Myths about Apsolute thermal inkjet printing (TIJ).
As a continually evolving technology, Apsolute thermal inkjet (TIJ) technology has been the subject of many myths
Myth: Apsolute TIJ boils the ink.
Reality: Less than 0.3% of the ink is heated, and full print speed results in a 30°C temperature rise.
Myth: Apsolute thermal inkjet heads don't last.
Reality: The trade-off is cost vs. life expectancy, and we have decided to use low-cost replaceable heads. The benefits of this trade-off to you include:
• Maintenance-free
• Higher reliability = higher uptime
• Efficient high-volume production
• Lower drive costs as a result of integrated drive heads and
low drive energy requirements
• Consistent image quality—the last image out of the
cartridge will equal the superb quality of the first image
produced
Myth: Only TIJ needs special ink.
Reality: All inkjet technology requires special ink. Why?
The ink must be compatible with the printhead material, and there is a wide choice of thermal inkjet dye and pigment-based inks available. Thermal inkjet ink must be a low boiling-point fluid. A wide variety of fluids have been used successfully in the industry.
Myth: TIJ inks do not stick to packaging materials
Reality: Typical HP systems that only employ water-based inks are limited to porous or semi-porous surfaces. APS developed Apsolute TIJ to use a range of alcohol-based ink that will adhere to a wide range of materials used in packaging such as blister foils, films and coated cartons.
Myth: The cost of the ink is very high
Reality: The absolute cost of ink is a meaningless measure – what matters is how much each print, or more typically 1000 prints, will cost to make. Continuous inkjet printers use make-up solution even when they are not printing and, because start-up and shutdown can be problematic, are often left running 24 hours a day. TIJ printers, being drop-on-demand, only use ink to make a print.
In addition, the Apsolute TIJ monitors ink costs where the user can reduce by adjusting various parameters. Whereas continuous inkjet costs cannot be reduced unless you want to turn it off!
Myth: The print is grey, not black
Reality: Early formulations were more grey than black, but newer ones are much darker. This overlooks the point that a print is there to be read and a dark grey code is far more legible that the blind emboss print that it is often replaces. Furthermore, a DataMatrix bar code verifier places far more emphasis on the correct structure of the code, than the contrast.
