Homebrew PCBs

<http://www.mse.arizona.edu/~calvert/papers/calvertimaps.pdf>

interesting part: (they try to print oleds and stuff)


Inkjet printing
We have experimented with modified commercial inkjet printers, which fall 
into two groups [3].
Epson, for instance, uses a piezoelectric cantilever to expel drops of 
fluid. For our peculiar
needs of printing multiple liquids in a laboratory environment, we found 
it difficult to avoid
clogging and dripping. HP and others use a thermal system whereby a small 
heater produces a
bubble adjacent to the nozzle, that expels a drop of ink and then 
collapses. In our hands this has
proved more adaptable to a range of liquids. There is a concern that the 
some compounds may
degrade during heating but the very short duration of the pulse makes this 
unlikely, we believe.
We have also used a laboratory printer based on a glass tube squeezed by a 
piezoelectric collar
[4]. Since it is glass, this system allows many liquids to be used but is 
vulnerable to clogging
and does require retuning depending on the surface tension and viscosity 
of the liquid.
Printer manufacturers are interested in increased resolution and so in 
decreasing droplet size.
Droplet volumes have decreased to a few picoliters, which results in 
droplet diameters of 20-30
microns. The final size of a single printed dot will depend on the 
interaction with the paper or
substrate. Paper is not a good model for a plastic substrate but inkjet 
transparencies are
precoated with an absorbing layer and this is similar to what might occur 
during printing of...

ref 3:
3. Le, H.P., Progress and Trends in Ink-jet Printing Technology. Journal 
of Imaging
Science and Technology, 1998. 42: 49-62.


Also look here:
http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1925

they do what we want to do.

ST