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Abstract The aim of this work is to propose a mathematical formula describing the temperature distribution in the inking unit of the offset printing machine caused by the phenomenon of friction between the cylinders that remain in contact, namely between pairs of inking rollers. Those rollers are made of different materials, one is made of steel and the other is covered with rubber. Moreover, beside the circular motion, the steel roller moves in a reciprocating way along the cylinder pivot. This paper describes a model of cooling of a thermostatted roller in the offset printing machine. The described analytical solution of thermal conduction for a two-layer cylinder has been achieved with the Laplace transform. Additionally, the paper contains an analysis of heat partition coefficient for the cylindrical layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an interactive approach for inking, which is the process of turning a pencil rough sketch into a clean line drawing. The approach, which we call the Smart Inker, consists of several "smart" tools that intuitively react to user input, while guided by the input rough sketch, to efficiently and naturally connect lines, erase shading, and fine-tune the line drawing output. Our approach is data-driven: the tools are based on fully convolutional networks, which we train to exploit both the user edits and inaccurate rough sketch to produce accurate line drawings, allowing high-performance interactive editing in real-time on a variety of challenging rough sketch images. For the training of the tools, we developed two key techniques: one is the creation of training data by simulation of vague and quick user edits; the other is a line normalization based on learning from vector data. These techniques, in combination with our sketch-specific data augmentation, allow us to train the tools on heterogeneous data without actual user interaction. We validate our approach with an in-depth user study, comparing it with professional illustration software, and show that our approach is able to reduce inking time by a factor of 1.8X, while improving the results of amateur users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gradient patterns comprising bioactive compounds over comparably (in regard to a cell size) large areas are key for many applications in the biomedical sector, in particular, for cell screening assays, guidance, and migration experiments. Polymer pen lithography (PPL) as an inherent highly parallel and large area technique has a great potential to serve in the fabrication of such patterns. We present strategies for the printing of functional phospholipid patterns via PPL that provide tunable feature size and feature density gradients over surface areas of several square millimeters. By controlling the printing parameters, two transfer modes can be achieved. Each of these modes leads to different feature morphologies. By increasing the force applied to the elastomeric pens, which increases the tip-surface contact area and boosts the ink delivery rate, a switch between a dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) and a microcontact printing (μCP) transfer mode can be induced. A careful inking procedure ensuring a homogeneous and not-too-high ink-load on the PPL stamp ensures a membrane-spreading dominated transfer mode, which, used in combination with smooth and hydrophilic substrates, generates features with constant height, independently of the applied force of the pens. Ultimately, this allows us to obtain a gradient of feature sizes over a mm² substrate, all having the same height on the order of that of a biological cellular membrane. These strategies allow the construction of membrane structures by direct transfer of the lipid mixture to the substrate, without requiring previous substrate functionalization, in contrast to other molecular inks, where structure is directly determined by the printing process itself. The patterns are demonstrated to be viable for subsequent protein binding, therefore adding to a flexible feature library when gradients of protein presentation are desired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ubiquity and mobility of contemporary computing devices has enabled users to consume content, anytime, anywhere. Yet, when we need to create content, touch input is far from perfect. When coupled with touch input, the stylus should enable users to simultaneously ink, manipulate the page, and switch between tools with ease, so why has the stylus yet to achieve universal adoption? Michelle Annett's thesis sought to understand the usability barriers and tensions that have prevented stylus input from gaining traction and reaching widespread adoption. This article in particular explores the limits of human latency perception and evaluates solutions to unintended touch. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Striving for cheap and robust manufacturing processes has prompted efforts to adapt and extend methods for printed electronics and biotechnology. A new 'direct-write' printing method for patterning nanometeric species in addressable locations has been developed, by means of evaporative deposition from a propelled anti-pinning ink droplet (PAPID) in a manner analogous to a snail-trail. Three velocity-controlled deposition regimes have been identified; each spontaneously produces distinct and well-defined self-assembled deposition patterns. Unlike other technologies that rely on overlapping droplets, PAPIDs produce continuous patterns that can be formed on rigid or flexible substrates, even within 3D concave closed shapes, and have the ability to control the thickness gradient along the pattern. This versatile low cost printing method can produce a wide range of unusual electronic systems not attainable by other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impingement of drops onto solid surfaces plays a crucial role in a variety of processes, including inkjet printing, fog harvesting, anti-icing, dropwise condensation and spray coating. Recent efforts in understanding and controlling drop impact behaviour focused on superhydrophobic surfaces with specific surface structures enabling drop bouncing with reduced contact time. Here, we report a different universal bouncing mechanism that occurs on both wetting and non-wetting flat surfaces for both high and low surface tension liquids. Using high-speed multiple-wavelength interferometry, we show that this bouncing mechanism is based on the continuous presence of an air film for moderate drop impact velocities. This submicrometre 'air cushion' slows down the incoming drop and reverses its momentum. Viscous forces in the air film play a key role in this process: they provide transient stability of the air cushion against squeeze-out, mediate momentum transfer, and contribute a substantial part of the energy dissipation during bouncing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low frequency negative supercapacitors and high frequency negative capacitors are realized developing a polyaniline (PANI) based ink for piezoelectric inkjet printers, water based. PANI is synthesized by oxidation polymerization starting from the aniline dimer, thus avoiding the use of a toxic/mutagen substance such as aniline. In order to work in aqueous phase, the reverse addition of the dimer in the oxidative solution is made. The chlorinated emeraldine salt of PANI is produced and emeraldine base is prepared by dedoping. Two different doped PANI solutions are produced by solubilization of the emeraldine salt in dimethylsulphoxide and addition of respectively trifluorosulfonic acid and camporsulfonic acid, and then used as inks for the fabrication of inkjet-printed tracks of different geometries. The properties of inkjet-printed devices are characterized both in DC and AC regimes, showing very good performances under specific measurement conditions in terms of conductivity, as well as extremely interesting phenomena whose origin is still under debate, such as low frequency negative supercapacitance, high frequency negative capacitance and negative resistance. The realization of the highest negative supercapacitance realized so far, of -2.3 mF @ 30 Hz, corresponding to a specific mass capacity of -799 F g−1, is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among all the patterning techniques, inkjet printing has lately become a reliable technique at micrometer scale to produce localized modifications on material surfaces. Printing of polymer on material surface however leads to adsorbed patterns with poor adhesion. To overcome this drawback, a new process combining for the first time inkjet printing and an efficient covalent polymer grafting method was developed. This latter method is based on a photo-assisted reduction of aryldiazonium salt/acrylate monomer ink, derived from the already published GraftFast process. In order to demonstrate its versatility, this new localized polymer grafting process is here combined as an example with the ligand induced electroless plating (LIEP) process to obtain metal interconnects onto flexible and transparent substrates with excellent mechanical and electrical properties for applications in flexible electronics devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the reversal imprint processes, microtransfer molding (μTM) is considered a promising process to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) microstructures. However, two critical challenges, ink full filling and ink complete transfer, limit its 3D patterning ability. In this paper, the critical contact angle of ink on imprint mold (θC_ink–mould) and that on substrate (θC_ink–substrate), are defined to indicate the critical conditions for ink full filling and complete transfer, respectively. A model is developed to indicate the inherent competition between the interface energies of ink on imprint mold and substrate to meet ink full filling and complete transfer. A feasible region forμTM process, which can satisfy ink full filling and complete transfer simultaneously, is proposed, and it reveals the inherent constraint between ink full filling and complete transfer. Experiments show that the feasible region forμTM process can predict whether the 3D patterning can be achieved for the given ink/mold/substrate match; thus it provides a criterion to select matched materials or proper surface-treatments to achieve high fidelity 3D patterning byμTM process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] This study assesses students’ involvement in tattooing and risky behaviors. [•] Results indicate that 29.6% of respondents have a tattoo. [•] Females are more likely than males to have a tattoo. [•] Tattooed students are more likely to engage in substance use and risky sexual behaviors. [•] Health professionals should be aware of tattooing and risky behaviors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] We obtain homogeneous DNA transfer in μ-contact printing by dynamic inking process. [•] The speed of the triple line is found critical in the quality of dynamic inking process. [•] DNA inking time in μ-contact printing (μCP) is not key to inking quality. [•] DNA consumption is reduced 10-folds. [•] This method paves the way to μCP as an industrial solution for biochips fabrication. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A systematic evaluation of the effect of components of the ink, types of the paper, temperature and humidity of environment and the direction of the paper fibers on the diffusion percentage of SO42- was made. The results showed that the diffusion percentage of SO42- was associated with all factors mentioned above. The general rule is that the higher the humidity and temperature, the greater the diffusion percentage; the smaller the basis weight of paper, the greater the diffusion percentage of SO42-; diffusion percentages of SO42- in strokes perpendicular to the paper's fiber is more bigger than ones of strokes parallel to the paper fibers. In order to estimate the age of iron gall ink entries, it is necessary to select a suitable sample, which used for comparison should be the same as those of the document in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focuses on the statistical modelling of successful or failed ink transmission during the printing of packaging paper. The main aim is to explain the probability of successful ink transmission with the help of a regression model. But many of the applied logistic regression models show that the variabilities of various samples from the printability data set range from much smaller to much larger values than the variability assumed in a binomial model. Hence, the main part of this paper concentrates on the discussion of distribution families that are capable of handling such a wide spectrum of different variations of frequency data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of laboratory refining on de-inking potential of inkjet printed handsheets was investigated. Pulp samples containing 80% short fiber and 20% long fiber were beaten in a PFI mill to reach four predetermined freeness levels of 650 (unrefined), 550, 430, and 340 mL CSF, and then handsheets were made. Handsheets were identically inkjet printed and then de-inked. Results revealed that, at lower freeness value, the brightness of de-inked pulps was higher, but the opacity decreased. The surface roughness of handsheets produced using different refined pulp before de-inking was reduced. Our results showed that refining will impart a positive effect on handsheets' de-inking potential, and de-inking printed papers produced from pulps refined to lower freeness generated the highest brightness. The results revealed that both tensile and tear strength indices of de-inked pulp were lower. However, the tear strength index of unrefined sample and the tensile strength index of pulp refined to 430 ml CSF were higher than for undeinked samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An axisymmetric thermo-mechanical model is developed for laser-driven non-contact transfer printing, which involves laser-induced impulsive heating to initiate separation at the interface between a soft, elastomeric stamp and hard micro/nanomaterials (i.e., inks) on its surface, due to a large mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion. The result is the active ejection of the inks from the stamp, to a spatially separated receiving substrate, thereby representing the printing step. The model gives analytically the temperature field, and also a scaling law for the energy release rate for delamination at the interface between the stamp and an ink in the form of a rigid plate. The normalized critical laser pulse time for interfacial delamination depends only on the normalized absorbed laser power and width of the ink structure, and has been verified by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inkjet printing as a clean printing technology for textile has attracted more and more people's attention. The current situation of the inkjet printing including of printing machine, inkjet printing ink and the method for improving the printing quality was introduced. The key technologies of the preparation of reactive ink, acid ink, disperse ink and pigment ink was illustrated. It is considered that the pigment ink is the most potential coloring agent in the inkjet printing for the future, and the ink which prepared with the polymer-encapsulated pigment is a better way to solve the fastness of the textile printed with pigmented ink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inkjet printing technology including the inks and pretreatment, printing, post-treatment processing used for cotton fabric is introduced. According to the individuality, fashionability and diversity of design, combining modern computer application technology, the design rules involved in space pattern, abstract pattern, fractal geometric pattern, classic yarn dyed grid pattern and tranditional national costume pattern are also presented. The author concluded that the neoteric printing technology based on ink-jet printing would substitute for tranditional printing way and become one of the main processing methods to produce high definition, high simulation and high quality cotton fabrics with a broad development prospect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: E-book reading devices open new possibilities in the field of reading. More activities than just reading a book can be performed with a single electronic device. For a long time, electronic reading devices have not been favored because their active LCD displays used to have a relatively low contrast. The new generation of electronic reading devices differs from earlier ones in the nature of the display: active LCD displays have been replaced with displays based on e-ink technology, which has display properties closer to that of printed paper. Moreover, e-ink technology has higher power efficiency, thereby increasing battery life and reducing weight. At first sight, the display looks similar to paper print, but the question remains whether the reading behavior also is equal to that of reading a printed book. In the present study, we analyzed and compared reading behavior on e-reader displays and on printed paper. The results suggest that the reading behavior on e-readers is indeed very similar to the reading behavior on print. Participants shared similar proportions of regressive saccades while reading on e-readers and print. Significant differences in fixation duration suggest that e-readers, in some situations, may even provide better legibility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have prepared a 10 vol% zirconium oxide ( ZrO2) powder aqueous ink for ink-jet printing. This ink shows severe segregation or coffee staining during drying on solid substrates. Coffee staining is suppressed by the addition of 10 wt% poly(ethylene glycol) ( PEG) to the ink formulation. However, coffee staining occurs with the PEG solution ink when drops are printed onto a substrate made from a preprinted ZrO2 powder layer. The mechanism for this phenomenon remains unknown but may be related to the draining of solvent into the powder. The stability of printed features is controlled by the overlap of printed drops and the range of line stability is shown to be consistent with models in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling the transfer of ink to the substrate is a key requirement of the flexographic printing process. Its ability to transfer ink from the image carrier to the substrate at low pressures enables the process to be used for the production of printed matter using pressure-sensitive materials. These can range from substrates where high pressures can damage surface structure (e.g. corrugated board), to specialist inks, which can be damaged by the high shearing action associated with other volume print processes. This paper evaluates the effect of pressure changes on print quality for different anilox specifications and line rulings on the plate.Data collected from an experimental print trial were used to quantify the effects of anilox roll specifications, dot pitch, and plate-to-substrate engagement on the reproduction of both a continuous ink film and the formation of discrete halftone dots.The ink-carrying volume of the cells of the anilox roll was shown to have the greatest influence on solid density (a parameter used as an indirect measure of ink film thickness) and halftone dot formation; however, the geometrical characteristics of the cells were also shown to have an effect. An initial increase in the pressure within the printing nip resulted in a significant rise in both solid density and tone gain (growth of the halftone dots) due to improved ink transfer from the plate to the substrate. Subsequent increases in pressure produced little further increase of solid density, indicating ink transfer had reached a plateau. The rate of increase of halftone density was found to be reduced as pressure increased, which was attributed to the ink approaching its maximum capability for spreading on the substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on experiments on three new methods to improve text contrast for carbon ink ostraca. These are (1) Raman imaging, (2) Micro-focus XRF scanning and (3) exogenous contrast agents either to enhance the X-ray signal or create an optical fl uorescence signal. We tested all three methods with modern 'stunt' ostraca, made using a variety of carbonbased inks. In each imaging modality, the inks are clearly differentiated from the clay background. The exogenous contrast enhancement, in particular, suggests a variety of approaches to improving text legibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Inkjet printing was used here as a precise and fast dispensing technique to prepare thin-film libraries of a poly-(phenylene-ethynylene)-poly(phenylene-vinylene)s copolymer. The films were prepared with a systematic variation of the ink composition, the dot spacing and the substrate temperature. Homogeneous films with a thickness of 100nm were obtained when printed at room temperature and from a solvent mixture of toluene and ortho-dichlorobenzene in a volume ratio of 90/10. This approach can be used for optoelectronic applications, where the layer homogeneity is extremely important but where the ink compositions may vary per device, as well as the exact layer thickness. Our approach can be applied for the preparation of films by inkjet printing for any other (polymer) ink solution and represents a fast and efficient screening of the parameters to obtain homogeneous films with a precise thickness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Inkjet printing of electrode using copper nanoparticle ink is presented. Electrode was printed on a flexible glass epoxy composite substrate using drop on demand piezoelectric dispenser and was sintered at 200 °C of low temperature in N gas condition. The printed electrodes were made with various widths and thickness. In order to control the thickness of the printed electrode, number of printing was varied. Resistivity of printed electrode was calculated from the cross-sectional area measured by a profilometer and resistance measured by a digital multimeter. Surface morphology of electrode was analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). From the study, it was found that 10 times printed electrode has the most stable grain structure and low resistivity of 36.7 nΩ m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A preliminary study on the potential application of electronic tracking in poultry in vivo has been conducted. The experimental procedure for this study was based on previous in vitro findings () as part of the same research programme. The study consisted of two phases whereby an initial experiment using inkjet printing of 10×10 DataMatrix barcodes onto the beaks of broiler chickens in a live commercial setting has been carried out. Results demonstrated very poor percentage of readability after a short period of time. Barcodes deteriorated very rapidly and this was attributed to the physical effects on the barcodes of the actions of the chickens in a commercial environment, together with the inability of the ink to bond to the hard keratinous surface of the beak. In a subsequent part of the study, a number of commercially available ink types were screened, using a predetermined abrasion testing procedure, for their ability to bond to the beak and provide a readable barcode on the beaks following some predetermined graduated physical abrasion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we report the progress in using paper sizing chemistry to fabricate patterned paper for chemical and biological sensing applications. Patterned paper sizing uses paper sizing agents to selectively hydrophobize certain area of a sheet. The hydrophilic-hydrophobic contrast of the pattern so created has an excellent ability to control capillary penetration of aqueous liquids in channels of the pattern. Incorporating this idea with digital ink jet printing technique, a new fabrication method of paper-based microfluidic devices is established. Ink jet printing can deliver biomolecules and chemicals with precision into the microfluidic patterns to form biological/chemical sensing sites within the patterns, forming the complete sensing devices. This study shows the potential of combining paper sizing chemistry and ink jet printing to produce paper-based sensors at low cost and at commercial volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A simple and rapid capillary electrophoresis with diode array detection method was developed for sepia ink identification in ancient graphic documents. Separation was performed in a fused-silica capillary (64.5 cm length, 50 μm i.d.). The running buffer was 20 mM sodium tetraborate solution, pH 9.2. The applied potential was 25 kV, temperature 25 °C and detection was at 220 nm. An appropriate extraction procedure was applied for the take and treatment of sample from the reference substances and ancient graphic documents. This method was successfully applied to the collection of drawings and maps from the Royal Chancellery Archives of Granada (Spain). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Electrohydrodynamic jet printing (EHJP) technology was demonstrated by fabricating metallic patterns, using a commercialized silver metallo-organic ink. The electrospray was operated in a full voltage-controlled form but without the auxiliary assistance of gas pressure. The freeform deposition of basic structures of patterns was demonstrated, for the first time, by using the unforced electrospray. After heat treatment at 250 °C, an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum confirmed that the main composition was silver in the patterns. Scanning electron microscope analysis revealed that dense packed silver crystallites were present in the fabricated patterns. An electrical resistivity of 4.34 × 10−8 Ωm, close to the theoretical resistivity of bulk silver, was obtained in the 100 μm-width printed tracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the production of spherical-shaped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanoparticles by the electrohydrodynamic atomisation (EHDA) process in order to make inks suitable for ink jet printing applications. PZT sols with different concentrations (0·1–0·6 M) were used as starting materials. Two different heating systems, gas heating and direct heating, were used in order to remove the solvent, reduce the particle size and stabilise the PZT particles. Several aspects have been considered, such as liquid flow rate, sol concentration and heat system temperature, and their influence on the particle dimension is determined. Using optimised processing parameters of direct heating at 520°C, 0·2 M precursor sol, flow rate of 0·2 mL h-1 and field of 3 kV cm-1, particles of 100–300 nm in diameter were synthesised. Following stabilisation at 300°C, the particles were suspended in a PZT sol to produce an ink suitable for ink jet printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arrays of circular spots of glucose oxidase have been obtained on functionalized silicon oxide by piezoelectric inkjet printing and the enzymatic activity toward glucose recognition has been monitored. The addition of glycerol to the molecular ink allows to obtain high spot definition and resolution (tens of micrometers wide; one molecule tall), but in spite of its well-known structural stabilizing properties, in dynamic conditions it may lead to increased protein stresses. The jetting voltage and pulse length have been found to be critical factors for both activity retention and pattern definition. High voltages and pulse lengths results in stress effects along with the loss of activity, which, at least in our experimental conditions, has been found to be recovered in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the contribution of flotation deinking banks design on ink removal efficiency, selectivity, and specific energy consumption was simulated using a semiempirical approach. Single-stage with mixed tank/column cells, two-stage, and three-stage configurations were evaluated, and the total number of flotation units in each stage and their interconnection were used as main variables. Explicit correlations between ink removal efficiency, selectivity, energy consumption, and line design were developed for each configuration. When considering a conventional two-stage configuration as reference, a decrease in the specific energy consumption for constant ink removal efficiency and selectivity was obtained with the single-stage bank with a stack of flotation columns at the front of the line, whereas an increase in ink removal selectivity for constant ink removal efficiency and specific energy consumption was obtained with the three-stage bank. The present results show that the performance of conventional flotation deinking banks can be improved by optimizing process design and implementing mixed tank/column technologies in the same deinking line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The combined de-inking technology of ultrasonic, UV irradiation and enzymatic methods was introduced into the de-inking process of HP laser printed paper. The purpose was to reduce the consumption of alkali or even preprocess without alkali absolutely for the purpose of environment protection. The de-inking effects of cellulase, amylase, lipase and their mixture were compared and the experiment results showed that combined enzymes of cellulase and amylase have the best de-inking efficiency which has a 12% increment of brightness. The de-inking efficiencies of several different de-inking technologies were compared, which can provide basis to establish combined de-inking technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article examines the significance of a well-defined optical properties in determining ink-setting behavior and paper-ink interaction. Printing conditions such as speed, nip geometry, and materials have significant influence. Measurement of print gloss development with time can be a useful tool when investigating paperink interactions, because the gloss of the non-dry ink film correlates with final dry print gloss and paper-ink interactivity. Moreover, high print gloss is a major attribute of quality for offset printing paper grades.

Affinity diagramming is a cheap and widely used knowledge elicitation technique in human-computer interaction (HCI). However, empirical methods for evaluating user performance in conducting affinity diagrams have remained relatively static. Despite the fact that often the main value of such affinity diagramming sessions lies in the group-based discussions and debates that take place during their construction, what is being captured is often only the final categorizations (the affinity diagram) rather than the process of constructing them. In this article, we propose the concept of categorization constructionism, which we describe as optimized when affinity diagrams are facilitated in groups that have a considerate input of activity in categorization decision-making. We describe how we used this rule to model the temporal nature found within affinity diagram categorizations as they are constructed. To help us test our approach, we utilized participatory design (PD) sessions in developing three TabletPC-based software tools (CATERINE, SAW, and MATE) that would record, allow manipulation of, and evaluate the organization of affinity constructs over time programmatically with digital inking processes. We then used these tools to conduct an experiment that would explore our concept of measuring constructionistic activity over time in practice through the use of our tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Low viscosity, dilute inks of carbonaceous materials that tend to run, spread, and dry unevenly pose a major challenge towards ink jet printing approaches. A porous, planar stamp based methodology outlined here combines the advantages of ink jet and transfer printing while enabling printing of dilute inks comprising nanowires, nanotubes, nanoparticles, and biological molecules. Integration of ink jet and transfer printing is reported with agarose gel planar stamp, for carbon nanotube inks, enabling the formation of gate modulated channels between source and drain electrodes without necessitating any lithography steps. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A general method has been developed for the preparation of microspheres of nanoporous pigments, their formulation into chemically responsive pigment inks, and the printing of these inks as colorimetric sensor arrays. Using an ultrasonic-spray aerosol−gel synthesis from chemically responsive dyes and common silica precursors, 16 different nanoporous pigment microspheres have been prepared and characterized. New colorimetric sensor arrays have been created by printing inks of these chemically responsive pigments as primary sensor elements; these arrays have been successfully tested for the detection, identification, and quantitation of toxic aliphatic amines. Among 11 structurally similar amines, complete identification of each analyte without confusion was achieved using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Furthermore, visual identification of ammonia gas was easily made at the IDLH (immediately dangerous to life or health), PEL (permissible exposure limits), and 0.1 PEL concentrations with high reproducibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to validate the Vinland Map as a genuine15th century work, Garman Harbottle (2008 ) claims to review critically, and thereby discredit, the archaeometric research undertaken on the Map's ink by Walter McCrone (1974–1999) and Brown and Clark (2002 ). In this paper we outline and discuss the numerous arguments that are presented by Harbottle, all of which we find to be misleading or at best highly questionable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses printing of documents among small businesses. The price of printer is cheaper than the price of ink consumables due to the concentrated revenue placed on ink replacements by printer vendors and the its capacity to print more documents. Topics including cost of per-page printing, document management, and efficiency of ink consumables are discussed. The article also suggests that the cost efficiency on the use of laser or inkjet technology depends on the need for colour printing.

Pigments are rapidly replacing dyes as colorants in pen and printer inks, due to their superior colors and stability. Unfortunately, tools commonly used in questioned document examination for analyzing pen inks, such as TLC, cannot be used for the analysis of insoluble pigments on paper. Laser desorption mass spectrometry is demonstrated here as a tool for analyzing pigment-based pen inks. A pulsed nitrogen laser can be focused onto a pen stroke from a pigmented ink pen on paper, and positive and negative ions representative of the pigment can be generated for subsequent mass spectrometric analysis. Targeted pens for this work were a set of Uni-ball® 207™ pigmented ink pens containing blue, light blue, orange, green, violet, red, pink, and black inks. Copper phthalocyanine was identified as the pigment used to make both blue inks. A mixture of halogenated copper phthalocyanines were identified in the green ink. Unexpectedly, the pink ink was found to contain a red pigment, Pigment Red 12, treated with a mixture of water-soluble dyes. Each sample yielded ions representative of the pigments present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inkjet-printing principle is becoming more and more important for new applications besides conventional graphic printing. The target at our institute is to print conductive silver lines and areas of different widths and thicknesses. Based on a drop-on-demand (DoD) micro feeding system, a colloidal ink printer was developed to print conductive circuits. The printer has a stationary piezo-driven print head with a nozzle diameter of 100 μm. With such a nozzle, conductive paths with a width between 110 and 250 μm can be realized. A waveform generator is used to actuate the print head's piezo actuator. The most common control signal is a nearly rectangular voltage pulse. Shape, duration, and amplitude of the piezo control signal influence the stability of the printing process and thus the quality of the printed electrical structures significantly. Different rise and dwell times or pulse shapes can be considered to optimize the printing process. In this article, the piezo control signal's shape is analyzed, varied and the print head's system behavior is characterized. In a performance and signal analysis, the influence of the piezo input signal's shape on the transient behavior of the piezo output energy signal is identified. An optimized piezo control signal shall be achieved. In conclusion, a method is presented to measure droplet parameters such as radius, speed, and volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simulation study of the droplet ejection performance of a thermal inkjet print head. The geometry of the print head comprises a dome-shaped ink chamber, a nozzle guide and a ring-shaped heater integrated on each chamber. The design eliminates direct contact between the heater and the ink, thus minimizing heater burnout. The ink manifold, ink chamber and nozzle are aligned, thus facilitating higher nozzle density. The model simulates thermal bubble dynamics including nucleation and growth of thermal bubbles caused by a thermal pulse. The model was validated by comparing model predictions with experimental results for a previously reported print head design. Then, the model was used to simulate the droplet ejection performance of the proposed inkjet print head. Effects of print head geometry including nozzle diameter, nozzle length, chamber size, heater dimensions and location, thermal conductivity of the passivation layer, operating conditions including total thermal energy and pulse width, properties of the ink including density, viscosity and surface tension on the performance of the inkjet device are investigated. The influence of these parameters on the drop volume and velocity, threshold energy and tail length of the ejected droplets is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we consider printed paper mathematical instruments, in particular those which are reversed because they were produced by inking and taking an impression from an instrument, rather than by printing from a copperplate. Describing a previously unnoticed group of paper instruments by Henry Sutton, we outline their provenance and what is known of Sutton's life. The reverse-printed instruments do not have the same practical uses as the instruments from which they were printed, so we examine their place within seventeenth-century mathematical culture and collecting in order to understand why they were made and owned. We end by suggesting that studying these apparently useless instruments has enabled better understanding of printed paper instruments more generally, by forcing us to think outside the usual categories of theory/practice and useful/useless. Considering the roles of gentleman-mathematicians and collectors shows that the reverse-printed instruments were not useless at all, but instead were valuable objects in their own right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a novel process for inking the stamp with biomacromolecule solution used in reactive microcontact printing. The stamp was first coated with biomacromolecule solution such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution for 20 min, and then dried by soft nitrogen flow. After cooling the stamp below the dew point for 1 min and incubated at room temperature for 10 s, a thin layer of condensed water was formed on the stamp surface. Then, an aldehyde functionalized glass slide was pressed immediately onto the stamp for certain time, yielding the covalently patterning of the biomacromolecules on the aldehyde-containing surface. A notable feature of this process is that the biomacromolecule solution can be inked onto the stamp at a controlled state, neither too “dry” nor too “wet”. As a result, the covalently grafting reaction can occur at a comparable speed with those in solution, while avoiding the contamination caused by dispersal of excessive solvent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]