Micro piezo
Micro Piezo is the brand name of inkjet - print head technology of Seiko Epson Corporation , a Japanese company. This technology, which has been available since 1993, is used in many Epson printers - from small photo printers to industrial printing systems . In addition to thermal inkjet technology, it is used very widely in the printing sector.
history
In 1978 Epson began to search for and develop new printing technologies. Although a printer with piezo printing technology appeared on the market as early as 1984 with the SQ-2000, a wide variety of technologies continued to be investigated and tested. Only in 1988 did the company concentrate on the further development of micro-piezo print head technology. Five years later, the newly developed print head based on a multilayer piezo element was ready for the market. A milestone was set with the Epson Stylus 800 (known as the MJ-500 in Japan), which in 1993 was the first printer for the consumer sector to be equipped with a micro-piezo print head with 48 nozzles.
The further development could be advanced in 2007 with thin-film piezo technology, which led to a reduction in the size of the print heads and higher resolution thanks to more nozzles. Today Epson advertises the advancement of the technology as PrecisionCore technology. The PrecisionCore piezo elements are triggered up to 50,000 times per second.
functionality
The core element of the technology is a material that uses the piezoelectric effect . An electrical voltage is applied to a piezoelectric plate, the plate deforms and thus presses liquid ink out of a nozzle.
In a micro-piezo print head, there is a piezo element behind the color nozzles. This piezo element consists of a piezoelectric material combined with a vibrating plate. If an electrical voltage is now applied to the piezo element, the element bends outwards. This effect creates a negative pressure, which leads to the fact that ink is sucked from the ink chamber into the antechamber. As soon as the ink is to be ejected, the polarity is reversed and the piezo element bends very quickly in the opposite direction. This effect drives the ink through the paint nozzle at high speed.
The electrical charge can be varied very finely, making it possible to control the amount of ink ejected very precisely. Mainly because the ink is not heated. Droplets with a size of 1.5 picoliters can be generated; this precision can be demonstrated in the printing results. Epson calls the control of the print head VSDT ( Variable Sized Droplet Technology ).
The printhead is built into the printer and does not have to be replaced with every cartridge replacement. The printhead must therefore be designed to be more robust and more expensive than with other technologies. In return, the cost of the ink cartridges is cheaper, since the cost of the print head is eliminated. In addition, a wide range of inks and colors can be used because, unlike other techniques, the ink is not heated.
Future of technology
Epson relies on the technology it has developed itself and tries to conquer new markets. Solutions for textiles, labels for harsh environments and digital signage are currently being worked on.
Web links
- Article from Epson on how the micro piezo technology works
- Article using technology for tough color labels
Individual evidence
- ↑ First Epson Ink-Jet printer, SQ2000 (Epson Corporate Website)
- ↑ First Epson printer with micro piezo technology, Epson Stylus 800 (Epson Corporate Website)
- ↑ Introduction to Micro Piezo Technology (Epson Corporate Website) ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
