Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
Piezo Inkjet: For What and for Whom? In the desktop category, there’s only one piezo
player, and that’s Epson. With six- to seven-color inks in dye and pigment versions, these
are the printers that have historically owned a significant share of the photographerartist,
self-printing inkjet market. Other manufacturers join Epson in the wide-format
category. As with thermal, piezo inkjet printers are widely available and produce up to
excellent image quality.
Solid Ink
How Does It Work? Formerly called “phase change,” solid ink technology is the inkjet
oddball. The Xerox Phaser 8400 (Xerox is the only real player in this category) is a true
piezoelectric inkjet, but there are several surprises. First, the pigmented colors come in the
form of solid blocks of resin-based inks, although the ink still ends up as a liquid after
heating (hence the term “phase change”). These printers also have the affectionate nickname
“crayon printers,” from the resemblance of the ink sticks to children’s crayons.
And instead of a smaller, reciprocating printhead assembly, there is a single printhead that
extends nearly the width of the paper with 88 nozzles in each of four rows. The same piezo
substance we’ve already learned about shoots the ink droplets out as before, but in another
twist, the ink doesn’t go onto the paper; instead, the ink goes onto a turning offset drum
that is kept warm so the ink doesn’t solidify. The drum then transfers (in a single pass) the
still-molten ink to the paper under pressure to form the image.
Epson’s Stylus Pro 4000 features ink
droplet sizes down to 3.5 picoliters and
17-inch wide printing.
Courtesy of Epson America, Inc.