Inkjet Academy
Theory of Inkjet Technology
Monday 25 - Tuesday 26 January 2021
Online Course
Course Focus
Understanding the basics is essential to any industry’s development. The Inkjet Academy course covers the theory behind the many types of inkjet technology used today and gives 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 Simon Kew and Dr Alan Hudd of Alchemie Technology, 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 25 January 2021
13:20 - 13:30 Registration
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
Tuesday 26 January 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 Lunch 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 Alan Hudd, Chairman
Alchemie Technology, UK
Dr Hudd is Chairman of Alchemie Technology Ltd. Alchemie supplies products and solutions for a wide range of digital dispensing applications ranging from industrial coatings to textiles. Prior to forming Alchemie Alan was the Founder and Managing Director of Xennia Technology, an industrial inkjet integrator, from 1996 to 2012. Alan has published multiple papers in the field of inkjet and holds a PhD research degree in Polymer Chemistry from Manchester University.
Dr Simon Kew, Managing Director
Alchemie Technology, UK
Dr Kew leads Technology and Business Development at Alchemie Technology. He has over 15 years of experience in new product and process innovation applied to chemistry-enabled products. Working across industries including consumer goods, foodstuffs, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, he has been responsible for delivering new products and process innovation programmes worldwide. He specialises in the delivery of innovation using digital manufacturing technologies including inkjet printing and additive manufacturing technologies. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering.