A method is provided which is intended to reduce a visibility of ink dots ejected onto a print medium during a preliminary ejection operation to produce a satisfactory printed image. Preliminary ejection data is compared with image data. When the preliminary ejection is necessarily performed on a pixel that has no image data, image data of a pixel close to the pixel being processed is searched. When image data exists, the image data is moved to a pixel that has preliminary ejection data. The pre...

A printer comprises: an inkjet head including nozzles for discharging ink; a holding member which holds a print medium; a moving mechanism which moves the holding member and/or the inkjet head so as to move the inkjet head relative to the holding member in a main scanning direction and a sub scanning direction for printing by the inkjet head on the print medium; and a print control unit which controls the inkjet head and the moving mechanism so as to execute flushing printing on the print medium...

A service station for use in servicing one or more inkjet print cartridges includes a service station sled assembly detachably attached to a service station chassis. The service station according to the invention can be used with either a facsimile machine that uses thermal inkjet printing, or with a thermal inkjet printer. In one embodiment, a mechanism for detaching the sled assembly is easily activated by a lever extending from the service station chassis. The invention enables a user to easi...

A recording apparatus has a recording head, a platen, and a first hole. The recording head includes a dot formation element array, and the platen holds a recording medium opposite the recording head. The first hole is disposed in an area of the platen opposite a downstream portion of the dot formation element array and guides ink discarded outside an end of the recording medium when the end is printed without a margin. Alternatively or additionally, a second hole is formed in an area of the plat...

An ink jet printing apparatus including an ink jet head including an ink ejecting portion and an ejection-energy generating portion operable to eject ink droplets from the ink ejecting portion, a purging device operable to discharge the ink from the ink ejecting portion, without an operation of the ejection-energy generating portion, for thereby performing a purging operation to improve an ink ejecting state of the ink jet head, and a controller operable to control the purging device for perform...

A liquid ejecting head is operable to eject liquid toward a target medium. A medium supporting member is opposing to the liquid ejecting head and supporting the target medium from below. A liquid absorber is adapted to receive and absorb liquid ejected to the outside of the target medium. A holder is holding the liquid absorber and being detachably provided with the medium supporting member.

A method of performing printhead maintenance firing in an ink jet printer that has a printhead carrier that carries an ink jet printhead, the ink jet printer having a waste ink receptacle, includes the steps of decelerating the printhead carrier from a first velocity after printing print data; and controlling a firing of the printhead during the decelerating in accordance with maintenance data so that ink droplets ejected from the printhead during the decelerating are received by the waste ink r...

A printing apparatus which includes a printer body having a setting surface on which a printing surface of a printing medium is set horizontally, a carriage beam 23 which is attached to the printer body and extends in the direction along the setting surface, and a carriage 5 provided so as to be movable in the beam lengthwise direction with respect to the carriage beam 23, and further includes an ink head 6 equipped with a nozzle for discharging ink provided in the carriage, comprises: a carriag...

An ink-jet recording device which carries out flushing of the nozzle holes of color-ink recording heads without suspending the printing operation. When flushing of the color-ink nozzle holes is required, the device determines, using bit-map data, whether or not black ink dots are to be printed in nearby locations that correspond to the nozzle holes requiring flushing. If so, flushing is effected by discharging color-ink drops in the locations where black-ink dots are to be formed. Subsequently, ...

An ink priming system for a cartridge unit of the type having a pagewidth printhead assembly in fluid communication with one or more ink storage compartments, the system having a priming inlet provided on said pagewidth printhead assembly for receiving a supply of ink for priming the cartridge unit, and an ink flow passage providing fluid connection between said pagewidth printhead assembly and one of the ink storage compartments. During use, the priming system allows the the ink supplied to the...