FAQs

Memjet technology is a new generation of printing technology for industrial label customers, delivering 12 inches per second (305mm) full process color printing performance at breakthrough costs per page and price points relative to performance. 

The technology consists of four main components including 8.77"/ 222.7mm (A4) wide printheads, high performance controller chips, software and custom inks, which Memjet Labels sells to OEM brands to be integrated into their own branded printing devices. Memjet Labels will be developing narrower printhead widths in the future (i.e. 4" / 100mm) in order to bring our ground breaking technology to various industrial and retail labeling markets that require smaller footprints and economical applications.

The "MEM" in Memjet refers to "MEMS" or Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems; the technology of the very small, with metrics ranging in size from a micrometer (a millionth of a meter) to a millimeter (a thousandth of a meter).  The Memjet printheads are fabricated using MEMS processes; modified semiconductor fabrication processes that enable the creation of the silicon structures, nozzles and drop-ejection systems that are the basis of the Memjet technology.  

For decades the printing and imaging industry has provided customers with inkjet and laser printing solutions.  Finally, the next generation of printing technology has arrived - Memjet.  

Memjet Labels, along with our OEM brand partners, is working hard to bring our first product to market as soon as possible while not sacrificing any of the groundbreaking customer experience goals we've set.  We look forward to announcing an updated product introduction date and encourage you to register for an RSS feed to stay current on such announcements.  

Our OEM brands have asked us to keep their identities confidential.  Memjet Labels is working with multiple brand partners, with varied development and announcement timelines.  You can keep abreast of Memjet Labels partner announcements by subscribing to RSS feeds from this site.

The announcement of the Memjet technology and Memjet companies in March 2007 introduced the technology to the industry and enabled the founding of industry partnerships needed to bring the technology to market.  At that time, Memjet Labels was intending our first market entry to be a small-format, 100mm printhead used for printing 4x6 inch (100 x 150mm) photos.  Due to input from our partners, in September 2007 we shifted focus to our A4 printhead and related components, shifting the emphasis to our biggest market opportunity. 

While we have delayed our small-format printhead, we had always intended to introduce A4/Letter devices through OEM brands in 2009.  In the course of developing any revolutionary technology, delays can and do occur.  

Memjet Labels, along with our partners, is working hard to bring our first product to market as soon as possible without compromising the customer experience goals we've set.  Our ambitious goals for the technology and for the desired customer experience have led to some delays.  We look forward to announcing an updated product introduction date soon and encourage you to register for an RSS feed to stay current on such announcements.  

No.  Neither our OEM brand business partners nor any existing printer brands have any financial interest in Memjet Labels or our technology development partner, Silverbrook Research, Ltd, Pty.  This allows Memjet Labels to operate independently and fairly across our range of incumbent and non-incumbent brand partners.

Silverbrook Research is a private, independent research and development company based near Sydney, Australia.  Silverbrook Research is the developer of the Memjet technology components.  Memjet Labels is a separate, private, independent business responsible for the commercialization of the technology for the home and office markets.  Commercialization includes the development of OEM brand relationships, market strategy, business models, component pricing, OEM brand technical and business support, supply chain and operations related to the Memjet Labels business opportunities.  Memjet Labels works with Silverbrook Research to specify and prioritize technology requirements to satisfy the needs of the label industry customers. 

Kia Silverbrook is the co-founder and CEO of Silverbrook Research, the developer of the Memjet technology.  Kia is a scientist and prolific inventor, holding more than 2,400 U.S. patents.  Kia's background in digital imaging dates back to 1973.

There are currently four Memjet companies - Memjet Home and Office, Memjet Labels, Memjet Photo Retail and Memjet Wide Format.  Separate companies enable each company to focus on the unique technology applications, customer needs and business requirements associated with each market space.  While much of the core technology components are leveraged, business models and partnerships differ.  Ink formulations and properties may vary and printhead configurations, controller chip software and host software are optimized to better meet customers' needs in each of these important markets.

Memjet devices are page printers that are designed to process and print an entire  A4 color page in one second or half a second for a full process color 4x6 label. The printhead spans the width of the page so that it can print the entire width of the page while the paper simply moves underneath the printhead.  The Memjet software and controller work together to efficiently process the data.  The controller contains a high speed 648 MHz processor and embedded memory sufficient to print even complex pages at rapid speeds.  Each printhead contains 70,400 nozzles and can print up to 900 million drops per second with minimal warm up time. 

Memjet Labels does not intend to introduce its own printers or be the primary brand on any label printing product.  Our Memjet Labels business model is to deliver technology to existing brands for use in their own branded printing devices.

A Memjet Label based device can achieve full speed and quality on most documents with a typical computer (e.g. 2 GHz Intel processor with 256-1 GB of RAM).

Initial Memjet Labels inks are fast drying, water based inks with advanced dyes.  Memjet Labels and our partners will continue to research and develop inks well suited for industrial label devices, including consideration of pigmented inks.

Memjet's customized water based inks are absorbed into the paper in milliseconds.  Even high-coverage labels, can be handled immediately after printing and are highlighter resistant.

The Memjet printhead nozzles are small enough that the human eye is not able to see the impact of single clogged nozzles distributed randomly across a Memjet printhead.  Even so, the Memjet components and related ink delivery and maintenance systems have been carefully designed to mitigate clogging and other potential problems that lead to print quality issues.  

The surface of the Memjet printheads and the silicon nozzle's structure are designed to be effectively wiped clean by a maintenance system.  Each Memjet based device will be delivered with a maintanence system designed to keep nozzles healthy while the device is printing as well as after it has been idle for a period of time.  Maintenance system regimes have been designed into Memjet controller chips and can also be adjusted by OEM brands to support a range of printing environments and customer requirements.     

Certainly. Memjet prototypes shown to date print at 12 inches per second (305mm) and are considered fast enough for most label printing environments.  As speeds increase beyond 12 ips, devices become less practical based on cost and complexity due in part to more expensive paper movement systems and increased related mechanical robustness.  

Yes.  Memjet inks are customized to ensure sustained performance and quality using a Memjet printhead.  Using the wrong ink can dramatically decrease the capability of a Memjet printhead and can ultimately destroy it.  While the chemistry and fluid dynamics of Memjet ink formulations are unique and specific, the Memjet water-based inks have many ingredients in common with inks used in industrial label printing environments today.

While it may be possible to provide non-water-based, specialized inks such as UV-curable inks or solvent-based inks with Memjet printing systems, it is not a current priority for Memjet Labels. That said we will be developing other ink formulations as we advance our technology and move into various industrial labeling markets.