Fair or not, Memjet printing technology is starting to feel like one of the entries from the ZINK Printer Design contest – interesting in theory, but currently unavailable. The difference is that Memjet had a projected release date that’s been pushed back multiple times. So why are industry experts still excited about this phantom technology? The biggest reason is speed. While traditional inkjet printheads are narrow and have to move back and forth multiple times to make each line of an image, Memjet printheads span the width of the page so they can remain stationary as the paper passes through. In other words, if using a traditional scanning printhead is like reading this blog entry from left to right, line by line down the page, then using a Memjet printhead is like being able to read an entire line in one glance, so your eyes are only moving straight down the page.

What’s interesting is that in a recent article on Xconomy.com, anonymous industry insiders offer some notable insights on the pros and cons of Memjet. Here are the highlights:

  • While Memjet’s stationary, page-wide printhead should be faster and lower maintenance (at least mechanically) than a moving printhead, it has a lot more nozzles. And more nozzles means a higher risk of clogging, as well as other maintenance and cost issues that could turn off consumers.
  • Major companies like HP, Canon, Epson and Kodak have all been working on print engine technology that’s similar to Memjet. But no one has figured out how to make it “easy to manufacture, reliable, and affordable.” According to the article, a “key vulnerability is that the nozzles get clogged,” which results in streaky prints. This leads to a couple interesting questions: Are these companies still working on their own technology? And if so, will they continue their efforts, or will they put their research on hold (or give up) and use Memjet technology instead?
  • Memjet technology may offer certain benefits for central printers being accessed from a group of PCs in large office networks. While the specifics aren’t mentioned, my guess is that the extra speed can help the printer handle a bigger print load in a shorter amount of time.

A couple other interesting notes – first off, Memjet just hired former Qualcomm COO Len Lauer as its president and CEO. He says that Memjet doesn’t “plan to make printers itself, and instead plans to sell ink and components to printer makers.” As the Xconomy article suggests, Qualcomm has made a good chunk of change from licensing out its patents and selling chips to cell phone makers, and Lauer’s hiring could signal that Memjet is ready to leverage its technology and finally deliver on the claims it made a few years ago. In other words, no products are imminent, but it seems that Memjet is getting organized and serious.