Printhead force adjust and lift system and method

A printhead control system for a printer, comprising:

• a printhead assembly including:
• a printhead retained by a printhead holder and arranged to engage a platen roller of the printer;
• a cam shaft designed to rotate into one or more rotational positions;
• a force cam configured to apply a downward force to the printhead holder;
• a lift cam configured to apply an upward force to the printhead holder;
• a cam adjustment gear connected to the cam shaft and configured to rotate therewith;
• and
• a sensor arranged to detect the rotational position of the cam shaft;
• a gear subassembly including a driver configured to generate rotational motion and a gear member arranged to transmit the rotational motion generated by the driver to the cam adjustment gear;
• and
• a controller of the printer configured to operate the gear subassembly to place the cam shaft in a desired rotational position.

A method of adjusting a nip force setting of a printhead in a printer, comprising:

• providing a printhead assembly including a printhead, a push plate arranged to apply a downward force to the printhead, a cam shaft with a force cam positioned thereon and configured to rotate therewith, and a driver configured to change the rotational position of the cam shaft;
• providing a media cartridge including a smart cell, wherein the smart cell includes an electronic chip, the media cartridge retaining a supply of printable media for use with the printer;
• positioning the media cartridge on a media holder of the printer such that a reader positioned on the media holder aligns with and receives a signal from the smart cell;
• transmitting the signal received from the smart cell to a controller of the printer;
• determining, based on the signal received, a nip force associated with a type of printable media retained by the media cartridge;
• operating the driver to place the cam shaft in a rotational position corresponding to the nip force such that the force cam causes the push plate to apply the nip force to the printhead;
• and
• performing printing operations with the nip force.