More Chemistry than a Meth Lab

"Breaking Bad" isn't the only chemistry happening in Hollywood. In a recent interview Jimmy Kimmel asked Emily Blunt about her on-screen chemistry with Ryan Gosling to which she replied:?“Ryan Gosling has more chemistry than a meth lab, let's be honest. He has it just brimming out of him.” I couldn’t resist stealing her line because guess what else has chemistry just brimming out of it? Inkjet of course!

You’ve probably heard the buzzword “tech stack” bandied about to describe the various technical components brought together in a software or hardware solution. A similar phrase, “chem-stack” is used to describe the chemical components and interactions that must be designed to result in stable and durable inkjet print. If you don’t want the leading character in your inkjet rom-com to be electrostatically repulsive (or if you do!) you need to let chemistry play a leading role. Mary Schilling is here to help us absorb the competitive chemistry challenges of inkjet for flexible packaging in “Winning in Flexible Packaging through Chem-Stack Design.”

The chem-stack isn’t the only thing coming together to make better inkjet. We’re also learning about new partnerships between OEMs and with component providers to accelerate product development. But will your new partner bring the chemistry of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt or win the award for “couple most likely to divorce on their honeymoon"? Kelly Lawrence digs into the pros and cons of?developing inkjet solutions (even the chemical kind) through partnerships?and things to know about joint development agreements.

When you look at the pre-drupa inkjet announcements you will find more than a few that are based on new or expanded partnerships. Check out?part 2 of Ralf Schlozer’s drupa round up?covering labels, packaging, photo printing, and inkjet components. Part one covered?production printing.

One more week until drupa. I can almost smell the chemistry.

Elizabeth