There are 4 main factors that need fine adjustments to unlock the full potential of inkjet printing.
An ink discharge test, for example, is a process in which fine adjustments are made between the ink and the inkjet printhead. In many cases, the drawing test is much the same with the addition of substrates. However, when it comes to actual production, the drying process plays a most important part. For instance, drying the ink immediately after discharge can control the amount of smearing on the substrate surface, but having the heater too close to the printhead can cause the ink to stick to the printhead surface and lead to problems during continuous production. In many cases, fine-tuning the specs to improve the relationship between any two of these four factors requires readjustments to the remaining two factors as well, necessitating a lot of patience in finding a solution that works for all four.
With such requirements in fine adjustments, one must wonder if inkjet is actually worth the effort. Certainly, the initial adjustments for inkjet is troublesome, but, once complete, the manufacturing process can benefit from the many advantages of using inkjet. For example, one of the advantages is that operators can produce with the same quality even when there are no engineers on the manufacturing floor. This can also be seen in how we can now use inkjet home printers to print beautiful pictures right from our offices or living rooms. Inkjet is a wonderful manufacturing tool that will, once the initial set up is properly completed, allow a great number of people to focus on value creation beyond printing processes.
Q.What are the most important factors to consider in setting up IJ manufacturing
A. In terms of materials, the IJ ink and the substrate. As for the system, the inkjet printhead and its controls as well as pre- and post-processing steps need to be considered.
Q. What verifications should be made before running a discharge evaluation?
A. Inks are generally a mixture of solvents, which liquify the ink, and solutes which give the ink its function, but these require dispersion stability to be evaluated for long-term storage and physical properties to be adjusted to the printhead. Furthermore, a material compatibility evaluation is also necessary to ensure that there are no undesired effects on the materials of the printhead or ink flow path. (Elephantech uses Safety Data Sheets for easy discharge evaluation)
Q. What are the physical properties that need to be measured for the ink formula?
A. Viscosity, surface tension, density and acoustic velocity are essential. Wettability will also become important in relation to the substrate.
Q. What do you evaluate in a discharge evaluation test?
A. Elephantech’s initial discharge evaluation looks at items such as initial fillability, intermittent discharge performance, weight and speed followability, and frequency characteristics.
Q. Is there anything other than the ink that can be adjusted to improve discharge evaluation results?
A.Other than the ink, corrective adjustments can be made, for example, to the inkjet printhead’s waveforms and the ink’s temperature. Other methods to compensate for poor discharge performances include making adjustments to the printhead gap and drive frequency during drawing.
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| Manufacturer | Seiko Epson Corporation |
| Printhead | PrecisionCore |
| Ink viscocity guide | 1-10 mPaS (Please contact us if not within this range.) |
| Minimum required ink volume | 50 mL |
| Observation functions | Ink droplet flight Printing |
| Printing function | Print on 100mm square stage |
| Ink type | Water-based and solvent-based inks |
| Evaluation | Evaluated by Elephantech under commission from Epson |
