Thermal ink jet printhead with low heater mass

Provided is a printhead having a plurality of nozzles formed on a wafer substrate. Each nozzle has a fluid chamber for holding printing fluid, the fluid chamber having an ejection port, a fluid inlet defined in the wafer substrate for supplying the fluid chamber with printing fluid, and a heater element suspended in the fluid chamber. The heater element has a mass of less than 10 nanograms. Upon application of electrical energy to the heater element, a vapor bubble is formed in the printing fluid, thereby ejecting the fluid via the ejection port.