Bi-Direction Continuous Inkjet Printing for Selective Area Coating

Abstract

The continuous inkjet (CIJ) printing method has fewer nozzle clogging issues and faster jetting speed compared to the drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet method, and it can be relatively cost-effective to implement. Additionally, it has relatively wider printing capability, which allows for coating or marking printing on curved substrates. Nevertheless, commercially available CIJ equipment is still limited to narrow printing width of about 10 mm, because most continuous inkjet devices employ a unidirectional printing method. In this study, we conducted research on a bidirectional printing method that can expand the printing width, enabling continuous inkjet to be utilized in a broader range of applications. Bidirectional printing requires bidirectional charging, which can cause problems when the polarity of the ink changes. We address and visualize these issues and propose a printing method that can overcome them. We expect that the proposed method will have suitable applicability for coating selective areas.