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Fluid dynamics is changing our world

A special magazine about the challenging world of fluid dynamics

From the world of print to printing the world

In recent years, inkjet technology has established itself as the primary digital printing method for more and more applications. Yet we’ve only just begun to explore its full potential. Océ is pumping a large amount of resources into R&D, exploring new and exciting areas in which inkjet can have a major impact.

Building on the latest scientific insights into fluid dynamics, our R&D specialists have developed new generations of printing systems, suitable for an amazing array of applications. Nowadays, we can print in all shapes and sizes, from books and banners to magazines and signage. Our systems can be used to print on paper as well as on “new” substrates such as glass, wood and metal. All with the speed and flexibility of digital printing. Here are just a few of the applications that are possible with inkjet technology.

Océ

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Large-format graphics include posters, banners and large displays. Flatbed printing systems such as the Océ Arizona range radically changed the market, and are currently able to print 200 signs per day. The Océ Colorado 1640 system brings new opportunities for the roll-to-roll market, with a production capacity of 600 banners per day.

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Magazines, catalogs and books: here we come. Océ has developed some of the world’s best-selling digital inkjet systems. These systems produce high-quality full-color prints on demand, on a range of low-cost paper types, customized and personalized.

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Imagine a room decorated with your own customized design, printed on demand from your favorite picture or illustration, or incorporating personal messages. With Océ Arizona flatbed printers, it is possible on almost any material like glass, wood, metal. Our wide-format digital printers also print wallpaper, laminates and tiles.

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Magazines, catalogs and books: here we come. Océ has developed some of the world’s best-selling digital inkjet systems. These systems produce high-quality full-color prints on demand, on a range of low-cost paper types, customized and personalized.

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Elevated printing technology is very suitable for fine-art recreations, elevated maps, signage, art reproductions and educational materials for the visually disabled. It also enables us to print molds for quick samples or prototyping, as an alternative to vacuum forming and embossing.

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It is possible to replace traditional manufacturing techniques with digital printing techniques by adding function to objects, or even printing the objects themselves. Take circuit boards, the engines of our digital world. The vast majority of circuit boards are still made using lithographic imaging. Photosensitive resist is applied on a substrate, after which UV light is projected through a mask to form a pattern. It’s a complex procedure which requires a massive infrastructure and produces a lot of waste in the form of excess resist, masks and chemicals. Océ technology could be used to print resist directly on the copper. This saves materials and costs, simplifies and speeds up the manufacturing process and reduces its environmental impact. Here we are really moving from the world of print to printing the world.

Touch Screen

The same technology could be applied to other areas of manufacturing: for example, to print touchscreen coatings at lower cost, with less waste and more flexibility.

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Océ metaljet is the first technology for precision- jetting droplets of molten metal. It can be used with any conductive material with a melting point up to 2000°C: pure metals, alloys and molten semiconductors such as silicon. This opens up opportunities for printing jewelry, electronics, engine parts and more.

By developing and applying technologies like these, we are moving from the world of print to printing the world.

More about fluid dynamics

The ice age cometh, or not

5 March 2018

Is Europe on the brink of a second ice age? In recent years, some have speculated that climate change may affect the Gulf Stream, a powerful oceanic current which transports heat from the tropics past the eastern shore of the USA and into the North Sea. Without it, many scientists believe, Western and Northern Europe would be much cooler.

Let it roll

30 January 2018

Car windscreens that automatically resist raindrops? Surfaces that you can clean by spraying them with water, which automatically rolls off the surface, taking dust and other particles with it? Just two examples of the practical advantages of liquid-repellent surfaces.

The future is inkjet

30 January 2018

After decades of research into different fields of printing technology, 2008 marked a next turning point in Océ’s history. Océ decided to focus on inkjet technology as much as possible for future developments.Océ’s Marcel Slot and Herman Wijshoff explain the rationale behind that choice and where they expect inkjet technology will take us.