Epson Durabrite Ultra Ink
There are many benefits to using Epson's Durabrite* ink formulation, such as;
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Photo quality prints
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Smudge and water resistance
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Resistance to fading
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Text definition
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Colour and detail intensity Epson's latest range of inkjet printers using DURABrite ink, provide many advantages for the home and office user.
DURABrite inks will give you brilliant photos every time. Sharp eye catching colours on both plain and Epson's specialty papers. Colours are richer, with the ability for greater highlighting and shadowing.
The pigment based DURABrite is a hydrophobic (resistant to water) ink and has almost perfect waterfastness. Documents printed with this ink can actually be submerged in water without the ink coming off the page. This resistance to water makes DURABrite ideal for users who want to create printed work that will be exposed to the elements, including fliers, signs, menus and postcards. Think of all the possible applications! No more smudged documents from dye based inks which are water soluble.
In accelerated testing of prints displayed indoors under glass and exposed to light, Epson researchers found that documents printed with DURABRite recorded a lightfastness of up to 80 years when printed on special paper. This is because the particles that compose DURABRite ink are considerably larger than those dye-based inks. When documents are exposed to light over time, the light first attacks the outer edges of the particles and image fading sets in as a result. Due to the greater size of the DURABrite particles, the inner area of each particle retains its consistency longer, extending the life of the printed document or image.
Your documents can resist attack from atmospheric gases like ozone, which causes images and printing on documents to break down and deteriorate.
The ink's durability and stability have been worked on further by researchers by incorporating a process that encapsulates DURABrite particles with resin. This provides two benefits. As well as acting as a protective coating for the ink, the resin assists in the ink's adherence to the paper and other inkjet papers.
Another advantage of using pigment based ink is that the pigment particles remain on the surface of the paper. Dye based inks, for example, tend to penetrate relatively deeply into the fibre of the paper, spreading slightly as a result. DURABrite's pigment particles attach strongly to the surface of the paper. Text and images maintain their crispness, while colours remain brilliant.
Less penetration of ink also reduces the bleed through effect common in dye based inks. This becomes a problem, as we all know, when you try to print on both sides of the paper, without having the printing one side intruding on the other. This makes DURABrite ideal and can even be used to print on both sides of recycled paper where bleed through can become a problem.
Epson has also optimised DURABrite for plain and matte papers, so that users don't need to purchase more expensive paper to get the best print quality. Ordinary ink resins are hydrophilic (able to be wetted with water)in nature and therefore induce the solvent and pigment particles in an ink to penetrate into the paper, effectively diminishing colour reproduction. Epson has reconstructed the resin used in DURABrite so that it is hydrophobic in nature, thus allowing DURABrite pigments to adhere unimpeded with the paper's sizing agents and remain on the surface of the paper, resulting in a more dependable reproduction. DURABRite is also capable of producing high quality images on glossy and semi gloss papers therefore providing users with the widest possible range of media choices.
Epson now has a range of inkjet printers such as the Epson:
These Epson inkjet printers allow the home user to take advantage of all the merits of DURABrite.
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