A printhead assembly (1) for an inkjet printer, the printhead assembly (1) including: a composite support member (3) for attachment to the printer, the composite support member (3) being formed of at least two materials (5, 6, 7) and having a unitary mounting element (5); a printhead (2) adapted for mounting to the mounting element (5); wherein, the materials (5, 6, 7) of the support member (3) are selected and structurally combined such that the coefficient of thermal expansion of the support m…

A printhead assembly for an ink jet printer that has an elongate support member (1) that attaches to the printer and a printhead (2) that mounts to the support member (1). The printhead has an array of ink ejection nozzles formed in a substrate material. The support member (1) is formed from a number of materials (3, 4) having different coefficients of thermal expansion. The support member materials (3, 4) are selected and structurally configured so that the effective coefficient of thermal expa…

Optically aligning a silicon chip (1, 2) with respect to a frame of reference, the chip (1, 2) having a protective guard (3, 4) covering delicate microscopic structures on its surface, by using fiducials (5, 6) on the surface to optically align the chip (1, 2) with a microscope and forming the guard (3, 4) without compromising the protection it provides.

An actuating mechanism includes a thermal bend actuator having a laminated structure of at least three layers in the form of a pair of opposed, outer layers and at least one inner layer. The outer layers are of substantially the same material and of substantially the same dimensions as each other.

A micro-mechanical device having a liquid-containing chamber and a movable component extending into the chamber. Difficulties exist in sealing such a device against movement of liquid through an opening through which the movable component extends. This difficulty is resolved by shaping the movable member in such a way as to induce the formation and maintenance of the meniscus between a wall of the chamber and the movable component.

A printhead assembly (1) for a digital inkjet printer, which has a support member (3) that can be secured in the printer, and a printhead (2) that can be mounted to the support member (3). The support member (3) defines at least one ink reservoir (6, 7, 8 and 9) in a core element (5) enclosed within a shell (4). The materials and structure of the shell (4) and the core (5) are selected and configured so that the co-efficient of thermal expansion of the support member (3) as a whole is substantia…

A modular printhead for a digital printer wherein the modules (2) may be mechanically aligned using specifically designed frame (3) supporting the modules (2). The frame (3) having a plurality of mounting sites (19) for mounting respective printhead modules (2) to the frame (3); wherein, at least one of the mounting sites (19) having mechanical adjustment mechanism (15, 16, 17 and 18) for reducing input movements to effect minute adjustments of the position of the printhead module (2) with respe…

A fluid ejecting device includes a substrate containing drive circuitry. Nozzle chamber walls and a roof wall are positioned on the substrate to define a nozzle chamber in which fluid is received and a fluid ejection port from which the fluid is ejected, in use. A fluid ejecting mechanism is operatively arranged with respect to the nozzle chamber to act on the fluid in the nozzle chamber to eject fluid from the fluid ejection port. A thermal bend actuator is connected to the drive circuitry to r…

A printing method identifies where parts of an image will not be printed due to device failure and if possible shifts ink dots sideways or lengthways to adjacent rows or columns so as to lessen the visual effect of failure to print at the original location.

A nozzle arrangement for an ink jet printhead includes a substrate. Nozzle chamber walls are arranged on the substrate to define a nozzle chamber of the nozzle arrangement. An actuator is provided for ejecting ink from the nozzle chamber. The actuator includes an actuating member, a portion of the actuating member being in the form of a shape memory material which is capable of generating movement of the actuating member between pre-operative and post-operative positions when the shape memory ma…