An inkjet carriage printer includes a carriage for transporting an inkjet printhead in a carriage scan direction across the print region in reciprocating fashion, the carriage including an encoder sensor; a linear encoder disposed along the carriage scan direction; and a controller for controlling the motor on the basis of signals provided by the encoder sensor, the controller includes: a first motion control mode for damping carriage vibrations during a period when the carriage is in the print region; and a selectable second motion control mode for dislodging air bubbles for removal from the inkjet printhead, wherein the selectable second motion control mode is configured to decrease damping in order to set the carriage into oscillation.