The new technology, slated for release in early-mid 2025 on the Double Helix machine, fires UV light at the bottle at an oblique angle for a split-second, long enough to fix the ink in place, before the bottle is transferred to a second curing station to finish the cure. It was unveiled at Printing United last week.

The new technique means that printers would no longer have to pack glass or plastic bottles with stuffing to protect their printheads before printing transparent designs, as the angle and short duration of the UV light ensures an almost-zero exposure to the printhead. 

Inkcups’ vice president of engineering, Matt Medford, told Printweek: “[Visitors to the booth] can’t believe it.

“With nano-pin curing, the likelihood of damaging the printhead is so low that you’re taking just a few percent off the lifespan of the printhead by printing transparent, rather than [as previously] doing 2-300 prints and then having to replace a $1,000 (£758) printhead.

“You don’t have to stop and stuff each bottle, take them back out and clean out the lint, so it really increases your throughput, too.”

Now going for beta testing, the machine will be ramped up into full production by mid-2025, with first deliveries taking place in Q1.

Inkcups also showed off its new Xjet Switch printer, first revealed in late 2023.

A direct-to-bag UV inkjet printer, the Xjet Switch features four rotating platens, with the operator printing two bags at a time, and is capable of printing directly onto difficult substrates like clear PVC.