Patent ID: 6966644

Claim:
An ink stick for use in a solid ink feed system of a phase change ink printer, wherein the solid ink feed system includes a shaped guide rail, the ink stick comprising: a three dimensional ink stick body having a guide surface and a plurality of side surfaces that intersect the guide surface; and a shaped guide element formed in the guide surface of the ink stick body; wherein at least one of the side surfaces has a predetermined non-planar key shape so that the ink stick can be inserted in an insertion direction into the solid ink feed system through an opening having a corresponding non-planar key shape; wherein the shaped guide element is shaped for guiding the ink stick in a feed direction along a defined path in the ink stick feed system; wherein the feed direction is substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction; and wherein the shaped guide element has a shape that complements the shape of the shaped guide rail in the solid ink feed system.