An industrial Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) printer: what is it?

The way an inkjet printer operates

Nowadays, inkjet printers are the most widely used kind of printers. It is possible to distinguish between two primary approaches: continuous inkjet (CIJ) and drop-on-demand (DOD) technologies.

Read More: continuous inkjet printer manufacturers

One small drop of ink at a time, carefully put onto the substrate, is expelled by dod printers.

Ink is continuously and steadily ejected from the print nozzles of continuous inkjet printers.

Inkjet printing is commonly used to a variety of substrates, such as paper, films, metal, plastics, and many more materials.

A deeper examination of CIJ printing

During the production and packaging procedures, items and packaging are coded and marked using an industrial Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) printer. The majority of the printed data is changeable; common uses include promotional codes, batch and manufacturing details, expiration dates, and serial numbers.

For these use situations, CIJ printing is a flexible, non-contact solution that offers dependable, high-quality coding on busy production lines. They can contribute to ensuring high overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) by consistently labeling each product.

Domino’s Ax-Series inkjet printers are a popular option among continuous inkjet printers. They print on a variety of product materials, are incredibly adaptable, and are easy to install. Excellent coding is produced on a variety of items and surfaces using Ax-Series printers. Bottles, cans, sachets, films and foil, pipelines, profiles, cable, and wire are examples of common uses.

How are CIJ printers operated?

The acronym for continuous inkjet is CIJ. In a CIJ printer, an ink reservoir is pumped with ink, which is then expelled via a nozzle to produce an ink jet.

Next, a high frequency vibration breaks up the ink jet into many ink droplets. Electrodes charge a subset of the droplets once they have formed. After passing through deflector plates, the stream of droplets produces an electrostatic field.

In order to be expelled from the print head and deposited on the product to create the necessary message, the charged droplets are deflected as they pass through the deflector plates. Drops that are not charged do not deflect and enter the CIJ ink system again.

The ink’s solvent base will evaporate throughout the printing process, altering the ink’s viscosity. The viscosity needs to be strictly regulated to a certain value in order to guarantee the best drop formulation.

A built-in viscometer in Domino Ax-Series CIJ printers allows for continuous ink viscosity measurement. The Ax-Series printer will automatically add solvent (make up) to the ink based on this measurement, ensuring that it is always at the proper viscosity level.

No printing continuously without ink

Because ink has a major impact on print quality overall, choosing the right ink is essential. An ink must to attach to a substrate appropriately, offer enough contrast, and be durable enough to ensure constant code quality.

Smeared or poor contrast ink might result in rejected codes or even expensive product recalls.

At Domino, we create and produce inks that are especially meant for particular materials, manufacturing procedures, and substrates. Specialty inks are made to endure the whole life of the product and to survive challenging post-print procedures.

To achieve optimal contrast on a broad range of surfaces, our CIJ inks are available in a variety of colors. MEK-free, highly pigmented, direct food contact, and specialty inks for various industry-specific needs are all available in Domino’s ink range.

Standard CIJ Printer Flexibility

Adaptability as required The continuous inkjet (CIJ) printer has several features that make it incredibly adaptable and appropriate for marking and coding in a variety of sectors. Common markets for this technology include food and beverage, pharmaceutical, healthcare, cosmetics, cable and wire, and industrial.

When coding onto a product, CIJ printers do not need to come into touch with it. As the product passes the print head, ink droplets are deflected from it and settle on it. Because of this, CIJ printers are an excellent option for coding breakable items.

Print heads for continuous inkjet (CIJ) systems are positioned apart from the product. Because of this distance’s flexibility, printing onto curved or uneven surfaces is possible. An excellent option for coding on cans, bottles, or pipes is a CIJ printer.

A large range of specialized inks may be used with CIJ print heads to support a wide range of applications:

– Highly pigmented yellow and white inks for tires, car components, and cables.

– Heat-resistant inks for uses requiring post-printing heat treatment.

– Inks designed especially for the food business, to guarantee legal compliance when coding eggshells or packaging that comes into direct touch with food.

Domino’s CIJ printers are built to survive rigorous washdown processes thanks to an optional 316 stainless steel cabinet and IP65/66 compliance. In hot, cold, damp, and sticky conditions—like those seen in the beverage industry—they print consistently.