Patent ID: 6328413
Filing Date: 2001-12-11
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A method of operating an inkjet printing system having a carriage for traversing across a print medium and a spittoon, the carriage having a plurality of N receptacles, the receptacles identified from left to right as positions 1 through N, comprising:mounting a reactive print cartridge in positions 1 and N on the carriage, where N is an even number, the reactive print cartridges having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting reactive droplets;mounting a plurality of N-2 print cartridges in positions 2 through N-1 on the carriage, the print cartridges having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets; andduring operation of the printing system, intermittently ejecting non-printing ink and reactive droplets from the print cartridges in the following order Cartridge(N-1), Cartridge(N-2), continuing through Cartridge[(N/2)+1] and Cartridge 1 while the carriage is moving in a transverse left to right direction and ejecting ink and reactive droplets from the print cartridges in the following order Cartridge 2, Cartridge 3, continuing through Cartridge (N/2) and Cartridge N while the carriage is moving in a transverse right to left direction.