The 3D wallpaper digital printer from Lithuania would add variety not only to the portfolio of Apsom Infotex, but also catapult the way wallpaper industry has been perceived in India
Large format inkjet digital print solution provider, Apsom Infotex Ltd. has recently inked sole and exclusive distribution agreement with Veika for its newly developed Dimense – 3D Wallpaper Digital Printer from Lithuania for the Indian market. Under the partnership, the Apsom Infotex will market & distribute Veika’s Dimense in the Indian market.
Veika, the Lithuanian manufacturer of materials for wallpaper production has developed a completely new printing technique called Dimense. Dimense does exactly what the name suggests – the process gives digital printing a dimension. The technique makes it possible to effect the embossing simultaneously with the digital printing. As a result, the structure and motif can be perfectly adapted to each other – in any required size. This is how, entirely new possibilities for the wallpaper industry arise: for example, a tree-bark wallpaper that not only looks real, but also feels like a real tree when touched.
Until now, the embossing had limited the production of wallpaper. To achieve the 3D effect, a printing cylinder had to be produced for exacting the embossing pattern. The size or format of the embossing were limited and were not allowed to exceed the circumference of the cylinder. Therefore, conventionally made wallpapers are very limited in structure. While any conceivable colour or many printing methods are possible, embossing always came in simple patterns, which repeat themselves on the entire wallpaper.
This limitation inspired the engineers at Veika to create a revolutionary way by enabling wallpaper producers to simply print embossing. “We were just dissatisfied with the fact that only identical imprints were possible, and we wanted to produce wallpapers where the imprint fits the motifs,” says Veika’s Dr. Aleksey Etin. “The solution we found is Dimense, because it just prints the imprint,” he added. Veika unveiled this technology for the first time in Fespa last year and announced that the same will be available from 2018.
An R&D department of 25 people spent several years developing the technology, with the result being Dimensor, a printer that works with the environmentally-friendly base material by the name of Ecodeco that Veika also introduced. Since no rotation cylinder needs to be produced for each and every design, with Dimensor, small batches become possible, new designs can be produced and tested easily & quickly and even individual wallpapers for individual clients are possible.
To do this, the company had to develop a completely new process. The research and development department with its 25 employees took several years to create a new kind of printer. The result is one in which the environmentally friendly inks and raw material are used, also invented by Veika and sold under the brand name Ecodeco. The base material for sustainable wallpapers as an alternative to PVC is made of an environmentally friendly polymer composite, which should be completely harmless. The contained components would also be used eg for food packaging.
The Dimensor printer allows continuous printing and embossing simultaneously. It consists of two main components – inkjet printer and calender. Printing digitally imaged images requires special preparation of the files as well as Dimense media and inks. Some technical features (the Dimensor Model S): piezoelectric inkjet, two offset printheads; 1440 nozzles (eight rows by 180 nozzles) per printhead; printing speed max. 20 sqm/hour; medium width up to 600 mm, roll length 50 m, total weight per unit area from 250 to 300 gsm; foam thickness between 0.5 and 1 mm; the surface may be shiny, dull or pearly; resolution from 0.2 to 0.5 mm; the inks are water based, CMYK plus effect.
The newly introduced printing process from Veika can change the entire wallpaper industry not only in India but across the globe. Since not every single design needs to produce a rotary cylinder, small series are now possible, new designs can be quickly and easily produced and tested, and even custom wallpapers are possible.
Interestingly, this innovative wallpaper printing technology has come from the one that is well known for its proficiency in developing, manufacturing and selling high-quality inks for wallpaper manufacturers & technical textiles and eco-solvent inks used in digital printing all around the world. Veika UAB is a producer of water and solvent-based printing inks and coatings for screen, gravure and flexo as well as for inkjet printing.
Established in 1991, Veika is headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, wherein its production plant is also located, while its only subsidiary is located in Gomel, Belarus. Focussed on innovation, the company has setup a wide range of research and development facilities, including laboratories dedicated to product applications, analytics, pilot printing and design. The experience, knowledge and new ideas from the qualified scientists and engineers, along with modern equipment, enable it to develop & manufacture high-quality products within a short time frame. Every year we introduce between 10 and 20 new products to the market.
While Veika is the technology giant, Apsom Infotex is the master distributor to leading global brands, for technology products in the large format digital inkjet print market. With national distribution infrastructure and offices across major cities in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, the company has over the years been identified as the premier supplier of inkjet printers for Solvent, Eco-Solvent, Fabric and UV printers. Addressing segments of signage, textile and 3D printing, Apsom has been mandated by some of the largest and most successful companies in the world to promote, distribute and support their products and services. These include Roland DG, Procam, Rowmark, Colorjet, and many others.
