Inkjet printhead alignment via measurement and entry

An inkjet pen apparatus for use with an inkjet printing device, comprising:

• a printhead comprising a plurality of nozzles, each one of said plurality of nozzles defining a nozzle chamber for receiving ink;
• a pen body to which the printhead is attached, the pen comprising a reservoir for holding ink, the reservoir coupled to the nozzle chambers;
• a reference point against which locations of the printhead nozzles are measured;
• and
• means for storing a misalignment indicator corresponding to a misalignment of the printhead, the misalignment indicator derived from printhead nozzle locations, in which the storing means comprises an optically detectable bar code.

An inkjet pen apparatus for use with an inkjet printing device, comprising:

• a printhead comprising a plurality of nozzles, each one of said plurality of nozzles defining a nozzle chamber for receiving ink;
• a pen body to which the printhead is attached, the pen comprising a reservoir for holding ink, the reservoir coupled to the nozzle chambers;
• a reference point against which locations of the printhead nozzles are measured;
• and
• means for storing a misalignment indicator corresponding to a misalignment of the printhead, the misalignment indicator derived from printhead nozzle locations, in which the storing means comprises a first marking on the pen body and a second marking on the pen body, and wherein the relative offset of the second marking to the first marking is indicative of printhead misalignment.

An inkjet pen apparatus for use with an inkjet printing device, comprising:

• a printhead comprising a plurality of nozzles, each one of said plurality of nozzles defining a nozzle chamber for receiving ink;
• a pen body to which the printhead is attached, the pen comprising a reservoir for holding ink, the reservoir coupled to the nozzle chambers;
• a reference point against which locations of the printhead nozzles are measured;
• and
• means for storing a misalignment indicator corresponding to a misalignment of the printhead, the misalignment indicator derived from printhead nozzle locations, in which the reference point is integral to the printhead.

An inkjet pen apparatus for use with an inkjet printing device, comprising:

• a printhead comprising a plurality of nozzles, each one of said plurality of nozzles defining a nozzle chamber for receiving ink;
• a pen body to which the printhead is attached, the pen comprising a reservoir for holding ink, the reservoir coupled to the nozzle chambers;
• a reference point against which locations of the printhead nozzles are measured;
• and
• means for storing a misalignment indicator corresponding to a misalignment of the printhead, the misalignment indicator derived from printhead nozzle locations, in which the reference point is integral to the pen body.

An inkjet printing apparatus, comprising:

• an inkjet pen, a carriage assembly for scanning the inkjet pen, a reference point having a fixed location relative to the carriage assembly, the inkjet pen comprising:
• (i) a printhead comprising a plurality of nozzles, each one of said plurality of nozzles defining a nozzle chamber for receiving ink, wherein locations of the printhead nozzles are measured relative to the fixed reference point at the carriage assembly;
• (ii) a pen body to which the printhead is attached, the pen comprising a reservoir for holding ink, the reservoir coupled to the nozzle chambers;
• and
• (iii) means for storing a misalignment indicator corresponding to a misalignment of the printhead, the misalignment indicator derived from printhead nozzle locations.

A method for adjusting the timing of printhead nozzles to compensate for printhead misalignment in an inkjet printing apparatus comprising a plurality of inkjet pens, each one of the plurality of inkjet pens comprising a printhead, a pen body to which the printhead is attached, and a reference point, each printhead having a plurality of nozzles through which ink is elected for printing to a media sheet, the method comprising the steps of:

• for each printhead optically measuring printhead alignment relative to the reference point of the pen comprising such printhead;
• and
• embedding printhead misalignment data into each pen, said data corresponding to the printhead of the pen at which the data is embedded;
• in which the step of measuring for each given printhead comprises measuring the location of each nozzle of the given printhead relative to the reference point of the pen comprising the given printhead.