INKJET PRINTER

What is inkjet printer?

Inkjet printers are a category of printer in which printing is done with the help of inkjet technology. The
technology works by spraying ionized ink directed by magnetic plates onto the paper, which is fed
through the printer. An inkjet printer consists of a print head, ink cartridges, paper feed assembly, belt
and stabilizer bar. Inkjet printers are capable of creating high-quality images and high-resolution
photos with vivid colors. They can work with most types of papers, although they work best with
high-quality

Principle of Working
Different types of inkjet printers form their droplets of ink in different ways. There are two main technologies used in contemporary
inkjet printers:
Continuous inkjet printer
 Ink is pressured by the Ink Supply Pump and flows from the Main
Ink Bottle to the Nozzle parts.
 The Nozzle uses ultrasonic vibration to separate a solid
pressurized ink stream into small ink droplets as it exits the Nozzle
orifice.
 The droplets ejected from the Nozzle orifice pass through the
Charge Electrode tunnel, and then between the Deflection
Electrodes.
 Each droplet passing through the Charge Electrode receives a
Deflection Voltage charge where Deflection Voltage varies
between droplets. These charged droplets deflect in a
predetermined array pattern depending on the Deflection Voltage
charge.
 After the droplets pass through the Deflection Electrodes, they continue to travel in their predetermined
array pattern out of the Print head and onto the substrate.
 Droplets that aren't required for printing are retrieved by the Gutter and recycled back into the Main Ink Bottle
for reuse
Drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet Printer
Drop-on-demand may use a single nozzle or thousands of nozzles. One DOD process uses software that directs the heads to apply
between zero and eight droplets of ink per dot, only where needed. There are many ways to produce a DOD inkjet. Common methods

Thermal bubble –
Used by manufacturers such as Canon and Hewlett Packard, this method is commonly
referred to as bubble jet. In a thermal inkjet printer, tiny resistors create heat, and this heat
vaporizes ink to create a bubble. As the bubble expands, some of the ink is pushed out of
a nozzle onto the paper. When the bubble "pops" (collapses), a vacuum is created, This
pulls more ink into the print head from the cartridge. A typical bubble jet print head has 300
or 600 tiny nozzles, and all of them can fire a droplet simultaneously. Click the button to
see how a thermal bubble inkjet printer works.

Piezoelectric –
Patented by Epson, this technology uses piezo crystals. A crystal is located at the back of the
ink reservoir of each nozzle. The crystal receives a tiny electric charge that causes it to vibrate.
When the crystal vibrates inward, it forces a tiny amount of ink out of the nozzle. When it
vibrates out, it pulls some more ink into the reservoir to replace the ink sprayed out
Advantages Disadvantages
 Low cost  Print head is less durable, prone to clogging and damage
 High quality of output, capable of printing fine and  Expensive replacement ink cartridges
smooth details  Not good for high volume printing
 Capable of printing in vivid colour, good for printing  Printing speed is not as fast as laser printers
pictures  Ink bleeding, ink carried sideways causing blurred effects on
 Easy to use some papers
 Reasonably fast  Aqueous ink is sensitive to water, even a small drop of water
 Quieter than dot matrix printer can cause blurring
 No warm up time

Applications
 Print head is less durable, prone to clogging and damage
 Expensive replacement ink cartridges
 Not good for high volume printing
 Printing speed is not as fast as laser printers
 Ink bleeding, ink carried sideways causing blurred effects
on some papers