In a milestone celebration, DuPont marks the 35th anniversary of its renowned Artistri® Digital Inks, a testament to three and a half decades of groundbreaking advancements in the digital printing industry.
Since its inception in 1989 with the introduction of Cromalin, the first pigment dispersions, DuPont has continually pushed the boundaries of innovation, catering to various printing segments including home & office, textile, commercial, and packaging.
“This is an extraordinary moment for DuPont and the entire Artistri® team. Throughout this journey, we have brought countless innovations to the market and have focused on developing them in collaboration with our OEM partners,” remarked Tucker Norton, Global Business Director for DuPont™ Artistri Digital Inks.
Early Innovation Behind Artistri Digital Inks
The journey of innovation began with the introduction of GTP (Group Transfer Polymerization) resins in 1989, paving the way for stable pigment dispersions that offered superior performance and color.
Over the years, DuPont expanded its portfolio, introducing pigmented color dispersions, carbon black SDP (Self Disperse Pigment), and proprietary technologies like the Ivory crosslinking technology in 2010, ensuring greater stability and versatility in ink formulations.
Expansion into Digital Textile Printing
In 2000, DuPont revolutionized the digital textile segment with the launch of water-based pigment inks, leading to significant sustainability improvements by eliminating post-processing steps and reducing water and energy consumption.
The company further solidified its presence in the textile industry with the introduction of acid, reactive, and direct disperse textile ink sets for Roll-to-Roll (RTR) printing in 2004, and Direct-to-Garment (DTG) ink sets in 2005.
DuPont continued to innovate across various segments, launching ink sets for commercial paper printing and dye sublimation inks for textile printing in subsequent years.
The company also responded to the growing demand for safer inks in food packaging with the introduction of dispersions for packaging printing applications in 2018.
Read more: Explore the applications of DuPont Artistri inks in textile and packaging printing
Direct-to-Film Development and Sustainable Printing
In 2023, DuPont unveiled its latest innovation, the first Direct-to-Film (DTF) digital ink set, catering to printers seeking consistency, bright colors, and productivity in DTF printing. This launch further demonstrated DuPont’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions to the digital printing industry.
“For more than 35 years, our team of passionate digital inks experts has worked tirelessly to bring technological advances to the digital printing industry, offering inks that deliver consistency, high quality, as well as reliability,” noted Norton.
“DuPont water-based pigment inks also deliver a lower environmental footprint, addressing the need for more sustainable solutions in printing.”
Read more: Discover Artistri Brite P5500 inks developed for DTG printing
As the digital printing landscape continues to evolve, DuPont™ Artistri remains at the forefront, reaffirming its commitment to the industry by bringing new innovations in digital inkjet inks for textile, commercial, and packaging printing applications, thereby enabling printers to meet the challenges of shorter runs, customization, and faster time to market with confidence.
