Patent ID: 7681970

Claim:
A printhead IC for an inkjet printer, the inkjet printer having a print engine controller (PEC) for sending a data transmission to the printhead IC, the printhead IC comprising: an array of nozzles for ejecting drops of printing fluid onto a media substrate; and, drive circuitry configured for driving the array of nozzles, the drive circuitry being configured for connection to a power source in the printer, the drive circuitry being configured to reset itself to a known initial state in response to receiving power from the power source after a period of not receiving power from the power source, the known initial state being one of a plurality of states, each of the plurality of states corresponding to a respective operating mode which aligns with the data transmission from an associated type of PEC; wherein during use, the drive circuitry resets to one of the states for a period of time sufficient for alignment with the data transmission from the PEC associated with said one of the states, and in the absence of said alignment, the drive circuitry switches to another of the states such that the drive circuitry indexes through the plurality of states until the alignment with the data transmission is achieved.