US Patent 8017191 - Fast DPN® dipping

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8017191.html

This patent from NanoInk teaches how faster dipping used in Dip Pen Nanolithography® can provide better printing, including higher resolution, more reproducibility, and less wicking. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of dipping a nanoscopic probe comprising the steps of:

dipping a nanoscopic tip at a dipping rate into an inkwell comprising ink, wherein the rate of dipping is at least 10 microns/second,

refracting the nanoscopic tip at a refraction rate, wherein the retraction rate is at least 10 microns/second,

wherein the nanoscopic tip is retracted immediately after the nanoscopic tip is dipped into the inkwell.