A single-pass print head has multiple orifice plates each serving some but not all of the area to be printed. In embodiments, the printhead includes an array of ink jet outlets sufficient to cover a target of a print substrate at a predetermined resolution, and orifice plates, each of the orifice plates having orifices, each of the orifice plates serving some but not all of the area to be printed. The orifices are arranged in a pattern such that adjacent parallel lines on the print medium are served by orifices that have different positions in the array along the direction of the print lines, that are separated by a distance that is at least an order of magnitude greater than the distance between adjacent orifices in a direction perpendicular to the print line direction.