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Kyocera Inkjet Printhead Spits Out 1000 Pages a Minute
Posted by Sean Fallon at 8:45 AM on April 1, 2008
I can't say that I have ever been impressed by a printer, but the device they are cooking up at Kyocera could be a first. Their new KJ4 series printhead can churn out up to 200 metres per minute at 600 x 480 dpi, or 150 meters per minute at 600×600 dpi—which equates to about 1000 sheets of A4. After consulting a calculator, I determined that is nearly 17 pages a second.
It seems like paper would be shooting out of there like a Gatling gun, blanketing the office in a thick layer of spreadsheets and memos. However the KJ4 claims to pull it off thanks to its proprietary piezoelectric ceramics technology. It also features a 4.25 inch printline—the largest in its class. Look for the new printhead to go global starting in April. [7 Gadgets via 2dayBlog via Crunchgear]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
Franco Darioli
Posted April 1, 2008 9:33 AM
Fabulous. Pity it only works for one day a year.
Franco
Kaspir
Posted 9:26 AM 1/4/08
For those times when you need 1000 TPS reports, NOW.
Kaspir
ConstyXIV
Posted 10:02 AM 1/4/08
So, that's how many dollars per minute spent on ink?
ConstyXIV
cyborgtroy
Posted 9:52 AM 1/4/08
true.
cyborgtroy
alukard
Posted 9:36 AM 1/4/08
Some countries are one day ahead, remember?!
alukard
cyborgtroy
Posted 9:31 AM 1/4/08
Is it already April 1 in Kyoceraland?
cyborgtroy
snubz
Posted 10:43 AM 1/4/08
What does a 4.25 inch printline mean? That's how wide it can print? Or is it something else? If it can only print 4" wide prints, forget it, I don't care how fast it is.
Now if that head can be adapted to say 17" wide prints, talk to me, I'm listening.
snubz
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 10:35 AM 1/4/08
I guess I can finally get rid of the ol' Gutenberg.
92BuickLeSabre
jbhitter24
Posted 10:34 AM 1/4/08
@Sheemo44: damn...
jbhitter24
jbhitter24
Posted 10:33 AM 1/4/08
the problem is you need to by a new catridge about 37 seconds in.
jbhitter24
Sheemo44
Posted 10:32 AM 1/4/08
17 pages per second yeah...but u would need to hire a guy to replace the ink every minute
Sheemo44
ripfire4
Posted 10:26 AM 1/4/08
This would've been great as a replacement for the line printer at my last job.
ripfire4
EQC
Posted 10:26 AM 1/4/08
I demand video!!!! I want to see this in action!!!
EQC
ibelli
Posted 11:03 AM 1/4/08
Paper cuts all around.
ibelli
takemetoyourtoaster
Posted 10:49 AM 1/4/08
you would only have to get new ink if you used it to its full potential. If used for the casual school report you would use the same amount unless it does something crazy with the ink, in that case yes you would need to change ink often
takemetoyourtoaster
neosoul
Posted 10:48 AM 1/4/08
Imagine fixing the jam on that baby! I think the printer is actually paired with a new ink technology that uses significantly less ink per page, but I think people will just start printing notes now since it's so quick.
neosoul
Denver80203
Posted 11:46 AM 1/4/08
that calculates out to about 10 Miles per hour of printed pages assuming no ink replacement.
Damn thing could keep up with a rent-a-cop on a segway at your local shop'n'drop mall.
I call bullshit
Denver80203
Palestina
Posted 11:28 AM 1/4/08
Video please?
Palestina
Adam420
Posted 1:03 PM 1/4/08
how is that even possible...
Adam420
logikgr
Posted 12:54 PM 1/4/08
@snubz: It means that the print head can cover your 17" in 4 movements; to the left, to the left.
logikgr
DaffyDuck
Posted 1:50 PM 1/4/08
Great. So I can print out the entire library of congress before realizing my mistake.
DaffyDuck
Wildarms7000
Posted 1:39 PM 1/4/08
your*
Damn typo...
Wildarms7000
Wildarms7000
Posted 1:39 PM 1/4/08
Yeah but the ink still costs an arm and a leg...
possibly you're first born..
Wildarms7000
orangepixistix
Posted 2:08 PM 1/4/08
@Kaspir: and then you will get to see the lovely "PC Load Letter" error
orangepixistix
ripfire4
Posted 5:11 PM 1/4/08
Just thinking about it from the picture. I think that's the actual print head! No wonder it goes fast; there's no squeegeeing back and forth. It just prints directly as it scrolls. So I can imagine this printer to print as fast as a normal printer head zips across horizontally on a regular printer.
ripfire4
AndyDuncan
Posted 3:53 PM 1/4/08
This thing isn't going to run on ink cartridges, it's going to be connected to a large vat of ink, so "replacing" the ink is only as difficult as pouting more ink into the vat. It's also possible that this head will end up being grouped in an array allowing you to print in multiples of the 4 inches wide.
Think printing on large rolls of paper for custom labels or mailers. There's a huge market for this kind of stuff.
AndyDuncan
Boognish
Posted 3:09 PM 1/4/08
Inkjet is a crap load cheaper than toner too. Although companies like HP may have you thinking otherwise. They are just sticking it to you
Boognish
Boognish
Posted 3:03 PM 1/4/08
This is not new news I work in this industry and it's no april fools joke. When you calculate how many drops per second are actually hitting the paper every second it's mind boggling that anything is legible. It is true, and any of you who have auto loans from the dealer will see this type of technology. GM uses it Toyota financing uses it and many others.
Boognish
kvstud
Posted 2:28 PM 1/4/08
Good luck trying to cancel that 50+ page document that you didn't want printed.
kvstud
skulldriveshaft
Posted 6:07 PM 1/4/08
and it will require 4 200 litre drums of ink containing black, magenta, cyan, and yellow.
skulldriveshaft
jakethegreat
Posted 1:46 PM 1/4/08
I imagine you'd need to bolt the printer to the foundation of your home/office. My current printer shakes the hell out of my humble computer desk... I can only imagine something like this.
jakethegreat
oceanwest
Posted 11:50 AM 1/4/08
@Palestina:
I wonder if it is this... [www.videosift.com]
oceanwest
oceanwest
Posted 11:49 AM 1/4/08
I wonder if it is this [www.videosift.com]
oceanwest
ecmcn
Posted 9:49 AM 1/4/08
Epson has one of these, too, but you have to change print cartridges every .4 seconds...
ecmcn