Abstract: A printhead maintenance station for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition. The maintenance station comprises an elastically deformable pad having a contact surface for sealing contact with nozzles in an ink ejection face of the printhead. The contact surface has a sloping profile. The maintenance station has a motor and cam arrangement for moving the pad substantially perpendicularly with respect to the ink ejection face. The pad moves from a first position in which the contact surface is sealingly contacted with the nozzles to a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face. The movement and the sloping profile of the pad causes the contact surface to be peeled away from the face during disengagement.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes an inkjet printhead and an ink pressure regulator in fluid communication with the printhead via an ink line. The regulator includes an ink chamber having an ink outlet connected to the ink line; an air inlet; a regulator channel having a first end communicating with the air inlet and a second end defining a bubble outlet; and a wetting system for maintaining liquid in the regulator channel. The regulator channel is dimensioned to control a Laplace pressure of air bubbles drawn from the bubble outlet as result of supplying ink to the printhead, thereby regulating a hydrostatic pressure of the ink.

Abstract: A method of cleaning an inkjet printhead, by generating a liquid foam on the ink ejection face such that particulate contaminants on the ejection surface disperse into the foam, then transferring the foam, together with the particulate contaminants dispersed within, onto a rotatable transfer surface moving relative said ejection face and, rotating the rotatable transfer surface into contact with a removal surface to remove the foam and the particulate contaminants dispersed within. Ink consumption is minimized by use of a foam and damage to the face is avoided since the rotatable transfer surface does not contact the face.

Abstract: An ink supply arrangement for an inkjet printhead is provided having at least one collapsible ink bag containing ink for distribution to nozzles of the printhead via a fluid path between the ink bag and nozzles, a body for housing the ink bag and the printhead, and a biasing member in the ink bag. The ink is primed in the fluid path and nozzles so as to be ejected by the nozzles, in use, thereby depleting the ink contained in the ink bag. The ink bag is attached to the body at a wall opposite a wall of the ink bag facing the printhead. The biasing member applies outwardly directed force on the wall of the ink bag facing the printhead thereby maintaining substantially constant negative pressure at the nozzles as the ink is depleted. The fluid path connects the ink bag to at least 6400 nozzles of the printhead.

Abstract: An inkjet printer that has a printhead for printing onto a media substrate, a reservoir for supplying ink to the printhead, a pump for drawing ink from the reservoir and pumping ink into the printhead and, a valve arrangement for selectively opening fluid communication between the pump and the printhead, and closing fluid communication between the pump and the printhead while opening fluid communication between the reservoir and the printhead.

Abstract: An ink priming arrangement for an inkjet printhead is provided which has an ink bag containing ink for distribution to nozzles of the printhead via a fluid path between the ink bag and nozzles, a force applicator arranged to apply inwardly directed force on at least one exterior wall of the ink bag to reduce an available fluid volume of the ink bag, thereby causing ink to flow from the ink bag to the nozzles along the fluid path, and a biasing member arranged in the ink bag to apply outwardly directed force on at least one interior wall of the ink bag so as to restrain the reduction of available fluid volume of the ink bag. The biasing member applies the outward force only once the available fluid volume has been reduced to a predetermined volume. Each nozzle ejects an ink drop having a volume of about 1.2 picoliters.

Abstract: An ink pressure regulator for regulating a hydrostatic pressure of ink supplied to an inkjet printhead. The regulator includes an ink chamber having an ink outlet for fluid communication with the printhead via an ink line. A roof of the ink chamber includes: an air inlet; a regulator channel having a first end communicating with the air inlet and a second end communicating with a headspace of the chamber, the second end defining a bubble outlet; and a wetting system for maintaining liquid in the regulator channel, thereby ensuring that air entering the headspace first passes through the liquid. The regulator channel is dimensioned to control a Laplace pressure of air bubbles drawn from the bubble outlet as result of supplying ink to the printhead.

Abstract: A printhead for an inkjet printer is disclosed. The printhead has one or more a printhead integrated circuits (ICs) with an array of nozzles for ejecting ink. A support structure of the printhead supports the printhead ICs. The support structure has ink conduits for supplying the array of nozzles with ink. Each ink conduit includes cavities distributed along a roof of the ink conduit. An opening to each respective cavity has an upstream edge and a downstream edge. The upstream edge contacts the ink before the downstream edge during initial priming of the ink conduits from an ink supply. The upstream edge has a transition face between the ink conduit and the cavity interior. The transition face is configured to inhibit ink from filling the cavity by capillary action during initial priming of the ink conduit. This causes gas to be trapped within the cavity. The gas acts to compress pressure pulses in the ink.

Abstract: A printhead assembly for an inkjet printer is disclosed. The printhead assembly has an elongate printhead chip with a nozzle face defining an array of nozzles. A support structure supports the elongate printhead chip on an external surface thereof. An epoxy resin is also provided adjacent a long side edge of the elongate printhead chip. The epoxy resin is profiled such that the epoxy resin is flush with the nozzle face of the elongate printhead chip. The epoxy resin is thixotropic prior to setting.

Abstract: Provided is a printhead assembly that includes a printhead mounted on a support structure, said printhead having an ink ejection face, and a print media guide mounted on the support structure for guiding print media past the printhead for printing. The assembly also includes a wicking element mounted on the support structure between the support structure and the print media guide, as well as a pad with an angled contact surface to operatively facilitate the transferal of ink from the printhead to the wicking element. The wicking element is formed from an absorbent material and is positioned in a cavity defined between the print media guide and the support structure.

Abstract: A method of priming an inkjet printhead having ink ejection nozzles. The method includes: providing an ink bag containing ink for distribution to the nozzles via a fluid path between the ink bag and the nozzles; applying inwardly directed force on at least one exterior wall of the ink bag so as to reduce an available fluid volume of the ink bag, thereby causing ink to flow from the ink bag to the nozzles along the fluid path; and arranging a biasing member in the ink bag so that the biasing member applies outwardly directed force on at least one interior wall of the ink bag to restrain the reduction of available fluid volume of the ink bag only once the available fluid volume has been reduced to a predetermined volume. Each nozzle is configured to eject an ink drop having a volume of about 1.2 picolitres.

Abstract: Provided is a printhead assembly having a support structure with a printhead mounted on the support structure, said printhead having an ink ejection face, and a print media guide proximate the support structure for guiding print media past the printhead for printing. The assembly also includes a wicking element mounted on the support structure between the support structure and the print media guide. An ink collector is arranged on the wicking element for receiving ink that has wicked through the wicking element to ensure that wicked ink is removed away from the printhead.

Abstract: There is provided an ink pressure regulator for regulating a hydrostatic pressure of ink supplied to an inkjet printhead. The regulator comprises: an ink chamber having an ink outlet for fluid communication with the printhead via an ink line; an air inlet open to atmosphere; a bubble outlet for bubbling air bubbles into the chamber, each air bubble comprising an air cavity trapped inside a film or a body of ink; and an air channel connecting the air inlet and the bubble outlet. The bubble outlet is dimensioned to control a Laplace pressure of air bubbles drawn into the chamber as result of supplying ink to the printhead, thereby regulating a hydrostatic pressure of the ink.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes an inkjet printhead and an ink pressure regulator in fluid communication with the printhead via an ink line. The regulator includes an ink chamber having an ink outlet connected to the ink line; an air inlet; a regulator channel having a first end communicating with the air inlet and a second end defining a bubble outlet; and a wetting system for maintaining liquid in the regulator channel. The regulator channel is dimensioned to control a Laplace pressure of air bubbles drawn from the bubble outlet as result of supplying ink to the printhead, thereby regulating a hydrostatic pressure of the ink.

Abstract: There is provided an ink pressure regulator for regulating a hydrostatic pressure of ink supplied to an inkjet printhead. The regulator comprises: an ink chamber having an ink outlet for fluid communication with the printhead via an ink line; an air inlet; a regulator channel having a first end communicating with the air inlet and a second end communicating with a headspace of the chamber, the second end defining a bubble outlet; and a wetting system for maintaining at least some liquid in the regulator channel, thereby ensuring that air entering the headspace first passes through the liquid. The wetting system comprises a first wetting chamber connected to the first end, a second wetting chamber connected to the second end, and a liquid-retaining structure positioned in the second wetting chamber. The regulator channel, the first wetting chamber, the second wetting chamber and the liquid-retaining structure are all in fluid communication with each other.

Abstract: An inkjet printer that has a printhead IC with and array of ink ejection nozzles, an ink manifold for distributing ink to the printhead IC, the ink manifold having an ink inlet and an ink outlet, an accumulator, and a downstream pump in fluid communication with the ink outlet. The downstream pump is independently operable. This allows the printhead to be primed or deprimed for storage and transport and it allows the printhead IC to be cleaned by a foam formed by air forced through the ink election nozzles.

Abstract: A printhead for an inkjet printer that has a printhead integrated circuit (68) with nozzles for ejecting ink and a support structure (64, 174, 176) for supporting the printhead IC. The support structure having ink conduits (182) for supplying the array of nozzles. A plurality of cavities (200), each cavity having an opening that establishes fluid communication with the ink conduits, the openings being configured such that the cavities do not prime with ink when the ink conduits are primed from the ink supply. By leaving unprimed cavities throughout the support structure, any pressure pulses in the ink are damped by compression of the trapped gas pockets. Distributing the cavities rather than using one relatively large cavity, means that the pressure pulse is being damped along the length of the printhead IC, instead of allowing the pulse to travel the length of the ink conduit until it reaches the single damper and compresses the gas.

Abstract: A printhead assembly with an elongate printhead IC having a nozzle face defining an array of nozzles, and a support structure for supporting the elongate printhead IC on an external surface such that its length is transverse to a media feed direction through the printer. The external surface has a section that is flush with a long side edge of the elongate printhead IC.

Abstract: An inkjet printer that has a filter with a chamber divided into an upstream section and a downstream section by a filter membrane. An inlet conduit establishes fluid communication between an ink supply and the upstream section. An outlet conduit establishes fluid communication between the downstream section and a printhead. During use at least part of the inlet conduit is elevated relative to the filter membrane. By elevating the inlet conduit relative to the filter membrane, it acts as a bubble trap to retain bubbles that would otherwise obstruct the filter. This allows the filter size to be reduced for a more compact overall design.

Abstract: A printhead maintenance station for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition. The maintenance station has an elastically deformable pad coextensive with the printhead. The pad is a one-piece elastomer pad having a uniform contact surface configured for sealing contact with all nozzles in an ink ejection face of the printhead. A mechanism is configured for reciprocally moving the pad between a first position in which the contact surface is sealingly contacted with all nozzles in the ink ejection face, and a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face. The pad and the mechanism cooperate such that the contact surface is progressively contacted with the face during sealing engagement and peeled away from the face during peeling disengagement.