Splatter During Ink Jet Printing

When an ink drop traveling at relatively high velocity impinges on a flat surface such as paper, part of the drop breaks up into many very small droplets that are deposited at other points. If these droplets are relatively large, then visible splatter results. Various parameters (ink properties, drop velocity, drop volume, space between drops, etc.) are investigated to determine their effect upon splatter and hence print quality. Print samples were made while varying these parameters, and the resulting print quality was assessed. A simple relationship among the kinetic energy of the drops, the overlap between drops, and print quality based upon splatter is developed. This relationship can be used to establish design boundaries in an ink jet printer.