Mesh Media Inkjet Drying With Bottom Airflow and Tension Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink-jet printing on mesh-like media, such as fabrics, often results in bleed-through, where ink penetrates through holes, leading to contamination when dried by a conventional dryer below, causing adhesion and spreading of ink on the fabric and apparatus.
Innovation Solution
An ink-jet printing apparatus with a blower positioned under the mesh-like medium to apply an air flow from below, drying the ink without contact with the dryer, and a configuration that includes a platen with a concave ink receiver and adjustable air flow to maintain uniform tension and prevent contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a dryer is provided under the fabric to dry the ink, then the drying efficiency is improved, but the bled-through ink adheres to the dryer causing contamination of the fabric and apparatus
Solution Approach 1:
An air flow generator is introduced as an intermediary device between the inkjet head and the dryer. It generates air flow that lifts the mesh-like medium slightly, creating a gap that prevents direct contact between the medium/dryer, thereby stopping contamination while maintaining drying efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves from a two-dimensional contact drying method to a three-dimensional approach by introducing vertical air flow that creates a gap in the vertical dimension, separating the medium from the dryer surface to prevent ink adhesion
2Speed
If the air flow is applied immediately after printing, then the drying speed is improved, but the medium requires effective tension loading to prevent distortion
Solution Approach 1:
The air flow generator serves multiple functions simultaneously: it dries the ink quickly while also applying uniform tension to the medium and preventing wrinkles, combining drying, tensioning, and alignment functions in one device
Solution Approach 2:
The air flow is applied immediately after ink discharge as a preliminary drying action, and the same air flow simultaneously provides tension to prevent distortion, performing multiple preparatory functions before the medium reaches the dryer
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively dries bled-through ink without contaminating the apparatus, maintains uniform tension to prevent distortion and misalignment, and allows for controlled drying conditions to optimize printing quality.
Implementation Method 1
a blower placed under the mesh-like medium for applying an air flow to the bottom surface
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
Provided is an ink-jet printing apparatus that can dry a medium immediately after printing or bled-through ink while preventing the medium or bled-through ink from being in contact with a dryer. In an ink-jet printing apparatus including an ink-jet head (20) for discharging ink onto a mesh-like media (10) having througth holes penetrating from the top surface, which is the printing surface, to the bottom surface, a feeder (12) for feeding the mesh-like medium (10) in a feed direction, and a dryer for drying the mesh-like medium (10) hit by ink discharged from the ink-jet head (20), the dryer has a blower (28) placed under the mesh-like medium (10) for applying an air flow to the bottom surface of the mesh-like medium (10) with the top surface hit by ink.