The technical characteristics of the FlatJet are listed below:

Mechanical Measurements

Presently the FlatJet head is approximately 20x25x1mm in size ejecting ink at a bevel-angle of about 45°. (See figure left). A sequence of such printing heads can be built without any difficulty because they can be placed within 2 or 1.5 mm from each other in the full width of the paper, and if they are operated simultaneously parallel printing becomes reality.

Pixel-size and Density

The size of the pixel depends mainly on the distance between the printing head and the printed material. The pixel density is in direct proportion to the length of the activating time, similarly to an electromagnetically controlled airbrush system. Approximately 600µs activating time is required to achieve full coverage of a pixel which is 2mm in diameter, whereas for a dot which is 0.5mm in diameter 50µs is sufficient. The intended density levels can be adjusted smoothly by the time.

Ink Quality

Our previous tests have shown that a wide range of commercial inks, often used in the printing industry can be applied to the FlatJet provided that their viscosity can be reduced to a certain level, and the difficulties caused by drying of the ink can be overcome. We are currently using a diluted water disperse printing ink with a high pigment content. A major advantage of the FlatJet is that different kind papers and textiles can be.

Mass Production

Mass production of the FlatJet head can easily be automated thanks to its simple mechanical structure. If serial production is considered the need for manual assembly can be eliminated. The quality of the final product can be controlled through electric tests during production.

The production costs of a FlatJet printing head is estimated at around $0.2. The simple structure of the printing head accounts for its durability and reliability. In case one of the printing heads breaks down in the parallel printer it can be replaced without any difficulty.

Possible Printing Speed

The FlatJet printer can reach a printing speed of up to 1-1.5m printed paper per second. It means that if the width of the printing blocks is 1m (in our prototype the width is 21cm) it takes only 13 seconds to print a 13sqm billboard! The billboards printed at this speed may as well be entirely different. The printer does not require readjustment or a switch-off if the pictures are changed..