HP has committed US$200 million over five or more years to develop water-based ink technologies digitally printed corrugated packaging and textiles.

The company is already well-established in the water-based ink space for sign and display with its Latex printers, and notes that, “Investing in water-based ink solutions for the corrugate and textile printing markets will have beneficial effects along the entire product lifecycle, for the people who operate our printing systems, for the end users of the printed product, and ultimately for the final reuse, recycling, or disposal of that product.”

Traditional textile coloration makes use of technologies that can be problematic from a water emissions perspective, while the World Resources Institute estimates that about 20 per cent of industrial water pollution comes from garment manufacturing.

With this in mind, HP has said that water-based solutions are the long-term future of this market, and is collaborating with the textile industry for its water-based digital platforms.

Santi Morera, general manager and global head of graphics solutions, HP, says, “Investing in water-based solutions that meet market needs and the increasing sustainability requirements of graphics customers is expected to propel business growth for HP. We will be dedicating resources toward continued innovation and industry disruption to accelerate safer, simpler and more sustainable water-based printing technologies that meet the quality, performance and economics needed by these markets.

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