What are Printheads? 

Printheads are the major components of an inkjet printer that hold ink cartridges. They typically include ink feed attachments, driver electronics, and nozzled ink chambers. The ink from the cartridge passes through the printhead to the printing medium. Usually, a printhead is located beyond the printer cover, and since it houses the ink cartridges, it can easily get clogged with ink. Maintaining industrial printheads is hence essential. 

Types of Printheads

Two major types of printheads are now used in industrial printers, each having a different way of spraying ink. These are:

Piezo inkjet printheads

These types of printheads feature a thin film that vibrates upon exposure to electrical charge and uses the build-up pressure to force the ink from the nozzles into the printing medium. Capable of controlling the size of the ink droplet, piezo printheads are suitable for precise and high-resolution printing, although they are extremely expensive. They don't need heat and hence are usually compatible with a wide range of inks, including oil-based, water-based, and eco-solvent inks. 

Thermal inkjet printheads

These types of printheads use heat to spray the ink onto the printing medium. Usually, the ink boils thanks to the heat, creates air bubbles, and forces out the ink bubbles from the ink nozzles when exploded. Thermal printheads are typically suitable for water-based inks and are comparatively less expensive and simpler than piezo printheads. 

Applications

Printheads are essential components of any printer, industrial and non-industrial. As such, they can be found wherever printers are needed. The common applications of printheads thus encompass printing presses, manufacturing units, office environments, domestic spheres, engineering sectors, the textile industry, and so on.