Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus and an ink jet printing method which are based on the multi-pass printing method using a print head having a plurality of nozzle rows and which enables a reduction in the number of nozzles to be simultaneously driven, allowing ink to be stably ejected. On the basis of the multi-pass printing method of dividing print data into a plurality of pieces by using mask patterns, the mask patterns are offset according to the positional relationship between the plurality of nozzle rows in the print head.

Abstract: The present invention provides a recording apparatus including recording heads each including a plurality of nozzle arrays that are arranged so as to overlap, wherein overlapping portions of the recording heads for two different colors are separated from each other with a distance therebetween in an array direction of nozzles.

Abstract: A region for quantization having a value lower than the value B is assumed as having little influence by Bk data on the pixels in this region. Thus, in order to prioritize the optimization of the granularity at the start of the input of GY data, the LUT having a combination of GY and gy as an input as an input is used to perform separation quantization. On the other hand, since a region having a value equal to or higher than the value B requires the use of Bk data, the LUT having only a combination of Bk and GY as an input as an input is used to perform quantization. As a result, the number of types of pieces of ink data referencing the table can be 2, thus suppressing an increase in the table size.

Abstract: In an ink jet printing apparatus using many types of inks to execute bidirectional printing, if ejection opening rows for yellow, magenta, and cyan inks are symmetrically arranged, ejection opening rows for a black ink are arranged adjacent to the most inside ejection opening rows for the yellow ink. Thus, a difference in color between forward scanning and backward scanning is determined by a difference in coloring between the black ink and the yellow ink. In this case, a possible color drift attributed to bidirectional printing can be suppressed by selecting the inks so that the difference in coloring between the black ink and the yellow ink is smaller than that between the black ink and the other color inks.

Abstract: An apparatus includes: a drying unit to dry a printing medium on which an image was printed using an inkjet head; a humidification unit to humidify the printing medium that was dried by the drying unit so that the moisture content of the printing medium becomes the equilibrium state in the ambient environment; a colorimetric unit to perform colorimetry on the printing medium that was humidified by the humidification unit; and a calibration unit to calibrate printing properties on the basis of the result of colorimetry by the colorimetric unit.

Abstract: There is provided a printing apparatus capable of mounting common print heads, and capable of preventing color mixture of inks in a configuration in which a plurality of ink supply mechanisms is provided. The same print heads can be mounted on the first head mounting unit and the second head mounting unit, and the print head has a storage region, in which color information of the head mounting unit is stored, when the print head is mounted on the first head mounting unit or the second head mounting unit.

Abstract: There is provided an inkjet printing apparatus which can output a stable image without density unevenness by performing appropriate drive control to print elements based upon an appropriate representative temperature of a chip whatever image data is printed on a print medium. For this purpose, detection temperatures of a plurality of temperature sensors are lined up in high temperature order, and coefficients by which the respective detection temperatures are multiplied, are determined to be associated with that order at the lining-up, determining a representative temperature by the weighted average method. The common drive pulse associated with to the individual chip based upon the representative temperature thus obtained, to be applied thereto. Thereby even if temperature variations of print elements on the chip exist, it is possible to appropriately control the entire chip in temperature.

Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a recording unit configured to record a first dot and a second dot having a diameter smaller than that of the first dot on a recording medium, and a scanning unit configured to move the recording unit in a scanning direction. A recording resolution of the second dot in the scanning direction is lower than a recording resolution of the first dot in the scanning direction.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head configured to discharge ink, a first ink tank configured to store ink to be supplied to the recording head, a circulation path configured to circulate ink between the first ink tank and the recording head, a measurement unit configured to measure an ink temperature in the circulation path, a second ink tank configured to replenish ink to the circulation path, and a control unit configured to control replenishment of ink from the second ink tank to the circulation path based on the ink temperature measured by the measurement unit.

Abstract: According to this invention, an inkjet printing apparatus having an arrangement for detecting an amount of remaining ink in an ink tank starts a printing operation in a short time immediately after power-on. If an operation in preceding use is ended without any error at the time of power-off, and no error has occurred even at the time of power-on, the inkjet printing apparatus of this invention starts the printing operation without executing the operation of detecting the amount of remaining ink in the ink tank after power-on.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus is provided that can perform printing without degrading printing quality. In the present invention, correction for a head-to-sheet distance change is performed for both forward printing and backward printing during a multi-path printing operation.

Abstract: In an inkjet printing method of performing printing on a printing medium by ejecting inks from a printing head configured to eject chromatic inks and an achromatic ink while moving the printing head, high-quality printing with few boundary stripes produced when the amount of inks is large is realized without complicated control being performed. To this end, print data in a boundary and the vicinity thereof is divided into unit regions, and for each unit region, performed are (A) a first reduction processing which determines a hue of the unit region based on amounts of the chromatic inks, and reduces the amount of chromatic inks applied to the unit region according to the determined hue; and (B) a second reduction processing which reduces an amount of achromatic ink based on the amount of achromatic ink applied to the unit region.

Abstract: A recording apparatus to record an image on a recording medium using a recording head includes a first conveying roller, a second conveying roller, and a controller. The first conveying roller is positioned upstream of the recording head in a conveying direction and the second conveying roller is positioned downstream of the recording head in the conveying direction. In response to a first conveying mode being selected, the controller performs a rotational phase control in which the controller controls rotational phases of the first conveying roller and the second conveying roller such that the recording medium is conveyed by predetermined sections of circumferences of the first conveying roller and the second conveying roller when a trailing end of the recording medium passes the first conveying roller. In response to the second conveying mode being selected, the controller does not perform the rotational phase control.

Abstract: On performing a predetermined printing operation, whether or not, among a plurality of printing elements, only a part of the printing elements are applied is detected. If it is judged that only the part of the printing elements are used, a judgment is made whether or not the preliminary discharge operation is performed based on the number of discharges for the part of the printing elements, and if it is not judged that only the part of the printing elements are used, a judgment is made whether or not the preliminary discharge operation is performed based on the number of discharges for all of the printing elements of the printing head. This eliminates an unnecessary preliminary discharge for non-printing elements even in a printing operation mode in which only a part of the printing elements are applied.

Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a conveying roller and an ejection roller for conveying a recording medium. The recording apparatus also includes a controller which controls the conveying roller and the ejection roller. The controller selectively performs a conveyance control process for the rollers when the recording medium leaves the conveying roller.

Abstract: A recording apparatus includes: a recording head having a recording element row in which multiple recording elements are disposed, with recording elements at dispersed positions in the recording element rows as blocks; a scanning unit configured to scan the recording head in a main scanning direction; a time-division driving unit configured to drive the recording elements in increments of blocks; a storing unit configured to store recording data; an obtaining unit configured to obtain information relating to the inclination of the recording element row relative to the main scanning direction; and a changing unit operable to change, in increments of individual recording elements, the storage position in the main scanning direction of recording data stored in the storing unit that is to be provided to recording elements of a group, which is configured of consecutive recording elements in each block in the recording element row, based on the obtained information.

Abstract: To enable the printing in which it is difficult for the dot to stand out and it is difficult for the gradation sequence properties to be degraded. Therefore, among plural dots each having a different size, the binary processing is carried out by using the same first dot arrangement pattern in regard to the large and medium-sized dots and the binary processing is carried out by using a dot arrangement pattern different from the first dot arrangement pattern in regard to the small-sized dots.

Abstract: By subtracting a first parameter related to the printing position deviation inherent to the printing head from a second parameter that is obtained by actually measuring the printing position deviation in a state where the printing head is mounted on the printing apparatus, a third parameter related to the printing position deviation inherent to the printing apparatus is acquired. When a new printing head is mounted on the printing apparatus, a new second parameter is computed from the third parameter and a first parameter that is of the new printing head. By this procedure, it is possible to hold down a time required for actual measurement of the printing position deviation and consumables, and even when the printing head is exchanged, it becomes possible to stably output a uniform image free from the printing position deviation.

Abstract: A printing apparatus, comprising a plurality of printing element substrates provided with printing elements that discharge ink using thermal energy, a plurality of temperature sensors, each of the plurality of temperature sensors is provided on each of the printing element substrates, and that measure a temperature of the printing element substrates, a selection unit configured to select any one of the plurality of temperature sensors, a control unit configured to perform control such that driving is performed for only the printing elements of the printing element substrate on which is provided the temperature sensor selected by the selection unit, and a determination unit configured to determine a presence/absence of an abnormality of the printing element substrates based on a measured temperature that has been measured by the temperature sensor selected by the selection unit.

Abstract: In the present invention, a conveying operation of a recording medium is controlled on the basis of a first correction value and a second correction value. The first correction value is used for correcting a conveying amount when the recording medium disengages from a first conveying roller, and the second correction value is used for correcting the phase of the first conveying roller and a second conveying roller when the recording medium disengages from the first conveying roller before the recording medium is nipped by the first conveying roller.