How to Buy and Identify an Epson Piezoelectric Printhead
Written by: Samantha
How to Buy and Identify an Epson Piezoelectric Printhead
There are two types of print heads, thermal and piezoelectric. Thermal printheads use heat to crate s bubble that pushes the ink through the nozzle. Piezo printheads, on the other hand, utilize an electric charge that causes the piezoelectric crystal to change its shape and thus force the ink through the nozzle. Epson printers are some of the best there is in the market, and when you need to replace the printhead, you need to ensure that you get an authentic one. An authentic Epson micro piezoelectric printhead will not be the cheapest option in the market, but they will give you unmatched utility.
One of Epson’s technologies is Micro piezo which can be found in all Epson printers. The printheads release microdroplets of ink via mechanical pressure consequential of the applied voltage. The advantage of using the piezoelectric printheads is the fact that they save on ink by controlling the volume of ink in every drop.
What You Need to Know About Piezoelectric Printheads
A few years back, piezoelectric printheads were made to be binary. This means that they could only deliver ink droplets of the same size. To get a better result, you can use halftone techniques although the highlight tones will appear as grainy. To correct this, you can use excellent nozzle pitches or incorporate inks with a lighter shade.
We have seen various ways of making the piezoelectric printheads achieve smaller ink droplets for better results. However, the modifications mean that you will need to pass the paper or the media you are printing more times to get the desired result, and this makes printing much slower.
With the ability to use a wide range of inks, Epson piezoelectric printheads can virtually print on any medium. This includes plastic, paper, fabric, metal, and more. The technology used in the making of the piezoelectric printheads ensure that the quality of the printing is far more superior compared to the laser and analog printing systems.
How to Buy an Epson Piezoelectric Printhead
We offer a full selection of Epson piezoelectric printheads for you to choose from, and tips for choosing your printheads so you can find the right one for your printer . This guide will show you how to identify an authentic Epson dx5 printhead and piezoelectric printheads.
Shape and Design
The Epson piezoelectric printhead is easy to identify; the top side is black with five golden strips. It is more of a cube in, and the only bolts are on the sides where it attaches to the printer.
Non-Refillable
There are several ways that you can bypass the mechanisms used in printheads, and one of the ways Epson does this is by incorporating a built-in counter chip that cannot be reset. Authentic Epson solvent printheads cannot be refilled, and the printer has a sensor that blocks when they detect that the printhead is running low, and when the cartridge has been refilled. If you are looking for an Epson piezoelectric printhead, the authentic ones are those that cannot be refilled. Buying third party printheads in most cases leads to the printer refusing to print unless you get the proper printhead.
Work with Any Ink
With the non-refillable property and the cost, most people are opting for refillable printheads. The piezoelectric head can work with virtually any ink that is available. The piezoelectric printheads when the controlling chip is reset can be used with a wide range of inks, including the challenging fluids such as large-particle opaque white and metallic inks, UV-cured inks, electroconductive inks, eco-solvents, 3D printing inks, dye inks, and more.
Long Lasting
Compared to the thermal printheads, piezoelectric printheads last longer. This is because they are not subjected to the heat in thermal printheads. The use of heat to dispense ink onto the paper makes the printers more susceptible to burning. Whether it is a new or refurbished piezoelectric printhead, you will get better utility than the thermal printheads.
Price
This should tell you if you are dealing with an authentic piezoelectric print head or not. They are not cheap mind you, and you should think twice before buying an inexpensive piezoelectric printhead. This is one of the reasons why most people prefer to buy a new printer compared to repairing the print head.
Finally, modern Epson piezoelectric printheads have been modified to drop less ink but still produce stunning results. However, sometimes the cost of repairing or resetting your piezoelectric printhead can be as much as that of getting a new printer.