for rotary presses and that are both inno-vative and industrial.

The team behind the project wants an accuracy of positioning or register that does not exist yet. Changes will be made

NEW PRESS DEDICATED TO PRINTED ELECTRONICSA World of Opportunities Opens to ICI

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| “It is rare to use so many different printing processes on a single machine.” |to the famous printing press in association with Omet, the manufacturer, to reach the desired results. “We push register accuracy to the limit of technology,” says Ms. Canet. A three-year partnership with the manufacturer was established to push the limits of printing so it is possible to increase the possibilities that the printing press offers to industrialists.

Lower Production Costs

It is important to have a quick turnaround while keeping the costs as low as possible. According to Ms. Canet, the savings are due to the efficiency of the process and the fact that the printing press can print more than one thing on a single produc-tion line. “The printing processes allow us to put the substance exactly where it’s needed,” says Chloé Bois, ICI’s projects manager. The printing press will also allow ICI to save on ink consumption. Since the inks developed in laboratories can

costs hundreds or thousands of dollars for one kilogram, the new machine was developed so that it could work with small amounts while minimizing waste. “That’s also unique,” explains Christine Canet. “We want people who come try it to be able to recover the unused product. It’s a huge advantage.”

The idea of “toxicity” is a really important aspect that is taken into account when choosing inks. “We make the for-mulations ourselves, so we’re careful to choose the greenest products among those that are available and efficient,” says Christiane Lecomte, assistant mana-ger of consulting services and applied research.

Unmatched Expertise

The expertise of the Institute in the entire graphics chain is another great charac-teristic of the project. “We have seen similar machines in centers where there’s

not really a printer,” says Régent Bernier. “That convergence is a good thing. There will soon be new applications, with pro-ducts in development, and our role is to make them functional in reproducible conditions. We have been making tests on press for years. It’s one of our strengths.”According to Christine Canet, partners such as the National Research Council (NRC) help this great expertise. “This machine shows the Canadian collabo-ration,” she explains. Furthermore, the manufacturer, Omet, is more than just a supplier. It is also a partner that will be part of the adventure for the next three years. “It is a big player that has decided to invest in modifications to enter into a highly-specialized market,” says the director of consulting services and applied research.

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PRINT IS BECOMING A COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGYEvolving IndustryThe history of print is intrinsically linked to evolution in societies because it has (among other things) allowed the trans-mission of ideas, the access to infor-mation, and the preservation of texts. This joint evolution continues and new possibilities are appearing with printing technologies, which transform this means of communication into a communica-tions technology. “It means that we’re printing something else than colour to get effects with a high added value,” says Ms. Canet. For example, “we can get different colours with the same ink. The field of applications is wid.” and can include “intelligent” packaging. It is possible to add a coat of varnish that has unique characteristics, tricks that make counterfeiting more complicated, or solar panels. Everything is possible. Chloé Bois, projects manager, explains that the Institute is concentrating on the effect that the consumers want on their product, not on the “toolbox”, so that it can create new applications. “There are no limits,” she says.

New materials are created every day and their characteristics offer great oppor-tunities in every technological field. That influences the products used every day.

The electronics field is really fond of these new materials and some of them are used in printed electronics. But that means transforming them into a printable

material. That’s why the mission of the Institute is to transform them into ink and to control all aspects of the printing processes, while keeping the targeted properties. That is a big and interesting

technological challenge for ICI. Another challenge is the need for some appli-cations to superimpose many of those unique inks to get a combination with new properties. Those layouts are called

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“multilayers”. ICI’s hybrid printing press was created for line production.

ICI works at the pre-industrialization stage. “We develop the recipe for the process and the goods, so they become a reality for the entire industry,” explains Régent Bernier, director of the flexogra-phy department. “But in the industry the functionalities are often added to a

printed product. It can be functions that are added to packaging.” According to Christine Canet, a good example is pac-kaging that lights up.

Imprimé du futur

The newly-acquired modified Varyflex V2 printing press goes beyond print. It opens the doors to a myriad of new

functionalities that will help the progress of the printing world, and the resurgence of the industry.

“There will soon be new applica-tions, with products in development, and our role is to make them functional in reproducible conditions. We have been making tests on press for years. It’s one of our strengths.”

| “The new machine was developed so that it could work with small amounts while minimizing waste. […] It’s a huge advantage.” |

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Information@i-ci.caPrintability and Graphic Communications Institute

999 Émile-Journault Avenue East, Montreal (Quebec) H2M 2E2 CanadaTel. 1-514 389-5061 | Fax 1-514 389-5840 | www.i-ci.ca