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1.6
Bubble Jet
Technology
Intermec ColorCoder V4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 1
The Bubble Jet technology used in Intermec ColorCoder V4 is
based upon the simple and natural phenomenon that when a liquid
is heated little bubbles are formed. An electric pulse creates a
temperature elevation (up to 300–400˚C). Every elevation of
temperature forms a tiny bubble that, in its turn, increases the
pressure and squirts out a well defined amount of ink. After that, the
pressure is reduced and vacuum is formed attracting new ink –and
the process starts all over again.
There are four printheads, one for each CMYK colour (cyan,
magenta, yellow and black). Each printhead and its connected
circuitry has capacity to handle thousands of pulses each second. As
the paper moves past the printheads, a multitude of well-defined ink
droplets are pressed out through the nozzles at an extremely high
speed.
Ink
Nozzle
The Bubble Jet method offers very high image resolution: 360 dpi
(dots per inch). The combination of high speed and high quality
printing makes the Bubble Jet technology unique compared to other
ink jet printing methods.
The printheads in ColorCoder V4 have 1,360 extremely small
nozzles each. In fact, every nozzle is thinner than a hair. Inside there
is a heating element and electrodes, and it is manufactured the same
way as integrated circuits (IC). Compare with traditional ink jet
methods, where every nozzle has an electromechanical pump that
shoots ink through the nozzle. The Bubble Jet printhead weighs
only one tenth of that of a conventional ink jet. Besides, it has no
moving parts.
Thus, the Bubble Jet method is silent, reliable and accurate, and
offers high quality four-colour printing at a reasonable cost.
Chapter 1
Heating Element
Ink is warmed up
Heating element creates bubbles
Ink is vaporized
Bubble expands
Steam is condensed and bubble contracts
Ink droplet is shot out when bubble
disappears
Introduction
5
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