Printer arrangement with printhead and ink transport assembly

1. A printer arrangement comprising:

a printhead mounted on a carrier, the printhead connected to a printhead controller by means of encapsulated wire bonds;

an ink supply manifold having a plurality of ink reservoirs for supplying the printhead with ink;

an ink transport assembly configured to facilitate purging of ink from the printhead when the assembly in a cleaning position;

a drive motor;

a number of rollers of which at least one is operatively actuated by the drive motor; and

a film wound in a loop around said rollers, so that actuation of the rollers by the motor produces a laminar ink flow in a cavity defined by the film, the printhead and the encapsulated wire bonds when the assembly is in the cleaning position.

2. The printer arrangement of claim 1 , which includes a displacement mechanism for displacing the ink transport assembly between a printing position and the cleaning position.

3. The printer arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the film is arranged in sealing contact with a surface of the encapsulant, which acts as film guide in the cleaning position.

4. The printer arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the ink transport assembly includes an absorbent foam pad for cleaning a portion of the film before such portion re-enters the cavity.

5. The printer arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the printhead includes bonding pads from which the encapsulated wires extends, the wire bonds connecting drive circuitry in the printhead to a microprocessor which controls operation of the printhead.

6. The printer arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the encapsulant is a polymeric material.