What is a printhead?

In ink jet printers the printhead transfers the ink onto the paper drop by drop. The printhead is powered by a precision stepper motor, which moves a toothed belt. This one runs back and forth line wise and by doing so brings the ink onto the paper, while it is drawn through the printer by means of a roller.

Thermal Ink Printing

In the printhead of a thermal ink printer, the ink is sprayed onto the paper in fast succession by means of numerous printing nozzles. Today’s printers dispose of about 400 printing nozzles. The ink volume that comes out per nozzle channel amounts to 4 to 5 Pico litres (one Pico litre = trillionth litre). In this way the finest printing gradations are guaranteed.

In every nozzle channel there are heating elements, which heat up to about 300 degrees
Celsius in less than 100 micro seconds, as soon as an electrical tension is created. The ink is then sprayed out of the nozzle channel and onto the paper like an explosion.

Actually, today all consumer and small office ink jet printers from Brother to Canon up to HP use the thermal printing process. An exception is the company Epson, which still uses the piezo printing process for ink jet printing.

Mechanical Ink Printhead – The Piezo Printing Process

At the end of the 70s Siemens developed ink jet printing with piezo printheads. Contrary to the thermal process, during the piezo printing, piezo crystals are used. As soon as a tension exists, the crystals deform themselves, press on a membrane and create thereby mechanical pressure, which sprays the ink onto the paper through the nozzle channels. The entire process lasts about 5 micro seconds and the size of the ink drops can be modulated in the range of 3 to 40 Pico litres. Piezo printheads are longer lasting than thermal printheads and are currently installed in the consumer sector of the company Epson.

Why do printheads wear out?

Printheads wear out particularly due to mechanical strain. This arises on the one end through the expansion and contraction of the piezo elements respectively the thermal elements and on the other end through the drying-up of the ink.

How often do printheads have to be replaced?

Within the service life of the printhead, it will dry up various times and, beyond the regular wear, it is also mechanically stressed by the printhead cleaning. A lot of modern printers, that use changeable printheads, indicate when a new printhead is necessary. In most cases though you notice yourself, that streaks arise while printing and a printhead cleaning does not help anymore.

Why do printheads dry up?

Nowadays a lot less is printed with ink jet printers than a few years ago. Unused printheads can dry up already after a few weeks and must then be cleaned. In the case of devices that are permanently on, the printhead cleaning occurs automatically at preconfigured intervals. There are definitely printers whose ink cartridges are “running on empty” after 40 to 100 printhead cleanings.

More info: Cleaning dried-up printheads.

Which printheads do I need for my printer?

Every printer has different printheads. Select your model at the top part of our website and let us show you the appropriate printheads.

There are a lot of ink jet printers whose printhead is directly integrated into the ink cartridge - for instance with older HP Deskjet printers. Consequently for these printers the printhead is replaced simultaneously with every cartridge change.

Printers of Epson however often use a fixed printhead built into the device, which cannot be readily replaced and which is only available as a spare part, if at all.

Canon Pixma printers also dispose of a printhead, which is situated in the device, however it is simple to take it out, clean it and replace it in case of doubt.

How much does a printhead cost?

There are hundreds of different printheads. Please select your printer in the ink finder and let us show you the appropriate accessories and their prices.

Where is the printhead located in the printer?

That depends on the device. For Epson and Canon printers, the printhead is situated under the ink cartridges. You will find more information in the instruction manual of your device.

How fast does the printhead dry up?

That is varied and depends on the ambient temperature, the humidity and the frequency of use. 3 to 4 weeks without usage can be enough to let the printhead dry up.

What to do when the printhead dried up?

When the printhead dries up, streaks are shown on the printout. In extreme cases, no more ink comes out of the cartridge. Provided that the printhead is situated directly in the printer cartridge (disposable printhead) then this is not that bad. On one hand, you can put the cartridge in a flat bowl with water, so that only the printhead is covered and the dried up ink softens up. On the other hand, you can always simply buy a new disposable cartridge in case of emergency. For permanent printheads which are built into the device, it depends on the device then. If the printheads are replaceable, such as in the case of the Canon Pixma IP, then you can take the printhead out and change it just like an ink cartridge or let it soak.

What happens during the printhead cleaning?

When the printer is not used much, the printhead might dry up. During the printhead cleaning, which is started from the device or via the printer driver, the printer presses a certain quantity of ink through the printhead. The solvents contained in the ink should dissolve the congestion and rinse the old, dried up ink out of the printhead.

Can the printhead be cleaned with fuel, turpentine, etc.?

The best thing to do is to fill up a 3 mm high bowl with distilled water and let the printhead soak in for several hours if necessary. The other substances mentioned are not optimal. Isopropanol alcohol might possibly work or a special printhead cleaner.