Inkjet Academy
Theory of Inkjet Technology
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 17 January 2022
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
Tuesday 18 January 2022
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.
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.