Adaptive ink flushing of overlap nozzles of a printer

A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying programmed instructions which, when executed by a processor, are operable for performing a method comprising:

• identifying an overlap region wherein nozzles at adjacent printheads of a marking engine overlap along a widthwise direction;
• detecting primary nozzles that print image data within the overlap region;
• detecting overlap nozzles that do not have firing instructions to eject ink within the overlap region;
• analyzing nozzle firing data for each overlap nozzle to determine inactive firing spans for each overlap nozzle;
• and
• in response to determining that an inactive firing span for an overlap nozzle exceeds a threshold, generating a firing instruction directing the overlap nozzle to eject ink.

A method comprising:

• identifying an overlap region wherein nozzles at adjacent printheads of a marking engine overlap along a widthwise direction;
• detecting primary nozzles that print image data within the overlap region;
• detecting overlap nozzles that do not have firing instructions to eject ink within the overlap region;
• analyzing nozzle firing data for each overlap nozzle to determine inactive firing spans for each overlap nozzle;
• and
• in response to determining that an inactive firing span for an overlap nozzle exceeds a threshold, generating a firing instruction directing the overlap nozzle to eject ink.