Kyocera KJ4B-EX600-RC Water-Based Printhead with Recirculation

The Kyocera KJ4B-EX600-RC is a 600 dpi industrial printhead for water-based inks within the EX series, officially launched in April 2024. The “RC” suffix stands for Recirculation, which is the key feature that sets it apart from the earlier EX600 model. Ink can circulate all the way to the nozzle plate, effectively preventing nozzle drying and ink sedimentation. This allows compatibility with a wide range of inks, including fast-drying formulations, making it well suited for applications such as textile printing, corrugated board, building materials, document output, and packaging.

Compared with the previous generation, this printhead delivers a clear performance upgrade. The jetting frequency has been raised from 30 kHz to 40 kHz, and the standard print speed has accordingly increased from 76.2 m/min to approximately 101.6 m/min. Drop control is also more flexible: it can produce droplets of 5 to 14 pL at 40 kHz, up to 18 pL at 30 kHz, and up to 24 pL at 20 kHz, making it easier to transfer as much pigment onto the substrate as efficiently as possible across different applications.

In terms of structure and stability, the ink channels inside the printhead are formed from laminated stainless steel sheets, providing excellent chemical resistance and a robust design, while filters within the flow path capture harmful contaminants in the ink. The printhead is equipped with both a heater and a water cooling system, allowing the temperature to be regulated directly from the printhead for more precise control of ink viscosity and drop size, regardless of ambient temperature fluctuations. At its core, it uses Kyocera’s proprietary monolithic piezoelectric actuator, which helps achieve uniform, consistent image quality within the printhead.