Inkjet Academy

Theory of Inkjet Technology

Monday 1 - Tuesday 2 July 2024

Novotel Gent Centrum Hotel, Ghent, Belgium

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

Monday 1 July 2024

12:30 – 13:30 Registration

13:30 Course begins

Introduction to Inkjet

  • Course overview

  • Why use inkjet? Pros and cons

  • Types of inkjet technology

  • Continuous/drop on demand

  • Thermal and piezo inkjet

  • Ink technologies

  • Evolution of inkjet markets

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

17:30 Session ends

17:30 - 18:30 Reception

Join us for beers, wines and good company!

Tuesday 2 July 2024

08:30 Session begins

Inkjet Inks

  • Inkjet ink design

  • Inkjet ink requirements

  • Drop formation

  • Reliability and testing

  • Dyes and pigments

  • Dispersing particles in an inkjet ink

Inkjet Systems & Components

  • Integration issues

  • System design

  • Ink supply

  • Nozzle maintenance

  • Drop break-off and placement accuracy

  • Drop impact and spread

  • Mist control

  • Factors affecting print quality

  • Greyscale methods

  • Drop detection

  • Banding, single pass issues

  • Drying effects

  • Missing nozzle detection

  • Missing nozzle compensation

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch

13:30 Session begins

Industrial Inkjet Markets

  • Benefits of digital printing

  • Industrial inkjet business model

  • Barriers to entry and collaboration

  • Market penetration data

  • Instructive examples

Case Studies & Trends

  • Textiles

  • Packaging and labelling

  • 3D printing

  • Decorative surfaces

  • Coatings

  • Life sciences

  • Electronics

  • Additive manufacturing

  • Speed & resolution trends

17:30 Course ends

COURSE LEADERS

Dr Mark Bale, Director
DoDxAct, UK

Dr Mark Bale is the founder of DoDxAct Ltd in Somerset, United Kingdom where he consults in all aspects of inkjet R&D from ink formulation and manufacture through jetting & process integration to final application optimisation. His experience takes in production inkjet, wide-format graphics, labels & packaging, decorative surfaces, electronics manufacturing, product coding and 3D printing.  

 

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.

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