On-page inkjet printhead spitting system

A method of purging an inkjet printhead used in an inkjet printing mechanism, comprising the steps of:

• firing selected nozzles of the printhead to deposit image ink droplets on a print media page to print a selected image;
• purging selected nozzles by firing to deposit purging ink droplets on the page;
• in consecutive passes, scanning the printhead through a print zone of the inkjet printing mechanism during the firing and purging steps;
• tracking the number of times each nozzle is fired during each pass;
• monitoring the timing of each pass;
• and
• determining from the tracking and monitoring steps of one pass which nozzles to fire in the purging step during the next pass following said one pass.

A method of purging an inkjet printhead used in an inkjet printing mechanism including a spittoon portion, comprising the steps of:

• firing selected nozzles of the printhead to deposit image ink droplets on a print media page to print a selected image;
• providing a selection of at least two different modes of print quality;
• identifying nozzles in need of purging;
• and
• purging the identified nozzles by firing to deposit purging ink droplets, and depositing the purging ink droplets on the page for a first print quality mode, and depositing the purging ink droplets in the spittoon for a second print quality mode.

An inkjet printing mechanism, comprising:

• a chassis;
• a printhead mounted to the chassis for movement across a print zone, the printhead having plural nozzles selectively fired to deposit image ink droplets on a print media page to print a selected image in response to a control signal;
• a spittoon portion;
• and
• a controller that generates the control signal to fire purging ink droplets from selected nozzles to deposit purging ink droplets on the page for a first print quality mode, and to deposit the purging ink droplets in the spittoon for a second print quality mode.