Abstract: On a printing relief plate, which is produced by a printing relief plate producing apparatus and a printing relief plate producing method, convexities and detecting portions are set to be lower than a solid area of the printing relief plate. In the event that a detecting portion image and a solid area image are printed on a print medium using the printing relief plate by a printing apparatus and by carrying out a printing method, in a printing pressure determining apparatus and a printing pressure determining method, it is determined whether a printing pressure is an appropriate printing pressure or not by comparing an optical density of the detecting portion image and an optical density of the solid area image.

Abstract: A recording position error measurement apparatus includes a read image signal acquisition device and a signal processing device having: a dividing device which divides pixel series of the read image signal into sequences having different remainder values so as to generate image signals of the respective sequences; a prediction signal generation device which calculates regular prediction signals which are predicted with respect to the respective sequences, according to the read image signal; a threshold value determination device which determines tone value differences corresponding to respective distances representing recording position errors from the prediction signals, and which determines threshold values corresponding respectively to the recording position errors, from the tone value differences; a change signal calculation device which calculates a change signal indicating a difference between the prediction signal and the image signal of each of the sequences; and an error distance calculation device w

Abstract: According to an aspect of the present invention, the function expressing the relationship between the temporary recording element number and the line positions for each line block is obtained, and adequacy of the temporary recording element number is determined based on consistency between the line blocks having the characteristics expressed by the functions. For the line blocks that have different characteristics from the rest of the line blocks, it is determined that the temporary recording element numbers of such line blocks have errors, and these temporary recording element numbers are corrected. Thus, the correspondence relation between each recording element number and each line position can be defined so that the characteristics of the line blocks become consistent with one another.

Abstract: According to an aspect of the present invention, by correcting the measurement positions of each line block with a reference line block serving as a reference point, the effect of disruption of the read image lattice caused by the image reading apparatus can be diminished, whereby the effect of paper deformation can be reduced, making highly accurate dot position measurement possible.

Abstract: The dot position measurement method includes: a line pattern forming step of forming a measurement line pattern including a plurality of lines formed by dot sequences corresponding to respective recording elements on a recording medium, by continuously recording dots by the recording elements while causing a recording head having the recording elements and the recording medium to move relatively to each other in a relative movement direction, the measurement line pattern including: a plurality of line blocks each constituted of a group of lines to be recorded using the recording elements spaced a prescribed interval apart in an effective direction of alignment of the recording elements which is perpendicular to the relative movement direction, the line blocks being formed at mutually different positions in a lengthwise direction of the lines on the recording medium; and a reference line block containing lines to be recorded by the recording elements which are common respectively with the recording elements fo

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes: a treatment liquid deposition device which deposits a treatment liquid insolubilizing or aggregating inks of a plurality of colors, onto a recording medium; a recording head which has a plurality of nozzles ejecting the inks onto the recording medium on which the treatment liquid has been deposited; a data acquisition device which acquires density data of an image with respect to each color, the density data corresponding to the plurality of colors; a higher-order color correction device which corrects the density data, wherein when the inks of different colors are ejected in ejection order so that a preceding ink ejected precedingly to form a lower layer and a subsequent ink ejected subsequently to form an upper layer overlap each other, the higher-order color correction device corrects the density data for a nozzle ejecting the subsequent ink according to the density data for a nozzle ejecting the preceding ink; and an ejection controller which controls ejection of th

Abstract: A landing position determining method for processing-liquid ejection nozzles comprises: setting a specified processing liquid deposited pattern; ejecting the processing liquid from the processing-liquid ejection nozzles onto a recording medium to form the processing liquid deposited pattern; depositing the colored ink from a plurality of ink nozzles onto the processing liquid deposited pattern, and recording a plurality of linear colored ink images to form a processing liquid landing position determination pattern on the recording medium; detecting presence/absence of a change in at least one of densities and line widths of the plurality of linear colored ink images in the processing liquid landing position determination pattern, and determining, from at least one of density distribution and line width distribution in a linear colored ink image in which the change is present, a landing position for the processing-liquid ejection nozzle selected as the landing position determination targets.

Abstract: A recording position error measurement apparatus includes a read image signal acquisition device and a signal processing device having: a dividing device which divides pixel series of the read image signal into sequences having different remainder values so as to generate image signals of the respective sequences; a prediction signal generation device which calculates regular prediction signals which are predicted with respect to the respective sequences, according to the read image signal; a threshold value determination device which determines tone value differences corresponding to respective distances representing recording position errors from the prediction signals, and which determines threshold values corresponding respectively to the recording position errors, from the tone value differences; a change signal calculation device which calculates a change signal indicating a difference between the prediction signal and the image signal of each of the sequences; and an error distance calculation device w

Abstract: A defective recording element detecting apparatus includes: an image signal acquiring device which acquires read image signals obtained by reading, a linear test pattern recorded by an image recording apparatus having: a recording head and a medium conveying device which causes relative movement between a recording medium and the recording head in a signal decomposing device which sequentially assigns reading pixel numbers 0 to n to the acquired read image signals, divides the reading pixel numbers by an analysis pitch unit PS to obtain remainders, and decomposes the read image signals into an image signal of each of the obtained remainders; a fluctuation signal calculating device which calculates a fluctuation signal of each of the remainders; and an identifying device which identifies a defective recording element among the plurality of recording elements based on the fluctuation signal of each of the remainders.

Abstract: A defective recording element detecting apparatus includes: a read image data acquiring device which acquires read image data of a test pattern recorded on a recording medium by a recording head having recording elements; a reference area setting device which sets a reference area including a part of the test pattern on a read image representing image contents of the read image data; a comparison area setting device which sets a comparison area on the read image; a correlation operation device which performs a correlation operation between the comparison area and the reference area; a distortion correction value determining device which determines a distortion correction value, from a result of the correlation operation; an image distortion correcting device which corrects image distortion of the read image using the distortion correction value; and a defective recording element determining device which identifies a defective recording element according to the corrected read image.

Abstract: Dot positions are measured by recording dots on a recording medium in a measurement line pattern including a plurality of lines of rows of the dots respectively corresponding to a plurality of recording elements. The measurement line pattern is read where a longitudinal direction of the plurality of lines is directed to a sub-scanning direction of an image reading apparatus. A plurality of averaging regions is allocated to different positions of line blocks, the lines arranged in a main scanning direction. The image signal is averaged in the allocated averaging regions, and average profile images are created for positions in terms of the main scanning direction. Positions of both edges of each line are determined according to the average profile images. Line positions in the averaging regions are determined according to the edge positions. Line positions in the line blocks are determined according to the line positions in the averaging regions.

Abstract: A non-ejecting nozzle detecting method comprises: setting a specified processing liquid deposited pattern; ejecting the processing liquid from processing liquid nozzles onto a recording medium to form the processing liquid deposited pattern; ejecting colored ink from ink nozzles corresponding to the processing liquid nozzles selected as non-ejection detection targets onto the processing liquid deposited pattern, and recording linear colored ink images on the recording medium to thereby form a processing liquid non-ejection detection pattern; detecting, based on changes in densities and line widths of the linear colored ink images, a non-ejecting processing liquid nozzle from the processing liquid nozzles selected as the non-ejection detection targets.

Abstract: The printing apparatus includes: a printing device which prints onto a prescribed print medium; a print result prediction device which predicts a print result on the print medium and accordingly outputs print result prediction data including image region print result prediction data for an image region and text region print result prediction data for a text region, the image region and the text region being recognized as an image and a text, respectively, by a person viewing a correct print result, the text region print result prediction data including a text code; an image reading device which optically reads in the print result on the print medium and accordingly outputs print result read data, the image reading device being disposed on a downstream side of a printing position of the print medium and on an upstream side of an output position of the print medium in a conveyance path along which the print medium is conveyed; and a print result judgment device which judges a printing failure on the print mediu

Abstract: A fine pattern position detection method includes: a reading step of reading line patterns formed on a recording medium, at a prescribed read pixel pitch in a prescribed reading direction to acquire read data; a read pixel position acquisition step of acquiring from the read data corresponding positions of the line patterns based on the read pixel pitch; a characteristic value acquisition step of acquiring, from the read data, characteristic values at the corresponding positions of the line patterns and characteristic values at adjacent pixel positions which are adjacent to each of the corresponding positions of the line patterns according to the read pixel pitch; a candidate position output step of applying the characteristic values at the corresponding positions of the line patterns and the characteristic values at the adjacent pixel positions, to a position table in which the characteristic value at each of the corresponding positions of the line patterns and the characteristic values at the adjacent pixel

Abstract: A dot position measurement method includes: a line pattern forming step of forming a measurement line pattern including a plurality of lines of rows of dots corresponding to a plurality of recording elements arranged in a first direction of a recording head respectively, on a recording medium, while causing relative movement between the recording head and the recording medium in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the measurement line pattern including a plurality of line blocks each including a group of the lines recorded by the recording elements spaced at a prescribed interval in the first direction, and a plurality of common line blocks each including the lines recorded by the recording elements which are same as the recording elements recording the lines included in the plurality of line blocks respectively; a reading step of reading an image of the measurement line pattern formed on the recording medium in the line pattern forming step, by an image reading apparatus; a line position

Abstract: An image processing apparatus which converts multiple-value image data of an image into a plurality of dot patterns to form the image on a recording medium includes: a corrected recording element signal table storage device which stores a plurality of corrected recording element signal tables respectively for the graduated tone numbers, each of the corrected recording element signals being one of corrected recording element signal numbers and determined so that banding caused by recording characteristics of the recording elements is corrected in accordance with a correlation between each of the recording elements and surrounding recording elements of said each of the recording elements; and a one-dimensional dot pattern table storage device which stores a one-dimensional dot pattern table which specifies a one-dimensional dot pattern for each of the corrected recording element signal numbers.

Abstract: An image processing method of converting multiple-value image data into including the steps of: preparing dot pattern tables respectively for the graduated tone numbers, each of the dot pattern tables being demarcated into blocks of the dot patterns correlated with positions of pixels so that a block row constituted of two of the blocks of the dot patterns mutually adjacent is defined by a boundary in a recording-head-recording-medium relative movement direction that does not coincide with a straight line parallel to the direction, the dot patterns in each of the dot pattern tables being determined so that banding caused by characteristics of the recording elements is corrected in accordance with a correlation between each of the recording elements and surrounding elements thereof; and then selecting the dot patterns respectively for the pixels from the tables in accordance with the positions and the graduated tone values of the pixels.

Abstract: A dot measurement method includes: a line pattern forming step of forming line patterns on the ejection receiving medium; a pattern reading step of capturing an image of the line patterns; a profile graph acquiring step of acquiring profile graphs for each of the line patterns; a characteristic position calculating step of calculating extreme value positions, first edge positions and second edge positions for each of the line patterns; an approximation line calculating step of calculating a line-center approximation line, a first edge approximation line and a second edge approximation line; a line width calculating step of calculating a line width; a correlation information acquiring step of beforehand acquiring at least one of a first relationship between the line width and the dot diameter, and a second relationship between the line width and the ejection volume; and a measurement value calculating step of calculating at least one of the dot diameter and the ejection volume in accordance with the line width

Abstract: The dot position measurement method includes: a line pattern forming step of forming a measurement line pattern including a plurality of lines formed by dot sequences corresponding to respective recording elements on a recording medium, by continuously recording dots by the recording elements while causing a recording head having the recording elements and the recording medium to move relatively to each other in a relative movement direction, the measurement line pattern including: a plurality of line blocks each constituted of a group of lines to be recorded using the recording elements spaced a prescribed interval apart in an effective direction of alignment of the recording elements which is perpendicular to the relative movement direction, the line blocks being formed at mutually different positions in a lengthwise direction of the lines on the recording medium; and a reference line block containing lines to be recorded by the recording elements which are common respectively with the recording elements fo

Abstract: The dot position measurement method includes: a line pattern forming step of forming a measurement line pattern including a plurality of lines formed by dot sequences corresponding to respective recording elements on a recording medium, by continuously recording dots by the recording elements while causing a recording head having the recording elements and the recording medium to move relatively to each other in a relative movement direction, the measurement line pattern including a plurality of line blocks each constituted of a group of lines to be recorded using the recording elements spaced a prescribed interval apart in an effective direction of alignment of the recording elements which is perpendicular to the relative movement direction, the line blocks being formed at mutually different positions in a lengthwise direction of the lines on the recording medium; a reading step of reading the measurement line pattern formed on the recording medium in the line pattern forming step by an image reading device,