Piezo Inkjet

Linx piezo inkjet printers (PIJ Printers) are designed with a sophisticated printhead that contains multiple nozzles, ink droplets being expelled on demand so as to code on a moving substrate.

What is a piezo ink jet?

Piezo inkjet is a drop-on-demand (DoD) printing technology in which mechanical deformation of a piezoelectric element generates pressure pulses that eject controlled ink droplets from a nozzle.

In large character marking systems, this allows precise, high-resolution placement of droplets to build up text, barcodes, and graphics on substrates such as corrugated board.

How does Piezo printing work?

Core principle: piezoelectric actuation: A piezoelectric actuator is bonded to an ink chamber inside the printhead. When a voltage is applied, the piezo element deforms (expands or contracts). This deformation reduces the volume of the ink chamber and the resulting pressure pulse forces ink through the nozzle. When the voltage is removed the piezo returns to its original shape and the chamber refills with ink.

Printhead architecture: A typical piezo printhead contains:

  • Multiple nozzles arranged in an array
  • Each nozzle linked to an independent piezo actuator
  • Ink supply channels feeding each chamber
  • Drive electronics controlling firing sequences

Droplet placement and image formation: Every droplet is ejected at a precise time interval, the movement of the product under the printhead creates the second axis; Combined, this forms a raster image.

Key parameters controlling print quality:

  • Droplet size (volume)
  • Firing frequency
  • Nozzle spacing (resolution)
  • Ink properties (viscosity, surface tension)
  • Substrate absorption

Control system and waveform: The piezo actuator is driven by a controlled voltage waveform, not just a simple pulse.

The waveform shape determines:

  • Droplet size
  • Droplet speed
  • Satellite drop suppression

Optimised waveforms ensure:

  • Clean drop break-off
  • High print quality
  • Stable operation across inks

Benefits of Piezo printing

Precise droplet control → high-resolution printing
Drop-on-demand operation → efficient ink use
Multi-nozzle scalability → large print heights
Wide viscosity tolerance → supports different ink types

These characteristics make piezo inkjet suitable for large character marking and case coding applications, including printing barcodes and graphics directly onto porous packaging.

Why choose Piezo printing for case coding? 

Piezo is often selected because it offers: 

  • High resolution printing
  • Low total cost of ownership – removing labels reducing SKUs on pre-printed packaging, and minimising ink wastage.  
  • User friendly – easy to set-up and adjust 
  • The ability to print on many porous substrates