Xaar plc, a leading provider of digital inkjet technology, has announced that its XJ500/180 CM printhead, specifically developed for the coding and marking industry, is now available.

The XJ500/180 CM offers an 80 per cent increase in productivity over the standard XJ500/180, providing coding and marking printers with the opportunity to upgrade the Xaar printhead technology in their existing machines in order to penetrate new and faster applications.
The XJ500/180 CM enables a high native print resolution of 180 dpi, firing a drop size of 75pl at a frequency of 7.2kHz, allowing a linear speed of one metre per second for 180 x 180 dpi print or 2 metres per second for 90 x 180 dpi, equating to a coding productivity of up to 500 sq m per hour with a single printhead. The printhead is mounted on a precision chassis with datums so it can be easily positioned in most orientations, making it ideal for printing on a variety of primary and secondary packaging substrates.
The XJ500/180 CM is completely compatible with existing drive electronics and data signals, making it possible to simply swap it into applications currently using a standard XJ500/180 printhead. Based on Xaar’s shear mode shared wall technology, the XJ500/180 CM maintains 500 nozzles, a 70 mm print swathe, and is designed to work with oil-based coding and marking ink.
The increase in speed offered by the XJ500/180 CM allows for coding and marking applications to benefit from increased productivity. As well as offering faster speed, the added print frequency of the XJ500/180 CM can be used to increase ink density on a substrate, an advantageous feature in coding and marking applications and outer-case printing where a high contrast is often required.
“We are seeing drop on demand (DOD) inkjet technology playing an increasingly important role in coding and marking, and as such our aim is to continue to explore ways to deliver faster printing solutions without compromising on the reliability and quality that is paramount in these industries,” comments Max Shone, Xaar’s printhead product manager. “We believe that the XJ500/CM 180 not only delivers optimum print results, but its faster speed, coupled with the inherent flexibility and versatility of DOD inkjet, means that this printhead can also open up opportunities for non-inkjet users in new markets.”
Xaar plc is a market-leading ink jet technology company. It targets the world’s office, commercial and industrial printing markets. The office printing market is approached through Xaar’s licencees; the industrial printing market is targeted by XaarJet, the manufacturing arm of Xaar; and a combination of partners and key players work with Xaar to serve the commercial printing market. Vivid Print Innovations, the applications division of Xaar, provides Xaar’s in-house specialist integration service.