| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a high replenishing efficiency and a short replenishing processing time without wasting the ink in the case of a supply system comprising a second ink tank for storing a predetermined amount of an ink in a printing head such that an ink is supplied intermittently thereto from a first ink tank. SOLUTION: A second ink tank 304 is provided with a variable content volume such that the ink tank itself can serve as an actuator for executing the ink replenishment, the degassing process, or the like by changing the volume content. That is, by moving the gas existing in the second ink tank backward to a first ink tank 107 together with an ink by changing the content volume of the second ink tank forcibly in the reducing direction, generation of the waste ink to the outside can be prevented. Moreover, by simply changing the same to the reverse direction (to the direction for enlarging the content volume), an ordinary replenishing operation can be completed. |
