Epson Micro PiezoTM Print Head Technology

by officePROhub.com on 11/19/2011 - 10:20 pm

Tag: Printers

What is an Epson Micro Piezo™ print head?

“Micro Piezo™” is the name of the multi award-winning, proprietary piezoelectric technology that is used in the print heads of all Epson inkjet printers which has made them renowned for their high quality output and reliability, as well as low running cost. Since the introduction of the technology in 1993 till today, Epson has been and remains the only company that uses piezoelectric technology throughout its inkjet printing device range – from the smallest personal photo printer, to the largest industrial press.

History of Epson’s Micro Piezo™ Print Head

Epson began research into using the piezoelectric effect on ceramics for printing in the late 1970s. Subsequently, the company introduced its first printer that used piezoelectric technology for its print heads in October 1984: the Epson SQ-2000. This printer featured a pioneering piezoelectric print head that was made of glass and had vertical-firing piezoelectric elements.

In 1990, a special team comprising of 80 of the Epson’s most talented engineers, headed by Minoru Usui (who is the current president of Epson), was assembled to develop an advanced piezoelectric inkjet head for future generations of Epson printers. Its mission was to develop a print head that could outperform laser and thermal inkjet formats in terms of both cost and quality and that could eventually be developed to print in color and at much faster speeds.