Classifications and Applications of Inkjet Printing Technology: A Review

Abstract

Inkjet printing technology uses the low-cost direct deposition manufacturing technique for printing and is applicable in various fields including optics, ceramics, three-dimensional printing in biomedicine, and conductive circuitry. This study reviews the classifications and applications of inkjet printing technologies, with a focus on recent publications. The different design approaches, applications, and research progress of several inkjet printing techniques are reviewed. Among them, the piezoelectric inkjet printing technology is the main focus owing to its reliability and handling of a diverse range of inks. A piezo-driven inkjet printhead is activated by applying a voltage waveform to a piezoelectric membrane. The waveform ensures the formation of the designed droplet and a stable jet. A survey of various drivingvoltage waveforms is conducted, which can serve as a reference to the research community that uses piezodriven inkjet printheads. The challenges of printing quality, stability, and speed and their solutions as published in recent studies are reviewed. Technologies for producing high-viscosity inkjets are explored, and the applications of inkjet printing technology in textile, displays, and wearable devices are discussed.

Inkjet Printing and 3D Printing Strategies for Biosensing, Analytical, and Diagnostic Applications

“…The generation of defined droplets of the printing material critically depends on the interplay of the surface tension and viscosity of the ejected liquid. [11] An excellent review summarizing the drop formation and drop shaping by adjusting the printing parameters was published by Shah et al [12] Even though the layout of the individual printheads from different suppliers significantly differs, the drop diameters are in the range of the nozzle diameter from which they are ejected and typically feature diameters of 20 to 70 µm which allows to form droplets which equal drop volumes ranging from 4 to 180 pL. [13] The total number of nozzles in modern printing systems utilizing piezoelectric technology can reach numbers as high as a few hundreds (512 to >5680) of individually addressable nozzles integrated into one printhead.…”

An Overview of Printing Textile Techniques

“…Due to its easy process, quicker process time, and reduced material consumption with digital control and noncontact printing technique. [44] In this kind of printing Micro-sized droplets of dye are applied to the cloth using an inkjet print head. [36,44,45] The data produced by digital image file is interpreted by the print system software which regulate the particular colour of the ink jet, the volume of ink, and the placement of the micro droplets [9,12] The digital image file contains the data required to regulate the droplet output and achieve image quality and colour control.…”

“…[44] In this kind of printing Micro-sized droplets of dye are applied to the cloth using an inkjet print head. [36,44,45] The data produced by digital image file is interpreted by the print system software which regulate the particular colour of the ink jet, the volume of ink, and the placement of the micro droplets [9,12] The digital image file contains the data required to regulate the droplet output and achieve image quality and colour control. [28,36] Fabrics used for inkjet printing include specially prepared cotton, bamboo, and silk fabric sheets.…”

“…[10,43] Ink-jet printing provides advantages such as speed, flexibility, creativity, cleanliness, competitiveness, and environmental friendliness. [44] In traditional textile printing dyes are used along with the printing chemicals in the form of a printing paste. However, due to the requirements of ink purity and specific conductivity for digital ink-jet printing, none of the conventional printing chemicals such as alkali, urea, and sodium alginate can be entered directly into the ink formulation, and thus a printing medium for textile digital ink-jet printing must be prepared.…”

A Simple Method for Fabricating Ink Chamber of Inkjet Printheads

“…At present, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology has become the mainstream method of inkjet printhead manufacturing [ 14 ]. It is based on photolithography, deposition, epitaxy, doping, etching, packaging, bonding, and other two-dimensional or three-dimensional processing methods as the basic process steps to manufacture complex three-dimensional devices [ 15 , 16 ]. The process of fabricating chambers is becoming more important for the inkjet printhead.…”