Xaar releases its Aquinox Printhead for Aqueous Inkjet Printing

Xaar (Cambridge, UK), a leading worldwide inkjet printing technology group, has launched its “revolutionary” printhead – the Xaar Aquinox – delivering exceptional reliability, creativity and sustainability for printing aqueous fluids, said the company. “The Aquinox is the latest development from Xaar’s ImagineX platform and its revolutionary aQ Power Technology provides a radically new approach to how water-based fluids are jetted reliably, delivering a truly transformational industrial printhead,” said the group.

Xaar’s aQ Power is a combination of ground-breaking technologies designed to optimize the Aquinox’s lifespan, and robustness when handling aqueous fluids. These include a redesigned internal architecture, new water-compatible materials capable of coping with an extended working range of pH levels, and a new drive system enabling optimum drop ejection. This, said the OEM, together with Xaar’s TF Technology ink recirculation, ensures that the Aquinox delivers significantly increased nozzle open time compared to typical aqueous printheads.

Speeds of over 100m/min can be achieved. Plus, a high native resolution of 720-dpi and firing frequency of up to 48kHz, enables high fluid laydown with maximum productivity. With Xaar’s high-laydown technology, drop-size capability is extended, making the Aquinox ideal for printing on textiles, highly absorbent substrates, or thick film coatings. The Aquinox is also capable of jetting fluid viscosities of up to 100cP. By enabling a wider colour gamut and fluids with larger particles and more pigment for higher opacity, colours are more vibrant, and whites and blacks are significantly stronger.

The Aquinox comes with a Development Kit that gives OEMs “everything they need to get up and running.” This includes the ink-supply system and printhead drive electronics. Having collaborated with leading developers and manufacturers of aqueous inkjet inks to rigorously assess and improve performance, the Xaar Aquinox is equally capable of handling dye-based and pigmented fluids and inks across a wide range of applications, the company added.