Recent Advances in Highly Durable Piezoelectric Inkjet Print Head Technology

Abstract

Piezoelectric inkjet print head is a preferred choice for dropon- demand (DOD) industrial printing applications not only because it can handle a variety of jetting fluids very well but also due to its consistent high performance under harsh working conditions. With a proven commercial success in the past decade, Trident's piezoelectric inkjet technology has become a robust and cost effective solution for product marking and coding, graphics printing, industrial fluid dispensing and other applications.The challenges in the design of such inkjet printheads essentially arise from different application requirements. There is no easy lesson in print head design. This paper focuses on some recent developments in highly durable and repairable printheads for product marking and coding. Discussions cover the principle of printhead operation and some unique features in Trident's printheads such as multiple orifices, repairable orifice plate and automated maintenance module (AMM). Reliability studies of both exiting products and the new high throughput four-inch wide 768 jet printhead have demonstrated that these printheads can reach more than 90 billions actuations without performance degradation.