Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Hewlett-packard Company

Eastman-kodak Company

James A Mott

Blair A Butler

Melissa D Lee

Charles Craig Haluzak

Timothy L Weber

David Alvin Tyvoll

Douglas W Couwenhoven

John A Barinaga

Matthew David Giere

Paul Joseph Bruinsma

Dustin W Blair

Mark Andreas Van Veen

Richard W Seaver

Francesc Subirada

Dennis P Parazak

Steven A Billow

James Pingel

Richard C Reem

Yang Shi

Michael Harp

A printing method includes applying at least one of a plurality of pigmented colored inks to a receiving surface. A colorless ink is applied to the receiving surface. A majority of the colorless ink is ejected from of first nozzles on a printhead used for ejecting the colorless ink. At least 30% of an area on the receiving surface, which is passed over by the first nozzles, is covered with the colorless ink during a single pass of the printhead over the area.

Inkjet printing method for colorless ink using colorless ink printhead masks dependent on colored ink printing

Disclosed herein are method and systems for printing a reactive ink and a fixer or second reactive ink onto a substrate from a single orifice plate, wherein orifice plate comprising at least two orifices; wherein at least one orifice prints a first reactive ink, and other orifice prints a fixer or second reactive ink. The reactive inks and the fixer reacts to form a precipitate which soluble in at least one of the fixer or the inks.

Systems and methods for printing onto a substrate using reactive ink

Various embodiments of a wiper apparatus and method for cleaning a printhead are provided. In one embodiment, the wiper apparatus includes a wiper having a leading contact surface, a trailing contact surface, and a capillary passageway that extends at least partially along an axis that intersects the leading contact surface and the trailing contact surface.

Wiper apparatus and method for cleaning a printhead

A system and a method for improving printing performance are provided. One method of improving printing performance performing a first print operation utilizing a printhead comprising a plurality of resistors by ejecting ink from a plurality of chambers each associated with at least one of at least some of the plurality of resistors, selectively energizing at least some of the plurality of resistors at an energy level insufficient to eject ink from the plurality of chambers, and performing a second print operation utilizing the printhead.

Method and system for improving printer performance

A gray inkjet ink having a black colorant and at least one cyan, magenta, or yellow colorant. By adjusting the amount of cyan, magenta, or yellow colorant in the inkjet ink, a gray inkjet ink having a neutral, warm, cool, or sepia tone is produced. At least one gray inkjet ink is used in a black ink set or an eight-color ink set to produce black and white images having high resolution. Methods of producing black and white images having desired gray tones are also disclosed.

Inkjet inks having cyan, yellow, magenta, and/or black colorants and methods of using the same to produce black and white images

A method and apparatus for placing fluid droplets onto a surface in which at least one of a group of nozzles is substantially aligned with a first of parallel line segments on the surface moving in a first direction relative to the nozzles; at least one droplet is ejected from the first nozzle onto a target on the first segment; the group of nozzles is moved in a second direction having a component orthogonal to the first direction to respectively align first and second nozzles in the group with a second segment and with the first segment; the and fluid droplets are ejected from the nozzles onto targets on the segments, the center to center spacing of the targets along the segments equaling one or a multiple of the center to center spacing of the nozzles orthogonal to the segments.

Droplet placement onto surfaces

A thermal ink jet printer for printing an image on a receiver and method of assembling the printer. The printer comprises a print head defining a first chamber and a second chamber therein. The first chamber contains a working fluid and the second chamber contains an ink body. A flexible membrane separates the first chamber and the second chamber. A first transducer in the first chamber induces a first pressure wave in the working fluid that flexes the membrane into the second chamber to pressurize the ink body and eject an ink drop from the second chamber through an outlet. A second transducer in the first chamber induces a second pressure wave that flexes the membrane into the second chamber to damp the first pressure wave transmitted into the second chamber.

Thermal ink jet printer for printing an image on a receiver and method of assembling the printer

A thermal ink jet printer having enhanced heat removal capability and method of assembling the printer. The thermal inkjet printer includes a thermal inkjet print bead adapted to hold an ink body therein. A heating element is adapted to be in fluid communication with the ink body for generating heat to heat the ink body. A vapor bubble forms in the ink body to eject an ink drop when the heating element causes the ink body to reach a predetermined temperature. Presence of the vapor bubble forces on ink drop out the printer to form an image on a recording medium. A conductive heat removal structure is in thermal communication with the heating element and is also in fluid communication with the ink body. Heat generated by the heating element is transferred from the heating element and into the heat removal structure. The heat removal structure then surrenders the heat to the ink body, which functions as an &ldquo;infinite&rdquo; heat sink. In this manner, the heat removal structure provides enhanced heat removal of heat generated by the heating element.

Thermal inkjet printer having enhanced heat removal capability and method of assembling the printer

A test pattern is scanned to find ideal print-medium advance for a pen (or other marking device). The pattern has a medium; and, marked on it, image patches each with overlapped swaths stepped by different distances. At best there are different-color pens; and for each distance a set of patches, each with a patch for each color (preferably area fills at sensitive tones by color). All patches in a set are best adjacent along a scan direction, with alignment lines above each set across the whole pattern, and a nozzle-conditioning patch at each image patch. A processor prints the pattern, operates a sensor and uses its signals to find optimum advance. The system finds and prints with ideal advance for a most-active pen; or weighs pen activity to find an optimum for all pens based on certain statistical and/or prospective choices.

Test-based advance optimization in incremental printing: median, sensitivity-weighted mean, normal random variation

Embodiments of the present invention comprise a reservoir system for supplemental fluids in a system (such as an inkjet printer) in which supplies of a supplemental fluid are included in two or more replaceable primary fluid containers (such as ink containers). A controller may then selectively connect a supply of the supplemental fluid to the device utilizing the supplemental fluid (such as a fixer applicator). The present invention allows the use of supplemental fluid such as a fixer in an inkjet printer, giving all of the print quality durability, and throughput (drytime) advantages of a two-part system, without the printer user being aware that the printing system requires this additional consumable.

Reservoir integration for multi-part inkjet printing system, and method

A fluid ejection device has a firing chamber with a feature disposed therewithin.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

James A Mott