How does an industrial digital printing project unfold?
Listening, sampling, design, production, testing: behind every industrial digital printing project lies a structured process.
Each stage contributes to building a coherent printing solution, tailored to the customer’s needs and designed to integrate into the production line.
Step 1: Understanding the project challenges
The first step consists of analysing the project input data. The Sales Engineer discusses the project with you to identify the technical, industrial and aesthetic requirements of the application.
This phase helps define:
- The material to be printed;
- The expected visual result;
- The required print resistance;
- The expected production speed;
- The part handling system;
- The production environment: dust, temperature, humidity;
- The constraints related to inks and the printing process.
Step 2: Validating the printing strategy through sampling
Once the project requirements have been identified, the R&D team takes over to translate this input data into test protocols and produce representative samples, directly on your substrates, in our laboratory.
This sampling phase makes it possible to verify the compatibility between the substrate, the ink and the printing parameters. It also allows the team to assess the final result, adhesion, print durability and the behaviour of the drop on the material.
The objective is to validate a printing strategy before moving on to machine design.
This strategy may include several parameters: ink selection, possible substrate pretreatment, printhead configuration, resolution, speed, printing distance, as well as drying and curing conditions.
This step is essential to start from a reliable technical basis before considering industrial integration.
Step 3: Designing a machine adapted to the production process
Once the printing strategy has been established, the Industrial Operations team steps in to design, in collaboration with the integrator, a solution adapted to the production process.
The objective is to design a printing solution that is fully integrated into the existing line.
The design must take into account the entire industrial context: part handling, positioning, print triggering, production speed, accessibility, maintenance, machine environment and repeatability requirements.
The machine is therefore designed to fit into a production-oriented approach, with particular attention paid to performance, robustness and reliability.
Testing the solution before integration
Before any integration, the solution goes through an in-depth testing phase. The test plan represents a key step in the machine development process.
The video featured in this article shows a test bench produced before integrating a print block into a customer production line.
This bench is equipped with:
- A conveyor belt with print trigger markers;
- A single-nozzle atmospheric plasma system;
- A one-colour print block.
This type of bench makes it possible to reproduce the printing conditions planned for the future production line. It is used to check that the different components are working properly, adjust the parameters and observe the behaviour of the solution in a configuration close to its final use.
Once all criteria have been validated, the printer can be delivered to the integrator for the next stage of the project.
Comprehensive support
Working with Ardeje Printing means benefiting from advice, resources and experience.
This is complemented by what drives our teams every day: passion, energy and enthusiasm!
Do you have a high-definition decoration project?
The InfinityA1000 industrial printer is designed to meet the requirements of high-definition digital printing projects integrated into production environments.
Discover the InfinityA1000 industrial printer here.
Do you have an industrial digital printing or high-definition decoration project? Contact our team!