Timeline

​​Xaar was formed in Cambridge, UK to acquire, develop and commercially exploit a new digital inkjet printing technology arising out of work done by Cambridge Consultants Ltd. Xaar’s business concentrated on licensing four granted patents and know-how to printer manufacturers, primarily for use in office applications.

Xaar completed a successful listing on the London Stock Exchange. The flotation raised a total of £15 million after expenses. Of this, £10 million represented new capital for the Company to accelerate development of the Group.

Xaar acquired MIT, an existing licensee. MIT was integrated into Xaar and became Xaar’s dedicated manufacturing facility at Järfälla, Sweden. Xaar’s product portfolio has expanded considerably since this acquisition.

Xaar introduced its first full production printhead incorporating its unique, patented greyscale technology. The Xaar 318 is manufactured in Japan by Xaar licensee Toshiba TEC and offers photographic-quality printing with no compromise in speed.

Xaar wins The Queens Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. 

Further greyscale developments led to the launch of the Xaar 760, delivering a choice of binary or greyscale drop sizes to provide the ultimate in flexibility, reliability and speed.

Xaar invested £6 million in a new manufacturing plant in Huntingdon, UK.

Xaar launched the revolutionary Xaar 1001 printhead with
TF Technology delivering a significant step forward in inkjet reliability. Xaar is confirmed as a market-leader in the innovation of digital inkjet printing.

The Xaar Proton was launched to deliver outstanding print quality, superior throughput and exceptional value for a range of applications, including wide-format graphics and coding & marking.

£14 million was raised, after expenses, through placing an open offer to fund the £22 million capacity expansion at the Huntingdon facility to meet growing demand for the Xaar 1001 in the ceramics market.

Xaar completes a second consecutive year above 25% sales growth through the adoption of the Xaar 1001 by the ceramics and label printing sectors.

Xaar announced the launch of the Xaar 1001 GS12. Xaar records a third consecutive year of revenue growth in excess of 25%, and posts a 74% increase in annual profits.  The capacity expansion programme at Huntingdon successfully completes ahead of schedule and below budget​.

Ceramics conversion accelerates, driven by adoption of the technology in China.  Further capital investment is undertaken to increase capacity by a further 75% by mid-2014 versus the status at the end of 2012.

The Xaar 1002 replaced the Xaar 1001, delivering performance and print quality enhancements. Also launched were the small drop Xaar 1002 AMp, and the Xaar 1002 GS40, which produces intense colours and special effects for ceramic tile decoration.​​

This year marks 25 years at the forefront of global inkjet technology for Xaar, the world-leader in industrial inkjet printheads.

​​Xaar launches the Print Bar System which adds single-pass inkjet capability to analogue web and sheet fed presses.

The acquisition, which completed 1st July 2016 is the first as part of the Company's strategic vision to achieve £220m of annual sales by 2020.

​Xaar launches the two colour 2001+ which offers unrivalled production flexibility, market-leading print quality and industrial reliability.

Xaar announces the launch of the first printers using the Xaar 1201 in China.

Xaar opens the its Xaar 3D centres in Nottingham and Copenhagen and celebrates with a launch event.

Jetting 3D fluids with high viscosities (at least 55cP), valuable for 3D printing, is possible with the award-winning High Laydown (HL) Technology

In development for 7 years and with over £31m invested its research and development, the Xaar 5601 incorporates a number of innovative technologies. Using Xaar's new Thin Film Piezo Silicon MEMS technology, the Xaar 5601 is very high resolution with over 5600 nozzles, capable of jetting up to 8 litres of fluid per hour.

John Mills joined Xaar as CEO in 2019 following 5 years as CEO at Inca Digital. John started his career at Domino Printing Sciences plc as Development Scientist following a Ph.D in Physics, progressing through a number of technical roles to Director of Development, a role he held for over 4 years. Other roles since leaving Domino Printing included CEO at DataLase Ltd, COO at Plastic Logic Ltd.

Designed to deliver exceptional 720 dpi print resolution quality and performance across a range of applications including ceramics, glass, packaging and label applications, the new Xaar 2002 has been developed specifically to provide fast and easy integration and is ready to use straight out of the box.

Innovation and collaboration with its global partners are at the heart of Xaar's new corporate identity. This, combined with a focus on sectors where Xaar bulk printhead technology has a competitive advantage, provides a clear product roadmap that for existing and new markets.

The Xaar Nitrox is launched to provide user with greater print speeds and uniformity to deliver unparalleled performance across a wide variety of print applications.

Xaar officially opened its new global headquarters in Cambridgeshire with a ceremony presided over by Chairman Andrew Herbert, CEO John Mills, CFO Ian Tichias and General Manager of the printhead business unit Graham Tweedale, alongside members of the team.

Xaar has completed the acquisition of print systems and printbar specialist FFEI Limited. The deal will accelerate the company’s existing growth strategy and will enable Xaar to capture additional opportunities in vertically integrated solutions.

Powered by the company’s ImagineX platform and based on the previously released Xaar 128 device, the new Xaar Irix is designed to be easy-to-use and lightweight with a compact footprint.

Xaar has completed the acquisition of Megnajet, one of the market leaders in the design and manufacture of industrial ink management and supply systems for digital inkjet.

The Aquinox is the latest development from Xaar’s ImagineX platform, and its revolutionary aQ Power Technology provides a radically new approach to how water-based fluids are jetted reliably, delivering a truly transformational industrial printhead.

Xaar has launched the Versatex Printbar, pitched at label and flexible packaging producers. The technology allows users to digitally print the highest opacity whites and colours and add a wide range of features to their existing presses.