You will find inkjet printers in almost all homes and offices to print photos, homework, invoices, newsletters, quotes, color business documents for business. But have you ever asked yourself how these printers work? The inkjet printers have been around since the early 1980s. They become popular because of cost and reliability. Plus, they are light and portable hence producing high-quality prints compared to other printers. In this post, we will discuss how does an inkjet printer work.
What is an Inkjet Printer?
Are you wondering how to know if the printer you are using is an inkjet printer? You can take a closer look to check the printout when it pops out of the printer. An inkjet printer sprays tiny droplets of ink onto the paper. These droplets combine to create the print the user desires.
The diameter of these droplets is about 50 to 60 microns. The printers spray the dots on the paper rather than touching the paper and print out the desired design and template. Nowadays, inkjet printers are gaining popularity due to their reliability and price.
How Does An Inkjet Printer Work?
Inkjet printers drop tiny ink droplets onto the paper, where many drops create the desired text and image. You can change the sizes and color of the droplets to make sharp and photo-realistic images. You can check at the dots per inch (DPI) to gauge the printer’s resolution. The DPI will show you how many tiny droplets can fit along a single inch on the page. When the DPI is higher, that means the printer makes small dots and a sharper image.
Difference between Inkjet printer and Laser Printer
The main difference is that the inkjet printer uses ink to print papers, while the laser printer uses a laser to print papers. Each printer has a different speed, functions, and image quality. Unlike laser printers which use laser toner, inkjet printers use ink cartridges.
Parts of the Inkjet Printers
If you open an inkjet printer, you will find these components.
- Print head- it is an essential part of the inkjet printer, which contains nozzles for spraying drops of ink onto the paper.
- Ink cartridge- different printer models come with varying combinations of an ink cartridge. They include a cartridge for each ink color, separate black, and color, color, and black in the same cartridge.
- Stepper motor- this motor helps move the ink cartridge and printhead forth and back across the paper.
- Belt –the belt attaches the print head to the stepper motor.
- Stabilizer bar- the inkjet printer has a stabilizer bar to ensure the printhead assembly’s price and controlled movement.
- Paper tray/feeder – you will find the printer with either a tray or feeder to hold the papers.
- Rollers- the rollers pull the paper in the print head assembly from the tray or feeder.
- Power supply- a modern inkjet comes with an in-built power supply.
- Control circuitry- the circuit decodes the information sent to the printer from the computer.
- Interface ports- the inkjet printer uses cables that are connected using the USB port.
How does the Print head Work?
The inkjet printer’s essential part is the print head as it sprays the ink onto the papers. It is equipped with an array of closely-arranged microscopic nozzles to ensure it sprays the ink onto surfaces like canvas, paper, and fabric, among others.
The way of spraying ink onto a paper depends on the underlying technology. The technology used to spray ink is categorized into 3:
Piezoelectric Technology
Manufacturers of Epson products use piezoelectric technology. These inks are not available if you do not have an Epson printer. Piezoelectric ink cartridges transmit a small electrical charge to the piezo crystal found behind the ink reservoir and control the flow of ink. By vibrating the crystals, an ink droplet is forced out to spray through the nozzle. When the crystal vibrates outward, it draws more ink from the reservoir to replace the sprayed ink.
Thermal Bubble Technology
If you have a Canon or HP inkjet printer, this technology is being used in your ink cartridge. Since the method uses heat, it does not reach the paper; however, it is contained within the ink cartridge. The resistors in the cartridge create heat which vaporizes the ink into a bubble. As the bubble expands, it pushes ink out of the nozzle. Lastly, when the bubble pops, it makes a vacuum that pulls more ink to the cartridge head. Bubble jet print heads contain 300 to 600 tiny nozzles; they can fire a droplet. Most people are buying printers with this technology. The ink used is mostly water-based, dye-based, and pigment-based.
Continuous Inkjet Technology
This technology is used for marking and coding products and packages. A high-pressure pump directs the ink from the reservoir via a nozzle, creating a stream of the ink. The droplets are formed by a charging electrode and subjected to an electrostatic field are then deflected to the receptor material to be printed using electrostatic deflection plates.
Which papers are excellent for inkjet printers?
Inkjet printers deliver high-quality print on plain uncoated paper that is mainly used for different documents. Images can also be printed on plain paper, but you can use unique papers to achieve the excellent look of a photograph. The photographic papers are thicker compared to plain paper and are coated with a smooth surface. The special paper is designed to accommodate the inkjet ink.
Inks used in Inkjet printers
Printer ink is made of pigments, solvents, resins, waxes, varnish, and lubricants. The ink is stored in a cartridge. Different printer models come with a combination of ink cartridges. The inks that you can use in your inkjet printers include:
Pigment-based ink
The pigment-based ink comes in powder form then suspended into liquid form. When the ink is evaporated, it makes the print look attractive and appealing. The ink is mostly used in printing labels and professional photos. Unlike dye-based inks, the pigment ink printer resists ultraviolet light. You will find this ink in the Arrow Aquajet 330R printer to deliver the best quality prints.
Solvent ink
Although solvent ink is similar to pigment ink, the only difference is that solvent ink uses volatile organic compounds. Besides, the ink dries faster through evaporation hence resulting in high-speed printing. You can use this ink on uncoated vinyl surfaces, such as billboards and banners.
Ultraviolet (UV) ink
Ultraviolet ink is a combination of polymer powder and monomer liquid hence resulting in the acrylic monomer. You can prefer UV ink for UV printing since it contains acrylic monomer and photo-initiator. Unlike dye ink which evaporates, this ink is exposed to UV LED light to cause a chemical reaction which ensures the printer prints solid images and labels.
Dye-based ink
The dye-based ink has colorants that dissolve into deionized water. This ink is mostly used in industrial how does an inkjet printer work for everyday use printing. Most businesses prefer using this ink because it prints out high-quality labels.
Difference between “Page-width format” and “Wide-format”
Although small inkjet printers are known for home and office use, there are professional inkjet printers for page-width format printing and wide format printing. “page-width format” means the print width range between 8.5″to 37″ while “wide format” means print width range between 24″up to 15″. The page-width how does an inkjet printer work is for printing vast business communication volumes such as billing, catalogs, and newspapers. The wide-format how does an inkjet printer work are for printing advertising graphics and by architects or engineers to do minor designs.
Advantages of the Inkjet Printers
Most people are utilizing inkjet printers for several reasons. They include:
- Printing with jet ink is popular since it dries fast and can be grabbed without smudging the sheet.
- Quiet Operation Inkjet printers are quieter to operate than dot matrix printers and Daisy wheel printers.
- High-quality prints – thanks to the high printhead resolution of inkjet printers, you can enjoy higher-quality prints. A few printers can also print in photorealistic colors.
- Affordable- Inkjet printers have lower costs per page than sublimation printers, thermal wax printers, and laser printers, which require warm-up time.
- Upon turning on, the device is ready for use
- Due to its compact design, it occupies less space in a home office.
Disadvantages of the inkjet printers
- Lightweight print heads- Inkjet printers employ lightweight heads that can get clogged easily.
- Inkjet cartridges are expensive-Most users opt for laser printers due to the high price of inkjet cartridges for their medium and high volume needs.
- High bleeding- when ink is carried sideways away from the intended area, it creates a sloppy appearance.
- Compared to laser printers, they tend to be slower.
- At most, it can hold 100 sheets.
Kind of Print Jobs to Use Your Inkjet Printer
The ink tends to be pricey compared to toner, so printing large volumes of black text is not the best option. Here are some things you can print with your inkjet printer:
- Paper that requires a slow print speed
- Duplexing label sheets
- High-quality color photographs
Don’t use an inkjet printer for:
- Long print jobs
- Barcode labels sheets.
- Glossy paper
Final Word
The article has a short overview of how does an inkjet printer work. Now that you understand inkjet printer operation, you can improve its efficiency by finding the best ink cartridge and technology to create high-quality and durable images and text.