Water-Compatible Printhead From Flint Ink and Spectra

Ink World, March, 2001

Flint Ink Corporation and Spectra have unveiled the new Nova-Q, a compact jetting assembly for water-based inks that has the same high performance characteristics as the Nova 256/8. Four electrically independent piezoelectric quadrants, each with 64 addressable channels, are combined to provide a total of 256 jets, with water compatibility achieved through the use of new materials and an innovative manufacturing process.

The product has been tested to 25 billion actuations per channel equivalent to 500 liters of ink per printhead -- with no negative performance impact.

"Spectra's strategy is to support all commercially significant types of jetting fluids," explains Per Frost, vice president of marketing and sales for Spectra. "A water-compatible print-head has been high on our list of priorities and is very much in demand in many digital print markets. Our partnership with Flint Ink in this project has been very important and allowed us to develop a great product suitable for many applications."