Ceramic Boosts Hewlett-Packard Inkjet Printer

January 16, 2008

The key to a new Hewlett-Packard high speed printer is a very intricate injection molded ceramic part. As part of a $1.4 billion, five-year research project, HP design engineers approached a British ceramics company, called Morgan Advanced Ceramics, and asked if it could develop a piece that features 3,900 print nozzles. HP eyed ceramic because of its strength and hardness. Until recent years, ceramic was never a top choice for intricate, small parts because of the poor flowability of common ceramic compositions, and the expense of secondary machining. Morgan is now in full production of the component, which is part of a built-from-the-ground-up piece that rapidly distributes ink to paper, allowing full-color prints in 14 seconds.

Posted by Doug Smock on January 16, 2008 | Comments (1)

January 18, 2008

In response to: Ceramic Boosts Hewlett-Packard Inkjet Printer
David Schwalje commented:

HP is a great company, many very smart people in R&D plus good people who guide commercialization of new products. Inkjet applications and marketshare will continue to grow for the next decade.

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