Fujifilm has some of the best printing technologists in the world. Many problems were solved when developing the FUJIFILM JET PRESS inkjet printer (also commercially available as J PRESS in the U.S.) 1,200 x 1,200 dpi, high-resolution, sheet-fed, single-pass, inkjet printer. Let our experience be for your benefit.

In the previous Vol. 1: Systematic analysis of streaks and banding, we introduced systematic analysis and countermeasures related to streaks and banding, which are typical image defects encountered during high-resolution, single-pass inkjet printer development.
Starting from this edition, we will look at some actual case studies of streak and banding generation and introduce analysis methods and countermeasures. This time, we will address the issue of why streaks can occur after printhead cleaning, and look at ways to resolve that particular issue.

Cleaning can cause streaking?

Have you ever encountered the following problem when developing cleaning systems for high-resolution inkjet printers?

• After printhead cleaning, a non-firing nozzle was restored, but another firing nozzle has been impacted!
• Conducting head cleaning actually made the discharge worse!
• Printing was beautiful when new but recently streaks have appeared…

In cases like these, the printhead cleaning system may not be working properly. A misdiagnosis of streaks caused by the cleaning itself can lead to needless printhead replacement and associated costs.
At Fujifilm, over several years we conducted a series of tests related to printhead cleaning while developing our inkjet printer technology. Printhead cleaning is an important part of maintaining jetting performance. High-resolution, single-pass printers have nozzles numbering in the tens or hundreds of thousands, and a single nozzle may affect image quality, depending on the application.

Let’s take a look at some actual printhead cleaning-related problems we encountered at Fujifilm, as well as how we resolved them.