An inkjet printhead has a body and a heater chip attached thereto. A nozzle plate on the heater chip includes a periphery and plurality of nozzle holes. An encapsulant bead lines the periphery of the nozzle plate and has a leading edge extending in a direction away from the periphery toward the plurality of nozzle holes. The boundary of the bead embodies an irregular shape and the leading edge exists less than about 500 microns from any of the nozzle holes. A tape attaches to the nozzle plate and covers each of the nozzle holes. The tape does not, however, touch the encapsulant bead. Preferably, the tape has a narrow width portion shorter than a width of the nozzle plate. In this manner, the encapsulant bead may encroach upon the nozzle holes closer than heretofore known. In turn, the heater chip can have reduced size and silicon savings.