A liquid ejection apparatus includes: an ejection unit that ejects from an ejection port a liquid in a pressure chamber communicating with the ejection port; a first flow channel that allows for communication between the pressure chamber and a liquid supply unit; a second flow channel communicating with the pressure chamber; a liquid transportation chamber communicating with a connection flow channel communicating with the first flow channel and the second flow channel; a liquid transportation unit that flows the liquid in the liquid transportation chamber in a predetermined direction by expanding and contracting the liquid transportation chamber with application of a driving voltage including a step-up waveform and a step-down waveform; and a control unit that performs control such that a liquid ejection timing does not coincide with a voltage application period in which one of the step-up and step-down waveforms that has a greater voltage change rate is applied.

A liquid ejection apparatus includes a liquid ejection unit with a plurality of nozzles and a corresponding plurality of actuators. A drive waveform generation circuit is configured to generate drive waveforms having different drive timings. An actuator drive circuit is configured to apply a first drive waveform to a first actuator in a liquid ejection operation and a second drive waveform to a second actuator in the liquid ejection operation during which the first and second actuators are to be driven at a same nominal time. The first driving waveform is different from the second drive waveform, and the first actuator is at a position electrically closer along a predetermined direction to a power supply electrode than is the second actuator.

A liquid jetting device is arranged to eject a droplet of a liquid. The device includes a nozzle, a liquid duct connected to the nozzle, an electro-mechanical transducer arranged to create an acoustic pressure wave in the liquid in the duct, and an electronic control system arranged to apply to the transducer a voltage signal having a waveform configured for ejecting a droplet from the nozzle. The waveform is further configured to quench a residual acoustic pressure wave in the liquid duct and includes a jet pulse, a subsequent first quench pulse having a polarity opposite to that of the jet pulse, and a subsequent second quench pulse having the same polarity as the jet pulse.

A digital printing system includes a print head and a processor. The print head is configured to jet droplets of ink. The a processor is further configured to translate a required shade of a color, to be printed at a given location on a substrate by the print head, into a sequence of pulses, the sequence including: (a) up to a predefined maximum number of driving pulses that cause the print head to jet respective droplets, and (b) a tickling pulse, which has a smaller amplitude than the driving pulses and which causes the print head to jet a droplet smaller than the droplets jetted in response to the driving pulses. The processor is additionally configured to apply the sequence of pulses to the print head.

A liquid ejection head includes a nozzle for ejecting a droplet of a liquid, a pressure chamber connected to the nozzle, an actuator for changing a volume of the chamber according to a voltage signal, and a drive circuit generating the signal for ejecting n droplets, where n is an integer of 3 or more. The signal includes (n−1) ejection pulses, comprising a first pulse lowering the voltage signal to a first value to expand the chamber and then to a second value to contract the chamber, and a second pulse lowering the voltage signal to the first value and then to a third value higher than the second value. The pulses are input at intervals of 0.8λ to 1.2λ, where λ is a primary natural vibration period of the chamber filled with the liquid.

A liquid discharge head includes: a channel substrate having a nozzle and a channel communicating with the nozzle; a driving element arranged on the channel substrate; and a driving signal generating circuit which generates a driving signal to drive the driving element. The driving signal includes a non-discharge driving signal by which the driving element is driven so that liquid in the channel is not discharged from the nozzle. The non-discharge driving signal includes at least one first slight-vibration waveform and at least one second slight-vibration waveform. The first slight-vibration waveform is a waveform by which the driving element is displaced by a first displacement amount. The second slight-vibration waveform is a waveform by which the driving element is displaced by a second displacement amount that is larger than the first displacement amount. The at least one second slight-vibration waveform follows after the at least one first slight-vibration waveform.

A print head assembled to a liquid ejecting apparatus ejecting a liquid with respect to a medium includes an ejecting portion ejecting the liquid in response to a drive signal and an electrically erasable non-volatile memory, and the non-volatile memory stores history information changing in accordance with an operation state of the print head.

The present disclosure relates to a printhead control system for a printer, wherein the printer includes at least one printhead comprising a plurality of nozzles for ejecting printing fluid, wherein the nozzles include high drop weight nozzles and low drop weight nozzles ejecting drops of different drop weight, and are each arranged to eject printing fluid on a print medium such as to print images in frame areas of the print medium and such as to clean nozzles in spit bar areas of the print medium; the printer further includes a transport unit for moving the print medium relative to the printhead, wherein the print medium includes frame areas for printing images and spit bar areas for cleaning the nozzles; the printhead control device including: a module to determine a first group of said nozzles located over a frame area of the print medium and a second group of said nozzles located over a spit bar area of the print medium; a module to operate the high drop weight nozzles of the first group such as to eject printing fluid and print an image in the frame area; a module to operate disable the low drop weight nozzles of the first group such as to not eject printing fluid in the frame area; and a module to operate the high drop weight nozzles and the low drop weight nozzles of the second group such as to alternately eject printing fluid in the spit bar area.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a head unit that includes a nozzle that ejects a liquid, a control circuit that outputs a control signal that controls an operation of the head unit, a power supply circuit that supplies a power supply voltage to the head unit, and a liquid container that stores the liquid. The head unit includes a first terminal to which the control signal is input, a second terminal to which the power supply voltage is supplied, and a liquid supply port to which the liquid is supplied, the first terminal and the second terminal are located side by side along a first direction, and the second terminal is located between the first terminal and the liquid supply port in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

An inkjet printhead includes an inkjet nozzle with a main actuator and at least one peripheral actuator in the same firing chamber. A determination is made as to whether the inkjet nozzle has sat idle, e.g., not firing for a threshold period of time. When the inkjet nozzle has sat idle, both the main actuator and the peripheral actuator are activated to jet at least one ink drop to renew the inkjet nozzle to mitigate decap conditions. When the inkjet nozzle has not sat idle, only the main actuator is activated to jet ink drops.