A cleaning device for printing heads arranged in a group along an alignment direction (Y) with a lower surface lying on a main plane (T). The device comprises a collecting head (2), movable along the alignment direction (Y) on the main plane (Y), in contact with or near the lower surfaces of the heads. The print head (2) is movable between a first and a second position that are located at the ends of the group of heads. The collecting head (2) is provided with an inlet opening (21) for collecting material from the heads (T).

A modular service station for servicing at least one inkjet printhead of an inkjet printing system, the service station comprising: a frame with mounted thereon at least one capping element and at least one wiping element, a means for horizontal movement of the at least one inkjet printhead between a printing position and a servicing position, the means for horizontal movement configured to enable a wiping process, a means for vertical movement of the at least one inkjet printhead, the means for vertical movement configured to enable capping, unclogging or purging processes in respect to the at least one inkjet printhead, and a waste ink tank in hermetic communication with the at least one capping element. A method of servicing an inkjet printhead of an inkjet printing system is also disclosed.

A liquid absorber includes a container and an absorbing unit. The container has an opening and collects a liquid. The absorbing unit is an assembly of porous absorbent blocks, each containing fibers and a polymeric absorbent, and is in the container with spaces between the porous absorbent blocks. Each of the porous absorbent blocks has a first component and a second component. The first component is porous and has a density of 0.05 [g/cm.sup.3] or more and 0.50 [g/cm.sup.3] or less. The second component has a higher polymeric absorbent content than the first component.

A recording head recovery system includes a recording head, a cleaning liquid tank for storing cleaning liquid, a cleaning liquid supplying path which connects together the cleaning liquid tank and the recording head, a liquid supply mechanism which is provided in the cleaning liquid supplying path, and a controller. The controller performs recording head recovery operation including cleaning liquid supplying operation for supplying the cleaning liquid from liquid supplying openings of the recording head, wiping operation for wiping an ink ejection face of the recording head while a wiper retains the cleaning liquid, and backflow operation for controlling the liquid supply mechanism to make the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid supplying path to flow from the cleaning liquid supplying openings to the cleaning liquid tank.

An object of the present disclosure is to reduce power consumption while preventing a reduction in productivity. One embodiment of the present invention is a printing apparatus including: a print head that ejects a liquid; a circulation unit configured to circulate the liquid in a circulation path including the print head; a control unit configured to controls the circulation unit to execute periodic circulation by causing the circulation unit to circulate the liquid in the circulation path periodically at predetermined interval; and an input unit configured to input information on a suspension period during which the control unit suspends execution of the periodic circulation, wherein the control unit is set to start suspending the execution of the periodic circulation in accordance with the information and is set to resume execution of the periodic circulation when the suspension period indicated by the information is elapsed.

The cleaning liquid is supplied to the head facing flat surface, and the dummy flat surface of the dummy block facing the head facing flat surface contacts the cleaning liquid. This causes the cleaning liquid to be spread on the head facing flat surface by the dummy flat surface. The cleaning liquid spread on the head facing flat surface is sucked through the suction holes of the suction block. The suction holes can be cleaned by the cleaning liquid passing through the suction holes according to suction. On this occasion, the ink supplied to the head facing flat surface is removed through the suction holes of the suction block. The suction holes have both a function of removing the ink from the discharge heads H and a function of removing the cleaning liquid from the head facing flat surface.

A printing apparatus comprises: a printing unit configured to print onto a sheet by ejecting ink from a printing head; a maintenance unit configured to perform a maintenance operation capable of being performed in parallel with the printing performed by the printing unit; and a control unit configured to control the maintenance unit such that when the printing by the printing unit and the maintenance operation by the maintenance unit are performed in parallel, and the maintenance operation is not completed by the time the printing by the printing unit has ended, the maintenance operation is ended without being completed.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head ejecting a liquid to a medium, a wiping mechanism wiping a liquid ejection surface of the liquid ejecting head and including a wiper portion that wipes the liquid ejection surface by moving in a direction along the liquid ejection surface, an electric portion including a substrate, the electronic portion being a part related to control of the apparatus, and a power supply portion as a power supply source, in which a moving direction of the wiper portion is a direction intersecting a surface of the substrate, and at least part of the electric portion and at least part of the power supply portion overlap part of the wiping mechanism in the moving direction of the wiper portion.

A printing device to which a predetermined flat-rate usage fee is applied regardless of the number of times a cartridge is replaced includes an ejection head having a nozzle capable of ejecting a liquid stored in each of a plurality of cartridges, and a controller, wherein the controller includes a cleaning execution unit that executes a cleaning process and wherein the cleaning process includes a determination process of determining the presence or absence of a specific cartridge, among a plurality of cartridges, whose liquid remaining amount is equal to or greater than a reference remaining amount before performing the cleaning operation, and whose liquid remaining amount is expected to be less than the reference remaining amount when the cleaning operation is executed, and a setting process of setting the specific cartridge as a cartridge to be replaced before executing the cleaning operation.

A recording apparatus includes a recording head having discharge orifices arranged on a discharge orifice surface, a cap, a wiper, and a moving unit that moves the wiper in a first direction. When the cap covers the discharge orifice surface, a first member is disposed at an inside wall of the cap at a position near a first side of a region having the discharge orifices, and a second member is disposed at another inside wall of the cap at a position near a second side of the region having the discharge orifices. The first side faces in a direction opposite to the first direction and the second side faces in the first direction. In a direction normal to the discharge orifice surface, a distance between the second member and the discharge orifice surface is smaller than a distance between the first member and the discharge orifice surface.