The deal means that Xaar will manufacture Quantica’s NovoJet printhead at its Huntingdon facility. Up until now, Quantica had been making the heads itself but on a prototype basis.

Quantica’s NovoJet 3D printing systems are designed to enable ultra-high viscosity printing for 2D and 3D printing applications. The company has partnered with Xaar to take advantage of its extensive printhead manufacturing expertise.

The initial NovoJet printheads will be shipping in Quantica’s first 3D printers from the end of 2023.

The partnership also gives Xaar access to Quantica’s intellectual property for jetting viscous materials up to 400cP (cP is the unit of viscosity). By comparison, Xaar’s existing heads and new ImagineX range can jet up to 100cP which is already very high for graphic arts applications.

Three months ago, Xaar had announced its results. An official statement said, "Sales were up at Xaar, and customers have embraced its Aquinox printhead with two new machines already in development – ahead of the group’s expectations."

The first machines being developed will be for textiles and direct-to-garment (DTG) printing using pigmented ink. Aquinox can also handle reactive dye inks.

Corrugated is another key target market for the head.

Despite supply chain challenges and sales in Asia falling by nearly a third because of the lockdowns in China, Xaar posted overall sales on continuing operations up 23% to USD 75-m, while gross profit jumped by 42% to USD 29-m.

Xaar said that recent acquisitions FFEI and Megnajet had performed ahead of expectations.

Megnajet’s Kettering facility is being doubled in size to support growth in its fluid management offering.

Xaar has also invested USD1.5m in reorganising its Huntingdon manufacturing facility to improve energy efficiency and manufacturing processes. This included reducing the number of energy-intensive clean rooms from four to two.