The history of ink stretches far back in time – 20,000 years before modern humans first set foot in Europe. The recent discovery of the world’s earliest works of art in caves in Spain revealed our Neanderthal cousins were making inks more than 65,000 years ago.

Across millennia, ink has evolved to meet the needs of each new application. Ancient cultures used carbon inks to record their wisdom on papyrus. In the fifteenth century, Gutenberg developed oil-based, indelible ink for the first printing press. 150 years ago, mass business communication was made possible when pigmented ink was mixed with castor oil to create an ink that would retain moisture on typewriter ribbons but dry after contact with paper.

In the 1960s the advent of computerised printing heralded a new era of sophisticated, diverse inks. And edding was one of the early pioneers.

The ink expert

Founded in 1960, Germany family company edding has established itself as the specialist in innovative marking solutions for both private and professional settings. At the same time, edding has extended that ink expertise to other products, including printer cartridges and toners, creative sprays and nail polish.

The next step: applying that ink expertise to the digital world. That’s where we come in.

edding Tech was established last year to continue that long history of ink innovation. Our mission is to bring together edding’s ink expertise with advanced tech to create disruptive printing and marking solutions. We want to empower business customers to do things with ink they didn’t think were possible.

We have been set up as a separate venture by edding. We have a start-up’s agility and entrepreneurial freedom. And we also have the strength, highly regarded brand name - and ink expertise - that comes with being part of the edding Group.

Changing the game

edding code and edding compact printers are the first of our disruptive technologies.

edding compact printers are our next-generation Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) industrial marking and coding solution. Reliable, versatile, intuitive and with powerful connectivity; they have been developed to enable customers in industry to maximise production uptime and be Industry 4.0 ready.

edding ink know-how is key to how we have taken TIJ technology to the next level. Within our comprehensive portfolio are inks that allow customers to print on the broadest range of substrates of any TIJ printer. It also includes speciality inks such as UV visible and food grade inks. With edding compact printers our customers achieve high resolution marking in almost any environment and on almost any surface; including plastic, glass and metal.

edding code is our invisible QR code that empower our customers to connect the physical and digital worlds. Embedded in everyday products, it enables you to do everything from interacting with customers in a fun, creative way to verifying important documents. Our pioneering inks are at the heart of how that magic happens.

Open collaboration

We aren’t doing this alone. Our innovations have been made possible through partnerships with some of the brightest brains in disruptive technologies.

Prismade is our partner on edding code. This exciting start-up based in Chemnitz, Germany, leads the way in embedding digital features in common products for a diverse range of inventive applications. Their software engineering expertise is what attracted edding to acquire a 50% stake in the business in 2018.

In German family business Elried, we have found the perfect technology partner to develop edding compact printers. For decades they have been a leader in industrial marking and coding and are at the forefront of Industry 4.0 innovation.

This approach of open collaboration with external partners is how we will identify and develop the next generation of disruptive ink technologies. And continue making the impossible, possible.

Learn more about edding Tech and what we do.