Inkjet Academy
Theory of Inkjet Technology
Monday 20 - Tuesday 21 June, 2016
Heidelberg Print Academy, Heidelberg, Germany
This one-and-a-half day course has been attended by over 3,000 people in the past 17 years. Presented by Mike Willis of Pivotal Resources and Dr Alan Hudd of Alchemie Technology, the course covers all of the basics of inkjet technology.
INTRODUCTION
Understanding the basics is essential to any industry’s development. The Inkjet Academy one-and-a-half day course covers the basic theory behind the many types of inkjet technology used today and aims to give your understanding of the industry an expert start.
On the course you’ll learn how printheads work, the materials used in their fabrication and the theory of their operation. You’ll also find out about how inks are formulated and used, as well as ink supply and support systems.
The course assumes a basic scientific knowledge and is designed to provide useful background information for anyone entering the inkjet industry, seeking an update on today’s technology or looking for further fields of development.
COURSE OUTLINE
Monday 20 June, 2016
12:30 – 13:30 Registration
13:30 Course begins
Introduction to Inkjet
- Course overview
- Types of inkjet technology
- Drop on demand technologies
- Thermal and piezo inkjet
- Evolution of inkjet markets
- Inkjet patents
Inkjet Ink Technologies
- Ink types: aqueous, solvent, oil, phase change & UV cure
- Dyes & pigments
- Inkjet ink formulations
DOD Printhead Technologies
- Thermal inkjet
- Piezo inkjet
- Piston mode designs
- Roof mode actuators
- Stacked piezo technology
- Shear mode designs
- Silicon printheads
Inkjet Ink Design
- Inkjet ink design
- Understanding the inkjet printing process
- Drop formation
- Properties influencing piezo inkjet ink performance
- Testing an ink for reliability: methods & characterisation
17:30 Session ends
18:00 - 19:00 Reception
Join us for beers, wines and good company!
Tuesday 21 June, 2016
08:30 Session begins
Printhead Operational Issues
- Drop placement accuracy
- Drop ejection frequency
- Crosstalk
- Reliability
- Life issues
Inkjet Ink Materials and Dispersions
- Range of materials and ink chemistries
- Evolution of inkjet inks
- Evolution of dyes
- Pigments and dispersion technology
- Dispersion theory
- Polymers and additives
- Processes and manufacturing
Print and Image Quality
- Factors affecting print quality
- Printhead-ink-substrate
- Greyscale methods
- Drop detection
- Missing nozzle compensation
UV Ink Chemistry and Curing
- UV curable materials
- Monomers
- Oligomers
- Photoinitiators
- UV curing
- e-beam curing
- Print quality issues with UV inks
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch
13:30 Session begins
System Design Issues
- Industrial ink supplies
- Bubble control
- Nozzle maintenance
- Mist conrol
Inkjet Applications
- Coding, marking, mailing, addressing
- Wide format graphics
- Industrial decoration - décor & laminates
- Ceramic tiles
- Textiles
- Commercial printing
- Labels & packaging
- Printed electronics, bio-medical & 3D printing
Emerging Technologies
- Kodak Stream
- Memjet
- HP PageWide technology
- Landa Nanography
- Lead-free piezo
- Speed & resolution trends
17:30 Course ends
COURSE LEADERS
Mike Willis, Managing Director
Pivotal Resources Limited
Cambridge, UK
Mr Willis founded Pivotal Resources, a consultancy in the digital printing industry, in 1995. He has experience in a wide range of technologies and markets including drop-on-demand and continuous inkjet printing, electro-photographic technology, greyscale and colour reproduction methods and light sensitive materials.
Prior to founding Pivotal Resources, Mike was Director of Electronic Printing at Meta Generics. Mr Willis was a founder member of Xaar - a spin-off company from Cambridge Consultants where he spent ten years working in a number of roles, culminating as Group Leader of Non-Impact Printing. Before that, he spent six years at Gestetner developing photocopiers. Mr Willis graduated from the Polytechnic of Central London with an honours degree in Photographic Sciences.
Dr Alan Hudd, Director
Alchemie Technology
Cambridge, UK
Dr Hudd is Director and co-founder of Alchemie Technology Ltd. Alchemie is an independent contract development and consultancy company to the industrial inkjet industry. Alchemie is also developing and commercialising a range of novel printhead technologies through its joint venture company, Jetronica. Jetronica specialises in supplying solutions to selectively pattern liquids and powders capable of using a wide range of chemistries from graphene through textile pre-treatments and 3D printing of metal powders to drugs for implantable drug devices.
Alan Hudd was the Founder and Managing Director of Xennia Technology from 1996 to 2012.