Printhead substrate having an ink jet primitive structure that spans both edges of an ink feed channel

An ink jet printing apparatus comprising:

• a printhead structure including a printhead substrate;
• an ink feed slot formed in said printhead substrate and having a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge opposite said first longitudinal edge;
• a plurality of ink drop generators formed in said printhead structure and located along said first longitudinal edge and said second longitudinal edge;
• said plurality of ink drop generators electrically grouped and arranged in a plurality of groups called primitives;
• and
• each primitive receiving a respectively different primitive select signal and at least one primitive being spatially divided across said ink feed slot such that a first subgroup of said at least one primitive is located along said first longitudinal edge and a second subgroup of said at least one primitive is located along said second longitudinal edge.

A method of printing comprising the steps of:

• providing ink to a first subgroup of ink drop generators disposed on one side of an ink feed slot;
• providing ink to a second subgroup of ink drop generators disposed on another side of an ink feed slot;
• and
• actuating only a selected one of the ink drop generators of the first subgroup and the ink drop generators of the second subgroup in response to a single primitive select signal and a plurality of address signals.