Solid-Ink Printers

Solid-Ink Printers

Solid-ink printers combine features of inkjet and laser printers to produce very fast and high-quality output for office printing requirements. Solid-ink printing was originally developed by Tektronix, but after the purchase of Tektronix by Xerox, all solid-ink printers are manufactured and sold by Xerox.

The Solid-Ink Printing Process

The solid-ink printing process has these major elements:

1. Solid-ink printers use specially shaped bars of ink in the four standard colors used for printing (CMYK):

   • Cyan

   • Magenta

   • Yellow

   • Black

   Each color uses a different shape to prevent misfeeds.

2. The ink is heated and sprayed onto a rotating drum under computer control.

3. Paper is heated and pressed against the drum to transfer the ink from the drum to the paper.

4. The paper is ejected from the printer into the output tray.

Figure 10.13 shows how a typical solid-ink printer works. The numbers in Figure 10.13 are explained in the caption.

Figure 10.13. How a typical solid-ink printer works: The ink loader (1) melts ink into the reservoir (2). The printhead (3) creates the image by depositing ink droplets (4) onto the drum (9). Meanwhile, the paper (5) is pulled past the paper heater (6). The image is transferred to the paper (8) by the pressure of the transfer roller (7) against the drum (9).

Suitable Paper Stock for Solid-Ink Printers

Solid-ink printers are designed to use various weights of paper, cover stock, labels, business cards, and envelopes of the same types used in laser printers. These printers can also use photo paper and glossy and coated papers; these are recommended for the best reproduction of high-quality illustrations and photos.

Some printer models use different types of trays or tray settings for different types of media. Be sure to use the correct tray or tray setting when changing media types.

Periodic Maintenance for Solid-Ink Printers

In addition to replacing ink colors and paper as needed, the following maintenance items must be performed periodically on typical solid-ink printers:

• The maintenance roller and counter have a rated lifespan measured by months of use or a certain number of copies (some models offer a standard and extended-life version). Replace these components when they reach their rated lifespan (copies or time in service, whichever comes first).

  tip

  

  When you insert paper into any type of printer, be sure to fan the pages before you insert the paper into the tray to prevent sticking .

  
  

• The waste tray catches excess ink. Remove it and empty it ( discarding the ink) when the tray is full. Most solid-ink printers have an indicator to tell you when to perform this step.

• Components such as the rapid-release guide, maintenance drawer wiper blade , exit rollers, and paper-feed rollers should be cleaned as needed to help solve print-quality problems. See the printer documentation for specific recommendations.