Abstract: A printing apparatus comprising a printhead including two nozzle arrays neighboring in a first direction, each including nozzles arrayed along a second direction, a conveying unit for conveying a sheet in the first direction, a driving unit for driving the printhead so that each nozzle performs preliminary discharge on the sheet, and a unit configured to perform selecting some nozzles as non-driving nozzles and the remaining nozzles as driving nozzles for every column data in image data, determining image data to be assigned to each array as a first data so that a dot corresponding the non-driving nozzle in one of the two arrays is printed by the driving nozzle in the other, determining data for preliminary discharge as a second data so that each driving nozzle performs preliminary discharge, and ORing the first and second data.

Abstract: A printing apparatus including a printhead and a print control unit, wherein the printhead includes two nozzle arrays, each arranged in a first direction and including nozzles arranged along a second direction, the print control unit performs a first operation of expanding print data onto a memory, a second operation of selecting, for each nozzle array, some of the nozzles as non-driving nozzles and the remaining nozzles as driving nozzles, and a third operation of distributing the expanded print data to the two nozzle arrays such that dots corresponding to the non-driving nozzles of one nozzle array are printed by the driving nozzles of the other nozzle array.

Abstract: A sheet is conveyed with no slack between a first conveying path and a second conveying path, thus allowing a high-quality image to be printed on the sheet and suppressing a possible sheet jam. A conveying path with a changeable conveying path length is provided between a first conveying path including a pair of downstream side conveying rollers and a pair of downstream side conveying rollers and a second conveying path including a pair of downstream side conveying rollers and a pair of downstream side conveying rollers.

Abstract: In a printing apparatus capable of printing the same pixel by a plurality of print elements, a print speed is increased, and further, a partial frequency of use of each of the print elements is reduced, so as to prolong the lifetime of the print head. In view of this, dithering is used as a pseudo-halftone representing method, and further, a distribution pattern for use in creating image data to be distributed to each of the plurality of print elements is switched.

Abstract: A first humidified gas is supplied through a first supply port to a sheet. A second humidified gas is supplied to a space where nozzles of an inkjet recording head are exposed through a second supply port located at a position closer to the recording heads than the first supply port, to increase atmosphere humidity in the space. The sheet portion having a moisture content increased by the humidification in advance is advanced into the space having the increased atmosphere humidity, to record on the sheet using the inkjet recording head. An amount of humidification with the first humidified gas is set according to at least one recording condition.

Abstract: To provide an inkjet printing apparatus that suppresses occurrence of image deterioration, such as a texture, a moire, and a streak in a printing result. In order for this to be achieved, a level is set up to a overlapping portion of a chip of a print head depending on dot impact accuracy, and a print data distribution rate of each chip in the overlapping portion is determined according to the level.

Abstract: A first humidified gas is supplied through a first supply port to a sheet. A second humidified gas is supplied to a space where nozzles of an inkjet recording head are exposed through a second supply port located at a position closer to the recording heads than the first supply port, to increase atmosphere humidity in the space. The sheet portion having a moisture content increased by the humidification in advance is advanced into the space having the increased atmosphere humidity, to record on the sheet using the inkjet recording head. An amount of humidification with the first humidified gas is set according to at least one recording condition.

Abstract: A process of detecting a defective recording element and a process of correcting the defective recording element are performed with appropriate processing loads. When the detection process and the correction processes are performed with small loads, for example, at a time of recording, a resolution used for reading an inspection pattern is set lower than that set in a case where the processes can be performed with small loads, for example, at down time before recording. The reading resolution to be set may be determined by an apparatus in accordance with a processing load or may be arbitrarily determined by a user.

Abstract: In a line-head type inkjet printing apparatus that ejects a plurality of types of inks, an inkjet printing apparatus is provided in which the change of its ejection properties different depending on the type of ink is prevented from occurring. The line-head type printing apparatus includes an acquisition unit that counts the ejection number of liquid from each of print heads in each of a plurality of print heads. Furthermore, the printing apparatus compares the ejection number of liquid from each of the print heads counted by the acquisition unit with a threshold value set for each of the print heads. The printing apparatus includes a change unit that can move a holder in the main scanning direction when the counted ejection number of liquid exceeds the threshold value set for the print head.

Abstract: A printing method is performed on a plurality of inkjet print heads to which humidified air is supplied to retain the humidity in the print heads. Ink colors for the plurality of heads are arranged in a sequence corresponding to ink characteristics. The plurality of print heads is divided into groups, with one of the groups being subjected to preliminary ejection on a sheet. The other print head group not subjected to preliminary ejection is located in a more upstream area with respect to a conveyance direction of the sheet.

Abstract: A printing apparatus, in which a time required for printing is shortened, includes a first printing unit that performs printing on a first surface of a sheet by an ink jet system, and a second printing unit that performs printing on a second surface of the sheet by the ink jet system, the second printing unit being disposed on a downstream side of the first printing unit. Moreover, the printing apparatus includes a sheet discharge sensor that detects the sheet to be discharged from the second printing unit. The sheet discharge sensor includes an arm having a rotating member supported thereon, the rotating member being brought into contact with the sheet being conveyed while being rotated.

Abstract: When an image is recorded using a multichip recording head including a plurality of chips each having a plurality of nozzle arrays, a change in image density can occur due to a registration error between chips in an overlapping part where two chips are connected. To suppress the change in image density, input image data is distributed to two chips such that there are dots overlapping each other between the two chips in the overlapping part.

Abstract: A first reading unit that reads a pattern or an image formed on a sheet by a print unit for recognizing a print unit state, a second reading unit that reads a cut mark formed on the sheet on a downstream thereof, a cutter that cuts the sheet on a downstream thereof, and a reverse unit that reverses the sheet fed to the print unit again are provided. In duplex printing, the sheet where images are sequentially printed on a first surface is led to the reverse unit, the front and rear faces are reversed, and the sheet is fed to the print unit again. The sheet where images and cut marks are sequentially printed on a second surface is cut by the cutter for each piece and discharged. The sheet is cut on the basis of a reading of the cut mark by the second reading unit.

Abstract: Multi-valued image data corresponding to a pixel area is divided into the first scanning multi-valued data, first and second scanning common multi-valued data, and second scanning multi-valued data. A quantization processing is executed on each of the multi-valued data to generate first scanning quantized data, first and second scanning common quantized data, and second scanning quantized data. After that, these pieces of quantized data are combined for each scanning to generate first scanning combined quantized data and second scanning combined quantized data. According to this, the amount of pixels where dots are both recorded by performing a scanning by plural times (the amount of overlapping dots) is controlled, and while suppressing the image density variations, the granularity is held to a low level.

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 the width with which the overlapping portions of the recording heads for colors that are simultaneously used with a relatively high frequency overlap in an intersecting direction that intersects an array direction of nozzles is smaller than the width with which the overlapping portions of the recording heads for colors that are simultaneously used with a relatively low frequency overlap in the intersecting direction.

Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus and a print head recovery method are provided according to which, in an environment in which dust (e.g., paper dust) is easily attached to the periphery of an ejection port of a print head, the print head is subjected to a recovery operation depending on the level of the attached dust. The inkjet printing apparatus has a cutter unit for cutting a print medium and a recovery unit for performing the recovery operation by wiping the ejection port formation portion at which the ejection port is formed of the print head while sucking the ejection port formation portion. When the passing number showing how many times the cut part of the print medium cut by the cutter passes the printing position is equal to or higher than a threshold value, the recovery means subjects the print head to the recovery operation.

Abstract: An embodiment of this invention is directed to a printing apparatus capable of providing an output result without a printing density difference between two surfaces in two-sided printing. In the printing apparatus, one subtank is provided for each type of ink. The nozzles of printheads that receive inks supplied from the subtank and are used for printing of the front surface of a printing sheet and printing of the back surface, respectively, are aligned to almost the same level in the vertical direction, thereby making the water head pressures match.

Abstract: In-image preliminary ejection is performed by use of nozzles used to print an image out of the nozzles included in an overlapping link region, and between-image preliminary ejection is performed by use of nozzles which are not used to print the image. Thus, a reduction in image quality is inhibited, while the amount of print media used in the between-image preliminary ejection is reduced.

Abstract: A printing method is performed on a plurality of inkjet print heads to which humidified air is supplied to retain the humidity in the print heads. Ink colors for the plurality of heads are arranged in a sequence corresponding to ink characteristics. The plurality of print heads is divided into groups, with one of the groups being subjected to preliminary ejection on a sheet. The other print head group not subjected to preliminary ejection is located in a more upstream area with respect to a conveyance direction of the sheet.

Abstract: In a printing apparatus capable of printing the same pixel by a plurality of print elements, a print speed is increased, and further, a partial frequency of use of each of the print elements is reduced, so as to prolong the lifetime of the print head. In view of this, dithering is used as a pseudo-halftone representing method, and further, a distribution pattern for use in creating image data to be distributed to each of the plurality of print elements is switched.