Patent ID: 8216505

Claim:
A method for manufacturing solid ink sticks comprising: moving solid ink particulates from an inlet supply in an injection molding machine to a conveyor within the barrel, the conveyor being heated to keep the conveyor in a first temperature range that melts the solid ink particulates and maintains the melted ink proximate the conveyor in a liquid or nearly liquid state; cooling a portion of the barrel to keep the portion of the barrel in a second temperature range that maintains the solid ink particulates proximate the portion of the barrel in a solid or near solid state, the cooled portion of the barrel is separated from the heated conveyor to enable the liquid ink and the solid ink particulates to mix in an area between the heated conveyor and the cooled portion of the barrel; mixing with movement produced by the heated conveyor the solid or near solid state ink with the liquid ink in the area between the heated conveyor and the cooled portion of the barrel to generate a solid ink paste; injecting a portion of the solid ink paste under pressure into a mold having at least two separable shells that form ink stick cavities, the mold being maintained within a temperature range that enables the solid ink paste injected into the mold to form a skin upon contact with a wall of one of the ink stick cavities in the mold; and separating the shells of the mold to release solid ink sticks from the ink stick cavities in the mold.