An image recording apparatus includes: a carriage movable in a first direction; a head mounted on the carriage; a holder movable in the first direction; a cap unit mounted on the holder; and first and second guide portions. The cap unit is movable relative to the holder in the first direction and is also movable toward and away from the head in a second direction crossing the first direction. The head is configured to abut on a second abutment portion of the cap unit in accordance with movement of the carriage in the first direction toward a first abutment portion of the holder. The first guide portion is configured to guide the holder in the first direction. The second guide portion is configured to guide the holder in the second direction to move the cap unit toward the head in accordance with movement of the holder in the first direction.

An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink, a conveyor belt that has a plurality of apertures and conveys recording media one by one, a control unit, an ink receiver, and a pipe-shaped ink discharge flow path. The control unit controls drive of the recording head and the conveyor belt to perform flushing, in which the ink is ejected from the nozzle of the recording head to pass through one of the apertures, at a timing different from a timing contributing to image recording. The ink receiver is disposed to face the recording head sandwiching the conveyor belt therebetween, to receive the ink after passing through the aperture when the flushing is performed. The ink discharge flow path is connected to the ink receiver. When the flushing is performed, a predetermined amount of liquid is stored in the ink receiver.

A printing unit includes: a sleeve and a print module received in the sleeve, the print module being slidably removable, in a first direction, from the sleeve. The print module includes a supply module and a replaceable printhead. The printhead is slidably removable, in a second direction, from the supply module, the first and second directions being non-parallel.

A liquid ejection apparatus includes a liquid ejection head having a plurality of nozzles, a determination circuit, a clock, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine whether the clock is in an on or off state. In response to determining that the clock is in an on state, the controller is configured to perform an inspection process at a first time. In the inspection process, the controller drives the liquid ejection head to eject liquid from a nozzle of the plurality nozzles and receive a determination signal that is output from the determination circuit in response to ejection of liquid from the nozzle of the plurality of nozzles. In response to determining that the clock is in an off state, the controller is configured to perform the inspection process at a predetermined time that is a time after the clock is returned to an on state.

A liquid ejection apparatus includes a first circuit to output a determination signal indicating that ejecting ink is in failure, a second circuit to output a temperature signal indicating a temperature, a recovery device to perform a recovery operation, and a controller. The controller causes a recovery device to perform a first recovery operation based on a first failure-nozzle data in response to determining that a first temperature and a second temperature satisfy a predetermined condition.

A liquid ejecting system includes: a transport portion that transports a medium in a transport direction in a state in which the medium is supported on a medium supporting surface; a liquid ejecting portion that performs printing by moving in a scanning direction and ejecting a liquid from a nozzle with respect to the medium supported on the medium supporting surface; a designation portion for an operator to designate a designation range within a scanning area, the scanning area being configured to face the liquid ejecting portion that moves in the scanning direction and to include the medium and the medium supporting surface; and a control portion that sets a flushing area based on the designated designation range and performs a flushing operation of ejecting the liquid from the nozzle to the flushing area as a maintenance operation of the liquid ejecting portion.

A liquid discharge apparatus is provided, which comprises a head, a maintenance mechanism which has a cap and which is movable to a maintenance position and a waiting position, a first support mechanism which supports the maintenance mechanism disposed at the maintenance position, and a second support mechanism which supports the maintenance mechanism disposed at the waiting position. One of the first and second support mechanisms is relatively movable to a first position and a second position with respect to the other. When the one of them is disposed at the first position, both of them is configured to support the maintenance mechanism simultaneously. When the one of them is disposed at the second position, the other of them is separated away from the maintenance mechanism.

A printer includes an ink head including a nozzle surface including nozzles, a cap including an end portion contactable with the nozzle surface, a suction device, a memory, and a controller. The memory stores a suction position, a free suction position, and a minute open position located between the suction position and the free suction position. The controller performs a suction process in which the cap is located at the suction position and ink is sucked from the nozzles, and a minute open position process in which the cap is moved toward a minute open position and movement of the cap is stopped with the cap located at a minute open position, after the suction process.

An inkjet printing system with a droplet measurement apparatus is described herein. The droplet measurement apparatus has a light source with a collimating optical system, an imaging device disposed along an optical path of the collimating optical system, and a droplet illumination zone in the optical path of the collimating optical system, the droplet illumination zone having a varying droplet illumination location, wherein the light source, the imaging device, or both are adjustable to place a focal plane of the imaging device at the droplet illumination location. The droplet measurement apparatus is structured to accommodate at least a portion of a dispenser of the printing system within the droplet illumination zone.

There is provided a maintenance apparatus for an image recording apparatus provided with a head having a nozzle configured to discharge a liquid. The maintenance apparatus includes: a foam configured to absorb the liquid discharged from the nozzle; and an accommodating box which is opened upwardly and which accommodates the foam. An inner bottom surface of the accommodating box has a projection supporting a bottom surface of the foam so that the bottom surface of the foam is positioned separated from the inner bottom surface of the accommodating box.