Kapser Nossent, Xennia’s R & D Sales Manager gave a keynote talk at SPE ANTEC, Boston, USA in May 2011, titled “Enhancing functionality on plastic using inkjet technology” discussing the advances in inkjet technology for this application, Xennia’s capabilities and potential market opportunities. The talk also outlined the market drivers, challenges and concluded with a future outlook on the technology and the application.

1. Enhanced Functionality on Plastic Using
Inkjet Technology
Kasper Nossent
R&D Sales Manager
Xennia Technology Ltd
SPE ANTEC 2011
Boston, May 2011

2. Talk Outline
Introduction to Xennia
What is inkjet printing?
Inkjet Drivers & Benefits
Challenges
Industrial Solutions
Application Examples
Conclusion

3. Section 1
INTRODUCTION TO XENNIA

4. Xennia helps customers lower
operating costs, increase productivity
and simplify mass customised production
by revolutionising manufacturing processes

5. BACKGROUND
Xennia is the world’s leading industrial inkjet solutions provider
14 year history, over 300 customer development programs
World class reputation underpinned by a strong IP portfolio
Unique expertise in inkjet chemistry with strong engineering capability
Headquartered in UK, offices in US and China
Received the Queens Award in 2010
Offering reliable inkjet process solutions:
Inkjet modules and inks for OEM partners with market access
Printing systems and inks for end users

6. FROM INKJET IDEAS ...
TO PRODUCTION REALITY
ink formulation & test evaluation tools system design production solutions

7. Xennia develops & supplies inkjet systems, modules
and inks for industrial applications

8. Section 2
What is Inkjet Printing?

9. What is Inkjet Printing?
A mechanism for controlled ejection of discrete drops of fluid
Examples of actuation mechanisms:
Deformation of piezoelectric crystals
Thermal expansion of bubbles
Effectively analogous to a fountain pen, except much smaller!
Drop volumes1-80 pL

10. What is Inkjet Printing?
Ink channel
Nozzle Ligament Satellite
Pressure wave Substrate
Ejecting ink
Drop formation Drop ejection Drop travel Drop on substrate
Drop formation controlled by: Determined by a complex
interplay of:
Rheology
Chemical functionalities
Surface tension
Polymer structure
Viscoelasticity
Particle size and shape

11. What is Inkjet Printing?
Low surface Medium surface High surface
tension tension tension
Ink behaviour
on substrate
Surface tension of ink relative to surface energy of substrate controls
behaviour of ink drops on substrate
Printed features are built-up drop by drop
Ability to fine tune morphology of printed features by adjusting ink
properties
UV-cured ink UV-cured ink
on plastic on copper

12. What is Inkjet Printing?
Liquid carrier Surfactants
Binders/ Adhesion
bulk matrix promoters
Rheology Other
modifiers additives
Functional Colorants
materials

13. What is Inkjet Printing?
Effect of
particles
Same size as Slightly smaller Much smaller than
nozzles than nozzles nozzles
Nozzles typically 20-30 m in diameter
Particles in inkjet inks typically sub-micron
Development of inkjet inks has been reliant on the development of
nanoparticulates
Key area of experience is producing stable particle dispersions
High density particles tend to settle and reduce reliability
Settling prevention - ink formulation and/or recirculating printhead technology

14. What is inkjet Printing?
Substrate? End-user? Processing?
Porous Non-porous Adhesion Line speed
Paper Polymer Scratch resistance Temperature
Polymer Metal Solvent resistance UV sensitivity
Textile Glass Tensile properties Environmental
Aqueous Oil-based
Ink Types
Solvent-based Phase change
UV-curable

15. What is Inkjet Printing?
Waveform and drive voltage
Flow through the nozzle
Droplet formation and jet stability
Image quality and durability

16. What is Inkjet Printing?
Adhesives Inorganic pigments
Abrasive materials Inorganic phosphors and lanthanides
Aggressive acids and alkali materials Magnetic materials (MICR)
Anti-scratch materials/clear coats Media coating materials
Biomedical antibodies, reagents and enzymes Metal solutions and dispersions
Bronze, aluminium and molybdenum powders OLED and LEP materials
Ceramic pigments Organic soluble and dispersed dyes
Colloidal and emulsion materials Sintered metals and ceramics
Conductive graphite Textile pigments and dyes
Conductive metals Titanium dioxide
Conductive polymers Ultra high purity materials
Decorative metallic pigments UV cure pigment inks
Electrochromic materials UV cure structural polymers
UV clear coating

17. What is Inkjet Printing?
What inks are available for plastics
UV, Solvent, Waterbased
Blends of the above
Functions available in inks for plastics
Colour
Metallic
Conductive
RFID
Aesthetic
Biofluids
Tracers
Security
Coatings
Components for solar cells
Conductive polymers

18. Section 3
Inkjet Drivers & Benefits

19. Inkjet Drivers & Benefits
Key market driver in product decoration
Need for economic short print runs
Faster and more frequent product upgrades
Increased number of niche products
Increased number of national/regional variations
Increased demand for personalisation to add value

20. Inkjet Drivers & Benefits
Reduced production costs
Efficient use of consumables
No requirement to produce new screens/pads
Short runs are economic
Cost per print same for 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000
No requirement for inventory
Increased productivity
No time for set-up – printer is always printing
Faster response
Print on demand
Just-in-time customisation/personalisation
Ideal for all types of substrates

21. Section 4
Challenges

22. Challenges – Critical areas
Wetting, drying, curing Fluid control
Ink chemistry
Substrate Print heads
Material handling
Encoder accuracy Drive electronics, software

23. Challenges
Challenges can be broken down into
Ink/substrate
Image quality
System

24. Challenges – Ink

25. Challenges – Image Quality
Original (256 levels)
Binary Head 7 Level Greyscale

26. Challenges – Image Quality
Output from greyscale printhead
Viewed close – Perceived by human eye
individual dot sizes from a distance
visible

27. Challenges – Image Quality
Digital Variable no. of Different ink Directly vary
halftoning drops densities drop volume
Regular screen, dither, Same ink density, small Multiple ink densities Vary waveform according
stochastic drops Requires multiple to drop size
Needs very small dot size Reduces throughput nozzles - extra cost Increases head complexity
and high resolution to give as multiple drops/pixel Extra ink tanks No loss of pixel frequency
good results
Variable drop volume requires
Close printhead manufacturing tolerances
Excellent temperature control
Well behaved and consistent inks

28. Challenges – Image Quality

29. Challenges – System
Understanding failure modes is key in designing industrial inkjet solutions
Typical failure modes for inkjet are:
Nozzle blockages
Nozzle plate contamination
Air inclusion
Drop substrate interaction fails
Consumable failures (filters, dampers)
Failure modes to take into account that are non inkjet:
Mechanical shocks
Standing waves in piping/beams
Vibrations (Eigen Frequency)
Influence of temperature/moisture
Mechanical deformation/expansion

30. Challenges - System

31. Challenges – System
Typical options to increase reliability of print process
Spitting nozzles
Purging
In process
Wiping nozzle plate
Capping printheads
Optimizing ink for the printhead and process and substrate
Optical systems to detect nozzle failure
Camera’s to inspect printed product
Nozzle redundancy Design
Modular approach
Redundancy

32. Section 5
Industrial Solutions

33. Industrial Solutions
Balance between
Quality
Productivity
Cost
Size
Reliability
Systems covering a broad range of configurations
Batch production
Continuous/web production
3D printing
Development/materials deposition

34. Industrial Solutions
600+
Desk top thermal and piezo DOD inkjet
500 The best compromise
Resolution (dpi)
of speed and resolution
for most industrial
applications
400
Industrial piezo DOD inkjet
300 Binary
continuous
inkjet
200
Raster continuous inkjet
100
50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Speed (m / min)

35. Industrial Solutions
Fail and act 100% Redundant
Low System Cost High
Low Efficiency High
The optimal solution should be determined based on the final specification
of the process
Understanding the failure modes of the system and the jetting process is a
key element in the pilot setups

36. Industrial Solutions
Print engine
Software
Fluid controllers

37. Industrial Solutions

38. Industrial Solutions –
PRODUCT DECORATION PRINTER
Integrated corona pre-treatment
Vacuum platen to secure product(s)
Print width 210mm
Print speed up to 24m/min at 360dpi
Jig can be customised to suit product
Manual load/unload
210mm
Can also be integrated into pick & place line
Variable data for barcodes, serial numbers etc.
Re-circulating ink systems ( XenJet Aquarius)
Integrated print software (XenJet Cygnus)

39. Industrial Solutions
SCANNING XY PRINTER
Up to 6 colours (2x white)
Print area 700mm x 1400mm
Print speed up to 450mm/s at 360dpi
Throughput up to 100m2/hr
70mm
Integrated UV lamps
Optional vacuum table to secure product(s)
Optional turntable for easy load/unload
Re-circulating ink systems ( XenJet Aquarius)
Integrated print software (XenJet Cygnus)

40. Industrial Solutions –
FIXED ARRAY NARROW WEB PRINTER
Roll-to-roll printer
Compatible with wide variety of flexible substrates
280mm print width on 300mm web
Print speed up 24m/min
Optional corona pre-treat unit 280mm
Integrated UV cure lamps
Up to 7 colours/fluids supported
Re-circulating ink systems ( XenJet Aquarius)
Integrated print software (XenJet Cygnus)

41. Industrial Solutions –
3D PRODUCT PRINTER
5 colours
Print speed up to 150mm/s at 360 dpi
35s cycle time for typical object
Printing onto general 3D surfaces
CAD data used to generate robot program
Multi-stage process
Integrated pre-treatment station
Integrated vacuum-based maintenance station
Robot-based product handling system
Integrated UV pin and full cure

42. Industrial Solutions –
Xennia Xanadu

43. Section 6
Application Examples

44. Application Examples
Products require decoration for several key reasons:
Attractive appearance
Branding
To provide information
Colour matching with other parts
Trademark protection
Personalisation

45. Application Examples
Huge demand for digital decoration of parts on production lines
Key drivers are:
Reduced costs
Print on demand means no need for large inventories
Increased productivity
Printing system spends the whole time printing
Faster response to customer demands
New designs can be introduced rapidly
Products can be personalised/customised on the fly

46. Application Examples
3D product Decoration
Many products have difficult/unusual shapes
Golfballs, helmets, pens
Home appliance front covers
Automotive glass
Ceramic tableware
Need to integrate a suitable motion system
Fast enough for the application
Accurate/consistent enough to give required print quality

47. Application Examples
Ceramics
Textiles Furniture & laminates
Glass
Product decoration
Wall coverings
Biotechnology & Packaging & labelling
medical
Printed electronics

48. Application Examples
Product Decoration &
Packaging
Safety helmets Consumer appliance fascias
Security wristbands Promotional gifts
Identity cards Laptops
Optical fibres Mobile phones
Wires and connectors Healthcare products
Toys
etc

49. Application Examples
Textiles
Flooring & furniture
Digital decoration of textiles: laminates
Garment personalisation Digital decoration of flooring &
Reel-to-reel textile production furniture laminates:
Flags, banners, awnings Wood-effect flooring
Soft furnishings (Direct printing and laminates)
Furnishings

50. Application Examples
Architectural
glass
Digital glass printing applications: Ceramic tiles & tableware
Direct print during manufacture
Digital decoration of ceramic tiles
Print polymer laminate
& tableware:
Direct print after manufacture
Ceramic wall/floor tiles
Ceramic tableware
Promotional items

51. Application Examples
Automotive parts
Wall coverings
Digital decoration of wall
coverings: Digital decoration of automotive
parts:
Consumer wall paper
Automotive glass
Business paper/vinyl wall
coverings Headlamp covers
Motorcycle fairings
Helmets
Spare parts branding

52. Section 7
Conclusion

53. Conclusion
Industrial inkjet is proven
Systems
Modular components
Software is proven
Ink technology is proven
Needs to be optimized for the application
Growing rate of industrial implementation
Stand alone systems
Integrated systems
Replacement of analogue systems

54. Kasper Nossent
Visit: www.xennia.com
Email: knossent@xennia.com