A head cleaning device includes: a cleaning member that is long and comes into contact with nozzle surfaces of a first ejection head and a second ejection head arranged at intervals and cleans the nozzle surfaces; and a mover that moves, after completion of a previous cleaning and before start of a next cleaning, the cleaning member by a distance shorter than a path length from a portion that has cleaned the nozzle surface of the first ejection head to a portion that has cleaned the nozzle surface of the second ejection head up to the previous cleaning.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid ejecting portion configured to eject a liquid from a nozzle disposed in a nozzle surface; a wiping mechanism configured to execute a wiping operation of wiping the nozzle surface with a strip-shaped member, which is configured to absorb the liquid ejected by the liquid ejecting portion, in contact with the nozzle surface; a wiping solution supply mechanism configured to supply a wiping solution to the strip-shaped member before the wiping operation is performed; and a control portion, and the control portion reduces the amount of the wiping solution held in the strip-shaped member in the wiping operation when the nozzle surface with a large amount of the liquid adhering thereto is wiped as compared with the amount of the wiping solution when the nozzle surface with a small amount of the liquid adhering thereto is wiped.

A printing apparatus includes a maintenance unit that can wipe a discharge port surface of a printing unit provided with a first discharge port array to discharge an ink and a second discharge port array to discharge a reaction liquid that reacts with the ink, by using a wiping member provided with a property to absorb the ink and the reaction liquid. In the wiping member, a first wiping portion to wipe the first discharge port array and a second wiping portion to wipe the second discharge port array are located in different positions in a first direction being a direction of relative movement of the printing unit and the maintenance unit.

A wiping device includes a wiping member configured to wipe a nozzle surface of a discharging head configured to discharge a liquid composition from nozzles formed on the nozzle surface. The wiping member contains fiber with projections present in a cross section perpendicular to an axis of the fiber and continuous in a direction of the axis of the fiber.

A head cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning unit that includes a cleaning member and a hardware processor. The head cleaning apparatus is configured to perform a cleaning operation of cleaning a nozzle surface of an inkjet head with the cleaning member, the nozzle surface having a water-repellent film. The cleaning operation is performed either in a rub mode or a stamp mode. In the rub mode, the cleaning member and the nozzle surface are brought into contact and relatively slid on each other. In the stamp mode, the cleaning member and the nozzle surface are brought into contact and kept still. The hardware processor determines which mode is performed, the rub mode or the stamp mode, in the cleaning operation based on a predetermined condition.

In some examples, a printing press includes a printing unit with at least four nozzle bars, each including a print head. At least one nozzle bar has a printing position and at least one service position. For instance, in a first service position, the at least one nozzle bar has a first distance to the transport path of a printing substrate, and in a second service position the at least one nozzle bar has a second distance to the transport path. The printing unit includes at least one cleaning device and/or cleaning system that is selectively arranged in an area between the at least one nozzle bar and the transport path. The at least one service position may be arranged in vertical direction above the printing position, and the second distance of the second service position of the nozzle bar may be less than in the first service position.

Additive manufacturing apparatuses, components of additive manufacturing apparatuses, and methods of using such manufacturing apparatuses and components are disclosed. An additive manufacturing apparatus may include a recoat head for distributing build material in a build area, a print head for depositing material in the build area, one or more actuators for moving the recoat head and the print head relative to the build area, and a cleaning station for cleaning the print head.

An image forming apparatus includes a recording head and a wiper. The recording head is provided with a nozzle region where a plurality of ink ejection ports are opened downward. The wiper comes into contact with the nozzle region and moves in a predetermined direction to wipe the ink ejection ports. A head mounting part protruding outward is provided along the wiping direction on a side surface of the recording head at a position higher than the nozzle region. The head mounting part has: an outside portion having a water repellency higher than that of the side surface; and an inside portion provided inside the outside portion and having a water repellency smaller than that of the outside portion.

Disclosed is a method of controlling an inkjet printing process. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of controlling an inkjet printing process by using an inkjet print system, the method including a printing operation of moving a first support chuck or a second support chuck in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction and performing the inkjet printing process of discharging an ink onto a substrate and a first suction operation of suctioning remaining ink from a nozzle formed on a first head or a second head using a first suction unit, wherein a controller controls the printing operation for a first substrate, the first suction operation for the second head or the printing operation for a second substrate, and the first suction operation for the first head to be sequentially performed.

A printing system includes a print bar, a plurality of printheads installed on the print bar and an auxiliary printhead moveable parallel to the print bar. A number of first nozzles of the auxiliary printhead substitute for a number of second nozzles of the printheads during a nozzle servicing operation performed on the second nozzles.