Drop formation characteristics of electrostatic ink jet using water-based ink

Abstract

Drop formation characteristics of electrostatic ink jets using water-based ink are reported. At first, to understand drop formation phenomena and processes, we took high-speed photographs. We investigated, using one capillary and kind of ink, ink-drop frequency versus ink-flow characteristics. From these characteristics, we calculated ink-drop diameters treating a drop as a sphere. Then, from these ink-drop frequency versus ink-drop diameter characteristics, we estimated attainable ink-drop frequencies and ink-drop diameters for a specific capillary. Lastly, comparisons were made among ink-drop frequency versus recorded-diameter characteristics for different capillaries, particularly their outside diameters.