(Watch David Zwang's interview with Memjet's Kim Beswick here.) 

Memjet, the color printing technology company, has been developing MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) design thermal printhead technology for OEMs since 2007. Their Aspen technology, introduced in 2015 and now branded as VersaPass^TM, has been implemented by many companies that produce web and label presses for applications including labels, flexible packaging, commercial, large-format, and corrugated. The 8.77-inch, 1600x1600-dpi printheads have provided an attractive solution since the beginning. From their inception, they have continued to refine the printhead and ink technologies, and, equally important, the platform designs to make it more attractive to OEM customers. The results of OEM feedback and this continued development provided the basis for their 2017 introduction of the DuraLink^TMplatform. That platform introduced pigment-based aqueous inks, a 10X increase in printhead life as a result of a new bonded heater design, and a more compact platform to allow OEMs to implement solutions more quickly and less costly.

That platform design has allowed many printer manufacturing companies to come to market faster and to adapt to the ever-changing market requirements. It has also allowed many to develop hybrid and bespoke printing solutions, some of which will be revealed in the near future. The interest in the DuraLink platform has been significant, with initial interest from more than 120 potential OEMs, translating to almost 80 actively looking at the engineering for product development. Of those, packaging solutions comprise about 56%. We can expect to see a significant presence of Memjet DuraLink OEM solutions on display at drupa 2020.