Analytical Perspective on Ink Jets for High Speed Printing.

A significant amount of research and development has been conducted since optimistic predictions of high speed ink jet printing were made; yet it is still difficult to get an assessment of where the technology stands. This paper reports on the possibilities of matching the quality and gross production of a four-page-wide newspaper press operating at about 2000 feet/minute (610 meter/minute). Simple analyses and thoughts about system requirements are applied, and tentative conclusions are reached. Basic characteristics on ink jet output are contrasted with the classical printing processes. A few prominent jet systems are described briefly, and work of organizations known to be involved is categorized. Overall system configurations are discussed and then anticipated problems are presented. Advantages and disadvantages of ink jets are summarized, and approximate memory availability data for given data rates and capacities are presented. Without unexpected changes, no near-term direct application of ink jets to the high speed newspaper press function is foreseen. If and when ink jets match the press high speed productivity, requirements for paper handling equipment are expected to be about the same as today's; hence much of the existing equipment would not be expected to change.