Patent ID: 7114801

Claim:
A method of providing ink to a printing system, the printing system including a docking bay having therein a first fluid inlet for receiving pressurized ink, the method comprising: inserting a pump module into the docking bay of the printing system to couple the pump module to the first fluid inlet within the docking bay, the pump module including keying features, a second fluid inlet for receiving ink, an air purge apparatus, and a pressurizing apparatus for increasing the fluid pressure of the ink before providing the ink to the first fluid inlet; coupling an ink container to the second fluid inlet, the ink container including keying features corresponding to the pump module keying features, the coupling including engaging the corresponding keying features of the ink container with the pump module keying features to prevent an incompatible ink container from being coupled to the second fluid inlet; and removing air trapped within the pump module using the air purge apparatus.