Method of maintaining a printhead using a maintenance roller

1. A method of maintaining a printhead in an operable condition and/or remediating a printhead to an operable condition, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) providing a maintenance roller having an elastically deformable contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of said printhead;

(ii) moving said roller into a first position in which a clean part of said contact surface is sealingly engaged with said face, said movement being such that said contact surface progressively contacts said face during engagement;

(iii) moving said roller into a second position in which said contact surface is disengaged from said face, said movement being such that said contact surface peels away from said face during disengagement, thereby providing an inked part of said contact surface;

(iv) rotating said roller such that said inked part of said contact surface is conveyed away from said printhead and cleaned; and

(v) optionally repeating steps (ii) to (iv),

wherein said maintenance roller does not rotate when sealingly engaged with said face.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said maintenance roller is moved substantially perpendicularly with respect to said face in steps (ii) and (iii).

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said maintenance roller is substantially coextensive with said printhead.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said contact surface is substantially uniform.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said maintenance roller comprises a rigid core having an elastically deformable shell, said contact surface being an outer surface of said shell.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said shell is comprised of silicone or polyurethane.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said maintenance roller is offset from said printhead.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein a peel zone between said contact surface and said ink ejection face advances transversely across said face during engagement in step (ii) and retreats transversely across said face during disengagement in step (iii).

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said peeling disengagement in step (iii) draws ink from said printhead onto said contact surface.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said inked contact surface is cleaned in step (iv) by transferring said ink onto a transfer roller engaged with said maintenance roller, said transfer roller receiving ink from said maintenance roller when said maintenance roller is rotated.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said transfer roller has a wetting surface for receiving ink from said contact surface.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said transfer roller is a metal roller.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein said transfer roller is positioned distal from said printhead.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein said ink is subsequently transferred from said transfer roller onto a cleaning pad is in contact with said transfer roller.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said transfer roller and said cleaning pad are substantially coextensive with said maintenance roller.