By understanding the science, we are able to improve products and processes, and to “drop-on-demand” (digital) printing onto a wider range of materials.

As a non-contact form of printing, “drop-on-demand” inkjet is an important enabling technology, and can be used with a very wide range of substrates including plastics, metals and glass, even on curved surfaces. As no direct pressure is involved, inkjet printing can be invaluable for printing onto delicate substrates such as thin glass, or for printed electronic circuits. Digital printing also provides good control of (expensive) materials and enables improved environmental processes by placing tiny liquid droplets when and where required, for manufacture and graphics applications.

Steve demonstrates video close-ups of inkjets using a very high speed camera taking images every 2 micro-seconds. Video sequences from inkjet studies with colleagues Rafael Castrejón-Pita, Wen-Kai Hsiao and Ching-Hsien Chen are also featured, or visible on monitors in the background.

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