Thermal Inkjet Printing Solutions
THERMAL INKJET
PRINTING SOLUTIONS
Time-tested expertise since 1990
Building on more than 30 years of extensive technological expertise in the Thermal Inkjet field of Olivetti’s Inkjet division, SICPA stepped in 2014 and since then carried on the cutting-edge tradition by further developing end-to-end design capabilities for TIJ-based colour and monochrome printing systems. The TIJ printheads manufacturing facility is based in Italy where decades of quality printing systems design continue.
Bringing experience in both research and innovation, SICPA's inkjet team is uniquely specialised in microfluidic design, inks formulation for Thermal InkJet (TIJ) technologies, material science and silicon processes, mechanical and electronic design and real-time embedded firmware.
Thanks to extensive investments in R&D, a range of TIJ technology compatible ink formulations, advanced Thermal Inkjet printheads and print engines are offered for maximal digital printing performance.
A glance through the years: from 1990 to present
- Over 70 million print heads and 60 million refills have been factory-produced in Arnad, a town located in the Aosta Valley region of northwestern Italy and have been delivered to world-renowned key players and service providers of the digital printing industry
- Several millions of Facsimiles, Desktop Printers and Multi-Functional Printer (MFP) products have been produced for major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
- Essential JV have been pursued for co-designing new technologies
- Hundreds of international patents have been granted
- TIJ-based products have been manufactured for various markets including consumer, gaming and lottery, bio-medical, food printing and more
Cutting-edge technologies suitable for various markets
Today, SICPA’s Thermal Inkjet technologies are offered in private label through an OEM business model to partners located in Europe, Asia and North America for various markets, notably:
- Franking and addressing machines
- ID documents personalisation
- Packaging coding and marking
- Serialisation in the pharma industry
- Desktop 3D printing
Digital printing systems meeting your specific needs
From an array of specialised inks to highly performing printheads and print engines, SICPA today extends its technology portfolio to digital printing systems that are currently being used by key players in this sector.
With our end-to-end design capabilities for TIJ based printing systems, you can:
- Gain unparalleled high printing quality
- Reach grade A recognition by state-of-the-art vision systems
- Achieve quick set-up time for easy decommissioning and ink off load
- Attain highly efficient performance with affordable systems
- Safeguard the OEM business of consumables thanks to the printheads embedded security features
Print heads
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1-inch monochrome and 0.64-inch tri-chromic
Compatible with aqueous, solvent and UV curable inks, both our 1-inch monochrome and 0.64 tri-chromic printhead have two drop sizes for optimal print quality and speed. Suitable for printing on a broad range of porous and non-porous substrates, the embedded CMOS technology allows to operate with no need of an add-on chip on the cartridge.
On porous substrates, the 1-inch printhead allows for high resolution printing from small to large serialised codes up to 44x44 modules, reaching grade A recognition by state-of-the-art vision systems. The printhead is available in disposable and bulk versions.
Multi-chip module with a 4-inch print swath and recirculating ink system
A multi-chip module with a 4-inch print swath and recirculating ink system allows to build modular and cost-effective print bars from 320mm to 520mm print width. This page-wide print bar based on Thermal Inkjet technology provides the following advantages:
- Quick set-up time and easy bar swap, decommissioning and ink off load
- Semi-automatic alignment of the inter-printing bars and with respect to the printed media
- Redundancy with 2 nozzles per print line
- Cost-efficient system
One-Time Programming memory
The printhead’s One-Time Programming memory allows the implementation of important security features ultimately protecting the consumables business of our OEM Partners:
- Authentication and encryption
- Inks monitoring and refill prevention
- Regionalisation, manufacturing and use data
Commercial inks
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Black inks
Fast drying with good coverage properties, SICPA’s aqueous black inks, specifically developed for barcodes printing, present outstanding sharpness and water-fastness.
In the solvent and aqueous UV curable formulations, black inks allow to print on an extensive substrates’ latitude such as PC, PVC, PP, PE, PET, PETG, ABS, PU, PA, PLA, and PMMA, with superior ink properties.
Colour solvent inks
SICPA’s solvent CMY colour solvent inks offer exceptional adhesion and print quality on PVC, polycarbonate and ABS. These highly reliable inks provide unparalleled abrasion and smudge resistance. CMY colour inks are also offered in aqueous formulations for printing on porous substrates and with spot colours for postal applications.
Aqueous UV-curable inks
To enhance the sustainability of our inks, SICPA developed aqueous UV-curable inks for our TIJ printheads using energies and wavelengths compatible with UV-LED sources. Our UV-curable lamps enable the adoption of such solutions even in cost-sensitive markets, thus lowering the entry barrier to this technology.
Print engines
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SICPA’s TIJ shuttling heads print bars are a complete printing mechanism consisting of a mobile carriage supporting the print-head, a motor, a linear ruler and a motorised service station. Equipped with a powerful electronic card driving everything, this print engine is fully capable of handling both the print-head and the data link.
Available in single or double head version, it is suitable for A5 and CR80 (credit card) formats.
High performing end-user opportunities
The SICPA Industrial Printer (SIPX3) is a coding and marking printing system catering to the specific needs of various production lines, including the most demanding industrial environments such as pharmaceutical and food packaging. Its reliable system meets the now more stringent needs of serialisation due to new regulations of the increased data required in the DMX and GTIN description for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Easy-to-use and interoperable, the SIPX3 can manage up to three printing modules with SICPA’s 1-inch monochrome printhead while receiving serialisation data from any track and trace software. With 600 native dpi, A and B grade print quality is guaranteed. In addition, thanks to SIPX3’s wider inks’ latitude, the system offers more printing flexibility onto various packaging substrates.
Adaptable business model choices and services
Today, SICPA’s Thermal Inkjet technologies are offered in private label through an OEM business model to Partners located in Europe, Asia, and North America in various markets.
Our personalised approach is based on one of three different models according to our OEM Customer needs and internal competencies.
Just the TIJ Printhead
- All HW/FW developed by the customer based on both printhead specification and printhead HW reference design
TIJ Printhead plus HW Interface or provision of sub-assembly components
- The consolidated printhead Driver PCBA is already available
Complete Desktop Printer HW/FW/SW Platform
- Powerful and scalable to fit all the customer needs
- Based on Linux OS in order to easily implement any new customer’s application
- Highly cost effective and compact form factor (PCB core area: 5 cm x 5 cm)
Depending on the collaboration model adopted, SICPA provides our OEM partners with additional services that may include:
- Product design
- Product development and manufacturing
- Testing
- Inks formulation
- Printheads customisation
- Certification
Why work with SICPA?
SICPA’s time-tested expertise with Inkjet technologies has proven itself in various markets, even in the most challenging of environments. The security features embedded in our technologies allow our OEM Partners to protect their revenues and build cost-effective hardware systems
Its wide technology and inks portfolio make flexible business model options suitable to our partners’ specific needs. From industrial to specialty printing, we cater to all printing markets, providing cost-efficient systems without compromising quality and performance.
Looking for more information?
Please contact:
Roberta Sirio
B2B Sales Director, SICPA SA
Roberta.Sirio@sicpa.com