There is provided a printhead for an ink jet printer, including a primary and a secondary array of nozzles in the printhead, the nozzles in the primary array of nozzles being in alignment with the nozzles in the secondary array of nozzles in a printing process direction; detection system for detecting defective nozzles in both the primary array of nozzles and in the secondary array of nozzles; a first mode operation having means for selectively activating nozzles in the secondary array of nozzles that are in alignment with defective nozzles in the primary array of nozzles; and a second mode of operation having means, responsive to the detecting means, for translating the secondary array of nozzles in relation to the primary array of nozzles along a path to a first position to realigned the nozzles in the primary array of nozzles to nozzles in the secondary array of nozzles if defective nozzles are aligned in both the primary and the secondary array of nozzles.