METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING NEIGHBOR CROSS-TALK AND INCREASING ROBUSTNESS OF AN ACOUSTIC PRINTING SYSTEM AGAINST ISOLATED EJECTOR FAILURE

An at least two-pass acoustic printing system uses an acoustic printhead having an array of ejectors arranged in rows and columns. Operation of each ejector is individually controllable. To minimize cross-talk errors a first selected ejector in a selected row is identified as an odd ejector of the selected row. Thereafter a first firing sequence of the first selected ejector is generated based on the first selected ejector being identified as odd. Then a second ejector, immediately adjacent the first ejector, is selected and is identified as an even ejector. Thereafter a second firing sequence is generated for the second selected ejector based on the selector being identified as even. The first and second firing sequences result in the first ejector and the second ejector being active during non-concurrent time periods. When a defective ejector of the array is detected, an operable ejector firing to the same substrate area is determined. A firing sequence from or associated with the defective ejector is transferred to be used by the operable ejector wherein the operable ejector fires both its own firing sequence and the firing sequence of the defective ejector.