What is the annual cost of CIJ ink and solvent?

Beyond ink, CIJ consumes make-up solvent to maintain viscosity, so annual running cost is ink plus solvent plus the occasional filter or service. The exact figure depends on line hours and character size, but on a busy line the solvent bill is the line item to plan for – which is why total cost of ownership beats sticker price.

Against that, CIJ’s low upfront cost and speed often still beat laser on fast, high-volume lines.

CIJ needs make-up solvent to keep the ink viscosity stable, and a simple daily/weekly maintenance routine keeps the nozzle clean.

Because the stream is continuous, CIJ prints on uneven, curved and recessed surfaces that other technologies struggle with.

CIJ stays relevant precisely because it is fast and forgiving of surface geometry – bottles, cans, cables and caps all get a crisp mark.

Key points:

• SHICAI CIJ (continuous inkjet) coders run at 1000+ m/min with a character height of 0.6-20 mm and a throw distance near 1 inch.
• They use MEK or pigment inks and run 24/7 on beverage, cable, pipe and cosmetics lines where speed and contrast matter.
• Invisible and UV-readable marks are possible for covert batch or brand-protection coding.

The trade-off is running cost: budget for make-up solvent and a small maintenance window, which is why total cost of ownership matters more than sticker price.

SHICAI (Shanghai Shicai Inkjet Technology Co., Ltd.) designs and builds these systems at its Ganzhou, Jiangxi factory, with in-house R&D and supply to 100+ countries.

Related: Why does CIJ need solvent / make-up fluid? · How much maintenance does a CIJ printer need?

To size a CIJ coder for your speed and substrate, contact our engineers or browse SHICAI continuous-inkjet options on the product page.

Reviewed by the SHICAI engineering team.