Inkjet printers create a print image by targeted shooting or deflection of small ink droplets through the air between printhead and print surface. Inkjet technology is also sometimes used in (inkjet) label printers.
Various technologies based on significantly different functionalities are used in inkjet printing. Drop-on-Demand printers are used mainly in industrial applications.
Drop-On-Demand printers carry the ink in a chamber in the printhead. Over- and under-pressure waves are generated here and only ink droplets that are actually needed will be ejected through the nozzle. Industry implements this method using two different processes:
Piezo printers use the piezoelectric effect: Elastic deformation of a piezoelectric material (piezoelectric crystals or ceramics) will create a voltage on its surface. The material vice versa deforms when voltage is applied. The piezo element will momentarily deform the printing nozzle. This will exert a high pressure on the ink to thereby eject an ink droplet from the printhead. To prevent the ink from continuing to flow from the nozzle, the polarity of the voltage on the piezo element is reversed, deforming it in the other direction. This will then retract the ink.
Long printhead service life and extremely fast printing speeds are convincing arguments for piezoelectric printers.
Ink is normally viscous, with a certain surface tension. This is why it will not be emitted from the cartridge until needed. Thermal inkjet printer cartridges comprise a number of tiny electrically heated chambers in which impulses create steam bubbles. These bubbles will squeeze an ink droplet through the nozzle to accurately deposit it on the print material. The contracting steam bubble will draw more ink from the connected ink reservoir into the chambers for the next ejection, all within 100 millionths of a second.
Thermal inkjet printers (technically also: thermal inkjet coders) print particularly economically, yet fast and accurate.
Weber Marking Systems inkjet printers offer the following advantages:
Various inkjet systems may be considered, depending on application. The following criteria may need to be evaluated in your selection:
Laser printers as we have come to know them at home or in the office cannot be compared to industrial inkjet printers. They are suited for occasional printing on paper and foils. They operate based on electrophotography or xerography, where a statically charged drum is discharged by guided light beams.