Print station in an ink jet printer

摘要

A serial drop-on-demand ink jet printer having an ink cartridge mounted for reciprocation on a carrier which traverses paper advancing through the printer. The cartridge includes a nozzle array for the ejection of ink droplets onto the paper, and the carrier includes a tab upstream from the nozzle array, in the direction of paper travel, which touches the top surface of the paper and sets the printhead-to-paper gap. The paper is pushed against the tab and maintains a minimum gap to prevent paper from coming into contact with the nozzle array. The paper is urged against the tab into the proper position relative to the nozzle array by a deflectable guide which acts on the back surface of the paper. In the printing zone of the ink jet printer, there is therefore no support structure for paper beneath the printhead, and advantageously a trough is provided in this area extending the width of the paper path so that if ink is ejected in the absence of paper, the ink is ejected into the trough where it will dry over time without being contacted by subsequent sheets of paper being fed through the printer.