Guru Jambheshwar University

of
Science and Technology, Hisar

SEMINAR REPORT ON HYBRID PRINING

Submitted to : Submitted by :
Mr. Ambrish Pandey Mandeep Singh
Dept. of printing tech B.Tech IT 7th Sem
14032010
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my
teacher MR. AMBRISH PANDEY (CHAIRPERSON,DEPT OF PRINTING
TECHNOLOGY)who gave me the golden opportunity to do this
wonderful project on the topic HYBRID PRINTING, which also
helped me in doing a lot of Research and i came to know about
so many new things I am really thankful to them.
Secondly i would also like to thank my parents and friends who
helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time
frame.
 TOPICS COVERED

1.Introduction
2.Meaning of term Hybrid Printing
3.Printing technology for Hybrid Printing
4.Types of Hybrid Printing
5.Advantages of Hybrid Printing
6.Disadvantages of Hybrid Printing
7.Market share of Hybrid Printing
8.Application and scope of Hybrid Printing
 INTODUCTION TO HYBRID PRINTING

 Hybrid printing combining inkjet technology with flexography can be used to add
customer specific information into the production of packaging and print.
However, in order to improve print quality, a comprehensive understanding of
the mechanisms governing print quality is required. In this work, inkjet printing
using three aqueous inkjet inks was performed on top of flexographic printouts
on four paper substrates. For comparative reasons, inkjet printouts were made
on the four papers as well. The flexographic film contained tone values ranging
from 0 to 100% ink coverage. Line width and print density of the inkjet printouts
were evaluated. It was found that paper characteristics such as surface energy,
porosity, absorption coefficient and surface roughness play an important role in
defining the final print quality. These findings are further supported by
micrograph images.
 The rapid development in the field of inkjet technology in recent years manifests
itself as an increase in inkjet printing speed and a narrowing of the gap to the
traditional printing technologies in terms of print production speed (Kettle et al,
2010, Rehberger et al, 2009). This opens up new market segments as producers of
print products find novel users of customized information. Inkjet printing is a
flexible, digital, nonimpact printing method which can be integrated directly in
the production line or utilized in a subsequent print production step (Viström
2008). Over the years, paper media for high volume print production has been
developed and continuously improved to suit traditional printing technologies
such as offset and flexography. Inkjet, with its inherent prerequisites on the ink
concerning low viscosity and a suitable surface tension interval in order to avoid
clogging of the ink at the nozzles of the print head and to certify stable jetting
and drop formation over time, concerns printing of ink with a relatively large
amount of carrier liquid and a small amount of colorants as compared to the
traditional printing technologies.
 This puts severe and contradictory constraints on the media and the ink
in the inkjet printing process; the carrier liquid should rapidly vanish
from the surface to avoid color-to-color bleeding, wicking, and
coalescence of droplets. The colorant, on the other hand, should stay
close to the surface in order to reproduce a large color gamut volume,
but at the same time exhibit good durability towards mechanical wear,
moisture and light. Optimization of the paper surface properties for
more than one print technology is not straightforward.

 Here, the inkjet print quality on paper and on flexography preprinted

paper was evaluated. Flexographic printing in conjunction with inkjet
printing gives the possibility to individualize packaging print or to
customize the print to the target group. The work aims at improved
understanding of the mechanisms governing print quality when
combining flexographic printing and inkjet printing.
 MEANING OF TERM HYBRID PRINTING

HYBRID PRINTING

‘’HYBRID” MEANS THE MIXTURE “PRINTING” MEANS TO PRINT

OF TWO TECHNOLOGIES OR SOMETHING ON ANY KIND OF
MULTIPLE TECHNIQUES SUBSTRATE

THEREFORE THE MEANING OF TERM “HYBRID

PRINTING” IS THE PROCESS OF PRINTING
WHICH INCLUDES TWO TECHNIQUES OR TWO
TECHNOLOGIES.

WE CAN ALSO SAY THAT IT IS THE MIXTURE OF

CONVENTIONAL PRINTING(IMPACT PRINTING)
AND NON- CONVENTIONAL PRINTING(NON-
IMPACT PRINTING) TECHNOLOGIES.
 Printing Technologies for Hybrid Printing

It is evident that every technology has its own special applications

which can be characterized by the run length, the quality of the print,
further processing options, cost structure and economic efficiency.
The diagram gives an overview of the
most important conventional printing technologies requiring a
master as well as non-impact technologies which operate without a
master and shows how so-called hybrid printing systems can be set
up from a combination of these technologies.1 Production on sheet
or web
material using the relevant inks is possible. Sheet-fed printing systems are generally characterized by a
higher degree of format flexibility, web-fed systems by a higher productivity. Printing is done on different
substrates such as uncoated and coated paper, cardboard and also plastic film material. The different
substrates require special inks tailored to the printing process itself and to the use of the end product (in- or
outdoor, food packaging, etc.)
The highest print quality is achievable with offset (with the exception of
gravure printing), in particular for multicolor images. High printing speed is possible (sheet-fed up to
around 4 m/s and web-fed up to 15 m/s) and the printing plates are produced quickly and economically
compared to other technologies.
Flexographic printing technology is especially suitable for printing with varying
inks and ink/varnishing systems particularly in high film thickness. High ink film thickness is also applied
with gravure and screen printing. Gravure printing is however only of low importance in connection with
hybrid printing systems due to the expensive production of the printing plate/cylinder. Rotary screen
printing is preferred for very high ink layers with high color density
NIP- printing technologies, such as ink jet and electrophotography, make it
possible to print a variable image page per page but in general at a lower print quality and higher cost per
page than with offset or gravure printing.
The combination of various printing technologies can bring about very interesting production
options with both a high degree of economy for the printing company and benefit to the customer.
Figure 1 also shows how technologies can be combined with hybrid systems, merging conventional
technologies, NIP-technologies or conventional with NIP.
When using hybrid printing systems the characteristics of the printing substrates,
ink acceptance, print quality expectations and paper transport are of particular importance. The
combined printing technologies have to fulfill requirements and must be well suited to each other.
The type of drying and fixing process used to attach the ink to the substrate largely determines the
sequence of printing. Chemical and physical reactions of the inks with each other (e.g. decomposing
or non-wetting) must also be taken into consideration. Furthermore the design of high economic
print systems are determined by the maximum and reasonable printing speeds of the respective print
technologies. From an economic efficiency point of view, a very fast system should not be combined
with a slow one. The requirement to print with variable speed, for instance in case of feeding
difficult paper, might reduce the variety of combinations. In table 1 the most relevant properties of
print technologies are shown for building up hybrid systems.
 TYPES OF HYBRID PRINTING

 THERE ARE BASICALLY TWO TYPES OF HYBRID PRINTING

TECHNOLOGIES

1. COMBINATION OF CONVENTIONAL PRINTING TECHNOGIES ie.

IMPACT PRINTING.
2. COMBINATION OF NON- IMPACT PRINTINGTECHNOLOGY.
3. COMBINATION OF CONVENTIONAL AND NON CONVENTIONAL
PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES ie.IMAPACT AND NON-IMPACT
PRINTING
 Combination of Conventional Technologies

1. Multicolor sheet-fed offset press with coating unit as a hybrid printing

system combining offset and flexographic printing
DIAGRAM
 Within conventional printing technologies, hybrid systems that combine offset and flexographic
printing, such as sheet-fed offset presses are already well-known. The latter have an attached coating
unit for printing on the whole surface or partial (spot coating) application of a coating onto a high-
quality multicolor print produced in the same press.1 With these systems it is also possible to produce
colored imprints using a flexographic plate, for instance, with special effect coatings or special colors
(spot color). The coating or varnishing unit consists of a plate cylinder, a chambered doctor blade
inking unit and an impression cylinder. The varnish is laid on top of the offset ink, which is not yet
dry. In this example, drying of ink and varnish (or special effect inks) is done by an IR-dryer.

2. Hybrid printing system for label printing combining flexography, offset and screen, as well as
letterpress for hot-foil stamping/embossing
Another example of the combination of conventional printing technologies is
demonstrated in figure 3, a label printing press with flexo and screen printing units,
and an additional unit for hot-foil stamping.1 UV-dryers are installed between all units
to cure the UV-ink. Wet-on-wet printing, that is without intermediate drying, is not
possible in multicolor flexo/screen (like in offset). The different printing units are
designed in such a way that they can be changed according to the special print job
requirements.
 Combination of NIP-Technologies

 Hybrid printing system combining the NIPtechnologies of electrophotography (single-color printing) with ink jet
imprinting system for multicolor (spot color) imprints (InfoPrint 4000/Info Print Highlight Color, IBM/Accent
Color Sciences)

FIGURE
Figure shows a system where electrophotography, for high speed monochrome
printing, has been combined with an ink jet printer for imprinting additional
information in spot colors.1,6 The electrophoto-graphic printer is the main
system and can print a page-wide image. The ink jet unit (piezo drop-on-demand,
using hot-melt ink) for imprinting spot colors can only print a width of around
one inch per head. Several print heads (e.g. eight) can be positioned across the
width of the web and each head can print with a different color. Highlighting of
names and results in bills or lists is done with this printer. It is fast, up to around
1 m/s (200 fpm, 240 dpi), and the quality of the printed image/text is acceptable.
A multicolor electrophotographic system capable of this high speed and also
suitable for this type of work (black and one or two spot colors) is not yet
available for cost reasons.
 Combination of Conventional and NIP-Technology

Combining conventional offset or flexo with a NIPtechnology is shown in figures.

Offset and ink jet printing are shown in figure are similar to the demonstration by Heidelberg as a
technology/concept study at Drupa 2000 (at Drupa with a single color Quickmaster). The high quality fixed
image is printed on the QM DI 46-4, a 4-color offset press with direct imaging technology, and the
imprinting,1,8-11 which adds variable information to the offset print with one color, is done over the complete
sheet width with ink jet. At full speed, 10000 A3-sheets/hour are printed. The ink jet imprinting unit is based on
the piezo technology from Spectra and images with 7680 independently addressable nozzles (325 mm/12.8”
wide) at a resolution of 600 dpi and 38 kHz at full speed (1.6 m/s, 320 fpm).12 At the end of the imprinting unit
a UV-dryer is installed to cure the UV-offset ink as well as the UV-ink jet ink. Only one dryer is needed to
dry/cure the images of both printing units simultaneously. After passing through the UVdryer the inks are
completely dry and the print is ready to ship or for additional finishing processes. Since the ink jet print head
has a short distance (about 1 mm) – no contact - to the paper surface with the wet offset ink, it is possible to
install the imprinting unit after offset printing. With sheet-fed printing it is preferable to print the fixed image
first and then at the end of the paper travel the variable image. The workflow for reprinting sheets in the event
of print interruptions (e.g. paper misfeed) is easier to handle. (In electrophotography the photoconducting
surface or the intermediate carrier has contact to the substrate; the imprinting unit therefore has to be installed
before offset printing or the offset ink must be dried in advance.)
Digital hybrid printing system using the combination of
offset and ink jet technology (Heidelberg)
FIGURE
The hybrid printing system as shown in figure is modular in design (the
imprinting unit is not rigidly incorporated in the computer to press offset
system). This offers benefits with regard to the flexibility of the printing
system and the modular structure of different model variants. The complete
print job can be processed with regard to its fixed and variable image
content using digital job definition. Digital in-line imaging of the master
prior to print start is used for the fixed image portions, and real-time
imaging during printing is used for the variable page content (a detailed
description of the hybrid system and the design of the print head is given in
the presentation of Yong Zhou/Clemens Rensch; Applications of Page Wide
Piezo Ink Jet Printing to Commercial and Industrial Market.
 Hybrid printing system: Multicolor offset printing press with ink jet imprinting
system for numbering, personalization, addressing and segmentation of the job
(Domino/Heidelberg

FIGURE
 An early installation of an imprinting system based on continuous ink jet print heads and
used especially for numbering and personalization is shown in figure Eight separate print
heads (with multi-deflection continuous ink jet technology) are spread over the length of
the last impression cylinder of the offset press. Only columns can be printed since there is
no overlap of the heads.
 Hybrid printing system combining offset printing for multicolor printing with NIP-
technology for the imprinting unit to produce partly variable contents from sheet to
sheet (Heidelberg)

FIGURE
Figure shows a possible design of an electrophotographic printing unit installed in a
larger format sheet-fed offset press. The dryer of the offset ink (UV-curing ink) is
positioned downstream of the offset units. Instead of an electrophotographic system it
is of course possible to install a magnetographic, ionographic or ink jet system.
 Digital label printing system with NIP-multicolor printing system (electrophotography
with liquid toner; Omnius, Indigo), flexographic printing, and finishing equipment for
coating, laminating, and die-cutting (DO 330, Gallus/Indigo)

FIGURE
The combination of an electrophotographic system based on liquid toner with
flexographic printing units in a web-fed label printing system is shown in figure 8. The
electrophotographic printer in front of the flexo units can print variable multicolor
images. The web is fed intermittently (because the installed electro-photographic
printing system is a multipass system, needing 4 cylinder revolutions for the multicolor
print1 ). The flexo units have to “wait” (turn without contacting the web) for the next
variable image. The toner image is fixed on the web before it enters the flexo unit.
 Digital hybrid printing system for web-fed printing for the production of segmented,
personalized/individualized print media

FIGURE
Figure shows the components of a hybrid printing system for the production of print
media by web-fed offset. A direct imaging imprinting unit for non stop plate change
(segmenting the job) is positioned in front of the multicolor offset printing system
(printing identical images). The imprinting system with ink jet (non-contact to the
web) for individual text or personalization is integrated after conventional
printing.13 Drying of the ink can take place after all printing processes.
 ADVANTAGES OF HYBRID PRINTERS

1) Advanced Features - Hybrid printing machines combine a suite of advanced features

that enable businesses to customise their print runs. These include:
 Advanced User Interface with touch screen operation
 Remote operation with print settings that can be programmed in advance and
activated at the touch of a button
 Mono and four colour options
 The ability to choose web widths
 Inbuilt UV drying system
 Printing and over varnish facilities
 Uni-coloured rotary flexo head to allow pre-coating
In line systems for converting and finishing
2) Robust Construction - As you can see, some of these features are classic strengths
of digital printing, whereas others are more commonly associated with flexo-printing.
Hybrid presses have the same robust structure as flexo-presses, capable of integrating a
variety of optional features and upgrades within a compact print housing. They are
cheap to run and easy to maintain. At the same time, Hybrid presses are fully digital
machines – so you can easily integrate them with your IT infrastructure for a seamless
transition between design, layout and print.

3) Greater flexibility – Hybrid presses give label printing businesses the ability to cater
for a wide range of applications. They have expanded the digital colour gamut to
include colours that lie outside the CMYK range. With hybrid printing technology, it is
possible to add special inks to the production line or elevating the appearance of a
label. Hybrid printing provides the flexibility to convert inline, decorate, and finish a
product in a single pass
4) Ease out complex jobs - Hybrid machines support ‘on the fly’ changes in between complex
jobs with full variable data imaging facilities. Production and printing with hybrid technology
significantly reduces operational, as well as digital consumable costs. This cost reduction is
achieved by facilitating heavy coverage for filling areas with solid colours and digital
processing for composite images.

5) Increased productivity - One of the most visible benefits of hybrid technology is increased
production speed. Hybrid printing enables more work to be done in a shorter time span.
Increased speed is also facilitated by perfect registration from print to cut. Most of the tasks;
including labelling, finishing, coating, packaging, and cutting are accomplished automatically.
As a result, the staffing cost involved on each print run is substantially reduced. The newer
machines are also less time intensive and require fewer skills to operate.
Hybrid machines can also handle more jobs in less time. As a
result, you can handle several jobs at the same time and cater to a wider range of customers.
This gives you the flexibility to take on a larger number of small print runs, or cut your
production costs on large runs.
 DISADVANTAGES OF HYPRID PRINTING

• Print quality (physical resolution, dot size and colour space) – there are limitations on gradations down to zero, small
fonts, symbols (below 4pt) and fine lines.

• Register accuracy – this is critical for covering as large a Pantone colour space as possible with the available CMYK
process colours and GOV colour space enlargement colours.

• Production speed (as independent of resolution and colour space as possible)

• System availability due to high maintenance needs, additional automated calibration and cleaning cycles and
insufficient system stability

• Choice of substrates (e.g. shrink sleeves, inmold, textured paper)

• Inks and toner properties (adhesion & abrasion, low migration, light-fastness, etc.)

• There are currently very few integrated inline solutions that make it possible to progress from substrate to finished label
in a single production run
 MARKET SHARE AND FUTURE GROWTH OF HYBRID PRINTING

 Hybrid printing is certainly going to be the next major breakthrough in the coming years in
the printing and packaging industry and moreover the process has already been started both in
the worldwide market including India. Innovation is the key to success in any industry and
printing industry has always taken a lead role to incorporate innovation successfully into it.
Till date, hybrid presses are facing substrate challenges and a common substrate to the hybrid
press is the right solution to address the possible shortcomings of these presses
 According to the IT Strategies consulting house, digital printing of self-adhesive labels is the
fastest-growing technology in the label printing industry.
Making up just 3% of total print
volumes in 2013, the market for digitally printed labels is still relatively small. However, it is
growing fast (by some 15-20% per year), and with a total production value of around 9%, it
already offers highly attractive margins. IT Strategies predicts that digital printing is set to be a
particularly important alternative to flexographic printing, with 10% of all of today’s
flexographic jobs being produced digitally in the medium term. For label printers aiming to
provide customers with the full spectrum of applications over the entire product life cycle of a
particular label, it will therefore be necessary to consider offering digital solutions for short
runs and processing industrially variable data (bar codes, QR codes, serial numbers, etc.).
 REASON FOR GROWTH OF HYBRID PRINTING
1. It is very much feasible to have common substrates for the hybrid presses combining
sheet fed offset press and digital printing machines (including dry toner based digital
printers and liquid ink digital presses). Three basic types of papers (uncoated, gloss
coated, and matt coated papers) identified in this work with few modifications in the
constituents of paper and adjustments during the papermaking process will certainly
be able to produce papers with added characteristics for taking care of the process
characteristics of sheet fed offset presses and digital printing presses effectively.

2. Sheet fed offset and digital printing presses are quite different from each other in
terms of basic principles, operating systems, raw materials & consumables, etc. to
produce the final printed products. But with slight modification on the paper surface
characteristics and strength properties of the substrate, possible printability and
runnability related issues can be addressed effectively for both the technologies (sheet
fed off set and digital printing technology).
3. Common substrates after possible modifications will take care of all the print quality
factors that are highly accepted in the printing industry solid ink density (colour
density), dot gain. Print gloss, print mottle, print sharpness, print consistency,
runnability, heat resistance, ability to do perfecting, curl effect, ink drying ability,
dimensional stability, print contrast, hue error, and grayness).

4. Along with developing common substrate for the hybrid presses, it is also equally
important to emphasize on the press room conditions (i.e. maintaining suitable
relative humidity and temperature), handling/storage of paper both in warehouse &
pressroom, setting of the machines, etc. for enhancing printability and runnability of
the common substrate in these presses (i.e. sheet fed offset press and digital presses).

5. Dot gain was calculated previously in a way without taking care of mathematical
calculation and in this work a complete different formula is used which clearly
indicates the actual % of increase of tonal value in relation to the original dot size.
6. For the calculation of print mottle for the first time standard observers were used and
the results of print mottle factors were also validated with the response of the
observers. Both of the two systems show similar result. Hence, standard observers can
be used effectively for the print mottle.

7. For the calculation of print sharpness and print consistency of the printed sheets, same
set of standard observers were also used for the first time and the result is perfectly
fine.

8. For the calculation of hue error and grayness of the printed colours also for the first
time the standard observers were also used along with the standard densitometry
measurement methods and both the results are same, hence it is established that
standard observers can be used effectively for the calculation of hue error and
grayness of the printed colours.
 APPLICATION AND SCOPE OF HYBRID PRINTING
 BIO-PRINTER(PRINTING OF TISSUES AND CARTILAGE)

Bioprinting is an emerging technique used to fabricate viable, 3D tissue constructs through the
precise deposition of cells and hydrogels in a layer-by-layer fashion. Despite the ability to mimic
the native properties of tissue, printed 3D constructs that are composed of naturally-derived
biomaterials still lack structural integrity and adequate mechanical properties for use in vivo, thus
limiting their development for use in load-bearing tissue engineering applications, such as cartilage.
Fabrication of viable constructs using a novel multi-head deposition system provides the ability to
combine synthetic polymers, which have higher mechanical strength than natural materials, with the
favorable environment for cell growth provided by traditional naturally-derived hydrogels.
However, the complexity and high cost associated with constructing the required robotic system
hamper the widespread application of this approach. Moreover, the scaffolds fabricated by these
robotic systems often lack flexibility, which further restrict their applications. To address these
limitations, advanced fabrication techniques are necessary to generate complex constructs with
controlled architectures and adequate mechanical properties. In this study, we describe the
construction of a hybrid inkjet printing/electrospinning system
that can be used to fabricate viable tissues for cartilage tissue engineering applications. Electrospinning of
polycaprolactone fibers was alternated with inkjet printing of rabbit elastic chondrocytes suspended in a
fibrin–collagen hydrogel in order to fabricate a five-layer tissue construct of 1 mm thickness. The
chondrocytes survived within the printed hybrid construct with more than 80% viability one week after
printing. In addition, the cells proliferated and maintained their basic biological properties within the
printed layered constructs. Furthermore, the fabricated constructs formed cartilage-like tissues both in
vitro and in vivo as evidenced by the deposition of type II collagen and glycosaminoglycans. Moreover,
the printed hybrid scaffolds demonstrated enhanced mechanical properties compared to printed alginate
or fibrin–collagen gels alone. This study demonstrates the feasibility of constructing a hybrid inkjet
printing system using off-the-shelf components to produce cartilage constructs with improved biological
and mechanical properties.
Naturally-derived hydrogels such as collagen, fibrin and elastin have advanced
the field of biomaterials in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine because their composition and
structure resembles that of native tissue. Organ/tissue printing using inkjet technology is evolving into a
practical method to fabricate viable 3D tissue constructs and has found widespread applications in the
field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The bioprinting approach often utilizes naturally-
derived hydrogels as cell-printing solutions to construct tissues in layer-by-layer fashion due to their
superior biocompatibility and low toxicity on the cells. However, the low to moderate
mechanical properties of these hydrogels hinder their utility in load-bearing tissue engineering
applications, such as cartilage, because they are unable to provide proper 3D structural integrity during
surgical procedures and the regenerative process.
Fabrication methods such as solid free form technology, which is based on
computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing, has been employed to fabricate 3D scaffolds.
Despite its ability to control the scaffold porosity, the scaffold, which often is made of a synthetic
polymer, does not provide the proper affinitive environment to the cells due to the polymer
hydrophobicity properties. Multi-head deposition systems (MHDS) offer the ability to fabricate hybrid
scaffolds using both synthetic polymers and hydrogel materials. The hybrid scaffold provides a favorable
environment within the hydrogel for the cells to grow and can possess adequate mechanical properties
that can be altered depending on the synthetic polymer used during fabrication. Recently, MHDS was
employed to fabricate hybrid scaffolds using synthetic polymers such as PCL and polyglycolic acid
incorporated within hydrogels such as alginate, gelatin, and hyaluronic acid as a cell-printing solution.
While the ability to precisely deposit cells and materials has been well-established, most robotic precision
deposition machines are often complex, expensive to manufacture and require special skills to operate.
By combining synthetic polymers and natural hydrogels, these systems can offer a hybrid scaffold
system, but the main frame of the scaffold, composed of bulk synthetic polymers, is very rigid and lack
of flexibility, which might not be suitable
for cartilage tissue engineering. Deposition of these components can also be achieved by inkjet printing system
using off-the-shelf components and provides a platform in which multiple cell types can be deposited into a
construct. This technique can provide many of the similar functions as a robotic deposition system but can be
effectively utilized with little specialized equipment. Inkjet technology has been used in many applications to
produce high density patterns of DNA for microarrays, microdepositions of proteins for enzyme assays and
high density arrays of bacterial colonies. The technique has also been applied to high-throughput patterning of
mammalian cells, including Chinese hamster ovary cells and hippocampal cells. Even more recently, it has
been shown that the environmental conditions generated during the printing process, such as heat and shear
stress, can be used to perform high-throughput transfection of living cells. These experiments support the use
of inkjet bioprinting as a low cost fabrication method and provide a glimpse of its future potential.
We hypothesized that these mechanical limitations associated with printed hydrogel constructs
could be overcome by using inkjet printing techniques in conjunction with electrospinning, which is another
fabrication technique that can create nanofibrous scaffolds of synthetic polymer. By combining flexible mats
of electrospun synthetic polymer with traditional inkjet printing in a layer-by-layer fashion, functional tissue
constructs with enhanced mechanical properties could be fabricated. In this study, we first determined whether
electrospinning could be employed in conjunction with inkjet-based cell printing to produce
constructs with enhanced mechanical properties that would be suitable for cartilage tissue
engineering in a proof-of-concept design. We then evaluated the functionality of the resulting
constructs in terms of four parameters: cell survival, maintenance of the layered structure,
mechanical properties, and formation of cartilage-specific extracellular matrix. Generation of
organized layered cartilage constructs with improved biological and mechanical properties
would have numerous applications clinically. In particular, to meet the depth-dependent cellular
and matrix properties properties of articular cartilage, biomimetic zonal cartilage repair and
regeneration using modular hydrogel systems has been envisioned. Our hybrid method allows
for control over construct organization and might have potential to these applications involving
complex zonal properties to tissue-engineered constructs for cartilage repair.

Construction of the hybrid printing system

To build cartilage constructs, we developed a novel hybrid printing
system by incorporating an electrospinning apparatus into an inkjet printing platform.
Figures (A) and (B) show the schematic drawing of this hybrid printing system and the actual
hybrid printing system after construction, respectively.
 FIGURE

(A) Schematic representation of the hybrid printing system shows the inkjet printhead and the
electrospinning printhead. (B) The actual prototype of the hybrid printing system after construction.
The inkjet printing platform is composed of a customized XYZ plotter driven by step motors. The
printhead was equipped with a dc solenoid inkjet valve (Offshore Solutions Inc, Beaverton, OR).
Reservoirs for loading the cell suspension to be printed were connected to the inkjet valve. The cell-
printing solution was supplied to the inkjet valve from the reservoirs using pressurized air. The
printhead was mounted over a XYZ plotter platform to allow deposition of cells onto the scaffold
generated by electrospinning. The XYZ plotter was positioned under the printhead via a customized
controller. The controller acquires the positioning information from custom software built on the .NET
Framework 2.0 (Microsoft Corp, Redmond, WA). The software converts the image of the target to a
special four byte protocol, which is used to activate a specific inkjet valve and coordinate X–Y–Z
position.
In this hybrid system, the electrospinning apparatus is used to generate a polymeric fiber-based
scaffold. An electrospinning head, in
tandem with the inkjet head, was also mounted over the XYZ plotter. The power supply, which is used to
provide a high voltage field for electrospinning, was modulated by the same customized controller. To
prevent the potential adverse effects of static discharge on the logic circuitry of the customized controller,
the controller was conductively isolated from the high voltage power supply through fiber optics.

EXAMPLE OF SOME BODY TISSUES PRINTED USIND HYBRID

PRINTING

(A) Macroscopic view of the printed construct in culture media, scale bar 2 cm.
(B) Schematic representation of the five-layer printed constructs of PCL and chondrocytes.
(C) Cross-sectional SEM at 200× magnification shows the layered structure of the scaffold. PCL can be seen
at the left and right with cells and collagen in the middle, scale bar 100 µm.
(D) 4000× magnification showing the microstructure of the PCL, scale bar 10 µm.
(E) 500× magnification shows the chondrocytes attaching to the collagen matrix, scale bar 10 µm.
The printed hybrid constructs produced using our system had adequate mechanical integrity to maintain
the structure of the five printed layers as shown in figures.Microstructural analysis of the printed hybrid
constructs using SEM demonstrated the presence of intact layers of cell/collagen matrix between the
sheets of PCL as shown in figure . Measurements of the electrospun fibers showed an average fiber
diameter of 422 ± 62 nm and a pore size smaller than 5 µm. The microstructure of the PCL at high
magnification appeared fibrous, and occasional beads were present . Formation of beads occurs when the
extruded polymer fails to form fibers and instead clusters on the collection screen. This phenomenon is
directly related to the viscosity and surface tension of the polymer solution and is inversely related to the
charge density of the solution. However, this can be avoided by increasing the concentration of polymer
in the solution and slowing the flow rate of the solution through the needle tip. Beading can be controlled
to generate structures with porous membranes and cups. Thus, this technique may be used to finely tune
the scaffold architecture for different tissue types.
HYBRID PRINTING IN INDIA

Made in India Hybrid Flexo Printing

BY
With the development of Technology, newer applications,
demanding turn-around time and short-run lengths,
Label Printers need to keep pace. Flexo printing is most
popular when it comes to labels but digital is a
complimenting technology for flexo. Combining inkjet
with flexography to add customer centric
information/personalization into the production of
packaging and print can lead to various benefits e.g.
reduction in purchase cost due to reuse of existing flexo
press for inline operations, no extra space requirements
due to its flexibility and that further delivers “All-in-one
package solution”
Since Digital UV Inkjet is the future and Monotech
Systems brings Colornovo under the brand JETSCI – the
latest, innovative, Robust, Stable and fastest productive
solution at unbelievable costs.The JETSCI Colornovo
Modular Full Color Inkjet Printing Solution is a
productivity game changer that combines the
productivity associated with flexo with the flexibility
offered by rapid job change technology. This enables
Label Printers &converters to keep pace with the business
and move towards full digital production complementing
their existing workflows.
Productivity
With a capability of covering the widest print width the Colornovo can process up to 70m/min in high
quality mode. The System is available in the Print Width of 108mm / 220mm or 330mm and in the
Configuration of CMYK, CMYK+W or any security/Spot colors can be added. The Colornovo Print
Engine is based on the Piezo Demand on Drop Technology, of 600dpi native resolution that offers
premium quality with proven Inkjet flexibility, reliability and growth.

Flexibility
Since the system is fully modular, it can be upgraded from a smaller Print Width to a higher one, at site in
case the customer wants to start with a smaller width Print Engine and upgrade it later. It is offered as an
upgrade on the existing Transport systems (Roll 2 Roll) like flexo press or Slitter – Rewinders etc. orcan be
offered as an Full Color Digital UV Inkjet Label Production system

Ink and Color Range

The Colornovo provides the converters to create designs with a far wider color gamut cost effectively. Ink
options are the standard process colors, White, Spot colors, Security Inks etc. Available in options of UV
LED or Lamp Curable System and can achieve Print speed of 70m/min. Colornovo’s white ink delivers
the highest opacity providing an efficient, cost-effective alternative to screen/flexo printing.
Workflow
The Work flow solution offered are modular and are designed as per the application required. For the basic and
entry level users, the system includes the Basic profiling, Color management and real time VDP Software including
PDF printing. For advanced users, we offer the Color Management Tool (CMT) that has PDF Printing option, ICC
profiling options and many more.

Efficiency
The press is capable of producing multiple jobs one after another without waiting for setup process. With zero
setup cost, minimal waste, and easy versioning capabilities, the press empowers packaging converters to profitably
address the evolving needs of the market and gain a valuable competitive edge.
Wide Application Possibilities
The Colornovo covers the vast majority of Label printing jobs and brings high productivity and imposition
efficiency to most of the applications.Systems gives the power of digital to customers not only to huge savings in
short/medium runs but also make all variable data in Full Color which they might be doing in Monochrome till
now.

Wide Media Handling Capabilities

The Colornovo handles various and wide media gamut and prints on synthetic or paper substrates, films, various
pressure-sensitive label stocks, IML and shrink materials. The press also supports PE, BOPP, Coated/ Uncoated
Stocks and other validated highly stretchable materials.
Highlights Colornovo:

1. Print Variable data in FULL Color

2. Cost effective production runs upto 100,000 labels /job
3. No setup time for job changeovers
4. Multiple short/ medium run jobs in single day
5. Complements the current flexo conventional workflow
6. All- in- one Package solution
7. Wider color gamut
8. Quick versioning of repeat jobs without additional costs
9. Reduced SKU’s for Brand Owners
Apart from Colornovo Monotech Systems has other innovations under brand JETSCI e.g. industrial
inkjet imprinting system, track & track, brand protection solutions, solution of MICR cheques printing
etc. The company is the first successful inkjet system integrator in India for industrial applications.
Popular as “Architects of the next generation inkjet solutions” the company has achieved 80+ successful
installation base in India and overseas.