Thermal inkjet technology (TIJ) has been the widely preferred method of inkjet printing since its market inception in 1985. TIJ has made rapid progress since that time, to the point where it challenges electrophotography for the print quality of plain paper text and graphics, rivals silver halide for photographic image quality, and enables the highest performance/price ratios in digital printers. Thermal inkjet technology continues to enjoy a greater unit market share for printers that any other digital printing technology and all other inkjet technologies combined. Nevertheless, competing inkjet methods have (re-) emerged, most notable piezoelectric inkjet. In this paper, we will discuss trends and comparisons in the key areas of print (image) quality, print speed, and reliability. Long life heads introduced with the HP 2000C will be discussed which compete very favorably with the so-called “permanent” piezoelectric devices.