This paper describes a word processing system output printer that uses the electrostatic synchronous ink jet printing process. An overview of the ink jet matrix printing process is included, as well as brief descriptions of the elements of the printer. Printer performance objectives are outlined, and some of the design problems encountered during development are discussed. 2 IntroductionThe descriptive term "word processing" is becoming as meaningful in the modern office environment as "data processing" is already in the environment of the electronic computer. A key element of the word processing system is the output printer, which, typically, has been an impact printer. However, new requirements are being set for system performance and for operating speeds that exceed the capabilities of most impact printing technologies. Ink jet printing offers the capability for increased performance to meet those needs. This paper discusses the use of ink jet printing as the basis for the word processing output printer that is a component of the IBM 46/40 Document Printer.In ink jet printing, characters are formed from small ink drops, which can be produced at rates of about 10 5 drops per second. On the average, 10 3 drops per character are needed for "high quality" printing. Hence, rates of almost 100 characters per second can be achieved without dependence on the high speed operation of mechanical printing elements.As a printer requirement, character image quality is also important. Using several measures of quality, ink jet printing has proven to be at least as good as that produced by impact printers, such as electric typewriters.We felt also that such an output printer should be capable of producing a variety of character styles, including those needed for all languages based on the Roman alphabet and special symbols in to-pitch, 12-pitch, and pro-

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