Patent ID: 8235489
Filing Date: 2012-08-07
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for use in jetting ink droplets on a substrate during a relative motion of the apparatus and the substrate along a process direction, the apparatus comprising: two rows of jetting assemblies, a first row of the two rows of jetting assemblies comprising a first jetting assembly and one or more additional jetting assemblies, and a second row of the two rows of jetting assemblies comprising a second jetting assembly and one or more additional jetting assemblies, each row of the jetting assemblies including an array of jets, the two rows of jetting assemblies at least partially overlapping in a direction perpendicular to the process direction so that, except for one or more jets at one or both ends of at least one row, each of the jets in each row of the jetting assemblies aligns with a corresponding jet in a jetting assembly of the other row of jetting assemblies along the process direction to form a pair of aligned jets, for each of at least some of the pairs of aligned jets, the jet in a first row of the two rows of jetting assemblies and the corresponding jet in a second row of the two rows of jetting assemblies being configured to jet ink drops of more than one size; and a mechanism to enable, in each pair of the aligned jets, one jet to jet a first ink drop that has a size smaller than a size of an ink drop the jet would otherwise be required to jet to form a desired pixel on the substrate, the size of the first ink drop being smaller than a maximum drop size that the one jet is configured to jet, and the other jet to jet a second ink drop that has a size sufficient to form the desired pixel in combination with the first ink drop.