Current inkjet technology (piezoelectric channel or thermal bubble) limits the overall size of the inkjet array. This makes the technology acceptable for home use, but insufficient for high production office use. Kodak hopes to use MEMS technology to produce a new method of creating inkjet drops which will scale to large arrays.

"The MEMS structures we are developing will control the motion of ink by exploiting its surface properties," Delametter explained. "Heating a fluid meniscus non-uniformly induces a gradient in surface tension. This produces a tangential force, called a Marangoni force, on the liquid free surface. Whenever fluid dimensions are less than 10 microns, thermocapillary-driven forces can separate discrete droplets from the main fluid body and also propel them rapidly through space."

The simulation showed temperature and velocity data that could not be determined experimentally. Computer simulation also let Delametter evaluate several different combinations in less time than it would have taken to build one physical model.