Patent ID: 8376497

Claim:
A printer comprising: a web transport that is configured to transport a web of media along a transport path through the printer in a process direction; a plurality of bars, each bar extends across a width of the transport path in a cross-process direction that is orthogonal to the process direction; a plurality of web detectors, each web detector being mounted proximate to one of the bars in the plurality of bars, each web detector being configured to detect the web of media being transported past the bar to which the web detector is mounted and to generate a signal indicative of the web of media being absent in response to the web detector failing to detect the web of media; a plurality of printheads mounted to each bar and the printheads on each bar being spaced from one another in the cross-process direction, the printheads on adjacent bars in the process direction are configured to print a contiguous line across the web of media being transported through the printer in the process direction, each printhead having at least one web detector in the plurality of web detectors, which is mounted to the bar to which the printhead is mounted at a position proximate the printhead; and a controller operatively connected to the plurality of web detectors and to the printheads mounted to the plurality of bars, the controller being configured to cease operation of only each printhead that is proximate each web detector in the plurality of web detectors that is generating the signal indicative of the web of media being absent.