A printer includes a carriage including a first head and a second head at least partially overlapping in a sub-scanning direction, a first wiper for wiping the first head, and a second wiper for wiping the second head. The printer moves the first wiper to a first contact position where the first wiper is configured to contact the first head, and moves the second wiper to a second non-contact position where the second wiper is not configured to contact the second head. After moving the first wiper and the second wiper, the printer relatively moves the carriage to cause the first head to pass the first wiper at the first contact position.

A three-dimensional object printing apparatus includes: a head having a nozzle surface; a robot that has a base portion that supports the head, and changes a position of the head with respect to the base portion; and a cap portion having a fixed position to the base portion to cover the nozzle surface, in which the three-dimensional object printing apparatus is configured to execute: a capping operation of causing the robot to locate the head at a position at which the nozzle surface is covered with the cap portion, and a printing operation of causing the head to eject the liquid to a work with respect to the work, and a yaw angle of the head during the execution of the capping operation and a yaw angle of the head during the execution of the printing operation are different from each other.

There is provided a liquid discharge apparatus. A discharge head is provided with a discharge port that discharges a liquid. A retention portion is facing the discharge head, and retains the liquid between the discharge head and the retention portion. A detection unit detects that the discharge port is covered with the liquid after the liquid is supplied between the discharge head and the retention portion.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a head having nozzles; a conveyor configured to convey a recording medium; and a controller. The controller executes: a recording processing of conveying the recording medium by the conveyor and ejecting liquid from the nozzles with respect to the recording medium based on image data; a flushing processing of discharging the liquid from the nozzles with respect to a flushing area, based on flushing data different from the image data; and a first determining processing of determining, based on the image data, whether a time interval after completion of a first recording processing and until start of a second recording processing exceeds a threshold value.

A printing apparatus includes a transport unit for a printing medium, a head configured to discharge ultraviolet-curable ink, an ultraviolet light irradiation unit disposed downstream of the head, a suction unit provided between the head and the ultraviolet light irradiation unit, and a gap reducing portion disposed in a gap between the head and the suction unit and configured to at least partially close the gap by a first region being in contact with the suction unit and a second region, located upstream of the first region, being in contact with the head. In response to the suction unit suctioning mist while the head discharges ink onto the printing medium to be transported, air flow traveling in a direction opposite to the transport direction is generated in a region where the ultraviolet light irradiation unit and the printing medium oppose each other.

A printing press includes at least one printing unit having at least one nozzle bar with at least two print heads and at least one cleaning device. Each nozzle bar is assigned at least one cleaning device. The at least one cleaning device includes at least one cleaning element. The at least one cleaning element is arranged to be movable in, and counter to a cleaning direction. The at least one cleaning element has at least one fluid infeed opening and at least one fluid discharge and at least one fluid extraction device.

The controller of an inkjet recording apparatus supplies a recording medium onto the conveyor belt with a pair of registration rollers based on a detection result of the trailing edge of the recording medium by a first detection sensor and a detection result of an opening by a second detection sensor. The controller determines whether the recording medium is being placed on the conveyor belt coinciding with the opening that is moved due to the traveling of the conveyor belt, and based on the determination result, the controller controls the recording head to execute flushing and the pair of registration rollers to supply a subsequent recording medium onto the conveyor belt.

Included are embodiments for providing a service station routine. Some embodiments of a system include a service station for receiving a handheld jet dispensing apparatus and a memory component that stores logic. When the logic is executed by a processor, the logic may cause the system to, in response to the service station receiving the handheld jet dispensing apparatus, identify the handheld jet dispensing apparatus, where identifying the handheld jet dispensing apparatus includes determining a time of a previous maintenance to the handheld jet dispensing apparatus. In some embodiments, the logic causes the system to determine whether the time of the previous maintenance meets a predetermined threshold, in response to determining that the time of the previous maintenance meets a predetermined threshold, determine a desired maintenance routine to execute and execute the desired maintenance routine, and record a current time as the time of the previous maintenance.

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.