Patent ID: 8251477

Claim:
A multipass printing method using a printer having a main service station adjacent a first end of a scan axis and capable of bidirectional printing along the scan axis between the first end and an opposite, second end, the printer omitting an auxiliary service station at the second end, the method comprising: performing a printing pass along the scan axis in a first direction from the first end toward the second end via an array of dot depositing elements of at least one printhead and completing the printing pass at an intermediate position between the first end and the second end of the scan axis; determining at the intermediate position, based on at least a time elapsed since the dot depositing elements last ejected ink, if at least some of the respective dot depositing elements require a servicing operation; in case the determination is positive, printing at least one incomplete printing pass along the scan axis that starts from the intermediate position and moves in a second direction opposite the first direction toward the first end of the scan axis, the at least one incomplete printing pass including suspending operation of the respective service-requiring dot depositing elements while printing from the remaining respective dot depositing elements; at the end of the incomplete printing pass, servicing the respective suspended dot depositing elements of the at least one printhead via spitting at the main service station and reactivating the suspended dot depositing elements; and printing at least one compensating printing pass in the first direction via at least the reactivated dot depositing elements of the at least one printhead, the printing including simultaneously: printing, via the reactivated dot depositing elements, information previously omitted in the incomplete printing pass because of the suspended dot depositing elements of the at least one printhead; and printing, via the reactivated dot depositing elements, new information.