INKJET technology specialist Xaar has revealed it is providing label and flexible packaging producers with an ‘unmatched’ ability to laydown varnish using its new Creativity print mode, maximising design and embellishment innovation for users of its Versatex Printbar.
Responding to customer feedback and growing demand for using creative effects and embellishments in the production of premium labels, the Versatex Printbar leverages the architecture of two print banks, each equipped with six Xaar Nitrox printheads, to achieve up to three different laydown effects in a single pass and with one varnish.
Previously, the Versatex Printbar offered three different printing modes which could only be independently selected, meaning it was not possible to jet varying varnish levels concurrently in one pass.
Now, thanks to the new Creativity print mode and Xaar’s High Laydown Technology, customers can print between 15 to 100µm laydown at the same time. High build gloss, standard or spot varnish, and matte textures are all available to deliver the tactile effects increasingly seen on premium labels in wine and spirits, cosmetics, perfumes and other high-end items.
The ability to jet three varnish effects in one also eliminates the need for multiple passes of the substrate through the press, delivering greater efficiencies while also cutting energy use and costs.
Graham Tweedale, COO at Xaar, said, “The Xaar Versatex is proving increasingly popular for those label and packaging producers looking to create a real difference in their products. Now with its ability to add three different varnish effects in one pass the Versatex Printbar is enhancing aesthetics, aiding brand differentiation and even serving as part of an anti-counterfeiting strategy, through the innovative and sustainable use of inkjet technology.”
