How Do Inkjet Printers Work?

Inkjet printers are widely used across several homes and offices for printing text documents, images, photos, invoices, and even newsletters. They are popular because they are affordable and reliable for personal printing projects. Unlike other printers, Inkjet printers are very light in weight and that feature makes them portable and easy to carry. Due to the vast varieties of electronic printers, many people struggle to differentiate the difference between printers.

For instance, the mode of operation of inkjet printers is different from other types of printers. So, the need to understand how they work comes to play for people with curious minds.

In this guide, we will explain all you need to know about Inkjet Printers and how they work.

About Inkjet Printers

The Inkjet printer was invented in the late 1980s and has since become a household name.

Inkjet printers are designed to sprinkle tiny droplets of ink on paper to create the desired text or image print. The ink comes out in form of dots with a diameter of 50-60 microns to create an image of good quality. Printouts from inkjet printers have certain characteristics that will make it easy for one to identify them. These characteristics include; the dots from the ink droplets having different colors that combine to create desired images on paper; the dots having a precise resolution of 1440 x 720 dots per inch (DPI).

The technology behind the working operation of printers is different. For instance, some printers are classified under "Impact Category" while others are classified under "Non-impact Category". Impact printers are designed with a mechanism that requires coming in contact with a paper before printing is done. Examples are the "Dot Matrix Printers and Character Printers". These printers need to strike the ink ribbon before texts and images can be created. Whereas, non-impact printers do not need to come in contact with a paper before prints are created.

Inkjet printers and laser printers are good examples of non-impact printers. Inkjet printers differ when it comes to how they form droplets of ink. There's a technology behind this and they are classified as "Piezoelectric and Thermal Bubble". The Piezoelectric Technology is associated with Epson printers where piezo crystals at the back of the ink reservoir vibrate after receiving an electric charge to control the flow of ink in and out of the reservoir. Once the crystals vibrate, ink droplets are sprayed out of the nozzles. As for Thermal Bubble Technology, it operates in HP and Canon printers whereby ink in the cartridge vaporizes to form bubbles. Once the bubbles expand, the ink gets pushed out of the nozzles. It is suitable for different types of ink such as ultraviolet ink, solvent-based ink, dye-based ink, and pigment-based ink.

Components of Inkjet Printers

The inkjet printer has several components and each component offers a different function. The mode of operation of an inkjet printer is based on how each of these components works.

Here are some of the major components of inkjet printers;

• Print Head: designed with nozzles used in spraying ink on print materials
• Interface Ports: designed for USB cables connection
• Stepper Motor: designed to move the print head and ink cartridge back and forth
• Ink Cartridge: designed to accommodate several ink colors used in printing
• Rollers: designed to pull print material such as paper from the tray or feeder
• Belt: designed to connect the print head to the machine's stepper motor
• Paper Feeder: a tray designed to hold and feed printer papers
• Stabilizer Bar: designed to control the movement of the print head
• Control Circuit: designed to interpret the information sent from the computer

Learning about each of these components will give you a better understanding of how the inkjet printer works. Its mode of operation is quite different from that of a laser printer that uses heat transfer for the printing process. So, we will explain briefly how inkjet printers work.

How Do Inkjet Printers Work?

Inkjet printers are electronic printing machines powered by an in-built power supply. They are designed with a control circuit that decodes electronic data sent through a print command from a computer system. The control circuit interprets the data and prepares it for printing. The color and size of ink droplets from the print head of an inkjet printer can be changed to ensure texts and images come out in high quality. This is measured in Dots-per-inch (DPI) used in gauging the resolution of the printer. This measurement hints to users on how many droplets of ink will fit along with an inch part of the page. If the DPI is higher, the printer will print a sharper image.

The inkjet printer has a special printer head that sprays droplets of ink on the surface of the material used in printing text and images. This is an essential component of the inkjet printer. This inkjet print head is made up of an array of closely organized high-precision microscopic nozzles used in spraying ink on the surface of a paper. The diameter of the nozzles is 10 mm.

The sprayed tiny drops of ink from the printer head come together to create the desired text or image on the paper. That is the basic explanation of how an inkjet printer works. We will now break down the mode of operation of inkjet printers into steps for better understanding.

The Step-by-Step Mode of Operation of Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers are easy to operate if you understand how they work. They are not complex in operation, so studying these steps of operation will give you a better idea of how inkjet printers work. Any time you click the print command on your computer system, a sequence of operations happens whereby a signal is sent to your inkjet print head to carry out the printing procedures.

STEP 1: Setting Up a Software Application

Several software applications can be used for printing inkjet printers. This software application is designed to send text or image file that needs to be printed to the printer driver. The driver will then have to decode whatever data is received.

STEP 2: Translating Data Received

Once the software application that works with the inkjet printer has been successfully set up, the next move is for the printer driver to translate data received and convert it to formats that the inkjet printer will understand. At this stage, it is important to keep your printer online and make them available for private and professional printing jobs.

STEP 3: Sending Data Received

At this stage, the driver will send data received from the computer system to the printer for the execution of a planned project. The connection can be made via the use of a USB cord so that any printing process is achieved. Some data are stored in a buffer depending on the model of the car. This means data received are channeled towards ensuring the printing process is done.

STEP 4: Short Clean Cycle is Conducted

The print head is an essential part of the inkjet printer so it is important to keep it in good shape. The printer will go through a short clean cycle to ensure that the print head stays clean. If the print head is not clean, it will affect the quality of the texts or images. Hence, it is vital to keep the inkjet print head clean and when it is clean, the printing process can commence.

STEP 5: The Control Circuitry Feeds Paper into the Printer

At this point, the control circuitry activates the feeder's stepper motor. This step engages the rollers by making them feed paper from the feeder tray to the printer. It uses a trigger mechanism to roll papers from the feeder tray to the printer. This will prepare the paper for printing

STEP 6: The Nole Sprays Droplets of Ink on the Paper

Once the paper has been properly fed into the printer and it is well-positioned, the process where droplets of ink come out of the nozzle will commence. As discussed earlier, inkjet printers do not need to touch the paper to start printing. It uses a technology where nozzles are used to spray droplets of ink until they create the desired text or images.

This process continues until the desired image has been created. The time it takes for printers to print texts and images varies based on factors such as time and how complex the image is. It also puts into consideration the size of the desired image. This is all in the bid to ensure that the printing process is properly carried out.

Conclusion

Printers are amazing machines to own if you are an individual that does a lot of printing work. It is important to get the right printer and much more important to understand how it works. If you understand how a printer works, operating such a printer will be easy. We believe this article has enlightened you on how inkjet printers work. Finally, it is very essential to purchase the right printers because they have different functions, speeds, and print quality.

Kindly share your thoughts in the comment section.