Printhead capping mechanism having multiple gear assemblies and method of assembling same

A gear arrangement for a capper of an inkjet printer, the gear arrangement comprising:

• a first gear assembly mounted to the printer, the first gear assembly including a pair of first gears, and a second gear having a code feature and arranged in cooperation with a motor gear for driving rotation of the first gear assembly;
• a second gear assembly mounted to the printer in cooperation with the first gear assembly to be rotatable therewith, the second gear assembly including a pair of third gears for cooperating with a capper of a printhead to move the capper out of and into a capping position relative to the printhead;
• and
• a common shaft for supporting the pair of first gears and the second gear, the common shaft respectively supporting the pair of first gears at opposing ends thereof, wherein
• the code feature of the first gear assembly is arranged to cooperate with a holding feature of a mounting arrangement used to mount the second gear assembly to the printer, the code feature cooperating with the holding feature to maintain the first gear assembly at a predetermined position during the mounting of the second gear assembly, and
• each of the third gears is mounted to the printer via a respective pin and positioned to respectively mesh with one of the first gears of the first gear assembly.