Behind every inkjet device lies years - even decades - of R&D. Jetting billions of ink droplets a second accurately and with quality inks and materials is big science and is advancing meteorically, accelerated by events such as next month’s The Inkjet Conference (TheIJC) to be held at drupa's home in Duesseldorf.
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| TheIJC 2017 |
With over 500 participants, TheIJC is the world’s leading platform for all those involved in inkjet engineering and chemistry. Three tracks and 61 technical presentations will update the audience on latest research developments and include a range of new technology launches. A networking area with 80 tabletops will allow suppliers and partners to discuss potential projects.
“The continued growth of inkjet across all areas is driven by fast-changing technical innovation,” says Steve Knight from Digital Direct Technologies, co-founder of the event. “We see one technology rapidly replaced by another. Each element of inkjet has the ability to be the key disruptive component that changes the future business opportunities and potential of our industries. Software and vision systems are sometimes seen as the peripheral elements of inkjet systems and yet can be potentially as disruptive as new ink chemistry or new printheads. TheIJC offers the only opportunity to meet experts from every inkjet field.”
Both conference days open with sessions dedicated to key advances in printhead architecture. John Corrall from Industrial Inkjet will announce a new Konica Minolta product family. Speakers from Archipelago, Fujifilm Dimatix, Kodak, Kyocera, Ricoh and Xaar will talk about their latest breakthroughs and explain mechanisms behind core inkjet technology.
A series of inkjet workshops available to all registered conference delegates include Introduction to inkjet, Spyglass on the digital factory, Inkjet in packaging, Titanium dioxide: The classification journey and Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe: What’s in it for me? All workshops are chaired by industry experts who engage in discussion with the participants.
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| TheIJC 2017 |
With an extraordinary amount of high-level technical content, the organisers structured further presentations on three parallel tracks. Hardware components, system integration, software and vision inspection are discussed on Track One which includes innovative instruments for measurement and analysis of jetting reliability by Polytype, as well as Smithers Pira’s market forecasts and Freedom To Operate analysis by Extract Information.
Ink formulation, fluids and inkjet chemistry are presented on Track Two which also features new product launches. Kao Collins will introduce a new water-based ink with polyester resin technology targeting flexible packaging and signage applications. Particle characterisation company Microtrac will talk about its new combination instrument to monitor pigment size and overgrains.
Track Three features innovation and academic research with topics ranging from ceramic tiles, pharmaceutical applications, orodispersible films and capsules, through to printing functional elements on 3D objects or inkjet-printed perovskite photovoltaics. The submissions came from the most renowned research institutes – among them University of Cambridge, iPrint, Fraunhofer ENAS and IPA – as well as from start-ups such as Saule Technologies.
Shane O'Neill from Fujifilm Dimatix will present a session titled Development of logic-based methodologies for quantitative and qualitative analysis of nozzle jetting and printhead performance:
As Fujifilm Dimatix continues to drive the development of Silicon MEMS printhead design and performance to offer solutions into ever more demanding applications, there is a parallel need to develop and utilise advanced methodologies and technology to measure and analyse the performance and behaviour of the jetting nozzles and arrays. Assessing the performance of the printhead, in combination with a variety of inks and test fluids, across key parameters, such as duty cycle, frequency, drop velocity or drop mass conditions, with the objective of simulating real-world, in-printer conditions, allows Dimatix to deliver robust and reliable printheads to the market.
The 5thedition of TheIJC takes place on 16-17 October 2018 at Crowne Plaza Düsseldorf.
The full program can be found here: http://www.theijc.com/event-program
