Xaar’s recirculation technology delivers the widest window of operation for inkjet printing

Sets benchmark for industrial inkjet recirculation techniques

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Xaar
Xaar’s recirculation technology delivers the widest window of operation for inkjet printing

The results of a series of lab experiments demonstrate why Xaar’s TF technology ink recirculation, invented some years ago, still sets the benchmark for industrial inkjet recirculation techniques today to deliver a wider window of operation for users. Presented in Xaar’s new white paper subtitled ‘What goes around, comes around,’ the research compares Xaar’s TF technology ink recirculation with alternative ink recirculation techniques used by most other printhead manufacturers.

Whilst ink recirculation is now commonplace, the white paper clearly shows that all technologies are not equal. A printhead’s architecture determines how well ink recirculation is implemented and therefore influences the degree to which the method delivers benefits across today’s wide range of printing and jetting applications.

TF technology is a key building block in Xaar’s recently announced ImagineX bulk platform, which will power the next 30 years of innovation in inkjet capabilities and printhead launches.

Together with the unique Hybrid Side Shooter printhead architecture, Xaar’s TF technology enables ink or other fluids to flow directly past the back of the nozzle during drop ejection at very high flow rates.

This ensures the nozzles are continuously primed, keeping the printhead operational, and the nozzles firing and – with the ink in constant motion – prevents sedimentation and nozzle blocking, particularly in heavily pigmented inks. Any air bubbles and unwanted particles in the ink are also carried away, improving reliability, even in the harshest industrial environment.

With TF technology, jetting is significantly more reliable compared to alternative ‘roof mode architecture’ design printheads whose convoluted ink flow paths means that recirculation is close to but not at the back of the nozzle.

Xaar’s TF technology ink recirculation completely revolutionized inkjet printing and has become an essential feature for a wide range of industrial inkjet applications,” said Angus Condie, director of Technology at Xaar and one of the authors of the white paper.

Launched by Xaar in 2007 with the introduction of the Xaar 1001 printhead XF Technology has since opened up exciting new applications such as glass printing with frit inks, high opacity white pigment ink printing for labels, and heavily loaded conductive inks for printed electronics – transforming the digital inkjet industry and becoming an industry requirement for effective and reliable inkjet printing.

Our research proves that ink recirculation solutions vary due to their architectural design, yielding vastly different results. Xaar’s TF technology still greatly outperforms its rivals and continues to set the benchmark for ink recirculation today, delivering the widest window of operation within inkjet printing,” concluded Condie.

The complete white paper can be downloaded here

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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