The Xaar 1001 Printhead Dominates Inkjet at Labelexpo 2011

The Xaar 1001 is the printhead of choice for leading label printer manufacturers, as confirmed by the record number of Labelexpo exhibitors demonstrating the printhead’s unrivalled reliability. Around 30 per cent of this year’s show focused on the versatility offered by digital technology, with many Xaar 1001-enabled digital label printers showing off substantial quality, flexibility and performance advantages. ALS Engineering, Atlantic Zeiser, Durst, EFI, INX/Spartanics, Nilpeter and Stork Prints demonstrated a range of stand-alone and modular machines offering a choice of four to eight colours plus varnish, variable widths and speeds, as well as in-line finishing options.

In addition, Integration Technology used the Xaar 1001 to demonstrate its latest UV LED cure ink techniques for label applications.

“There was a real buzz around digital inkjet printers at this year’s show, and it was impressive to see the continuous output from Xaar 1001-enabled printers,” says Mark Alexander, Director of Marketing, Xaar. “Inkjet technology is now firmly embedded within the label sector. Many companies demonstrated significant printer enhancements, particularly by adding more colour options, more functionality and all-round improved performance. It was also great to see the EFI Jetrion being presented strongly against the toner-based solutions in the Xaar-sponsored Digital Print Workshop.”

The piezoelectric, drop-on-demand Xaar 1001 features unique TF Technology to deliver unrivalled reliability, an important criterion for printer manufacturers and their customers. “We aim at the high-end label sector and are well known for our high quality and reliable products,” says Søren Ringbo, Manager Digital Products, Nilpeter. “Our choice of the Xaar 1001 printhead for the CASLON is obvious therefore. In our opinion it is the only inkjet printhead on the market that supports our requirements for true industrial digital label printing.”

The Xaar 1001 handles a wide range of fluid viscosities easily, including white ink and varnishes, to print directly onto standard and custom label stocks. The range of applications using the printhead at Labelexpo demonstrated its considerable versatility:

ALS Engineering showed the 33 cm-width, single-pass, four-colour ecojet digital printer featuring a unique application for pharmaceutical labelling. The printer uses Xaar 1001 printheads to produce a perceived resolution of 1000 dpi, whilst Xaar’s TF Technology™ guarantees reliable and continuous production. Optional widths and additional print stations for white or special colours are available.

Atlantic Zeiser demonstrated its drop-on-demand UV inkjet printing technology in security and commercial label printing with the innovative GAMMA 70 P print engine. The company has chosen Xaar 1001 printheads for their reliable performance due to TF Technology, especially when handling heavily-pigmented UV inks (including white). In addition, high print quality is ensured with the greyscale Xaar 1001. The GAMMA delivers exceptional ink adhesion, even on challenging porous and non-porous substrates, including plastics and films, metallic foils, cardboard and paper. The machine also enables users to bring complex production in-house and produce full-colour variable labels. This single-pass UV solution can be integrated in-line with sheet-fed, web or single-product systems. The company plans to introduce wider format 140 and 210 mm machines featuring Xaar printheads in 2012.