What Is an Industrial Inkjet Printer?
An industrial inkjet printer basically operates on the same principle as a consumer inkjet printer and prints by dropping ink in the form of dots.
However, the difference between an Industrial Inkjet Printer and a consumer inkjet printer lies in its intended use. While consumer products print text and photographs on paper, industrial printers, on the other hand, can print product information such as barcodes and expiration dates on packages and on materials other than paper.
Some industrial Inkjet Printers can also print designs on the surface of CDs, bottles, etc.
Applications of Industrial Inkjet Printers
Industrial Inkjet Printers are used in the printing industry to produce posters and signs, in the manufacturing industry to produce food, pharmaceuticals, and industrial products, and in the apparel industry, clothing manufacturing.
The unique feature of this printer is that it can print on recording media made of materials that cannot be printed on with consumer inkjet printers. For example, it can print on glass, resin, rubber, metal, cardboard, wood, and cloth.
Printing can be performed on recording media of various sizes, from small recording media such as electronic components to large recording media like signboards. It can also be used for three-dimensional recording media with curved surfaces as well as recording media with uneven surfaces.
Principle of Industrial Inkjet Printer
Industrial Inkjet Printers can be divided into the Drop-on-Demand (DOD) method and the Continuous Inkjet Printing (CIJ) method.
1. DOD Method
The DOD method is a printing technique that discharges the required amount of ink when needed. DOD methods are divided into piezo method, thermal method, and solenoid valve method.
Piezo Method
The piezo method uses the electrostriction phenomenon of a piezo (piezoelectric) device placed in the nozzle to produce an ink droplet. The advantages of the piezo method include the ability to precisely control the amount of ink ejected by controlling the voltage of the piezo element and the high durability of the head because no heat is applied.
On the other hand, the disadvantages are that the head structure tends to be complex because a piezo element is required for each nozzle, and the nozzles are easily clogged when air bubbles are introduced.
Thermal Method
In the thermal method, the ink is heated to generate air bubbles which push the ink out and cause it to drop. Advantages of the thermal method include its simple structure, which makes it easy to downsize and increase printing resolution.
On the other hand, disadvantages are that thermal degradation of ink tends to occur, head life is short due to heat, and nozzles are easily clogged due to ink drying.
Solenoid Valve Method
In the solenoid valve method, the solenoid valve is momentarily opened while pressure is applied to the ink by a pump, which causes the ink to drip. The advantage of the solenoid valve method is that the ink can be dispersed far by the pressurization.
However, it tends to produce larger ink particles, leading to lower print quality.
2. The CIJ Method
The CIJ method is a printing method in which pressurized ink is circulated in the printer and ejected from the nozzle at the precise moment. Volatile ink is ejected from a single nozzle, and since ink is constantly circulated in the CIJ method, volatile ink with excellent drying properties can be used.
Structure of an Inkjet Printer
1. DOD Method
The mainstream printer is equipped with a head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the head is mounted, a mechanism that moves the carriage in the main scanning direction, and a mechanism that moves the recording media in the sub-scanning direction. During printing, the carriage moves in the main scanning direction and the recording media moves in the sub-scanning direction alternately.
2. The CIJ Method
This printer features a fixed head on the print media carrier, and it prints on the media as it is transported by the conveying mechanism.