Drum-based inkjet printer using a set of same-colour pens to combine swath widths of individual pens to produce a wide print swath

摘要

The drum-based printer includes a set of same-colour pens 52,54 which are carried near the drum with the two pens arranged such that a swath width S1 of the pen 52 is adjacent to a swath width 52 of the pen 54 in a direction parallel to the drum axis. The individual swaths S1,S2 are combined into a resultant, wide swath SC which increases printer throughput. A second set of same-colour pens may also be carried near the drum. The pens may be carried on a carriage assembly (74,Fig.4) such that the pen 52 is carried in a bay (76,Fig.4) at an angle (X,Fig.4) relative to the pen 54 in a bay (78,Fig.4). The bays may be formed by injection moulding inside of a single mould part, which requires only open and shut mould action, which meets a very close tolerance requirement to arrange the set of same-colour pens for precisely adjacent swaths.