Jul 27

RFID Redux

By tomashley Uncategorized No Comments »

A recent announcement from Wal-Mart may skirt around the impasse that is slowing the adoption of RFID. This impasse is typical of those that occur in new technologies; potential adopters consider the technology too expensive and potential investors and developers are reluctant to move forward in an unproved market. In this case, the reluctance is compounded by resistance on the part of privacy advocates, who believe RFID will provide a means for big brother – either corporate or government – to track our behavior and movements. It’s also true that large capital investments by retailers are needed, and these are not likely given the current state of the economy.

The impasse isn’t being broken by a technological breakthrough, but instead being skirted by a higher valued application. The expected application, replacement of barcodes by RFID tags, is still too costly, with tag prices remaining at $.07-$.10. Instead, the new application is the tracking of apparel on the sales floor, to ensure that all sizes and styles are on display. Stores that have piloted this application has seen apparel sales grow by as much as 14%. In-store inventory tracking is expected to improve as well. Wal-Mart is beginning to roll out this application in its stores.

So what does this have to do with ink jet? Nothing directly, but it does promise bring the subject of RFID back to the fore in the retail environment. After all, everything Wal-Mart does is then considered by virtually every other retailer. This in turn may help to break the impasse and stimulate new investment.

The expected role for ink jet remains smaller than in previous years (see The Ink Jet Blog for May 5, 2010). The printing of antennas has fallen into disfavor with increases in the price of silver, and if they are printed, it will likely be by conventional printing technology. But ink jet has unique benefits in the field of printed electronics, and the printing of RFID chips in a-roll to-roll process will be vital to driving tag costs down to the $.01-$.02 that is needed for large-scale adoption. It seems likely that printed silicon, such as that under development by Kovio, will be the first to market.

Visionaries believe that eventually, we will see RFID chips and antennas printed simultaneously with the printing of packaging. In that scenario, ink jet may play a much larger role.

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Jul 23

Where Have All the Printers Gone?

By tomashley Uncategorized No Comments »

I write the news section of Pivotal Resources’ “Directions” ink jet patent review publication. I just completed the March-April edition. If this hardly seems like news, bear in mind that it is meant to reflect the industry news at the time that the patents issued. The patents can’t be viewed and reviewed in real time, so to speak, so everything is a couple of months in arrears.

It has become more and more difficult to fill the allotted two pages with meaningful news. When I took on this task in 2002, the problem lay in describing the crowd of new desktop printers and MFPs briefly enough to allow room for anything else. Desktop announcements have slowed to a trickle, and now I must do far more research!

In the first four months of 2007, there were nineteen new desktop models. This rose to twenty-five in the corresponding months of 2008, but fell to fourteen last year and just ten this year. Of the ten, only one new print engine was represented, and most were barely noticeable revisions of earlier products.

The desktop market is obviously mature, both in terms of technology and of shipments. In fact, worldwide shipments of desktop ink jet devices fell by 15 percent, from more than 27 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 to 23 million in the corresponding quarter of 2009.

Though the desktop market is mature, IT Strategies estimate that 85% of the revenue generated by ink jet technology is still derived from desktop devices. Investment enabled and justified by this sector is a major feature of the ink jet landscape. This investment allowed the various suppliers to enter other markets, ranging from large-format printing to photo kiosks to commercial printing. Investment in ink jet by the market leaders is clearly falling rapidly.

Memjet-based desktop products are expected to join the entrenched competitors within the next few quarters. The arrival of those products will generate new buzz around home printing. It will be interesting to see whether the arrival of Memjet can help to revitalize the market and kindle new investment.

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Jul 22

Is Memjet for Real? Part 2

By tomashley Uncategorized No Comments »

In April, I wrote that the first real Memjet-based products would be shown at IPEX the following month. Indeed, the RAPID X1 and X2 label printers, manufactured by Rapid Machinery Company of Australia, were introduced at the show, as well as the Astro Machines M1 printer from Addressing and Mailing Solutions of the UK.

However, the first introduction actually occurred in April at the ON DEMAND Expo in Philadelphia, where Rena Systems showed its version of the Astro Machines M1.

These were followed in June, by the announcement by OWN-X Industrial (Budapest) of the SpeedStar 3000, a roll-to-roll, roll-to-sheet and fanfold format label printer.

Each of these is powered by the Memjet 8.66 inch (A4) wide, 5-color (CMYKK) print head, which delivers 1,600 dpi native print resolution. Top speed is 12 inches per second. One full 8 inch diameter roll of labels can be printed in just over 8 minutes.

Most significantly, I have been able to confirm that some of these devices are currently shipping to customers.

Each Memjet printhead consists of 70,400 ink jet nozzles, each less than 100 microns in diameter (roughly the width of human hair). These produce up to nine hundred million 1.2 picoliter droplets per second. The printheads are made of silicon in a semiconductor fab and driven by Memjet’s proprietary, “systems on a chip” print engine controller electronics, firmware, and software.

There continue to be strong indications that a Memjet-based large-format printer will appear at trade shows this fall, but it appears that we will have to wait a bit for the much-anticipated office printers. Certainly a phased rollout of a new technology by a new company makes sense. Speculation concerning an OEM customer for the office devices centers around consumer electronics firms like Sony and Panasonic, as well as computer manufacturers like Lenovo. This, too, makes sense, as Memjet will supply not only printheads and ink, but other subsystems and even print engines ready for private labeling.

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Jun 07

Digital newspaper press for $20,000

By Mike Willis Uncategorized No Comments »

It sounds unreal, but at IPEX 2010 Riso showed a digital duplicator that prints A2 sheets at 100 pages per minute in a single colour.  The machine being shown was a prototype and the intention was to judge market potential.

The machine is effectively a stretched (sideways) version of Riso’s existing range.  Even the projected price of $20,000 is double that of the existing half size A3 machine.  The machine was demonstrated, and by comparison to the large digital and conventional presses at the show, this unassuming press just immediately started and printed.

Duplicator technology is over a century old, and used to be the province of schools and churches.  In my youth you typed a stencil.  My first job was with UK stencil duplicator manufacturer Gestetner.  The company founder supposedly watched a kite fall into a puddle, and then someone walked over it.  He noticed the water came through where the shoe had pressed much more than it did elsewhere.  So a stencil – a thin coated film – could allow ink through wherever the film was broken, for instance by a typewriter.

In the 1980′s came thermal stencils, using a thermal printhead similar to those within fax machines to melt the image on the film.  This brought stencil duplicators into the digital age.

The print quality shown was excellent – both on newsprint and a white ‘office’ type paper. Sure you can’t match a high-quality laser printer, but the beauty of this process is that it’s low-cost and fast.  Inks are fast drying without any need for a dryer.

The drawback? Well, like conventional presses you are printing from a master.  So there is no electronic collating, this is high-speed printing of the same page.  But add some off-line finishing equipment and you can easily collate, fold, stitch and trim.

So, what could it be used for?  Well, there are three other qualities that I haven’t mentioned.  Firstly it is relatively light at 152 kg, so you can easily put it into a small truck.  Secondly it has a low-power mode consuming only 400 watts.  Thirdly this is a robust process, not a sensitive laser printer process that needs a controlled environment, nor a fussy ink jet system.  So guess who has shown an interest?  The military!

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May 05

Whatever Happened to RFID?

By tomashley Uncategorized No Comments »

Just a few years ago, RFID technology and printed electronics were expected to march in lock step towards a market for 80 billion tags worth $5 billion in 2010. Ink jet printing of first antennas and later the simple integrated circuits for radio frequency identification was expected to drive the cost of a tag down to $0.06 by now and ultimately to $0.01. This would enable item-level tagging for retail and drive a host of new applications from instant grocery check-out to microwave ovens that would understand how to cook prepared foods and refrigerators that would reorder expired milk. RFID tags would quickly replace bar codes, and RFID would lead the way into printed electronics, with ink jet carrying the banner. Companies sprang up or geared up to exploit the  opportunity.

It is hard to say which has been the more disappointing – the market or the technology. The world’s largest retailer, WalMart, is a microcosm (if it can be a micro-anything) of the RFID situation. In 2003, the company said it would require suppliers to use RFID on cases and pallets by 2007. Item-level tagging would follow by 2010, and, in one test, HP and Lexmark supplied individually RFID-tagged retail ink jet printers to WalMart in late 2005. But by 2008, the average cost of a tag was still well over a dollar and barely 2 billion were produced, compared to 10 trillion bar codes. Item-level tagging has been all but abandoned, though most of WalMart’s largest suppliers do tag their cases and pallets and the retailer saves tens of millions of dollars annually as a result.

Today RFID suffers from a lack of standards and infrastructure and is mostly confined to asset management and tracking and to niche applications such as automated road tolls and car key security. To gain broader acceptance in distribution, it will need major investments in infrastructure, and today’s economy won’t support that, even with the promise of future cost savings. Beyond that, retail RFID must overcome public perceptions that it is a way for Big Brother (governments and corporations) to pry into private affairs by tracking people and goods beyond the sale. Many companies have abandoned RFID, and especially the development of printed organic chips for it.

Ink jet hasn’t fared much better, as other print technologies proved more cost effective for antennas and for many other aspects of printing electronics as well. Ink jet still excels in applying the active (semiconducting) materials, but organic semiconductors are still too slow in electrical response. Start-up Kovio promises to print silicon by ink jet; combine that with Conductive Inkjet Technology’s catalytic inks, and ink jet technology could still cut the price of RFID tags to $0.02 to $0.04 – if the needed infrastructure and item-level demand ever develop. Yet emerging standards call for chip complexity well beyond the capability of ink jet printing. The promise envisioned in 2004 may never be realized.

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Apr 27

The problems of developing ink jet sheet-fed presses

By Mike Willis Uncategorized No Comments »

At Drupa 2008 Screen and Fujifilm both showed prototype B2 ink jet presses.  These will be launched at the forthcoming IPEX trade show at the NEC, Birmingham, UK 18-25 May, 2010.  Up until now all ink jet printers aimed at commercial printing have been web-based.

We already have the smaller format B3 format digital presses, in particular from HP Indigo. These are based on Indigo’s Electroink process which is a variant of electrophotography.  So why have we never had B2 versions?  Well, having spent the earlier part of my career designing and developing photocopiers and printers based on the EPG process, I can tell you that the cost goes up rapidly as you increase the process width.  Although it is possible to build wider machines, with multiple process steps the products would be very expensive.

In theory ink jet is better suited to increases in width.  You just stack more printheads across the machine and the costs should be proportional to the width. However there is a snag.  The ink jet printheads have to positioned very close to the substrate and the substrate needs to be moved precisely.  This means that conventional gripper drums used within offset presses can’t be used, as the grippers would collide with the relatively fragile printheads.

The Fuji Jet Press gripper and vacuum drum

From the patent literature we can see that the Fuji Jet Press 720 uses a variation on a gripper drum, but this only works on the leading edge, so there is also an internal vacuum system to help keep the substrate flat around the drum.  The vacuum is switched on and off with the rotation of the drum to allow the substrate to be gripped and released.

The Screen SX paper transport - a series of vacuum tables

Again from patents we believe that the Screen Jet SX uses a series of flat trays that are circulated around the lower part of the machine by chains.  The paper is fed on to the tray by an offset-type feeder, and is held flat during the printing process using a vacuum system.  The chain drive can’t move the tables past the printheads with enough precision of speed, so a series of linear motors take over for this part of the travel.  A vacuum picker system then lifts the sheets into the output stacker.

So why bother with sheet feed if a web-based paper feed is easier?  Well, the B2 sheet paper format is the most popular with commercial print shops.  They are used to the capability of quickly changing paper from one job to another.  They also have an existing investment in finishing equipment around the B2 size.  So we expect to see a lot of interest in these new machines at IPEX and will keep our blog readers posted.

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Apr 08

Lexmark’s Vizix Technology

By tomashley Uncategorized No Comments »

No one would have placed Lexmark among the leaders in desktop ink jet technology.  The company focused on being the low-cost producer of desktop printers – until now.  Lexmark’s focus is on consumables, and it found that buyers of its low-cost – often bundled – printers just don’t use many ink cartridges.  The company reduced its emphasis on that market, but lacked the technology to compete with the other desktop players in performance and print quality as well as consumables costs.

That changed with the company’s announcement last fall of its Vizix printer line, which feature fixed printheads and ink tanks.  This is Lexmark’s first venture into fixed, life-of-the-machine printheads, and it represents something of a breakthrough for the company, especially considering its modest investments in research and development.  It spent less than 7% of revenue on R&D in 2004-2007, though this has increased to nearly 10% in 2008-2009 (actual spending remained flat).  It ranked eighth to tenth among printer companies in patent applications in 2005-2008 and fell to fourteenth in 2009.  It has been in last place among desktop vendors.

Lexmark has said very little about the new printheads, but patent research suggests that they feature reduced actuator stack height, making them more efficient.  This is achieved through improved, thinner protective layers with better cavitation resistance and lower thermal expansion.  It also appears that thin-layer photoimageable nozzle plates are used to allow wafer-level processing of complete heads, leading to improved registration of layers.  The photo shows a cross-section of one channel, with the actuator stack at the right, offset from the orifice at the left.

Lexmark has used its ability to sell ink in tanks (rather than integrated cartridges) to reduce some ink prices and to join Kodak on the “cheap ink” bandwagon.  TV ads trumpet the $4.99 “500-page black ink cartridge”.  They don’t mention that devices that can use the aforementioned cartridges are priced at $199.95 and up.  Black cartridges for the mid-range Vizix devices sell for $15.99, and no page yield is mentioned.

Still, the important point is that Lexmark and its OEM customers are very much in the game, with competitive technology and print quality.  Rumors that Lexmark would exit the ink jet business were clearly unfounded.

Apr 07

Is Memjet For Real?

By tomashley Uncategorized 3 Comments »

I have been asked this question many times in the three years since Memjet founder Kia Silverbrook announced the technology and plans to introduce a product before the end of 2007.  Demonstration units made it seem at the time that a product was indeed imminent, but promises of products in 2007, 2008 and 2009 have not been met.  Some have even suggested that the announcement was a hoax.

All that may be about to change.  Next month at IPEX (Birmingham, UK), Impression Technology Europe has announced that it will introduce the RAPID X1 label printer with Memjet technology.  The Rapid X1 is a roll to roll printer with an 8 ½” wide 5 colour print head and a maximum print resolution of 1600 x 1600 dpi.  Maximum print speed is 12 inches per second at 1600 x 800 DPI.  The RAPID X1 is manufactured by Rapid Machinery Company of Chatswood, Australia.

Impression Technology Europe is a distributor of products manufactured by Impression Technology Pty Ltd of Sidney, Australia.  These DTG branded products are textile and garment ink jet printers.

Silverbrook Research, the parent of Memjet, is also located in Australia.

There are some indications that yet another Memjet-based label printer may appear at IPEX, and rumor has it that Memjet-based large format devices may be coming this year as well.

It appears that the Memjet strategy has changed from licensing the technology to supplying key components, such as printheads, drive electronics, and ink.  The company may also supply print engines for the home and office sector.

That Memjet is serious was shown late last year with their hiring of Len Lauer, former COO of Qualcomm; he left that position to join Memjet.  He had been rumored to be joining communications giant Verizon as its CEO, showing that he has major management talent.

Mar 30

Reading patents, yawn!

By Mike Willis Uncategorized 2 Comments »

At Pivotal Resources we run an ink jet patent review service, Directions.  Every 2 months we search for new patent applications in USA, Europe and those filed under the PCT scheme – around 700.  This gives us quite a large pile to sift through to find interesting stuff worth writing about.

Now, trying to stay awake long enough to do this isn’t easy, especially when you come across plenty of patent applications claiming something obvious – like a spanner or mounting holder for an ink tank.

But occasionally something crops up that brings a smile to our faces.  How about this one, filed by a large printer company in 2003, and published a couple of years ago.  The title is “Flexibly supported printer” which just about sums it up.  Just like Tigger in the Jungle Book, it’s legs are made of springs.

So, why springs?  Well, as the printheads whizz up and down inside the printer, the printer rocks and shakes about on it’s legs.  Add a face to the cover and you have something to entertain a child, who the printer vendor hopes will then send more documents to print!

Good idea?  Bad idea?  As far as I know it was never commercialised.  But someone had some fun thinking of it.  And so I’m sure did the patent examiner.  It’s US 7,300,148 if you want to check it out.

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Mar 19

Ink Jet IPEX?

By Mike Willis Uncategorized No Comments »

Held half way between Drupa trade shows, IPEX is a big printing industry event that you cannot ignore.  Coming up in just 2 months time 18-25 May 2010 at the NEC, Birmingham, UK the advance of digital printing is going to be very apparent.

I’ve been attending IPEX shows since the early 1980′s when there was almost no digital printing.  Xerox was selling high-speed production copiers and had a printer version.  Delphax was promoting ionography, and Bull magnetography.  In those politically incorrect days I was aghast to see strippers peforming on the Polychrome plate stand – the challenge of attracting an audience to a commodity product hasn’t gone, but the method has changed!

But the most exciting IPEX for me was 1993 when Indigo and Xeikon first showed their products.  Industry pundits were predicting the demise of offset printing by the year 2000.  The buzz about the place was enormous.  As usual the initial growth of new technology was grossly overestimated and it would be around a decade before a significant market penetration for digital colour had been achieved.

So what about ink jet?  Well, the Drupa show in 2008 was tagged ‘Ink Jet Drupa’ and certainly the new technology demonstrated was impressive.  Ink jet had finally shaken off the image of desk-top products – good quality but unreliable.  But with a few exception, the really impressive stuff was there as prototypes.  The expectation for IPEX 2010 is that we will see commercialised products and they will be working.

Kodak will be showing their Stream continuous ink jet technology, now incorporated into the Prosper range of machines.  Printing 200 metres/min. it has a duty cycle of 120 M A4 pages/month!  HP’s web press prints at 122 m/min. but has a wider web width and so similar productivity.

But perhaps the most interesting machines will be ink jet sheet-fed presses.  Fujifilm and Screen showed non-working prototypes at Drupa 2008 and we have been closely monitoring the patents published by both companies to understand better how they work.  At the moment the Fujifilm 720 press looks more interesting from a process point of view.  To enable printing on to a wide range of paper stocks, both machines use a colourless fixer or print improver liquid with is printed before the image.  This reacts with the ink to considerably improve the waterfastness, and the precipitate the colorants on the substrate surface giving brighter images.  The Fujifilm patents describe a further twist.  The ink contains not just coloured pigments but transparent polymer beads.  After printing these are fused on to the substrate in a process similar to the hot roll fusing of toner technology.  The result is likely to be good adhesion and gloss even on smooth coated substrates.

We will be commenting further on technology at IPEX, and of course reviewing it after the event.  And the IMI Europe Ink Jet Conference, to be held this year in Lisbon 27-29 October, will be featuring both the technology and markets for ink jet digital presses.

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