In the year 1998, fifteen years ago, a small team from Cambridge Consultants exhibited a prototype of the first ever flatbed inkjet printer at IPEX. It immediately became clear that flatbed inkjet printing represented a clear opportunity for the printed packaging market and that, in addition, both the point-of-sale and signage markets could benefit from this innovation, provided that suitable inks could be found for these applications. To take flatbed inkjet printing into the POS and signage sector, Cambridge Consultants entered into their first discussions with the world-renowned screen ink manufacturer, Sericol (now FUJIFILM) to develop inks that would provide excellent printing quality on a variety of materials at high speeds. Two years later Inca was officially formed by a team with venture capital support who were determined to take the Inca/Sericol partnership forward and create a successful flatbed inkjet printing business. In the same year, Sericol launched its first digital range of inks – the Uvijet range – designed specifically for use in Inca printers. These inks would soon prove to be essential in Inca’s continued success and FUJIFILM remains to this day, the sole supplier of Uvijet inks.
