Techniques for reducing or eliminating image banding in an ink-jet image are provided. In an example, a method of operating a printer to reduce or eliminate image banding can include generating command profile for printing a given image, applying a filter to the command profile to provide a filtered profile, and dispensing ink from a printhead of the printer based on the filtered profile. In certain examples, the filter can randomize droplet sizes of ink dispensed while executing the printing to reduce or eliminate image banding.

A printer that performs printing for a print region of a glass plate includes a conveying unit that includes a plurality of paired rollers adapted to sandwich both side faces of the plate, brings the paired rollers respectively in contact with the both side faces with an urging force, and conveys the plate only by the plurality of the paired rollers; a printing unit that includes a printhead and a swinging unit adapted to swing the printhead between a printing position and a retracting position and shifts the printhead to the printing position so as to come in contact with the print region by the swinging unit when printing, and performs printing for the print region by the printhead; and a suppressing guide unit that regulates floating-up of the plate when printing by coming in contact with the plate only on a neighborhood region of the side face.

Techniques for operating a printer are provided. In an example, the printer can include a print head a cure light and a controller. The controller can be configured to move the print head relative to a print media to print a given image, to move the cure light relative to the print media at a cure speed in response to the cure light passing over a printed portion of the given image to cure the ink of the given image, and to move the cure light at an index speed in response to the cure light passing over a non-printed portion of the given image, wherein the index speed is greater than the cure speed.

A print job having a number of pages is printed in a continuous mode, on media advanced at a constant speed. The print job can thus be effectively treated as having a single page. The media that are advanced for printing the print job can similarly be effectively treated as being a single medium.

A card-issuing device may include a card stack unit, a card feeding mechanism. A card reader unit configured to perform at least one of reading of data recorded on a card and recording of data onto a card, a printing unit, and a card-flipping unit. The printing unit may include a supply roll, a winding roll, and a thermal head. The thermal head may be arranged between the supply roll and the winding roll in a front-rear direction of the card-issuing device, the supply roll and the winding roll may be arranged above the thermal head, and the card stack unit, the card-flipping unit, the thermal head, and the card reader unit may be arranged in that order in the front-rear direction.

A card-issuing device may include a card stack unit, a card feeding mechanism. A card reader unit configured to perform at least one of reading of data recorded on a card and recording of data onto a card, a printing unit, and a card-flipping unit. The printing unit may include a supply roll, a winding roll, and a thermal head. The thermal head may be arranged between the supply roll and the winding roll in a front-rear direction of the card-issuing device, the supply roll and the winding roll may be arranged above the thermal head, and the card stack unit, the card-flipping unit, the thermal head, and the card reader unit may be arranged in that order in the front-rear direction.

A card processing system includes a drop-on-demand card printing system that has at least one drop-on-demand print head with a nozzle plate. An automated cleaning mechanism is provided in the drop-on-demand card printing system that is configured to clean the nozzle plate without the cleaning mechanism physically contacting the nozzle plate. Since the nozzle plate is not physically contacted by the cleaning mechanism, damage to the nozzle plate during cleaning is avoided thereby avoiding degrading the resulting print quality of the print head.

Maintenance routines that can be used to maintain the operability of one or more DOD print heads in a card processing system. The maintenance routines can include, but are not limited to: a cover routine where a cover or cap is selectively and automatically located over the print head(s) to protect the print head(s); a shake pulse routine that energizes the nozzles of the print head(s) without causing an ejection of ink; a spit routine where the nozzles of the print head(s) are energized to eject one or more drops of ink; and a purge routine where the nozzles are not electrically energized but the pressure holding the ink in the nozzles of the print head(s) is reversed to push ink out of the nozzles.

An ink bottle is mounted in a DOD printer with the ink bottle acting as an ink supply reservoir that supplies ink to a DOD print head. A unique cap is provided that is configured to be affixed to an end of the ink bottle via threads or the like. The cap can be provided with one or more mechanical keying features used to limit mounting of the cap and the bottle assembly to a correct receiver in the DOD printer. The cap can also be provided with a valve controlled ink passage that allows ink to flow out of the bottle through the cap and a valve controlled vent passage that allows air to enter the bottle through the cap.

Folder systems and related methods are provided for accurately and efficiently folding a paper carrier that has a card attached without bending or dislodging the card from the carrier. A movable fold chute receives a portion of the carrier with the card attached and allows the carrier to fold while protecting the card portion of the carrier. The fold chute moves between different positions which allow the carrier to enter and exit through folding rollers along a generally straight paper path without forcing the cards around small radii, thereby preventing damage to the cards or causing them to separate from the carrier sheet.