Xaar plc, a leader in industrial inkjet technology, has released the Xaar 502 product family of high-performance greyscale piezoelectric drop-on-demand printheads, designed for a wide variety of applications. The first release from this printhead family is the Xaar 502 GS15 O optimized for coding and marking applications. The Xaar 502 GS15 O printhead meets the needs of manufacturers developing machines to print high-quality, late-stage product identification such as text, product data, barcodes and graphics onto secondary packaging or directly onto shaped products and primary packaging. This printhead launch “delivers a step change in product identification technology by combining binary and greyscale capabilities in one wide-swathe (70.5 mm) printhead to give users the ultimate in flexibility,” said the OEM.
With the ability to print drop sizes from 15-75 picolitres, the printhead can print up to 6 grey levels for high-resolution, intense blacks on low-contrast surfaces such as cardboard outer boxes. The Xaar 502 GS15 0 delivers sharp, dense black text as well as fine text, quality graphics and smooth images on porous or semi-porous outer packaging and cardboard, also giving the ability to better manage ink usage.
The Xaar 502 GS15 O is compatible with a range of oil-based inks for use in Coding and Marking applications, including the latest addition to Xaar’s ink portfolio – black mineral oil-free (MOF) SunJet IK822. This ink is designed for use on secondary packaging, delivering high quality and optical density on a wide range of porous and semi-porous substrates. The main benefit of this ink is its ability to break down easily during recycling, which is of particular interest to environmentally conscious brand owners and retailers. The new Xaar 502 GS15 O complements the binary Xaar 128 printhead to give OEMs a choice of printheads to suit their specific Coding and Marking requirements. It also offers legacy Xaar 500 users a replacement product that will enhance existing applications.
