Australian digital press maker Rapid Labels has announced that US-based Memjet, the print engine provider for Rapid’s line of digital inkjet label printers, has terminated its OEM partner agreement with Australia’s Rapid Packaging Services. The agreement has three more years to run until 2017.

According to Bruce Mansell, founder of Rapid, there are no outstanding commercial liabilities between the two companies, and it’s unclear as to why Memjet would terminate its partner agreement.  “We have been paying in advance for print engines, heads and ink. We have not been given any legitimate reason why Memjet is cutting us off after years of pioneering work deploying their technology in the digital label printing sector.”

Speaking from Boise, ID, USA, Memjet spokesperson Kim Beswick confirmes that Memjet has terminated Rapid’s license to sell and service the technology. While acknowledging the dispute, she refuses to say what was the cause of the rupture, describing all dealing between the two companies as confidential. “We can confirm that Rapid Labels is no longer an authorized Memjet OEM, and the terms of the termination are confidential. For those with Rapid devices, Memjet is committed to making sure that they have a path to consumables through Rapid or the Memjet community. No one will be left stranded,” Beswick says. “Although we regret that Rapid Labels is no longer an authorized Memjet partner, Memjet has over 30 OEM partners worldwide. It is only natural that there is some ebb and flow in our business relationships.”

Rapid Packaging Services was the first company to exhibit a Memjet-powered label press, at Ipex 2010. It is the sole Australian OEM Memjet developer. Rapid had recently released the XL220, a fully integrated print-laminate-die-cut-matrix strip and rewind system using Memjet technology. The converting end of the XL220/330 can run with any web-based digital printing system.

Nick Mansell, son of the founders, says Rapid Label presses incorporating Memjet print engines were delivered through a network of resellers internationally.