Engineered Printing Solutions (EPS) has launched its new XD-AQ high-viscosity water-based inkjet system, enabling packaging manufacturers, converters and distributors to achieve high-quality, vibrant print directly on fibre-based packaging.
The XD-AQ uses high-viscosity water-based ink technology to deliver analog print densities, quality and production speed for printing directly onto fibre-based, cartonboard and corrugated packaging.
Designed specifically for porous substrates, the single-pass XD-AQ uses eight Xaar Aquinox printheads to jet high-quality, high-impact CMYK graphics directly onto cartons, corrugated board, molded-fibre products, cup blanks, bags and thick board. Crucially, it can print on packaging after it has been die-cut, folded, glued or formed.
The XD-AQ operates at print-station speeds of up to 164 ft per min. With a 5.4″ print swath and 10″ of vertical clearance it is able to accommodate a wide variety of flat-faced packaging formats. Jobs are printed directly from a digital file. Manufacturers can therefore change artwork quickly for shorter runs, versioned designs, regional variations and customer-specific packaging, while holding undecorated stock and adding the final design only when it is needed.
