{"id":11440,"date":"2021-04-14T10:07:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T14:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maplejet.com\/ae\/?p=11440"},"modified":"2023-12-18T02:48:15","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T07:48:15","slug":"tij-print-on-aluminum-cans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maplejet.com\/ae\/tij-print-on-aluminum-cans\/","title":{"rendered":"There Is No Way Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) Can Print On Aluminum Beverage Cans. Or Is There?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since its introduction into the coding, marking, and product identification market segment many years ago, thermal inkjet technology has slowly, steadily expanded its market presence. While ink formulations have steadily improved, the majority of substrates for successful applications have been porous \u2013 essentially, kraft corrugated boxes and chipboard containers, sometimes requiring additional help for drying, such as infrared dryers and warm air, or leaving part of the box uncoated or unvarnished, to ensure reasonable dry times. And, to make things more challenging, TIJ technology demands very little space (throw distance) between the printhead and the surface to be printed, due to the very nature of the technology. With apologies to the inkjet technology gods for this description, TIJ is basically \u201cboiling\u201d the ink (hence, thermal) to generate a droplet, which, while being able to generate a lot of drops in a small space (to produce an excellent print resolution, i.e. drops per inch, or dpi), very much limits how far the droplet can jet, since there\u2019s no additional pressure that can be applied, either by air, pump, or mechanical piston or valve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While those are some of the main limiting factors of the technology, there are some major benefits to using TIJ technology in the industrial coding segment. The main advantage? There is practically no maintenance; zero, nada, don\u2019t have to do a thing. Why? For one, the hardware cost of TIJ print technology is extremely low compared with other common technologies in the space, such as Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) and Drop-On-Demand (LCM\/P Piezo and Solenoid\/Valve). Secondly, it\u2019s incredibly simple to use and does not require ongoing maintenance or servicing. The print cartridge contains the printhead and ink supply (and yes, there also bulk systems for TIJ, but we\u2019ll save that for another blog post). Whenever you insert a new print cartridge, you get a fresh supply of ink and a brand new printhead. The time it takes to swap in a new cartridge is less than the time it\u2019s taking to write this sentence. So now, you\u2019ve eliminated the need for costly maintenance, back-up printers, and specialized training. It\u2019s simple and straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings us to today. TIJ technology has slowly established itself as a viable print technology, within a window of specific applications. Some of these limiting factors are ink performance, throw distance, and linear line speed. Where it works, it works well; just don\u2019t try to push it too far. And then Funai introduced their new cartridge technology. That, combined with eUrex ink, driven by the Hx Nitro TIJ printer<\/a>, has changed the game. eUrex ink is full-on solvent-based ink that dries on a wide range of substrates, including metal, glass, and plastic. Along with the fast dry time, you also get great adhesion (which means great rub resistance) on these substrates. And, on top of that, the eUrex cartridge delivers throw distance up to 10 mm<\/a>. This now means many applications that were only doable with CIJ technology can be printed using the Hx Nitro and eUrex ink. And because it\u2019s a TIJ technology, the benefits of no maintenance, low cost, and ease of use are there as well. Oh, and along with all of that performance, the eUrex ink has shown up to 48 hours of decap time. That means it can sit for two days without printing, and then deliver a legible print on the first product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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