02Oct Inkjet Printers

The components of a typical ink-jet printer are very similar to those of a dot matrix printer, It’s primary components are:

• The printhead assembly
• The power board
• The control board
• The printhead positioning motor and timing belt
• The paper feed motor and gear train
• The printer’s sensors

The ink catridge snaps into the printhead assembly that rides in front of the platen on a rail or rod. The printhead assembly is positioned by a timing belt that runs between it and positioning motor. A flexible cable carries ink-jet firing information between the control board and the printhead. This cable folds out of the way as the printhead assembly moves across the printer.

The paper feed motor turns a gear train that ultimately drives the platen. The paper is friction fed through the printer, between the platen and the pressure rollers. Almost all ink-jet-printers used with microcomputer systems are single sheet, friction feed systems. The control board, power supply board and sensors perform the same functions in an ink-jet printer that they did in the dot-matrix printer.

Ink jet printers produce characters by squirting a precisely controlled stream of ink drops onto the paper. The drops must be controlled precisely in terms of their aerodynamics, size and shape.