Droplet discharge inspection apparatus and method

A droplet discharge inspection method for inspecting a discharge performance of a droplet discharge head, the droplet discharge inspection method comprising the steps of:

• providing an inspection apparatus including:
• an inspection body that includes a rectangular non-conductive substrate on which functional thin films and functional elements are formed;
• a droplet receiving portion for receiving a droplet that is provided on the substrate;
• a plurality of electrodes that are exposed on an inner surface portion of the droplet receiving portion;
• and
• a detector that is connected to the electrodes of the inspection body and detects the conductivity in the droplet receiving portion,
• wherein the droplet receiving portion has a size that corresponds to a droplet size when a discharged droplet impacts normally,
• wherein the inspection body is formed along one side of the rectangular non-conductive substrate, and
• wherein a non-conductive layer is formed on the substrate of the inspection body so as to cover the electrodes, and an open portion where the substrate is exposed is formed on the non-conductive layer, and the open portion is used as the droplet receiving portion, and
• discharging a droplet from the droplet discharge head towards the droplet receiving portion of the inspection body in the inspection apparatus;
• and
• inspecting a discharge performance of the droplet discharge head by detecting using the detector the conductivity between exposed electrodes in an inner surface portion of a droplet receiving portion that has received a droplet discharge.