Abstract: A liquid jet apparatus includes a plurality of nozzles, an actuator provided for each nozzle and connected to the respective nozzle, and a drive unit that applies a drive signal to the actuator, wherein the drive unit includes: a drive waveform signal generation unit that generates a drive waveform signal for controlling the operation of the actuator, a modulator unit that pulse-modulates the drive waveform signal to produce a modulated signal, a digital power amplifier for power-amplifying the modulated signal to produce an amplified signal, a low-pass filter for smoothing the amplified signal and supplying the actuator with the drive signal, and a carrier frequency adjusting unit that adjusts a carrier frequency of the pulse modulation by the modulator unit in accordance with the number of actuators to be driven.

Abstract: A printing cartridge that has a roll of print media, a tubular former on which the roll of print media is wound, the former having a plurality of ink supply containers for different types of ink, a casing with a pair of molded covers which releasably fasten together to encase the roll of print media. The casing bears one or more optically readable indicia relating to the length of print media and the types of ink.

Abstract: The invention concerns a liquid droplet spray device for atomising a liquid substance, Its housing consists of a at least a first substrate (15), a space (12) within the housing for containing the supplied liquid substance, an outlet means arranged in the first substrate (15) and comprising at least one outlet nozzle (19) and at least one output channel (20), said output channel (20) having straight side-walls, and a vibrating element (18) for vibrating the liquid so as to eject it. According to the present invention, each output channel (20) has a stepped shape having a lower portion (20a) and an upper portion (20b), the lower portion being arranged adjacent the space (12) and being of larger diameter than the upper portion (20b). The outlet nozzle (19) of each output channel is straight and does not show notching effects.

Abstract: A printer cartridge includes body configured to facilitate insertion and removal of the printer cartridge, by an end user of the printer cartridge, to and from a complementary cradle in an inkjet printer; one or more printing fluid storages mounted to the body, each printing fluid storage including a polyethylene membrane shaped as a pocket, the polyethylene membrane adapted to expand and collapse; a pagewidth printhead mounted to the body, the pagewidth printhead having a first print chip and a second print chip, the first print chip having an array of nozzles fabricated on a first monolithic substrate and the second print chip having an array of nozzles fabricated on a second monolithic substrate separate from the first monolithic substrate; and, a fluid connection between the printing fluid storage and the first and second print chips. The length of the first print chip added to the length of the second print chip is at least equal to the length of the pagewidth printhead.

Abstract: An ink set includes a red ink and a magenta ink. The red ink includes an effective amount of a red pigment having a predetermined red/green lambda cutoff, and the magenta ink includes an effective amount of a magenta pigment having a predetermined red/green lambda cutoff that is substantially similar to the predetermined lambda cutoff of the red pigment.

Abstract: Ink maintained at a negative pressure state is supplied to an ink-jet recording head via an ink supply mechanism constructed as a differential pressure valve having a coil spring and a movable membrane normally contacted elastically with a valve seat by the coil spring.

Abstract: Provided is an inkjet printer having an ink cartridge unit. The cartridge unit includes a main body defining a number of ink reservoirs. Each reservoir has a layered stack of absorbent material arranged to form a micro-capillary array for suspending ink inside said reservoir. A base of each ink storage reservoir is provided with a raised portion which surrounds an ink outlet. The raised portions are molded into the main body to separate each outlet from the base of the ink storage reservoir to facilitate a sufficient flow rate of ink from the reservoir. The cartridge unit also includes a lid assembly covering the main body to seal ink inside the ink reservoirs, as well as a printhead assembly operatively fed with ink via the ink outlets from the ink reservoirs in the main body for printing onto a printing medium.

Abstract: A print engine for an inkjet printer includes an inkjet cartridge having a cartridge body, a pagewidth printhead, a capper unit extending a length of the pagewidth printhead and housing a capping element which is movable between a capped position in engagement with the pagewidth printhead and a retracted position spaced from the pagewidth printhead, and an ink supply. The cartridge body supports the pagewidth printhead, the capper unit and the ink supply for simultaneous removal and replacement as a unitary component. The print engine further includes a cradle having a body for receiving the removable inkjet cartridge and to control the operation of the printhead for printing, the cradle having a capper drive for engaging the capper unit and drawing the capping element to the uncapped position; and a print controller board received in the cradle, the print controller board including one or more electrical terminals for engaging with corresponding electrical terminals on the inkjet cartridge.

Abstract: The present invention is drawn to thermal ink-jet inks including a polymer encapsulated pigment, and systems and methods that use the same. Such polymer encapsulated pigments are the result of polymerization at the surface of the pigment using a plurality of monomers, where about 6 wt % to about 15 wt % of the monomers are acidic.

Abstract: A convertible printer usable with either a flexible media or rigid media is disclosed.

Abstract: An inkjet ink and a method for printing on hydrophobic media such as offset coated media, using the inkjet ink, including an inkjet containing a pigment, water, a surfactant and 40 to 75 weight % of a polar non-protic solvent with a molecular weight of 40 to 130 which has permeability to a hydrophobic surface such as the coating of an offset coated medium.

Abstract: A recording apparatus that performs a recording on a recording medium comprising: the recording operation a transport unit, a recording unit, a feed starting unit that starts feeding of the recording medium by the recording unit that has moved to a position on a moving path of the recording unit outside a recordable area, a determination unit that determines whether the moving direction of the recording unit for the last line of the first copy is toward the position where a recording operation for a plurality of copies of the same data is performed, the moving unit is controlled such that the moving direction of the recording unit for a first line of the second copy is opposite to the moving direction for a first line of the first copy when the moving direction for the last line of the first copy is determined not to be toward the predetermined position.

Abstract: To provide an active energy ray curable aqueous ink composition exhibiting excellent curing performance by including a water-soluble polymerizable substance with high reactivity and a water-soluble polymerization initiator having high initiation efficiency; and an inkjet recording method, ink cartridge, recording unit, and inkjet recording apparatus all using the active energy ray curable aqueous ink composition. The active energy ray curable aqueous ink composition includes at least water; a polymerizable substance which undergoes radical polymerization by active energy rays; and a polymerization initiator which generates radicals by active energy rays, in which the polymerizable substance is a water-soluble compound having 2 to 6 (meth)acrylic groups; and the polymerization initiator is a water-soluble acylphosphine oxide compound.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink set that has a wide color reproduction range, has high saturation, produces a glossy recorded image with no pronounced granularity caused by dot expression, greatly suppresses granularity caused by dot expression particularly when applied to a medium having a coating layer, and allows a recorded image with outstanding coloration to be obtained when applied to plain paper. The present invention provides an ink set comprising at least yellow ink (Y), magenta ink (M), cyan ink (C), and red ink (R), wherein the L* values in the Lab colorimetric system specified by CIE for aqueous solutions of each ink diluted 1000 times are within the following ranges. (Y): at least 89 and no more than 94, (M): at least 76 and no more than 93, (C): at least 74 and no more than 87, (R): at least 55 and no more than 74.

Abstract: An image producing machine including (a) an imaging member having a surface; (b) a printhead for forming an image onto the imaging surface; (c) a substrate supply system for feeding substrates to receive the formed image; and (d) a static eliminating container that includes a closed end; an open end; at least one cylindrical member having an interior surface defining a chamber for containing a quantity of solid phase-change ink pastilles. The static eliminating apparatus includes (i) a conductive interior portion for contacting the quantity of solid phase change ink pastilles being contained and moved therein; (ii) a groundable conductive exterior portion; and (iii) a conductive connector for connecting the conductive interior portion to the groundable conductive exterior portion, thereby enabling dissipation of static build up from frictionally moving the quantity of solid phase-change ink pastilles within the interior chamber.

Abstract: Systems and methods for varying dye loads. A fluid ejection apparatus includes a reservoir and an assembly. The reservoir stores ink with a first dye load and the assembly receives the ink with the first dye load from the reservoir. To obtain ink with higher dye load, the assembly evaporates a portion of the liquid solvent in the ink to obtain ink with a higher dye load.

Abstract: In a state that a termination edge of a recording medium aligns with a termination edge of a region opposing a recording head (nozzle surface), a sticking force acting on the recording medium is set to be at least equal to or greater than the weight of a part (a portion having a length) of the recording medium protruding from a separation start position toward the downstream side in a conveying direction.

Abstract: A refillable ink cartridge has an ink port for both supplying ink to a printhead and refilling the cartridge. An ink reservoir has ink absorbent material disposed therein with a main fluid channel extending between the ink port and the ink absorbent material. A bypass fluid channel with a control valve extends between the main fluid channel the said absorbent material. The bypass control valve is configured to allow ink to flow through the bypass fluid channel only when refilling the ink reservoir via the ink port.

Abstract: An ink set for ink-jet recording, which provides a vivid and sharp ink-jet recorded material with no bleeding, is composed of a plurality of pigment inks and configured such that the average particle diameter of a pigment contained in any ink precedently landing on a recording medium is less than that of a pigment contained in another ink subsequently landing on the recording medium, and such that at least two pigment inks are different in average particle diameter of the pigment contained therein to each other.

Abstract: An ink umbilical provides different colors of heated ink to multiple print heads in an integrated structure. The ink umbilical includes a first and a second plurality of conduits, each conduit in the first and the second plurality of conduits having a flat surface between a first end and a second end of the conduit, and a heater having a first side and a second side, the flat surfaces of the conduits in the first plurality of conduits being coupled to the first side of the heater and the flat surfaces of the conduits in the second plurality of conduits being coupled to the second side of the heater to enable the heater to heat ink being carried between the first and the second ends of the conduits in the first and in the second plurality of conduits.