Printhead

A printhead is the component of a printer that deposits ink, toner, or material onto a substrate to form an image or text. In consumer inkjet printers it is part of a cartridge or carriage; in additive manufacturing it describes the nozzle assembly that extrudes melted material. A typical printhead contains fluid channels or a nozzle plate, an actuation mechanism, and connections to control electronics, and sometimes temperature regulation.

Inkjet systems use two main technologies. Thermal inkjet uses resistive heaters to vaporize ink and form a bubble that ejects a droplet. Piezoelectric inkjet uses a piezoelectric crystal to generate pressure pulses that eject droplets. Printheads can be fixed or replaceable and often carry color or monochrome channels in arrays. Maintenance targets nozzle clogging and ink priming.

In 3D printing the printhead (often called the hotend or extruder) includes a heater block, a thermistor for sensing temperature, a nozzle, and a drive mechanism that pushes filament toward the melt zone. Nozzle size determines features, typically from about 0.2 to 0.8 mm. Temperature, extrusion rate, and filament type (such as PLA, ABS, and others) govern print quality.

Performance depends on nozzle geometry, deposition rate, and motion accuracy. Inkjet resolution is expressed as dots per inch or droplet size, while 3D printing uses layer height and XY accuracy.

Maintenance includes cleaning or replacing clogged nozzles, priming ink channels, and calibrating printhead alignment.