The essence of the difference, and indeed the similarities, of the
piezoelectric and the thermal methods differ only in the technologies
used for the same purpose, that is getting the ink onto the paper in the
right quantities and right colours. To be able to do this effectively
the ink has to be forced down onto the paper.
To force the ink correctly down the miniscule nozzles Epson and the
other main manufacturers in the world went their different scientific
ways. Canon, Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark opted for the 'steam type of
method, whilst Epson developed new technology along the lines of
electrifying crystals.
'Thermal' type of printer cartridges will contain the necessary heating
elements inside each ink cartridge to vaporise the ink into a bubble. An
electric current is used to fit in with the printer's circuitry which
vaporise the ink, pushing it down the nozzle, whilst the remaining steam
in the bubbles pushes the other unused inks back in place ready for the
next signal. This is, of course, why it's called a 'bubble-jet' printer,
the bubbles being located above the nozzles.
Epson printer cartridges, on the other hand are based on a very
different technology, which is that of the 'piezoelectric' crystal. In
this case the method of forcing the ink onto the paper also uses
electric currents, the major and important difference being that the
piezoelectric method uses crystals which move upon electronic impulses,
the unused ink is returned to the reservoir by a sort of electronic
magnetic effect ready for the next firing.
It has been found that this method does have distinct advantages over
the other 'big 3' manufacturers in the variety of inks that can be used
by this method, certainly this is used by commercial and professional
printers as they tend to give more precise (or smaller) drops of ink
than the 'thermal' printers.
Epson printer cartridges, as you can see from the above 'techno-babble',
have to provide a full range of ink cartridges to suite all types of
printing needs. The research undertaken to provide these different inks
and cartridges to satisfy each individual's requirements and needs is
vast, and so therefore a large number of different types of ink
cartridges are available.
The eezytrade catalogue of Epson printer cartridges shows the range and
it's applicability to each specific printer. Because the Epson printer's
head is fixed in the printer and the cartridge is basically an ink tank,
they are normally cheaper than cartridges with heads that are fixed on
the cartridge itself, like HP and Lexmark ones.
Therefore, the only choice for sublimation
industry is Epson printer,considering sublimation inks are easy to get
degeneration in the hot environment. |