Abstract: A system and method for determining the operational status of a nozzle in an inkjet printhead having a piezoelectric actuator configured to cause the ejection of ink through the nozzle, the system comprising: a driving circuit configured to apply a driving signal to the piezoelectric actuator during a first time period; and a sensing circuit configured to measure the current within the piezoelectric actuator as a function of time during a second time period after the first time period; wherein the system is configured to determine the operational status of the nozzle in dependence on the time taken for the measured current to reach a predetermined condition during the second time period, or on the slope of the measured current as a function of time during the second time period.

Abstract: A method of generating printhead actuation data for printing a 3-D object, the method comprising the steps of: slicing, for a given 3-D object having 3-D object data corresponding thereto, the 3-D object data into a series of layers; and generating a 2-D vector graphics image associated with each layer, wherein the colour and/or the density of colour within the 2-D vector graphics image at a given point is used to determine at least one property of the material to be ejected, during printing, at that given point in the image.

Abstract: A system and method for determining the operational status of a nozzle in an inkjet printhead having a piezoelectric actuator configured to cause the ejection of ink through the nozzle, the system comprising: a driving circuit configured to apply a driving signal to the piezoelectric actuator during a first time period; and a sensing circuit configured to measure the current within the piezoelectric actuator as a function of time during a second time period after the first time period; wherein the system is configured to determine the operational status of the nozzle in dependence on the time taken for the measured current to reach a predetermined condition during the second time period, or on the slope of the measured current as a function of time during the second time period.