What goes around, comes around: Why Xaar’s TF Technology ink recirculation is still the best

With the launch of the Xaar 1001 printhead in 2007, featuring TF Technology (ink recirculation), it was possible for the first time to reliably jet highly-pigmented, viscous inks, opening up exciting new applications – ceramic tile printing, for example – to digital inkjet print.

Prospective purchasers of industrial inkjet solutions, from OEMs to end users, are faced with a variety of different approaches to recirculation. Whilst variety and competition are welcome, they make choosing the right printhead more difficult, because each design has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

This white paper makes arriving at the right choice easier. Divided into three parts, we cover why ink recirculation is necessary, how different ink recirculation designs yield different results and finally, we explore the results of a number of controlled experiments that demonstrate how the key characteristics of recirculation – the route and rate of the ink flow through the system – can determine more than how well the printhead handles viscous fluids including those with a high percentage particle loading.