10157873Domino- Measurement to evaluate ink designs and print parameters for reliable, fast and high resolution digital printingClosedGrant for R&DInnovate UKThe market for printing variable data such as barcodes and QR-codes has expanded rapidly. The codes convey information relating to product traceability, anti-counterfeiting, consumer awareness and information. The codes can also offer an approach to more sustainable packaging by printing directly onto the product, thereby, removing the need for labels or plastic sleeves. The applications range from printing onto cardboard cartons to bottle caps. The demands on the printer and ink are challenging to enable the print quality to be acceptable for a wide range of applications. The print quality is related to the drop formation and break up which is dependent on multiple parameters including distance from the print head to the substrate, firing frequency and ink composition. This project targets using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) expertise of ASTUTE Centre of Excellence to model drop formation and drop breakup under a range of printing conditions. Modelling aims to replace the need for time consuming and labour intensive measurements currently used to develop optimised printing conditions. This allows a faster and more cost efficient approach to realising new opportunities for existing products and for the development of new inks.