Memjet getting closer to market...this will change everything.

[Manuchau]

Supposedly, this will be on the market late this year. The fastest, least expensive to operate, highest resolution/everyday inkjet printer yet.


Stay tuned....

http://www.networkworld.com/video/?bcpid=1343712625&bclid=6971717001&bctid=6941327001

 

[stratman]

"wicked fast"

Looks like a refillers/CISS kitters dream machine.

SuhWheeet!

Only questions are how's the text and image resolution, and, the reliability and longevity of the printhead? If it is comparable or better than todays Canon's and Epson's in their midrange market, then this will eventually overtake the big boys, maybe causing them to get competitive again and stop farking around with downsized cartridges and cheap components.

 

[stevec]

It's got over 70,000 nozzles. Looks good for nearly 9000 dpi except that it has to get 3 colours and two blacks in there so resolution a lot less than this. Unless the head can move a little, but that's a lot of mass to move quickly. I'm not sure it's a threat to todays photo printers.

 

[websnail]

Let's be honest... there has to be a catch somewhere... We just don't know what it is yet...

 

[msmart]

Drop size less then 2-trillionths of a liter! WOW!!

http://www.memjet.com/pages.aspx?id=technology

From the FAQS page:

Q Do the smaller nozzles have any issues with regards to clogging?

A The Memjet components have the advantage of producing very few satellite drops that in turn reduce print head contamination. Our smaller textured nozzles dramatically reduce the surface contact area for paper dust. We are not immune to the problem of clogging, but have worked hard to mitigate it using both standard and novel techniques. Our driver chips are designed with certain compensation schemes that make some level of failure unperceivable to the human eye and we have a maintenance designs that will be integrated into products to clean the print heads periodically.

Q Will the memjet cartridges be able to be refilled like other inkjet technologies?

A Yes and no. Ink cartridges sold by Memjets OEM customers will be able to be refilled via an authorized refill process. While we have not disclosed the details of this process, our intent is to allow third parties to refill our home and office customers ink cartridges through a common authorized process and business model that assures great print quality and performance from our customers printer devices.

 

[stratman]

From msmart's link:

* 1600 DPI at up to 60 ppm (4x6 photos at 30 photos per minute).

* 6400 nozzles which spit out heated ink at 1-2 picometers.

* Proprietary ink, but Memjet states it is not unusual/different than current inkjet inks on the market.

* Technology will be available through consumer printer manufacturers - No manufacturer mentioned yet.

* Memjet will not sell printers directly to consumers.

* Memjet predicts $300 price point for a printer (starting base price?)

* Initial roll out in 2009 with a 100mm printhead specific for retail photo printing and label printing devices, followed by an A4/Letter printhead and then other variations.

* All In One devices are thought to be a good fit, and there will be a wide formate version in the future.

 

[Manuchau]

If this is even moderately successful, you can bet the big 4 printer manufacturers will come out with similar, fixed head technology in the next year or 2.

Who said this wasn't an exciting industry(?)....lol

 

[websnail]

Who said this wasn't an exciting industry(?)....lol

That would be my wife who eloquently comments by falling asleep whenever I attempt to discuss it

 

[Grandad35]

Hasn't this been around for a few years, always with the promise "soon"? I note that their business model has apparently changed from building printers to supplying components to others who will build the printers.

While it's obvious that the concept works, I am concerned that it may not be acceptable for "photo quality" printing. It would seem to lack the "8 pass overlay" capability used by conventional inkjet printers to achieve photo quality, but it should be able to match the "single pass, text mode" quality.

 

[ghwellsjr]

It's possible that the current suppliers of inkjet printers will incorporate this engine into their products rather than try to reinvent their own versions.

One question I have is: will a computer and its software be able to create images fast enough for this printer? I noticed in the video that they spooled the images from the computer to the printer before the printout started. Eight seconds went by from when the last button was pushed on the computer until the first page came out. I bring this up because we already see pauses in our current inkjet printers due to slow software/interfaces. Of course this is not a complaint about the printer technology, it's just a prediction that maybe the bottleneck will be somewhere else, but of course that new bottleneck can also be eliminated.