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Direct-to-Shape

Benefits of digital inkjet

  • Mass customisation​: digital printing allows cost effective production fro​m a single container to high volumes. As a result, brands have the freedom to localise, personalise and customise their products to drive highly-effective promotional campaigns. The process allows brands to conduct new product trials cost-effectively and to tailor production to meet consumer demand for greater choice.​​
  • Efficient production​: production efficiencies include minimal job set-up time and late stage differentiation which enables faster turnaround and shorter lead times. On-​the-fly changeover between different products with no minimum order requirement means production lines can handle any range of run lengths, providing ultimate production flexibility​. DTS can also integrate coding and marking — until now a separate process step —​ with the decoration process, printing variable data such as barcodes and “best before” dates directly onto the container.​
  • Environmental benefits​: as well as removing the need to print and apply labels, DTS avoids waste from overruns, misapplication or changing label designs; in addition, the non-contact nature of the process also means less expensive thinner-wall PET can be used. By printing exact quantities of containers with precise DTS container decoration and information, the volume of labels, label liners and adhesives are significantly reduced and prevented from entering landfill sites and recycling streams​

Digital inkjet for direct-to-shape printing

Direct-to-shape (DTS) inkjet printing is the highly efficient process of printing full colour images and text directly onto cans, bottles, sleeves and other shaped containers for beverage, personal care and home care products, amongst others.

The ability to print directly onto containers and change designs on-the-fly is a powerful tool. It gives brands the ability to meet consumers' demands for greater choice and allows them to customise product design and messaging and implement creative marketing campaigns.

DTS printing enables brands to communicate with consumers through the product packaging in new ways to increase brand loyalty and engagement and drive new revenue streams.

Xaar's printheads allow high quality, high-volume single-pass inkjet printing directly onto smooth and shaped containers with exceptional reliability.

  • Bottles
  • Cans
  • Containers
  • Cylindrical shapes or curved surfaces

Why Xaar Technology?

Xaar is the world’s leading independent manufacturer of piezo-based drop-on-demand inkjet technologies, and our printheads are trusted in industrial markets around the globe – where they are proven to work in the most challenging manufacturing environments, with minimal downtime and maintenance requirements.

Xaar offers:

  • An extensive printhead portfolio, ensuring a suitable fit for a wide range of applications
  • Easy to integrate system components, including ink supply systems and drive electronics, reducing the time-to-market for OEMs
  • An open business model - meaning less restriction on ink choice, and moving away from the barriers to volume and competiveness associated with closed supply chains.

Inkjet is an enabling technology with its ability to integrate with a range of fluids and processes. Whilst Xaar is constantly exploring and offering its expertise across this range of applications to help drive the market forward, two key processes have established themselves as front-runners in inkjet 3D printing which are Material jetting and Binder jetting.

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