Armor-IIMAK news

Armor-IIMAK Brings AWR XL to LOUPE Americas 2026

Armor-IIMAK is at LOUPE Americas, September 15–17 in Rosemont, Illinois, with AWR XL, its thin-film wax ribbon. The company has also named a new CEO.

LOUPE Americas · Booth 537AWR XL3.35 µm film

LOUPE Americas 2026 runs September 15–17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, just outside Chicago, and Armor-IIMAK will be at Booth 537. The ribbon it is putting front and center is AWR XL, its wax ribbon built on an unusually thin PET film.

What makes AWR XL different

AWR XL is coated on a 3.35 µm PET film — the thinnest in the industry, according to Armor-IIMAK. A thinner film lets more ribbon fit on a roll, and these are Armor-IIMAK’s own figures for it:

• 40% more printer uptime, from spending less time changing rolls.
• 26% less plastic waste per roll, and roughly 830 g of CO2 saved compared with a standard wax ribbon.
• 100% solvent-free.
• Designed as “Plug & Play” for existing printers — Armor-IIMAK names Zebra, Toshiba and SATO.
• Compliance as Armor-IIMAK states it: REACH, RoHS, FDA and halogens.

AWR XL comes with Armor-IIMAK’s inkanto services: a lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects, a free cleaning wipe in every box, the CleanStart leader that cleans the printhead as the ribbon is installed, and a QR code on the box that opens the roll’s Certificate of Conformity.

Thin film is a direction rather than a one-off. In August, Armor-IIMAK said next-generation ribbons including APX 8, APR 1, ATX 1 FH and AXR 700 are moving toward 4-micron film, balancing durability against the material each roll uses.

A new CEO at Armor-IIMAK

On September 1, 2026, ARMOR GROUP named Christophe André chief executive officer of ARMOR-IIMAK. He takes over a company with a market share of nearly 40% and 1,500 people across 30 sites worldwide, which in July announced a new facility in Australia, its first in Oceania.

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