Provided is a printer cradle for receiving an ink cartridge having a rotor element. The cradle includes a drive roller and an electrical motor having a drive shaft terminating in a worm gear that meshes with a cog affixed to the drive roller for driving said roller. The cradle also includes a flipper gear assembly that is operatively engaged with the drive roller to be driven by the drive roller between an engaged position, in which the flipper gear assembly engages the rotor element and a disengaged position in which the flipper gear assembly is disengaged from the rotor element. Further included is a controller arrangement having a controller board housing a print engine controller configured to control the motor to actuate or disengage the rotor element.