Patent ID: 6874880

Claim:
A set of ink sticks for use in a solid ink feed system of a phase change ink jet printer, wherein the phase change ink jet printer has a plurality of ink stick openings, the set of ink sticks comprising: a first ink stick comprising a first three dimensional ink stick body; wherein the first ink stick body has a first horizontal perimeter forming the shape of a first visually identifiable symbol; and a second ink stick comprising a second three dimensional ink stick body; wherein the second ink stick body has a second horizontal perimeter forming the shape of a second visually identifiable symbol; wherein the second visually identifiable symbol is different from the first visually identifiable symbol; wherein the first visually identifiable symbol is a first alphanumeric character; and wherein the second visually identifiable symbol is a second alphanumeric character; and wherein the first and second alphanumeric characters comprise consecutive alphanumeric characters.