PRINTING SYSTEM WITH AEROSOL COLLECTION FROM BOTH SIDES OF MEDIA PATH

1 . A printing system comprising:

an inkjet printhead assembly for printing media fed along a media path;

an aerosol collection system for collecting ink aerosol generated by the printhead assembly; wherein,

the printhead assembly is positioned on a first side of the media path and the aerosol collection system has a first aerosol collection opening positioned on the first side of the media path and a second aerosol collection opening positioned on a second side of the media path.

2 . The printing system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a platen for supporting the media during printing; wherein,

the platen has a spittoon system for collecting non-printing drops of ink ejected from the inkjet printhead assembly.

3 . The printing system according to claim 2 wherein the printhead assembly has a plurality of separate printheads fixed relative to the media path and the spittoon system has a corresponding plurality of service modules for each of the printheads respectively, the service modules being configured to operate in a spittoon mode when the corresponding printhead ejects non-printing drops of ink.

4 . The printing system according to claim 3 further comprising a media feed assembly for feeding different sizes of the media along the media path in a media feed direction, the media path having a width corresponding to a maximum width of media that can be printed by the printing system; wherein,

any of the printheads not fully required to print media that is less than the maximum width, have the corresponding service module operating in the spittoon mode.

5 . The printing system according to claim 4 wherein the service modules are configured to operate in a platen mode when all the corresponding printheads are printing the media.

6 . The printing system according to claim 4 wherein the service modules are configured to operate in a capped mode when the corresponding printhead is not required for printing the media.

7 . The printing system according to claim 4 wherein the aerosol collection system is configured to collect ink aerosol from the first and second aerosol collection openings when the media being printed is less than the maximum width.

8 . The printing system according to claim 4 wherein the printheads are arranged into a group of leading printheads and a group of trailing printheads, the leading printheads being upstream of the trailing printheads with respect to the media feed direction.

9 . The printing system according to claim 8 wherein the first and second aerosol collection openings are downstream of the trailing printheads.

10 . The printing system according to claim 4 wherein the service modules are independently operable.

11 . The printing system according to claim 4 further comprising a vacuum platen opposite the printhead assembly, the vacuum platen having a plurality of apertures in which the services modules are positioned.

12 . The printing system according to claim 11 wherein one of the modes is a priming mode for use when the printhead corresponding to the service module is a newly installed replacement printhead.

13 . The printing system according to claim 12 wherein the service modules that do not correspond to the newly installed replacement printhead are configured to operate in the capping mode while the newly installed replacement printhead is primed.

14 . The printing system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a drive roller configured to engage and push media into a print zone; and,

a movable media engagement assembly configured to engage one side of the media and pull the media while the drive roller remains engaged with the media.

15 . The printing system according to claim 14 wherein the movable media engagement assembly has an apertured surface that has a media engagement side and low pressure region at a side opposite the media engagement side.

16 . The printing system according to claim 15 wherein the movable media engagement assembly has a vacuum belt configured to receive the media from the print zone.

17 . The printing system according to claim 16 wherein the drive roller is configured to control a media translation speed until the media disengages from the drive roller.

18 . The printing system according to claim 17 wherein the vacuum belt is configured to control the media transport speed subsequent to disengagement of the media from the drive roller.

19 . The printing system according to claim 9 further comprising a media encoder positioned in the platen and configured to produce timing signals for operating the printhead assembly.

20 . The printing system according to claim 16 further comprising a scanner adjacent the vacuum belt to capture information from the media for feedback control of the pagewidth printhead assembly.