Kyocera develops thermal printhead with 4,800 dpi resolution

www.kyocera.com

13 February 2009

Kyoto/Neuss – With its latest development, Kyocera, one of the world's largest manufacturers of thermal printheads, has achieved resolution of 4,800 dpi (dots per inch). In metric terms, that corresponds to 188.9 dpm (dots per millimetre). Due to this technical breakthrough, the Japanese corporation expects a major broadening of the application of thermal printing.

With its new thermal printhead, Kyocera is forging ahead into new dimensions. Prodigious resolution of 4,800 dpi makes it possible to print 7.8 characters per millimetre. This extreme resolution level enables enormous volumes of data to be saved using 2D (two dimensional) codes. Even data-intensive video files can be encrypted in the form of QR or 2D matrix codes that a mobile telephone camera can read and then play back with the required software. The possibility of printing high-resolution characters that can no longer be read with the naked eye also makes the new thermal printhead interesting for security applications.
Until now, only thermal printheads that had a maximum resolution of 1,200 dpi were available on the market. Kyocera has surpassed this figure by three times and as a result, opened the door to new applications for industry. Since 1986, Kyocera has been developing and producing thermal printheads featuring state-of-the-art technologies. The firm is always striving to assert its market leadership by continually working on innovations. The fastest of printing speeds combined with superior legibility are performance hallmarks of Kyocera thermal printing.