Patent ID: 8348405

Claim:
A printing machine comprising: a substrate supply station; a molten ink supply including; a container for storing solid ink pellets; a withdrawal tube having an outlet end and an inlet end disposed within said container, said inlet end configured to receive pellets from said container; a vacuum generator at said outlet end of said withdrawal tube operable to draw a vacuum within said withdrawal tube; a feed conduit connected to said outlet end of said withdrawal tube for receiving solid ink pellets drawn therein by said vacuum generator; an assist tube connectable at one end to a source of pressurized gas and having a discharge nozzle at an opposite end positioned relative to said withdrawal tube at said inlet end, said discharge end configured to direct a flow of gas effective to agitate solid ink pellets within said withdrawal tube; and a melter station receiving solid ink pellets from said feed conduit and operable to melt the solid ink pellets; a printing station operable to receive a substrate from the substrate supply station and molten ink from said molten ink supply and apply the molten ink onto the substrate; and a fixing assembly for fixing the molten ink onto the substrate.