An example method of purging filler fluid from a printhead of a printing device includes applying a plurality of energy levels to a resistor coupled to the printhead. In addition, the method includes determining a temperature profile of a fluid within the printhead while applying the plurality of energy levels. Further, the method includes characterizing the fluid based on the temperature profile.

An ink-jet recording apparatus includes a recording head, an irregularity detecting unit, a recording medium conveyance unit, and a control unit. The irregularity detecting unit detects an irregularity with the recording medium conveyed toward the recording head. The recording medium conveyance unit has a recording medium diversion unit into which the recording medium with which an irregularity has been detected by the irregularity detecting unit is conveyed. The control unit can perform flushing operation and, when the irregularity detecting unit detects an irregularity with the recording medium, the control unit cancels the flushing operation set immediately before the recording medium with which the irregularity has been detected and conveys, by controlling the recording medium conveyance unit, the recording medium to the recording medium diversion unit.

There is provided a printing apparatus including an obtaining unit configured to obtain print data in which in imposition image data in which one or more images are imposed in a print region, a code for identifying each image in the imposition image data is embedded; a determination unit configured to determine an ink color to be used to print the code by excluding an ink color satisfying a predetermined condition from candidates for the ink color to be used to print the code; and a print control unit configured to print the code based on the print data obtained by the obtaining unit using a plurality of nozzle arrays for the ink color determined by the determination unit.

A printing device includes: an inkjet printhead; a lift mechanism for raising and lowering the printhead through a lift path; and a pivotally movable spit flap positioned in the lift path. The spit flap is configured to swing away from the lift path when the printhead contacts the spit flap during lowering of the printhead.

Printing liquid is spat from ai least one printhead nozzle onto a printing medium in a spitting zone when the printhead traverses the spitting zone during printing. The spitting zone is an area of the printing medium located at least partially in a second half of the printing medium in the direction of printhead travel, and wherein a centre point of the spitting zone is located in the second half of the printing medium in the direction of printhead travel.

When performing on-sheet preliminary ink ejection, a control unit (a) determines a nozzle that performs the on-sheet preliminary ink ejection, (b) randomly selects on a print sheet an ejection position candidate of an ink droplet ejected from the determined nozzle, (c) determines whether the selected ejection position candidate is included by a mask area that includes a postprocessing object, (d1) if the selected ejection position candidate is not included by the mask area, sets as the selected ejection position candidate an ejection position of an ink droplet ejected from the determined nozzle, and (d2) if the selected ejection position candidate is included by the mask area, does not set as the selected ejection position candidate an ejection position of an ink droplet ejected from the determined nozzle and sets an ejection position of an ink droplet ejected from the determined nozzle outside of the mask area.

Systems and methods for manufacturing multiple integrated tip probes for scanning probe microscopy. According to an embodiment is a microscope probe configured to analyze a sample, the microscope probe including: a movable probe tip including a terminal probe end; a first actuator configured to displace the movable probe tip along a first axis; and a detection component configured to detect motion of the movable probe tip in response to an applied signal; where the moveable probe tip comprises a metal layer affixed to a supporting layer, at least a portion of the metal layer at the terminal probe end extending past the supporting layer.

A system comprises a printhead including a nozzle, a temperature sensor and a processor. The temperature sensor detects the temperature of a location of a print surface upon firing the nozzle to eject a drop of printing fluid to the location of the print surface. The processor determines whether the nozzle ejected the drop properly using the detected temperature.

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 maintenance method for a liquid discharging apparatus including a liquid discharging head. The liquid discharging apparatus executes a printing process including a discharging process in which the liquid discharged from the liquid discharging head lands on the medium, and a maintenance process in which the liquid is discarded from the liquid discharging head. The maintenance method includes: counting a unit period number, which is the number of ended unit periods among a plurality of unit periods obtained by dividing a period required for the printing process in accordance with a first condition; executing the maintenance process when the unit period number reaches a defined number; acquiring viscosity information related to viscosity of the liquid inside the liquid discharging head; and decreasing the unit period number when the viscosity information satisfies a second condition.