David Savastano, Contributing Editor05.27.25
Digital technologies have become more prevalent in many industries. The printing industry is a perfect example, as inkjet is now commonly used for manufacturing a wide range of products, from labels to billboards and much more.
It is interesting that the paint and coatings segment has not seen much in the way of inkjet application. Of course, inkjet printing a large space, such as a house or a new vehicle, would have considerable challenges. Still, the precise nature of inkjetting a coating onto a surface has significant advantages.
For Axalta Coating Systems, the possibilities of using inkjet for precise automotive work are becoming a reality with Axalta NextJet™, an innovative paint application process that enables state-of-the-art automotive paint formulations to be precisely applied using Xaar’s piezoelectric inkjet technology. The new technology has caught the eye of the industry; Axalta NextJet was recently named a 2025 Automotive News PACE Pilot Innovation to Watch.
“It is an honor to be recognized by the automotive industry, signaling the importance of capturing innovations earlier in the development cycle that have the most potential for long-term impact,” Dr. Robert Roop, chief technology officer, Axalta, said in receiving the award. “We’re proud to help our trusted OEM customers solve not only productivity challenges but also curate sustainable design.”
“Since we launched Axalta NextJet in 2023, our global team has demonstrated the power of collaboration in action, pairing our cutting-edge digital paint technology with inkjet and robotics manufacturing leaders,” added Hadi Awada, president Global Mobility Coatings, Axalta. “I’m excited to see how we continue to advance Axalta NextJet through our partnerships to drive greater productivity and sustainability for our customers.”
Kevin O’Connor, business director for Axalta Coating Systems, noted that Axalta has been developing coatings for digital paint applications for nearly 10 years, adding that NextJet is the product of partnerships between Axalta and other industry leaders, including Xaar and Durr Systems.
“NextJet is a collaborative co-innovation program combining Axalta’s 150+ years of paint formulation expertise with Xaar’s inkjet technology,” O’Connor said. “Axalta decided to establish this relationship with Xaar, given their experience transforming painting processes in multiple industries to inkjet application processes, and their reputation for printing highly viscous, pigmented materials.
“Axalta realized that to succeed in using inkjet for automotive paint applications, a formal co-innovation relationship needed to be established by having our formulation scientists working closely with Xaar scientists daily,” O’Connor added. “In January of 2025, Axalta announced its partnership with Dürr Systems AG, a leading mechanical and plant engineering firm to provide a digital paint solution, combining Axalta’s NextJet technology with Dürr’s robotics integration.”
As mentioned before, inkjet printing is not ideal for large spaces. O’Connor reported that Axalta’s current focus is the OEM automotive paint market for applications requiring two colors, including Tutone and Graphics applications.
“Tutone applications comprise roofs/pillars applied using a secondary color and large portions of the vehicle painted in a second color,” O’Connor added. “Graphics applications also require a second color but are generally smaller in area, ranging from a single racing strip, to painting car badges, to fully personalized designs or logos.”
O’Connor explained the advantages that inkjet printing brings to Tutone and Graphics applications.
“Compared to a conventional two-pass Tutone paint scheme requiring masking, NextJet reduces the incremental cost of the second color application by ~70%,” said O’Connor. “It allows for 100% elimination of masking material, 100% reduction in masking labor, and 100% elimination of opportunity cost of running the vehicle through the paint shop twice. It also leads to a 30% reduction in Scope 1 CO2 emission, as calculated via Axalta’s COATS modelling tool.”
As for Graphics/Stripes, it eliminates the use of foils.
“Compared to foils, inkjet eliminates the feel/profile by hiding the painted graphic under the clearcoat,” O’Connor observed. “Compared to foils, it provides a higher level of durability for mechanical and weather stress, and enables individualized custom designs. All that is needed is an .SVG file (scalable vector graphics) file to load in the software. It also provides up to 720 DPI detail in graphics.”
O’Connor said that the biggest challenge is taking an application process designed for inks and using it to deposit paints.
“Inks are generally much easier to jet being very low in viscosity at ~10cP and having a Newtonian rheology profile,” he noted. “Unfortunately, inks generally have very poor durability properties. Automotive paints, on the other hand, have much higher viscosities and highly shear-thinning rheology profiles, and both these properties make jetting very difficult.
“Axalta and Xaar have had to work together to modify both paint properties and jetting parameters to successfully jet paint that still meets automotive paint requirements,” O’Connor added. “Compared to traditional spray applications, both stripe overall and sag on vertical paint application can be a challenge. Both of these can be remedied using application adjustments and paint formulation modifications.”
O’Connor said that the feedback on NextJet from designers, manufacturing engineers and sustainability professionals alike has been excellent.
“Designers are eager for commercialization of this technology, given the current Tutone take rate is ~5% to 7%, but the actual demand exceeds 20%,” O’Connor reported. “Designers are also excited about the possibility of meeting the customization/personalization trend without having to use foils, and graphics applications are also appealing from an aesthetic perspective to replace car badges and create a smooth and seamless design on the vehicle.
“Manufacturing engineers are also eager as they are looking to minimize capacity constraints resulting from Tutone vehicles going twice through the paint shop; they want to eliminate opportunity costs,” O’Connor noted. “Sustainability professionals are interested in learning more about how NextJet helps reduce both greenhouse gas footprint and VOCs through nearly 100% transfer efficiency. We’re also seeing requests to support other applications within automotive and other industries that would benefit from the precise application of paint.”
O’Connor anticipates that NextJet will become an industry standard in the future.
“NextJet overspray free technology is simply a continuation in the trend of paint and application technology over the years, from low transfer efficiency lacquers years ago to striving for 100% transfer efficiency technology,” O’Connor concluded. “We expect these 100% transfer efficiency technologies to reduce the overall cost, carbon footprint, and footprint of automotive paint shops.”
It is interesting that the paint and coatings segment has not seen much in the way of inkjet application. Of course, inkjet printing a large space, such as a house or a new vehicle, would have considerable challenges. Still, the precise nature of inkjetting a coating onto a surface has significant advantages.
For Axalta Coating Systems, the possibilities of using inkjet for precise automotive work are becoming a reality with Axalta NextJet™, an innovative paint application process that enables state-of-the-art automotive paint formulations to be precisely applied using Xaar’s piezoelectric inkjet technology. The new technology has caught the eye of the industry; Axalta NextJet was recently named a 2025 Automotive News PACE Pilot Innovation to Watch.
“It is an honor to be recognized by the automotive industry, signaling the importance of capturing innovations earlier in the development cycle that have the most potential for long-term impact,” Dr. Robert Roop, chief technology officer, Axalta, said in receiving the award. “We’re proud to help our trusted OEM customers solve not only productivity challenges but also curate sustainable design.”
“Since we launched Axalta NextJet in 2023, our global team has demonstrated the power of collaboration in action, pairing our cutting-edge digital paint technology with inkjet and robotics manufacturing leaders,” added Hadi Awada, president Global Mobility Coatings, Axalta. “I’m excited to see how we continue to advance Axalta NextJet through our partnerships to drive greater productivity and sustainability for our customers.”
Kevin O’Connor, business director for Axalta Coating Systems, noted that Axalta has been developing coatings for digital paint applications for nearly 10 years, adding that NextJet is the product of partnerships between Axalta and other industry leaders, including Xaar and Durr Systems.
“NextJet is a collaborative co-innovation program combining Axalta’s 150+ years of paint formulation expertise with Xaar’s inkjet technology,” O’Connor said. “Axalta decided to establish this relationship with Xaar, given their experience transforming painting processes in multiple industries to inkjet application processes, and their reputation for printing highly viscous, pigmented materials.
“Axalta realized that to succeed in using inkjet for automotive paint applications, a formal co-innovation relationship needed to be established by having our formulation scientists working closely with Xaar scientists daily,” O’Connor added. “In January of 2025, Axalta announced its partnership with Dürr Systems AG, a leading mechanical and plant engineering firm to provide a digital paint solution, combining Axalta’s NextJet technology with Dürr’s robotics integration.”
As mentioned before, inkjet printing is not ideal for large spaces. O’Connor reported that Axalta’s current focus is the OEM automotive paint market for applications requiring two colors, including Tutone and Graphics applications.
“Tutone applications comprise roofs/pillars applied using a secondary color and large portions of the vehicle painted in a second color,” O’Connor added. “Graphics applications also require a second color but are generally smaller in area, ranging from a single racing strip, to painting car badges, to fully personalized designs or logos.”
O’Connor explained the advantages that inkjet printing brings to Tutone and Graphics applications.
“Compared to a conventional two-pass Tutone paint scheme requiring masking, NextJet reduces the incremental cost of the second color application by ~70%,” said O’Connor. “It allows for 100% elimination of masking material, 100% reduction in masking labor, and 100% elimination of opportunity cost of running the vehicle through the paint shop twice. It also leads to a 30% reduction in Scope 1 CO2 emission, as calculated via Axalta’s COATS modelling tool.”
As for Graphics/Stripes, it eliminates the use of foils.
“Compared to foils, inkjet eliminates the feel/profile by hiding the painted graphic under the clearcoat,” O’Connor observed. “Compared to foils, it provides a higher level of durability for mechanical and weather stress, and enables individualized custom designs. All that is needed is an .SVG file (scalable vector graphics) file to load in the software. It also provides up to 720 DPI detail in graphics.”
O’Connor said that the biggest challenge is taking an application process designed for inks and using it to deposit paints.
“Inks are generally much easier to jet being very low in viscosity at ~10cP and having a Newtonian rheology profile,” he noted. “Unfortunately, inks generally have very poor durability properties. Automotive paints, on the other hand, have much higher viscosities and highly shear-thinning rheology profiles, and both these properties make jetting very difficult.
“Axalta and Xaar have had to work together to modify both paint properties and jetting parameters to successfully jet paint that still meets automotive paint requirements,” O’Connor added. “Compared to traditional spray applications, both stripe overall and sag on vertical paint application can be a challenge. Both of these can be remedied using application adjustments and paint formulation modifications.”
O’Connor said that the feedback on NextJet from designers, manufacturing engineers and sustainability professionals alike has been excellent.
“Designers are eager for commercialization of this technology, given the current Tutone take rate is ~5% to 7%, but the actual demand exceeds 20%,” O’Connor reported. “Designers are also excited about the possibility of meeting the customization/personalization trend without having to use foils, and graphics applications are also appealing from an aesthetic perspective to replace car badges and create a smooth and seamless design on the vehicle.
“Manufacturing engineers are also eager as they are looking to minimize capacity constraints resulting from Tutone vehicles going twice through the paint shop; they want to eliminate opportunity costs,” O’Connor noted. “Sustainability professionals are interested in learning more about how NextJet helps reduce both greenhouse gas footprint and VOCs through nearly 100% transfer efficiency. We’re also seeing requests to support other applications within automotive and other industries that would benefit from the precise application of paint.”
O’Connor anticipates that NextJet will become an industry standard in the future.
“NextJet overspray free technology is simply a continuation in the trend of paint and application technology over the years, from low transfer efficiency lacquers years ago to striving for 100% transfer efficiency technology,” O’Connor concluded. “We expect these 100% transfer efficiency technologies to reduce the overall cost, carbon footprint, and footprint of automotive paint shops.”
