a component for a printhead of an inkjet printer includes a flexible substrate and oxide island heat barriers . the oxide islands allow the flexible substrate to be bent without cracking the oxide islands , a problem which otherwise occurs when the heat barrier is a continuous oxide layer . thin film resistors are supported on the oxide islands and front conductors are connected to back conductors by vias . the flexible substrate can be folded to form monolithic assemblies or the flexible substrate can be bent around a pen body . discrete heat - spread layers of titanium are provided between the oxide islands and a chromium adhesion layer on the substrate .