Inkjet Academy

Theory of Inkjet Technology

Monday 5 - Tuesday 6 July 2021

Online Course

Course Focus

Understanding the basics is essential to any industry’s development. The Inkjet Academy one-and-a-half day course covers the theory behind the many types of inkjet technology used today and aims to give your understanding of the industry an expert start.

The course will show you how printheads work, the materials used in their fabrication and the theory of their operation. You will also learn how inks are formulated and used, as well as about ink supply and support systems. The course examines how drops are formed, travel and behave on the substrate surface. Fundamental aspects of printer operation such as nozzle maintenance and print quality are also covered.

Presented by Dr Mark Bale of DoDxAct and Dr Tim Phillips of Catenary Solutions & IMI Europe, 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 (Central European TIMe)

Monday 5 july 2021

13:20 – 13:30 Log-on & join the meeting

13:30 Course begins

Introduction to Inkjet

  • Course overview

  • Types of inkjet technology

  • Drop on demand technologies

  • Thermal and piezo inkjet

  • Ink technologies: aqueous, solvent oil, phase change and UV cure

  • Materials and ink formulations

  • Evolution of inkjet markets

  • Desktop and Industrial markets

  • Inkjet patents

Industrial inkjet printheads

  • Continuous inkjet

  • Summary of current piezo printheads

  • Properties and key features

  • Drop ejection frequency, crosstalk, reliability and life issues

  • Choosing a printhead starting from the application performance

  • Printhead trends such as Si-MEMS/TFH

Inkjet inks

  • Inkjet ink design

  • Understanding the inkjet printing process

  • Reliability

  • Drop formation

  • Properties influencing piezo inkjet ink performance

  • Testing an ink for reliability: methods & characterisation

  • Materials and dispersion theory

17:30 Session ends

17:30 - 18:30 Virtual Networking Reception

Tuesday 6 july 2021

08:30 Session begins

Creating a reliable industrial inkjet system

  • Integration issues

  • System design

  • Ink supply

  • Nozzle maintenance

  • Drop break-off and placement accuracy

  • Drop impact and spread

  • Mist control

  • Factors affecting print quality

  • Printhead-ink-substrate

  • Greyscale methods

  • Drop detection

  • Banding, single pass issues

  • Drying effects

  • Missing nozzle detection

  • Missing nozzle compensation

12:30 - 13:30 Break

13:30 Session begins

Industrial inkjet markets

  • The digital proposition and benefits

  • Industrial inkjet business model

  • Infrastructure barriers to entry

  • The inkjet successes

  • The numbers

  • Future “stars”

Challenges to create a successful industrial inkjet solution

  • Textiles

  • Packaging and labelling

  • 3D printing

  • Decorative surfaces

  • Coatings

  • Life sciences

  • Electronics

  • “Additive” manufacturing processes

Emerging technologies

  • Kodak Stream

  • Memjet

  • HP PageWide technology

  • Landa Nanography

  • Lead-free piezo

  • Speed & resolution trends

17:30 Course ends


COURSE LEADERS

Dr Mark Bale, Director
DoDxAct, UK

Mark Bale is a PhD qualified Physicist who started DoDxAct Ltd in 2017 in order to provide practical support to those developing technology for the industrial inkjet printing industry based on independent laboratory facilities. Specialising in print heads, inks and the optimisation of print process, Mark is recognised by leading vendors of inks, heads, printers and components as someone who can enable their technology in the market and support their customers to success. DoDxAct's clients list comprises start-ups to globally-recognised brands, spanning 4 continents with the common goal of getting the most out of their inkjet products or application.

After starting his career in Oxford and Cambridge University Spin-off companies Opsys and CDT, Mark got into inkjet by helping develop the process to print OLED displays, including the print strategy & metrology to optimise the uniformity. Mark then worked with Sun Chemical for over 10 years, ultimately leading a team that supported the integration of cutting-edge inkjet ink developments of all types into OEM customers of their SunJet branded and private labelled products.

Tim Phillips.jpg

Dr Tim Phillips
Founder & Director, Catenary Solutions
Managing Director, IMI Europe

Tim Phillips has extensive experience in challenging inkjet integration projects, spending eight years working at Xennia Technology Ltd, the leading inkjet solutions company that was acquired by Sensient in 2015. This involved working with a wide range of companies developing technology for new applications including textiles, ceramics, packaging, décor and functional material deposition for printed electronics and biomedical uses. Tim founded Catenary Solutions in 2015 to bring this knowledge of digital solution development and marketing to a wider audience, working with numerous companies in the inkjet industry since then. Tim is an experienced presenter of IMI Europe courses including the Inkjet Academy, Inkjet Ink Manufacturing & Digital Textile Printing courses.

Tim graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MA Honours degree in Natural Sciences, and completed his PhD in liquid crystal physics and chemistry at the University of Bristol. He has also qualified as an Executive MBA with the University of Warwick.