A pagewidth array is fabricated to include a plurality of heating element subunits of the same or differing thicknesses, each subunit having a circuit surface and an opposite base surface. The plurality of subunits is inverted with each of the circuit surfaces facing toward a support surface to expose the base surfaces of each subunit. Each of said subunits is butted against an adjacent subunit to form an end-to-end array of butted subunits, and a conformal adhesive is applied to a bonding substrate which is then applied to the base surfaces of the array of butted substrates to form a coplanar adhesive layer across each of said subunits. The circuit surfaces are protected from damage due to contact with said support surface by applying a stand-off layer of substantially uniform thickness to at least a portion of the circuit surfaces prior to inverting the plurality of subunits. The stand-off layer preferably is polyimide.