Industrial Inkjet Printer basically uses inkjet technology to print (Print & Coding) as part of the manufacturing process of a product on the production line. The main use of Inkjet Printer is to print information such as Expiry/Expired Date, Manufacture Date, Batch Number, QR Code and other information on a product. Industrial Inkjet Printer printing systems can basically be classified into two categories, namely Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) or Drop On Demand (DOD).
Continuous (CIJ) & Drop On Demand (DOD)
As the name implies, Continuous Inkjet technology shoots droplets continuously from the printhead. These droplets are then directed to the media as printing droplets or to a collector for recirculation and reuse. Hitachi Inkjet Printer falls under the CIJ category, while Drop on Demand technology dispenses drops from the printhead only when needed. Squid Ink falls into the DOD category.
Continuous Inkjet Printer (CIJ)
Continuous Inkjet Printer (CIJ) is used for coding and marking of products. In this technology, a pump directs liquid from a reservoir to a nozzle, which emits a continuous stream of droplets at a high frequency. The droplets pass through a set of electrodes that impart a charge to each drop. The charged droplets then pass through a deflection plate that uses an electrostatic field to select the droplets to be printed and the droplets are collected and returned for reuse. With CIJ the printed droplets can be directed to multiple positions on the substrate. The high ejection frequency of CIJ provides the capability for very high speed inkjet printing, suitable for applications such as coding Expired Date, Batch Number, Manufacture date and other info on products, such as food cans. An additional benefit of CIJ is the high printing speed, which allows for relatively long distances between the print head and substrate.
Drop on Demand (DOD) Inkjet
With Drop on demand (DOD) inkjet printing, the printhead ejects ink only when needed. In general, drops are formed by the creation of pressure pulses within the printhead. DOD technology, when combined with variable drop size, enables grayscale printing, creating photorealistic gradients as well as deep blacks, even on porous surfaces such as corrugated cardboard.