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Abstract

Apparatus and method for reducing electrostatic repulsion between printed ink drops employs: 1) Locating redundant nozzles adjacent to the nozzles that they replace (the main nozzles), e.g., offset by approximately one pixel width in the print direction. 2) Placing drive transistors adjacent to the nozzles that they actuate. 3) Grouping nozzles into `phases` wherein the nozzles within any one phase are maximally dispersed and actuated simultaneously, and different phases are actuated consecutively. In print head embodiments have nozzles placed at the bottom of ink channels etched as truncated pyramidical pits in <100> silicon, and the silicon wafers are thinned before etching the pits, so that the area of the truncated bottoms of the pits is maximized. A manufacturing method for increasing the location density of pits by means of such pre-thinning of wafer thickness is also disclosed.

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First Claim