Abstract: A method for reducing horizontal banding on media in an ink jet printer involves the step of moving the media repeatedly back and forth along a media movement path during a printing scan of at least one print head, the printing scan defined by movement of the print head across the media movement path as ink is ejected from the print head onto the media.

Abstract: During printing, print head characteristics are taken into consideration to alleviate positional deviation of dots in a main scanning direction and improve image quality. The print head unit is provided with readable head identification information that is set in accordance with characteristics relating to positional deviation of dots to be formed by the print head in a main scanning direction. In accordance with this head identification information, adjustment values are determined for reducing printing positional deviation in the main scanning direction, and these adjustment values are used to adjust the position of dots in the main scanning direction.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a printhead having a slant angle that can be changed as a function of primitive spacing. Increasing the slant angle allows printing speed to be increased.

Abstract: Disclose is a reliable recording head free from any operation error. M×N recording elements are divided into N blocks each having M recording elements, and are driven for every M recording elements N times. M×N driving circuits energize and drive the M×N recording elements. A selection circuit outputs N block selection signals for selecting the N blocks to be divisionally driven. An input circuit inputs recording data corresponding to the M recording elements. An output circuit outputs a driving signal to the driving circuits in accordance with the recording data input from the input circuit and the block selection signals. The selection circuit outputs the N block selection signals on the basis of L (L<N) control signals.

Abstract: A low ink sensing system is combined with an ink cartridge detection system to enable a more efficient ink jet printer. An ink container which supplies ink to an associated printhead is modified by the incorporation of two light directing elements, in the preferred embodiment, a curvilinear prism-like structure and a curvilinear roof mirror, into a transparent wall of the container housing. The cartridge, comprising the ink container and associated printhead, is mounted on a scan carriage. Periodically, the carriage is conveyed to a sensing station comprising a pair of light sources and a commonly used photosensor. A first light source is energized and a beam of light is directed to a location where the curvilinear roof mirror would be positioned if the cartridge is present. If the cartridge is absent, lack of a reflected return signal is sensed, indicating a cartridge has not been inserted. Print operation is halted until a cartridge is inserted.

Abstract: In a print head of this invention, electricity-to-heat converters and a driver circuit for driving these electricity-to-heat converters in accordance with print data are formed on a single board. The board further includes an input/output interface circuit for receiving print data from an external apparatus, a CPU for controlling a printer apparatus, a ROM, a RAM, an A/D converter, a D/A converter, a timer, and the like, and also includes an external element driver for driving a mechanism portion of the printer apparatus.

Abstract: A print monitoring approach is provided in which sequences of irregular two-dimensional frames of image information are captured at a resolution sufficiently high to enable details of individual droplets to be identified. The approach may be used to monitor individual droplets deposited on a medium, such as a sheet of paper, by an inkjet printhead. An optical detector having an irregular two-dimensional array of closely spaced sensor elements is mounted for movement with the inkjet printhead or other print assembly. A processor is responsive to the image frames from the optical detector to adjust print quality parameters when the physical characteristics of the imaged droplets are detected as being outside of a preselected range of acceptability. The physical characteristics that are resolved may include gyrational information or different droplet position information. Optical dot gain can also be measured.

Abstract: An improved apparatus for checking a plurality of printer nozzles in a printer device comprises: a printer head comprising a plurality of nozzles; a device for detecting at least one droplet of ink sprayed from at least one nozzle of said plurality of nozzles; and a device for performing a sequence of measurements on a first output signal of the detecting device, wherein a determination of performance of the print head is made by analyzing detected output signals produced by one or a plurality of ink droplets passing the detector, the one or plurality of ink droplets containing a predetermined minimum volume of ink, and the sequence of measurements being measured at a plurality of time intervals.

Abstract: A method for detecting the volume (Vol) of the droplets of ink (22) ejected by a thermal ink jet printhead (11), comprising a continuous driving cycle during which one or more thermal ejection actuators (17) of the printhead (11) are driven in pulsing fashion with a driving energy (Ep) progressively increasing from a condition where no droplets are ejected, while the printhead (11) is maintained at a substantially constant stabilization temperature (Ts), notwithstanding the progressive increase in driving energy (Ep), by means of a heat control member (28) which absorbs and dissipates an appropriate feedback energy.

Abstract: A boundary nozzle which is contained in a block that has not been driven and is situated at the boundary with a driving block that is driven prior to the block containing the boundary nozzle contains a second stopper which has a length in a liquid flow direction longer than that of a first stopper contained in a driving nozzle in the driving block that is driven prior. A near-boundary nozzle adjacent to the boundary nozzle has a third stopper which has a length in a liquid flow direction longer than that of the first stopper but shorter than the second stopper. Thus, recording irregularities owing to meniscus regression are suppressed.

Abstract: A micro-electromechanical device comprises a movable member having a fixedly supporting portion and movable portion, and a substrate for having the movable member which is supported in a state having a specific gap with the substrate. For this device, a metallic layer which provides the gap for the movable portion is covered by the fixedly supporting portion of the movable member, and remains to be used as a wiring layer. The wiring layer is electrically connected with a plurality of wiring provided for the substrate. With the structure, thus arranged, the electric resistance is made significantly small. The electrical efficiency is enhanced accordingly. Also, the apparatus that adopts this device is made smaller, and the costs of manufacture thereof is made lower as well.

Abstract: Inkjet printheads capable of printing smaller and larger drop-weight quantities of ink, and methods of manufacturing the inkjet printheads, are disclosed. The inkjet printhead includes a substrate. One or more portions of the substrate may be etched such that the substrate might have different thicknesses. A thin-film layer is connected to the substrate and contains independently addressable ink-energizing elements, preferably resistors. An orifice layer having a substantially planar exterior surface is applied directly to the thin-film layer. Consequently, the thickness of the orifice layer varies with the thickness of the substrate. At least one firing chamber is defined in each portion of the orifice layer with a different thickness and, preferably, different-sized resistors. Alternatively, the orifice layer has a substantially uniform thickness. In order to achieve the multiple drop-weight capability of the present invention, firing chambers of different volumes are provided.

Abstract: Images are printed up to the edges of printing paper while preventing ink droplets from depositing on the platen. The platen 26 of the inventive printer comprises, in order from the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction, an upstream support 26sf, an upstream slot 26f, a central support 26c, a downstream slot 26r. In this printer, the images in the upper-edge portion of printing paper are printed solely by a fourth group of nozzles Nr opposite the downstream slot 26r, the images in the lower-edge portion of printing paper are printed solely by a second group of nozzles Nh opposite the upstream slot 26f. An upper-edge transitional routine is performed for the area between the upper-edge portion the intermediate printing portion such that images are printed using all the nozzles (as in the intermediate portion) while sub-scanning is performed the system is fed in the same manner as in the upper-edge portion.

Abstract: A method for reducing undesired variations of print density in a printed output is implemented by selectively increasing the number of drops of ink deposited in rows traveled by nozzles corresponding to a reduced-output region of the print head compared to the pattern of drops which would be deposited if all nozzles were operating normally.

Abstract: Sensing when an inkjet printer is out of ink during printing is disclosed. Buffer color information for a swath to be printed next on a sheet by the printer is evaluated. The printed color information for the swath is then measure as the swath is printed on the sheet. If the printer color information is less than substantially equal to the buffer color information, one or more out-of-ink actions, such as notifying the user and/or aborting printing, are performed. A printer performing such sensing is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method providing for the exercise of one or more nozzles of an inkjet print head and simultaneously forming fiducial registration marks on a sheet of print medium. The exercising and forming of the fiducial registration marks both occur in the course of forming inkjet printed images on the sheet of print medium so that the prints and fiducial marks are in registry. Preferably exercising of the nozzles occurs at the beginning and end of each pass of the print head so that there are two such fiducial marks, one along each lateral edge of the image. A segment of a print medium including printed images and a fiducial mark composed of the exercise of the inkjet print head nozzles is also disclosed.

Abstract: An ink-jet printer capable of reducing temperature rise of an ink-jet head to the utmost. The printer comprises a long ink-jet head in which a plurality of ink-discharge nozzles are arrayed in a lengthwise direction and a plate auxiliary member attached to the ink-jet head along the lengthwise direction. The auxiliary member has a predetermined volume to increase the thermal capacity of the ink-jet head, and has a plurality of warp correction portions provided at positions corresponding to different positions in the lengthwise direction of the ink-jet head, to provide a function to correct warp of the ink-jet head.

Abstract: A printing information processing apparatus based on the present invention forms a patch by forming adjacent positions for each of the test area and for reference area composed of a predetermined single-color within a color reproducible range in coloring material used for a plurality of test areas mentioned above and at the same time forms a plurality of patches by changing the gradation in the test area composed of at least one coloring material among the coloring materials equipped with the printing means at the time of printing operation based on the printing means equipped with at least one ordinary coloring material and a special color having a color belonging to color reproducible range based on the ordinary coloring material, and at least one side of both patterns shall contain the special coloring material.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for the realization of printed polychrome decorations on elongated elements (1), which allows to obtain sharper decorations to a lower cost, comprises the projection of a plurality of jets of dyeing substances through respective nozzles (2) towards external surface zones (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, Z5) to be decorated of said elongated elements (1) while a distance (D) is kept which is substantially constant between said zones (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, Z5) and said nozzles (2), also in correspondence of profile variations of said zones; besides a section bar (1) is provided having decoration zones (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, Z5) on its external surface showing sharp outlines and realized with various dyeing substances, such as liquid substances, liquid suspension substances, powders, and also with sublimable inks and dyes.

Abstract: A method of printing a composite image composed of a postage indicia image and an adjacent nondescript image on an image receiving medium is disclosed. The postage indicia image contains alpha-numeric data which must be machine readable and therefore must be printed with a high quality water fast ink, and is printed with a printing device utilizing ink jet technology. The nondescript image is merely a flag image containing fluorescent material and does not contain alpha-numeric data that must be machine readable, and therefore can be printed by any other suitable printer using commercially available fluorescent ink.