Press Centre

The historic city of Pune in western India, seems an unlikely location as a centre of excellence for inkjet technology in India. However, if Atul Gandhi, managing director of Macart Equipment Pvt Ltd (MEPL) and his team have their way, Indian companies looking to invest in digital wide format inkjet technologies will soon be turning westward to order the company’s latest inkjet offering – the Starjet 64 and Starjet 96 wide format solvent inkjet printer series.

Says Atul Gandhi: “At MEPL we have been traditionally known as leading manufacturers of cutting plottersand engravers for the sign market in India.In fact,MEPL was the first and is still the only domestic company to manufacture plotters for this market. However, over the past few years in the sign market we have seen a very distinct trend developing towards the greater uptake of wide format solvent inkjet printing. This adoption is dramatically changing the sign industry landscape and as more companies see the value of digital technology this trend is only set to continue at an increased pace.

“Digital inkjet technology offers speed, efficiency, high quality, flexibility and an excellent maintenance regime. All of these make it ideal for the demands of the modern sign industry, and it is for this reason we decided to develop a wide format inkjet printer. As the market leader, Xaar and its XJ128 printheads were always the logical choice as a technology partner. We initially designed the printer to meet the needs of the sign industry, however, as inkjet technology has progressed so did the applications it is suitable for. The result is the Starjet wide format printer series.”

Using Xaar’s piezoelectric drop-on-demand inkjet technology, a four-colour CMYK process and a maximum resolution of 740 DPI, the Starjet 64 incorporates four Xaar XJ128 printheads, a maximum print width of 64 inches and is capable of printing 200 sq. ft/hr in single pass mode. In addition, two Starjet 96 models, one with four XJ128 heads and one with eight, complete MEPL’s wide format printer range and offer a 96 inch-wide print capacity. All models come complete with a dedicated starjet RIP and are able to print on a wide range of media and substrates including reflective materials, PVC, backlit flex and clear vinyl.

Mr Gandhi says it is also critical to the long term belief in, and survival of, the Indian inkjet industry that the local market develops a strong inkjet offering and does not simply rely on imported product and the issues of consistent supply and service that are often associated with imported machinery. “Purchasing a wide format printer is a key investment for most businesses and they need to be sure of that ongoing support and this ultimately needs to be met at a local level. At MEPL we believe in a high quality offering in both manufacturing and customer support. MEPL has team of trained workforce to manufacture and service its equipment.”

Says Hugh Baker-Smith, Group Sales Director: “With the opening of our office in New Delhi, we are following a philosophy we have utlised in other markets, such as China with great success.  That is:  Being close to your customers, supporting them and ensuring the service and support doesn’t stop when they walk out the door with a product. Industrial printheads are not ‘plug and play’ products, and integrators and manufacturers need to be able to call on support immediately and in their own language and time zone. We can substantially reduce their time to market and help them to develop high-quality products in the process.“

And although the Starjet range is still to be officially launched in February 2005, MEPL has already sold fifteen units to existing customers. Continues Mr Gandhi: “We have received an excellent response from our existing customers who have purchased one of our Starjet printers. MEPL believes in continuously developing and inventing new products and new manufacturing techniques to support the sign industry and the Starjet with Xaar’s technology driving it is no exception.”

“The versatility and cost-efficiency of our inkjet solution means we have opened up a potential customer base that far exceeds the sign industry. In the future we will be targeting two markets, those in the traditional sign production markets and also the advertising, design and publishing sectors. Xaar’s printheads are one of the keys to MEPL developing market leading inkjet products and we are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Xaar,” concludes Mr Gandhi.

About Xaar
Xaar plc is a market-leading ink jet technology company.  It targets the world’s office, commercial and industrial printing markets. The office printing market is approached through Xaar’s licensees; the industrial printing market is targeted by XaarJet, the manufacturing arm of Xaar; and a combination of partners and key players work with Xaar to serve the commercial printing market.  Vivid Print Innovations, the applications division of Xaar, provides Xaar’s in-house specialist integration service.

For more information, please contact:

Alex Challinor, Xaar plc
T: +44 (0)1223 423663
achallinor@xaar.co.uk
www.xaar.co.uk

Laura French
T: +44 (0)1372 464470
lfrench@adcomms.co.uk