Fujifilm to Invest $19M in Inkjet Pigment Dispersions Plant
The expansion answers call for growing global demand of inkjet ink products
FUJIFILM Imaging Colorants Inc. (FFIC), a U.S. subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, plans to construct a new production plant for pigment dispersions, a colorant for water-based pigment inkjet inks. Construction, happening in Delaware, starts in April 2021 and is scheduled for completion by 2022. The investment for this construction is approximately $19 million.
Currently, FFIC Inc. in the U.S. is a water-based inkjet ink manufacturing facility. By adding the new production plant for pigment dispersions (the main colorant in water-based pigment inkjet inks), it can produce consistent, fully-featured water-based pigment inkjet inks built with Fujifilm’s dispersion technology. Fujifilm’s pigment dispersions are based on its RxD (reactive dispersant) technology, which cross-links polymer dispersants adsorbed on the pigment particles.
Fujifilm uses RxD tech for its own inks and supplies it to ink manufacturers around the world.
“RxD is a key technology for current and next-generation water-based inkjet inks,” says Ian Wilkinson, president and chief operating officer of FFIC Inc. “Expansion of our manufacturing capacity is part of a commitment to ensure we can meet the increasing demand to support our global customer base. We are already manufacturing a very high-quality, high-purity product in the U.K. In this venture, we are using the design and project management expertise of our U.K. team to execute this project in the U.S. This, alongside expert knowledge, technology, and processes, will ensure that we manufacture RxD dispersions to the same exceptional standard across both sites.”
