Meteor Inkjet Ltd, a leading supplier of industrial inkjet printhead driving solutions, today announced the launch of its Nozzle Health Technology – the first commercially available system to provide real-time health monitoring of every nozzle in an inkjet printhead. The technology improves the visibility of nozzle performance, giving manufacturers the ability to cut waste, reduce downtime and maintain maximum productivity. 

The system measures the impulse response of each nozzle in fractions of a millisecond, instantly identifying issues such as wetting, blockage, or air ingestion. Users can automatically compensate for missing nozzles using Meteor’s NozzleFix™ software or pause production for targeted maintenance before problems occur. 

Meteor’s Nozzle Health Technology represents a fundamental shift in reliability and quality control for all inkjet applications, particularly in environments where the cost of failure is significant. Without Meteor’s Nozzle Health Technology nozzle faults are noticed only after producing perceptible errors. With this technology the nozzles can be checked without producing any faulty print. 

In additive manufacturing and 3D printing, a single faulty nozzle can cause anything from minor surface defects to complete and very expensive product failure. By identifying issues, Meteor’s technology ensures that uneven material deposition does not weaken layer bonding or result in fragile parts that fail under stress. This level of precision is critical for maintaining dimensional accuracy, allowing manufacturers to produce parts for applications that require a precise, high tolerance fit without the risk of expensive material waste.  

In the printed electronics industry a single unexpected missing nozzle can render the entire product worthless. Meteor’s Nozzle Health Technology will decrease the failure rate of any inkjet production process massively because remedial actions will be taken before any product is wasted. 

In the packaging sector, the technology supports high-speed production of barcodes, QR codes, and variable data, where even small nozzle defects can render codes unreadable and cause batch rejection or supply-chain disruption. Meteor’s ability to monitor nozzle health at the source acts as a proactive safety net. Manufacturers no longer have to choose between speed and reliability, giving them the confidence to run production lines at maximum capacity while knowing that every mark on every package is being monitored for integrity. 
When inkjet technology is being used as the primary decoration technology, each different image typically has a different ability to hide missing nozzles resulting in frequent unpleasant surprises when switching from one job (that hides faults well) to another (that doesn’t) wasting production time and media. Meteor’s Nozzle Health Technology will enable the true status of nozzles to be known and targeted remedial action to be taken before each new print job begins. 

Clive Ayling, Meteor’s managing director comments: “This innovation turns nozzle reliability from a hidden risk into a controlled, measurable parameter. It represents a fundamental step forward in how inkjet systems are operated, maintained, and trusted in production environments. Manufacturers face constant pressure to keep production lines running smoothly while minimising waste. Our technology gives them the clarity they need to operate more efficiently, stay ahead of maintenance issues, and achieve consistently high print quality.” 

www.meteorinkjet.com