Xaar releases new white paper

Xaar has released a new white paper ‘What goes around, comes around’, comparing its TF Technology ink recirculation with alternative ink recirculation techniques used by most other printhead manufacturers.

Xaar has released a new white paper ‘What goes around, comes around’, comparing its TF Technology ink recirculation with alternative ink recirculation techniques

According to the white paper and the results of a series of lab experiments, Xaar’s TF Technology ink recirculation still sets the benchmark for industrial inkjet recirculation techniques today, to deliver a wider window of operation for users.

Whilst ink recirculation is now commonplace, the white paper shows that all technologies are not equal. A printhead’s architecture determines how well ink recirculation is implemented and therefore influences the degree to which the method delivers benefits across today’s wide range of printing and jetting applications.  

Together with the unique Hybrid Side Shooter printhead architecture, Xaar’s TF Technology enables ink or other fluids to flow directly past the back of the nozzle during drop ejection at very high flow rates. This ensures the nozzles are continuously primed, keeping the printhead operational and the nozzles firing and – with the ink in constant motion – prevents sedimentation and nozzle blocking, particularly in heavily pigmented inks. Any air bubbles and unwanted particles in the ink are carried away, improving reliability, even in the harshest industrial environment. 

With TF Technology, jetting is significantly more reliable compared to alternative ‘roof mode architecture’ design printheads whose convoluted ink flow paths means that recirculation is close to, but not at the back of the nozzle. 

‘Xaar’s TF Technology ink recirculation completely revolutionized inkjet printing and has become an essential feature for a wide range of industrial inkjet applications,’ said Angus Condie, director of technology at Xaar and one of the authors of the white paper. 

Launched by Xaar in 2007 with the introduction of the Xaar 1001 printhead XF Technology has since opened up new applications such as glass printing with frit inks, high opacity white pigment ink printing for labels, and heavily loaded conductive inks for printed electronics - transforming the digital inkjet industry and becoming an industry requirement for effective and reliable inkjet printing.

‘Our research proves that ink recirculation solutions vary due to their architectural design, yielding vastly different results. Xaar’s TF Technology still greatly outperforms its rivals and continues to set the benchmark for ink recirculation today, delivering the widest window of operation within inkjet printing,’ concluded Condie.

The complete white paper can be downloaded from Xaar’s website.