US 5,790,915 A · Plane registration for monochrome and color printing systems

Abstract

A printing system for printing on a sheet of print media, the system including an electrophotographic printer operable to print on the sheet at a first print speed; and a color printer operable to print on the sheet of paper at a second print speed. The inkjet color printer includes a bidirectional sheet advancer operable to controllably move the sheet along an inkjet printer print path in either of first or second opposite directions, an inkjet pen carriage configured to support at least one inkjet pen and movable in a scan direction transverse to the inkjet printer print path for printing on the sheet, and a registration system operable to register a color image to be printed by the inkjet color printer relative to the black image printed by the electrophotographic printer. The registration system includes an optical sensor supported by the inkjet pen carriage for movement with the pen carriage along the scan direction.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A printing system for printing on a sheet of print media, the system comprising:

an electrophotographic printer operable to print an image on the sheet at a first print speed;
an inkjet color printer operable to print an image on the sheet at a second print speed;
and
a common housing supporting both the electrophotographic printer and the inkjet printer, the inkjet printer further including a bi-directional sheet advancer operable to controllably move the sheet along an inkjet printer print path in either of first or second opposite directions, an inkjet pen carriage configured to support at least one inkjet pen and movable in a scan direction transverse to the inkjet printer print path for printing on the sheet, and a registration system operable to register the image printed by the inkjet color printer relative to the image printed by the electrophotographic printer, the registration system including an optical sensor supported by the inkjet pen carriage for movement with the pen carriage along the scan direction, the common housing supporting both the printers such that one of the printers is mounted above the other of the printers.

1 more element

A printing system for printing on a sheet of print media, the system comprising:

an electrophotographic printer configured to print a black image on the sheet;
an inkjet color printer configured to print a color image on the sheet;
and
a staging tray that functions both as an output tray configured to receive the sheet after the sheet has been printed on by the electrophotographic printer, as well as an input tray configured to supply the sheet that has been printed on by the electrophotographic printer to the inkjet printer before the inkjet printer prints on the sheet, the inkjet printer further including a bidirectional sheet advancement system configured to controllably move the sheet along an inkjet printer print path in either of a first direction away from the staging tray and a second direction toward the staging tray, an inkjet pen carriage configured to support at least one inkjet pen and movable along a scan direction for printing on the sheet, and a registration system configured to register the image printed by the inkjet color printer relative to the image printed by the electrophotographic printer, the registration system including an optical sensor supported relative to the inkjet pen carriage for movement with the pen carriage along the scan direction.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Plane registration for monochrome and color printing systems

Life of this patent

Plane registration for monochrome and color printing systems

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20