Printer views

HP 4000 laser printer. Model of the 1990s.

A printer (from the English. Print - print; syn. Printer) is a computer peripheral device designed to convert text or graphics to physical media from an electronic form in small quantities (from units to hundreds) without creating a print form. In this way, printers are different from printing equipment and risographs, which, due to the printing form, is faster and cheaper on large print runs (hundreds or more copies).

Multipurpose devices (MFPs) have become common, in which the functions of a printer, scanner, copier and fax machine are combined in one device. Such a combination is technically and conveniently rational at work.

Large format printers are sometimes mistakenly called plotters.

Classification

When printing graphic information is possible, printers are divided into alphanumeric (with the possibility of printing a limited set of characters) and graphic ones.

By the principle of transferring images to media, printers are divided into:

• shock font (alphanumeric, ADC) - drum, based on petal printers or typewriter with an electromagnetic drive. Historical types. Morally obsolete in the 1980s. Since the early 1990s are not available.
• matrix;
• laser (also LED printers);
• jet;
• sublimation
• hard ink
• 3D printers

By the number of print colors

• on monochrome (monochrome) (monochrome)
• colored.

On color printers, CMYK colors are used as the basis for the color model:

• Cyan - blue
• Magenta Magenta
• Yellow - yellow
• Kobalt - black (English name corresponds to the name of a heavy metal (cobalt), which is part of the black dyes)

In addition to the CMYK base colors, a color printer can be supplied with lights (Light Cyan and Light Magenta) that increase the visible resolution at low fill. In addition, orange and green are sometimes used (Orange and Green), slightly expanding the color fields of the print. Printers intended for printing on color materials are additionally supplied with white color.

By connecting to a data source (from where the printer can receive data for printing), or to an interface:

• by wire:
  • via SCSI cable
  • via serial port
  • via parallel port (IEEE 1284)
  • on the Universal Serial Bus (USB)
  • via local network (LAN, NET)
  • using two ports, while one of the ports controls the CNC drive, data is sent to the print heads through the other port
• via wireless connection:
  • via infrared (IRDA)
  • via Bluetooth
  • Wi-Fi (including using AirPrint)

An infrared connection is only possible with the device in direct line of sight, while the radio-wavelength-enabled Bluetooth and Wi-Fi interfaces operate at a distance of 10-100 meters.

Some printers (mostly inkjet photo printers) have the ability to print offline (i.e. without a computer), possessing a flash card reader or an interface port with a digital camera, which allows printing photos directly from a memory card or camera. Printers supporting AirPrint technology make it possible to print documents and photos directly from mobile devices based on iOS without using a cable (the connection is made via Wi-Fi). AirPrint is available for the iPad, as well as for the iPhone and iPod Touch of at least the third generation. [one]

Network printer - a printer that allows you to receive print jobs (see Print queue ) from several computers connected to the local network. Network printer software supports one or more special data transfer protocols, such as IPP. Such a solution is the most versatile, since it provides possible printing from various operating systems, which is not the case with Bluetooth and USB printers.

Dot matrix printers

Main article: Dot matrix printer

Dot Matrix Printer Amstrad DMP 3000

Epson FX-85 dot matrix printer

The principle of image formation in a matrix printer

Dot matrix printers are the oldest of the currently used types of printers, their mechanism was invented in 1964 by the Japanese corporation Seiko Epson. [ source not specified 1440 days ]

The image is formed by a print head, which consists of a set of needles (needle matrix), driven by electromagnets. The head moves line by line along the sheet, while the needles hit the paper through the ink ribbon, forming a point image.

The main disadvantages of matrix printers are monochrome (although color matrix printers existed at a very high price), a high noise level that reaches 65 dB, a very low speed (when printing multiple copies, speed is successfully compensated by the ability to print through carbon paper).

Interfaces - Standard bidirectional 8-bit parallel interface IEEE 1284, serial interfaces RS-232 and USB.

High-speed linear-matrix printers are also produced, in which a large number of needles are evenly spaced on the shuttle mechanism (frete) across the entire width of the sheet.

Matrix printers, despite their complete ousting from the household and office sphere, are still quite widely used in some areas (printing of commodity checks, banking - printing documents for carbon paper, etc.)

Ink ribbon

The ink ribbon of a matrix printer is designed to store stocks of the dye and deliver the dye to the print head.

The ribbon printer of the matrix printer is slowly rewound during the printing process, delivering fresh dye to the printhead, and there are two types of ribbons - closed in a ring (rewound only in one direction) and ribbons of limited length, equipped with a reversing rewinding mechanism. On some dot-matrix printers, if the rewinding mechanism breaks down, the finished tape can be rewound manually.

Over time, the ink ribbon is mechanically worn out - the print head literally cuts the ink ribbon in half. In some cases, you can extend the life of the ink ribbon, turning it over with the other side. If the tape is not yet worn, and the image has faded significantly, you can soak the tape with fresh ink and the color will be restored. With extremely rare use of a dot matrix printer, the ink ribbon suffers more from the trivial drying of the dye than from mechanical wear. Printed images fade out. It is enough to soak the dried ink ribbon with oil to lubricate household sewing machines and the color is restored.

Comparison with other types

• Print quality. Very low, comparable to the quality of a typewriter. However, graphics are possible.
• Color rendition. There were color matrix printers with four-color ribbons, they could print in seven fixed colors. The yellow part of the tape was very quickly contaminated and the color rendition deteriorated further. However, in the 1980s it was the only way to print in color.
• Print speed For conventional 9-and 24-needle printers in text mode - tens of seconds per page, in graphics mode - a few minutes. High-speed printers are several times faster. Printing through carbon paper and self-copying forms is possible. Where you need to quickly print one copy (for example, at the box office), the dot matrix printers still have no equal - until the laser warms up, the dot matrix will print out.
• The cost of the print. Extremely low (consumable - ink ribbon). Excellent print on paper of extremely poor quality, which also reduces the cost. Non-standard paper sizes are possible; this is important for strict reporting forms that are made from quality paper (for example, the train ticket ASU Express, 2011).
• Printing on non-traditional materials. Some models of printers (with a direct path) allow you to print, for example, on passports.
• Resistance of a print to external influences. Very good; prints resistant to water and friction. Needle marks further complicate document falsification. Over time, prints fade, but not critical, and even decades later remain readable.
• Possible print length. Not limited. Restrictions of the print spooler are possible (as, for example, in Windows - only pages are printed). Paper feed is manual (piecewise) and roll.
• Environmental friendliness. Low power consumption, small volume and ease of disposal of consumables, low paper requirements. Loud noise.
• Ease of maintenance. It works in the most spartan conditions. Before end, the cartridge warns about it with low-contrast prints. In the most extreme case, you can print through copy paper instead of a cartridge. When feeding from a roll - the paper practically does not jam.
• The main application now. Printing documents. The matrix printer can be found in banks, ticket offices, various bureaus, laboratories, medical institutions, as part of cash registers.

Inkjet printers

Main article: Inkjet printer

See also: Continuous ink supply system

Epson CX3200 Inkjet Printer

Printer carriage equipped with Epson DX7 printheads

Lotus printer carriage, with Xaar128 printheads

Reducer of the drive of the carriage of the TechnoJet 160 printer

Material Drying Fans (Wit-Color400 Printer)

The principle of operation of inkjet printers is similar to matrix printers in that the image on the media is formed from dots. But instead of heads with needles, inkjet printers use a nozzle matrix (that is, a head) that prints liquid dyes. The print head can be embedded in dye cartridges (this approach is mainly used on office printers by Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark). In other models of office printers replaceable cartridges are used, the print head, when replacing the cartridge is not dismantled. On most industrial printers, ink is fed to the heads attached to the carriage through an automatic ink supply system.

There are two ways to technical implementation of the method of spraying the dye:

• Piezoelectric (Piezoelectric Ink Jet) - above the nozzle is a piezocrystal. When an electric current is applied to the piezoelectric element, it (depending on the type of the printing head) bends, lengthens or pulls the diaphragm, which creates a local area of ​​increased pressure near the nozzle - a drop is formed, which is subsequently pushed onto the material. In some heads, the technology allows you to change the size of the drop.
• Thermal (Thermal Ink Jet) (also called BubbleJet, developer - Canon, principle developed in the late 1970s) - a microscopic heating element is located in the nozzle which, when passing electric current, instantly heats up to a temperature of several hundred degrees The ink forms gas bubbles (born bubbles - hence the name of the technology), which push liquid droplets from the nozzle onto the carrier.

Inkjet printheads are created using the following dye feed types:

• Continuous feed (Continuous Ink Jet) - the dye feeds continuously during printing, the fact that the dye gets on the printed surface is determined by the dye flow modulator (it is stated that the patent for this printing method was issued to William Thompson in 1867 [ 1582 of the day ] ). In the technical implementation of such a print head, a dye is fed into the nozzle under pressure, which is divided into a sequence of microdroplets (a few dozen picoliters) at the nozzle exit, which are additionally charged with an electric charge. The dye flow is divided into droplets by a piezocrystal located on the nozzle, on which an acoustic wave is formed (with a frequency of tens of kilohertz). The deviation of the flow of droplets is made by an electrostatic-deflecting system (deflector). Those drops of the dye that should not fall on the printed surface are collected in the dye collector and, as a rule, are returned back to the main dye reservoir. The first inkjet printer manufactured using this dye feed method was released by Siemens in 1951. [2]

• Feed on Demand [3] - the supply of dye from the nozzle of the print head occurs only when the dye really needs to be applied to the corresponding nozzle area of ​​the printed surface. It is this method of filing dye and received the most widespread in modern inkjet printers.

Comparison with other types (for photo printers)

• Print quality. High quality (up to 300 lpi - no other printer can boast such clarity) is achieved only on paper with a special coating. On ordinary office paper, “shaggy” edges are visible. Also, the clarity of printing on ordinary office paper is enhanced by the use of special pigment inks.
• Color rendition. The instability of colors is possible (different batches of paints, sludge paints during inactivity and stirring during work). But in general, due to the fact that photo printers can have 8 or more colors, with regular calibration, the color rendition is very good (comes close to the industry leader - chemical photo printing).
• Print speed With simple personal printers, it's comparable to the speed of a dot-matrix printer, about a minute per A4 page. Printing black and white documents is usually faster. There are models of inkjet printers with print speeds of up to 60 black and white pages per minute [4] .
• The cost of the print. When using the original supplies is very high, more than a dollar per photographic page. Even a black and white text page is several times more expensive than a similar laser one. However, the use of ink and third-party paper can reduce the cost tenfold.
• Resistance of a print to external influences. Depends on ink composition and print material. When using water-soluble ink and plain office paper, prints are afraid of water and can fade. When using pigment inks (almost all office inkjet printers), light and water resistance increases by an order of magnitude. The use of photographic paper also makes the print resistant to water and fading.
• Printing on non-traditional materials. Inkjet printers (with proper design of the supply path) can print even on souvenirs with an uneven surface. No other printers are capable of this. In addition, the ink can have very different physicochemical properties, so printing is possible, for example, on a film of thermal transfer or on the nails of fashionistas.
• Possible print length. Theoretically unlimited. Restrictions of the print spooler are possible (as, for example, in Windows - only pages are printed). Cheap office printers may not have a roll paper feed mechanism.
• Environmental friendliness. Low noise Depending on the chemical composition of the ink, evaporation of the solvent is possible.
• Ease of maintenance. Extremely capricious, smooth operation is possible only if the printer periodically prints with all its cartridges. In low-cost office printers often run out of paint, CISS for the most part solved this problem.
• The main application now. Photo printing, large format printing, special types of printing. In the early 2000s, they were widely promoted as personal ones. In the 2010s, they are reintroduced as personal, often black-and-white, and with an integrated CISS.

Classification

By type of printed material:

• Rolled - equipped with a system of winding and winding rolled material, designed for printing on self-adhesive, paper, canvas, banner fabric

• Sheet solid - for printing on PVC, polystyrene, foam board. The sheet of material is fixed on the frame using a vacuum clamp or clamps. The carriage (equipped with a drive for moving along the X axis) is fixed on the portal, which together with the carriage moves over the material (along the Y axis).

• Souvenir - movement of the workpiece relative to the head, along the Y axis, is provided by a servo drive of the movable table, in addition, the table is equipped with a mechanism for adjusting the distance between the workpiece and the carriage (for printing on workpieces of different heights). Used for printing on disks, phones, for marking parts.

• Sheet flexible - for printing on paper and film of standard formats (A3, A4, etc.). Equipped with a mechanism for gripping and winding sheet material.

In addition, there are inkjet printers for 3D printing of volumetric forms.

By type of ink used:

• Aqueous based water soluble dye. Used in the vast majority of household and office inkjet printers and in some large-format interior printers. The main drawback is poor lightfastness, that is, fast burnout in the sun.
• Solvent ink. Solvent ink is applied in large format and interior printing. Characterized by very high resistance to water and precipitation. Characterized by the viscosity of the solvent, the grain and pigment dye fraction used.
• Alcohol - not widely used, as the head, printing alcohol ink very quickly dry.
• Oil - used in industrial marking systems and for testing printheads.
• Pigment - used to produce high quality images, in interior and in photo printing.
• UV-curable inks - used as an environmentally friendly replacement for solvent inks and for printing on rigid materials.
• Thermal transfer inks - a distinctive feature of thermal transfer inks - the ability, with the help of thermal press, to transfer the printed image from the substrate to the product. Used for applying logos on clothes.

To destination:

• Widescreen - the main purpose of large format printing - outdoor advertising. Large format printers are characterized by a large print width (most often 3200 mm), high print speeds (from 20 m² per hour), and not the highest optical resolution.
• Interior - the area of ​​application of interior printing is the printing of interior design elements, the printing of posters, information stands, drawings. The basic format is 1600 mm. The main manufacturers of interior printers: Roland, Mimaki.
• Photo printers - designed for printing photos, print on materials of small formats (usually on rolls up to 1000 mm wide). The color model is not worse than CMYK + Lc + Lm (six-color printing), sometimes the color model is complemented by orange, white paint, silver (for the effects of metal), etc.
• Сувенирные — применяются для печати на небольших деталях, для печати на дисках, и заготовках сложной формы. Производятся множеством фирм: TechnoJet, Epson, Canon, HP и т. п.
• Офисные — отличаются, от фотопринтеров, более дешёвой конструкцией, в большинстве случаев, отсутствием лайтов и листовой подачей материала. Основные производители офисных принтеров: Epson, HP, Canon, Lexmark.
• Маркировочные — включаются в состав поточных линий. Печатающая головка, неподвижно закреплённая над конвейерной лентой, наносит маркировку на движущиеся изделия.
• Маникюрные — используются для нанесения на ногти сложного рисунка в нейл-арт салонах.

По системе подачи чернил:

• Непрерывная , с расположение субтанков и головок на одном уровне (давление на входе голов регулируется высотой субтанков).

Структура: канистры с чернилами → помпа → фильтр → гибкий тракт → каретка → обратный клапан → субтанк, оснащённый датчиками уровня чернил → головка.

• Непрерывная, с субтанками , расположенными выше голов. Давление высокого столба чернил на головы уравновешивается вакуумной системой, состоящей из вакуумной помпы и устройств регулировки вакуума.

Структура: канистры с чернилами → помпа → фильтр → гибкий тракт → каретка → обратный клапан → субтанк, оснащённый датчиками уровня чернил и подключенные к вакуумной системе → головы.

• Самотёком . Головы и канистры с чернилами соединяются трубками, проходящими через гибкий тракт. Единственный промежуточный элемент — демпфер, фильтрующий чернила и гасящий колебания давления, возникающие при движении гибкого тракта.

• Supply of ink from cartridges moving with the carriage . The main advantage of this system is low cost. Disadvantages: low ink supply in cartridges, weighting of the carriage by cartridges, slow pressure drop at the inlet of heads, caused by a decrease in the level of ink in cartridges.

The main characteristic of the printer on which the optical resolution depends most strongly is the type, number and location of the print heads on the carriage.

Photo printers and office printers are rarely equipped with more than one head for each color. This is due to low print speed requirements, and besides, the smaller the heads, the simpler and more efficient their calibration and convergence system is.

Large-format and interior printers are completed with two - four heads for each color.

In order to effectively dry and prevent material from sticking together, inkjet printers are equipped with printing field heating systems to blow printed material. On UV printers, ink is fixed by the radiation of lamp or LED emitters moving with the carriage. To reduce the burnout of the surface of the printed material under the action of UV radiation, when the carriage moves over unsealed areas, the emitters are turned off or closed with opaque curtains.

In office printers, the Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) is also used to reduce the cost of printing and to improve some of the other printing characteristics, representing a kind of gravity-free ink supply system. The role of the damper plays a cartridge.

Currently, A4 and A3 inkjet printers are being actively replaced by color laser printers. This trend is due to significantly lower consumption and lower cost of consumables used for laser printing, ease of maintenance of color laser printers, which is reduced only to the replacement of toner and roller.

The most significant advantage of inkjet printing over laser is the length of a continuous print, limited only by the length of the web material. On laser printers, the print length is limited to the circumference of the intermediate carrier — the shaft or ribbon. On the largest laser printers, print lengths can reach a meter. On office inkjet printers, due to the extremely narrow specialization and automation of printers, the poor performance of Print Manager (Windows), the high cost of programs that replace Print Manager, such as FlexiSign, Caldera, etc., and the complete lack of mechanisms required for printing on roll media In most cases, it is impossible to implement continuous printing of unlimited length.

Sublimation Printers

Main article: Sublimation Printer

Thermosublimation (sublimation) is the rapid heating of the dye when the liquid phase is passed. Steam is immediately formed from the solid dye. The smaller the portion, the greater the photographic breadth (dynamic range) of the color rendition. The pigment of each of the primary colors, and there may be three or four of them, is on a separate (or on a common multi-layer) thin polyester tape (Mitsubishi Electric thermo-sublimation printers). The printing of the final color takes place in several passes: each ribbon is successively pulled under a tightly pressed thermal head consisting of a set of thermoelements. They are heated, sublimate the dye. The points, due to the small distance between the head and the carrier, are stably positioned and are very small in size.

The serious problems of sublimation printing include the sensitivity of the applied ink to ultraviolet. If the image is not covered with a special layer that blocks UV light, then the paints will soon fade. When using solid dyes and an additional lamination layer with an ultraviolet filter to protect the image, the resulting prints do not warp and tolerate moisture, sunlight and even aggressive environments, but the price of photographs increases. For full color dye-sublimation technology you have to pay a lot of printing time for each photo (printing a single 10 × 15 cm image with a Sony DPP-SV77 printer takes about 90 seconds). Manufacturing firms write about a photographic breadth of 24-bit color, which is more desirable than real. Actually, the photographic breadth of color is not more than 18 bits.

The most famous manufacturers of thermal sublimation printers are Canon and Sony.

Comparison with other types (for photo printing)

• Print quality. A good, raster-free picture (to print a light color, the printer evaporates less paint). By lineature close to the magazine photo.
• Color rendition. Very good.
• Print speed About a minute to photograph 10 × 15. Professional printers 6-15 seconds.
• The cost of the print. On a household printer 13-15 rubles per print. At the professional - less than 5 rubles.
• Printing on non-traditional materials. Not provided.
• Resistance of a print to external influences. It is covered with a film after printing. Protection against water and fading.
• Possible print length. Only in photo format, usually 10 × 15.
• Environmental friendliness. Low noise
• Ease of maintenance. More reliable jet; idle time to sublimation printers are not terrible. They are afraid of dust.
• The main application now. Photo printing.

Laser printers

Main article: Laser printer

HP LaserJet 4100TH Laser Printer

Technology - the progenitor of modern laser printing, appeared in 1938 - Chester Carlson invented a printing method called electrography, then renamed xerography.

The principle of technology was as follows. A static charge is evenly distributed over the surface of the photodrum by the charge-timetron (or the charge shaft), then the LED laser (in LED printers — an LED ruler) is removed at the right places, thereby placing a latent image on the surface of the photodrum. Next, the toner is applied to the photo drum. Toner is attracted to the discharged parts of the surface of the drum that retains the latent image. After that, the photodrum rolls over the paper and the toner is transferred onto the transfer corotron paper (or transfer roller). After that, the paper passes through the fusing unit, where the toner softens and is pressed into the paper structure, and the photoconductor unit is cleared of toner residues and discharged in the cleaning unit.

The first laser printer was the EARS (Ethernet, Alto, Research character generator, Scanned Laser Output Terminal), invented and created in 1971 at Xerox Corporation, and their mass production was launched in the second half of the 1970s. The Xerox 9700 printer could be purchased at that time for 350 thousand dollars, but it printed at a speed of 120 ppm.

Comparison with other types

• Print quality. High, in expensive models is approaching offset printing (models with a resolution of 2400 dpi are produced).
• Color rendition. Paraffin-based toner is stable. Since the printing unit for each of the colors has large sizes and cost, only four colors are used in the CMYK scheme, and the photo image is obtained with a large raster (about 80 lpi), especially in bright colors. Color laser printers allow you to print high-quality color images, but photographic-quality models are not currently available.
• Print speed Modern personal printers operate at a speed of 10-20 pages per minute. Office and industrial printers can have speeds above 100 pages per minute. It should be noted that before the output of the first sheet, some time passes to warm up the fusing unit (from a few seconds to tens of seconds). Some personal printers (HP and Canon) use fusing assemblies that do not require warming up.
• The cost of the print. The smallest among all types of printers (units of US cents per page for black and white printing and dozens for color). In personal printers, relatively expensive cartridges are used (calculated for a volume of from 1.5 to 3 thousand pages), which seriously increase the cost of a print. Refilling cartridges can reduce the cost of the print, but the standard possibility of refilling is not provided for by manufacturers (and even artificial obstacles are created, for example, memory chips are installed in the cartridges). Print quality on refilled cartridges is not guaranteed. In many office printers of medium and high-end, a regular toner refilling is provided, it is these printers that have the lowest print price.
• Printing on non-traditional materials. Some types of printers can print on glossy paper, envelopes, labels, transparencies. All materials must be resistant to high temperatures, have a certain structure, density, thickness, flexibility. All printers are designed to work with standard office paper with a density of about 80 g / cm². Types of any other materials should only be used from the list recommended by the manufacturer.
• Resistance of a print to external influences. Well kept color, water resistant, but poorly resistant to mechanical stress. Therefore, documents issued for a long time (for example, a passport) are printed either on other types of printers, or in very bold and clear type.
• Possible print length. Laser printing is a continuous process, and the bitmap for a single sheet must be fully prepared in memory before printing. Therefore, the size of the print area is usually limited, and the paper feed mechanism is designed to work with packs of a certain identical format (usually A4, or A3). Large format printers are designed to feed paper from rolls (up to A0), with automatic cutting.
• Environmental friendliness. Almost silent. If the air filters fail, they can pollute the air with ozone and toner. According to modern data, the toner is dangerous as inert dust and due to pyrrole (a by-product in the production of soot) [ 482 days ] .
• Ease of maintenance. It works reliably in ordinary home and office environments. The printer usually “warns” you of the print cartridge soon with strips on the print. However, the toner gets dirty and difficult to wash off, so do not refill the empty cartridge at home. A printing drum also requires regular replacement (the resource is about 10 thousand pages, but can be reduced when using poor-quality paper, not original toner, frequent printing one page per task; in the cheapest printers embedded in the cartridge), paper feeder rollers. It contains a powerful (up to 1000 W) electric heating element and therefore cannot operate from the UPS.
• The main application now. The irreplaceable assistant in any office. In the 2000s, they fell so much that they became available to home users. Because of the high-quality monochrome images, laser printers are used in printing for photosetting.

Thermal printers

The printing process consists in forming an image with a thermal print head on a special heat-sensitive paper, which turns black in the places of heating, forming symbols. [5] Simple and cheap, do not require coloring matter, but print quality is low.

Comparison with other types

• Print quality. Reaches 300 dpi.
• Color rendition. Only black and white.
• Print speed Very fast, faster matrix and inkjet printers.
• The cost of the print. Extremely low, 1 m² of a cash tape costs about twice as much as 1 m² of office paper. It is cheaper than laser prints.
• Printing on non-traditional materials. They print only on thermal paper. They also produce films and self-adhesive labels with thermocoating.
• Resistance of a print to external influences. Prints are not resistant to friction, pressure; fade over several years. The prints are resistant to heating with the temperature of a human hand (36.6 °), but do not always withstand the effects of household heating appliances. For example, if you warm up a product with a label printed on a thermal printer in a microwave oven, the label will turn black and become practically unreadable. In addition, the blackening of the label can occur when interacting with some household cleaners.
• Possible print length. Limited only by software.
• Environmental friendliness. The thermal print head does not create noise; the noise of a working printer is limited only by the noise of the media feeder. Virtually no pollution. However, the harmful substance bisphenol A. enters into thermal paper.
• Ease of maintenance. Extremely reliable; the only consumable is thermal paper.
• The main application now. They are massively used in small-format and small-sized printers: fax machines, cash registers, ATMs, service terminals.

3D printer (digital additive manufacturing device, prototyping device)

3D printer - equipment designed to reproduce digital data (3D model) in the form of a solid model of an object, a finished part or product. The object is reproduced in layers, by creating and integrating individual sections.

The technology of reproducing three-dimensional objects (additive technologies) is the antipode of 3D-milling (subtractive technologies). The key difference is that with subtractive technology, all unnecessary is taken away from the blank, and with additive technology, the reverse process takes place - the body of the object is expanded.

Comparative table of advantages and disadvantages of these technologies:

Technological challenge	Additive technology	Subtractive technology
Getting a freeform product	It is possible, besides this, it is possible to obtain a part in the internal cavity of another part or a complex shape of the internal cavity.	Maybe.
The material of the resulting product	A variety of polymers, including photopolymers, gypsum, powder metallurgy materials, metals, etc.	Virtually any material, with the exception of excessively crumbling (some types of rubber) or winding on the mill (fabric)
The accuracy of the shape of the product, the quality of the surfaces.	Usually low, determined by the combination of uniformity of deposition of layers of material and mechanical deformations of the material during operation, the surface of the product may have a substantial roughness.	Very high. It is possible to remove surfaces with edges of almost mirror purity, however, there are significant difficulties with cutting internal corners, the minimum radius of which is limited to the minimum diameter of the cutter.
The possibility of simultaneous application of the image on the product in the process of obtaining the	Perhaps when combining process technology with 3D inkjet printing technology.	Impossible.
The rate of receipt of the product	Depends on the total volume of the product and quality requirements.	It depends on the volume of the material being cut, on the physical properties of the material of the workpiece, the requirements for the quality of the product, the quality of the cutters used.
The possibility of further processing of the resulting product	Depends on the material of the product. If you need high-quality paint, rough surfaces should be modified.	Depends on the material of the product.
Environmental requirements, operating conditions, impact on the environment of operation.	Similar to the requirements for the operation of office or industrial equipment. indoors. Some materials used in additive technology do not tolerate high environmental humidity (gypsum powder hardens). The optics of laser devices of an ad hoc production do not transfer work in a room with high dustiness.	The quality of processing depends little on the environmental conditions (with the exception of extremely low temperatures, at which lubrication thickens in bearings or extremely high temperatures, at which the control electronics overheat). Milling creates an increased level of noise, increases the dustiness of the room, has a significant power consumption. Office space and small workshops are unsuitable for the installation of the router.

3D inkjet modeling devices

Inkjet modeling device, the design is very similar to a conventional inkjet printer. The key difference is the presence of a mechanism for layer-by-layer deposition of a polymerized or hardening material on the surface of each working layer. In the process, polymerizable or hardening material is applied on each newly formed layer. After applying each layer of inkjet printhead, in those areas where the polymerized or hardening material should harden causes polymerizing additive or other curing activator. The cycle is repeated until the completion of the formation of a solid inside the array of non-polymerized powder material. Often, gypsum is used as a working material, which hardens on contact with ordinary, cheap water-based ink for inkjet printing.

3D laser modeling devices

In the process of laser 3D-modeling devices, a liquid photopolymer is applied to the desktop in layers. After applying each layer, in those places where the photopolymer should harden, the surface of the photopolymer is illuminated by a laser beam. Thus, the object is built up in layers. After the formation of the last layer is completed, it is sufficient to remove the solidified object from the liquid photopolymer.

In addition, there are 3D laser modeling devices, in which instead of a photopolymer metal or polymer powder is used, which, when forming each new layer, is laser baked to a solid state. Laser sintering technologies may differ in the type and power of the laser emitter used.

3D modeling devices based on plastic extrusion

In such devices, for the future product, by continuous extrusion, polymer melt is applied in the form of a jet, with a diameter of several tenths of a millimeter to several millimeters. Gluing together, the layers form the future product. The three-coordinate kinematic system, similar to that used in writing or cutting plotters or engraving milling machines, controls the extruder movement. Also known special extruder nozzles on a conventional CNC milling machine, converting it into a 3D-modeling device.

3D printers for printing on volumetric objects (on 3D-objects) [6]

Unlike traditional printers, which in one way or another create an image on flat carriers - on paper, film or metal foil, 3D printers can apply the image to three-dimensional (three-dimensional) objects, such as mugs, mobile phones, souvenirs, key chains, pens and other most common products.

In contrast to pad printing, a 3D printer does not require the manufacture of printing forms, ink information, and can quickly print, including full-color, in arbitrarily small print runs.

The work of 3D printers, as a rule, is based on the use of inkjet printing, like inkjet printers, only the paper pulling mechanism is replaced by a device orienting the object to be printed during printing.

Also known are 3D-printers, carrying out full-color printing on the nails of the hands or feet, which is successfully used in this form of manicure, as Neil-art.

Other printers

• Drum printers ( drum printer ).

The first printer, called UNIPRINTER, was created in 1953 by Remington Rand for the UNIVAC computer. The main element of such a printer was a rotating drum, on the surface of which were embossed images of letters and numbers. The width of the drum corresponded to the width of the paper, and the number of rings with the alphabet was equal to the maximum number of characters in a line. Behind the paper was a line of hammers powered by electromagnets. At the time of the passage of the desired symbol on a rotating drum, a hammer hit the paper, pressing it through the ink ribbon to the drum. Thus, in one revolution of the drum it was possible to print the entire line. Then the paper moved one line and the machine printed on. In the USSR, such machines were called alphanumeric printers (ADCs). Their printouts can be recognized by a font that resembles a typewriter font and “jumps” letters by string. The output speed of the drum printer was and remains the highest among all known printing devices, but it was far from being the limit of the capabilities of this technology. Printing was made on roll paper, which is why the system analysts called the result of the printout “sheet”.

• Chamomile printers (petal printers)

By the principle of action were a hybrid of drum and typewriter. Имели один набор букв, располагающийся на гибких лепестках пластмассового диска. Диск вращался, и специальный электромагнит прижимал нужный лепесток к красящей ленте и бумаге. Так как набор символов был один, требовалось перемещение печатающей головки вдоль строки, и скорость печати была заметно ниже, чем у барабанных принтеров. Заменив диск с символами, можно было получить другой шрифт, а, вставив ленту не чёрного цвета — получить «цветной» отпечаток. Для этого в наборе команд принтера могла присутствовать команда «пауза». [7]

Кроме ромашки, деталь с литерами могла иметь форму наперстка, (усеченного) шара [5] или даже гусеничной цепи ( chain printer ).

• Телетайпные принтеры состояли из электромеханической части, повторяющей электрическую печатную машинку, и модема. То есть, в один блок были объединены электрическая клавиатура, электромеханический рычаговый символьный принтер и устройство приёма и передачи информации по каналу связи. Дополнительно подключалось устройство записи и считывания перфоленты, обычно 5-рядной (5-битной).

• Экспериментальные разработки:
  • Японская компания PrePeat в рамках программы защиты окружающей среды выпустила принтер, не требующий для работы ни чернил, ни тонера, ни бумаги. Для печати вместо бумаги используется тонкий белый пластик. Один и тот же лист можно использовать много раз: перед повторной печатью он автоматически очищается в принтере. [eight]

Интернет-принтеры

Основная статья: Интернет-принтер

В последнее время на рынке офисной техники появились принтеры, программное обеспечение которых поддерживает непосредственное подключение к Интернету(обычно через роутер), что позволяет такому принтеру функционировать независимо от компьютера. Такое подключение обеспечивает ряд дополнительных возможностей:

• печать документов или веб-страниц прямо с дисплея принтера;
• печать документов или веб-страниц с любого веб-устройства (в том числе удалённого) без необходимости установки на нём драйвера принтера;
• просмотр состояния принтера и управление заданиями печати с помощью любого браузера вне зависимости от местонахождения;
• оперативное автоматическое обновление программного обеспечения принтера.

История и принципы работы

Эра домашних принтеров началась с 1985 года, когда на рынке появились принтеры LaserJet от Hewlett-Packard и LaserWriter от Apple Computer.

В 1981 году термическая технология струйной печати была представлена на выставке Canon Grand Fair. В 1985 году — появилась первая коммерческая модель такого монохромного принтера — Canon BJ-80, в 1988 году появился первый цветной принтер — BJC-440 формата A2, разрешением 400 dpi.

Design

Картридж принтера

Краситель (чернила, тонер), используемый в принтере, обычно хранится в картриджах.

Производители принтеров рекомендуют заправлять их принтеры чернилами/тонером их же производства, однако, технически предотвратить использование чернил/тонера от сторонних производителей сложно (как и сделать автомобиль, работающий только на бензине от производителя автомобиля). Покупка так называемых фирменных картриджей обходится дороже, чем перезаправка картриджей чернилами или тонером от сторонних производителей.

Существует целая отрасль производителей чернил, которые поставляют их производителям принтеров по OEM-соглашениям, а также напрямую пользователям под своей торговой маркой, например, inktec , ink-mate . В современных моделях принтеров Canon используются картриджи Fine со встроенным чипом, который контролирует подачу и уровень расхода чернил. Но это не мешает перезаправке таких картриджей, даже без перепрограммирования чипа, если после перезаправки остается информация, что чернила закончились, принтер печатать не отказывается, лишь сообщает о перезаправке.

Картриджи допускают неоднократную их заправку, при соблюдении определённых требований (требуются либо совместимые чернила, либо промывка картриджа и головки, для струйных принтеров).

Кроме картриджной системы заправки, для струйных принтеров существует и система подачи чернил из внешнего сосуда (т. н. СНПЧ).

Печатающая головка струйного принтера

Головка Xaar382(после двух лет пробега)

Вскрытие головки Xaar 382

Внутренности печатающей головки Xaar 382

Печатающая головка Spectra-128"SkyWalker"

Печатающая головка Spectra-128"SkyWalker" (распилена)

Распил печатающей головки Xaar 128

Определение:

• Печатающая головка - деталь принтера, предназначенная для нанесения чернил на поверхность запечатаемого материала.

Печатающая головка является весьма дорогостоящей деталью принтера, стоимость некоторых типов печатающих головок, применяемых в широкоформатных принтерах доходит до 100тыс руб.(для некоторых голов Spectra) [9] и выше. Кроме этого печатающая головка, в большинстве случаев является расходным материалом - очень дорогостоящим расходным материалом, который, при небрежном отношении к работе может быть, с легкостью поврежден. Для надежной и стабильной работы печатающей головки необходимо использовать краску надлежащего качества, кроме этого следует соблюдать условия хранения чернил(некоторые виды чернил нельзя перемораживать или перегревать). Следует соблюдать сроки хранения чернил(не использовать просроченные). Печатающую поверхность голов следует беречь от зацепов об материал и царапин. Своевременная замена чернильных фильтров заметно снижает скорость засорения голов.

Классификация:

• Термические печатные головы. Используются преимущественно в офисных струйных принтерах, используются в китайских водно-пигментных интерьерных принтерах на базе Kodak Encad. Отличаются простотой, дешевизной, не высокой надежностью.
• Пьезоэлектрические печатные головы. Используются в офисных струйных принтерах, в большинстве типов струйных принтеров производственного назначения.

Классификация пьезоэлектрических печатных голов:

• Головы для печати водными и водно-пигментными красками.
• Головы для сольвентной печати. Используются для печати чернилами на основе сольвента и других агресивных растворителей. Корпус и все детали голов, предназначенных для сольвентной печати максимально устойчив к воздействию химически-агрессивных веществ.
• Головы для УФ печати. В отличии от голов предназначенных только для сольвентной печати, в большинстве случаев имеют встроенный модуль пред-нагрева чернил(УФ чернила значительно гуще сольвентных а при нагреве легко разжижаются). УФ головы оборудованы двумя входами для подачи чернил в чернильную камеру и сквозной промывки чернильной камеры, в случае оседания твердого осадка чернил(в УФ печати часто используется белая краска, содержащая цинковый(оксид цинка) или титановый пигмент(Оксид титана(IV)), отличительной особенностью которого является способность давать осадок).

Условия качественной работы печатающей головки:

• При печати, на внешней поверхности печатающей головки, не должно быть капель краски, т.к. капли могут закрывать часть дюз и вместо спрыска на материал некоторые дюзы будет молотить в каплю.
• В чернильной камере печатающей головки не должно быть пузырьков воздуха. Голова, подобно любому жидкостному насосу не способна эффективно прокачивать воздух и пузырьки воздуха, попадая в дюзы замирают там и дальше не прокачиваются.
• Давление на входе в печатающую головку должно быть отрицательным, небольшим. При чрезмерном отрицательном давлении голова засасывает воздух (в обратку, через дюзы). При малейшем положительном давлении чернил, на голове сразу образуются капли.
• Печатающая головка должна быть достаточно близко к печатаемому материалу, чтобы разлет чернильных капель был незначителен.
• Напряжение на пьезо-элементах печатающей головки должно быть достаточным для того, чтобы капли имели достаточную массу и скорость, чтобы угол разлета капель был минимален.
• Напряжение на пьезо-элементах не должно быть выше величины, при которой, от чрезмерно-резкого срабатывания пьезо-элементов, в чернильной камере головы возникает эффект кавитации (краска буквально вскипает, завоздушивая голову).
• На поверхности печатающей головки не должно быть ворсинок и пылинок. Пыль может частично закрывать дюзы, краска спрыскиваемая в пыль будет скапливаться на поверхности печатающей головки и периодически капать на материал. Кроме этого прилипший к головке ворс(волосок) может елозить по не высохшей краске, оставляя грязные полосы.

Сравнительные характеристики некоторых печатающих головок:

Наименование головки	Тип используемых чернил	Количество дюз	Размер капли(в pl)	Максимальная частота работы дюз(кГц)	Плотность расположения дюз(в npi - nozzles per inch)
Xaar 128-40 [10]	Сольвент	128	40	8.3	185
Xaar 382-35"Proton" [11]	Сольвент	382	35	9.2	180
Epson DX5/DX7	Эко-сольвент, водно-пигментные	1440 (8 чернильных каналов по 180 дюз)	3,5 – 22	?	180 на каждый канал
Specta 128"SkyWalker"	Сольвент	128	50	sixteen	50
Specta 512/15"Polaris"	Сольвент	512(два печатающих модуля по 256 дюз)	15	?	Два печатающих модуля по 100(суммарная плотность 200)

Чернильная помпа струйного принтера

Пережимная чернильная помпа принтера

Вскрытие пережимной чернильной помпы принтера

Определение:

• Чернильная помпа - деталь принтера, предназначенная для перекачки чернил.

Чернильные помпы используются как в различных системах подачи чернил, так и в системах автоматической прочистки печатающей головки(головок).

Помпа, работающая в системе подачи чернил работает совместно с датчиком уровня чернил, находящимся в субтанке - емкости, из которой осуществляется питание печатающей головки. Алгоритм включения помпы: принтер печатает - печатающая головка расходует чернила из субтанка - в субтанке опускается уровень чернил - срабатывает датчик уровня - включается помпа, закачивающая чернила из основной емкости(канистры с чернилами) в субтанк. Алгоритм выключения помпы: работающая помпа наполнила субтанк чернилами - датчик уровня выключается - выключается помпа. Сигнал с датчика подается либо непосредственно на помпу, либо через промежуточные электронные устройства, выполняющие всевозможные вспомогательные функции: усиление сигнала датчика уровня, контроль уровня чернил в исходной емкости, выключение помпы в случае залипания датчика, счет расхода чернил, регулировка скорости вращения помпы и т.п..

Помпа, используемая в системе автоматической прочистки печатающей головки работает совместно с герметичной капой, прижимаемой на время прочистки к нижней поверхности печатающей головки. Помпа выкачивает из капы чернила и воздух, создавая в капе отрицательное давление. Под действием отрицательного давления из дюз печатающей головки, в капу начинают поступать чернила. Таким образом головка прочищается, пробиваются подсохшие дюзы и удаляется воздух из чернильной камеры печатающей головки.

Чернильные помпы характеризуются:

• максимальным давлением
• скоростью перекачки чернил
• диапазоном рабочих напряжений
• потребляемой мощностью
• стойкостью конструкции помпы к химическому воздействию различных типов чернил.

Чернильные помпы отличаются достаточно высокой ремонтопригодностью. Основная причина отказа помпы - загрязнение перекачивающих механизмов, которое можно легко вычистить.

Привод каретки струйного принтера

Привод каретки струйного принтера - совокупность механизмов, предназначенных для перемещения каретки струйного принтера.

Привод каретки струйного принтера состоит из:

• Механизмов крепления каретки к балке, обеспечивающих свободное перемещение каретки вдоль оси балки и жесткость при нагрузках, приложенных в других направлениях. Типичная каретка струйного принтера крепится к балке с помощью линейной рельсы и линейного подшипника(подшипников), на некоторых принтерах (например на старых Mimaki JV2) вместо одной рельсы используется две направляющие круглого сечения. На офисных струйных принтерах используется крепление каретки на роликах или две круглые направляющие или сочетание роликов и одной круглой направляющей. Рельсовые линейные направляющие на офисных принтерах не используются из-за высокой стоимости данного типа крепления(цена одного-лишь рельсового линейного подшипника может превышать среднюю стоимость настольного принтера в несколько раз). Кроме этого возможно крепление каретки на линейном двигателе.
• Ремня привода каретки. На некоторых принтерах вместо зубчатого ремня можно обнаружить гибкую стальную ленту. Лента не имеет зубьев, создающих вибрации, при вхождении в ведущие шестерни и обеспечивает более плавное движение каретки, но в сравнении с ремнем имеет меньший ресурс, отследить расход которого невозможно, т.к. лента в отличии от ремня не начинает крошиться перед разрывом, а рвется сразу. На некоторых принтерах каретка приводится в движение стальным тросиком, намотанным на двух-секционную катушку.
• Двигателя привода каретки. Обычно используется серво-двигатель с обратной связью. На офисных принтерах часто используются обычные шаговые двигатели.

Нетрадиционное использование

• Ещё до появления матричных (графических) принтеров, людям хотелось выводить на печать хотя бы подобие графики. Это можно было осуществить даже на барабанном или ином символьном принтере при помощи т. н. ASCII-графики. Даже сейчас в некоторых приложениях (например в графическом редакторе GIMP) есть опция вывода изображения в формате текстового файла ASCII, пригодного для печати на символьном принтере.

• Радиолюбители успешно применяют лазерные принтеры в «лазерно-утюжной» технологии изготовления печатных плат для создания маски для травления. [12] Аналогичным образом возможно нанесение надписей или изображений, в том числе цветных, на корпусы радиоприборов и иные объёмные предметы, которые штатным образом не помещаются в принтер. Для этого зеркально отражённый текст распечатывается на вощёной бумаге и в нагретом состоянии под давлением переносится на предмет.

• Лазерные принтеры можно использовать для создания надписей и изображений на металлических поверхностях. Для этого в картридж заправляется специальный тонер и отпечатывается зеркальное изображение либо зеркальный текст. После отпечатанный лист помещается на металлическую пластину под термопресс. Тонерпод давлением и при высокой температуре химически воздействует на металл, образуя устойчивые соединения. Указанная технология именуется "Grawerton"(Граверотон).

Interesting Facts

• Многие принтеры оставляют на отпечатанных листах жёлтые точки.