Inkjet printing technology involves transferring a digital image or text from the computer to a piece of paper. This technology uses small ink droplets sprayed by tiny nozzles in the printer onto the paper’s surface directly.
The printers that use this technology have been around for a while. They vary in cost depending on the model. You have the liberty to choose the model that you want depending on the budget that you have.
Any tech enthusiast would be interested to know all the relevant information about inkjet printing technology. Hence, here are six things to know about it:
1. A Brief History Of Its Growth
This technology of inkjet printing was discovered in the 1950s. Even though it was already being used around that period, it took some time before the developers modified it to be suitable for business applications as it is now.
The initial idea of the developers when making the printers was to replace the noisy and slow dot matrix printers that publishing companies used in the past. They hadn’t thought about their commercial use or whether companies would ever chip in to make technology more efficient and faster. However, with technological evolution, tech firms like KNF USA were able to make a printer usable for business.
It’s also good to note that before this technology was fully formulated, various technology companies like Canon and Epson were in the background trying to figure out how they could develop faster printing technology. They played a crucial role in making the inkjet technology come into existence.
From the short background story, you can tell that the journey towards achieving modern-day inkjet printers has been long. Since inkjet technology’s inception, many advancements and innovations have been applied to increase the speed and efficiency of inkjet printing technology. The good thing is that the dreams of those developers in the 50s came true, and now inkjet technology is super-fast and reliable.
2. Its Printing Mechanism
Inkjet printing technology is made possible by inkjet printers. The main components of these printers include:
- The Print Head: It creates texts and images on paper by spraying or distributing the ink droplets.
- Output Tray: This is where all the papers are stored before and after printing.
- Cartridges: Their primary function is to store the ink used in the printing process.
- Stepper Motor: It’s an element that moves the print head back and forth on a paper where it distributes the ink.
So, when it comes to the printing process, you first need to know that the printhead has about 300 to 600 nozzles, also known as jets. As the print head moves across a document, it sprays ink on it that either forms images or text. Inkjet printing technology enables you to produce approximately one hundred pages. However, the volume of output it generates nonetheless relies on how long the paper or text is.
Most of these printers have more than one ink cartridge. The first one has colored ink, whereas the second one contains black ink. Common color pigments that are used by this printing technology include magenta, yellow, and cyan. You only need to place a few papers on the output tray, select the file you wish to print, then press the print button. As long as the cartridge has ink, the printing process will go smoothly and you’ll be able to produce documents of high quality.
3. Its Classifications
Inkjet technology can be classified into two types: drop-on-demand and continuous inkjet. What these technologies have in common is that they use liquid ink, which is melted by heating. This ink is sprayed on the surface of a paper while hot and becomes solid as it cools. Here is a brief description of how they work:
- Drop On Demand (DOD): As the name suggests, this type produces an ink drop only when the image requires it. It also has two subcategories, which are piezo and thermal inkjet printing.
- Piezo Inkjet: Uses mechanical displacement to generate and eject the ink droplets on the surface.
- Thermal Inkjet: Generates the ink droplets by heating the liquid in the chamber and vaporizing it.
- Continuous Inkjet Technology: This printing technology can generate ink droplets constantly. The image controls the charging of the droplets electronically. It then uses an electric field to deflect the charged droplets while directing the uncharged ones to the surface. This technology uses little ink when printing, while the rest is recycled back to the system. Therefore, you can rely on it for long-term use.
4. Its Affordability
The reason why many people prefer to go for inkjet technology rather than others is that most of its printer models are inexpensive. Some computer superstores sometimes give away these printers as a token or bonus to customers who’ve bought an essential peripheral like a personal computer.
The good thing is that the printers using inkjet technology don’t have to be expensive to meet your needs. You can still use the one you have, whether it’s cheap or expensive, to print top-grade images on a piece of paper. Also, after purchasing, you don’t have to worry about carrying the inkjet printer since it’s lightweight and thus easy to transport.
5. Its Top-Grade Connectivity
Unlike other printing technologies like lasers, inkjet has all the connectivity features to help it connect with memory cards, USB, and even Bluetooth. Moreover, you can use WI-FI or Ethernet networking alternatives to link to this printing technology. Thus, this means that accessing documents to print isn’t a hassle.
You don’t have to copy and paste content to your computer to print. For example, you can easily print directly from a USB device, as long as the image files are in JPEG, XPS, TIFF, or PDF format.
6. The Other Immense Benefits It Has
Apart from speed, affordable cost, and efficiency, inkjet printing technology has several other advantages. They include the following:
- It produces vivid and vibrant images
- It can print documents that require high resolution
- It is quieter than the dot-matrix
- It’s easy to carry and use
Conclusion
Inkjet printing involves spraying ink droplets on a surface like paper to form characters or an image. Some things to know about this technology are how it works, its fast connectivity, and the benefits of using it. Due to its features and advantages, there is no question that it can assist you with your business or personal needs.
