A liquid ejection apparatus includes a head that defines an individual channel including a nozzle, a feed channel communicating a reservoir and an inlet port of the individual channel, and a feedback channel communicating the reservoir and an outlet port of the individual channel. A pump assembly has at least one pump. A controller is configured to drive the pump assembly to draw air into the individual channel through the nozzle, and to drive the pump assembly to apply a pressure in the individual channel from the feed channel toward the feedback channel.

For various embodiments of a printhead assembly or ink stick assembly of the present teachings, each an ink stick assembly can be a self-contained assembly, of which a plurality of self-contained ink stick assemblies can be readily interchanged into a printing system during a printing process. Various embodiments of a self-contained ink stick assembly can have a fluidic system that can include a local ink reservoir, which can be in fluid communication with a bulk ink reservoir. Filling of a bulk ink reservoir can be done in a manual or automated mode. According to the present teachings, a bulk ink reservoir can have a volume sufficient to provide a continuous supply of ink to a local ink reservoir over the course of a printing process.

A liquid ejecting head including a head unit including a liquid ejecting unit that ejects a liquid from a nozzle, a drive circuit that drives the liquid ejecting unit, a containing body in which a space that stores the liquid is formed; a fixing plate which contacts the head unit on a nozzle side of the head unit; and a support that contacts the fixing plate and that supports the head unit, in which the support is formed of a material having a thermal conductivity higher than that of the containing body.

A thermal transfer printing apparatus includes a coater to coat an endless belt ribbon with ink on a coating zone, a printhead to print by thermal transfer a substrate with a part of the ink coated on the endless belt ribbon on a printing zone, a conveyor system supporting and transporting the endless ribbon including ink along a first path from the coater to the printhead and along a second path from the printhead to the coater; a pre-printing buffer to control the length of the first path of the ribbon in the coating zone; and a post-printing buffer to control the length of the second path of the ribbon in the printing zone.

An image forming apparatus includes: a main tank that stores ink; an ink head unit that includes a first heating device to heat the ink and that ejects the heated ink; a supply channel that supplies the ink from the main tank to the ink head unit; and a second heating device that heats the supply channel. The second heating device starts heating at a predetermined timing such that a temperature of a specific region in the supply channel becomes equal to or more than a second temperature that is a melting point of a component having a highest melting point.

A cartridge providing system includes a printer ejecting a liquid (recording material) supplied from a cartridge, and a server managing provision of the cartridge to users that use the printer. Based on user stock data of each of the users, the server determines whether an unused stock, which is a stock that remains unused for a first period or longer from a start of holding, is present in a stock of the cartridges held by each of the users. If it is determined that an unused stock is present in the stock held by a first user, when a period until a usage expiry date of the unused stock is less than a first threshold value, the server sets a collection recommendation flag to the unused stock in the user stock data of the first user, the collection recommendation flag indicating the cartridge recommended for collection.

For various embodiments of a printhead assembly or ink stick assembly of the present teachings, each an ink stick assembly can be a self-contained assembly, of which a plurality of self-contained ink stick assemblies can be readily interchanged into a printing system during a printing process. Various embodiments of a self-contained ink stick assembly can have a fluidic system that can include a local ink reservoir, which can be in fluid communication with a bulk ink reservoir. Filling of a bulk ink reservoir can be done in a manual or automated mode. According to the present teachings, a bulk ink reservoir can have a volume sufficient to provide a continuous supply of ink to a local ink reservoir over the course of a printing process.

A liquid ejection apparatus includes a head that defines an individual channel including a nozzle, a feed channel communicating a reservoir and an inlet port of the individual channel, and a feedback channel communicating the reservoir and an outlet port of the individual channel. A pump assembly has at least one pump. A controller is configured to drive the pump assembly to draw air into the individual channel through the nozzle, and to drive the pump assembly to apply a pressure in the individual channel from the feed channel toward the feedback channel.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid chamber in communication with a nozzle, a volume changing unit configured to change a volume of the liquid chamber, an inflow passage through which the liquid flows into the liquid chamber, an outflow passage through which the liquid flows out of the liquid chamber, a passage resistance changing unit configured to change a passage resistance of the outflow passage, and a controller configured to control the volume changing unit to reduce the volume of the liquid chamber so as to cause the liquid to be ejected through the nozzle. In filling the liquid chamber with the liquid for ejection of the liquid through the nozzle, the controller controls the passage resistance changing unit to change the passage resistance of the outflow passage to an increased passage resistance and controls the volume changing unit to increase the volume of the liquid chamber.

A print head has a jet stack, a jet stack heating and temperature measuring element thermally connected to the jet stack, the jet stack heating and temperature measuring element including: a first, etched copper layer having heat spreading characteristics and including a resistive heat source electrically connected in series to a voltage source and a switch; an electrically insulative on a back side of the first copper layer; and a second, etched copper layer on a side of the electrically insulative layer opposite the first copper layer, the second copper layer having a temperature sensing element to sense a temperature of the print head without a thermistor, the temperature sensing element connected in series with a voltage source and a transistor. A print head may use a thermistor but the heat spreading layer eliminates the need for a heat sink to attach to the print head.