Abstract: An ink jet printer for printing in a wide format includes a plurality of ink jet print heads for producing rows of regularly spaced apart ink jets. The print heads are supported and located by first and second print head carriages that are controllably moveable to locate the print heads to within a fraction of an ink jet spacing in directions both parallel with and perpendicular to the direction of movement of the print medium. The first and second carriages are spaced apart along the direction of relative movement of the print medium by a distance sufficient to permit the first and second print heads to be arranged in an interleaved relation, or an end to end relation.

Abstract: A sheet or tractor media handling system for a compact printer having a housing, a cut-sheet supply station and a rotatable print platen constructed and located to feed top sheets from said supply station through a print path ingress past a print zone and out a print path egress. The system includes a mode control assembly for selectively controlling the movement of said supply station for sheet or tractor media; a pair of guide wheels constructed and mounted for engagement with tractor media along a tractor media inlet passage; bail rollers engaging the platen between the print path ingress and egress; and a variable spring system for urging the bail rollers against the print platen with higher or lower nip pressures for sheet or tractor media conditions.

Abstract: An improved sheet separator and guide construction for a printer having a supply station and a feeder/platen for feeding a top sheet from a supported sheet stack and transporting it through the printing region. The construction includes a force plate for urging a supported sheet stack so that its top sheet contacts the feeder-platen and is moved toward a supply station egress region. A pair of sheet corner deflectors located respectively at opposite edges of the supply station egress region are constructed to direct sheet corners fed there-against inwardly toward the sheet center, and a central deflector located along a central portion of the egress region in spaced relation between the corner deflectors is constructed to direct the center lead-edge of a sheet fed there-against upwardly toward the printer top.

Abstract: An improved nest device construction for use with insertable ink jet print/cartridges having detent portions accurately located vis a vis their orifice array. The construction includes a U-shaped member, having a handle and arms spaced to receive a print/cartridge, which is mounted on a printer carriage for rotation between insert and retain positions. The arms have interior pinch surfaces for slidably engaging an inserted print/cartridge during rotation of said member and a bottom lip edge that extends inwardly to initially support a print/cartridge in an insert position. A spring is located between the arms of the member to contact the bottom rear surface of an inserted print/cartridge and tilt its front face into engagement with a positioning knife edge.