TECHNOLOGY, INKS AND PAPER FOR inkjet printing M-real Digital imaging
Definition INKJET PRINTING IS A NON-IMPACT DOT MATRIX PRINTING TECHNOLOGY IN WHICH SMALL Contents DROPLETS OR PARTICLES OF INK ARE JETTED FROM A SMALL APERTURE (IN RAPID SUCCESSION AND UNDER COMPUTER CONTROL) DIRECTLY TO A SPECIFIED POSITION Inkjet Technology: an overview 3 Heads, Modes and Nozzles 5 Putting the INK into INKjet 8 ON THE SURFACE OF A SUBSTRATE, IN ORDER TO CREATE AN IMAGE. 2 Designs on Inkjet Paper 11 The question is?...
Inkjet Technology Overview WHEN INKJET PRINTING FIRST CAME ON THE SCENE PRINT QUALITY WAS GENERALLY UNSATISFACTORY. HOWEVER, DUE TO DEVELOPMENTS IN HARDWARE (PRINTERS), SOFTWARE, INKS AND SUBSTRATES, VERY GOOD PRINTED RESULTS CAN NOW BE ACHIEVED.
Continuous inkjet Continuous inkjet – perhaps most widely used in the Meanwhile, another continuous inkjet concept - the Hertz industrial coding, marking and labelling markets - can concept (named after Professor Hertz of the Lund be designed using a binary or multiple deflection Institute of Technology in Sweden) - can be given system. separate classification because of its unique way of obtaining gray scale through a burst of small drops.
Heads, Modes and Nozzles A THERMAL INKJET PRINT HEAD IS EQUIPPED WITH A RESISTOR, WHICH HEATS THE INK USING ELECTRICITY. THE VAPOUR INSIDE THE PRINT HEAD’S FIRING CHAMBER EXPANDS AND PUSHES THE INK OUT OF THE NOZZLE, WHILE THE REMAINING VAPOUR BUBBLE COLLAPSES AFTER COOLING AND SUCKS NEW INK INTO THE FIRING CHAMBER. THROUGH CHANGING THE HEAT ENERGY, THE INKDROP SIZE CAN BE TUNED ACCORDING TO THE APPLICATION REQUIRED. The main drawback with thermal inkjet print heads is that they have a shorter lifetime.
Print head configurations Inkjet technology is used in many different architectures In a typical bend-mode design, the piezoceramic plates and with different operating principles, depending on the are bonded to the diaphragm forming an array of configuration of its print heads. With thermal inkjet bilaminar electromechanical transducers used to eject technology, for example, the print head can be a roof the ink droplets.
All of these designs and their drop performances Because smaller ink drop volume is required to achieve ultimately determine the quality and throughput of a higher resolution printing, the nozzle diameter of print printed image. The trend in the industry is in jetting heads has become increasingly small.
Putting the Ink into Inkjet ARGUABLY ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF INKJET PRINTING IS THE INK USED. INK CHEMISTRY AND FORMULATIONS CAN NOT ONLY DICTATE (IN PART AT LEAST) THE FINAL QUALITY OF THE PRINTED IMAGE - E.G. THE BRILLIANCE OF COLOUR, THE IMAGE’S LIGHTFASTNESS, ETC - BUT AN INK’S VISCOSITY AND OTHER PROPERTIES CAN ALSO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE DROP EJECTION CHARACTERISTICS AND THEREFORE THE RELIABILITY OF THE PRINTING SYSTEM USED.
Pigmented/Dye-based Inks Another major recent development in the inkjet printing industry is the successful implementation and commercialisation of pigmented inks in colour printing applications. Many companies including recognised colour quality leaders like 3M, Dupont and Kodak already have pigmented inkjet ink products on the market. Dye based inks are made by completely dissolving dyes in a carrier that enables the dye to be easily applied.
Solvent/Oil-based Inks Wax/Polymer-based Inks Solvent-based inks are commonly used in industrial Solid (hot-melt) ink, as referred to in the Inkjet marking or coating applications where the printing is Technology Overview, is usually solvent-based and is done on a nonporous substrate such as plastic, metal, effectively solid at room temperature. This ink is jetted or glass.
Designs on Inkjet Paper IF WHAT INK IS USED FOR INKJET PRINTING IS IMPORTANT, SO IS THE CHOICE OF STOCK.
The questions is ? . . . After a while the image looks like it has a metallic sheen in dark areas ‘Bronzing’ occurs when dye-to-dye interactions compete with the dye to substrate interactions. The dyes in the ink aggregate or crystallise on the paper surface, which leads to a loss in optical density. It can be limited by reducing the amount of black in the image. The image looks very grainy and pixelated, curves have a stepped appearance Many images from the web or free CD’s can be of low resolution.
Factors Influencing Image Quality The shadow areas look grainy but the rest of the print it OK The effect, often referred to as ‘coalescence’, refers to the way in which the ink is absorbed into the media. Several things can be done to counter it, the most important is to choose the correct print mode in the printer driver. In general terms the highest quality settings available will give the best results. Choose the highest resolution possible, the finest drop size possible and the highest quality media.
Inkjet’s different images AS TOUCHED ON THROUGHOUT THIS DOCUMENT, INKJET PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES ARE USED IN A WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS INCLUDING HOME, OFFICE, LARGE FORMAT, INDUSTRIAL, THREE-DIMENSIONAL, MEDICAL, PACKAGING, TEXTILE AND OTHER SPECIALTY PRINTING SECTORS AND EVEN COMMERCIAL WEB-FED PRINT WORK.
SOHO Paper Demands Cut size stock for SOHO printing environments can be split into four main types: - Glossy coated paper is ideal for photorealistic imaging, but often considerably more expensive due to the PE coating, the binding systems, the different pigments, namely special pigments which allow high transparence and high absorption and/or the fixation agent. - Matt coated paper typically has a silicabased coating, but still holds good colour graphics quality.
The Larger Chunk ANOTHER MARKET SECTOR WHERE INKJET PRINTING HAS MADE HUGE INROADS IN RECENT YEARS IS LARGE FORMAT PRINTING. The introduction of wider print heads and multiple arrays coupled with the availability of increasingly high performance inks - UV curing, water-resistant, pigmented inks (see Putting the Ink into Inkjet, pages 8-10) - have brought about a revolution in the large format application capabilities of inkjet.
Colour in Profile BEFORE EVEN GETTING INTO PRINTED BEHAVIOURAL QUIRKS CAUSED BY THE USE OF DIFFERENT INKS ON DIFFERENT PAPERS, OR HOW THE SAME INKJET DEVICE MAKE AND MODEL CAN PERFORM DIFFERENTLY UNDER CHANGING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, LIKE DIFFERING HUMIDITY LEVELS OR TEMPERATURES, IT IS WORTH NOTING TOO THAT COLOURS LOOK DIFFERENT UNDER VARYING VIEWING CONDITIONS.
Jetting Trends ‘INFORMATION IS KING. THE SUNDAY EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES ON AVERAGE CONTAINS MORE INFORMATION THAN WAS PRINTED IN THE WHOLE OF THE 15TH CENTURY.’ MARTHA BECK, O MAGAZINE, APRIL 2002) In spite of multiple advances in inkjet printing technology As a backdrop to all this, inkjet printer manufacturers over the last decade, all the indications are that the are continually looking at new ways of creating a technology is set to grow even more over the coming competitive edge.
Produced for M-real Digital imaging by The Bespoke Agency 2002. Printed on silver digital matt 200/150 g/m2 on an hp indigo press 3000 M-real Digital imaging would like to thank all the companies that contributed to the production of this brochure. M-real Digital imaging AN DER GOHRSMÜHLE 51465 BERGISCH GLADBACH DEUTSCHLAND/GERMANY TEL.
