A quieter week for big hardware launches, but a busy one for the things that actually land on a shop floor: a desktop DTF unit that swallows the whole workflow, a Tasmanian label house finally getting white ink, a UV ink cleared for indoor public spaces, swappable arc-to-LED curing cassettes, and leadership and channel changes at two companies that sell most print shops their ink and their curing gear. Below is what moved between August 17 and August 23, 2026 — and, as always, what each item means for the head in your machine.
Textile & Garment · August 21
XtraMaker puts a whole DTF line on a desktop with the M1 and M1 Pro
XtraMaker introduced its M1 Series, a five-in-one desktop DTF unit that folds printing, powder shaking, powder recycling, curing and fume purification into a single compact machine. Two models were announced: the M1 in A4 format and the M1 Pro in A3+ wide format, both quoted at up to 1440 × 1440 dpi with G7 color certification, an automatic white-ink circulation system, and H13 HEPA plus activated-carbon air filtration. The company is taking pre-orders through Kickstarter and has not disclosed pricing. It is aimed squarely at independent apparel creators, home studios and small-batch custom work rather than production floors.
PRINTHEAD ANGLE: The release names a white-ink circulation system but never names the printhead. On DTF that is the single most important spec to pin down before you buy, because white pigment is what kills heads — it settles, it clogs, and it dictates your entire maintenance rhythm. Ask which head is inside, whether replacements are sold separately, and what a spare costs; a machine you cannot re-head is a machine with an expiry date.
The Epson I3200-A1 water-based head is the workhorse behind a large share of desktop and entry-level DTF machines.
Labels & Packaging · August 19
Mercury Walch installs a Screen Truepress L350UV SAI-S — and finally gets white ink
Tasmanian commercial printer Mercury Walch has installed a Screen Truepress L350UV SAI-S digital label press at its Moonah facility in Hobart, supplied by Jet Technologies, with the install completed in June 2026. The headline number is throughput: label production moves from roughly 9 m/min to 60 m/min. Just as significant is capability — the outgoing press had no white ink, which capped the kind of work the company could quote on, and the SAI-S adds it.
PRINTHEAD ANGLE: Going from 9 to 60 m/min is a six-fold increase in firing cycles per shift, and adding a white channel adds the most abrasive, most settling-prone ink in the building. Both changes push wear from "annual" to "scheduled." If you are stepping up press speed or adding white, re-baseline your nozzle checks and your recirculation and flush routines on the new duty cycle rather than carrying the old maintenance interval across.
Ricoh GEN5 (MH5420) UV/solvent — the class of recirculating head that made UV label and wide-format presses practical.
Inks · August 21
NUtec's Quartz Q50-HYB UV ink picks up GREENGUARD Gold certification
NUtec Digital Ink announced that its Quartz Q50-HYB UV-curable hybrid ink has earned GREENGUARD Gold Certification for low VOC emissions — the standard that clears printed graphics for use in schools, healthcare facilities and other indoor public buildings. NUtec describes the ink as adhering across both rigid and flexible substrates with what it calls reliable jetting. The company did not publish a printhead compatibility list, viscosity figures or cure-energy data with the announcement.
PRINTHEAD ANGLE: A low-emission certification tells you where the finished graphic can hang; it tells you nothing about whether the ink suits your head. Hybrid UV chemistries sit between rigid and flexible formulations and their viscosity curve is what your piezo actuator has to live with. Before switching, get the datasheet — viscosity at jetting temperature, recommended head temperature, and a compatibility list — and confirm your ink lines, dampers and O-rings are rated for it too.
Industrial UV · August 20
UV Pro brings swappable arc/LED curing cassettes to LOUPE Americas
Italian curing specialist UV Pro will show three industrial UV curing lines at LOUPE Americas 2026 in Chicago, September 15–17, on Booth 136. The most interesting of the three is a hybrid curing system built around modular cassettes that swap between traditional arc lamps and LED arrays, letting a converter migrate to LED without replacing the whole curing station. Alongside it the company is showing MaxLED, an air-cooled LED unit pitched on lower energy draw, low heat and no chiller requirement, and a water-cooled LED range for stable operating temperature and longer LED life. No wattages or model numbers were published.
PRINTHEAD ANGLE: Curing changes are printhead changes. Arc lamps throw far more radiant heat back at the carriage than LED does, and head temperature is one of the few variables that shifts drop volume without anyone touching the file. If you retrofit LED, expect your jetting temperature and ink viscosity to land in a different place — re-profile rather than assuming the old settings carry over, and watch for partial cure ghosting on the nozzle plate while you dial it in.
Business · August 21
Nazdar names Edward Baiden president and CEO
Nazdar, the Shawnee, Kansas ink manufacturer and distributor, has named Edward Baiden president and chief executive officer effective September 8, 2026. He succeeds Richard Bowles, who is retiring after more than 23 years leading the company and will work alongside Baiden through the transition. Baiden joins from W. R. Grace, where he was senior vice president of strategy, planning and transformation, and previously led PPG's global Traffic Solutions business, with earlier roles at DuPont and GE.
PRINTHEAD ANGLE: Ink supply is a printhead question by another name. Nazdar sits in the channel for a very large share of the screen, wide-format and industrial ink that shops in North America run, and leadership transitions at ink houses are historically when formulation roadmaps and product rationalisations get revisited. If you run an aftermarket or third-party ink in a head you cannot easily replace, this is a good moment to confirm your specific SKU is staying in the line.
Distribution · August 18–19
Channel moves: HP Indigo expands in Eastern India, GEW picks up West Africa
Two distribution appointments landed midweek. Redington appointed Graphic Enterprises, operating from Kolkata, as an authorised sales partner for HP Indigo sheetfed digital printing solutions across West Bengal and the Northeastern states of India, targeting high-value short-run and personalised commercial work. Separately, UK curing systems maker GEW appointed Exact Solutions as its distributor for sheetfed and label-and-narrow-web LED and UV curing equipment across Nigeria and Ghana — a market where Exact Solutions already represents Koenig & Bauer, Screen, Kolbus and Meccanotecnica.
PRINTHEAD ANGLE: New territory partners mean new machines going into regions where the local parts pipeline is still being built. The gap that bites first is never the press — it is a consumable head, a damper set or a capping station that has to ship internationally while the machine sits idle. If you are buying into a newly opened channel, agree the spare-parts stocking plan and the lead time on a replacement head in writing, before the first job is on the calendar.
Whatever equipment you run — or are thinking about running next — the printhead is the heart of it. If you ever need a replacement head or a hard-to-find component, browse our full range of printheads and printer spare parts and accessories — our team is always happy to help you find the right fit for your machine.
Sources: WhatTheyThink (August 18–21, 2026) and Labels & Labeling (August 19–20, 2026).
