Powder spraying technology introduction

In the 90s of the 20th century, it was honored as the era of powder science in the world. During this period, high-quality color films, color video tapes, tapes, and other products came into being according to the development of powder technology, which enriched people's lives. entertainment. The printing industry is no exception and the blessings of powder technology advancement are not uncommon. This article describes the application of dusting imaging technology.

Status of Color Printing in Photo Office Environment

In today's office environment, the requirements for color printing are on the rise. However, the status quo is that color printers with a balance between cost and performance have not yet been commercialized, and they are still dominated by monochrome printers. Although the popularity of the Internet, the advancement of calculators and intelligence technologies, and the expectation that offices are going to be paperless, the current reality is that the amount of printing paper in the office is increasing. Moreover, it is highly desirable to obtain the required document types, on-demand printers that can immediately arrange for printing, and a versatile device that can take into account copying and faxing. In order to pursue higher-quality documents and data, it is necessary to seek ways that can be matched with existing black-and-white printing presses and achieve higher printing speeds and cost reductions. The color printing using dusting technology is described below, indicating that it is possible to comprehensively solve the above problems. In the near future, this technology is expected to become the mainstream of printing equipment in the office environment.

Spray printing structure

The following four items can be achieved by dusting.

1. Comprehensive color printing

2. High-speed printing

3. Cheap and few working capital

4. High quality

Dusting is a direct printing in which a toner is directly ejected onto a recording medium such as paper. It is completely possible to quickly obtain stable, high-quality prints at low cost.

The dusting printing structure is as shown in FIG. 1 , and the charged toner is ejected through a fine-pored thin substrate (FPC) toward a back electrode to which a high voltage of 1 KV is applied, and adheres to the paper passing between the FPC and the back electrode. For the fine holes arranged on the FPC, a ring-shaped electrode is provided, and the toner is sprayed on the toner by controlling the voltage thereof with an exciter, and the toner adhering to the paper constitutes a fine dot, which is attached to the ring electrode passing therethrough. The dots form words and images together, and then, like the laser printer, the toner is fixed on the paper by pressure and heat, while the FPC is cleaned in preparation for the next printing.

Spray printing features

(a) Less color misalignment

Photo color printing, due to the deviation of toner positioning, will become a color misalignment, thus affecting the image quality. In terms of dusting, as shown in FIG. 2, in a precise rack, the four-color printing heads are arranged in series, and only the recording medium is moved during the development process. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy and reduce the occurrence of color misalignment. At the same time, the purpose of reducing manufacturing costs is to simplify the structure.

(B) Resolution

At present, the dusting technology has reached 600dpi good image quality. Even if it is possible to reach 1200dpi, the Aray company mentioned later, in order to improve the quality of the photographic quality, it is better to use a multi-step ash scale to complete the printing considering the improvement of the resolution, and the development will focus on the latter.

(C) Gray Scale

Photo The above-mentioned multi-step ash ladder is actually one of the biggest advantages of dusting. As shown in Figure 3, by using the pulse modulation method, the gray scale equivalent to the point part can be finely adjusted, and excellent image quality can be obtained with a lower resolution. At present, it is still being developed with an eight-step grey scale, and the technology for realizing the sixteenth tone is being explored.

(d) High-speed printing

High-speed printing can be done completely. Currently under development, A4 specifications full color 12 to 16 per minute, to achieve the same speed and standard office monochrome laser printer. If you do a simple desktop calculation, the potential for dusting is 600 dpi for resolution, 100 μs for printing pulses, and 84 full-color A4 specifications. In fact, from the point of view of FPC manufacturing problems, development schedules and other constraints, it is not easy to achieve this level of performance, but in the future it is entirely possible to reach a level of 30 sheets per minute.

(E) Low cost

In terms of the structure, if the constituent parts are reduced, miniaturization and low cost are entirely possible. In addition, in the existing laser printers, the photosensitive drum must be replaced on a regular basis. However, on a powdered printer, the FPC can be used permanently, so that the working capital can be kept low.

Aray's dusting technology

Here is a brief description of the dusting technology developed by the Swedish company Aray. The company's strategy is to use the dusting technology invented by Ove Larson, the founder of 1986, to provide its patent licenses to manufacturers of printers, copiers and fax machines. At the same time, new developments and patents, including peripheral and complementary technologies, are used to protect new developments. The user is granted the right to use patented technology and know-how, as well as the right to use the powdered trademark.

As one of the development bases in Sweden, Aray Japan was established in Yokohama, Japan in 1997. This is an effort to provide services to Japanese users. Of the company’s forty-five employees, thirty-two are engaged in development research. The current goal is to have a powdered color printer with the following features and characteristics to complete commercialization through a patent license in 2002.

1. Pocket-sized full-color printers for offices

2. Twelve to sixteen prints per minute

3. Eight-step grey ruler

4. Price $ 2,000

The prospects are to promote high speed, improve image quality, multi-level adjustment of gray scale, and reduce costs. At the same time, we are also discussing the application of dusting technology in addition to paper and OHP film, with more recording media as an object, and expanding the application approach.

summary

It can be predicted that the performance of color printing equipment will also expand in the future. In the office environment, it is more widely used, and in particular, dusting printers with various advantages will occupy a more important position. With it, information such as advertising materials or company presentations that were originally printed on the outside, will be printed and distributed at any time, anywhere, depending on the number of copies needed.

Source: Graphic Arts 210