A new, eco-friendly inkjet ink has appeared on the horizon in recent years that can offer plenty of advantages of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) companies: LED curable inks. LED ink technologies are available for many printhead-based and industrial inkjet printing systems, including many leading-edge wide-format printers. 

Wide format printers are the workhorses of the AEC community, especially when companies make the investment to have them in-house, where printing can be conducted in a short-run, on-demand environment. Bringing the printing of plans, drawings, and other documents in-house can shorten project completion times, make last-minute changes easy to accomplish, and reduce the overall cost of printing. 

Using LED Curable Inks in the AEC Industry

The AEC industry uses architectural drawings, plans, and blueprints to help communicate a project’s specifics and details visually. Having a visual representation of project design allows project team members, from architects and engineers to contractors, builders, fabricators, and subcontractors to collaborate effectively. Such drawings can illustrate vertical circulation, floor heights, and roof designs as well as exterior surfaces, colors, building mass, and exterior details. For project designs, plans can specify minute design details for flawlessly perfect fabrication of the final design. 

Any project, whether it be a residential or commercial building, or a roadway, bridge, or other design is reliant upon clear plans to be carried out on time and within budget. LED curable inks help AEC partners provide a higher grade of plans and drawings that can withstand harsh weather and sometimes rugged on-site conditions. Here’s how:

Waterproof and Weatherproof

LED curable inks provide increased weather resistance through outstanding ink-to-substrate adherence, a critical feature. Most plan sets are subjected to a wide range of environmental conditions — from rain and snow to hot, humid, or even freezing conditions. Additionally, they are often mishandled, moving from the contractor’s vehicle to various areas on the job site and then back to the office. Throughout this process they must remain legible and clear to help the project team make the right decisions during project build-out. 

In addition, they are chemical and abrasion-resistant to handle just about anything the job site can dish out.

Good Substrate Adhesion, Rapid Curing for Time Savings

When changes are made, new plans are required for each team member as soon as possible. LED curable inks are fast-curing, drying to touch much more quickly than water-based inks. They adhere to their substrate media easily, without the damaging heat that can undermine the integrity of many paper-based substrates. 

Being able to quickly cure this ink results in plans that are ready much quicker, keeping project timelines on track, even when changes must be made.

Easier to Read, Fewer Project Errors

The vibrant, high-contrast colors possible with these LED curable ink sets can help produce stunning drawings that help clients fully imagine a finished project and blueprints and drawings that are easy to read, with details that can be pulled out or emphasized using color. Producing plans that are easier to understand leads to fewer project errors, which in turn can shorten the project lifecycle for increased customer satisfaction and revenue.

Eco-Friendly for Sustainability

Sustainability is the wave of the future for successful companies. Using LED curable inks with your in-house wide format printer can help your company become more sustainable and contribute to a strong corporate responsibility program. LED curable inks contain no VOCs and they are cured with low-energy LED lamps. In addition, the LED bulbs used to cure the inks use up to 50% less energy than mercury curing lamps, contributing to lowered energy usage. Finally, these inks reduce overall ink consumption, lowering environmental impact and lowering your overall printing expense. 

Blue Technologies Has Wide Format Printers That Use LED Curable Inks

Having an in-house wide-format printer for your AEC-based organization offers you a host of advantages, from more control over printing timeframes and costs to the ability to make changes when and where you need them. 

At Blue Technologies, we have curated a selection of the finest wide-format and production print machines available from industry leaders such as Konica Minolta and KIP. If you are interested in a wide-format printer — and using LED curable inks for better plan sets and drawings — we have you covered.

Print better, more durable plans and drawings —in house. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and learn how our wide format printers and LED curable inks can help.