FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2004

Xaar Launches New High-Performance XJ128 Printhead

Xaar, a leading innovator and manufacturer of digital inkjet technology, is upgrading its successful XJ128 printhead portfolio with the launch of a new high-speed version ­ the XJ128/200 Plus. The new model complements the existing XJ128 printheads - the XJ128/200 (non-wetting coating) and the XJ128/360 (non-wetting coating). All of the XJ128 printheads have been developed specifically for the wide, grand and superwide format inkjet markets.

"Our original XJ128 printhead has grown to become the industry standard and has set the benchmark in terms of performance and print quality," says David Frew, Printhead Product Manager at Xaar. "With the launch of this new printhead, Xaar is once again demonstrating its commitment to continuously develop and improve its products to meet the demands of our customers and the market. We have made a significant technology breakthrough with this new head, achieving a much higher performance with a 30 percent increase in speed, without compromising features such as size, weight and robustness that made the original XJ128 so successful."

"As with all sectors in the graphic arts community, there is an ever-increasing demand for faster turnaround from customers. The XJ128/200 Plus printhead has a linear printing speed of 698 mm/second (5.5KHz), offering even greater flexibility for customers who require a high frequency head for quality reproduction. We believe the increase in speed will enable customers to build new printers which will take them into new markets."

The new printhead has also been developed to enable customers to upgrade existing machines that use the original XJ128 printheads, thus protecting the customer's often-considerable investment in its wide format technology. "This was an important consideration when we looked to develop the new head," says Mr Frew. "We wanted to ensure those companies with existing wide format printers could take advantage of this upgraded printhead without necessarily having to make another major investment in a new printer in order to do this.

A non-wetting coating printhead is designed so that any stray ink on the nozzle plate beads and runs away from the nozzles, eliminating interference while the ink is fired. In general terms, a non-wetting coating printhead requires less maintenance. With the wetting coating version of the printhead, the ink remains on the nozzle plate and forms a uniform layer which also minimises interference with the formation of the ink droplet. The wetting and non-wetting XJ128 printheads enable customers to select the printhead that best fits with their maintenance systems and routines.

A range of inks has also been made available by Xaar for use with the new printhead including solvent inks for wide, grand and superwide format printing and oil-based inks for direct printing onto paper. The new XJ128 printhead will be manufactured at Xaar’s hi-tech ISO9001:2000 accredited production facility in Sweden.

Xaar plc
Contact: Fiona McKinlay
Science ParkMilton Road
Cambridge, Great Britain CB4 0XR
Phone: +44 (0)1223 423663
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 423590
E-Mail: fmckinlay@xaar.co.uk
Website URL: www.xaar.co.uk