Two researchers from the College of Judea and Samaria in Israel have developed a new inkjet printer called the JeTrix that can theoretically reach 1,000 pages per minute. The printer uses an ink-emitting screen that can flow everywhere all at once, instead of having to wait for the cartridge to pass like it does now. The researchers say that the printers could be produced commercially within two years. No word obviously on what they might cost, but it will be probably pretty expensive.

The design's building block is a micro-reservoir of ink that feeds four nozzles. The reservoir is square, one millimeter (mm) on each side, and is 0.5 mm deep. The ink enters the nozzles via capillary action (the way water naturally creeps up a plant stem, for instance). To refill, an ink-coated "wiper" slides over the top of the reservoir, depositing a layer of ink. The small amount of ink in each reservoir and the natural capillary force between the ink and the reservoir walls make pressure regulation fairly simple.

This design, which the researchers dub JeTrix, has many potential applications. Says Einat, "The future applications of JeTrix will be traditional, such as extremely high-speed printers for industry, offices, and homes. But we also anticipate brand-new, pioneering applications. One example is in-store book printing - where the book is printed instantly for the customer. This could enable small bookshops or even airport kiosks to carry a huge variety of books. There's also personalization - newspapers or journals printed with a customer's name, favorite topics, and suitable advertisements."