Want to learn about inkjet printer technology, and apply it with a robot or by waving an inkjet nozzle over a piece of paper? Parallax, Hewlett-Packard Specialty Printing Systems, and Matt Gilliland have combined to produce this unique kit. The hardware and documentation are designed around HP’s Thermal Inkjet 1.0 technology. Using the Parallax Serial Inkjet Printer board, your microcontroller sends a string of serial data which is printed as 1/8” tall characters. Waving the inkjet cartridge over a piece of paper or mounting it on a Boe-Bot produces print-quality text in the font of your choice!
With this kit you will be able to:
- Make your Boe-Bot a mobile printer
- Have an alternative method of data display (vs. a Serial LCD, terminal program, etc.)
- Design your own 96 dpi printing applications around this open-sourced Parallax reference design
- Implement it in a factory line, such as for date-coding
The contents of this kit include:
- Serial Inkjet Printer circuit board (#27948)
- Inkjet Applications – Circuits with the BASIC Stamp 2 and SX Microcontrollers book by Matt Gilliland (#70017)
- HP 51604A Black Inkjet Cartridge (#30014)
- HP Q7543A Inkjet Cartridge Holder (#556-27948)
Boe-Bot Mounting Kit:
- 1) Boe-Bot aluminum inkjet mounting bracket.
- (1) 3-pin F/F 14” 26 AWG red/white/black cable
- (2) Standoffs, aluminum, 5/8” long, ¼” diameter
- (2) 4-40 nuts
- (6) 4-40 panhead screw, Phillips, ¼” long
Matt Gilliland’s book, Inkjet Applications, is a hobbyist and educational accompaniment to this kit. The book includes a Foreword by Frank Cloutier, HP’s inventor of the ink printing process. The first chapter details the timing sequence to fire inkjet nozzles and the different supplies in the Parallax kit. The contents of the book include several standalone control circuits, BASIC Stamp control, SX control (using the SX/B free compiler), making the Boe-Bot a “Typer” and “Paintbot” along with additional tools including the Edit-Ink free software and Parallax Serial Inkjet Printer kit.
Downloads:
Serial Inkjet Printer Documentation
BASIC Stamp 2 Code examples
SX/B Driver Program in Serial Inkjet Printer
Foreward to Inkjet Applications
Edit-Ink Program (.zip)