Abstract: In an ink-jet apparatus employing an ink-jet head having a plurality of heaters corresponding to one ink ejection opening, appropriate preliminary ejection is performed per each ejection amount mode set by heater to be used among a plurality of heaters. Depending upon set printing mode (step S9), printing is performed in one of large, medium and small ejection amount modes (steps S10, S12, S14). For example, after printing is performed for a predetermined amount by the small ejection amount mode (step S10), the preliminary ejection during printing, is performed in the medium ejection amount mode which is greater in ejection amount than the small ejection amount mode. By this, the interval of preliminary ejection during printing can be set longer to prevent lowering of throughput due to preliminary printing operations.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus detects loading of an ink cartridge into a loading portion based on information allocated to the cartridge. The cartridge carries characteristic information including information about manufacturing time of the cartridge. A recovery operation is executed by a discharge recovery device with the recovery operation being determined based on a time difference between the manufacturing time of the cartridge and the loading time when the cartridge is loaded into the loading portion.

Abstract: A method of preventing image degradation due to nonejecting nozzles of a recording head is provided for an inkjet recording apparatus for recording images by ejecting ink from plural nozzles disposed in the recording head. The method according to the present invention includes the steps of measuring and recording a pattern for checking an ejection state of the head, determining a nonejecting nozzle from the pattern, obtaining density distribution for each nozzle, and determining a complementary table for every nozzle from the density distribution in the nonejecting nozzle portion for performing different-color complementing.

Abstract: A recording system comprising a recording apparatus, a recording method and a program to control the recording apparatus for recording a color image on a recording medium by utilizing a recording head on which a plurality of recording elements are arranged, is provided. The recording system further comprising, a compensation means to compensate a position to be recorded by a recording element which does not execute a recording operation among the plurality of recording elements, by different color dots from those of the recording element which does not execute the recording operation.

Abstract: A recording system comprising a recording apparatus, a recording method and a program to control the recording apparatus for recording a color image on a recording medium by utilizing a recording head on which a plurality of recording elements are arranged, is provided. The recording system further comprising, a plurality of compensation means having respective own compensation methods to compensate a position to be recorded by a recording element which does not execute a recording operation among said plurality of recording elements; a selection means to select an appropriate compensation means. Such recording system can dissolve nonuniformity in the recorded image such as white streaks and the like generated by non-eject dots and can make the nonuniformity be unrecognized by human eyes. In addition the recording system by the invention can suppress raising costs of the recording head and can raise recording rates much faster.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus and an ink jet printing method for obtaining higher-quality printing with a pigment ink and a treating liquid, characterized in that the ink jet printing apparatus includes an ink ejection portion, a treating liquid ejection portion, and a control device for controlling the above ink ejection portion and the above treating liquid ejection portion so as to provide the treating liquid onto the printing medium only after the ink was provided thereon, and the control device controls in such a manner that the application of the treating liquid is carried out during in the recording operation.

Abstract: There are provided a plain paper mode in which printing is performed on a plain paper and a special medium mode in which printing is performed on a special printing medium having a coat layer formed thereon. In the plain paper mode, Bk ink using both self-dispersing type pigment and dye as coloring materials is ejected from a Bk head, then a processing liquid with a high penetrability which insolubilizes the above coloring materials is ejected from a S head. On the other hand, in the special medium mode, the above Bk ink is ejected from the Bk head, but no processing liquid is ejected from the S head. As a result, this enables the improvement in a print quality, such as OD level, and a high-speed fixing in ink-jet printing in either case where a printing medium having a coat layer formed thereon is used or where the plain paper is used.

Abstract: In an ink jet printing apparatus that performs printing by using an ink and a processing liquid that renders the ink insoluble, an effect the mist of the processing liquid or substances insolubilized by it has on the ejection performance of the ink head or processing liquid head is reduced. The distance between the processing liquid head 101S and the print paper 103 carried by the belt 111 is set larger than the head-to-paper distances of other heads 101Bk, 101C, 101M, 101Y. As a result, the mist generated by the ejection of the processing liquid from the head 101S diffuses in a recessed space formed by the heads 101Bk and 101C on both sides of the head 101S and thus hardly reaches the ink nozzle surfaces of these heads on both sides.

Abstract: An ink which includes a first pigment, a second pigment, a polymer dispersant and an aqueous medium; wherein the first pigment is a self-dispersing pigment having on its surface at least one anionic group bonded to the surface directly or via an atomic group, the second pigment is dispersed in the aqueous medium by the polymer dispersant, and the polymer dispersant contains benzylmethacrylate as a monomer unit, or the polymer dispersant contains benzylmethacrylate as a monomer unit. Diffusion of this ink in the printing medium is suppressed in the cross-sectional direction but not horizontal direction. Thus, the ink can form an ink dot that has a proper dot size, uniform and high density in the dot, with little feathering or blur.

Abstract: Upon performing printing using a dye ink and a pigment ink and in addition a treatment liquid making those inks insoluble, two kinds of inks consisted of the pigment ink and the dye ink are used. After applying the pigment ink on a printing medium, the dye ink is applied overlaying with the pigment ink. After mixing these inks on the printing medium, the treatment liquid which makes the inks insoluble, is applied. In the alternative, a mixed ink in which a pigment ink not requiring a dispersant and the dye, is used. After application of this mixed ink on the printing medium, the treatment liquid which makes the ink insoluble, is applied. Therefore, problem of “crack”, “soaking out”, “overflow” or lowering of OD value which can be caused upon reaction of the pigment ink and the dye ink or the mixed ink with the treatment liquid, can be solved to achieve high quality printing.

Abstract: In a case of forming an image of a black series, a low concentration colored ink having an opposite polarity to that of a black series ink is added thereto in an overlaying manner. Then, the deviation can be made visually unrecognized for the low concentration of the colored ink even if the overlaid condition of inks is not within a predetermined range. In addition to an increase in density due to insolublization of the black series ink, this increase in the density of the black image can be achieved within a range in which no change is recognized in the hue. More specifically, a relation between an optical density according to a dye concentration of cyan ink or a thinning rate of cyan dots and permissible deviation to print quality is examined in advance, and the dye concentration or thinning rate of cyan ink is set in order to determine an optical density of cyan ink according to predictable or existing deviation on a printer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an ink which appropriately spreads on a surface of a recording medium while being suppressed from permeating into the recording medium the thickness direction thereof to form a dot having an appropriate diameter, a high image density in the dot, and excellent outer shape with substantially no feathering, thereby stably forming a high-quality image. The ink includes a self-dispersible pigment having an anionic group or cationic group bound to the surface thereof directly or through another atomic group, a pigment which can be dispersed in an aqueous medium with a polymeric dispersant, and a polymeric dispersant in an aqueous medium. The ink shows one peak in particle diameter's distribution, the peak positioning at the particle diameter of from 50 to 300 nm.

Abstract: An ink which comprises a first pigment, a second pigment, a polymer dispersant and an aqueous medium; wherein the first pigment is a self-dispersing pigment having on its surface at least one anionic group bonded to the surface directly or via an atomic group, the second pigment is dispersed in the aqueous medium by the polymer dispersant, and the polymer dispersant contains benzylmethacrylate as a monomer unit, or the polymer dispersant contains benzylmethacrylate as a monomer unit. Diffusion of this ink in the printing medium is suppressed in the cross-sectional direction but not horizontal direction. Thus, the ink can form an ink dot that has a proper dot size, uniform and high density in the dot, with little feathering or blur.

Abstract: In an image printed by a printing apparatus, graininess particularly in a light part of the printed image is reduced by relatively simple structure by using a second color. To do so, magenta and cyan color component data in image data is subjected to under color removal to generate image data of a blue ink being the secondary color. On the basis of the data of the blue ink replaced for magenta and cyan, printing is performed by forming dots of the blue ink. At this time, black data is distributed into dark black and light black by density distribution, and the light black is substituted by the blue and yellow inks, whereby it is possible by the simple structure to prevent the graininess appeared when the cyan and magenta dots mutually appear biasedly and the graininess due to the black ink dots.

Abstract: In an ink jet printing apparatus that performs printing by using an ink and a processing liquid that renders the ink insoluble, an effect the mist of the processing liquid or substances insolubilized by it has on the ejection performance of the ink head or processing liquid head is reduced. The distance between the processing liquid head 101S and the print paper 103 carried by the belt 111 is set larger than the head-to-paper distances of other heads 101Bk, 101C, 101M, 101Y. As a result, the mist generated by the ejection of the processing liquid from the head 101S diffuses in a recessed space formed by the heads 101Bk and 101C on both sides of the head 101S and thus hardly reaches the ink nozzle surfaces of these heads on both sides.

Abstract: An ink-jet printing process which includes the steps of applying one or two inks on a recording medium, and applying a treating liquid reactive with the ink prior to the ink application, wherein the ink contains a first pigment and a second pigment dispersed in an aqueous medium, or two inks each contains the first pigment and the second pigment respectively, wherein the first pigment is a self-dispersing pigment having anionic groups or cationic groups bonded directly or through another atomic group to the surface of the pigment; and the second pigment can be dispersed in an aqueous medium by a polymer dispersant, the ink further contains a dispersant for disperse the second ink where the dispersant is a nonionic dispersant or a dispersant having the same polarity as that of the group bonded to the surface of the first pigment, and the treating liquid.

Abstract: This ink jet recording apparatus makes it possible to reduce the requisite number of times that preliminary ejection is performed for the purpose of ejection recovery through suction, which must be effected to such a degree as to make color mixing on the recording paper sufficiently inconspicuous. With a plurality of recording heads using inks of different lightnesses, ejection recovery is performed successively on the recording heads in accordance with the descending order of ink lightness. In addition, the number of preliminary ejections after ejection recovery to be performed on the next recording head is also controlled, thereby attaining a still greater effect. In a method aspect, the present invention includes an initial discharge step for discharging ink from a recording head, interrupting the discharge of ink for an appropriate period set in accordance with the ink lightness, and discharging ink again from the discharge ports of the recording head after the interruption.

Abstract: To provide an ink jet printing apparatus that can realize fast printing based on fast fixing and that can print high density black characters with little feathering and images with little bleeding at a boundary between colors. More specifically, a black ink is applied to a printing medium and a processing liquid is then applied to the black ink to mix the black ink and the processing liquid together on the printing medium in a liquid state. After reaction resulting from the mixture of the black ink and the processing liquid, color inks are applied to an area of the printing medium to which the black ink and the processing liquid are not applied. Accordingly, a reactant between the black ink and the processing liquid or the black ink becomes insoluble and thus is prevented from flowing out to peripheries of the image, thereby reducing bleeding at the boundary between a color image and a black image as may occur when the color ink is applied to the peripheries.

Abstract: A method for adjusting an amount of discharge is to adjust the amount of liquid between liquid discharge units to discharge the liquid by driving a plurality of electrothermal transducing elements, which uses a plurality of liquid discharge units arranged corresponding to each liquid path for the creation of air bubbles for discharging the liquid, at the same time, being arranged to be capable of being driven individually. This method comprises the step of variably controlling the starting time of driving signal applied to each of the electrothermal transducing elements for the creation of air bubbles in each of the discharge units. The variable control thereof makes it possible to suppress the variation of discharge amount of liquid between the liquid discharge units, hence maintaining the amount of liquid discharged from each of the discharging units at a constant level to obtain printed images of higher quality.

Abstract: In a printing apparatus, a full-multi-type printing apparatus, and an ink jet printing apparatus of the present invention, if a heating device is used to heat a printing medium near a print head performing a printing operation by ejecting ink, the heating device is provided under a back surface of the printing medium located opposite to a face of the print head except for neighborhoods of ejection ports for printing material.