Ricoh : Announces Development of New Industrial Printhead Using the thin film PZT actuator

TOKYO, May 23, 2016 - Ricoh Company, Ltd. (President and CEO: Zenji Miura) has announced its development of a new inkjet printhead for industrial applications using its thin film (PZT) piezo actuator. This new head will be displayed on Ricoh's stand in Hall 8a at Drupa from May 30th - June 10th.

This new head is driven by the high-stiffness actuator manufactured using Ricoh's unique Sol-Gel process. This enables the application of high quality multi-drop control as featured in the proven RICOH GH printhead series. The original highly integrated design utilizes RICOH's MEMS technology to realize 600dpi resolution with 1,280 nozzles configured in 4 x 300dpi rows. Additionally, the ink paths are isolated, enabling a single head to jet up to four ink colors.

Ricoh has a long and rich heritage in the world of inkjet technology dating back over 30 years, which enables it to bring a wide variety of inkjet printing systems to market, whilst also supporting partners in diverse industrial and specialty markets from Wide Format Graphics to 3D Printing and from Textile to Digital Enhancements and many more.

Ricoh will introduce the new printhead through its own its inkjet printers also promoting the adoption of this thin film PZT and MEMS technology to a wider range of industrial partners in order to meet increasing market demands.

*1 A kind of piezoelectric transducers that creates mechanical deformation by the application of a voltage, used for jetting ink drops.

*2 A method for producing solid material from the solution of raw materials.

*3 A technology used for shading expression, making dot sizes variable by merging ink drops in flight.

*4 Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems: a general term for miniaturized electro-mechanical devices or technology.