Abstract: A pagewide printhead for an inkjet printer employs a stretch-to-fit flex circuit with orifices indexed to reference indentations on the flex circuit. Heater resistors disposed on a block of thermally stable insulating material are indexed to reference features accurately located on the block. The reference indentations are fitted to the reference indentations to provide accurate registration of the orifices to the heater resistors.

Abstract: A new and improved orifice or nozzle plate for an inkjet printhead and method of manufacture wherein the orifice or nozzle plate thickness has been increased significantly to a value on the order of 75 micrometers or greater while simultaneously maintaining the integrity of the convergent contour of the multiple orifice openings formed therein. In a first embodiment of this invention, metal layer stacking through the use of successive electroforming processes is used to achieve a desired orifice plate structure, architecture and convergent orifice geometry. In a second embodiment of this invention, anisotropic electroplating on a metal surface and over the edges of an inorganic dielectric mask is used to produce this orifice plate of increased orifice bore thickness and convergent orifice bore geometry. In yet a third embodiment of the invention, a selected metal is plated upon a permanent insulating mandrel having a metal pattern thereon to form convergent orifice openings in the plated metal.