Episode 293 - Plasmatreat and the Hidden Power Behind Industrial Inkjet’s Adhesion Breakthroughs

In this episode, Marcus sits down with Bas Buser, one of the most respected voices in plasma surface treatment and global printing applications, to explore why plasma has become a critical enabler for industrial inkjet.

Bas explains the remarkable story behind Plasmatreat, founded over 30 years ago when Christian Buske pioneered Openair-Plasma, allowing plasma activation outside of vacuum chambers and directly inline with production systems. Today Plasmatreat operates worldwide, supporting automotive, electronics, medical, packaging, and now fast-growing areas of industrial print.

Listeners will discover why plasma treatment is now essential for UV and inkjet adhesion: increasing surface energy, cleaning contamination, introducing chemical functionality, and enabling inks to bond to plastics, metals, glass, and recycled materials. Bas shares real-world examples from automotive (50–70 plasma applications per vehicle), packaging (printing QR codes on varnished surfaces), electronics (conductive inks), and medical devices.

The conversation also uncovers plasma’s role in sustainability — from eliminating solvent-based primers and reducing oven energy use to increasing material choices, lowering ink consumption and minimising rejects.

Bas emphasises the importance of collaboration across printheads, inks, integrators, OEMs and converters. He previews Plasmatreat’s involvement at FuturePrint Industrial Print Munich, where the team will demo live plasma treatments and invite visitors to test their own substrates.

Whether you work in inkjet development, printing, coating, converting or advanced manufacturing, this episode offers a rare level of clarity on one of the most important enabling technologies in modern industrial print.

FuturePrint Events:

FuturePrint TECH: Industrial Print: 21-22 January '26, Munich, Germany