Ready for Prime Time?: A Primer on Inkjet Presses

DOD heads fire ink droplets as needed, targeting specific spots on the media. Drop-on-demand heads are flexible enough to accommodate three different print technologies:

Thermal inkjet (TIJ) is the most common, thanks to countless desktop printers in homes, offices and schools, and wide-format printers and addressing systems. Thermal heads are less expensive than CIJ or piezoelectric heads and have to be replaced more often, typically when changing ink. TIJ works by sending a pulse of electrical current through a small ink chamber. The pulse causes an explosion of steam, creating a bubble that displaces ink in the chamber and fires a droplet of ink through a nozzle onto the surface of the media.