CONTINUOUS INKJET PRINTING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SELECTIVE DEFLECTION OF DROPLETS FORMED FROM TWO DIFFERENT BREAK OFF LENGTHS

摘要

A continuous inkjet system and method has a stimulation device producing a modulation in a liquid jet having a wavelength lambda and causing a first liquid droplet to break off from the liquid jet and travel along a path and causing a second liquid droplet to break off from the liquid jet and travel along the path. The first liquid droplet has a first break off length and the second liquid droplet has a second break off length longer than the first break off length. The first break off length and the second break off length have a difference of at least one wavelength lambda in response to stimulation pulses. A charge electrode produces a charge differential between the first liquid droplet and the second liquid droplet, and a deflection mechanism causes trajectories of the first liquid droplet and the second liquid droplet to diverge so that a trajectory of one droplet of the first and second liquid droplets causes the one droplet to be directed for collection and prevented from depositing on the surface and a trajectory of the other droplet of the first and second liquid droplets causes the other droplet to be directed for depositing on the surface. A stimulation controller identifies a transition in droplet creation between a stimulation cycle that is to produce a droplet having a second break off length and a stimulation cycle that is to produce a droplet having a first break off length and introduces a skip cycle between the stimulation cycle that is to produce the droplet having a second break off length and the stimulation cycle that is to produce the droplet having the first break off length.