Pennsylvania, United States — Axalta has announced a new venture with an inkjet manufacturer, in which the coatings company plans to provide a “next generation sustainable digital paint technology for the transportation industry.” More specifically, this planned technology could contribute up to a 30 percent reduction in CO2 emissions for two-toned vehicle manufacturers, according to Axalta.
According to Axalta, digital paint, also referred to as overspray-free application, is an advanced paint application that allows for precise paint placement. Through Axalta and Xaar’s patented technology, Axalta NextJet™ enables design flexibility for two-tone vehicles and allows customers to create patterns, details, and images in a sustainable way. The award-winning digital paint coating technology also eliminates masking and reduces labor, energy and waste while increasing productivity and efficiency rates, wrote Axalta in an Aug. 22 press release.
Axalta NextJet is believed to be the first partnership between an inkjet print manufacturer and a coatings company.
“We are excited to announce our partnership with Xaar and introduce Axalta NextJet™ to the market,” said Hadi Awada, senior vice president of mobility for Axalta. “Our latest innovation is powered by Xaar’s leading inkjet technology and paired with our proprietary paint designed for jetting. This unique market offering builds on Axalta’s investments in digital paint research and development.”
“Axalta was quick to recognize the unique advantages of Xaar’s technology for their innovation, making use of our printhead’s ability to handle fluids with viscosities way beyond what has traditionally been possible with inkjet,” added Graham Tweedale, Chief Operating Officer of Xaar. “Together we don’t just deliver the required productivity, we significantly improve on it.”
The combined technology solution is being tested with customers and could be in production as early as 2024.
