Ink Cartridge Research Articles

3D Printing for catalytic activity – Ink development using a drop-on-demand cartridge

Powder-bed binder-jetting 3D printing requires the use of a liquid binder or ink. These binders/inks have been widely tailored for individual application. This article covers the proof-of-concept development of an ink for a powder-bed binder-jetting 3D printer. The ink formulation in our work is both catalytically active and is used to bind the catalyst substrate. A modified, commercially available inkjet cartridge is used to spread liquid ink onto a powder surface, forming shapes in a layer-wise fashion to produce green bodies that are heat-treated post-print. The important parameters for manipulating rheology for inkjet printing are explored as a function of ink formulation. Specifically, the relationship between density, viscosity, and surface tension dictates the suitability for printing and those properties can be controlled by using differing amounts of the ink’s constituent components. Relationships correlating density to solvent concentration and viscosity to binder and dispersant concentrations are found, which are used to determine a water-based ink formulation suitable for use in the commercially available ink cartridge. The results of an initial print are presented and show excellent dispersion of the nickel catalyst.

Design, Deployment, and Evaluation of an Industrial AIoT System for Quality Control at HP Factories

Enabled by the increasingly available embedded hardware accelerators, the capability of executing advanced machine learning models at the edge of the Internet of Things (IoT) triggers interest of applying Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) systems for industrial applications. The in situ inference and decision made based on the sensor data allow the industrial system to address a variety of heterogeneous, local-area non-trivial problems in the last hop of the IoT networks. Such a scheme avoids the wireless bandwidth bottleneck and unreliability issues, as well as the cumbersome cloud. However, the literature still lacks presentations of industrial AIoT system developments that provide insights into the challenges and offer lessons for the relevant research and industry communities. In light of this, we present the design, deployment, and evaluation of an industrial AIoT system for improving the quality control of HP Inc.’s ink cartridge manufacturing lines. While our development has obtained promising results, we also discuss the lessons learned from the whole course of the work, which could be useful to the development of other industrial AIoT systems for quality control in manufacturing.

How to Override HP Ink Cartridge Error

How to Override HP Ink Cartridge Error

How the capillarity and ink-air flow govern the performance of a fountain pen

As kids, the authors enjoyed learning how to write by dipping nib pens into ink, and then later, using flex nib pens for calligraphy. They remember, less fondly, the troubles with ink leaks and spills over the paper’s surface. Despite advances in fountain pen design, the performance of fountain pens is still not perfect. A robust fountain pen has to provide a sustainable ink flow—no leaks—for smooth and precise writing on paper. In the long history of the design and development of fountain pens, more attention has been focused on the ink flow than on the ink/air capillary flow balance. It is found that as ink flows out of the cartridge, the holding pressure in the ink cartridge builds up and the pressure drop across the capillary valve increases. Consequently, the air is sucked toward the ink cartridge. An air-ink meniscus is formed at the capillary valve and finally breaks into air bubbles due to Rayleigh instability. The air bubbles float into the ink cartridge under buoyancy force to reduce the holding pressure so that the ink can continuous flow out to the nib to keep the fountain pen in function. The unbalance between the air holding pressure in the ink cartridge and the pressure drop across the capillary valve is the key for the functionality of the fountain pen. A poor design of the feed/cartridge connection with a small orifice of the capillary valve leads to the malfunction of the fountain pen.

Development on A Semi Permanent Cosmetic Device with Removable Ink Cartridge Using the TRIZ Method

Development on A Semi Permanent Cosmetic Device with Removable Ink Cartridge Using the TRIZ Method

Quantitative criteria to benchmark new and existing bio-inks for cell compatibility

Recent advancements in 3D bioprinting have led to the fabrication of more complex, more precise, and larger printed tissue constructs. As the field continues to advance, it is critical to develop quantitative benchmarks to compare different bio-inks for key cell–biomaterial interactions, including (1) cell sedimentation within the ink cartridge, (2) cell viability during extrusion, and (3) cell viability after ink curing. Here we develop three simple protocols for quantitative analysis of bio-ink performance. These methods are used to benchmark the performance of two commonly used bio-inks, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA), against three formulations of a novel bio-ink, Recombinant-protein Alginate Platform for Injectable Dual-crosslinked ink (RAPID ink). RAPID inks undergo peptide-self-assembly to form weak, shear-thinning gels in the ink cartridge and undergo electrostatic crosslinking with divalent cations during curing. In the one hour cell sedimentation assay, GelMA, the RAPID inks, and PEGDA with xanthan gum prevented appreciable cell sedimentation, while PEGDA alone or PEGDA with alginate experienced significant cell settling. To quantify cell viability during printing, 3T3 fibroblasts were printed at a constant flow rate of 75 μl min−1 and immediately tested for cell membrane integrity. Less than 10% of cells were damaged using the PEGDA and GelMA bio-inks, while less than 4% of cells were damaged using the RAPID inks. Finally, to evaluate cell viability after curing, cells were exposed to ink-specific curing conditions for five minutes and tested for membrane integrity. After exposure to light with photoinitiator at ambient conditions, over 50% of cells near the edges of printed PEGDA and GelMA droplets were damaged. In contrast, fewer than 20% of cells found near the edges of RAPID inks were damaged after a 5 min exposure to curing in a 10 mM CaCl2 solution. As new bio-inks continue to be developed, these protocols offer a convenient means to quantitatively benchmark their performance against existing inks.

A Portable 3D Printer System for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria

Summary Multidrug-resistant bacteria are a major threat to human health, but broad-spectrum antibiotics are losing efficacy. There is a need to screen a given drug against a bacterial infection outside of the laboratory. To address this need, we have designed and built an inexpensive and easy-to-use 3D-printer-based system that allows easily readable quantitative tests for the performance of antibacterial drugs. The platform creates a sterile diagnostic device by using 3D printing, and the device is filled automatically with growth medium, and then antibiotics are sprayed onto the medium by ink-jet technology. The sample for testing can be introduced via a fluid port, and the printer hot bed is used to incubate the device, allowing operation in the field. Combining advantages from various established tests of antibacterial performance, this allows the comparison of a specific antibiotics and bacteria. Also, this system can create and test several antibiotic formulations for therapeutic use, and we demonstrate this potential by investigating a mixture of pathogens that are only killed by a mixture of drugs.

Technical Note: Development of a 3D printed subresolution sandwich phantom for validation of brain SPECT analysis.

To make an adaptable, head shaped radionuclide phantom to simulate molecular imaging of the brain using clinical acquisition and reconstruction protocols. This will allow the characterization and correction of scanner characteristics, and improve the accuracy of clinical image analysis, including the application of databases of normal subjects. A fused deposition modeling 3D printer was used to create a head shaped phantom made up of transaxial slabs, derived from a simulated MRI dataset. The attenuation of the printed polylactide (PLA), measured by means of the Hounsfield unit on CT scanning, was set to match that of the brain by adjusting the proportion of plastic filament and air (fill ratio). Transmission measurements were made to verify the attenuation of the printed slabs. The radionuclide distribution within the phantom was created by adding (99m)Tc pertechnetate to the ink cartridge of a paper printer and printing images of gray and white matter anatomy, segmented from the same MRI data. The complete subresolution sandwich phantom was assembled from alternate 3D printed slabs and radioactive paper sheets, and then imaged on a dual headed gamma camera to simulate an HMPAO SPECT scan. Reconstructions of phantom scans successfully used automated ellipse fitting to apply attenuation correction. This removed the variability inherent in manual application of attenuation correction and registration inherent in existing cylindrical phantom designs. The resulting images were assessed visually and by count profiles and found to be similar to those from an existing elliptical PMMA phantom. The authors have demonstrated the ability to create physically realistic HMPAO SPECT simulations using a novel head-shaped 3D printed subresolution sandwich method phantom. The phantom can be used to validate all neurological SPECT imaging applications. A simple modification of the phantom design to use thinner slabs would make it suitable for use in PET.

A Fully Inkjet-Printed Carbon Nanotube Electrochemical Sensor on Paper

We present a fully inkjet-printed electrochemical sensor on paper, which uses inkjet-printed carbon nanotubes as the working, counter, and reference electrodes. Although paper-based electrochemical sensors have been demonstrated previously, our method of fabrication is both faster and cheaper and fully inkjet-printed. Due to its superior patterning ability, inkjet printing allows for the fabrication of on-demand paper-based electrochemical sensors without the use of templates or post-deposition photolithography. Additionally, in combining inkjet printing with an exciting material like carbon nanotubes rather than common metals (i.e. gold and silver), the fabrication cost is further reduced, and the possibility for mechanically flexible sensors becomes a reality. The use of paper as a substrate offers many advantages over other possible rigid substrates as well as flexible polymer substrates. Of course, paper is indeed a renewable resource and thus is a very cost-effective substrate for fabrication of disposable sensors. Additionally, paper is naturally flexible, preventing damage to the sensor upon external stress during use. Finally, paper is a great candidate for microfluidic applications due to its superb ability to transport liquids. The fabrication process is remarkably simple. The electrode design was developed using any drawing software or CAD. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were dispersed in deionized (DI) water using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), an anionic surfactant. More specifically, a bottle containing 10 mg/ml of MWCNTs and 8 mg/ml of SDS was sonicated for 30 minutes and centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 5 minutes. The carbon nanotube ink was then injected into a clean ink cartridge and printed using an office inkjet printer. In order to ensure proper functionality, a low electrode resistance was necessary. This was achieved by printing the carbon nanotube ink multiple times to reduce the sheet resistance. We were able to achieve less than 2 k-ohm/square with 20 prints on paper. The sensor was tested with various concentrations of FeSO4 in 0.1 M H2SO4. A simple potentiostat circuit was used along with a LabView FieldPoint module for voltage control and current measurement. Potential step voltammetry was employed and the saturation current was used as a means to determine analyte concentration.

Study of Evaluation Method about the Presswork Quality of Digital Inkjet System

At present, the productivity benefits of inkjet printing technology with high speed shows a rapid expanding trends, however, the precondition of which is its high quality presswork. Therefore, one of the top priorities now is to find better way to evaluate the presswork quality scientifically and effectively. A new parameter, ink dot fidelity, was introduced as an evaluation criterion to study the presswork quality in this paper. The four evident effect factors that fluctuated more during the printing process were chosen, such as the paper transmission speed, the print head (nozzle) voltage, the ink cartridge pressure and the distance between the print head and paper, to make the scientific orthogonal experiment design. The fluctuation rules of the ink dot fidelity corresponding to each effecting factors were obtained through intuitively analyzing of the orthogonal tables and the effect curves. Based on the experiment, the test data were fitted and optimized by using the mathematical analysis software of MATLAB and the least-square method. And then the mathematical model for ink dot fidelity and these affecting factors were created. Finally, the user interface (GUI) design platform was developed to improve the man-machine communication and the ink dot fidelity, or the presswork quality.

The EFIM-case: no dominant position of printer manufacturers on ink cartridge aftermarket

The EFIM-case: no dominant position of printer manufacturers on ink cartridge aftermarket

Foreign body remained in urethra for 12 years: a rare presentation of a common problem with a short review of the literature

Although there are many case reports of foreign bodies in the urethra, the literature represents the tip of the iceberg. Patients usually do not seek medical advice due to embarrassment and present to physicians after several days. We report a case in which a young patient reported to us with periurethral abscess and acute urinary retention. History revealed the insertion of the ink cartridge of a sketch pen into the urethra during masturbation, 12 years before. X-ray and retrograde urethrogram showed multiple radio-opaque foreign bodies in the urethra. We performed incision and drainage, suprapubic catheterization and urethrostomy as an emergency procedure, followed by two-stage urethroplasty. A variety of the objects have been found in the urethra. Self-insertion of foreign bodies into the urethra is usually associated with autoerotic gratifica tion, psychiatric disorders or intoxication. A high degree of suspicion and proper patient history are required to diagnose the condition. The main therapeutic approach is endoscopic, but extensive surgeries are sometimes required. We reviewed the literature thoroughly using PubMed and summarized the causes, diagnoses and management options for this condition. We found our case to be one of the longest standing foreign bodies in the male urethra reported to date.

China Supreme People's Court defines the scope of amendment to a patent application

Recently, the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC) clarified the rules on amendments to claims of a patent application and the role of prosecution history in interpreting claims during the invalidation proceedings. In its decision in EPSON v PRAB, SPC affirmed in part the Beijing Higher People's Court's (BHPC) decision upholding the validity of the Seiko Epson Corporation's (EPSON) invention patent (Patent no. 00131800.4) for ‘Ink Cartridge’ (’800 Patent) and reversing the Beijing Intermediate People's Court's (BIPC) and the Patent Re-examination and Appeal Board's (PRAB’) decisions. The SPC's decision is significant in ruling standards to determine the disclosure scope of the initial description and claims. In addition, the SPC clarifies that prosecution history can be used to interpret the meaning of terms in the description and claims during prosecution.

Creating Transient Cell Membrane Pores Using a Standard Inkjet Printer

Bioprinting has a wide range of applications and significance, including tissue engineering, direct cell application therapies, and biosensor microfabrication.1-10 Recently, thermal inkjet printing has also been used for gene transfection.8,9 The thermal inkjet printing process was shown to temporarily disrupt the cell membranes without affecting cell viability. The transient pores in the membrane can be used to introduce molecules, which would otherwise be too large to pass through the membrane, into the cell cytoplasm.8,9,11 The application being demonstrated here is the use of thermal inkjet printing for the incorporation of fluorescently labeled g-actin monomers into cells. The advantage of using thermal ink-jet printing to inject molecules into cells is that the technique is relatively benign to cells.8, 12 Cell viability after printing has been shown to be similar to standard cell plating methods1,8. In addition, inkjet printing can process thousands of cells in minutes, which is much faster than manual microinjection. The pores created by printing have been shown to close within about two hours. However, there is a limit to the size of the pore created (~10 nm) with this printing technique, which limits the technique to injecting cells with small proteins and/or particles. 8,9,11 A standard HP DeskJet 500 printer was modified to allow for cell printing.3, 5, 8 The cover of the printer was removed and the paper feed mechanism was bypassed using a mechanical lever. A stage was created to allow for placement of microscope slides and coverslips directly under the print head. Ink cartridges were opened, the ink was removed and they were cleaned prior to use with cells. The printing pattern was created using standard drawing software, which then controlled the printer through a simple print command. 3T3 fibroblasts were grown to confluence, trypsinized, and then resuspended into phosphate buffered saline with soluble fluorescently labeled g-actin monomers. The cell suspension was pipetted into the ink cartridge and lines of cells were printed onto glass microscope cover slips. The live cells were imaged using fluorescence microscopy and actin was found throughout the cytoplasm. Incorporation of fluorescent actin into the cell allows for imaging of short-time cytoskeletal dynamics and is useful for a wide range of applications.13-15

Creating Transient Cell Membrane Pores Using a Standard Inkjet Printer

Bioprinting has a wide range of applications and significance, including tissue engineering, direct cell application therapies, and biosensor microfabrication. Recently, thermal inkjet printing has also been used for gene transfection. The thermal inkjet printing process was shown to temporarily disrupt the cell membranes without affecting cell viability. The transient pores in the membrane can be used to introduce molecules, which would otherwise be too large to pass through the membrane, into the cell cytoplasm. The application being demonstrated here is the use of thermal inkjet printing for the incorporation of fluorescently labeled g-actin monomers into cells. The advantage of using thermal ink-jet printing to inject molecules into cells is that the technique is relatively benign to cells. Cell viability after printing has been shown to be similar to standard cell plating methods. In addition, inkjet printing can process thousands of cells in minutes, which is much faster than manual microinjection. The pores created by printing have been shown to close within about two hours. However, there is a limit to the size of the pore created (~10 nm) with this printing technique, which limits the technique to injecting cells with small proteins and/or particles. A standard HP DeskJet 500 printer was modified to allow for cell printing. The cover of the printer was removed and the paper feed mechanism was bypassed using a mechanical lever. A stage was created to allow for placement of microscope slides and coverslips directly under the print head. Ink cartridges were opened, the ink was removed and they were cleaned prior to use with cells. The printing pattern was created using standard drawing software, which then controlled the printer through a simple print command. 3T3 fibroblasts were grown to confluence, trypsinized, and then resuspended into phosphate buffered saline with soluble fluorescently labeled g-actin monomers. The cell suspension was pipetted into the ink cartridge and lines of cells were printed onto glass microscope cover slips. The live cells were imaged using fluorescence microscopy and actin was found throughout the cytoplasm. Incorporation of fluorescent actin into the cell allows for imaging of short-time cytoskeletal dynamics and is useful for a wide range of applications.

718 インク廃液リサイクルプロセスの構築に向けたTi/CB粒子複合材料化技術の開発とその評価

718 インク廃液リサイクルプロセスの構築に向けたTi/CB粒子複合材料化技術の開発とその評価

Case—Inkjet Printer Pricing

Inkjet printers are the most commonly owned printers because of their low cost, high printing quality, and ease of use. The four major inkjet printer manufacturers are Canon, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, and Lexmark. The inkjet printer business has adopted the “bait and hook” business strategy, offering the basic printer product at a low (possibly below cost) price while charging a higher price for their proprietary ink cartridges. Table 1 shows the pricing of different ink jet printers and ink cartridges from the four major manufacturers. With technology advancement, inkjet printers have improved in quality and reduced in price. As seen in Table 1, the printer (being more technologically complex to make than the ink cartridge) is relatively inexpensive. This is a business tactic used to attract more people to buy the printer. The manufacturers are trying to improve their overall profit margin by charging higher prices than they would have normally done for their proprietary ink cartridges. The setting of printer and cartridge prices must therefore be closely linked and studied, as they affect the overall profitability and survival of the printer company. According to LYRA research (http://www.lyra. com/), the total revenue from inkjet printers and ink cartridges exceeded $45 billion in 2006. I.T. Strategies (http://www.it-strategies.com/) expects the inkjet printer market to grow to $58 billion by 2009. It expects the largest segment of the revenue to come from ink cartridges, with the revenue rising from $20 billion in 2004 to $33 billion in 2009. The printer business is very lucrative, and it is crucial for the survival of a company that produces printers to use a “good and flexible” business decision tool to price the printer and ink cartridges. Allan Table 1 Sample Inkjet Printer and Cartridge Prices

Case Article—Inkjet Printer Pricing

The inkjet printer business had adopted the “bait and hook,” also known as the “razors and blades” or “tied-products,” business strategy, offering a basic printer product at a very low (possibly below cost) price but charging a highly marked-up price for its proprietary ink cartridge. This case explores the pricing of two interrelated products: the printer and its ink cartridge to maximize the overall profit. This case is designed as an introductory-level case study that emphasizes the basics of spreadsheet modeling. The learning goals for this case are to improve students' skills of modeling a business problem of this nature, determining the parameters involved, exploring the tradeoffs between different pricing criteria, and analyzing how profit can be affected by variations in the input parameter values such as printer cost, cartridge cost, printer price elasticity, and cartridge-to-printer projected sales ratio. Case Teaching Note: Interested Instructors please see the Instructor Materials page for access to the restricted materials. To maintain the integrity and usefulness of cases published in ITE, unapproved distribution of the case teaching notes and other restricted materials to any other party is prohibited.

Liquid crystal alignment on inkjet printed and air-buffed polyimide with nano-grove surface

We have found that liquid crystal (LC) can be aligned on an inkjet printed and air-buffed polyimide (PI) surface. Surface anisotropy is introduced by inkjet printing and air blowing from a PI ink cartridge and an empty cartridge of an inkjet printer, respectively. LC molecules align on the PI surfaces with the nano-scale grooves, which are validated with atomic force microscope images. The pretilt angles of the LCs could be varied from 0° to 90°, by controlling the composition of a mixture of homogeneous and homeotropic PIs.

Inkjet-Mediated Gene Transfection into Living Cells Combined with Targeted Delivery

In this study a novel method of simultaneous gene transfection and cell delivery based on inkjet printing technology is described. Plasmids encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) were coprinted with living cells (porcine aortic endothelial [PAE] cells) through the ink cartridge nozzles of modified commercial inkjet printers. Agarose gel electrophoresis analysis showed there was no obvious structural alteration or damage to these plasmids after printing. Transfection efficiency of the printed cells, determined by GFP expression, was over 10%, and posttransfection cell viability was over 90%. We showed that printing conditions, such as plasmid concentration, cartridge model, and plasmid size, influenced gene transfection efficiency. Moreover, genetically modified PAE cells were accurately delivered to target sites within a three-dimensional fibrin gel scaffold and expressed GFP in vitro and in vivo when implanted into mice. These results demonstrate that inkjet printing technology is able to simultaneously transfect genes into cells as well as precisely deliver these cell populations to target sites. This technology may facilitate the development of effective cell-based therapies by combining gene therapy with living cells that can be delivered to target sites.