Large inkjet print swath media support system

An inkjet printing mechanism, comprising:

• a chassis;
• a carriage supported by the chassis for reciprocal movement along a scanning axis across a printzone;
• an inkjet printhead having a nozzle array with a length, with the printhead supported by the carriage for said reciprocal movement with the length of the nozzle array perpendicular to the scanning axis;
• and
• a media support system, comprising;
• an endless belt having an interior surface and an exterior surface, wherein the exterior surface of the endless belt has plural ribs projecting upwardly therefrom, with each rib extending longitudinally in a direction perpendicular to the scanning axis to support the media along an undersurface thereof without protruding therethrough, and with each rib being spaced apart from an adjacent rib to suspend a portion of the media therebetween when in said printzone;
• a transport system comprising a drive member that engages the belt, and a drive motor that selectively drives the drive member;
• and
• at least one support member, parallel to the scanning axis, that engages the interior surface of the belt adjacent the printzone to define a support zone along a portion of the belt exterior surface to support media thereon in a print plane under the length of the nozzle array across the printzone.

A method of supporting media for printing in a printzone of an inkjet printing mechanism, comprising the steps of:

• reciprocally moving an inkjet printhead along a scanning axis across the printzone, with the printhead having a nozzle array with a length that is perpendicular to the scanning axis;
• driving an endless belt having an interior surface and an exterior surface through the printzone, with the belt exterior surface having plural ribs projecting upwardly therefrom, with each rib having a length perpendicular to the scanning axis, and with each rib being spaced apart from an adjacent rib;
• feeding media through the printzone on a belt support zone defined by a portion of the belt exterior surface;
• supporting the belt interior surface opposite the support zone with at least one support member that is parallel to the scanning axis so the support zone positions the media thereon in a print plane under the length of the nozzle array as the printhead moves reciprocally across the printzone during said moving step;
• supporting an undersurface of the media with said ribs without said ribs protruding, through the media;
• suspending a portion of the media between adjacent ribs in the printzone;
• saturating a portion of the media suspended between adjacent ribs when printing which causes media expansion;
• and
• controlling said media expansion by allowing the ink-saturated expanding portion of the media to expand into a region between said adjacent ribs.

A method of supporting media for printing in a printzone of an inkjet printing mechanism, comprising the steps of:

• reciprocally moving an inkjet printhead along a scanning axis across the printzone, with the printhead having a nozzle array with a length that is perpendicular to the scanning axis;
• driving an endless belt having an interior surface and an exterior surface through the printzone, with the belt exterior surface having plural ribs projecting upwardly therefrom, with each rib having a length perpendicular to the scanning axis, and with each rib being spaced apart from an adjacent rib;
• feeding media through the printzone on a belt support zone defined by a portion of the belt exterior surface;
• supporting the belt interior surface opposite the support zone with at least one support member that is parallel to the scanning axis so the support zone positions the media thereon in a print plane under the length of the nozzle array as the printhead moves reciprocally across the printzone during said moving step;
• suspending a portion of the media between adjacent ribs in the printzone;
• saturating a portion of the media suspended between adjacent ribs when printing which causes media expansion;
• controlling said media expansion by allowing the ink-saturated expanding portion of the media to expand between said adjacent ribs;
• the driving step comprises driving plural endless belts each having at least one of said plural ribs;
• and
• pulling the media in the printzone into engagement with the support zone of the belt by creating a low pressure region along the interior surface of said plural endless belts adjacent the printzone.