Toshiba printheads are familiar to people in the inkjet industry. Toshiba has been manufacturing and developing printheads for nearly 20 years. Toshiba printheads have always been known for their ultra-long life and high-precision performance. They have excellent performance in graphics, ceramics, advertising, and other industries and have long been favored by many excellent inkjet equipment companies, such as Riso, EFI, Kuaidaping, Canon Oce, and Mimaki.
In the past, Toshiba printheads were used by some international inkjet giants, and for many years, they were both sacred and mysterious in the minds of the public. It was not until 15 years later that Toshiba printheads began to be widely promoted and applied in China and became familiar to more and more Chinese consumers. Today, Toshiba printheads are being used in more and more industrial inkjets with their unique technical advantages. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the innovative technology and advantages of Toshiba printheads from a professional perspective.
Toshiba printheads mainly include the CE4 series, the CF1 series, and the CF3 series. Today, we will introduce the CF3R printhead designed for industrial inkjet applications. The Toshiba CF3R printhead is a high-precision, high-grayscale internal circulation industrial head.
Toshiba CF3R Printhead Specifications
| Print Method | On-demand piezo technology |
| Ink recirculation through all channels | 300 npi * 2 colors |
| Print Width | 53.91 mm |
| Nozzles | 639*2 colors |
| Nozzle Resolution | 300 npi * 2 colors |
| Number of Lows | 2 |
| Nozzle Spacing (Row to row distance) | 7.94 mm |
| Greyscale Level | 6 levels/0~5 drops |
| Drop Volume | 20 pl/5 drops |
| Minimum Drop Volume | 3~4 pl |
| Frequency | 9.2 kHz/5 drops |
| Power Supply Voltage for Driving the Head | +7V~+15V, -7V~-15V |
| Power Supply Voltage for Driving Circuit | 5V, 24V |
| Ink Type | UV-curing & oil-based |
| Built-in Temperature Sensor | Included |
| Head Cooling Method | Water-cooling (including water cooling port) |
| Size, Weight | Ink Re-circulation Structure |
Toshiba CF3R Printhead Advantages
Advantage 1—Internal Circulation Technology
Patented Internal Circulation Technology
The high-flow internal circulation technology that flows directly through all nozzle channels has great inherent advantages over other printhead ink chamber circulation.
Application Value
- Stability: The internal circulation directly removes bubbles and impurities in the spray chamber during printing to ensure the stability of continuous printing.
- Moisture Retention: Greatly prolongs the standby time, starts spraying immediately, and reduces the maintenance and cleaning frequency.
- Printhead Life: The internal circulation self-repair function greatly reduces the nozzle clogging caused by oblique spraying, extending the printhead life.
- Ink Adaptability: The internal circulation prevents the precipitation of large-particle color ink and adapts to a wider range of ink applications, such as UV white ink, ceramic/glass inorganic ink, special varnish and coating, quick-drying ink, or other large-particle high-viscosity ink.
Advantage 2—Ultra-high-resolution finishing technology
The world's unique single-row 300 npi nozzle processing technology
CF3R is the world's only industrial printhead with a single-row 300 npi nozzle, and the 600npi nozzle is composed of only two rows of nozzles
Note: R** is 150 npi per row, X** is 180 npi per row, and K** is 180 npi per row
Application value
- Reduce printing color difference: Avoid uneven colors in 1pass caused by differences in multiple columns of nozzles, such as dark and light rows.
- Improve landing accuracy: Avoid the decrease in accuracy caused by the landing error of different columns of nozzles.
- Reduce color registration differences: Reduce the color registration differences of each column of the nozzle, and reduce the appearance of miscellaneous lines, ghosting, or jagged edges in printing
Advantage 3—High ink droplet speed + high drop point accuracy
Ink droplet flight speed
- The ink droplet speed reaches more than 10 m/s
- Reduce the drop point difference of different dot types, especially the drop point accuracy of small ink droplets
- High injection force is suitable for high drop and high gap printing
Injection angle error
Injection angle: within 1.3 mrad, which is equivalent to the ejected ink droplets falling on the bull's eye of 10cm at 50 meters away
The small injection error greatly ensures the drop point accuracy of 3~4 pl ink droplets
Advantage 4- small ink droplets + high grayscale
Minimum 3~4 pl ink droplets, excellent ink dot formation, providing extremely delicate proofing effect
6-level grayscale (4~20 pl) simultaneously ensures color saturation and smooth transition gradient
Advantage 5—Individual nozzle waveform fine-tuning technology
Fine-tuning is a waveform control technology
The inkjet volume and jet speed of each nozzle can be finely adjusted through the waveform
Application value
- Blocked hole cover By fine-tuning the ink volume of the adjacent nozzles of the blocked nozzle, the white line phenomenon caused by the blocked nozzle can be covered
- Improve the uniformity of color blocks: Through fine-tuning, the deep and shallow lines and deep and shallow lines caused by nozzle manufacturing errors can be effectively reduced
- Seamless splicing of multiple nozzles: Adjust the nozzles at the joint position of the printheads to spray ink and solve the line stripes generated when multiple printheads are spliced and printed
Printhead Advantages—Summary
With its five unique technical advantages, Toshiba's CF3R printhead has greatly improved printing accuracy, jet height, printhead stability, printhead life, and ink compatibility. It is particularly suitable for single-pass and special ink applications, providing a more mature and reasonable solution for various complex and difficult industrial inkjet scenarios.
Toshiba CF3R Printhead vs. CF6R Printhead
Basic Parameters
| Category | Toshiba CF3R | Toshiba CF6R |
|---|---|---|
| Core Positioning | High-precision industrial-grade base model | High-performance upgraded model (CF3R replacement) |
| Cooling Method | Water cooling (with water inlet) | Water cooling (same as CF3R, slightly increased thickness) |
| Dimensions & Weight | 96.7 × 31.3 × 100.7 mm, 285 g | 96.7 × 31.3 × 100.7 mm, 285 g |
| Nozzle Configuration | 1,278 nozzles (dual-row), 600 npi | 1,278 nozzles (dual-row), 600 npi |
| Drop Volume | 3–20 pL (6-level grayscale) | 6–18 pL (4-level grayscale, 3-drop combination) |
| Jetting Frequency | Up to 9.2 kHz (5-drop mode) | Up to 12 kHz (3-drop mode) |
| Printing Speed | Standard baseline speed | Up to 1.5× faster than CF3R |
| Ink Compatibility | UV-curable, solvent-based, high-viscosity inks | UV-curable and solvent-based inks |
| Core Technologies | Fine-tuning per-nozzle control, full-channel ink circulation | Full-channel ink circulation, precise droplet volume control |
Performance:
CF6R delivers up to 50% faster printing than CF3R, thanks to a higher jetting frequency (12 kHz vs. 9.2 kHz) and a 1.5× speed drive algorithm. This significantly boosts single-head output for industrial production.
Droplet control: CF3R supports 3–20 pL droplets with 6 grayscale levels, perfect for fine-art prints and high-detail applications. CF6R uses 6 pL native droplets combined into 6/12/18 pL, which reduces grayscale levels but achieves faster printing with maintained precision, ideal for high-speed workflows.
Design & Cooling:
Both models share identical size, electronic interfaces, and ink channel layouts, so CF6R can directly replace CF3R without modifying the printer.
CF6R features enhanced water-cooling with a built-in temperature sensor, forming a closed-loop system that keeps the printhead stable during long, high-load operations such as PCB batch production, corrugated board printing, or high-speed wide-format printing.
Best Applications:
CF3R: Suited for high-precision printing such as ceramic or glass decoration, security labels, and high-viscosity inks, where fine droplets and grayscale control are essential.
CF6R: Designed for industrial-scale production, including UV corrugated board printing, PCB marking on production lines, and wide-format roll-to-roll printing, where speed and reliability are prioritized.
Technical Trade-Offs:
CF3R: Excellent grayscale depth and artistic detail, but less stable at high frequency.
CF6R: Sacrifices some grayscale levels for high-frequency printing and flexible droplet combinations, with further optimization for UV inks, including faster curing speed, making it more suitable for mass production environments.
Selection Recommendations
| Priority Requirement | Recommended Model | Key Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| Precision over speed | CF3R | 3–20 pL drop size with 6-level grayscale, ideal for art-grade and high-detail output |
| Speed over grayscale levels | CF6R | 1.5× printing speed with up to 12 kHz firing frequency, optimized for industrial mass production |
| Upgrade from existing CF3 series systems | CF6R | Seamless compatibility with CF3 series; no mechanical or electronic system modification required |
| High-viscosity ink applications | CF3R | Wide drop volume range combined with full ink circulation, suitable for ceramic and glass inks |
| UV corrugated board / PCB printing | CF6R | High-frequency jetting and UV ink compatibility, matching continuous production line speeds |
