Abstract: An inkjet print head for generating a droplet of ink includes an ink supply substrate having an ink supply channel; a droplet forming unit arranged on the ink supply substrate; and a manifold chamber formed over an ink inlet surface of the droplet forming unit. The manifold chamber has a first wall formed by the ink inlet surface, a second closed wall formed opposite to the first wall and a side wall extending between the first wall and the second wall and surrounding the manifold chamber. The manifold chamber extends in a manifold plane. A manifold supply channel is arranged in the manifold plane and surrounds the manifold chamber. The ink supply channel is in fluid communication with the manifold supply channel. A number of manifold feed openings in the side wall provide for a fluid connection between the manifold supply channel and the manifold chamber.

Abstract: A process of manufacturing droplet jetting devices includes bonding together a nozzle wafer defining nozzles of the jetting devices, a membrane wafer carrying, on a membrane, actuators for generating pressure waves in a liquid in pressure chambers that are connected to the nozzles, and a distribution wafer forming a distribution layer that defines supply lines for supplying the liquid to the pressure chambers from a liquid reservoir formed on a side of the distribution layer opposite to the membrane wafer; and dicing the bonded wafers. The distribution layer has a thickness larger than the thickness of each of the other two wafers. A restrictor for controlling the inertance of the liquid supply line is formed through the distribution layer in a direction normal to the plane of that layer.

Abstract: A process of manufacturing droplet jetting devices includes bonding together a nozzle wafer defining nozzles of the jetting devices, a membrane wafer carrying, on a membrane, actuators for generating pressure waves in a liquid in pressure chambers that are connected to the nozzles, and a distribution wafer forming a distribution layer that defines supply lines for supplying the liquid to the pressure chambers from a liquid reservoir formed on a side of the distribution layer opposite to the membrane wafer; and dicing the bonded wafers. The distribution layer has a thickness larger than the thickness of each of the other two wafers. A restrictor for controlling the inertance of the liquid supply line is formed through the distribution layer in a direction normal to the plane of that layer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a pre-treatment liquid providing improved spreading property when printing an ink-jet image, as well as an ink-jet printing method comprising applying the pre-treatment liquid of the invention on a recording medium prior to printing an ink-jet image and a method of pre-treating a recording medium, comprising pre-treating a recording medium with the pre-treatment liquid of the invention. With the present pre-treatment liquid a combination an improved spreading of the ink on the pre-treated recording medium can be achieved.

Abstract: An apparatus for handling take-up rolls in a printing system includes a holder device for holding a take-up roll in a take-up position. The take-up roll is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof in the take-up position for taking-up printed sheet output from the printing system. The holder device is movable to release or discharge the take-up roll from the holder device when the take-up roll is full or when a print job is finished. A movement of the holder device to release or discharge a full take-up roll also operates to load a new take-up roll onto the holder device and into the take-up position. A corresponding method of handling take-up rolls in a printing system is disclosed.

Abstract: A method for printing on a plurality of sheets includes the steps of: arranging the plurality of sheets on a support surface of an endless conveyor, the plurality of sheets including a first sheet and a second sheet being arranged at a sheet-to-sheet distance between one another; advancing the plurality of sheets on the support surface in a conveying direction along a print head assembly for applying droplets of ink on the sheets; providing a suction force through perforations arranged in the support surface for holding the plurality of sheets on the support surface, wherein the suction force provides an air flow through uncovered perforations present in the sheet-to-sheet distance in a print region between the print head assembly and the support surface; and forming an image by the print head assembly on each of the plurality of sheets supported on the support surface of the conveyor by applying droplets of ink.

Abstract: An electronic circuit for driving an inkjet print element in an array of print elements with an electric waveform is provided. The print element includes a piezo transducer for converting the electric waveform in a mechanical displacement. The electric waveform is tunable for an individual print element. The circuit includes a common waveform generator that is connected to the piezo transducer through a first print data dependent switch for providing an electric waveform independent of the print element. The circuit further includes a waveform tuning part, dependent on the print element and the print data, for controlling a second switch that adds electric energy from a voltage source to the electric waveform. The switches are operable in either a saturation state or a blocking state to limit an amount of dissipation in the switches.

Abstract: A method of controlling a printing system that is arranged to process a sequence of media sheets and is operable with a finite number of different settings includes calculating a time to finish that will be needed for processing the sequence, scheduling a sequence of sheets for printing, defining a set of possible settings for processing the scheduled sequence, calculating a time to finish for each setting in the defined set, selecting the setting with the smallest time to finish, and processing the sequence with the selected setting.

Abstract: An ink handling unit includes an ink reservoir with an integrated heat exchange channel configured for pre-heating or pre-cooling an ink feed flow entering the ink reservoir via the heat exchange channel. The heat exchange channel is in direct thermal contact with an interior space of the ink reservoir. An ink jet imaging device includes the ink handling unit. Such imaging devices are suitable to be used in highly productive ink jet processes at elevated temperatures.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for positioning a substrate on a support body. The apparatus comprises the support body for supporting the substrate, at least one registration element, wherein said at least one registration element is positioned and arranged for registering the substrate in a preselected position on the support body when brought into a registering state. The apparatus further comprises a registration actuator movably arranged with respect to the support body for selectively arranging a registration element into the registering state.

Abstract: A printer that is adapted for printing on a mixed sequence of media sheets with a print head that is adjustable in height relative to a print surface that supports the media during printing, the printer having a user interface (34) and a controller, wherein the controller stores a set of different height adjustment strategies for handling media that differ in specifications that define an admissible range for the height of the print head, and the user interface is adapted to permit the user to select among the stored height adjustment strategies.

Abstract: A jetting device includes an ejection unit arranged to eject a droplet of a liquid. The ejection unit includes a nozzle, a liquid duct connected to the nozzle, and an electro-mechanical transducer arranged to create an acoustic pressure wave in the liquid in the duct. The jetting device further includes a filter arranged to filter the liquid being supplied into the duct and a filter status detection system arranged to detect an obstruction status of the filter by measuring a property of the liquid in the duct. The filter status detection system includes a circuit configured for measuring the electric response of the transducer, for recording changes in the electric response that represent pressure fluctuations induced by the acoustic wave in the form of a time-dependent function, and for judging the obstruction status of the filter on the basis of that function.

Abstract: A method is provided for printing color images using a color workflow. This workflow results in equal output colors from two print systems. For a first print system an existing color output profile for converting colors is used. An actual output color profile for the first print system is obtained from color measurement data that relate device colorant coordinates of the first print system to device independent color data. The existing output color profile does not correspond to the color measurement data. For a second print system, an additional output color profile is obtained from color measurement data. The color workflow that is applied in the second print system for converting colors of an input image is made by combining the existing output color profile, the actual output color profile and the additional color output profile, wherein the actual output color profile is applied in an inverse direction (A2B).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for printing a plurality of voxels of an object in a plurality of passes of a print head of a printing system over a substrate, each pass having a movement direction of the print head relative to the substrate while ejecting marking material from the print head towards the substrate, each voxel having a position in the object, the method comprising the steps of for each voxel of the object selecting a movement direction of the print head based on the position of the voxel in the object, selecting at least one pass in which the voxel will be printed, the at least one pass having a movement direction which corresponds to the selected movement direction of the print head, and printing the voxel in the selected at least one pass. The present invention also relates to a printing system configured to execute the method.

Abstract: A method for printing a plurality of print jobs on a flat bed printer includes automatically grouping the print jobs into a plurality of consecutive container jobs, and for each container job automatically creating a digital plan of the flat bed, automatically defining a mask with cutting information according to the created plan, receiving the defined mask on the flat bed, receiving the media pieces on the flat bed positioned in according with the received mask, and unattended printing of the print jobs on the media pieces by the flat bed printer making use of the received mask. The automatic grouping includes gathering the group of print jobs due to the print job characteristics of each of the print jobs and/or the flat bed characteristics of the flat bed and ordering the consecutive container jobs due to the print job characteristics of each of the print jobs and/or the flat bed characteristics of the flat bed.

Abstract: A print head assembly comprises a print head unit, a cooling duct, and a blower arranged to pass a gaseous cooling medium through the cooling duct. The cooling duct has an elongated closed hollow cross-section bounded on at least one side by a flat wall. The print head unit is attached to the flat wall outside of the cooling duct such that the print head unit is cooled by the gaseous medium passing through the cooling duct via thermal contact through the flat wall of the cooling duct.

Abstract: A print job processing system includes a printer; a user interface; a job file receiving section; and a media management system adapted to extract media specifications from a received job file and check the media specifications for compatibility with properties and/or a current status of the printer. The media management system is adapted to check whether essential media specifications are defined in the job file or not and, when they are not defined, to invite the user via the user interface to complete the specifications.

Abstract: Belt conveyor system comprising: an endless mesh belt, the belt having a mesh structure and having edge areas at the lateral sides, a drive mechanism drivable by a drive motor to rotate the belt, and a steering roller for steering the lateral position of the belt, wherein an edge area comprises a band running substantially parallel to the lateral sides, the band comprising an elastic filler being provided inside the mesh structure, the elastic filler being discernible from the mesh structure, and wherein the belt conveyor system further comprises a band position detector for detecting the lateral position of the band.

Abstract: A recording substrate treatment apparatus includes transporting mechanism for transporting a sheet of a recording substrate through a first chamber in the interior space of the recording substrate treatment apparatus; a first suction device arranged for removing a gaseous medium from the first chamber; and an impingement device, arranged for providing a first flow of the gaseous medium at the outer surface of the transporting mechanism. The first suction device is fluidly connected to the impingement device, such that in operation the impingement device receives a first flow of the gaseous medium from the first suction device. With this arrangement, the impingement flow is balanced with an air flow directly extracted from the first chamber of the recording substrate treatment apparatus. A printing system including such a recording substrate treatment apparatus and a method of drying a recording substrate using such a recording substrate recording apparatus are also disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a radiation curable ink composition comprising an ester compound, that is suitable for printing high gloss images. The invention further relates to a method for making such ink composition and a printing method using such ink composition.