A printing platform includes a printing engine with one or more printheads arranged such that the ink drops are jetted vertically upwards against the action of gravity; and a substrate transportation system where the normal to the surface in contact with the substrate is parallel and with opposite direction to the travelling direction of the jetted ink drops. It is necessary to counteract the weight of the substrate during the printing process to avoid it from falling under the action of gravity. This is achieved through any of a mechanical element that interferes with the falling of the substrate and that keeps it in place; or a system that generates adhesion forces between the element that transmits the motion to the substrate, typically a conveyor belt, and the substrate through the action of electrostatic forces, an air pressure differential between both faces of the substrate, or any other suitable mechanism.

A jetting device includes an ejection unit arranged to eject a droplet of a liquid. The ejection unit includes a nozzle, a liquid duct connected to the nozzle, and an electro-mechanical transducer arranged to create an acoustic pressure wave in the liquid in the duct. The jetting device further includes a filter arranged to filter the liquid being supplied into the duct and a filter status detection system arranged to detect an obstruction status of the filter by measuring a property of the liquid in the duct. The filter status detection system includes a circuit configured for measuring the electric response of the transducer, for recording changes in the electric response that represent pressure fluctuations induced by the acoustic wave in the form of a time-dependent function, and for judging the obstruction status of the filter on the basis of that function.

An actuator includes a deformable thin-film member having an opening, an electromechanical conversion element disposed at a periphery of the opening of the deformable thin-film member, an insulating film covering the electromechanical conversion element, a protective film over a surface of the insulating film, the protective film covering the surface of the insulating film and a surface of an electrode wiring connected to the electromechanical conversion element, and an adhesion improving film disposed between the electrode wiring and the protective film.

According to an embodiment, an inkjet head includes a nozzle that ejects ink, an ink pressure chamber that connects to the nozzle, an actuator that changes a volume of the ink pressure chamber, and an actuator driving circuit that drives the actuator with a driving waveform. The driving waveform includes an ejection pulse portion that changes from a first voltage to a second voltage at which the ink pressure chamber expands and then changes from the second voltage to a third voltage at which the ink pressure chamber contracts so as to eject the ink from the nozzle. The third voltage is between that of the first and second voltages in potential level. The potential difference between the second and third voltages is greater than the potential difference between the third and first voltages.

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a nozzle plate with nozzles and actuators and a drive controller. First and second nozzles are directly adjacent to each other in a first direction. First and third nozzles are directly adjacent to each other in a second direction. The drive controller is configured to apply a drive signal to first, second, and third actuators corresponding to the first, second, and third nozzles, respectively, during a drive cycle. A difference between a first timing at which the drive signal is applied to the first actuator and a second timing at which the drive signal is applied to the second actuator and a difference between the first timing and a third timing at which the drive signal is applied to the third actuator is an odd number multiple of a half of an inherent vibration cycle of the liquid discharge apparatus.

A liquid discharging device to be used with a liquid dispensing apparatus includes a discharging portion configured to discharge a liquid based on a control signal from the liquid dispensing apparatus on which the liquid discharging device is mounted, and a sheet material having a characteristic configured to be changed by the liquid dispensing apparatus after a discharge of the liquid by the discharging portion.

According to one embodiment, a liquid ejection head includes a pressure chamber that contains a liquid, an actuator to change the pressure in the pressure chamber according to an applied drive signal, and a drive circuit to apply a first drive signal to the actuator when a single droplet is to be ejected from the pressure chamber and a second drive signal to the actuator when two or more droplets are to be ejected in series from the pressure chamber. The first drive signal has a first auxiliary pulse before a first ejection pulse. The second drive signal has a second auxiliary pulse before the first ejection pulse. A pulse width of the first auxiliary pulse is greater than a pulse width of the second auxiliary pulse.

A liquid discharge head includes a nozzle member. The nozzle member includes a nozzle, a deformable laminar member, and an electromechanical transducer. The nozzle discharges liquid. The deformable laminar member has an opening forming the nozzle. The electromechanical transducer is disposed around the opening. The nozzle member is warped with respect to a discharge-side plane of the nozzle member in a surrounding area of the nozzle when no voltage is applied to the electromechanical transducer.

A liquid jetting device is arranged to eject a droplet of a liquid. The device includes a nozzle, a liquid duct connected to the nozzle, an electro-mechanical transducer arranged to create an acoustic pressure wave in the liquid in the duct, and an electronic control system arranged to apply to the transducer a voltage signal having a waveform configured for ejecting a droplet from the nozzle. The waveform is further configured to quench a residual acoustic pressure wave in the liquid duct and includes a jet pulse, a subsequent first quench pulse having a polarity opposite to that of the jet pulse, and a subsequent second quench pulse having the same polarity as the jet pulse.

A printing platform includes a printing engine with one or more printheads arranged such that the ink drops are jetted vertically upwards against the action of gravity; and a substrate transportation system where the normal to the surface in contact with the substrate is parallel and with opposite direction to the travelling direction of the jetted ink drops. It is necessary to counteract the weight of the substrate during the printing process to avoid it from falling under the action of gravity. This is achieved through any of a mechanical element that interferes with the falling of the substrate and that keeps it in place; or a system that generates adhesion forces between the element that transmits the motion to the substrate, typically a conveyor belt, and the substrate through the action of electrostatic forces, an air pressure differential between both faces of the substrate, or any other suitable mechanism.