The printhead – named Aquinox – is a development of Xaar’s ImagineX platform.

Xaar had previously said that it would initially target the £100m market in printheads for textiles and packaging with the new head, followed by wide-format graphics and labels – a potential £500m market. 

The native resolution of the Aquinox is 720dpi, and Xaar said that its High Laydown Technology made it “ideal for printing textiles, highly absorbent substrates, or thick film coatings.”

Print speed can be more than 100m/min. 

At the heart of the new Aquinox head is aQ Power Technology, a combination of technologies that results in a “radically new approach” to jetting water-based fluids reliably. It also uses Xaar’s established TF Technology for ink recirculation. 

Xaar CEO John Mills described the new printhead as Xaar’s “most significant product launch in recent years” and reiterated his belief that it would mark a “revolutionary transformation in aqueous inkjet printing.”

“The Aquinox seamlessly combines all Xaar’s proven technologies and innovations into a truly transformational and reliable aqueous printhead, providing a real step change in reliable aqueous inkjet printing.

“From textiles to ceramics and packaging, we see the Xaar Aquinox breaking new ground, enabling new water-based print applications, many of which were previously not possible with inkjet,” he stated. 

Xaar said the development had included close collaboration with developers and manufacturers of aqueous inkjet inks, with the Aquinox able to handle dye-based and pigmented fluids and inks, across a wide range of applications. 

The Cambridgeshire-headquartered manufacturer had previously reported huge interest from OEM developers in the new head.