Xaar plc recently announced the launch of the Xaar 502 product family of high-performance grayscale piezoelectric drop-on-demand printheads. 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, bar codes and graphics onto secondary packaging or directly onto shaped products and primary packaging.
This printhead launch combines binary and grayscale capabilities in one wide-swathe (70.5 mm) printhead offering great flexibility.
With the ability to print drop sizes from 15-75 pL, the printhead can print up to 6 gray 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.
The Xaar 502 family uses Xaar’s latest piezoelectric drop-on-demand actuator design, PrecisionPlus, which provides a long throw distance and increases stability and robustness of the printhead. Combined with the optimized nozzle guard to support automated maintenance routines, the Xaar 502 family of printheads is ideally positioned for use in demanding and harsh factory environments.
Also included in the Xaar 502 printhead family is Xaar’s TF Technology, which can be run in Pulsed mode. This optional new mode re-circulates ink behind the nozzles during non-printing periods only, ensuring reliability, performance, high energy efficiency and market-leading printhead lifespan.
“The Xaar 502 GS15 O is the pinnacle of 25 years of Xaar’s investment in developing piezoelectric drop-on-demand printheads,” says Simon Kirk, senior product manager at Xaar. “Today, brand owners and retailers expect to be able to put more detailed and brand-orientated product identification text and graphics onto their packaging. Another key driver for manufacturers is to have more control over ink usage while delivering higher resolution print on cardboard. This new wide-swathe greyscale inkjet printhead delivers the superb performance needed to achieve this.”
