Inkjet Printers Pressure Monitoring

Operating Principles and Applications

An inkjet printer, a printing machine, is widely used in factory assembly lines for printing product identification. It is primarily utilized in the packaging printing industry, including food and beverage, tobacco and alcohol, cable, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic packaging. These industries require frequent and high-speed printing of numbers, barcodes, patterns, or text on products or outer packaging cartons.

Small-character inkjet printers are commonly used devices in the packaging printing industry. They employ the continuous inkjet technology, where ink is continuously and smoothly jetted out from a single nozzle under pressure. The ink then undergoes oscillation through crystal oscillators, causing it to break into droplets. These droplets are charged and deflected by high voltage, scanning across the moving surface of the object to form characters.

Pressure Measuring Challenges

From the above operating principle, it is evident that ensuring the uniform and smooth scanning of ink droplets on the surface of an object requires accurate control of the pressure at the inkjet nozzle. This necessitates the installation of pressure sensors for pressure sensing and measurement. However, the monitoring challenges are as follows:

1.  Imbalanced pump pressure can lead to false detection, and it may be challenging to integrate pressure sensors into the ink supply pipeline effectively;

2.  Ink, primarily composed of butanone, is prone to evaporation and has corrosive properties;

3.  The maximum operating pressure of the ink system in the inkjet printer shall not exceed 6bar, and the maximum pressure during a malfunction shall not exceed 6.5bar.

Pressure Measurement Requirements

Therefore, the pressure sensor installed on the inkjet printer must meet the following requirements:

• Corrosion Resistance: SS316L stainless steel; EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) O-ring;

• Good long-term stability;

• Dual output (pressure & temperature) is available;

• Constant voltage/constant current power supply is available.

Pressure Monitoring Instrument for Inkjet Printers

Micro Sensor offers MCM201 temperature and pressure sensor, MPM281 pressure sensor, and MPM280 pressure sensor that are applicable to monitoring ink pressure in small-character inkjet printers. These sensors meet the requirements for corrosion resistance and high stability, ensuring accurate operation of the ink pressure system in inkjet printers.

MCM201 Temperature and Pressure Sensor

• Measuring range: 0bar~ 0.35bar…1000bar • Gauge, Absolute and Sealed gauge • Pressure and temperature dual output • Thermal error ±0.5℃ • Φ19mm standard OEM pressure sensor  • Long-term stability ±0.1%FS/Year

MPM281 High Stability Pressure Sensor

• Measuring range: 0bar~ 0.07bar…1000bar • Gauge, Absolute and Sealed gauge • Constant current and constant voltage power supply are available  • Silicone oil, fluorocarbon oil and other filling oil are available, applicable to various fluid media • Φ19mm standard OEM pressure sensor • Full stainless steel 316L • Wide temperature compensation range: -10℃~80℃ • Long-term stability ± 0.1%FS/Year

MPM280 Pressure Sensor

• Measuring range: 0bar~0.2bar…1000ba • Gauge，Absolute and Sealed Gauge • Constant current and constant voltage power supply are available  • Isolated construction, applicable to various fluid media • Φ19mm pressure sensor • Full stainless steel 316L  • Negative pressure measurement is available, the lowest to around -1bar

Micro Sensor will continue to delve into pressure monitoring for inkjet printers, providing more specialized monitoring solutions.