A printing nozzle is provided having a chamber defined over a fluid inlet in a substrate and having a fluid ejection port, an actuator for causing ejection of fluid within the chamber from the fluid ejection port, a controller for controlling operation of the actuator by applying a current pulse having a predetermined energy level to the actuator, and a sensor for sensing operation of the actuator. The controller applies a current pulse having an energy level significantly greater than said predetermined energy level to the actuator when the sensor senses faulty operation of the actuator.