Top Five Reasons OEMs Should Outsource Fluid Management Systems for Industrial Inkjet Printing

In the world of inkjet applications, a reliable fluid management system or ink delivery system is essential for ensuring consistent print quality and reliable operation.

While many might see developing an ink delivery system as a part of an in-house project, partnering with a fluid management system specialist like Megnajet can help save money, reduce time-to-market, and deliver a real competitive advantage.

In this blog, we’ll explore the top five reasons why OEMs could consider outsourcing fluid management to experts rather than investing valuable in-house resources in this complex area.

1.      Specialist Expertise and Innovation

The development of a fluid management system requires highly specialised skills in fluid dynamics, precision engineering, and advanced control systems – which may fall outside the core competencies of many OEMs. By collaborating with Megnajet, partners gain immediate access to dedicated experts who know fluid control and conditioning for industrial inkjet printing inside out.

With over a decade of experience in diverse applications, we’ve developed our products and our support to meet a wide variety of requirements - from high pigment-loaded textile, packaging, labels, and graphics applications to high viscosity fluids for additive manufacturing, and everything in-between.

ImageXpert has seen the benefits, with Kyle Pucci, Director of Applications Engineering highlighting this: “The Megnajet RackFit packs incredible capability, polished design, and high reliability into a small footprint that is perfect for the lab space, making it ideal for use across a huge range of our clients’ applications.”

Megnajet’s off-the-shelf solutions can often be integrated within client projects or applications, whereas we also offer our customised systems for those needing a specific solution. Examples include working with material modifications (such as FDA-approved food grade acetal and aluminium) within the system, through to complete bespoke builds. Whatever the application, we ensure that customers can receive exactly what they need without the burden of in-house development.

2. Reduced Costs

Developing an in-house fluid management system can require substantial investment - not only for R&D but also in operational overhead and skilled labour resources. The costs associated with assembling a team with the right expertise and maintaining a reliable R&D infrastructure can quickly escalate.

With printheads often operating at exceptionally high frequencies and demanding meticulous control over variables such as meniscus pressure, recirculation rate, and temperature, successfully developing an ink delivery system that meets these parameters can require significant financial and personnel investments.

However, partnering with Megnajet eliminates many of these costs by providing well-established manufacturing processes and a streamlined supply chain, which also provides cost efficiencies that are often impossible to replicate internally.

In addition, by outsourcing fluid management, OEMs can focus their R&D efforts on developing their own core technologies, such as specific print machine USPs, rather than focusing and learning about new support systems that already have a solution.

3. Faster Time-to-Market and Improved ROI

In a rapidly evolving industry, speed to market is also critical for staying competitive. Developing a fluid management system in-house not only requires a lot of resources but can also significantly delay product launching. Megnajet’s reliable off-the-shelf solutions allow OEMs to skip the lengthy R&D and testing phases, accelerating the time-to-market for their machines and allowing them to realise returns faster.

Our products are deliberately designed with modularity in mind to allow for easy integration with our customers’ existing equipment. This also works to reduce engineering time, installation and testing. And for when an off the shelf product does not meet clients’ needs, the team can develop a bespoke solution that combines the specific know-how of fluid management to deliver the necessary results.

Our partner, C-marx has experienced these benefits with our recent case study highlighting its integrations of a succession of Megnajet’s fluid management systems and components within individualised machines. Peter Ueberfuhr, Co-Founder says ‘Megnajet’s fluid management systems offer us a huge advantage through their reliability, ease of use and robustness.

“They are compatible with a wide range of printheads and are all controlled by our software to deliver the quality and consistency our customers need for the accurate jetting of what can often be complex and challenging fluids.”

4. Enhanced Reliability and Performance

OEMs and integrators seeking to develop a proprietary ink delivery system for industrial inkjet printing can face technical challenges and knowledge gaps that may compromise the system’s reliability and performance.

For example, issues with temperature uniformity, pump dampening, and fluid foaming can all be difficult to resolve without specialised knowledge and resources and can even lead to damage or impact an expensive printhead’s longevity and print quality.

However, with a fluid management expert, systems are fine-tuned for high-frequency operation and precision droplet placement, ensuring every nozzle on the printhead receives consistent input for accurate output.

At Megnajet, we also provide full support for spares, repairs, and maintenance, enhancing system uptime and optimising machine performance for our customers.

5. Long-Term Support and Partnership

By choosing a Megnajet fluid management system, OEMs and integrators gain more than just a supplier - they gain a partner that is dedicated to their success.

We not only provide products but also offer ongoing technical support, maintenance, and system improvements – meaning our customers can trust Megnajet to support them throughout the product lifecycle, from concept to commercialisation.

In addition, we also offer our own Support Community – an online platform where customers can raise support cases and access product documentation, drawings, guides and software in just a few clicks.

As industrial inkjet technology advances, we will also continue to innovate our fluid management systems, meaning our partners have access to the latest, most reliable technologies - allowing them to maintain a competitive edge without needing to overhaul their entire equipment setup.

For OEMs in the industrial inkjet industry, working with a specialist to develop a fluid management system offers unmatched advantages. From reduced R&D costs and faster time-to-market to dedicated expertise and long-term support, Megnajet enables OEMs to focus on their core competencies, ensuring that their machines perform reliably and meet market demands.

Find out more about our range of products: https://www.megnajet.com/products