Xaar 1003 printhead upgrade increases tile manufacturing productivity

An upgrade to Xaar’s latest 1003 printheads, an integral part of the Evoseven digital printer installed by Projecta Engineering, has increased the print quality and output at leading tile manufacturer Parefeuille Provence.

Founded in 1963 in Fournes near Avignon, France, Parefeuille Provence produces a wide range of tiles for interior and exterior use. The company has a proud history of technological innovations, and so when deciding to update one of its three production lines it considered the latest technology and the advantages offered by digital inkjet technology.

In early 2016, Projecta Engineering installed an Evoseven digital printer equipped with five print bars populated with Xaar 1003 GS12C printheads at Parefeuille Provence.Previously the printer had been used with the Xaar 1002C printheads in another group factory in Italy, and was upgraded by Projecta to the new Xaar 1003C printheads to deliver improved performance and print quality. Parefeuille Provence uses the printer to create high-quality granite and concrete tile designs using five colours – blue, beige, brown, black and white – to provide maximum impact across its tile range.

As the first company in the Group to use the new Xaar 1003C printhead, production manager Laurent Jacquemin has been able to see the full advantages from the upgrade to the new printhead. “The big evolution we see with the Xaar 1003C is the significant reduction in maintenance and production downtime,” he comments. “We have seen a three times improvement in the cleaning cycle compared with the Xaar 1002C printhead, and when we do stop for maintenance, the cleaning process is fully automatic and only takes one minute. All of this results in significantly more production uptime and consequential efficiencies and savings.”

Projecta Engineering reported that upgrading to the Xaar 1003C printheads was a very quick process. “The integration of the new printhead was extremely easy as the printheads are the same size as the Xaar 1002C and fully backward compatible,” commented Projecta engineer, Francesco Casoni. “We are very pleased with this installation and are delighted that Parefeuille Provence has seen an increase in their production output.”

Parefeuille Provence, along with the other group factories, has developed an excellent working relationship with Projecta. “Our customers were asking for a higher print quality, which we can now achieve with the Ecoseven and Xaar 1003C printheads,” says Francesco. “The Projecta engineers supported us during this project and helped us to fine-tune the printer for optimal productivity,” agrees Laurent.

“When we compare the output of the line using the Xaar 1003C with other factories, the Xaar 1003C gives us better print quality, with more consistent colours and more accurate drop placement. Also, the 12 kHz waveforms allow 360 x 360 dpi resolution at the high line speed of 40 m/min that we need. Due to the success of this initial installation, we have decided to install a second digital printer this year to upgrade one of the remaining non-digital lines.”