ESMA’s inaugural The Inkjet Conference™ (www.theijc.com) was held in early October in Neuss, Düsseldorf. Sponsored by Drupa, the event was described by one attendee, Stefano Corradini of Sidel SpA, as “an excellent collection point for today’s experts in the world of digital printing.”
Rick Hulme, Sun Chemical, said it was a “new and exciting conference which has brought the industry together to discuss inkjet, its capabilities and opportunities both now and in the future” while Ian Clark of Intrinsiq Materials described it as “a varied and wide-ranging conference highlighting applications and the future”.
The two-day, multi-subject educational conference brought together industry and academic leaders in their fields who spoke about the latest advances and future developments driving digital print. It included a focus on inkjet engineering, a review on fluid and ink components (such as nano particles, and conductive, aqueous and UV inks) and an academic track open to all universities and non-commercial research institutes to present their work.
There were over 30 different presentations with topics as varied as UV-LED systems, piezo inkjet for precision dispensing of functional materials, system integration: an ink point of view, improving inkjet industry by implementing intelligent sensors, and industrial inkjet for packaging.
Steve Knight, Founder of Digital Direct, who runs The Inkjet Conference was overwhelmed by industry interest with more than 300 attendees hungry to learn about inkjet for industrial applications from 38 exhibitors and 41 speakers. “As well as the updates on the significant technological steps being made by suppliers and experts in this arena, the event also presented the wealth of opportunities for collaboration, inter-industry developments and cross-market adoption.”
“A great starting point to follow the developmental course of DOD and nanoparticles throughout the next exciting upcoming years,” was the view of attendee Luc Van damme, while Mark Stephenson, from Fujifilm, said it was: “A good start and hopefully the first of many more to come.” Jason Remnant, Xaar, welcomed the range of attendees to “help broaden customer opportunities and networking options” and Yair Kipman, of Imagexpert, said the conference was excellent “with many of the appropriate players in the inkjet market”.
Peter Buttiens, CEO of ESMA concluded: “The energy and buzz surrounding the first edition of The Inkjet Conference is indicative of the excitement we are seeing across the industry regarding the capabilities the new technology is offering. It is so interesting to be a part of the conversation that is exploring what the next steps could and should be.”
