Cambridge: ? Xaar, the leader in industrial inkjet technology, is proud to announce the Xaar 5601 family of high resolution inkjet printheads which deliver a market-leading combination of total cost of ownership, print quality and usability. The Xaar 5601 3p0 is the first of this printhead family to be launched and will be available at the end of 2016. Its small drop and outstanding performance make it ideal for textiles, laminates, commercial print, carton printing and many more applications.

This Xaar 5601 printhead family incorporates a number of innovative technologies. Using Xaar's new Thin Film piezo Silicon MEMS technology, the Xaar 5601 family is very high resolution with over 5600 nozzles, capable of jetting up to 6 litres of fluid per hour. New innovations such as AcuDrp Technology allow complete control over greyscale drop ejection for perfect image quality. In addition, the Xaar 5601 printhead family incorporates TF Technology to maximise production up time, print quality and lifetime. In addition, with the Z profile, multiple printheads can fit closely together for an exceptionally compact print zone, accurate drop placement between colours and reduced costs associated with accurate media control and positioning. This is the first of a number of Xaar's printheads optimised for aqueous inks and provides excellent suitability for other low viscosity fluids.

"We are delighted to announce the Xaar 5601 family of printheads" says Doug Edwards, CEO at Xaar. "We have invested significantly over the last 6 years in R&D and market research in order to bring the very best package of printhead capabilities to the industrial inkjet market. The Xaar 5601 will be a game-changer.  For the first time OEMs have access to superior performance combined with low cost of ownership which will help them maximise new markets and new opportunities".

Market-leading total cost of ownership

Using the new Xaar 5601 family of printheads, OEMs can design, manufacture and sell print systems with the lowest cost of ownership on the market because development and integration costs are minimised. The print width of the Xaar 5601 family is such that OEMs need fewer printheads for a print bar compared to other printheads in the same class. Therefore, fewer electrical and fluid connections are required, which makes integration simpler and lower in cost. The Xaar 5601 family also has inbuilt mounting features so that printheads can be mounted more quickly and easily and with minimal associated mechanical costs.

Best-in-class print quality

The Xaar Thin Film Silicon MEMs technology makes possible 1200 nozzles per inch in the Xaar 5601printhead family.  For the Xaar 5601 3p0 the combination of 8 greyscale levels and a 3pl drop produces an apparent resolution greater than 2440dpi with high levels of productivity.

AcuDrp Technology delivers a number of advantages, including dynamic sub drop tuning for every nozzle in the printhead. This helps minimise drop volume and drop speed variation across the printhead, and from printhead to printhead within the print bar.
TF Technology ensures excellent print quality. Ink is recirculated directly past the back of the nozzle at all times even during drop ejection. This means that temperature is controlled evenly across the printhead for uniform ink viscosity and droplet production and ultimately, high image quality.

Unparalleled usability

The Xaar 5601 family is extremely easy to use with Plug'n'Print features for quick and easy printhead installation and replacement. A special nozzle overlap configured by software means no mechanical alignment is needed which means stitching printheads together is flawless. The printhead family's internal memory allows the printer to automatically download and configure operational settings for ease of start-up and best print quality.

The Xaar 5601 is announced at drupa 2016 and will be on the Xaar stand, Hall 6 Stand C05, viewable by appointment only.