Inkjet printer with dual page memory and page expander
An inkjet printer including a body housing a print engine configured to transport and print upon print media. The print engine includes a memory buffer of sufficient size to enable printing of one compressed page whilst receiving another compressed page. Each compressed page includes compressed contone data and compressed bi-level data. The print engine is configured to expand each compressed page during printing. A retractable cover is pivotally mounted relative to the body and is able to be pivoted to form a guide which can guide print media to the print engine for printing.
1. An inkjet printer comprising:
a body housing a print engine configured to transport and print upon print media, the print engine including a memory buffer of sufficient size to enable printing of one compressed page whilst receiving another compressed page, each compressed page including compressed contone data and compressed bi-level data, the print engine being configured to expand each compressed page during printing; and
a retractable cover pivotally mounted relative to the body and able to be pivoted to form a guide which can guide print media to the print engine for printing.
2. An inkjet printer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the print engine is configured to expand each compressed page by:
decompressing the compressed contone data and halftoning the resulting contone pixels to form bi-level CMYK dots; and
decompressing the compressed bi-level data and compositing the resulting bi-level black dots over the bi-level CMYK dots.
3. An inkjet printer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the memory buffer is of insufficient size to store a single uncompressed page.
4. An inkjet printer as claimed in claim 1 , in which a support is configured to support the print media guided to the print engine and is pivotally mounted relative to the cover so that the support can be retracted between the cover and the body.
5. An inkjet printer as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the cover defines a print media channel into which the support can be retracted.
6. An inkjet printer as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the cover defines a plurality of parallel support ribs within the channel.
7. An inkjet printer as claimed in claim 1 , in which a user interface is located on the body in a position so that it can be wholly covered by the cover.
8. An inkjet printer as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the user interface includes at least one light emitting diode (LED) and at least one operational button configured to control operation of the print engine.
9. An inkjet printer as claimed in claim 1 , in which a paper tray is slidably mounted relative to the body and can be protracted from the body to capture printed print media from the print engine.