Patent Document ID: 6059397
Application ID: 09285284
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. In an ink-jet printer having a print head and a receiving surface that undergo relative movement, the print head including a plurality of jets for ejecting ink, the plurality of jets being spaced apart by a distance N along an X-axis, a method for printing multiple composite images having different widths, each of the composite images having at least two image portions interleaved at a seam, the method comprising the steps of: (a) positioning the print head a distance A along the X-axis from a fixed reference point; (b) printing a set of scan lines of a first image portion by moving the print head relative to the receiving surface a distance n along the X-axis while ejecting ink from at least a portion of the plurality of jets; (c) repeating step (b) until the first image portion having a tail is completed; (d) moving the print head relative to the receiving surface along the X-axis a fixed skip distance B; (e) printing a set of scan lines of a second image portion by moving the print head relative to the receiving surface a distance n along the X-axis while ejecting ink from a portion of the plurality of jets; (f) repeating step (e) until a second image portion having a head is completed, where the tail of the first image portion interleaves with the head of the second image portion to form the seam and to complete at least a portion of a first composite image having a width; (g) repeating steps (a) through (t) to print a second composite image having a different width than that of the first composite image, where movement of the print head relative to the receiving surface along the X-axis is identical for printing the first composite image and the second composite image.