Inkjet Academy

27-28 January, 2016

Keio Plaza Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

Introduction

Basic knowledge of any industry is essential to its development. The Inkjet Academy covers the basic theory behind the many types of industrial inkjet technology used today and aims to give your understanding of the industry an expert start.

On the course you’ll learn how printheads work, what materials are used in their fabrication and the theory of their operation. You’ll also find out about inks used for industrial printing, how they are formulated and used and about ink supply and support systems.

The course is designed for those with a basic scientific knowledge and will provide useful background information for anyone entering the industrial inkjet industry, seeking an update on today’s technology or looking for further fields of development. The teaching presentations will be in English but the course materials will be printed in both English and Japanese.


Course Programme

Wednesday 27 January

08:30 - 09:00 Registration

09:00 Course begins

Introduction to Inkjet
• Course overview
• Types of inkjet technology
• Drop on demand technologies
• Thermal and piezo inkjet
• Evolution of inkjet markets
• Inkjet patents

Inkjet Ink Technologies
• Ink types: aqueous, solvent, oil, phase change & UV cure
• Dyes & Pigments
• Inkjet ink formulations
• Inkjet ink design
• Understanding the inkjet printing process
• Drop formation
• Properties influencing piezo inkjet ink performance
• Testing an ink for reliability: methods & characterisation

DOD Printhead Technologies
• Thermal inkjet
• Piezo inkjet
- Piston mode designs
- Roof mode actuators
- Stacked piezo technology
- Shear mode designs
- Silicon printheads

12:00-13:00 Lunch

13:00 Session begins

Inkjet Ink Materials and Dispersions
• Range of materials and ink chemistries
• Evolution of inkjet inks
• Evolution of dyes
• Pigments and dispersion technology
• Dispersion theory
• Polymers and additives
• Processes and manufacturing

Printhead Operational Issues
• Drop placement accuracy
• Drop ejection frequency
• Crosstalk
• Reliability
• Life issues

UV Ink Chemistry and Curing
• UV curable materials
• Monomers
• Oligomers
• Photoinitiators
• UV curing
• Print quality issues with UV inks

18:00 Session ends

Thursday 28 January

09:00 Session begins

Print and Image Quality
• Factors affecting print quality
• Printhead-ink-substrate
• Greyscale methods

System Design Issues
• Industrial ink supplies
• Bubble control
• Nozzle maintenance

Emerging Technologies
• Kodak stream
• Memjet
• HP PageWide technology
• Landa Nanography
• Lead-free piezo
• Speed & resolution trends

Inkjet Applications
• Coding, marking, mailing, addressing
• Wide format graphics
• Industrial decoration - decor & laminates
• Ceramic tiles
• Textiles
• Commerical printing
• Lables & packaging
• Printed electronics, bio-medical & 3D printing

13:00 Course finishes

 


Course Leaders

Mike Willis, Managing Director
Pivotal Resources, Cambridge, UK

Mike Willis is the Founder and Managing Director of Pivotal Resources, an international marketing and technical consultancy specialising in digital printing. He has worked in this industry for the past 30 years, accumulating considerable experience in a wide range of imaging technologies.

Recognised as an industry expert, he regularly speaks and gives tutorials at printing conferences in Europe and North America. In addition he is the publisher of Directions, a service that monitors inkjet patents and significant product launches.

Dr Alan Hudd, Director
Alchemie Technology, Cambridge, UK

Dr Hudd is Director and co-founder of Alchemie Technology Ltd. Alchemie is an independent contract development and consultancy company to the industrial inkjet industry. Alchemie is also developing and commercialising a range of novel printhead technologies through its joint venture company, Jetronica. Jetronica specialises in supplying solutions to selectively pattern liquids and powders capable of using a wide range of chemistries from graphene through textile pre-treatments and 3D printing of metal powders to drugs for implantable drug devices.

Alan Hudd was the Founder and Managing Director of Xennia Technology from 1996 to 2012.