A cleaning station for a vertical nozzle plate of an ink jet printer includes
a
cylindrical cleaning roller that has an outer surface, and has a substantially
vertical central axis and a substantially vertical rotational axis. The roller
is spaced from the nozzle plate to form a cleaning cavity between the roller and
the nozzle plate. The roller has a top end above the nozzle plate and a bottom
end below the nozzle plate. A drive element is connected to the roller to rotate
the roller about its rotation axis. A fluid outlet near the top of the roller directs
cleaning fluid onto the outer surface of the roller, and into the cleaning cavity
between the roller and the nozzle plate. A fluid reservoir stores cleaning fluid,
and a fluid conduit conducts cleaning fluid from the fluid reservoir to the fluid outlet.
