Solvent-based inkjet printing has long been the sign industry’s ‘go-to’ technology for the production of display graphics, vehicle wraps and many other wide-format applications. While it is no longer new to the industry, it has maintained its relevancy even as other options have gained mainstream acceptance, such as ultraviolet-curing (UV-curing) and durable aqueous ‘latex’ inkjet printers.
溶剂型喷墨打印机长期以来一直是标识行业用于生产展示图形、车辆包装图形和许多其他宽幅应用图形的“首选”技术。它虽然不是行业新出现的技术，并且UV固化打印机和耐用性强的水性乳胶喷墨打印机也都已获得主流的认可，但是溶剂型喷墨打印机仍在标识行业中占据着重要的地位。
One way it has done so is with a recent breakthrough in productivity. The need to dry out any solvent-based inkjet printed output for 24 to 48 hours before further use has posed a drawback when competing with the aforementioned faster-cure technologies, Now, however, that is changing, as curing times for solvent prints have in some cases been cut down by 75 per cent (i.e. from 24 to six hours). This dramatic reduction in wait time has revolutionized the capabilities of print service providers (PSPs) to increase their high-quality output while meeting their customers’ demands for quick turnarounds, in turn fuelling new and emerging trends in wide-format graphics.
生产力方面的突破保证了溶剂型喷墨打印机在行业的重要地位。虽然其缺点在于，与上述快速固化技术相比，溶剂型喷墨打印机在进行下一步处理时，需要24~48小时的打印输出干燥时间。但是随着生产力的不断发展，溶剂型喷墨打印机在针对某些印刷的固化时间减少了75％（即24~6小时）。等待时间的急剧减少彻底改变了印刷服务供应商（PSP）的能力，提高了其高质量输出的能力，同时能够满足客户对快速周转的需求，从而推动宽幅图形的新兴发展趋势。

Benefits of solvent printing and lamination
溶剂印刷和层压的优点
Traditionally, the advantages of solvent-based inks over other options for the digital printing of wide-format graphics have included the high visual quality of their output, including superior colour gamut and consistency for long runs, and the relatively low costs of production. Many PSPs and sign shops have relied heavily on solvent printing to serve their customers’ needs.
传统上，溶剂型油墨相对于宽幅图形数字印刷的其他选择的优势包括输出画面的高品质、优异的色域、使用寿命长以及相对低的生产成本。许多印刷服务供应商和标识商店都非常依赖溶剂印刷来满足客户的需求。
Further, the lamination of solvent-based inkjet prints is a cost-effective and flexible process. As such, uncoated self-adhesive vinyl has been the most frequently selected substrate for solvent printed applications, including vehicle wraps where it must be cut and stretched around difficult contours and curves. PSPs may laminate their solvent-printed graphics to enhance their durability and/or to achieve a wide range of visual effects, such as a high-gloss or matte finish.
此外，溶剂型喷墨打印机的层压功能不仅能够节约成本，而且非常灵活。因此，无涂层的自粘乙烯基材料是溶剂印刷应用最常选择的基材，这种材料对于轮廓或曲线复杂的车辆包装都能够很好地进行切割和拉伸处理。印刷服务供应商可以对溶剂印刷图形进行层压处理以增强图形的耐久性和实现宽幅图形优质的视觉效果，例如高光泽或磨砂的表面质感。

Lamination helps prolong the life of both the inks and the media. By resisting damage, it saves customers money by helping to reduce or completely avoid the costs of replacing printed graphics. It also adds thickness to the printed material, which makes it easier to work with during installation and removal.
层压有助于延长油墨和媒介材料的使用寿命。由于加强了抵抗损坏的能力，它可以帮助减少或完全避免打印图形更换的成本，从而为客户节省资金。它还增加了印刷材料的厚度，使其在安装和拆卸的过程中更容易使用。
With the high durability, waterproof and scratch-resistant properties and compatibility of lamination with a broad range of substrates, solvent inkjet printing has proven ideal for the creation of wide-format graphics to be installed outdoors and/or exposed to environmental hazards like abrasion and chemical-based cleaners. Examples include wall graphics, anti-slip floor graphics, point-of-purchase (POP) displays in high-traffic retail stores and applications that need to last more than two or three years without fading.
凭借高耐久性、防水性和防刮性能以及层压技术与各种基材的兼容性，溶剂型喷墨打印技术已被证明是打印宽幅图形的理想选择，其打印出来的图形材料可安装在室外或暴露于各种不利环境中，如在磨损较大或经常使用化学清洁剂的地方。墙面图形、防滑地板图形、POP展示图形以及需要持续超过两年或三年而不会褪色的图形应用都可以使用经过层压过后的溶剂型喷墨印刷图形。

Drawbacks of solvent printing and lamination
溶剂印刷和层压的缺点
Some of the benefits of solvent inks also directly relate to their drawbacks, with regard to PSPs having to wait for graphics to dry, particularly for the aforementioned applications that require lamination if they are to be effective.
溶剂型油墨的一些优点也很容易变成其缺点，印刷服务供应商们必须等待图形干燥，特别是对于前述提到的应用，如果要使它们发挥效用，那么就必须进行层压处理。
The solvents in the inks work by aggressively penetrating the surface of the substrate, which softens it. It is these solvents that carry the ink pigments into the media. Then, once the pigments have been successfully transferred, the solvents begin to evaporate, leaving the other components of the ink behind.
油墨中的溶剂可以快速从基材的表面渗透进去并使其软化，油墨颜料也可以被溶剂带入进被印刷的材料媒介中。一旦油墨颜料成功转移进被印刷的材料媒介之后，溶剂便开始蒸发，最后留下油墨的成分。
Lamination is key in protecting wide-format graphics in airports and other high-traffic areas.
层压处理是保护机场和其他高流量区域的宽幅图形的关键。
This necessary stage is referred to as ‘off-gassing,’ during which the solvents disperse into the air and the graphics are cured. Typically, PSPs will either spin out the print rolls and allow them to sit on the floor of their production department or stand them upright, so as to allow the gases to ‘fall away’ from the graphics.
这个阶段被称为“排气”，在此过程中溶剂成分分散到空气中同时图形逐渐固化。通常情况下，印刷服务供应商会将印刷辊拆卸下来并将它们平铺或是直立放置在生产部门的地板上，以便让图形中的气体快速挥发。
As mentioned, this curing process has typically taken 24 to 48 hours to complete. Only thereafter could operators handle the printed materials without the risk of smudging or otherwise damaging the graphics.
如上所述，这种固化过程通常需要24~48小时才能完成。此后，工作人员才能处理印刷材料，而不会有污迹或损坏图形的风险。

Giving solvent-based inks adequate time for off-gassing is ideal, but rush jobs, production space issues (i.e. difficulty making room for drying prints) and workflow demands have sometimes led PSPs to laminate graphics before they have completely cured. Unfortunately, incomplete off-gassing can lead to undesirable effects, including issues in laminate-to-media adhesion, areas where the film lifts away from the substrate, the appearance of bubbles in the material, discolouration or cloudiness, all of which involve a greater risk of the graphic failing.
为溶剂型油墨提供足够的排气时间显然是最理想的选择，但是由于快速的工作进度、工厂的空间问题（即难以为干燥印刷品腾出空间）和工作流程的需求有时会导致印刷材料供应商在图形完全固化之前就对其进行层压处理。然而排气不完全很容易对图形质量造成不良影响，包括印刷媒介在进行层压处理时的粘附问题，当工作人员将薄膜从基材上剥离时，很容易出现气泡、材料变色或浑浊等问题，这些问题都将容易导致图形材料的损坏。
Laminating prints that have not sufficiently off-gassed also makes the graphics more difficult to handle afterwards. This can lead to increased time and costs for installation. And it can mean a higher risk of having to reprint the application, which in turn increases the material and labour costs for a project and can delay delivery to the client.
没有得到充分排气的层压印刷品也会使得图形之后的处理更加困难，这很容易导致安装时间和成本的增加，这也意味着重新进行图形打印的风险增加了，这不仅会增加项目的材料和人工成本，还可能延迟给客户的产品交付时间。

Solving the problem
解决问题
Newer formulations for solvent-based inks have addressed these drawbacks by significantly reducing the amount of time required for off-gassing and curing, thus minimizing the business impact of this necessary step in the process between printing and finishing. When a graphic can dry in just six hours, after all, this makes same-day lamination possible for solvent-based inkjet graphics, which is a substantial advancement for the industry and avoids the risks of rushing the process.
应用于溶剂型油墨的新配方是通过显著减少排气和固化材料所需的时间来解决这些问题，从而将材料印刷和精加工之间需要的运作过程影响降至最低。毕竟，当图形可以在六个小时内干燥时，对于溶剂型喷墨印刷图形材料的层压处理就可以在当天进行，这对于该行业来说是一个重大进步并且避免了打印材料过程中可能会出现问题的风险。
These new formulations deliver all of the same benefits as traditional solvent-based inks, including high image quality, robust durability and broad media compatibility, while drastically improving productivity for PSPs and sign shops and, as a result, supporting the following trends.
这些新配方具有与传统溶剂型油墨相同的所有优点，包括高质量的图像、坚固的耐用性和广泛的印刷媒介的兼容性，同时大幅提高了印刷服务供应商和标识商店的生产效率，从而能够支持以下趋势的发展。

Thinking small
小幅面材料打印的便利
By helping improve production speeds, today’s solvent-based inks have better-positioned wide-format inkjet printers to handle smaller-format jobs, such as stickers and magnets, allowing sign and graphic shops to expand their product offerings. Indeed, output that was traditionally handled with smaller printers can now be handled more efficiently by using larger presses.
为了提高图形印刷的速度，如今的溶剂型油墨拥有更专业的宽幅喷墨打印机来处理诸如贴纸和磁性材料的小幅面印刷，使标识和图形商店能够更好扩展其业务范围。事实上，传统使用小型打印机输出的印刷图形使用更大的打印机来处理会更有效率。
The strong colour gamut, accuracy, ink density and brightness of solvent inkjet printing all work together to prevent graphics from looking as ‘flat’ as they can with other print methods. And even the smallest of text and finest of details can be printed clearly and legibly for promotional stickers and magnetized rolls, even for long print runs, thanks to advances in thin-film piezoelectric (TFP) printheads and variable droplet sizes.
溶剂型喷墨打印机的强大色域、精度、墨水密度和亮度都可以协同工作，避免打印出来的图形像其他打印方法一样“平淡”。由于薄膜压电（TFP）打印头和可变液滴粒度技术的进步，即使是最小的文本和最精细的细节也可以被清晰地打印出来，易读的促销贴纸和磁性材料的打印变得十分便捷，即使是长时间打印也是如此。
Further, solvent inkjet technology offers direct-to-substrate printing, with no need to transfer the graphics afterwards, thus speeding up production beyond the time savings of quicker off-gassing.
此外，溶剂型喷墨技术可以进行直接基材打印，之后无需对图形进行转印，从而提高了生产速度，节省了排气的时间。

Going big
宽幅材料打印的便利
Precise colour reproduction and image accuracy are not just desirable for small-format prints, of course. Providing consistency from graphic panel to graphic panel is key when brand marketers seek to incorporate wall murals and other large-scale images into their facilities. And reductions in solvent off-gassing time play a significant role in such projects.
当然，精确的色彩再现和图像精确度不仅适用于小幅面打印。当品牌营销人员寻求将壁画或其他大型图像融入其设施时，实现平面图形和平面图形之间的一致性是关键。减少溶剂的放气时间在这些项目中起着重要作用。
When preparing a multi-panel application, any individual panel that is laminated too quickly, i.e. without proper off-gassing, will be softer than the others and, thus more prone to unwanted stretching and distortion when the installer is mounting it into place. This makes it much trickier to align the panels accurately side-by-side.
当准备将多个面板同时进行安装的时候，任何单独的面板材料层压得太快，没有适当的排气时，将比其他面板更柔软，因此很容易出现当安装人员将其安装到位时面板被拉伸或是变形的情况。这使得精确对准面板的安装区域变得更加棘手。
Visual consistency from panel to panel is important for indoor wall murals.
安装两个面板的视觉一致性对室内墙壁壁画很重要。
Another problem that can arise from insufficient off-gassing is overly aggressive adhesion, which in turn can make it much more difficult for an installer to reposition a graphic panel, should any on-site adjustments be needed.
由于不充分的排气而产生的另一个问题是强力的粘附性，这就意味后期若需要进行现场调整，安装工作人员很难对图形进行重新安装。
Such issues can have a direct, negative impact on a PSP, as reprinted and reinstalled graphics may be needed to ensure high-quality results for the client. The reduced drying times of newer solvent-based inks avoid this risk. The quicker the graphics can be effectively laminated, the sooner they can be sent out for proper installation, speeding up the entire workflow and providing the turnarounds demanded by today’s clients.
这些问题可能会对印刷服务供应商产生直接的负面影响，因为为了确保能给客户带来高质量的产品，图形可能需要重印和重新安装。新型溶剂型油墨干燥时间的缩短将降低这种风险所带来的成本问题。图形可以更快地被层压，更快地被运输出去以保证安装的高效性，加快整体工作流程并为客户提供所需的周转时间。

Getting finer
更加细致
A faster in-house workflow can also free up PSPs to take on additional types of jobs as new revenue streams. One example is expanding into the world of fine art reproduction, a marketplace where solvent-based inkjet printing can yield significant cost savings over traditionally dominant aqueous printing technologies.
更快的内部工作流程还可以解放部分印刷服务供应商，让他们有能力承担其他类型的工作作为新的收入方向。比如将业务扩展到艺术再现的领域，这是一个非常有潜力的市场，其中在成本节约方面，基于溶剂的喷墨印刷比传统的主导水性的印刷技术有着更明显的优势。
These comparatively low costs are facilitated by the combination of high output and reduced curing time, enabling more efficient mass production of fine art. Same-day lamination is still a part of the overall process, as it is used to enhance the images’ sharpness, colour saturation and contrast levels.
通过高产量和固化时间减少的组合降低了生产成本，使得制造商能够更有效地进行大规模的艺术材料生产。到时层压过程仍然是整个过程的一部分，因为它可用于增强图像的清晰度、色彩饱和度和对比度水平。
Indeed, a PSP of any size can now offer fine art reproduction services at photographic quality and with quick turnarounds. These capabilities are revolutionizing the market for such work.
事实上，任何规模的印刷服务供应商现在都可以为客户提供摄影质量和快速周转的精美艺术再现服务。这些功能为这项工作开拓了革命性的市场。