How Does a Solid Ink Printer Work?

In stick form, the ink used in solid ink printers is similar to a crayon.

Solid ink printers were first developed by Tektronix, which in 2000 was bought by Xerox. The first solid ink printers went to market in 1991. Solid ink printers spray ink like an inkjet, but like laser printers, use heat and pressure to fuse the ink to paper. Unlike laser and inkjet printers, solid ink printers can print onto just about any surface. The nature of the solid ink produces vivid color printouts.

Ink

The ink used in solid ink printers is solid before it is loaded in the printer. While the exact shape of the ink stick can vary, in composition it is much like a crayon. The ink will not stain skin or clothing in the stick form. Once the sticks are put into the printer, they are heated up to the point where they melt. The ink is kept in liquid form in a reservoir.

Maintenance Roller

Unlike other printers, solid ink printers use an extra roller called the maintenance roller. The entire role of the maintenance roller is to transfer silicone oil to the print drum. The silicone oil aids in the transfer of the ink by making sure none of the ink sticks to the print drum instead of the paper.

Print Head

The print head transfers the melted ink in the reservoirs onto the rotating print drum. An array of nozzles, similar to what an inkjet printer uses, spray the liquefied ink onto the print drum in patterns to form words and images. Xerox says its solid ink printers' print heads contain 1,236 nozzles to apply intricate designs and pictures accurately onto the print drum.

Ink Transfer

The paper passes between the print drum and a transfix roller. The print drum applies the ink to the paper as it rotates. The transfix roller applies pressure and heat to the paper after the ink is transferred. Without the pressure and heat involved in the transfer process, the ink likely would smear and run on the page, reducing print quality.

Duplexing

Duplexed printing involves putting words or images on both sides of a piece of paper. If the paper needs to be duplexed, after the ink transfer process is finished on the first side, the paper is fed back around the printer. This time the other side of the paper is exposed to the print drum for the second set of text or images to be transferred.

References

• Xerox: Solid Ink
• Inkguides.com: Solid Ink Printers Explained
• Webopedia: Choosing a Color Printer