Abstract: An ink jet recording method includes the steps of inputting a set of driving pulses to a heater element so that the heater element is repeatedly activated by the driving pulses, repeatedly generating a bubble in ink in an ink path in accordance with repeated activation of the heater element, and separately jetting ink droplets from an ink jetting orifice due to the bubble repeatedly generated in the ink, a number of the ink droplets being equal to a number of the driving pulses input as a set to the heater element, the ink droplets jetted from the ink jetting orifice forming a single dot on a recording medium, wherein a time interval at which the driving pulses are input to the heater element is equal to or greater than 4T, T being a time period from a time at which the inputting of the pulses to the heater element starts to a time at which the bubble reaches a maximum size, and each ink droplet is a slender pillar so that a length of each ink droplet is at least three times as great as a diameter thereof.

Abstract: A configuration protects a printing module in a mail processing appliance. The mail processing appliance has a supporting frame for the printing mechanism in a non-secure area and has a transverse movement device for transverse movement of a printing module. The printing module is disposed in the supporting frame such that it can move transversely with respect to a direction of mail item transport and is mechanically protected against unauthorized access. A protection cap is attached to the printing carriage and is constructed to surround an area of the variable position printing module that is to be protected. The movement area of the printing module is bounded by the walls of a box within the supporting frame. Impeding devices are provided to impede the transverse movement of the transverse movement device of the printing module once a cover has been opened or removed. The cover covers an opening in the housing, with the opening being provided for replacement of at least one ink cartridge.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printing apparatus which can realize both a high speed printing and a high quality printing without color deviations when each of the print areas is printed in a plurality of scans by a plurality of print heads ejecting different kinds of ink. For this purse, this invention has a controller for controlling for each print head independently widths and positions of active nozzle groups in the print heads, the active nozzle groups representing those of the plurality of nozzles in the print heads which are used for printing, wherein the controller controls the widths and positions of the active nozzle groups according to a set printing condition.

Abstract: An inkjet printer for recording dot patterns corresponding to image contents is disclosed. The printer comprises an inkjet head (51) for performing recording by moving in a main scanning direction of a recording medium and injecting ink particles, drive waveform generating sections (24, 25) for generating drive waveforms for injecting said ink particles, and a head drive section (50) for selecting said drive waveforms and driving said inkjet head (51) in accordance with print data. The drive waveform generating sections (24, 25) generate drive waveforms for injecting said ink particles having different ink speeds within a unit cycle, in cycles each corresponding to one of the parts obtained by dividing the unit cycle by an integer. Thereby, by varying the speed of the ink particles injected in one cycle of the drive waveforms, the landing position of each dot in the cycle is controlled and hence the dot pattern in one cycle is varied.

Abstract: An ink jet head includes: actuators each including a scanning electrode, a piezoelectric element and a recording electrode and arranged in a matrix pattern of n rows by m columns (where n and m are natural numbers equal to or greater than two) in terms of electrical circuit; and a driving circuit for supplying a scanning signal to the scanning electrodes for each column, while supplying a recording signal to each row of the recording electrodes in synchronization with the scanning signal. The actuators are geometrically arranged in n rows by m columns. A relay terminal, extending in a vertical direction, is provided in at least one inter-column space between vertical columns of the actuators for relaying signals from the driving circuit to the recording electrodes and the scanning electrodes. The recording electrodes and the scanning electrodes are connected to the relay terminal via lead wires extending in a horizontal direction.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for improving the print quality of a print job having black content. The black content is configured to be applied on a predetermined location on a print medium. In the method, the black content is fortified by applying a black dye based ink on the predetermined location and the black content is printed by applying a black pigment based ink on the predetermined location. The apparatus includes a first printhead configured to fire black dye based ink droplets on the print medium, a second printhead configured to fire black pigment based ink droplets on the print medium and a processing system configured to fortify the black content by controlling the first printhead to fire droplets on the predetermined location. The processing system is further configured to print the black content by controlling the second printhead to fire droplets on the predetermined location.

Abstract: The present invention provides a head driving device and method capable of ejecting a necessary amount of a viscous body from a head including a pressure generating element, such as a piezoelectric element, a droplet ejecting apparatus including the head driving device, a head driving program, and a device manufacturing method including, as one manufacturing step, a step of ejecting a viscous body using the method. The invention can be achieved by applying a drive signal COM to a pressure generating element, such as a piezoelectric element included in a head. A clock signal can be supplied to a drive signal generating circuit that generates the drive signal COM. The drive signal generating circuit generates the drive signal in synchronization with the clock signal.

Abstract: A lithographic method using an ultra-fine probe needle in which a base end of a nanotube is fastened to a holder with the tip end of the nanotube protruded from the holder. The tip end of the thus obtained nanotube probe needle is brought to contact a sample surface, a voltage is applied across the probe needle and sample, and the probe needle is moved while the sample substance in the area of contact of the probe needle is removed by the application of the voltage, thus forming a groove-form pattern on the sample surface.

Abstract: A recording apparatus, including a reciprocating carriage equipped with a record head, an on-carriage first ink tank, a second ink tank distant from the carriage, an ink supply unit for supplying the ink from the second ink tank to the first ink tank, and a remaining ink amount detection unit for detecting a remaining ink amount in the first ink tank, calculates and stores an ink amount required to record a part of the image data while the image data reception, calculates and stores a maximum ink amount required to record the image data except for the above calculated portion, and then starts the record operation at a time when a sum total value of the stored ink amount required and the stored maximum ink amount becomes lower than the remaining ink amount, whereby the ink can be supplied and refilled effectively and appropriately.

Abstract: An ink jet printer apparatus and method includes a print head having at least one nozzle. In response to a signal related to media type that is to be recorded upon, gray level image data relating to at least three different drop volumes including no ink drop are recorded at different pixel locations to form dots of different dot size or dot density on the recording medium. In recording image data of the same multitone image data value on different media, drop volumes deposited on one medium by the nozzle are different than drop volumes deposited on another medium by that nozzle. In some embodiments or printing modes image data is also recorded by depositing a variable size dot on a reference raster location and a supplementary dot at an adjacent pixel location on a shifted raster.

Abstract: The present invention contemplates providing apparatus and methods for recommending to a consumer an optimal replacement consumable size, based on a record of the consumer's past utilization rate and on recommended intervention rate information stored in a memory device on the consumable.

Abstract: The invention relates to a printing chip for a printing head working according to the ink-jet printing principle, having at least one recess forming a medium chamber in the printing chip, a deflectable diaphragm forming one wall of the medium chamber, a duct opening in the medium chamber for feeding a liquid medium that is to be squirted out hot, and having a squirting-out opening connected to the medium chamber, which printing chip is distinguished by the fact that the printing chip (2) is produced exclusively from monocrystalline silicon.

Abstract: An electron beam system for treating filamentary workpieces includes an electron beam irradiation chamber having openings through which passes a filamentary workpiece, an electron beam generator including means for generating, accelerating and focusing electrons, and a communicating section which connects the electron beam generator with the electron beam irradiation chamber. The system also has a differential evacuating means for holding the pressure within the electron beam generator below that within the electron beam irradiation chamber. Electrons are generated, accelerated, and focused by the electron beam generator into a beam which passes from the generator through the communicating section to the electron beam irradiation chamber where the beam is directed at a filamentary workpiece. The system is able to uniformly, efficiently, and continuously apply electron beam irradiation to a traveling filamentary workpiece.

Abstract: The perceived quality of ink jet printed output is enhanced by a variety of methods of the present invention. A porous layer is first applied on a printed substrate, which includes deposited ink spots composed of colorants, as a coating to protect the printed images from damages. A reflow agent is then applied to the coated printed substrate for solubilizing the deposited ink, thereby the colorants can diffuse into adjacent regions in the upper part of the printed substrate and into the adjacent region of the matrix layer. The matrix layer controls the diffusion of the reflow agents,thus controls the diffusion of the selective colorants in the deposited ink.

Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a piezoelectric displacement element 11 for shifting a printing head 6 in a sheet feed direction, in which a recording sheet is fed. The element 11 shifts the head 6 at a predetermined pitch when a new printing pass is performed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of printed images without being influenced by the degree of accuracy of a sheet feed mechanism.

Abstract: A compound refractive lens for neutrons is provided having a plurality of individual unit Fresnel lenses comprising a total of N in number. The unit lenses are aligned substantially along an axis, the i-th lens having a displacement ti orthogonal to the axis, with the axis located such that ∑ i = 1 N ⁢   ⁢ t i = 0. Each of the unit lenses comprises a lens material having a refractive index decrement &dgr;<1 at a wavelength &lgr;<200 Angstroms.

Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus of the invention includes: a head having a nozzle, a main scanning unit that causes the head member to move in a main scanning direction relatively to a recording medium, a pressure-changing unit that causes pressure of ink in the nozzle to change, and a level-data setting unit that sets a selected level data from a plurality of level data based on each of ejecting data forming a row corresponding to a main scanning movement. The level-data setting unit is adapted to set a selected level data of relatively high density based on each of the ejecting-sequential data, to set a selected level data of relatively low density based on the anterior edge data, and to set a selected level data of relatively low density based on the posterior edge data.

Abstract: The apparatus is provided with a holddown device for a medium lying on a platen, said device comprising first cockle-control means which in a medium output zone downstream of the print zone control an expansion of the medium to be in the form of a wave defined by a plurality of bubbles and substantially adapted in frequency to a ridged surface of the supporting platen; the holddown device may comprise second cockle-control means which control an expansion of the medium in the print zone to be in the form of at least two parallel waves defined by a plurality of bubbles and alternated such that a downward bubble of one of the waves is adjacent to an upward bubble, or no bubble, of an adjacent wave in the direction (Y) of advance of the medium. The effects of cockle are improved without tensioning the medium downstream from the printing zone, and improving vertical banding.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus including: a print unit having a polarity of ejection outlet arrays, for ejecting ink,; a scan unit for scanningly moving the print unit relative to the print medium in a main scan direction; and a feed unit for feeding the print medium relative to the print unit in a direction which is different from the main scan direction, wherein an image is formed on the print medium while repeating a scanning operation of the scanning unit and a feeding operation by the feeding unit. The apparatus also includes an information obtaining unit for obtaining image information; and a selecting unit for selecting at least one of the ejection outlet arrays to effect printing for the image data in a predetermined area, on the basis of the information obtained by the information obtain unit about image formations.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus and method subjects recording data to conversion, for example, thinning, when the recording data is not text data and a double-sided recording mode is selected. By effecting recording based on this recording data, recording quality is prevented from being reduced due to ink spread and thinning.