Ink jet material deposition is an emerging manufacturing technique in which ink jet technology

Inkjet printer

An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that creates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer and range from small inexpensive consumer models to very large professional machines that can cost up to thousands of...

 is used to deposit materials on substrate

Substrate (printing)

Substrate is a term used in converting process such as printing and Lamination or coating as a more general term to describe the base material onto which e.g. images will be printed and to be laminated as per the packing specification required for the product...

s. The technique aims to eliminate fixed costs of production and reduce the amount of materials used.

Uses

Anything that is produced using traditional printing techniques is a candidate for ink jet material deposition. In addition, the precision available with ink jet technology may be required for some industrial applications. Examples include:

• Organic light-emitting diode
  Organic light-emitting diode
  An OLED is a light-emitting diode in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compounds which emit light in response to an electric current. This layer of organic semiconductor material is situated between two electrodes...
  
   display production.
• Printed circuit board
  Printed circuit board
  A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
  
  s are typically produced using screen printing
  Screen-printing
  Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate...
  
  , which is not cost-effective for prototyping or small production runs. Conductive ink
  Conductive ink
  'Conductive ink' is an ink that conducts electricity.These materials may be classed as fired high solids systems or PTF polymer thick film systems that allow circuits to be drawn or printed on a variety of substrate materials such as polyester to paper...
  
  can be used to create circuit traces.

Advantages

• Since the underlying technology is digital, startup costs of production are relatively low. Each copy produced may be different than the last.
• Expensive materials may be used more efficiently; no material is wasted by placing it where it doesn't need to go.

Disadvantages

• The material to be jetted must be compatible with the print head used and must have its viscosity within a specific range.