We are familiar with the dot-matrix printers of old; the striped green and white paper, the perforated edges and the 1980′s style font. Simple technologies and simple processes. Many of the younger generations will be unfamiliar with such technology, having instead been raised on the high quality output of modern day inkjet printers. They take their glossy photos and 25 pages per minute print times for granted, never thinking to ask how the technology was developed.

Inkjet Printing is comprised of several technologies, but they predominantly operate by propelling variable sized ink droplets onto any medium one may wish to print to. Three of the big four manufacturers use printing cartridges that have a current run through them; this current creates a bubble of ink to form at the nozzle which propels the tiny droplet of ink onto the page. Effectively the bursting of the ink bubble draws yet more ink through the nozzle and so another jet is ‘fired’ at the page.

Commercial inkjet printing has undergone many transformations; with large format inkjet printing long available as well as smaller, hand held instruments designed to print labels or barcodes on products at an incredibly low cost.

The next rage was flatbed printing, which filled the gap between offset printing and silk screening by providing a way to apply an image to rigid, flat or unevenly surfaced objects. Mechanical locks or a vacuum secure the printing medium as it slides through the printer. On command, the printing medium moves through the printer, passing under the print heads and, in some cases, under a UV lamp that instantly cures (dries) the ink.
Hybrid printers are essentially robust flatbed UV printers that deliver high-quality prints and high productivity on virtually any rigid or flexible media for the production of durable outdoor and indoor applications, including POP/POS signage, large format printing on banners and tradeshow graphics and interior decorations.