Alignment feature for solid ink stick

摘要

An ink stick (30) for use in a solid ink feed system of a phase change ink jet printer (10) includes an ink stick body. Nesting elements are formed in the ink stick body for nesting the ink stick body with an adjacent ink stick body. One end surface (61) of the ink stick body has a projecting nesting element (71), and the opposite end surface (62) has a recessed nesting element (72) having a complementary shape and position. When two ink sticks with such nesting elements abut one another in a feed channel (28) of a solid ink feed system, the projecting nesting element of one ink stick fits into the recessed nesting element of the adjacent ink stick to reduce movement of the ink sticks relative to each other, and to reduce skewing of the ink sticks in the feed channel. <IMAGE>