Patent ID: 7240985

Claim:
An ink jet printer having a two dimensional shuttle architecture for printing swaths of information, comprising: a movable receiving member having opposing edges and being moved in a first direction at a constant velocity; a movable printhead having at least one array of ink droplet ejecting nozzles, said array of nozzles being spaced from and substantially parallel to said receiving member, said printhead ejecting ink droplets from said array of nozzles onto said receiving member while said receiving member is being moved in said first direction; and means for shuttling said printhead back and forth across said receiving member between said opposing edges thereof concurrently in both said first direction and a second direction, said second direction being substantially perpendicular to said first direction, movement of said printhead in said first direction being at a velocity equal to said constant velocity of said receiving member, so that said ink droplets ejected from said array of nozzles in said printhead print parallel swaths of information across said receiving member that is substantially perpendicular to said first direction each time said printhead traverses across said receiving member.