UK's Xaar and FFEI win with Nilpeter kit sale at Drupa

UK suppliers Xaar and FFEI have shown their strength in commercial inkjet with the "secret" South American sale of a Nilpeter Caslon label printer at Drupa.

It marks the exhibition's first sale of the Danish manufacturer's four-colour UV inkjet machine, which incorporates Xaar 1001 printheads and data-streaming technology from FFEI.

Nilpeter digital products manager Soren Ringbo said the South American customer had been so impressed with the quality of the narrow-web label and packaging machine that "they want to remain secret so they can take the market by storm when they start production later this year".

The Caslon reaches speeds of up to 50m per minute thanks to FFEI's flash drying technology while ink is delivered by an array of 24 Xaar heads.

Xaar chief executive Ian Dinwoodie called Drupa "a record show for Xaar".

"At least six new products are making their worldwide debut here with key industry suppliers. Inkjet is on the rise and more than ever inkjet is a mainstream technology that can be applied alongside traditional technologies or as a direct replacement for conventional print technologies," he added.