Industry watchers will remember reading about the Memjet technology in Wide Format Online magazine at the beginning of 2007 and the impact it could have on the inkjet printing industry as well as the wide format sector.
The last news we published on this indicated that we could expect to see the first machines in 2009. This was a delayed date as it was first promised in 2008.
Silverbrook do not want to manufacture the finished printer, only license their technology to the existing range of manufacturers.
Kia Silverbrook was quoted as saying at the time of his first announcement in March 2007 that he could produce a photo quality wide format machine (1320mm wide) for +/- $5000.00. The machine would be capable of an incredible 12 inches per second (1094 metres per hour). Photo quality speed would be half of that, 547 metres per hour.
A video of the machine in action can be seen by clicking here.
At this stage it is not known whether Silverbrook will meet the 2009 deadline, nor was any excuse given after the 2008 deadline was missed.
The technology is based on a fixed array of inkjet printheads that match the width of the printer, rather like the old noisy line printers that were so fast back in the 70's and 80's. The array could be made to any length, so a 5 metre Grand Format machine would be possible, in theory.
If this technology breaks in 2009 and proves successful, it has the potential to change the face of inket printing.
Memjet
www.memjet.com
