Inkjet Design & Operational Issues
(Inks, Substrates & Subsystems)
Real World Experiences on System Tuning, Debug, and Development
September 6, 2019
Embassy Suites Chicago – Lombard/Oak Brook, Illinois, USA
Inkjet Design & Operational Issues - Inks, Substrates & Subsystems
Course Focus
Successful inkjet printing applications result from the marriage of inks, substrates, and printer. IMI’s Inkjet Design & Operational Issues - Inks, Substrates & Subsystems course addresses the real world trade-offs that are required to make the end user customer successful.
The course will be helpful for senior executives, commercial managers, development teams, end users, and others looking to expand their knowledge and understanding of:
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Printer design and common design mistakes that can appear to be ink related
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How inks constrain the printer and printhead design. In other words, what are the trade-offs the engineers and system developers make and how does it affect ink requirements
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Pictures of real world print defects, common causes, and debug methods
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How new generation ink supply systems can degrade inks or remove certain ink additives
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Successful printhead maintenance methods and how ink formulation can help
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Real world experiences of course leader Rob Roger’s 20 years of inkjet experience in all aspects of system design, program management, field service, and printhead technical support roles in a variety of markets and printer types.
This course will provide unique understanding of inkjet’s capabilities, idiosyncrasies, and functionality. If you are faced with developing, implementing or operating state-of-the-art inkjet systems, you want to take this course – it can provide knowledge and insights simply not available elsewhere as well as saving time and financial resources in your development and implementation efforts! Don’t Miss Out!
This course is being held immediately following IMI's Inkjet Age of Materials Conference 2019 on September 6, 2019.
Inkjet Design & Operational Issues - Inks, Substrates & Subsystems
Course Outline
Friday, September 6, 2019
8:00 a.m. Registration
8:30 a.m. Course Session Begins
Introduction & course overview
Real world experience overview: System tuning, debugging, and development
Printhead selection
Jetting Process: Tuning of jetting parameters to increase reliability & print speed
Maintenance methods
Common print defects, causes, & debug process
Process development: Marriage of ink, substrate, printhead, & printer
Suppliers & users must understand constraints/problems of others!
Key issues: Jetting requirements, drop spread issues, stitch, nozzle compensation, surface tension challenges, etc.
Why printhead stitch and nozzle compensation are difficult
Trade-offs that are made to optimize the system: It takes the ink, substrate, printhead, and printer suppliers to make a viable system. In a new & emerging field, it normally takes sacrifices in all areas.
Jetting Process: How it works and real-world methods to improve reliability & jetting speed
Physics of jetting process explained with videos
Common questions answered: What limits jetting frequency, best real word drop shape,
why printheads degrade, etc.
Printhead Selection
Printhead types & list of suppliers
List of common printing & deposition applications
Advantages/Disadvantages of printheads: “Things the printhead companies won’t tell you”
Opinion of best printheads for specific applications: Group discussion encouraged
12:00 Noon Networking Luncheon
1:00 p.m. Course Reconvenes
How to fine tune jetting parameters for reliable, high speed performance
Dual tuning method: Drop shape & reliability testing
Difference in ink supply systems & printhead electronics can make a big
difference in tuning methods & resulting wave form
Avoiding jetting frequencies when possible
Basic effect of ink properties on tuning
Long term reliability testing methods
Printhead maintenance: Strategies to maintain print quality
List of various printhead maintenance strategies: wiping, firing nozzles in gutter, vacuum purge, sub-jetting to oscillate meniscus, etc.
Videos & pictures with explanation of successful systems
Ink formulation types that make the process easier
Nozzle compensation challenges & methods: Using neighboring nozzles to compensate for nozzle outages.
Ink supply functions/design choices that stress & potentially degrade inks/fluids
Common recirculating & direct ink supply design/operation
Causes of ink degradation
Bubble formation/foaming during recirculation that may appear to be ink problem
Ink degradation from improper degas methods
Image Quality Problems: Common image defects & causes with debug method
Pictures of real-world image quality problems with causes
Recommended debug method for common types of issues for quick diagnosis
Problems with printer design that look like ink problems
Printhead maintenance systems: Why it often looks like the ink is the problem but it’s really a system design issue
Printhead to substrate height or air turbulence that looks like a misting/satellite drop problem
Poor fire pulse shape causing jetting issues
Ink cooling during high coverage printing (heaters can’t keep up) resulting in lower ink temperature
and poor jetting (very common)
Nozzle contamination/poor printhead maintenance procedures/design
& more
Printer design problems or users’ factory conditions that look like substrate issues
Time to cure/dry is too long so it causes retraction and small circular areas without ink (“fish eyes”)
Mold release on molded parts
Silicon spray in factories (very common)
& more
Group roundtable on common questions & discussion of attendees’ projects
Nozzle compensation challenges?
How does an encoder work?
Common field issues: Causes & solutions
Course registrants will be requested to submit their questions both prior to and during the course
4:00 p.m. Course Adjournment
Inkjet Design & Operational Issues - Inks, Substrates & Subsystems
Course Leader
Rob Rogers, Founder & President, Print3 Technologies, Shawnee, Kansas
Rob Rogers is the Founder and President of Print3 Technologies, an inkjet consulting and contract engineering firm, assisting clients with their digital printing and deposition needs.
Rob has been involved in the inkjet industry for over 20 years, where he has been responsible for the design, development, and field service of a wide range of inkjet production printing systems including: wide format printers, inkjet printing presses, solar cell deposition systems, direct to container printers, etc. Rob has worked with some of the largest companies including Heidelberg, EFI, HP, Mark Andy, SunPower, and many more confidential clients.
Rob formerly worked at Dimatix where he assisted international customers with new product development. Rob was a Co-Founder and Principle Engineer of Jetrion that was acquired by EFI. While at Jetrion he was responsible for multiple custom ink jet production machines and the first commercially successful label press and direct to container printer. Rob graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Inkjet Innovation Academy Sponsorships
IMI is excited to announce a sponsorship opportunity for industrial industry suppliers to position themselves “front and center” before a key group of inkjet and industrial print developers working across key application areas - PLUS distributing their message to the IMI global database of over 20,000 relevant contacts.
Our goal is to develop a “community” focused on the Inkjet Innovation Academy program course and Sponsors to generate excitement about industrial print technologies and applications developments - benefiting all inkjet industry participants and end users.
For additional information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Al Keene al@imiconf.com
Complimentary Display Space
Product demonstrations and displays by Inkjet Innovation Academy attendees are encouraged. IMI will cooperate with all interested parties to provide appropriate space so products can be displayed and demonstrated during the Inkjet Innovation Academy breaks & receptions. There is no charge in addition to the course registration fee to have a display table. Interested companies should contact IMI President Al Keene al@imiconf.com to ensure that proper arrangements are made for product displays and demonstrations.
You can also reserve your display space and Suppliers’ Forum presentation slot by registering online and checking off the appropriate boxes indicating your participation.
I.T. Strategies Market Report
All participants will receive a free copy I.T. Strategies latest annual Market Report, The Numbers 2019 “Production & Industrial Print Global Statistical Summary.” Commissioned by IMI and generated from I.T. Strategies’ worldwide digital printing industry model, it provides an ongoing source of market information based on a consistent methodology and reporting structure.
About IMI
IMI sponsors conferences to assist in understanding emerging technology developments, markets and applications requirements. IMI conferences offer attendees unique opportunities for leading hardware, technology development, materials, manufacturing, software, and user companies to network and develop a more comprehensive understanding of current as well as future developments impacting successful product implementations, market entry/expansion and technology utilization. Since 1990, IMI has held over 600 programs attended by well over 25,000 technical, marketing and management personnel from companies around the world.
IMI conference programs are designed to enable attendees to obtain the latest technical, market and application information while allowing time to network with other attendees in a time and cost-efficient manner. Attendance at an IMI conference enables attendees to meet with an industry’s leading experts in a single location over a short period of time thus maximizing information transfer efficiency and minimizing travel and time expenses.
Details on all of IMI’s activities can be found on our web site www.imiconf.com or by contacting us:
IMI
1106 Valley Crossing
Carrabassett Valley, ME 04947
USA
Phone: +1-207-235-2225
Fax: +1-207-560-9119
Email: imi@imiconf.com Web Site: www.imiconf.com
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Inkjet Design & Operational Issues
(Inks, Substrates & Subsystems)
September 6, 2019
Embassy Suites Chicago – Lombard/Oak Brook, Illinois, USA
The reference materials for this completed course are not being sold at this time. If you would like to be contacted when another IMI conference on this topic is announced, please fill out the form below, then select the "Send to IMI…" button.