Patent ID: 8251484

Claim:
A method for calibrating electrical motors that move printheads in a printer comprising: generating a first plurality of dashes on media with a plurality of printheads as the media moves past the plurality of printheads; identifying a first position for each printhead in the plurality of printheads from image data of the first plurality of dashes; operating at least one electrical motor operatively connected to at least one of the printheads in the plurality of printheads to move the at least one printhead in a first direction in the cross-process direction by a predetermined distance; generating a second plurality of dashes on media with the plurality of printheads as the media moves past the plurality of printheads; identifying a second position for each printhead in the plurality of printheads from image data of the second plurality of dashes; comparing the second position of the at least one printhead with the first position of the at least one printhead to measure a distance moved by the at least one printhead; identifying a first calibration parameter for the at least one electrical motor with reference to the predetermined distance and measured distance; and operating the at least one electrical motor with reference to the first calibration parameter.