HP and Canon Print Engines.

[Robert E. Williams]

How does HP's "thermal inkjet" differ from Canon's "bubble jet"
technology.
Bob Williams

 

[Bob Headrick]

How does HP's "thermal inkjet" differ from Canon's "bubble jet"
technology.

This is a rather broad question. In terms of the basics they are similar; ink
is ejected by vaporizing a small amount of ink which then pushes a drop out the
nozzle. There are significant differences in how the actual printheads are
constructed, as well as differences in the ink delivery systems and the
resulting printers.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/inkjet-printer.htm and
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question163.htm may have some basic (if
not outdated) information that may answer your questions.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[John]

How does HP's "thermal inkjet" differ from Canon's "bubble jet"
technology.

There doesn't seem to be much difference in the basic printing technology.
Canon was first. HP used Canon's bubble jet patent under license. The first
HP "ink jet" that I had behaved very much like a dot matrix printer but with
a plastic tank with an ink "bladder" inside. That was in 1986. Grapic
printing was poor: serious graphics work required a plotter. The early
inkjet text was fair, speed was good, and noise was certainly less than
with my Okidata 320 dot matrix printer. However , the Okidata outlived the
HP printer.

The paper handling mechanisms, the print head, its postioning technology,
the firmware and software distinguish the different printers. HP clearly
lead the way, although Epson did well through its IBM associations.

Canon is my choice primarily for its low per-page cost.

 

[Bob Headrick]

There doesn't seem to be much difference in the basic printing technology.
Canon was first. HP used Canon's bubble jet patent under license. The first
HP "ink jet" that I had behaved very much like a dot matrix printer but with
a plastic tank with an ink "bladder" inside. That was in 1986.

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/imagingprinting/0011/ shows
HP's first inkjet printer, introduced in 1984. HP's LaserJet, introduced in the
same year, was based on the Canon print engine. The Thinkjet printer was HP's
design and based on HP patents. This was the first consumer level inkjet
printer. Comparing this to today's printers is a bit like comparing 1984 PC's
with today's PC....

- Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Mickey]

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/imagingprinting/0011/ shows
HP's first inkjet printer, introduced in 1984. HP's LaserJet, introduced in the
same year, was based on the Canon print engine. The Thinkjet printer was HP's
design and based on HP patents. This was the first consumer level inkjet
printer. Comparing this to today's printers is a bit like comparing 1984 PC's
with today's PC....

- Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

Remember the ThinkJet well. What a change over the older impact printers. A
lot smaller and quieter when comparing to the impact printers of the day.
Worked for a number of year with Gary Sheppard the industrial Engineer that was
responsible for the physical look of the printer.

Mickey

 

[Joe Hayes]

The ThinkJet was an amazing printer at the time. Tiny, silent and fast (at
least in draft mode). Ink didn't dry immediately on contact so it was
easily smeared, but you learned not to rub your hands across the paper as it
came out.