Digital print innovator, LumeJet, is attending InPrint 2014 (8-10th April, Hannover Messe, Stand C10) to showcase its new high-speed, high-volume inkless Digital Print Head (DPH) technology. The initial iteration of the LumeJet DPH technology - the Lumejet S200 printer - has been designed for ultra-high quality short run lay-flat A4/A3 books. At Inprint Lumejet will unveil the LumeBar DPH linehead which is aimed at manufacturers of industrial packaging, security and printed electronics machines, where high speed, high volume and high accuracy are critical.

The LumeJet S200 printer features a dual print head which traverses photo-sensitive print substrate. The LumeBar, in contrast, is made up of multiple DPHs mounted together to create a static imaging head. LumeBars contain a number of separate “LumeChips”, each of which has many hundreds of micron-sized light emitting elements and associated driver electronics. LumeBars are custom-built with required output dot size, wavelength and power tuned to the specific application.

LumeBar technology, which is still 2 or 3 years away from commercial production, is an exciting new area of research and development at the forefront of photonics, and includes solid state micro LED, organic LED (OLED) and laser diode arrays. LumeJet’s research is currently centred on applications for inkless printing and direct-write lithography, both of which require higher output powers and higher speeds than for conventional digital printing.

LumeJet's DPH technology, with its pinpoint accuracy, minute dotsize, inkless direct-print process and faultless repeatability is a perfect match for high speed, high volume applications. Plugged into a static LumeBar configuration the DPH transmit light beyond the visible spectrum (UV & IR) to print directly at production speed onto any object that has a light-sensitive pre-coating.

“2014 will be a really exciting year for us,” says LumeJet’s Commercial Director, Miles Bentley. “There is significant interest in the LumeJet S200 printer, and we are currently working on the development of a high-speed LumeBar-enabled version of the technology in association with leading labelling technology manufacturers. The LumeBar is still two or three years from commercialisation, but offers exciting possibilities for the future.” The quality of LumeJet photonic print has been praised by Frank Romano, US print guru who said: "The real point is that this is the highest quality printing I have ever seen."