Just one year with Xaar 1201, and the technology giant has started turning appreciations in to business from the country’s burgeoning signage printing industry.
Known for its piezoelectric drop-on-demand industrial printheads, Xaar, the UK-based leader in the development of inkjet technology and the leading independent manufacturer of industrial inkjet printheads, has set its eyes on the burgeoning signage market in India. It also sees textile, packaging and label printing as the other important segments to creep in for enhanced footprints here. Besides, the technology giant also develops and sells ink systems, electronics and fluid optimisation services to accelerate the development and adoption of inkjet system.
It is only last year that with a firm objective of strengthening its business, the company announced its wide portfolio of inkjet printheads and few new technologies for a variety of print applications. Its recent launches have started paying the dividend as if the market here was eagerly waiting for anything new from Xaar bouquet. Of the seven products that it rolled out in India, the 1201 printhead has been emerging as the cynosure of the country’s signage industry stakeholders.
To quench the thirst on this front, we, at Sign & POP World, met a few print service providers/printer suppliers/manufacturers; of whom had something or the other to reason out why they opted for the ever new 1201 technology from Xaar. They also highlighted as in which ways it is going to help them make more out of what they have invested. Priced intelligently, the Xaar 1201 printhead is coming out as the winner in its own way by bringing forth a rather cost-effective solution addressing many other issues, which were left unaccounted in the world of wide format printing.
No doubt that the technology giant’s new range of printheads has already made a significant impact across India. As highlighted by Namrata Sharma – Commercial Account Manager, Xaar India, rapid adoption of the Xaar 1201 by printer manufacturers in the country is because of it being escorted with features like a highly productive printhead that is capable of jetting multiple ink types. “Its unique and easy to align attribute facilitates to have multiple printheads on a single head plate.”
When it comes to printhead eco-system, there are number of components that make it up, and these play a critical role in the overall printhead performance. Being a key part of any print system, Xaar printheads are designed to be power-efficient, compact and flexible so as to deliver the maximum performance. Featuring Meteor Inkjet, Xaar is a conjugation of technologies that encompass a high-quality suite of electronics and software which can be used in printhead evaluation and commercial printer production.
Going forward, Xaar printheads incorporate patented technology that delivers unbeatable performance when decorating, patterning, or depositing functional coatings onto – or adding structure to – a variety of industrial and consumer products. A compact grey scale printhead that is proficient of printing one, two or four colours, Xaar 1201 is of particular interest to the Indian market because of it being capable of handling aqueous inks along with UV, hard-solvent and eco-solvent. “This means that OEMs looking to produce textiles or graphics printers using water-based inks now have the access to robust and reliable technology,” averred Sharma.
She further elaborated that the Xaar 1201 can be used for a wide range of textiles, graphics and industrial applications such as direct-to-garment, outdoor graphics, indoor back-lit signage graphics and the likes. “The Xaar 1201 is a Thin Film Piezo Silicon Micro Electrical Mechanical System (MEMS) technology printhead for printing Wide-Format Graphics (WFG) and Textiles with dye sublimation, eco-solvent or aqueous inks,” she explained adding that the OEM partners have been delighted with its performances & versatility.
The testimony of all this is the number of new printer launches with Xaar 1201 that were witnessed in the recently concluded Media Expo 2018 in Mumbai. No wonder, printer manufacturers as well as PSPs were confident of Xaar abilities owing to its past records. The big name was that of ColorJet India, which showcased Aurajet, its latest indigenously manufactured printer with Xaar printhead. The printer attracted many technology lovers from the world of textile printing, leaving numerous potential queries for the manufacturer to turn in to business.
Another printer manufacturer, who has incorporated Xaar 1201 head in its new ‘Made In India’ printer, is Digital Innovation. “We have developed the UV technology for the first time. We opted for Xaar 1201, because of it being multi-purpose that goes on to facilitating various other applications. Further, it is cost-effective that makes it affordable. It’s sturdy and needs little maintenance and is compatible with solvent, eco-solvent, sublimation or latex. The most important part of it being a success is the end-customers’ trust on Xaar. All these together make it the best choice to go for,” Jiten Shinde, the company’s managing director.
Shinde further said that Xaar has already proved its worth in India because of its technology. It’s time to reap the benefits and make the most of it. “Not only me or other small manufacturers, but leading solution providers worldwide, in sectors ranging from ceramics, wide-format graphics and labels to packaging and decorative laminates, are opting for Xaar printheads,” he suggested adding that this is because these printheads are apt for bulk production.”
Then come a few importers, who preferred to opt for printers manufactured with Xaar 1201 printheads. Digital Vision was one such importer, which found the new technology from Xaar suitable enough to cater to the rapidly changing trait of the Indian printing market. “As we heard of Xaar coming up with new printheads, we kept our project on hold and waited for the new technology to hit the floor. We knew that whatever Xaar is coming up with, would change the way printing is done these days,” said Ramesh Patel, Managing Director, Digital Vision, the authorised distributor of Chinese giant Dika Printers to market the same in India.
Patel further informed that the new Dika Printer from its Chinese supplier has come up with Xaar 1201 printhead, with which he is experimenting other surfaces including laminate &metal. “We have tried making good use of Xaar 1201 for printing over metal surfaces going in to the interiors of a building – be it residential or commercial. With this option, the manufacturers of metallic cupboards can offer personalised solution to their respective clients. It can also help adding to the look and feel of the interiors with mesmerising printable design options.”
Almost similar thoughts were shared by Mohammad Ali, Managing Director, Unique Sign Innovations. “We have introduced Xudi machine with Xaar 1201 printhead for the first time in India, and are getting commendable response. Till date, we have installed five machines, while quite a few orders have been registered which we hope to materialise in time to come.”On responding to why Xaar, he said, owing to the cost-efficient industrial Xaar printhead, the machine needs less maintenance as compared to others. Also, the applications can be further expanded with Xaar technology because of its compatibility with UV to cater to the fabric & textile printing which is catching up fast across the country.
Ali went on adding, “We have full faith in Xaar as it promises and meets the warranty/ guarantee which the other technology suppliers least bothered about. Meanwhile, the company itself is very aggressive to promote its technology to unrepresented geographies, which is nothing but a good help for us in extending our reach. In all, these people are really cooperative when it comes to supporting the customers’ call.”
Last but not the least, Akshay Jairath, Director, Turnkey Solutions, also displayed the latest printer in the brand name Lotus, featuring Xaar 1201 printhead. “Xaar has everything that we need for commercial printing purposes – be it compatibility, affordability or quality of final prints. Being an industrial printhead, Xaar 1201 allows printing on many substrates but without compromising on quality,” he said adding that the better part is the support and promotion from the company, which makes it different from other printhead majors.
Adding to the technicalities, Sharma shared that Xaar 1201 is versatile & compact, and delivers a high level of quality and performance. “Designed for easy integration by printer manufacturers, the Xaar 1201 features 1280 nozzles that can jet variable drop sizes; these produce high-quality graphics on a wide range of substrates at an apparent resolution. In short, Xaar heads are extremely precise, exceptionally versatile, incredibly reliable, and specifically developed for high-volume production,” she signed off.