Electronic checking with printing

A printing mechanism, comprising:

• a single motor including a motor shaft operable to turn in a first direction and a second direction;
• a printhead, said printhead for printing;
• a printhead shaft to which said printhead is translationally engaged, such that rotation of said printhead shaft causes translation of said printhead back and forth along said printhead shaft for printing;
• a roller shaft extending over items to be printed, such that rotation of said roller shaft advances said items under said printhead;
• a transmission coupled to said motor shaft, said printhead shaft, and said roller shaft, said transmission causing rotation of said printhead shaft only when said motor shaft is turning in said first direction, and causing rotation of said roller shaft only when said motor shaft is turning in said second direction;
• and
• an electronic control system, including a controller and memory for controlling said printing mechanism.

An electronic checkbook, comprising:

• a case, said case including a cavity for storage of a plurality of checks;
• an input device integral with said case, said input device for inputting information to said electronic checkbook, said information including data for writing checks;
• a display device integral with said case, said display device for displaying data input to or generated by said electronic checkbook;
• a printing mechanism for printing checks, said printing mechanism comprising:
• a single motor including a motor shaft operable to turn in two directions;
• an inkjet printhead and ink tube for supplying ink to said printhead, said printhead for printing on said checks and including:
• an ink filter sensor plate for filtering said ink, said ink filter sensor plate being electrically conductive;
• and
• an ink sensor orifice plate through which jets of ink are expelled for printing, said ink sensor orifice plate being electrically conductive, such that ink presence can be sensed between said ink filter sensor plate and said ink orifice sensor plate, said ink sensor orifice plate also operable to receive an electrical signal through said ink for effectively lowering the freezing point of said ink;
• a printhead shaft to which said printhead is translationally engaged, such that rotation of said printhead shaft causes translation of said printhead for printing on said checks;
• a roller shaft extending over said checks, such that rotation of said roller shaft advances said checks under said printhead;
• a transmission coupled to said motor shaft, said printhead shaft, and said roller shaft, said transmission operable to rotate said printhead shaft only when said motor shaft is turning in a first direction, and to rotate said roller shaft only when said motor shaft is turning in a second direction;
• and
• a position sensor for sensing positions of said printhead shaft and said motor shaft;
• an electronic control system, including a controller and memory for controlling said printing mechanism, said input device, and said display device, and for maintaining transactional records associated with said checks, said electronic control system operable to control said printing mechanism based in part on said position sensor;
• a removable non-volatile memory for storing transactional information;
• and
• a statement strip reading device integral with said case, said statement strip reading device operable to read information, including transactional information, recorded on a statement strip, such that information from said statement strip can be reconciled with information in said removable non-volatile memory.