Patent ID: 7128388

Claim:
An apertured nozzle guard for an ink jet printer printhead having an array of nozzles for ejecting colorant onto a substrate to be printed; wherein, the nozzle guard is adapted to be positioned on the printhead such that it extends over the exterior of the nozzles to inhibit damaging contact with the nozzles while permitting colorant ejected from the nozzles to pass through the apertures and onto the substrate to be printed; the nozzle guard including: an exterior surface that, when in use, faces the media; the exterior surface being configured for engagement with a wiper blade that periodically sweeps the surface to remove residual matter; wherein, the exterior surface has one or more recesses, each of the recesses encompassing a group of the apertures such that wiper blade is prevented engaging the exterior surface immediately adjacent any of the apertures in the group.