Dr. Dieter Holzinger, Head of Inkjet Ink development at TIGER, with more than 15 years of experience in developing UV-based inkjet inks, has brought many different types of inks successfully to the market. He coordinates all funding projects within the business unit TIGITAL.

TIGER prides itself on producing environmentally-friendly, high-quality products while striving towards a sustainable future. What steps does TIGER take to ensure their development process is as green as possible?

TIGER has recognized the importance of environmentally friendly products since the sixties when powder coatings were first being developed. This coating technique makes “waste-free” an everyday reality as powders not adhered to the substrate during the coating process are collected and reused. In addition, there is no release of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) to the atmosphere as materials are deposited in their dry state.

Nowadays, TIGER Coatings has become the fifth largest worldwide manufacturer of green coating solutions based on powder coatings and a pioneer of the metallic effect powders as well as 3D printing with thermoset materials for additive manufacturing.

Digital printing can be considered as one of the most advanced printing technologies in regards to waste reduction as one can print on demand with less unwanted materials manufactured and the printing can be integrated into production lines, meaning less transportation of the preprinted materials around the world.

From the ink perspective, TIGER coatings is developing and providing to the market water-based inkjet inks with reduced humectants, which helps lower VOC emissions during the drying of inks and reduces the drying power required, therefore, decreasing the total energy consumption during ink processing.

How is TIGER contributing to INKplant's goals of creating the next generation of ink-based multimaterial implants?

TIGER’s role in the INKplant project is focused on the characterization of the inkjet systems developed by the project partners including the most relevant for ink properties like viscosity, surface tension, sedimentation behavior, and filtration properties as well as investigation of the ink's jettability using state-of-the-art drop watcher equipment. The data collected during intensive ink development and characterization steps will be used to establish the reasonable ranges for the quality control parameters during the ink upscaling process, which TIGER is also responsible for. The main focus will be on the inkjet systems that will be used in production of the 3D multi-material composite phase of the implants such as nano-hydroxyapatite ink, biodegradable polymer ink, and silicone-based (PDMS) ink systems.

‍Could you explain the benefits of the materials you are developing for the implants? What are the properties or characteristics that make it unique?

The composite phase will consist of jettable solutions that will provide the cells with an optimal environment for tissue regeneration. This phase will be made from a combination of materials with specific porosity to promote tissue regeneration (hydrogel and nano-hydroxyapatite) as well as of the materials responsible for mechanical stability—biodegradable polymers and silicone-based materials.

The main benefit of the materials developed by the partners would be their unique properties to fulfill specific requirements of the application in implants and their deposition by using the inkjet printing process. This is one of our biggest challenges as the fluid properties need to satisfy quite a narrow range of properties for reliable application with the industrial printheads.

TIGER Coatings has extensive experience in R&D and innovation. What are the most revealing results to date?

Some of the most important achievements for TIGER Coatings include the development of TIGER Drylac® metallic effect powder coatings, TIGITAL® Tattoo technology for high resolution electrophotographic printing of labels of incomparable chemical and mechanical resistances, TIGITAL® 3D-Set thermoset materials for additive manufacturing, UV-inkjet inks for décor printing for flooring applications, and ultra-low humectant aqueous TIGITAL® inkjet inks for high-speed, single-pass inkjet printing on paper substrates for corrugated packaging.

TIGER celebrated its 90th year in 2020. What do you hope to have achieved between now and its 100th anniversary? What other exciting innovations are on the horizon in terms of digital printing solutions?

In our view, the next 10 years will be defined by further examples of industrial implementations of digital printing into production processes, especially where personalization and creative freedom are the main drivers with a strong focus on environmental friendliness and sustainability.

Furthermore, 3D printing for additive manufacturing will improve as it transitions from mainly prototyping to serial production.