Inkjet & Digital Printing
INNOVATION FROM XAAR CUSTOMERS IN EVIDENCE AT SGIA 2008
Tuesday 07. October 2008 - A diverse roster of printer and ink partners demonstrate Xaar printhead influence on specialty inkjet printing.
A number of Xaar business and technology partners are expected to show new products at the SGIA Conference, October 15-18, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, demonstrating the depth and breadth of Xaar technology at the forefront of specialty imaging.
Several innovative products based around the Xaar 1001 printhead, recipient of a PIA/GATF Intertech? Technology Award for 2008, will be launched at SGIA. Most notable are:
Pad Print Machinery of Vermont (PPMoV, booth 1215), which has been building inkjet platforms for several years, has partnered with Xaar to integrate the 1001 printhead into PPMoV’s “Engineered Printing Solutions” industrial custom machinery line. According to Julian Joffe, president of Pad Print Machinery of Vermont, “The 1001 printhead allows us to merge high-level automation and printing operations, using custom-fixtured gantry conveyor systems, vision controllers and articulated robotic arms. The Xaar array allowed us the flexibility of writing our own software and building custom ink management systems that align with the customer’s requirement.” Visitors to SGIA’08 booth 1215 in Atlanta will see Pad Print Machinery of Vermont printing high-quality images at 21 inches per second.
Hexion Chemicals (booth 2861), a Xaar ink partner, is launching the Blaze, a lab prototyping printer based on the Xaar 1001 printhead. The industrial inkjet printer allows for a quick exchange of ink chemistries-ink developers can replace a clean set of printhead arrays very quickly, so they can test their new chemistries quickly, without flushing the system to change inks. “Although the new Blaze printer will be on display for industrial use, it will also be a showpiece to demonstrate our inks, capable of printing on difficult materials such as metals and glass,” explains Paul Lindquist, Hexion Chemicals Business Development Manager. “The Blaze will help raw material and ink suppliers get to market faster. It will also supplement the screening process for those companies who need a small inkjet printer, for products such as membrane switches.”
Greyscale technology, part of the XaarDOT? range of drop formation options, which is embodied in the productive Xaar 760 printhead, will also be delivering POP-quality prints from UV machines by Agfa (Anapurna xls, launched at Drupa, booth 3541), Mutoh (Mutoh Zephyr, booth 419), and Teckwin (TeckStorm UV Printer, booth 3331). In addition, Xaar technology will be evident in the Oce Arizona (booth 1041), Fujifilm Sericol Acuity (booths 641, 741, 941) and other licensee machines. Xaar binary technology still remains vibrant in the market, and can be seen in inkjet printers throughout the exhibition hall.
Xaar ink partners continue to grow in numbers and to innovate technologies that can be imaged on a wider variety of substrates. They include Aquatint Inks (booth 1231) Dubuit (booth 3313), Fujifilm Sericol (booths 941,641,741), Hexion Chemicals (booth 2861), Nazdar (booth 1241), Sun Chemical (booth 1719), and Triangle Digital (booth 2831).
“As the leading independent supplier of industrial inkjet technology, Xaar is well-placed to serve printer manufacturers who do not want to be tied to a specific vendor of printheads and inks,” comments Chris Lynn, VP Sales and Marketing, Xaar Americas, Inc. “The diversity of applications of Xaar technology here at SGIA is testimony to the inventiveness of our partners, and to the success of our open platform strategy.”