SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016 - 27

including the HP T200, T300 and T400
Inkjet Web Presses. HP's single-pass
Page Wide Web Press series for book,
newspaper, direct mail and corrugated
packaging printing are also using the
HDNA printheads. HP has committed to
developing its next generation heads on the
same modular form factor so as to be able to
upgrade its existing Inkjet Web Presses with
coming head improvements. HP indicated
in 2015 that the installed base of its Inkjet
Web Press T Series devices produced about
four billion A4 equivalent pages per month.
It claimed that the volume of pages grew
at a 34% CAGR since 2010 when the first
production unit was placed.
In addition to its Inkjet Page Wide
systems, HP advanced its Latex printing
systems with its third generation ink strategy
a few years ago that greatly improved
print durability, while reducing energy
consumption and temperature required for
curing. Reportedly, HP Scitex has resolved
initial issues with its X2 PIJ printhead and is
advancing its High Dynamic Range (HDR)
PIJ grayscale printing for sign, display and
corrugated packaging applications.
Fujifilm Dimatix

In their 2004 IS&T NIP20 paper on
"MEMS Solutions for Precision MicroFluidic Dispensing Application", Chris
Menzel, Andreas Bibl and Paul Hoisington
discussed how, "customer demands
for increased performance within the
precision micro-fluidic markets, including
high image quality printing" led their
Spectra team to develop "piezoelectrically
actuated inkjet printhead modules with
single crystal silicon micro-electromechcanical manufacturing processes."15
While the paper focuses on Spectra's
use of MEMS in the fabrication of its
M-Class PIJ heads, which were not
commercially successful, it illustrates
the compelling drivers for adopting
MEMS for printhead fabrication, which
subsequently led Spectra and its successor
Fujifilm Dimatix to embrace MEMS
for its Dimatix Material Cartridge
single-use head and other heads for its
DMP material deposition printers and
Samba PIJ head. The paper points to
the potential MEMS offers to approach
higher firing frequencies. It noted that,
"Pumping diaphragm natural frequencies
are in the 2-3MHz range. System natural
frequencies (with ink) are in the 100-150
kilohertz (kHz) range. Firing frequencies
up to 40 kHz are routinely achieved with
the M-Class prototypes and higher firing
frequencies are expected from the current
Visit SGIA at SGIA.org

design as development continues."16
Fujifilm currently rates the maximum
frequency of its Samba PIJ MEMS head
at 100 kHz.
Fujifilm Dimatix recently fine-tuned
its MEMS built Samba printhead with its
G3L model. It features native 1200 dpi
resolution and 2048 nozzles per modular
head. It jets 2-picoliter (pl) primary drops
with the ability to generate grayscale
larger drop sizes with its VersaDropTM
wave form control. It also features fluid
recirculation in the printhead manifold.
Since Dimatix designed the Samba head
to be readily stacked in print bar arrays,
it has found application in single-pass
printers, including the SPGPrints Pike
and Javelin industrial textile printer and
Fujifilm Jetpress 720 commercial printer
among others.
Konica Minolta

On July 23, 2015, Konica Minolta
(KM) announced that it developed three
industrial piezo inkjet (PIJ) printheads
using MEMS manufacturing methods
and that it would begin production of
these heads in the spring of 2016.
All three heads contain 1024 nozzles
per head with independent ink channels
that can tolerate all typical inkjet ink
types, including aqueous, UV, solvent and
oil-based inks. The ME130H head offers a
print width of 21.65 mm/0.85 inches (in),
1200 nozzles per inch (npi), eight gray
levels with a primary drop volume of 3 pl,
and a maximum drive frequency of 100
kHz. The MC160H and MC160L offer a
print width that is twice as wide at 43.3
mm (1.7 in), only a binary drop volume
of 6 pl and a maximum drive frequency
of 70 kHz. The MC160H has 600 npi for
one-color printing, while the MC160L can
print two ink colors using 300 npi each.
The K M MEMS heads avoid the
limitations of KM's earlier Xaar licensed
shared-wa ll shear mode PIJ inkjet
technology. While KM had designed
its independent ink channel versions
of shared wall shear mode for its KM
1024i and KM 1800i, enabling them to
print aqueous inks for textile and other
applications, they still suffer from jetting
frequency and nozzle packing limits of the
shared wall shear mode design. Its new
MEMS inkjet printheads achieve higher
resolution and drop placement accuracy
as well as superior jetting characteristics
over its earlier printheads.
Like Epson, Konica Minolta manufactures
its heads with its own MEMS thin film
systems and also assembles them robotically.
SGIA Journal

■

November/December 2016 | 25
SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SGIA Journal Graphic November/December 2016
