Ink Cartridges and Ink Printing

1960s

Continuous inkjet printing with a steady stream of ink remains the prevalent technology.
Impact printing becomes the most widely used process in computer-related applications.

1970s

The industry works to perfect methods of inkjet printing.
Piezoelectric drop-on-demand innovation enhances the desirability of non-impact printing.
Drop-on-demand methods gain recognition. Although continuous inkjet printing provides a high drop frequency, it is inefficient overall compared to drop-on-demand methods in terms of ink recirculation, reconstitution and drop deflection.
Competing drop-on-demand methods emerge, including electrostatic and electrohydrodynamic processes.

1980s

Competition intensifies between continuous inkjet and piezoelectric drop-on-demand. By the end of the decade, thermal inkjet emerges as the overwhelming leader in print technology.
Thermal inkjet innovations, driven primarily by HP and Canon, generate widespread office acceptance of inkjet technology—a feat never achieved by continuous or piezoelectric inkjet, despite significant capital investments in both technologies.

1990s

More technical resources are devoted to improvements and advances in thermal inkjet technology, which quickly dominates patent literature (80%).
Continuous inkjet, although scarce, is still found in a few ultrahigh-speed, low-print-quality applications.
Piezoelectric technology returns in both commercial and office systems, offering the potential for ink flexibility at a higher cost on special media. For the most part, however, thermal inkjet systems still provide better performance and cost advantages.
Throughout the decade, more than 40 percent of thermal inkjet patents involve ink and media technology.

Thermal inkjet technology has been the preferred method of printing since its market inception in the mid-1980s.

Thermal inkjet technology has made rapid technological progress.
It is comparable in print quality to electrography for plain-paper text and graphics.
It rivals silver halide for photographic printing.
It enables highest price/performance ratios for digital printing across broad markets and applications.
Its low overall system cost enables expanding opportunities for printing in the home, on the desktop and in professional applications.