When considering using digital printing, there are advantages to water-based, solvent-based and UV ink technologies. The printer needs to decide which advantages are priorities.

Over the years, inkjet ink and press manufacturers have looked into combining water-based and UV ink technologies, but that has been elusive. However, with its new AQUAFUZE inks, Fujifilm has successfully achieved an ink that combines the strengths of UV-curable and water-based ink performance.

AQUAFUZE was developed by Shota Suzuki and the R&D team at Fujifilm, right from the creation of the fundamental technology. It delivers safe, low-odor, low-energy printing, producing a highly durable film and a smooth, vibrant, high-quality finish across a very wide range of materials. It cures using energy-efficient LED UV lamps and low-heat drying. It can be printed on almost all display media: thin paper, films, PVC and plastics, as well as fabrics and vehicle wrap vinyls.

“AQUAFUZE represents a new category of wide-format inkjet technology,” says Suzuki. “By rethinking ink formulation from the ground up, we’ve created a product that truly responds to what print providers have been asking for: durability, flexibility, sustainability, and safety, without compromise.”

Since its 2025 release, AQUAFUZE has already received several significant print technology awards. It received the European Digital Press (EDP) Award for Best Water-Based Inks, recognizing sustainability, low-energy drying, primer-free adhesion, and scratch resistance.

AQUAFUZE also earned the RadTech Innovation Award at the 2025 RadTech Europe Conference for its new approach to ink chemistry, as well as the Print Action Canadian Printing Award for the most progressive printing process in wide-format inkjet.

Richard Fisher, technical manager for FUJIFILM Ink Solutions Group, noted that this innovation has been achieved through the development of a new Fujifilm proprietary technology that enables the stable dispersion of UV photopolymers in water.

“Because the chemistry behind AQUAFUZE is so different from conventional inkjet inks, it requires a printing process engineered around its chemistry, combining low-temperature drying with LED-UV curing,” Fisher says. “Fujifilm partnered with an experienced specialist in large-format print system design, to develop Acuity Triton (Acuity TR in the US and Canada), a 1.6 meter, 3200 dpi roll-to-roll printer. This platform unlocks the full performance of AQUAFUZE and represents the first of a new generation of systems built around the technology.”

Fisher adds that while AQUAFUZE has been initially deployed in large format inkjet for graphic display, ongoing development will see more systems and applications available in the future.

Why Fujifilm Developed AQUAFUZE

As for the research that led to AQUAFUZE, Fisher notes that there is a market need for an all-around print system without compromise.

“Eco-solvent, latex water-based, and UV inks are well established in large-format printing, but present some trade-offs,” Fisher observes. “Eco-solvent inks have VOC emissions and long outgassing times. Latex inks require high drying temperatures and ink film that is easily scuffed. UV delivers immediate usability and durability, but often has higher ink build, odor and potential requirement for hazard labeling.

Fisher notes that AQUAFUZE brings together the best of water-based and LED UV technologies to deliver unique performance in one versatile system. AQUAFUZE allows for low-energy operation, with efficient low-heat drying plus an LED-UV curing process. It provides high durability, producing scratch- and scuff-resistant prints without lamination, as well as smooth, high-quality images, with an ultra-thin ink film and a satin finish.

In addition, AQUAFUZE has broad substrate compatibility, printing on nearly all display materials without primers or optimizers. It can also be used on heat-sensitive media, as it has drying temperatures as low as 40-45°C.

Because it offers immediate finishing, there is zero outgassing, so prints can be laminated, cut, or shipped immediately. It is also operator-safe and emits low odor, so it is low-VOC, compliant, and free from hazardous substance labeling.

Fujifilm’s long experience in UV, water-based, and hybrid ink technologies provided the basis for a new approach. It pioneered UV inks in graphic display and has advanced multiple generations of water-based inkjet chemistry – including inks and polymer dispersion technologies for single-pass printing, and continuing development in new applications like flexible packaging.

Recognizing no single existing technology could deliver the “ultimate” performance, Fujifilm pursued a hybrid route that could combine the best attributes of both water-based and UV systems.

“Many organizations had previously attempted water-based UV hybrid inks but have been unsuccessful because producing a commercially viable water-based UV system presents fundamental chemistry challenges,” Fisher says. “Simply, aqueous chemistry and non-water-soluble UV chemistry are incompatible. Typical approaches relied on attempting to engineer new inkjet-dedicated UV components that are stable in water, which is extremely complex and expensive and prone to premature decomposition and shelf-life instability.”

So how did Fujifilm succeed? It was able to apply a set of unique capabilities to make water-based UV possible. Fisher notes that Fujifilm has an exceptional foundation in water-based and UV ink development, expertise in polymer chemistry to create stable aqueous inkjet dispersions, and advanced in-house capability to engineer and manufacture novel raw materials.

“Fujifilm focused on using the standard, proven UV components and stabilizing them in an aqueous solution,” Fisher points out. “It engineered a new polymer dispersion to stabilize and uniformly distribute the UV components (like monomers and photoinitators) in the ink. Coupled with Fujifilm’s aqueous RxD pigment-dispersion technology for vibrant, stable color, this novel approach produces a stable, commercially viable water-based UV ink architecture with unique properties.

“Print providers were looking for a print system that could produce all their display and signage jobs, with high image quality, vibrancy, and smooth finish; immediate finishing; low energy use; and safe, low-odor operation,” Fisher concludes. “AQUAFUZE was created to meet these requirements.”