The print head is the core component of inkjet printing equipment. In the application of inkjet printing equipment such as photo machines, inkjet printers, and UV flatbed printers, the print head plays a key and important role. It’s technology and printing accuracy determine the print quality of inkjet printing devices.
In large-format printer equipment, our more common print heads are Epson series piezoelectric print heads, Ricoh print heads, and Konica print heads. This article focuses on sharing these three common print heads.
1. Epson Print Head
The Epson print head in Japan has always been an independent leader in the era of Japanese photo machines. EPSON print heads can be seen in MIMAKI, ROLAND, MOUTH, and other series of Japanese photo machines. At present, domestic equipment has also begun to use EPSON’s DX5. Such as Shenzhen Mutoh and other piezo photo machine manufacturers, MT series indoor and outdoor piezo photo machines use high-performance and high-precision Epson fifth generation piezo print head.
Epson print heads use micro-piezoelectric technology, which allows the nozzle to more accurately control the injection of ink. In addition, Epson print heads also use particle injection technology, which can spray ink into a smaller area, resulting in a finer print effect. The application of these technologies makes Epson print heads have excellent performance in terms of printing effect, speed and stability.
2. Konica Print Head
Konica Minolta (later referred to as “Konica”) is a conglomerate consisting of five business companies and two functional companies under the holding company Konica Minolta Holding Co., LTD. Konica nozzles are known for their use of an energy-efficient 3-cycle drive technology, which separates high-density nozzles into three groups with separate timed inkjet controls, enabling uv printers to obtain high-quality images.
Konica has gone through the 1024 series period, the 1024i series period, and now the 1024a series era. Hantop uv printer models using Konica printhead model 1024a. It is an industrial printhead featuring multi-row structure, 1024 independently driven nozzles, maximum ignition frequency of 40KHz, and maximum print width of 72mm. The printhead has a high performance heater inside, which can be used in the industry where requires high viscosity ink control to a stable temperature. It is compatible with oil, solvent, UV ink. The 1024a printhead has 360dpi resolution and can achieve 6-24pl multi-level grayscale printing, which is suitable for applications requiring richer grayscale performance and high fine picture quality.
The Konica print head is a double-row ink inlet tube with a uniform flow and pressure to ensure print quality. Some brands are single-row. The 512 Konica print head is a fully enclosed print head, waterproof and anti-aging. Konica printheads have poor compatibility with inks, have strict requirements for inks in different seasons, are sensitive to changes in ambient temperature, and the printheads are exposed. The service life is less than 1.5 years.
3. Ricoh Print Head
Ricoh print heads are mainly used in high-end industrial UV printers. Most of the machines imported from abroad use Ricoh print heads. Compared with the same industrial print head machine, Ricoh’s printing effect is relatively good and clear, and can basically achieve the printing effect of Epson.
It is characterized by double-row ink inlet tube, fine ink dots, grayscale printing, a fully enclosed print head, water-proof and anti-aging functions. Ricoh Gen4 print head has a built-in constant temperature system, in which the printing voltage is adjusted with the temperature, and a more stable printing state can be obtained. The circuit board of the print head is all metal wrapped, which can soak the ink without causing damage to the print head. The print head has a long life and can be used for 3-5 years normally. It is the most successful piezoelectric print head. The super corrosion-resistant print head ensures both speed, and effect, but its disadvantage is that the price is more expensive than other types of print head machines.
