Patent ID: 7425061

Claim:
A method of loading an ink stick into a solid ink feed system of a phase change ink jet printer, the method comprising: providing an ink stick having on an external surface thereof an elongate guide element; inserting an ink stick in an insertion direction into an ink stick feed channel of the solid ink feed system; wherein inserting the ink stick comprises inserting the ink stick with guide element entering the ink stick feed channel before other portions of the ink stick; positioning the ink stick in the ink stick feed channel so that the elongate guide element forms a load bearing contact with an ink channel guide rail in the ink stick feed channel; urging the ink stick to travel in a feed direction along the ink stick feed channel; wherein urging the ink stick to travel along the ink stick feed channel comprises allowing the ink channel guide rail to guide the ink stick as the ink stick travels in the feed direction causing the guide element to urge a counting clement into a first position; causing an ink stick sensing element portion of the guide element to urge the counting element into a second position; and detecting when the counting element changes between its first position and its second position.