A traveling wave droplet generator for a continuous stream ink jet printer comprising an ink filled tube connected in the vicinity of one end to an ink reservoir. A piezoelectric driver assembly is mounted at the fill end of the tube. The tube has openings connecting to orifices of an aperture plate bonded thereto. The tube has a terminator at the end opposite to the piezoelectric driver to suppress reflection and standing wave formation. The ink streams emitted through the nozzles of the aperture plate are stimulated by the traveling wave causing the streams to break up at predetermined distances from the nozzles.