A phase change ink printer comprising: a melt plate being operable to change a phase of a solid ink stick coming into contact with the melt plate; a feed channel through which a solid ink stick is delivered to the melt plate, the feed channel including a pair of longitudinal side guide rails (143, 147) extending inwardly or outwardly from lateral side walls of the feed channel, the longitudinal side guide rails being received in female or male skew limiters respectively of a solid ink stick urged through the feed channel, the female or male skew limiters being formed in lateral side surfaces of the ink stick and extending from the respective back surfaces to the respective front surfaces of the ink stick; and a solid ink receiver configured to receive solid ink sticks and to orient the solid ink sticks such that the female or male skew limiters in a solid ink stick are generally aligned to receive the longitudinal side guide rails (143,147) in the feed channel, the solid ink receiver configuration comprising: a pair of generally upright sidewalls (504, 508) separated by a distance that corresponds to an ink stick body width; and a set down area (510, 514) having at least one bottom support with a top surface that is located at a position that enables at least one female or male skew limiter in a side of the ink stick to be generally aligned with the longitudinal side guide rail (143, 147) in the feed channel. a melt plate being operable to change a phase of a solid ink stick coming into contact with the melt plate; a feed channel through which a solid ink stick is delivered to the melt plate, the feed channel including a pair of longitudinal side guide rails (143, 147) extending inwardly or outwardly from lateral side walls of the feed channel, the longitudinal side guide rails being received in female or male skew limiters respectively of a solid ink stick urged through the feed channel, the female or male skew limiters being formed in lateral side surfaces of the ink stick and extending from the respective back surfaces to the respective front surfaces of the ink stick; and a solid ink receiver configured to receive solid ink sticks and to orient the solid ink sticks such that the female or male skew limiters in a solid ink stick are generally aligned to receive the longitudinal side guide rails (143,147) in the feed channel, the solid ink receiver configuration comprising: a pair of generally upright sidewalls (504, 508) separated by a distance that corresponds to an ink stick body width; and a set down area (510, 514) having at least one bottom support with a top surface that is located at a position that enables at least one female or male skew limiter in a side of the ink stick to be generally aligned with the longitudinal side guide rail (143, 147) in the feed channel. a pair of generally upright sidewalls (504, 508) separated by a distance that corresponds to an ink stick body width; and a set down area (510, 514) having at least one bottom support with a top surface that is located at a position that enables at least one female or male skew limiter in a side of the ink stick to be generally aligned with the longitudinal side guide rail (143, 147) in the feed channel.