A Three Phase History of Inkjet Printers in the Building Components Industry

Those of us in the building materials and components industry have probably all seen inkjet printers mounted to our cutting equipment for labeling, framing layout, and other forms of marking. Let’s face it, nobody wants to get a package of cut pieces for framing a truss or a wall and have nothing labeled. So, inkjets get the job done without having someone handwrite every single part. However, inkjets were not always the same as the ones we see today. Inkjet printers have undergone a sort of evolution in our industry. From the days of what looked like dots which form readable text to very crisp logos, text, and even the very sharp, printed framing layout we see today, the inkjets of today are very different than the first ones that entered our scene. Of course, there are always pros and cons weighed by those who integrate newer technology as well as the end user looking to purchase such equipment. So, here is a general summary of the phases of evolution in inkjet technology in the lumber and building materials (LBM) and component manufacturing (CM) industry.

Phase 1 – (Circa 1980s) Dot Printer

As early as the 1980s, CMs and LBMs were on the cutting edge with various types of “Dot” style printers such as drop-on-demand DOD and dot matrix.

Design: Made up of a head which houses the jets that actually spray the ink. The head is attached with plumbing tubing to a pumping unit which delivers the ink with low pressure to the head. The pump unit typically uses a pint-sized tank used for the main ink supply. The ink in the tank is replenished by the operator who opens the cap of the tank and pours ink in from a larger barrel, usually a five gallon jug.

Pros

• Rugged – The print head was built for industrial use.
• Cutting Edge – During their era, just having this type of technology was far more advanced coming from nothing or perhaps simple stamping or nothing at all.
• Simple – Refilling the ink is a simple concept of pouring ink into the tank. The exposed nature of the plumbing from the tank to the head was simple to understand for diagnosis and general acceptance of the “magic” print.

Cons

• Low Resolution – What could be printed and the level of detail is limited by the fact that these types of systems are typically printing at around 80 dots per inch (DPI).
• Clogging – The heads often become clogged due to the exposed nature of the fluid system at the tank refill location as well as at the “plunger” style of ink nozzles used in the head.
• Messy – Ink spillage is a fact of life with this type of setup as the tank is exposed and requires refilling by carefully open-pouring the ink. If the system incurs any type of plumbing problem, this could also lead to inky messes due to dripping as well as spillage when performing work on the unit to fix it.

Phase 2 – (Circa 2012) Thermal Cartridge Printers

In roughly 2012, cartridge print systems entered the machinery scene in the CM and LBM industry.

Design: Head jets and ink are both combined and housed into individual, 1/2 inch cartridges. Multiple cartridges are arranged to achieve the desired printing height. For example: four cartridges would achieve a print “window” of 2 inches.

Pros

• High Resolution – Over 200 DPI enables printing finer and more detailed information on smaller areas such as the 1.5 inch side of a 2x4, which was not practical in previous dot printers.
• Sealed – The entire ink system is contained in the same unit as the jets making it fully sealed which prevents clogging and contamination.
• Clean – Because the cartridges are fully sealed, one will find very little ink mess on or around the machine, if any at all.
• Disposable Head – When the cartridge is empty, it is disposed of and replaced. Therefore, the printer not only gets new ink when the cartridges are replaced but entirely new heads and jets.

Cons

• Disposable Head – While the disposable ink cartridge is handy, it is also an expensive approach as the expense of the head jets are also being thrown away.
• High Ink Cost – At roughly $50–60 per cartridge and running multiple cartridges at once, the cost can be considered quite expensive. Generally, running four cartridges on a single work shift may last approximately two weeks depending on what’s being printed and the rate of cartridge failure. In such an example, the cost could be $400–500 per month, or possibly more depending on how many cartridges are thrown away upon becoming damaged in operation, fail due to electronic problems, or other unknown failures.
• Low Durability – After close to a decade in sawdust environments, one could very well argue that cartridges have a reputation of failing, for various reasons, both known and unknown, well before the ink is completely empty. Also, the cartridges often (multiple times per day) stop printing. To get the cartridges to resume printing usually requires physically tending to them by dabbing the nozzle surface with a damp cloth or possibly even removing all of the cartridges to do so. One must also be very careful handling the cartridges in and out of their print stalls as to not damage the exposed electronic contact pins which connect the cartridge to the print hardware itself.

Phase 3 – (Circa 2019) High Resolution, Sealed, Piezoelectric Systems

In 2019, high resolution inkjet heads utilizing the piezoelectric effect showed up in the CM and LBM industry.

Design: Made up of a head which houses the jets that actually spray the ink, the head is attached with plumbing hoses to a pumping unit which delivers the ink with low pressure to the head. The fluid system is sealed and the ink bottle is self-sealing with a spring-loaded plunger to maintain a sealed system when taking the ink bottle on or off.

Pros

• High Resolution – Over 200 DPI for fine printing such as small text, graphics, logos, etc.
• Single Line of Print – Typically the heads are a 2 to 4 inch continuous line of high res. print whereas cartridges would need multiple smaller cartridges “stitched” together. This single line of print reduces complexity and delivers truly straight vertical lines.
• Sealed – The fluid system is a sealed, pressurized system unlike the open tank reservoirs of the older dot printers.
• Non-Thermal – Ink tends to clog less. Unlike thermal ink cartridges, the Piezo ink jets do not use ultra high temperatures to emit ink, therefore avoiding clogging due to over-drying complications.
• Low Maintenance – Other than periodic or scheduled maintenance, the daily maintenance procedures are very minimal and in some cases feature auto-cleaning functionality.

Cons

• Slightly Messy – Although this type of system is a sealed system, there is still external plumbing from the pump unit to the head, so there is the possibility of spilling ink during servicing and/or setup. Also, these systems generally have a strong enough ink propulsion system that, when printing large volumes, some ink may drip if back spray builds up between the print head and the printing surface.
• Periodic Head Service – Unlike ink cartridges where the system is always getting new head jets every time the cartridges are replaced, the permanent head does not. Therefore, after some time the head will need to be sent back to the manufacturer for cleaning services.

Printing information on wood framing pieces puts important details directly in the hands of those using the material. As inkjet technology has advanced so too has the capability to communicate even more specific details. Whether it is framing layout, labeling for sorting, or assembly information, one should always be sure to weigh the pros and cons of different inkjet systems to determine which is best for your business.