A thermal inkjet printhead with a heater element disposed in each of the bubble forming chambers wherein, the heater element has a protective surface coating that is less than 0.1 .mu.m thick while still being capable of ejecting more than 1 billion drops without failure. Removing most or all of the protective coatings from the heater reduces or eliminates the thermal insulation between the heater and the ink. Nucleating a bubble in the ink chamber requires a much shorter pulse of less energy thereby improving printhead efficiency.