Inkjet systems are growing both in scale and in breadth of applications. This is particularly true with respect to production inkjet systems, digital fabrication, and industrial marking applications. There are systems now being designed and/or manufactured with up to hundreds of thousands of jets. To satisfy the requirements for throughput, image quality, materials compatibility, and reliability, printhead manufacturers are continuing to improve their design by offering more nozzles per inch, smaller drops, higher frequency, and other features. However, while the inherent printhead design may be the most important factor in achieving improved performance and reliability, there are many other factors that impact the system and are essential to achieving the desired customer needs in terms of quality, cost, and delivery. Sufficient understanding and design implementation of these system-level issues are as key to a successful product as is the raw printhead performance.