Design and Performance of Inkjet Print Heads for Non-Graphic-Arts Applications
- PDF / 298,702 Bytes
- 5 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 17 Downloads / 158 Views
Design and
Performance of Inkjet Print Heads for Non-GraphicArts Applications
Linda T. Creagh and Marlene McDonald Abstract Inkjet print heads have become the dominant printing element for home and office printers; they have been a key driver for the digitization of wide-format graphic arts printing and other printing areas as diverse as addressing and carton coding. In the past few years, inkjet print heads have begun to have an impact in areas outside the graphics arts. In these applications, the inkjet print head may be considered a manufacturing tool; this implies that it will differ in design depending on the application. Also, standards for reliability, consistency, and dependability will differ from those in graphic arts areas. Even though non-graphic-arts applications differ widely in their details, there are general considerations in terms of the systems that are required. Each nontraditional application has specific goals for manufacturing, and a unique inkjet print head designed to meet these goals may be required. This article focuses on a specific piezo-based inkjet print head that has been engineered to meet the manufacturing requirements for flat-panel displays based on light-emitting polymeric materials. Keywords: inkjet printing, light-emitting polymer (LEP) displays, print heads.
Introduction Inkjet print heads are common tools in office and home printing. More and more graphic arts markets are seeing inkjet technology as a means of improving efficiency and reducing cost, particularly for short-run printing. Office and industrial inkjet printers operate with the high reliability rates required for production equipment. This experience forms the basis for extending the use of inkjet print heads into non-graphic-arts applications. The impact of inkjet printing in areas outside the graphic arts is increasing. As will be discussed in this article, there are many non-graphic-arts markets that are evaluating and beginning to implement inkjet printing technologies, but in several instances, the lack of jettable fluids is a major impediment. One significant exception is the manufacture of certain types of MRS BULLETIN/NOVEMBER 2003
flat-panel displays. This article will use the design of an inkjet print head that can deposit light-emitting polymers (LEPs) for flat-panel displays as an archetype for a wide range of possible applications. There are opportunities for inkjet print heads in almost any manufacturing operation that requires the precise metering of materials to specified locations on substrates. In general, inkjet technology offers economic advantages in cases where the material to be deposited is expensive, management of waste fluid is an issue, and variable patterns are desired, particularly for short runs. Digital deposition may eliminate the need for a die or photomask, as used in traditional printing, thus allowing the printer to modify the pattern quickly and inexpensively. Inkjet print heads also offer the advantage of noncon-
tact, thus minimizing contamination of the inks. Inkjet pr
Data Loading...
