A printhead maintenance system includes: an elongate inkjet printhead having a nozzle face containing a plurality of inkjet nozzles; a carriage movable longitudinally along the printhead in a cleaning direction, the carriage including a maintenance member having: a fluid bath having a mouth opposing the nozzle face of the printhead, a primary fluid inlet at an upstream end of the fluid bath relative to the cleaning direction and a fluid outlet at a downstream end of the fluid bath relative to the cleaning direction; and a traversing mechanism for traversing the carriage longitudinally along the printhead in the cleaning direction. The maintenance member does not contact inkjet nozzles of the printhead, and the fluid bath is configured to provide a greater fluid velocity at the downstream end relative to the upstream end.

A device may be configured to check, via evaluation of resistance data of a cleaning sensor arranged on a print bar of an inkjet printing device, whether a cleaner for cleaning the one or more print heads of the print bar exhibits a negative effect. The state of a cleaner may be reliably and efficiently monitored via the installation of a cleaning sensor in a print bar.

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a carriage (1), a liquid discharge head (300, 300C, 300K, 300M, 300Y, 300S, 300W) having a discharge port (P1, P2), a first driver (92), and a second driver (93). The carriage is movable along at least one of a first axis (X) and a second axis (Y) intersecting the first axis. The liquid discharge head is held by the carriage and discharges a liquid from the discharge port toward an object (100) in a direction along a third axis (Z) intersecting the first axis and the second axis. The first driver moves the carriage along the third axis. The second driver moves the liquid discharge head along the third axis relative to the carriage.

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a discharge head including a discharge surface formed with a plurality of discharge openings from which a liquid is discharged, a cap configured to be detachably attached to the discharge head and form a holding space for a cleaning liquid such that the cleaning liquid contacts the discharge surface, a supply portion configured to connect to the cap and to supply the cleaning liquid to the holding space, and an outlet portion configured to connect to the cap and to drain the cleaning liquid from the holding space. The supply portion is formed at a position facing the discharge surface. The outlet portion is formed at a position outside the supply portion in an inside-outside direction of the discharge surface.

A method of operating an ink jet printer with an included printer controller, where the ink jet printer prints using a replaceable print head that includes a nozzle plate and an ink reservoir. The printer controller tracks a usage of ink from the ink reservoir and a number of completed nozzle plate wiping operations. The print controller determines, prior to initiating each nozzle plate wiping operation, whether to initiate an inter-layer spitting operation instead of the nozzle plate wiping operation. The printer controller initiates the determined one of the wiping operation and the spitting operation.

An ink-jet printer includes: a base material transport mechanism for transporting a base material along a transport path in a transport direction; an ink ejection head having a lower surface opposed to the transport path, and an ink ejection port for ejecting ink toward the transport path; and a base plate having a lower surface opposed to the transport path over the transport path, and a mounting hole open in the lower surface, the ink ejection head being mounted in the mounting hole. The base plate includes an air flow hole that is a though hole penetrating through the base plate. The air flow hole has an air outlet open in a location downstream of the ink ejection port in the lower surface. Air passing through the air flow hole is ejected from the air outlet toward the transport path.

There is provided a liquid discharge device including: a wiping member that performs wiping on a nozzle forming surface by being caused to perform relative movement on the nozzle forming surface while coming into contact with the nozzle forming surface; a cleaning liquid supply section that supplies cleaning liquid to at least one of a head and the wiping member; and a circulation speed adjustment section that is capable of adjusting a circulation speed of the liquid, which is circulated between a liquid storage section and the head, to a second speed which is faster than the first speed. In addition, the circulation speed during the wiping is the second speed.

Provided is a cleaning solution including: water; a compound represented by general formula (1) below; a glycol ether solves in an amount of greater than 5 g in 100 g of water having a temperature of 25 degrees C., and a proportion of the glycol ether compound is 1 percent by mass or greater but 30 percent by mass or less, and wherein in general formula (1) below, R.sup.1 represents an alkyl group containing 1 or more but 4 or less carbon atoms. ##STR00001##

A printing apparatus includes a platen that supports a recording medium, a printing head that reciprocates along the platen, and discharges a droplet onto the recording medium supported by the platen at least in a forward route or a backward route of the reciprocation, to perform printing, and an air blowing unit disposed on at least one of two sides of the platen in a reciprocation direction, that is a direction in which the printing head moves along with the reciprocation, and blows an airflow to a nozzle surface of the printing head that reciprocates.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting unit having nozzles able to eject a liquid to a medium; a maintenance unit which performs maintenance of the liquid ejecting unit using a maintenance liquid; and a heating section which heats the maintenance liquid used for maintenance.