Xaar today launched a new print head for printing water-based liquids, Xaar Aquinox (pronounced Aquinox in Chinese). Xaar has previously said it would initially target the £100m textile and packaging printhead market with the new heads, followed by wide-format graphics and labels - a potential £500m market.
Aquinox is the latest development of the company's ImagineX platform, and its aQ Power technology offers a new way to reliably jet water-based fluids.
Xaar's aQ Power combines several technologies designed to optimize Aquinox lifetime and robustness when handling aqueous fluids. These include a redesigned internal structure, new water-compatible materials that can handle a wider operating range of pH, and a new drive system for optimal droplet ejection. This, together with Xaar's TF Technology ink recirculation, ensures that Aquinox offers significantly increased nozzle open times compared to typical water-based printheads.
Speeds over 100m/min can be achieved, high resolution of 720dpi and firing frequency up to 48kHz allow for high fluid deposition for maximum productivity. Together with Xaar's High Deposition Technology, the extended droplet size capability makes Aquinox ideal for printing textiles, highly absorbent substrates or thick film coatings.
