AMERICAN INK JET MARKS 25 YEARS OF INNOVATION IN INK TECHNOLOGY
Billerica, Massachusetts, March 5, 2008 –Formed in February 1983 by Michael A. Andreottola, American Ink Jet (AIJ) is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Over the past quarter century the Billerica, Massachusetts-based ink jet ink maker has developed some of the purest and most brilliant dye-based ink sets for fine art and photographic imagery. “We launched the company to make inks for Applicon and Iris Graphics who made printers utilizing the Hertz continuous ink jet technology. But, things really started to happen when famous rock musician and camera man Graham Nash sought inks to reproduce fine art paintings and his best photographs on an Iris Graphics Model 3047 ink jet printer,” recalled CEO Andreottola. “Working closely with Iris Graphics, Inc. in the neighboring town of Bedford, we focused on precipitating and purifying existing dyes, and adjusting formulations, to achieve the optimum combination of droplet formation, controlled penetration into selected media, and minimal dot gain (spreading). The result was a stunning reproduction of photographic images and fine artwork. Over these years we also succeeded in achieving high levels of image permanence with both dye and pigment-based inks. We were one of the first companies to work with Henry Wilhelm of Wilhelm Imaging in the 1990’s to establish a basis for the longevity of fine art reproductions using the Iris ink jet printer. We were making inks for Iris Graphics and Encad at the time. Although these 2 companies represented most of our business, both of them wanted our relationship with them kept confidential. So, people out there did not really know what our capabilities were. This was our primary business before we got involved with the desk top remanufactures and then our own desktop product line”. At American Ink Jet, industry pioneer Andreottola developed the first waterproof HP ink jet ink/paper system for the US Army in 1991 “ It was really an interesting problem”, says Andreottola. During “Desert Storm”, the Army was downloading satellite data that showed the relative positions of US and Iraqi ground forces. They were downloading this information and outputting the information on the newly introduced HP wide format printer. The problem occurred when the soldiers were viewing the prints in the extreme desert heat; their perspiration actually dropped onto the prints and washed them away. The project at the time was too small for HP to work on. Since I had worked with HP in the past and it was something that I could start to work on immediately; they had someone from the Army call me to see if we could help. We did, and we solved the problem. I was glad that I could do something for my country”. Also, in 1991, he developed the first Giclée inks for Nash Editions in Manhattan Beach, California. Graham Nash of the rock group Crosby Stills and Nash is a passionate photographer. He wanted a way to reproduce his work and acquired an Iris Ink Jet Printer. This was the first wide format color ink jet printer on the market. Nash not only found a way to reproduce his own work but help create a new industry which is the basis for the introduction of many new wide format printers by Epson, HP and Canon.
When AIJ lost a major office superstore, Staples, as a customer in the late 1990s, the company fell on hard times. According to 20 year employee and Executive Vice President Nancy Powers, “AIJ had done business with Staples for over 5 years. We were the first company to offer our own product line of compatible cartridges, refill kits and all of the ink jet media; bright white, glossy, transparency and artists canvas. We were the first company to come up with this concept in the 90’s. This was also a time when Staples was acquiring office super store chains in Europe. We offered our products through virtually every Staples store in the world. Business was tremendous. We were the first company to come up with this product concept. People were telling us that we were ahead of our times. But, right in the middle of our next yearly contract with Staples, they called us to say that they were going to use products from another vendor who had put up millions of dollars to buy our shelf space. As you could imagine we were very disappointed”. Andreottola and his dedicated team soldiered on. They continued to compete in all markets against a growing list of foreign and domestic ink makers. Ironically, the light at the end of the tunnel burned increasingly brighter as the U.S. dollar weakened, giving AIJ the edge to beat offshore products on both quality and price.
According to 10 year veteran and Director of Sales & Marketing, Jim Andreottola, “During the last several years, American Ink Jet has gone back to its routes and has reemerged as a key player in the wide format ink jet market. We had let the wide format market get away from us. We got involved with desktop inks and UV curable inks. We were receiving moreand more requests from people looking for inks for various wide format printers. It took a while for us to deliver the kind of products that we were comfortable with and had the quality that AIJ has been known for through the years. The inks were first available in bulk quantities only. However, many people were asking for inks in cartridges. We now offer these inks in remanufactured OEM cartridges and have expanded our wide format offerings of dye based and pigment based aqueous inks as well as solvent based inks. American Ink Jet has developed and/or manufactured inks for many companies including Cabot Corporation, DuPont, Eastman Kodak, Encad, Iris Graphics, MacDermid Colorspan, Minolta, Rohm & Haas, Roland DGA Corporation, Stork and print head manufacturer Spectra. Michael Andreottola received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biochemistry from Georgetown College and a MBA Degree from Northeastern University. He has also co-authored four text books related to ink jet inks; Color and the Computer, Edited by John Durrett; the First and Second editions of Handbook of Imaging Materials, Edited by Art Diamond; and Inkjet Technology and Product Development Strategies, edited by Stephen Pond in conjunction with Torrey Pines Research.