Patent 7128410 was granted and assigned to Videojet Technologies (company) on October, 2006 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a self-cleaning print head for an ink jet printer that directs ink to a substrate to be marked. The print head includes a ground plate having a channel formed therethrough, and a makeup fluid supply system that supplies makeup fluid directly to the ground plate through a makeup supply conduit, and into a catcher. The makeup fluid removes ink residue from the channel as the makeup fluid flows through the channel.