Ink-jet Printing -- Coming Up Heads and Tales

The type of ink-jet print head employed has implications for performance characteristics (imaging speed and resolution), ink requirements and capital cost. Each type of ink—aqueous, solvent, oil or UV based, and dye vs. pigment—in turn impacts substrate flexibility (support for coated papers), color (saturation, vibrancy and light fastness) and per-sheet cost. Combinations of hardware and ink also factor into other considerations, such as nozzle clogging (which is addressed through maintenance routines and redundant heads) and the life span of the imaging system.