Inkjet printer having an ink cartridge unit configured to facilitate flow of ink therefrom

1. An inkjet printer having an ink cartridge unit which comprises:

a main body defining a number of ink reservoirs, each ink reservoir having a layered stack of absorbent material arranged to form a micro-capillary array, one layer of absorbent material in the layered stack being an array of rigid-walled channels having a diameter of 10 microns or less for suspending ink inside said ink reservoir, wherein a base of each ink reservoir is provided with a raised portion which surrounds an ink outlet, said raised portions being molded into the main body to separate each outlet from the base of the ink reservoir to facilitate a sufficient flow rate of ink from the reservoir;

a lid assembly covering the main body to seal ink inside the ink reservoirs, the lid assembly having a number of ink refill ports, one of the refill ports being in fluid communication with each of the ink reservoirs respectively, each of the ink refill ports having a valve fitting configured to seal closed when not being used to receive an inflow of refill ink; and

a printhead assembly operatively fed with ink via the ink outlets from the ink reservoirs in the main body for printing onto a printing medium,

wherein the array of rigid-walled channels controls an operative back pressure for feeding said ink to said printhead assembly.

2. The inkjet printer of claim 1 , wherein the main body is an elongate structure having rectangular shaped ink reservoirs along a length thereof, with end reservoirs being larger than middle reservoirs for storing ink more readily consumed during printing.

3. The inkjet printer of claim 1 , having an air barrier and ink filter made from a fine mesh material placed over the ink outlet atop the raised portions thereby leaving a space between the filter and the outlet for receiving ink, said air barrier and ink filter formed such that ink can readily pass through the mesh to the printhead assembly but any air bubbles present in the ink are prevented from passing through.

4. The inkjet printer of claim 1 , having a pressed metal chassis fitted to an underside of the main body via clips formed in the chassis, the pressed metal chassis shaped to conform to the underside of the main body and including a plurality of holes that extend therethrough which are positioned to correspond with the ink outlets of the ink storage reservoirs such that there is a passage for ink to pass through the chassis.

5. The inkjet printer of claim 1 , having a capper assembly for operatively capping the printhead assembly to prevent damage to micro-electromechanical nozzle arrangements defined on a printing surface of the printhead assembly.

6. The inkjet printer of claim 1 , wherein the absorbent material is a polymer-based material.

7. The inkjet printer of claim 6 , wherein the polymer-based material is one of the following: polycarbonate, acrylic, polysulfone, polystyrene, fluoropolymer, cyclic olefin polymer, and cyclic olefin copolymer.