The print speed of modern high-quality inkjet printers has been outside the traditional limits, and 100 ppm color printing has been achieved by the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-C21000 with PrecisionCore printhead technology. The nozzle density reaches up to 2,400 holes per inch (dpi), the frequency of ink drop injection is increased to 50kHz, and the printing time of one page of A4 photo (300dpi) is shortened to 9.3 seconds. Canon MAXIFY GX7020 features a two-channel ink supply system which delivers 38 PPM for black and white text and 24ppm color chart output in mixed document mode with a 3 picoliters (pl) accurate drop volume control to deliver a level transition error (ΔE) of less than 1.5 at a resolution of 1200×4800dpi. The median of the continuous print speed of the premium inkjet printers on the ISO/IEC 24734 standard has increased from 18ppm in 2018 to 35ppm, as reported by Keypoint Intelligence in 2023. Velocity fluctuation range (standard deviation) decreased from ±4.2ppm to ±1.8ppm.
Economically, HP Pagewide Pro 9000’s page-wide print head technology reduces the completion time of a single paper run to 0.8 seconds/page, reduces energy consumption by 62% compared to traditional reciprocating nozzle, and has an average time between failures (MTBF) of 150,000 pages in 1,200 successive page print tasks, and pushes maintenance to 12 months. Lexmark’s PrecisionSense technology reduces high-load (5,000-page-per-month) enterprise users’ print speed loss from an industry average of 8% to 2% per year by accurately calibrating inkjet flow in real-time (±0.5% accuracy). The Brother INKVestment Tank line of tanks increases the monochrome ink level to 6,500 pages through the built-in 2.5-liter ink bin design, and the cost per page in high-speed mode (35ppm) is only $0.006, 73% less than laser printing costs. At the 2024 Hannover MESa in Germany, Konica Minolta exhibited the KM-1e commercial inkjet printer to complete 3600 B2 format full-color printing within an hour, ink drying time is controlled at 0.3 seconds, and 400% of the productivity of standard offset printing is doubled.
In the professional imaging application, the printer speed and image quality balance requirement is even tougher: With its new LUCIA TD pigment ink, Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-5410 is able to produce 98 square meters of exhibition grade paintings an hour (color gamut of 98% Adobe RGB) in a 44-inch wide format print with an ink-titration bit error of below ±0.1 mm. Fujifilm Jet Press 750S adopts 1200×1200 DPI resolution and 7-color ink system to manage the registration deviation of metal color printing at ±5 microns, and the capacity of one shift (8 hours) can reach 3000 folio paper, 8 times that of conventional gravure printing. But increasing the speed creates technical problems: Ricoh’s studies found that at speeds greater than 75ppm, the frequency of paper jams due to electrostatic adsorption increases from 1.2% to 6.8%, which requires an additional 5% budget to accommodate a humidity control module (maintaining RH 45%-55%).
Speed breaking on the speed limit depends on synergy between algorithms and materials: HP’s 800W Latex water-based ink takes only 3 seconds to dry following injection, with linear speed to be offered by roll-to-roll printing at 23 m/min, and 3H pencil scratch hardness resistance. With a 2023 user survey of Xerox, the application of AI-based variable data printing technology has pushed the speed of inkjet systems for customized email (varying each page) processes to 2.4 times that of traditional template printing, and the error rate dropped to 0.03%. The future speed war of the inkjet printer may be about nanoscale control – Kyocera’s recently launched piezo-film nozzle can achieve 0.1 picoll ink droplet injection, single-channel theoretical speed of 120ppm, Nevertheless, a new generation of low-viscosity (<5 mPa·s) ink and high-color-concentration (28% pigment content) ink needs to be developed. Gartner forecasts peak industrial inkjet print speeds of over 200ppm in 2027, but color difference accumulation at high speeds (ΔE shift >0.8 per thousand pages) and mechanical wear (17% higher maintenance costs per million pages) need to be addressed at the same time.