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Product category: Form/co-ordinate, optical and vision instrumentation
News Release from: Nikon UK | Subject: Test and inspection
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial Team on 21 March 2001

Inca Digital chooses Nikon for ultimate
accuracy

Nikon's measuring microscope offers Inca Digital the high level of performance and future expandability required for an exacting industrial application.

INikon's measuring microscope offers Inca Digital the high level of performance and future expandability required for an exacting industrial application Inca Digital Printers Ltd was set up in May 2000 to make industrial and commercial inkjet printers using the emerging piezo inkjet technologies found in some home inkjet printers, though on a far larger scale

The company now employs 35 people and is expanding rapidly as its innovative technology gains greater acceptance from industry and commerce.

Inca's industrial inkjet printers are designed for use in a variety of industries, including packaging applications, the production of decorative materials, graphic arts, point of sale materials and other applications where the company specialises in providing complete solutions for digital printing onto a wide range of substrates.

The inks are cured using UV and are therefore stable and even suitable for outdoor applications such as posters.

Most of the company's printers are sold through distributors and OEMs, but the company also supplies tailor made units direct to end users, as well as providing key components to other printer manufacturers.

The printers use drop-on-demand inkjet technology with UV cure inks.

The quality and accuracy of such systems relies on the exact alignment and positioning of the inkjet heads in relation to the medium as well as the size of ink droplets and a multitude of technology and chemistry related variables.

And in a process where the final measurement is in microns, it is very important to be able to set up and test print units at their optimum output.

The majority of this important developmental testing is carried out using a Nikon Measuring Microscope equipped with a flexible wide stroke stage and variable magnification.

The unit is linked to a high-resolution monitor for convenient multi-user access to magnified images.

Fast focus and easy magnification changes help make the unit pleasant to use, even for extended time periods.

Jindra Vosahlo is the Director of New Product Development at Inca Digital and he explains the critical importance of having the right tools for the job, "we need to measure tolerances of +/- 2um and we require test and measurement equipment that will allow such critical accuracy to be repeated continually.

I am delighted with the Nikon measuring microscope, particularly as it is equipped with the latest Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera, enabling me to email colleagues abroad with any test shots or particular set up problems we may be encountering.

The Nikon 60MM Microscope allows me to take measurements directly from any sample in the X, Y, and Z-axes with extreme accuracy - the ñ2æ is relatively easy for a machine with the capacity to measure in 10ths of a micron! This capacity to check and measure constantly at such levels of accuracy is critical when it comes to aligning print heads and achieving the pinpoint set up we need." Jindra revealed, "our business is not just about printing posters or POS display materials.

We specialise in drop on demand deposition technology, which includes work into the development of radically new and exciting LEP displays (Light Emitting Polymers), where ultra accurate deposition of polymer materials is made via inkjet printing technology.

The resulting flat screen display system can be wall hung or mounted in countless electronic devices.

This innovative colour display is of a colour quality equal to current liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and very similar to displays found in many portable computer products.

It is a future technology, which will impact on everything we own, from mobile phones to laptop computers and intelligent home appliances.

The Nikon measuring microscope is an essential tool for adjusting and lining up inkjet print heads and ensuring optimum droplet deposition.

LEP uses ink-jet printing to deposit individual pixels made up of the red, green and blue LEP materials directly onto the substrate.

The potential display size is limited only by the size of the available wafer.

The better the accuracy at the manufacturing stage the better the resolution of the finished product.

Jindra went on to say, "I cannot imagine achieving these levels of quality and accuracy without the Nikon unit.

It is totally adaptable to our needs and can be further expanded to accommodate future requirements such as polarised light and specialist filtering for new applications. Request a free brochure from Nikon UK ...

I am delighted with our investment.".

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