It sounds interesting but problematic.
The first thing that comes to mind is that your average inkjet printer does not have perfect page registration. Any page that goes through an inkjet printer can be skewed a couple of millimeters in any direction. It would be very difficult for the printer to squirt a drop of developer on the exact spot of the image that is required. I think this would call for "tractor feed" mechanisms like the old dot matrix impact printers used to use. It would also call for specially perforated paper/film to fit in the tractor mechanism. I think the paper would also have to have registration markers of some kind on it. Of course, it would need a mechanism to read those marks. There would have to be something in the camera as well.
All of this would have to be held down to a precision of a few microns or less. Then, to put the cherry on top of the cake, the whole thing would have to be light-tight from start to finish. How could you put the film into the camera, register it with the mechanism, and take a photo? Afterward, you would need to remove the film from the camera and register it with the printer mechanism. All of this would have to be done in the dark to prevent the film from being spoiled while being processed.
You can't use LEDs and optical scanners to register the film. The light (even infrared or UV) would destroy the film. Using notches on the film to register with mechanical sensors in the devices would not give enough precision. Maybe you could use magnetic stripes similar to the magnetic soundtracks used on movies. The electromagnetic read/write mechanism would be quite unwieldy and expensive. In fact, this whole system would be very expensive.
I have another question. Isn't the idea of making photographs all about controlling exposure while keeping development consistent? Therefore, if this is true, then applying developer to the film/paper in a non-uniform manner would make print processing difficult. Wouldn't it?
I have another idea...
What if you used a laser printer setup instead? You made your photo in the camera and electronically "printed" it to the laser printer. The printer exposes the individual pixels directly onto the paper/film. Then, instead of passing through an electrically charged platen or roller system to apply toner, the film went through a series of chemical developing baths.
The chemistry could be packaged in cartridges much like toner or ink is today. When a cartridge is empty or wears out, just take the old one out and replace it.
Maybe I am completely off base? I am not sure I understand your reason for inventing such a device. What do you think it will gain? It is a very interesting idea but I am not sure I understand what will be the benefits of doing this.
), than any practically useful device, especially the concept of ink-jetting developer has me startled.
