Abstract: A printing apparatus and a calibration method are provided which, by using a small-capacity memory, can perform a high-speed calibration processing on data used to eject ink of the same color from a plurality of nozzle arrays. By ejecting ink of the same color from the plurality of nozzle arrays, patch is printed and, based on the printed result of the patch, a content of a print data correction processing is changed.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus inhibits the temperature of a print head from increasing excessively while preventing significant density or hue unevenness from occurring in images, without the need for a complicated structure or complicated control. Thus, the temperature of the print head is detected, and the number of scans in which the print head is to stand by until start of scanning and a standby time for each of the set number of scans by the print head are set, on the basis of the detected temperature.

Abstract: The optimal number of print passes and a head-to-platen distance are set according to a content of an image to be printed and the user's request (emphasis is put on quality or speed, etc.) to thereby appropriately meet the needs for higher image quality and higher productivity and to perform printing with high reliability. To this end, it is made possible to select whether to execute processing for issuing an instruction to set the number of print passes and the head-to-platen distance according to discrimination of the content of the image. When the execution of the processing is selected, the number of print passes and the head-to-platen distance are appropriately set according to the content of the image (duty, etc.). Meanwhile, when it is not selected, the image is printed by one-pass print with the head-to-platen distance set larger, regardless of the content of the image.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method even with a variation in the temperature of a print head, thus keeping the quality of images resulting from printing high. Adjustment patterns used to adjust the difference in ink ejection timing between ink ejected in a forward direction and ink ejected in a backward direction during scanning are printed at a plurality of different temperatures. Adjustment values for the ink ejection timing at the respective temperatures are selected from the adjustment patterns. Then, the correction value for the ink ejection timing is calculated from the adjustment values based on the temperature detected by the detection device. Printing is then performed with the difference in ink ejection timing between the ink ejected in the forward direction and the ink ejected in the backward direction during scanning, adjusted based on the correction value.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus that improves the visibility of a character and its background in different colors or of outline characters is provided. Specifically, outline character bold data is inverted and each of the pixels in the data is expanded to adjacent eight pixels. Then, the expanded outline character is processed into expanded inverted data. The logical AND of the inverted expanded data and K data on a background image is then calculated to generate K data with the outline character expanded. This results in an image with the outline character expanded. That is, the present invention enables characters with improved visibility and free from blurredness to be printed while preventing the adverse effect of bleeding on the outline character.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus which inhibits possible bleeding by thinning color data adjacent to black data and enables printing free from image quality degradation such as gradation skip is provided. Specifically, when only one pixel has color data and pixels located vertically and horizontally adjacent to that pixel have no color data, an isolated point pixel containing a color dot is detected only in that pixel. Then, the dots other than the isolated point are thinned-out. This makes it possible to inhibit possible bleeding at the boundary between a color area and a black area and to achieve proper printing with the appropriate gradation of the entire image maintained.

Abstract: Multiple alignment patterns, each composed of first and second alignment pattern elements printed by forward and backward movements of a print head, respectively, are formed while the relative printing positions of the two elements are shifted. From optical characteristics data thereof, whether the data is influenced by a disturbance is determined. When the data is determined to be less influenced by the disturbance and therefore to be reliable, an adjusting value for aligning positions in printing in reciprocal movements is calculated by use of: data with the smallest relative printing position misalignment between the first and second alignment pattern elements; and data of optical characteristics close to the data. When the data is largely influence by the disturbance, a range of shifting of relative position is widened than that of the data less influenced by the disturbance so that more data pieces are used to obtain the adjusting value.

Abstract: The optimal number of print passes and a head-to-platen distance are set according to a content of an image to be printed and the user's request (emphasis is put on quality or speed, etc.) to thereby appropriately meet the needs for higher image quality and higher productivity and to perform printing with high reliability. To this end, it is made possible to select whether to execute processing for issuing an instruction to set the number of print passes and the head-to-platen distance according to discrimination of the content of the image. When the execution of the processing is selected, the number of print passes and the head-to-platen distance are appropriately set according to the content of the image (duty, etc.). Meanwhile, when it is not selected, the image is printed by one-pass print with the head-to-platen distance set larger, regardless of the content of the image.

Abstract: The present invention provides a printing apparatus and a printing method according to which, even when misalignment in mounted print heads or a print medium conveying error has occurred, a high quality image can be printed by performing one-pass printing or multi-pass printing of a time division driving method. In a case wherein a plurality of nozzles are divided into a plurality of blocks to perform time division driving method, the driving order for the plurality of nozzles in the print head is changed in accordance with a displacement of a plurality of nozzles employed to print on the same raster.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus is configured to process multivalued image data corresponding to a unit area of a recording medium so as to form an image on the unit area with a plurality of relative movements between a recording head and the recording medium. The apparatus has a selecting unit for selecting either a first processing mode to segment the multivalued image data into a plurality of multivalued image data corresponding to the plurality of relative movements, and then quantize each of the plurality of multivalued image data, or a second processing mode to quantize the multivalued image data into quantized image data, and then segment the quantized image data into a plurality of quantized image data corresponding to the plurality of relative movements. The selecting unit may select either the first processing mode or the second processing mode based on the number of relative movements to the unit area.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus which inhibits possible bleeding by thinning color data adjacent to black data and enables printing free from image quality degradation such as gradation skip is provided. Specifically, when only one pixel has color data and pixels located vertically and horizontally adjacent to that pixel have no color data, an isolated point pixel containing a color dot is detected only in that pixel. Then, the dots other than the isolated point are thinned-out. This makes it possible to inhibit possible bleeding at the boundary between a color area and a black area and to achieve proper printing with the appropriate gradation of the entire image maintained.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus which inhibits possible bleeding by thinning color data adjacent to black data and enables printing free from image quality degradation such as gradation skip is provided. Specifically, when only one pixel has color data and pixels located vertically and horizontally adjacent to that pixel have no color data, an isolated point pixel containing a color dot is detected only in that pixel. Then, the dots other than the isolated point are thinned-out. This makes it possible to inhibit possible bleeding at the boundary between a color area and a black area and to achieve proper printing with the appropriate gradation of the entire image maintained.

Abstract: In a serial inkjet printing apparatus mounting a plurality of kinds of inks which have different properties and are arranged in parallel, high-speed bidirectional printing is realized without causing an influence of fixing period to prolong output time more than necessary. In order to realize the high-speed bidirectional printing, an order of executing forward print scanning and backward print scanning is controlled so as to further reduce a sum of time required to form an image and time required to wait for the formed image to be fixed. Thus, also in the bidirectional printing, between a forward direction and a backward direction, print scanning in a direction having shorter fixing period is set prior to that in the other direction. Consequently, total time required for image output can be further reduced.

Abstract: The present invention provides a printing apparatus and a printing method according to which, even when misalignment in mounted print heads or a print medium conveying error has occurred, a high quality image can be printed by performing one-pass printing or multi-pass printing of a time division driving method. In a case wherein a plurality of nozzles are divided into a plurality of blocks to perform time division driving method, the driving order for the plurality of nozzles in the print head is changed in accordance with a displacement of a plurality of nozzles employed to print on the same raster.

Abstract: Multiple alignment patterns, each composed of first and second alignment pattern elements printed by forward and backward movements of a print head, respectively, are formed while the relative printing positions of the two elements are shifted. From optical characteristics data thereof, whether the data is influenced by a disturbance is determined. When the data is determined to be less influenced by the disturbance and therefore to be reliable, an adjusting value for aligning positions in printing in reciprocal movements is calculated by use of: data with the smallest relative printing position misalignment between the first and second alignment pattern elements; and data of optical characteristics close to the data. When the data is largely influence by the disturbance, a range of shifting of relative position is widened than that of the data less influenced by the disturbance so that more data pieces are used to obtain the adjusting value.

Abstract: Multiple alignment patterns, each composed of first and second alignment pattern elements printed by forward and backward movements of a print head, respectively, are formed while the relative printing positions of the two elements are shifted. From optical characteristics data thereof, whether the data is influenced by a disturbance is determined. When the data is determined to be less influenced by the disturbance and therefore to be reliable, an adjusting value for aligning positions in printing in reciprocal movements is calculated by use of: data with the smallest relative printing position misalignment between the first and second alignment pattern elements; and data of optical characteristics close to the data. When the data is largely influence by the disturbance, a range of shifting of relative position is widened than that of the data less influenced by the disturbance so that more data pieces are used to obtain the adjusting value.

Abstract: A printing apparatus and a calibration method are provided which, by using a small-capacity memory, can perform a high-speed calibration processing on data used to eject ink of the same color from a plurality of nozzle arrays. By ejecting ink of the same color from the plurality of nozzle arrays, patch is printed and, based on the printed result of the patch, a content of a print data correction processing is changed.

Abstract: A printing apparatus and a calibration method are provided which, by using a small-capacity memory, can perform a high-speed calibration processing on data used to eject ink of the same color from a plurality of nozzle arrays. By ejecting ink of the same color from the plurality of nozzle arrays, patch is printed and, based on the printed result of the patch, a content of a print data correction processing is changed.

Abstract: Color processing is performed for each image data, so as to switch generating methods for black data to perform appropriate sharpness processing regarding image data wherein sharpness of printing results is important and image data wherein gradation of the image is important. A recording device is provided, wherein by performing such processing, black images such as characters or lines maintain sharpness or clarity, and picture images can be formed as high quality images.

Abstract: The purpose is to provide a high quality halftone recording with a reduced grainy feeling without lowering the true resolving power. Provided is an apparatus for making a halftone recording by employing three or more types of color materials, each of which has at least one grade of concentration, wherein each type of the color materials having the lowest concentration provides, when recording on a recording medium having a first lightness, a recorded region having its own lightness, and wherein a difference between the first lightness and the lightness of the recorded region is not more than 35, the lightness being measured according to the definition of CIE 1976 psychological measurement lightness using a standard illuminating light D65 as a light source.