Analysis of the Ink-Stream Break-Up Phenomenon in Continuous Inkjet Printing.

The ink-stream break-up phenomenon in continuous inkjet printers has been studied herein. A numerical model has been developed to reproduce and analyze the non-monotonic behavior of ink-stream break-up length (BUL) against the amplitude of piezo-actuator oscillation. That is, when the amplitude is increased, the BUL initially decreases to a local minimum point, then increases to a local maximum point, and finally decreases again.