Xaar and Ricoh have formed a strategic partnership to maximise the benefits from each other’s expertise in thin film piezo printhead development. Xaar has also announced a collaboration with Global Inkjet Systems (GIS) to deliver and sell drive electronics and ink supply systems optimised for the Xaar 5601 family of printheads, launching at Drupa.
On the Ricoh deal, Xaar CEO Doug Edwards, said: “This will provide end customers in many industry sectors with improved productivity at lower costs. Strategic collaboration is part of Xaar’s vision which will help us to achieve our ambitious growth plans over the next few years”.
In terms of the GIS collaboration, Xaar has worked closely with the company on development, testing and production of components for some time. Optimised for the Xaar 5601 printhead family, the Head Management Card (HMC) and ink supply system will unlock the full capabilities of the Xaar 5601 and are a value-add for OEMs.
“During the development phase of the Xaar 5601 printhead family we evaluated a number of potential companies to partner with for the systems components”, said Ramon Borrell, chief technology officer at Xaar. “We chose GIS because it has a successful track record in systems components supply and also provides high levels of technical expertise”.