At Interpack 2026 in Düsseldorf, Germany, Ricoh officially introduced its new MH3820 industrial inkjet printhead along with a comprehensive integrated service solution aimed at accelerating the development of coding, marking, and packaging inkjet applications.
Designed specifically for industrial coding and marking environments, the Ricoh MH3820 printhead combines a wide print width, compact structure, long throw distance capability, and broad ink compatibility, making it suitable for secondary packaging, tertiary packaging, corrugated box printing, logistics labeling, and industrial identification applications.
A New Printhead Platform Designed for Industrial Coding
Unlike traditional systems that require multiple small printheads stitched together, the MH3820 features an ultra-wide 108.2 mm print width in a single compact printhead. This helps simplify machine design while reducing alignment complexity and maintenance requirements.
The printhead itself is extremely slim, measuring only around 13 mm in thickness, allowing easier integration into compact industrial equipment. In addition, the MH3820 adopts a full-metal body with a stainless-steel nozzle plate, providing the durability and reliability required for demanding industrial production environments.
Ricoh emphasized that the MH3820 was developed specifically for coding and marking applications rather than adapted from an existing graphics printhead platform. As a result, the design has been optimized for long throw distances, stable jetting performance, and continuous industrial operation.
Key Features of the Ricoh MH3820 Printhead
1. Wide Single-Pass Printing Capability
The MH3820 features a dual-row nozzle configuration:
- 320 nozzles per row
- 640 nozzles in total
- 108.2 mm print width
The native resolution is 150 dpi. However, most industrial users are expected to use bi-directional printing to achieve an effective 300 dpi output, which is more than sufficient for packaging codes, labels, and industrial markings.
Compared with the previous MH2620 platform, which offered a print width of approximately 64.9 mm, the MH3820 significantly increases printable coverage while minimizing the need for multi-head stitching.
2. Dual-Channel and Grayscale Printing
Each nozzle row can operate independently, allowing the printhead to support dual-color printing configurations.
Typical combinations may include:
- Black + spot color
- Black + white
These configurations are especially useful for hazardous material warnings, high-contrast labels, and industrial packaging applications.
The MH3820 also supports three-level grayscale printing, enabling multiple droplet sizes for improved character definition and smoother image reproduction while maintaining high production speeds.
3. Optimized for Longer Throw Distances
In coding and marking applications, throw distance is often more important than ultra-high resolution.
Ricoh specifically optimized the MH3820 for longer jetting distances, enabling reliable printing performance at distances of 10 mm or more.
Compared with smaller high-resolution printheads, larger industrial droplets offer several advantages:
- Reduced nozzle clogging
- Improved reliability
- Better resistance to drying
- Enhanced performance in harsh industrial environments
These characteristics make the MH3820 particularly suitable for packaging and logistics operations.
4. New Piezoelectric Actuator Technology
The MH3820 is among the first Ricoh printheads to benefit from the company’s next-generation piezoelectric actuator technology.
The new actuator system provides:
- Stronger pumping power
- Higher droplet velocity
- Longer throw distance
- Improved jetting stability
This advancement may open opportunities beyond traditional coding applications, including:
- Functional industrial printing
- High-viscosity material jetting
- Additive manufacturing
- Specialty fluid applications
Ricoh also indicated that additional models with different droplet sizes, fluid compatibility options, and temperature specifications may follow in the future.
Broad Ink Compatibility
At the Interpack exhibition, Ricoh demonstrated the MH3820 using plant-based inks. However, the printhead supports a wide range of industrial ink chemistries, including:
- UV-curable inks
- Solvent inks
- Oil-based inks
- Certain water-based inks
Compatibility depends on factors such as:
- Ink conductivity
- Chemical composition
- Interaction with internal adhesives and materials
The MH3820 supports fluid viscosities in the range of approximately 10–14 mPa·s, making it suitable for many industrial printing applications.
Enhanced Temperature Capability
Ricoh also improved the thermal performance of the MH3820 platform.
The company stated that the target operating temperature may reach up to 100°C, allowing support for:
- Phase-change inks
- Higher-viscosity fluids
- Specialty industrial materials
This capability could expand the printhead’s future use into more advanced industrial and manufacturing applications.
Meteor Inkjet Introduces the HDC-2R6XL Drive System
To support the MH3820 platform, Meteor Inkjet introduced the new HDC-2R6XL controller board.
Key features include:
- One board can drive two MH3820 printheads
- Designed for industrial durability
- Remote parameter control support
- Waveform optimization technology
- Integrated nozzle health monitoring
The nozzle health technology helps detect clogging and jetting issues in real time, reducing downtime and improving production efficiency.
Meteor also confirmed that the platform is suitable for additive manufacturing and high-viscosity fluid applications.
Ricoh Expands Integrated Inkjet Services
In addition to the hardware launch, Ricoh introduced a new Integrated Services program designed to support OEMs, system integrators, and industrial equipment manufacturers.
The service platform includes:
- Printhead integration support
- Ink compatibility assistance
- Waveform tuning
- System development
- Engineering validation
- Application optimization
By leveraging Ricoh’s internal engineering and R&D expertise, the company aims to help customers accelerate product development while reducing technical barriers and project risks.
Future Application Potential
Although the Ricoh MH3820 printhead is currently focused on:
- Secondary packaging coding
- Tertiary packaging marking
- Logistics printing
- Industrial labels
- Corrugated box printing
its enhanced jetting capability, high-temperature support, and high-viscosity compatibility suggest strong future potential in areas such as:
- Additive manufacturing
- Functional material printing
- Direct-to-object printing
- Specialty industrial applications
Conclusion
The launch of the MH3820 printhead demonstrates Ricoh’s continued expansion in the industrial inkjet market.
With its wide print width, compact structure, durable industrial design, enhanced throw distance, dual-color capability, and advanced actuator technology, the MH3820 offers a powerful new solution for coding, marking, and packaging applications.
Combined with Meteor’s industrial drive electronics and Ricoh’s integrated engineering services, the MH3820 platform is positioned to become an important technology for next-generation industrial inkjet systems across packaging, logistics, and advanced manufacturing industries.
