Xaar strengthens aqueous printhead portfolio with the 5501

IndPrint

Xaar has announced the launch of its 5501 printhead, a new addition to its portfolio of aqueous solutions.

Available commercially later this year, the compact and lightweight Xaar 5501 complements the existing 1201 and Xaar 5601, and provides OEMs looking for an aqueous printhead with a wider choice. This is the first product resulting from the company’s collaboration with Xerox and delivers high print quality combined with low printing costs whilst integration costs will also be kept to a minimum.

The new printhead, which uses proven bulk piezo technology in conjunction with Xaar Drive Electronics, delivers high print quality. OEMs can use this printhead to deliver cost effective scanning digital printers with a high quality output.

This is a lightweight and high resolution 1200 dpi printhead which is ideal for a range of water based digital printing applications, such as textiles (digital direct to garment, dye sublimation transfer and soft signage) and graphics (banners, posters, displays). It has 5544 nozzles, each producing five picolitre sub-drops giving an impressive 115 mm print width for high quality print at high productivity. Furthermore, the Xaar 5501’s robust construction makes it compatible with a range of fluids including aqueous inks, low viscosity UV or solvent based inks.

The 5501 uses a simple micro alignment system to position and align printheads via software. This allows rapid and easy printer set up, therefore streamlining printhead commissioning and reducing downtime overall. In addition, it does not require an ink recirculation system; this ensures lower integration costs and makes it very suitable to use in scanning applications such as printing wide format graphics and textiles. In addition, for high productivity applications, single pass printing is possible.

‘We are delighted to be bringing the Xaar 5501 to market,’ commented Jason Remnant, senior product manager. ‘With this addition to our aqueous portfolio we now have a full range of solutions to meet the majority of applications which need low viscosity compatible inkjet printheads. With its simple ink supply system, the 5501 is a very cost effective solution for scanning textile and wide format graphics printers, and will be widely available to OEMs later this year. We will make further announcements in due course.’