The ProStream 1000 uses air flotation non-contact drying technology, which involves melting ink at a high temperature, applying it, and then quickly drying it in order to achieve printing with high image quality for a wide range of media including offset coated media. This was once thought difficult to achieve. First, air that has been heated to 160°C is blown against both sides of the paper to make the paper roll float. Next, the temperature of the paper is gradually increased to 100°C or more depending on the paper and image requirements, the ink polymer particles are melted, and an glue layer is formed around the pigment. After that, cooling is used to reduce the temperature of the paper roll to 60°C or less, which causes the ink to cool and fixes a hot, wet polymer layer in place. Because both heating and cooling are accomplished using a drying method that does not require contact with the paper, the process ensures minimum stress on paper. The printer can therefore support the printing on various types of media and achieve double-sided printing at a high speed of 80 m/minute while keeping haptics and gloss levels of the original paper unchanged.

CPP’s proprietary UVgel inks combine the strengths of existing ink technologies. They exploit the strengths of eco-solvent, which offers a wide color gamut and light fastness, latex, which offers environmental advantages such as less or even no odor, and UV inks, which can be cured immediately.

Long-hour printing can lead to paper powder and dust causing nozzle failures (nozzle clogging), which makes it impossible to achieve expected printing results. Trying to do nozzle maintenance or replace a problematic nozzle results in downtime during which printing is not possible and gets in the way of improving productivity. To solve this problem, PAINT technology was developed to detect nozzle failures.
For this technology, acoustic pulse are directed at all the nozzles on the print head, and the resulting echoes are measured. If the echo does not lie within a certain bandwidth, because the system detects nozzle clogging before ink is ejected, the clogged nozzle can be complemented by other nozzles before it causes a problem. This is an extremely important technology for ensuring that it is always possible to achieve high-quality printing.

UV inks have a distinct odor, but UVgel technology has made it possible to reduce this odor while still using UV inks. Therefore, materials printed using UVgel inks can be used for not only outdoor but also indoor purposes. In addition, because there is low thermal load applied to the media, it is possible to handle both thin vinyl and other media that is weak to heat as well as offset coated paper and other low-cost media. On top of that, because it is not necessary to use separate printers as it was due to differences between eco-solvent and latex inks, one Colorado unit can be used to handle many applications.

Egypt is home to the Valley of the Kings, a World Heritage Site and the location of the cave tombs of many ancient Egyptian pharaohs. These tombs have deteriorated since they were discovered in 1817. To reconstruct this aspect of ancient Egyptian culture, in 2016, the Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation, an NPO, collaborated with CPP as part of their social contribution activities to reproduce the walls, pillars, and sarcophagus of the tomb of Seti I, the pharaoh of the 19th dynasty, based on 3D data of the tomb filmed by the foundation. CPP used its proprietary elevated printing technology to print relief sculptures that are up to 15 mm thick. Factum Arte handled the final processing, and some parts of the reproduced tomb are being shown at a special exhibition at Antiken Museum, a museum of ancient history in Switzerland.

In the Dutch province of North Brabant, CPP has created tactile street signage that provides information to the visually impaired and tourists. The plan was originally devised by a student from North Brabant, and CPP worked with Dedicon (a government-funded organization that provides contents for the blind) to pursue the project. The tactile street signage includes both street names written in Braille and elevated QR codes. The signs are positioned at major areas around town, and they offer Braille-based assistance to visually impaired residents and visitors. In addition, the elevated QR codes provide information on the current location, nearby buildings, and information on how to get to famous places, etc.

CPP used its elevated printing technology to help provide paintings for the visually impaired, which have been displayed at the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac in Paris, France. CPP used elevated printing to create reproductions of three paintings: Fighting antelopes (Jean Dunand), Portrait of Savorgnan de Brazza (Alphonse Monchablon), and Mourners in Cairo (Émile Bernard). The surfaces of the reproductions are greatly elevated, and visually impaired visitors can listen to the voice guidance system while touching the works to gain an understanding of their composition and enjoy them. Another major feature of the works is that, because they are printed based on high-definition photographic data, they faithfully reproduce the original artists’ brush strokes and use of color.

This project was planned by Mikli Diffusion France, a Paris-based company that is involved in the high-fashion eyewear brand Alain Mikli, as part of the company’s efforts to support the visually impaired. CPP agreed with the aims of the plan and therefore provided technical cooperation.