Epson has provided 10 original and authentic print heads to the Chinese market. There are: S3200-U1, S3200-A1, S1600-U1, F1080, F1440, L1440-U2, L1440-A1, I3200-U1, I3200-A1, I3200-E1, these models are continuously extended in different application fields. In addition to the deepening of the attention of Epson print head to the Chinese market, it is more related to the favor of domestic equipment manufacturers on Epson print head and the ultra-high cost performance of Epson print head.

Especially Epson I series print head, because of its good market foundation, I3200-E1 began to supply in September, so far Epson I series print head has covered the water, UV, oil weak solvent market. So what’s the difference between these three print heads? How to choose?

On the surface is a print head selection problem, in-depth understanding is actually for different ink and different market needs of the application of the problem. Better improve and board card, ink, media consistency, coordination, this should be Epson I3200 series print head is divided into water, UV, weak solvent and other different types, with targeted segmentation of the design intention.

Water-based is easy to understand, I think no one would want to use a water-based print head to do UV and weak solvent (oily) solutions, want to make UV ink high viscosity, low surface through the water-based print head and get good control is almost impossible. At the same time, the life of the print head should be considered in this process. So let’s focus on the difference between UV print head and oily weak solvent print head.

UV inks are much more complex. Under the same conditions UV ink is more likely to produce changes in physical and chemical properties.

Both inks have a relatively wide viscosity range, generally 4~20 cm wave; But generally UV from the solid content of the point of view is much greater than the weak solvent. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the viscosity of UV ink should be larger than the weak solvent ink. Of course, the viscosity will be affected by temperature.

Both have a wide range of choice in terms of surface tension. The range is between 22 and 35 dynes. It depends on the print head.

The curvature and viscosity range of the two are very different at the same temperature. It is obviously impossible to use I3200-E1 to cope with UV ink, and I3200-U1 to adapt to weak solvent ink is also very reluctant. Even if the secondary cartridge is heated to 45℃, the viscosity value is still about 8, which can only be reached between 5 and 7 through the improvement of the formula again. And weak solvent ink viscosity at room temperature is about 4.5.

That is to say, with UV print head printing weak solvent ink, although fluency is no problem, but there will be flying ink, ink droplet shape will change, this will lead to ink through the amount is not the same, accuracy will also be affected. This will bring about a series of problems such as adjusting waveform and reducing viscosity. This for UV print head performance and stability must be a test.

The two print heads (the Epson I3200-U1 and I3200-E1) are mostly identical, have the same mass (conventionally speaking, weight), have the same accuracy, and fire at the same frequency. The difference is two things:

1. There is a small difference in the size of the ink drop between single point and multi-point. UV drops are about 1pl smaller than weak solvent drops. But this difference in our ink, board card, ink road system is eliminated or amplified, depending on the actual test;

2. Although the difference in viscosity value is not very large, there is no cross in the middle. The viscosity of UV is 5~7 mPa·s, while the weak solvent is 3~4 mPa·s. For UV ink must be heated to about 45℃ to reach the viscosity characteristics of 7 mPa·s, and is dynamic; But the weak solvent ink is about 25℃ that has a viscosity of 4 mPa·s.

Choose the Epson I3200 series print head should be in accordance with the Epson print head guidelines to make a professional choice, with different print heads corresponding to different ink schemes and professional ink path design and board; And I3200-U1 to deal with the UV ink scheme should be based on different needs to match the appropriate parts, different ink design, and the board card driving scheme; I3200-E1 deals with weak solvent inks as well. Professional products do professional work, more can reflect the professional level.