Printers and printhead cleaning primarily in page-wide array printers
First Claim
1. A method of printing on a substrate using a printer comprising a print head and a mask having a hole therethrough, the mask being disposed between the print head and the substrate, the method comprising:
- aligning the hole with the print head;
printing on the substrate through the hole; and
misaligning the hole with the print head so that the print head is covered by the mask,the method performed in a printer comprising an array of print heads, the method further comprising misaligning the hole with at least one print head in the array whilst printing on the substrate with at least one other print head in the array.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of printing on a substrate and a printer are provided. The method uses a printer comprising a print head and a mask having a hole therethrough, the mask being disposed between the print head and the substrate, and comprises aligning the hole with the print head; printing on the substrate through the hole; and misaligning the hole with the print head so that the print head is covered by the mask. The method may allow the servicing of a print head in the array while the printer is printing on the substrate using at least one of the remainder of the print heads in the array.
9 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of printing on a substrate using a printer comprising a print head and a mask having a hole therethrough, the mask being disposed between the print head and the substrate, the method comprising:
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aligning the hole with the print head; printing on the substrate through the hole; and misaligning the hole with the print head so that the print head is covered by the mask, the method performed in a printer comprising an array of print heads, the method further comprising misaligning the hole with at least one print head in the array whilst printing on the substrate with at least one other print head in the array. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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- 5. A method of printing on a substrate using a page-wide-array inkjet printer having an array of print heads, the method comprising servicing a print head in the array while the printer is printing on the substrate using at least one of the remainder of the print heads in the array.
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9. An inkjet printer comprising:
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a print head; a mask comprising a hole therethrough; and a controller operable to align the hole with the print head to allow the print head to print through the hole onto a substrate disposed beyond the mask, wherein the print head is part of an array of print heads, and further comprising a plurality of masks, each mask comprising at least one hole adapted to be aligned with one or more respective print heads in the array, the controller being operable to cause the hole of a selected mask to be aligned with a respective print head whilst the hole of a different selected mask is misaligned with a respective print head. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An inkjet printer comprising:
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a print head; a mask comprising a hole therethrough; and a controller operable to align the hole with the print head to allow the print head to print through the hole onto a substrate disposed beyond the mask, wherein the print head is part of an array of print heads, and the controller is operable to misalign the hole of the mask with one print head of the array to service the one print head of the array while allowing another print head of the array to print onto the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification