the second printhead motion 101 this movement engages the splash guard 81 with the printhead face 54 once the cleaning operation is performed as described above the printhead 20 moves in a third direction of printhead motion arrow 103 away from the service station 16 generally the third direction of printhead motion 103 is opposite the first direction of printhead motion 100 as the printhead 20 disengages from the service station 16 this disengagement breaks the seal formed by the splash guard sealing lip 86 and the printhead face 54 is carried over the sealing lip 86 where a wiper operation may be performed to remove debris or the washing solution 92 from the printhead face 54 as described above a wicking operation may also be performed fig1 a 11j illustrate an alternative system 146 for cleaning the printhead 20 the system 146 is located in the service station 16 fig1 in one embodiment the system 146 includes a cleaning station 148 made up generally of a latch pawl 152 a spring 154 a wiper 156 a printhead cap 158 a cap carrier 192 a second spring 162 and a cam track 164 only a single cleaning station 148 is shown for descriptive purposes however multiple stations 148 may be disposed in the service station 16 alternatively a single cleaning station 148 may service multiple printheads 20 by for example successively positioning the printheads 20 relative to the cleaning station 148 fig1 a represents a starting position of the cleaning system 146 as shown in fig1 b the printhead 20 approaches the cleaning station 148 and engages.