Patent ID: 6206511
Filing Date: 2001-03-27
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A method of supplying ink to an ink jet printhead having on-board reservoirs therein for holding inks of different colors, said method comprising:providing an off-board ink reservoir for each color ink, each reservoir comprising a plurality of off-board cartridges;for each color ink, supplying ink to the on-board reservoir from a first off-board cartridge until the first off-board cartridge is empty, then supplying ink to the on-board reservoir from a second off-board cartridge until the second off-board cartridge is empty, and so on until all off-board cartridges holding ink of the same color are empty, and,when all off-board cartridges holding ink of one color are empty, replacing all empty off-board cartridges regardless of the color ink they held.