Patent ID: 8562108

Claim:
A two pass print mode method for limiting wind-related print defects produced during printing by an inkjet printer including a reciprocating carrier that carries a printhead having an array of columns of actuator-fired fluid-jetting nozzles along a bi-directional scanning path, the array of columns comprising at least one pair of columns, said method comprising: printing an initial partial swath on a print medium during a first pass along said scanning path by firing actuators associated with nozzles within a first column and a segment of the at least one pair of columns of nozzles and not firing actuators associated with nozzles within a second column and the segment of the at least one pair of columns of nozzles; and printing a final partial swath on the print medium during a second pass along said scanning path by firing actuators associated with nozzles within the second column and the segment of the at least one pair of columns of nozzles and not firing actuators associated with the first column and the segment of the at least one pair of columns of nozzles, the segment of the at least one pair of columns of nozzles including more than one consecutive nozzle so that gaps are created in said partial swath printing that accommodate wind-related effects without causing wind-related print defects on the print medium, wherein the first pass and the second pass occur before advancing the print medium and the nozzles lie in a same horizontal plane substantially parallel to the bi-directional scanning path.