Various Inkjet Printer Technologies

There are a number of companies producing inkjet printers. These printers deliver very good results whether it is a text document or an image to be printed. The inkjet printers are based on non- contact printing technology. Thus such printers are able to print on both even and raised surfaces. There are two main types of technologies that are followed by the printer manufacturing firms. These are:

• Continuous printing 

• Drop on demand printing

The continuous inkjet printing technology is the most common technology used in inkjet printers. It uses a continuous stream of ink droplets for printing. The process involves building up of a high pressure pumping mechanism to fetch the ink from the ink reservoir. This produces a continuous stream of ink which is directed through a very thin nozzle onto the paper to be printed. The drop on demand inkjet printing is further divided into two parts which are the thermal bubble and the piezo- electric technology. The thermal bubble inkjet printing consists of a special kind of drop on demand ink cartridges. These cartridges contain a number of chambers filled with ink and small heating elements.

Due to the heating action of the heating elements, a steam explosion takes place in the chamber and bubbles of ink are created. These bubbles of ink are propelled onto the paper to make a mark. The ink cartridges used by these printers are relatively inexpensive than the other ones. The piezo printers are able to print in various patterns on different kinds of surfaces. The ink used in this kind of printers can be modified according to the need adding acrylics, polymers and binders to these inks. Due to such flexibility, these are more popular. Printers based on this technology are used when the printed document is to be scanned like the bar codes which are placed on product packaging.

The ink cartridges used in drop on demand inkjet printers makes a lot of difference to the quality of the print. There should be a proper balance between the different characteristics of the printer and the ink like the quality of the print, time ink takes to dry and the nozzle performance of the printer. As the quality of the print increases, the drying time of the ink also increases. The manufacturers of the inkjet ink should take care of the drying time of the ink. It should neither dry too early nor take too much time to dry. Taking too much time to dry obviously makes the printed copy vulnerable to changes while in the other case when the ink dries too soon, it may dry in the nozzle itself spoiling the printer performance. 

The drop on demand ink comes in various qualities. It may have different kinds of solvents like water, alcohol, acetone and a lot more. These inks are available in various colors for different applications. While going to buy such ink cartridges, you should first go for samples to test their quality. You can also order online to purchase these special cartridges. 

Business Friendly Printing

CIJ printers are considered best for business purposes. Continuous Ink Jet printers or CIJ employs the similar technology as the inkjet printers have. These are known for their marking and non- contact coding applications and for their versatility. The mechanism is quite resilient and suitable for long term use. Printing a variety of fonts, lines and styles at a higher speed is also one of the qualities of this printer.

Continuous ink jet printers as so called because CIJ inks flow constantly through the system but the printing takes place only when it is desired. The working involves a cylinder containing ink which provides ink to the print head using pressure created by the air. The ink then enters the nozzle, which is again passed into the ceramic ring. Due to electric circuit, electric pulses are driven through the ceramic ring. Then, a piezo- electric crystal inside the ring is used for compressing the tube containing the ink. Finally the electric pulses, changes the ink to form droplets. The droplets are then charged and images are formed on the paper. The droplets not used for printing are then circulated back into the system to be used for next time printing.

The ink used should possess a slow drying quality; otherwise due to the circulation of the ink, the ink can dry out anywhere which will degrade the performance which will lead to:
Excessive amount of ink being used.
Maintenance at regular time interval will be required.

Requirement of ink cartridges will increase to an alarming rate. Dried ink inside the printer will certainly affect the performance of the printer, which will raise the need of maintaining the printers periodically. CIJ inks that are available are specially made for such printers which have the slow drying quality resulting in the proper functioning of the printer. It is achieved by adding a solvent and gives desired printing results.

Applications of these printers include printing expiration dates, bar codes and graphics etc which are the key requirement of commercial printing.