Multiple zone printer vacuum tables, systems and methods

A printing system comprising:

• a printing system controller including a processor;
• a print carriage including a plurality of print heads;
• a printer vacuum table;
• a vacuum delivery system;
• and
• a porous transfer belt for transporting media though a printing region defined between the printer vacuum table and the print carriage;
• wherein the printer vacuum table includes:
• a printer vacuum table surface having a characteristic length in a first direction and a characteristic width in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and having a lower planar side and an upper planar side opposite the lower planar side, wherein the length of the printer vacuum table surface extends from a first end to a second end;
• wherein the printer vacuum table surface includes passages between the upper planar side and the lower planar side;
• a plurality of printer vacuum zones proximate to the lower planar side of the printer vacuum table surface, wherein the plurality of printer vacuum zones extend in the first direction and are located at different positions in the second direction, wherein the plurality of the printer vacuum zones includes a first pair of vacuum zones and a second pair of vacuum zones, and wherein the first pair of vacuum zones and the second pair of vacuum zones are movable in the second direction to position the vacuum zones coincident with a media and independent of a printer carriage position;
• a plurality of vacuum seals affixed to the plurality of printer vacuum zones proximate to the lower planar side of the printer vacuum table surface, wherein the plurality of vacuum seals are movable in the second direction with respect to the lower planar side of the printer vacuum table surface, and wherein the plurality of vacuum seals are configured to reduce or eliminate leakage of variable vacuum that is applied to the printer vacuum table surface;
• a drive train that is configured for proportional movement of the first pair of vacuum zones and the second pair of vacuum zones in the second direction, wherein the proportional movement is related to any of an effective diameter or a circumference of a rotational element of the drive train;
• and
• wherein conduits are defined through the plurality of printer vacuum zones, wherein the conduits are connectable to the vacuum delivery system, and wherein variable vacuum from the vacuum delivery system is controllably activatable by the printer controller to apply variable vacuum to each of the passages in the printer vacuum table surface, to control a flatness range of the media by selectively holding the media to the upper planar side of the printer vacuum table surface via the porous transfer belt coincident with the plurality of printer vacuum zones;
• wherein the variable vacuum applied to the passages is varied such that an amount of variable vacuum applied to each of the passages is independently variable, such that one passage is different than at least an amount of variable vacuum applied to another passage;
• and
• wherein variable vacuum applied to each of the plurality of printer vacuum zones can be turned off when the media does not cover a corresponding region of the printer vacuum table surface.