Cambridge, UK-based industrial inkjet printhead manufacturer Xaar announces a strategic partnership with Tokyo-based Ricoh, a manufacturer of commercial inkjet printheads. The agreement is designed to maximize the benefits from each company's expertise in Thin Film piezo printhead development.

The companies say the collaboration will allow Xaar and Ricoh to deliver superior technology and a broader range of printheads, providing substantial benefits to customers of both companies.

Xaar's bulk piezo inkjet technology has been making inroads with a large number of industrial printing systems in a wide variety of applications around the world. Its collaboration with Ricoh relates to new technology and products developed for a number of its new Thin Film piezo printheads. The first product which has benefited from this partnership is the Xaar 1201 GS2p5.