Agfa Speciality Products and Electra Polymers Ltd announce they have entered into an exclusive Joint Development Agreement to develop and manufacture InkJet Soldermask Technology for the PCB manufacturing market.
This Joint Development Agreement combines Electra's proven capabilities in the development of world class, high performance soldermasks and wafer-level dielectrics with Agfa's leadership in inkjet material technology, product development, and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities.
"Industrial inkjet printing for PCB Digital technology has recently become available to replace analog imaging technology. Especially inkjet technology based on UV-curable inks jetted by piezo-based industrial print heads is ready for real production implementation, making inkjet printing a valid digital alternative to photo-tooling film process. Agfa's continued research and development in this area, has led to DiPaMat Legend inks for marking on PCB's, and DiPaMat Etch Resist inks for patterning the Cu laminates. This unique partnership with Electra Polymers will bring Agfa to the next step in the portfolio of inkjet inks for the PCB industry," says Frank Louwet, Business Manager Advanced Coatings and Chemicals.
"The PCB industry is in need of the next step-change in soldermask technology. It is over 30 years since photoimageable technology transformed the way soldermask is processed. Since then we have seen a slow evolution, firstly to aqueous developing systems and more recently a movement towards direct image exposure. Inkjet soldermask will provide the step-change customers are looking for and deliver a true digital solution to a critical process in PCB manufacture.
This development partnership is an exciting opportunity to combine Agfa's vast experience with Electra's wealth of soldermask knowledge to provide a reliable and robust technology." Shaun Tibbals, Sales & Marketing Director for Electra Polymers Ltd.
www.agfa.com
