Digital Ink Jet Printer and Process
There is provided a digital ink jet printer for printing and curing graphics on a cylindrical object comprising: (i) a printhead assembly comprising at least one printhead, wherein said at least one printhead contains ink; ii) a UV lamp for curing ink, attached to the printhead assembly, wherein said UV lamp is aligned in a plane with said at least one printhead; and (iii) a carrier moveably attached to said printhead assembly, wherein said carrier is positioned such that the cylindrical object is below the printhead assembly.
1 . A digital ink jet printer for printing directly onto a cylindrical object, comprising:
a printhead assembly including at least two printheads including ink operatively connected to said digital ink jet printer, one of the printheads being adapted to print white ink onto said object;
a carrier for supporting the objects;
positioning means for sequentially positioning the carrier relative to the printhead assembly for printing ink onto said object;
a controller connected to the positioning means and to the printer for providing instructions for printing a pre-determined print pattern on said object and for sequentially moving said positioning means.
2 . A digital ink jet printer according to claim 1 , further comprising a UV lamp for curing ink, attached to the printhead assembly, wherein said UV lamp is aligned in a plane with said at least one printhead.
3 . A digital ink jet printer according to claim 1 , wherein the printer head assembly includes a plurality of printer heads, each printer head being adapted to print a different colour.
4 . A digital ink jet printer according to claim 3 , wherein the colours printed by the printer heads include white, cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
5 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 4 , wherein the ink is HexiLok™ ink.
6 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 1 , wherein a computer is programmed to position the at least one printhead to a pre-determined distance above the carrier.
7 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 1 , wherein the printhead assembly is attached to a moveable shuttle, and wherein the direction of the moveable shuttle is perpendicular to the axis of movement of the carrier.
8 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 1 , wherein the carrier is capable of rotating the cylindrical object.
9 . A digital ink jet printer for printing and curing graphics directly onto on a cylindrical object, comprising:
(i) a printhead assembly comprising at least one printhead, wherein said at least one printhead contains ink;
(ii) a UV lamp for curing ink, attached to the printhead assembly, wherein said UV lamp is aligned in a plane with said at least one printhead; and
(iii) a carrier moveably attached to said printhead assembly, wherein said carrier is positioned such that the cylindrical object is below the printhead assembly.
10 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 9 , wherein the UV lamp and the at least one printhead are aligned parallel to each other.
11 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 9 , wherein the printhead assembly comprises a plurality of printheads.
12 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 11 , wherein the printhead assembly comprises four printheads, and wherein the four printheads contain cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink, respectively.
13 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 11 , wherein the printhead assembly comprises five printheads, and wherein the five printheads contain white, cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink, respectively.
14 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 13 , wherein the ink is HexiLok™ ink.
15 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 9 , wherein a computer is programmed to position the at least one printhead to a pre-determined distance above the carrier.
16 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 9 , wherein the printhead assembly is attached to a moveable shuttle, and wherein the direction of the moveable shuttle is perpendicular to the axis of movement of the carrier.
17 . The digital ink jet printer of claim 9 , wherein the carrier is capable of rotating the cylindrical object.
18 . A method of printing and curing graphics on a cylindrical object using the digital ink jet printer of claim 11 , comprising:
(i) placing the cylindrical object in the carrier;
(ii) moving the carrier under the at least one printhead;
(iii) firing the ink in the at least one printhead onto the cylindrical object;
(iv) moving the carrier under the UV lamp; and
(v) curing the ink on the cylindrical object with the UV lamp.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the carrier moves under each of the plurality of printheads.
20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the carrier first moves under the printhead containing white ink.
21 . The method of claim 18 , further including the step of curing the cylindrical object with infrared light or conventional heat.