Abstract: In a method of controlling drive of a function liquid droplet ejection head in which a plurality of nozzle arrays are arranged, the nozzle arrays have function liquid droplet ejection amounts which are different from each other per unit nozzle. The drive of the plurality of nozzle arrays is controlled by using a single drive signal having a plurality of ejection pulses corresponding to the plurality of nozzle arrays in one print cycle. Thus, even if a plurality of nozzle arrays having function liquid droplet ejection amounts which are different from each other per unit nozzle are disposed in one function liquid droplet ejection head, easy drive control is possible without lowering printing throughput.

Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a head which discharges color inks and into which clear ink that prevents the head from being clogged and white ink are selectively filled. A selection portion communicates either of a white or a clear ink container with the head. A controller executes a first switching from a second filled state where the head is filled with clear ink to a first filled state where the head is filled with white ink by shifting from a state where the clear ink container is communicated with the head to a state where the white ink container is communicated with the head. A second switching is executed from the first filled state to the second filled state by shifting from a state where the white ink container is communicated with the head to a state where the clear ink container is communicated with the head.

Abstract: A printing apparatus which prints an image on a medium, including a head which discharges ink droplets from nozzles, wherein the medium is transparent, two pieces of image data are prepared, one piece of image data is selected from the two pieces of image data to set the selected image data to one of a first image and a second image, the other piece of image data is set to the other of the first image and the second image, the image data set to the first image is subjected to a processing to be mirror image data, and the head prints the mirror image of the first image on the medium, prints a background image on the mirror image of the first image, and prints a real image of the second image on the background image.

Abstract: Provided is a printing apparatus for printing an image on a medium, which is transported in a transport direction, by forming dots by ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles while moving the nozzles in an intersecting direction that intersects the transport direction. The printing apparatus has a first printing mode for printing a mirror image of a predetermined image as the image on the medium and a second printing mode for printing a positive image of a predetermined image as the image on the medium, the medium being a transparent medium. The first printing mode is different from the second printing mode in at least one of a transportation operation of transporting the medium and a dot-forming operation of forming the dots by ejecting ink while moving the nozzles.

Abstract: An apparatus for printing an image on a transparent medium based on a selected mode, the apparatus includes: a head that ejects ink droplets from nozzles, wherein when a first mode is selected, the head prints a first image on the transparent medium, prints a background image on the first image, and prints a second image which is different from the first image on the background image, and wherein when a second mode is selected, the head prints a second image on the transparent medium, prints a background image on the second image, and prints a first image on the background image.

Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus including an ejecting head that ejects a liquid from at least one row of nozzles of the ejecting head to an object, a capping unit that caps a nozzle-formed surface of the ejecting head, a suction unit that suctions a space in the capping unit, a detector that, when a liquid supplied to the ejecting head is switched to a different liquid, detects a characteristic of the different liquid and/or a characteristic of the liquid ejected by the ejecting head, and a controller that performs determination of a level of the detection and control of suction of the suction unit on the basis of a result of the determination.

Abstract: A fluid ejecting apparatus includes: a rotating body which rotates while holding a medium at its circumferential surface; a fluid ejecting section which ejects fluid toward the medium such that a margin is not formed at an end portion of the medium on the circumferential surface in an axial direction of the rotating body; an absorber which absorbs fluid which has come out of the end portion of the medium on the circumferential surface in the axial direction, out of fluid ejected from the fluid ejecting section, at a position further outside than the end portion; and a rotating body driving mechanism for rotating the rotating body, which drives the rotating body such that driving force by the rotating body driving mechanism is not transmitted to the absorber.

Abstract: A printer has a replaceable cartridge (ink pack), a recording head, and a control section. The recording head ejects ink supplied by the cartridge through a nozzle. The control section detects the retaining amount of the ink in the cartridge and the environmental temperature in the proximity of the printer. Further, the control section sets a threshold value, with reference to which it is determined whether the cartridge needs be replaced by a unused cartridge, to a lower value as the detected environmental temperature becomes higher.

Abstract: A fluid ejecting apparatus includes: a fluid ejecting unit that ejects a colored fluid and a colorless fluid toward a fluid ejection target medium; an irradiating unit that irradiates ultraviolet rays onto a fluid that lies on or over the fluid ejection target medium so as to cure the fluid; and a controlling unit that controls the fluid ejecting operation of the fluid ejecting unit and the ultraviolet ray irradiating operation of the irradiating unit. The controlling unit performs control so that the colorless fluid is ejected on an image that is made of the colored fluid that landed on the fluid ejection target medium. After the start of the agglomeration of the colorless fluid that landed on the image, the controlling unit performs control so that ultraviolet rays are irradiated onto the colorless fluid.

Abstract: A fluid ejecting apparatus includes a rotatable drum that holds a medium on a periphery thereof, a head that ejects a fluid onto the medium held by the drum, a fixing portion that fixes the fluid ejected from the head onto the medium, an outer-radius measuring portion that measures an outer radius of the drum, an adjusting portion that adjusts a distance between the drum and the head, and a controller that causes the adjusting portion to adjust a distance between the head and the medium in accordance with a variation in the outer radius of the drum measured by the outer-radius measuring portion.

Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes an array of nozzles and a light-emitting portion that emits ultraviolet light. A control portion alternately and repetitively transports a medium in a transporting direction relative to the nozzles. The control portion forms a dot group in the transporting direction on the medium by ejecting a liquid toward the medium from the nozzles. The control portion also performs a light-emitting operation every time the control portion forms a dot group. The light-emitting operation is performed by causing the light-emitting portion to emit the ultraviolet light toward the dot group to cure the dot group. During the light-emitting operation, at least one of two ends of the dot group in the transporting direction is exposed to the ultraviolet light at a time later than the time at which a midsection of the dot group in the transporting direction is exposed to the ultraviolet light.

Abstract: A fluid ejecting apparatus includes a drum that rotates while holding a medium on its outer periphery, a head that ejects a fluid on to the medium held on the periphery of the drum, a fixing section that fixes the fluid ejected on to the medium by the head, a measuring section that measures a diameter of the drum, and a controller that varies an ejection timing of the fluid ejected from the head in accordance with variation in the diameter of the drum measured by the measuring section.

Abstract: An apparatus discharges a discharge liquid in the form of droplets from apertures by mechanically deforming piezoelectric elements by a normal drive signal. The droplets are discharged from the apertures by a cooling drive signal, which is different from the normal drive signal.

Abstract: A method of driving a droplet jetting head having cavities for containing a predetermined liquid, piezoelectric elements, each for generating pressure in each cavity in accordance with an applied driving signal, and nozzle openings, from each of which the liquid compressed by each piezoelectric element is jetted as a droplet. The method includes driving the droplet jetting head by applying to one or more of the piezoelectric elements a forced jetting driving signal for forcedly jetting the liquid of half of an excluded volume, which is a maximum quantity removable from the cavity by compression using the piezoelectric element, from the nozzle opening. The clogged nozzle opening can be effectively cleared and clogging can be rapidly removed, so that the number of times for cleaning of the head is decreased and degradation in performance of the droplet jetting head, such as reduction in repellency of the liquid, does not occur.

Abstract: A method of controlling a functional liquid supply apparatus includes: a pressure-loss computing step for computing a pressure loss of each kind of a functional liquid flowing through respective functional liquid passages which extend from respective functional liquid tanks to a functional liquid droplet ejection head; a supply-pressure computing step for computing a supply pressure of each kind of the functional liquid with the pressure loss taken into consideration so that an in-head pressure of each kind of the functional liquid in the functional liquid droplet ejection head becomes a set pressure which is respectively set in advance; and an independent-pressurizing step for independently pressurizing the plurality of the functional liquid tanks based on the computed supply pressure.

Abstract: Aspects of the invention provide a droplet discharge device, a method of discharging a droplet, a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device, and electronic equipment that can grossly reduce a disposed liquid and effectively utilize more discharging liquid as compared with a related art manner in which a nozzle clogging of a head is recovered by a cleaning suction. The droplet discharge device that discharges a droplet to a workpiece can include a head that has a plurality of nozzles, a suction device for sealing and suctioning a nozzle surface of the head, and a controller by which the nozzle surface is sealed by the suction device and the droplet is discharged to the suction device from the nozzle, and the nozzle surface is kept moist by leaving the nozzle surface sealed by the suction device, if the number of clogged nozzle exceeds a predetermined number.

Abstract: A measurement unit obtains, when a droplet ejected from an ejecting head adheres to an electrode of a crystal oscillator, a viscosity and a mass of the droplet on the basis of a changed value in resonance frequency and of a resonance resistance of crystal oscillator. Measurement unit then supplies to a control unit droplet information ID showing the obtained viscosity and mass. Control unit determines, on the basis of the viscosity and the mass included in droplet information ID, an appropriate drive waveform to be supplied to ejecting head.

Abstract: A droplet discharge device is provided in which for a head having a plurality of nozzles, nozzle rows having clogged nozzles are detected in advance and suction is performed on the nozzle rows having clogged nozzles independently, thereby recovering the nozzles, while measures against the thickening of a liquid in nozzles can be carried out. A droplet discharge device includes: a head having a plurality of nozzle rows including a plurality of nozzles on a nozzle surface in order to discharge droplets of a supplied liquid; a non-discharge nozzle detector that detects which nozzle row of the plural nozzle rows has nozzles that are clogged so as to be a non-discharge nozzle; a suction device to seal a nozzle row including detected non-discharge nozzles on the nozzle surface and performing suction to eliminate the clogging of the non-discharging nozzles; and a moisture retaining device to seal the plural nozzle rows on the nozzle surface to retain the moisture of the nozzle surface.

Abstract: An air pressurization pump is driven to apply pressurized air pressure to a main tank storing ink. The pressurized air causes the ink to be supplied from the main tank to a recording head arranged on a carriage. A CPU of an inkjet recording apparatus selectively sets a drive control mode and a power saving control mode. The drive control mode operates the air pressurization pump, and the power saving control mode consumes less power than the drive control mode. If the drive control mode ends, the CPU shifts to the power saving control mode when a predetermined time elapses after the drive control mode ends and stops operating the gas pressurization pump.

Abstract: A capping apparatus including: a sealing unit that seals at least nozzle apertures of a liquid droplet ejection head that ejects liquid droplets; a heating unit that heats at least a vicinity of the nozzle apertures; and a negative pressure supplying unit that supplies an interior of the sealing unit with negative pressure that causes liquid droplets to be ejected from the nozzle apertures.