Abstract: A printer for printing a pattern, design, etc. on fabric comprises a vertical driving unit and a fabric thickness detecting mechanism. The vertical driving unit moves a printing unit including a print head in the vertical direction to let the print head move toward and away from the fabric held by a fabric holding frame. The fabric thickness detecting mechanism includes an idle roller which is attached to the printing unit to be on the preceding side of the printing unit in the printing direction of the print head to rotate freely while contacting the print surface of the fabric. The fabric thickness detecting mechanism detects the height of the print surface of the fabric based on the position of the idle roller. The vertical driving unit is controlled to drive the printing unit vertically according to the height of the print surface detected by the fabric thickness detecting mechanism.

Abstract: The liquid ejection apparatus comprises: an ejection head which has an ejection element, the ejection element including an ejection aperture through which a droplet of liquid is ejected onto an ejection receiving medium, a pressure chamber which is connected to the ejection aperture and accommodates the liquid to be ejected from the ejection aperture, and a pressurizing device which applies an ejection pressure to the liquid accommodated in the pressure chamber; a drive signal application device which applies to the pressurizing device a meniscus vibration drive signal for suppressing increase in viscosity of the liquid in vicinity of the ejection aperture by causing a meniscus surface of the liquid to vibrate and to eject no droplet from the ejection aperture; a pressure determination device which determines pressure in the pressure chamber when the meniscus surface is vibrated by the meniscus vibration drive signal; and a judgment device which judges an abnormal state of the ejection element from pressure i

Abstract: A method is provided which is intended to reduce a visibility of ink dots ejected onto a print medium during a preliminary ejection operation to produce a satisfactory printed image. Preliminary ejection data is compared with image data. When the preliminary ejection is necessarily performed on a pixel that has no image data, image data of a pixel close to the pixel being processed is searched. When image data exists, the image data is moved to a pixel that has preliminary ejection data. The preliminary ejection data is added to the image data one scan at a time to perform printing.

Abstract: A recording start position is obtained effectively with high precision and in a short time.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus including: a movable head provided with a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid; a carry unit for carrying a medium in a predetermined carrying direction; and a sensor for detecting an edge of the medium, the liquid ejecting apparatus controlling ejection of the liquid from the plurality of nozzles in accordance with a result of the detection of the sensor. In this liquid ejecting apparatus, the position, in the carrying direction, of the sensor is at the same position of or on an upstream side of a nozzle located most upstream in the carrying direction, of among the plurality of nozzles. In this way, it is possible to arrange the sensor for detecting the edge of the paper at the most suitable position, and to suppress waste of ink that is ejected from the nozzles.

Abstract: A printer has a motor and an encoder. The encoder opposes a scale having marks or slits at predetermined intervals. Staggered detectors detect positions of the marks or slits, and output detection signals. Signal generators output signals with respective frequencies based on the various detectors. A controller detects the rotational position and speed of the motor the signals output from the signal generators, and controls the rotational speed of the motor by PID control on the basis of the position and speed thus detected.

Abstract: The droplet deposition position error measurement method, comprises the steps of: ejecting liquid droplets from a liquid ejection head including a plurality of liquid droplet ejection ports in such a manner that the liquid droplets are deposited on a recording medium; determining an amount of a droplet deposition position error with respect to an ideal droplet deposition position on a recording surface of the recording medium, according to a droplet deposition result obtained from the liquid droplets on the recording medium; separating a first error component caused by an error in a relative position between the liquid ejection head and the recording medium, and a second error component caused by an error in an ejection direction of each of the liquid droplet ejection ports, from the determined amount of the droplet deposition position error; and obtaining error information relating to at least one of the first and second error components.

Abstract: An inkjet head includes a flow path unit, an actuator unit, a flat flexile cable, a cover member and plural filters. The actuator unit is joined to an inflow-port face of the flow path unit. The reservoir unit supplies ink in an ink reservoir thereof into the flow path unit through the filters against which a region of the reservoir unit at least partially abuts. A side face of the reservoir unit defines a recess reaching the region of the reservoir unit between adjacent two filters. A sealant is applied to a gap between side faces of the two adjacent filters on the inflow-port face of the flow path unit and applied to the recess.

Abstract: The discharge head comprises: a nozzle plate having a discharge aperture through which a droplet of liquid is discharged onto a discharge receiving medium; a pressure chamber which stores the liquid discharged from the discharge aperture; a diaphragm which deforms so as to change a volume of the pressure chamber, the diaphragm forming at least one wall of the pressure chamber; and a piezoelectric element which causes the diaphragm to deform for applying a discharge pressure to the liquid stored in the pressure chamber, the piezoelectric element being provided on an opposite side of the diaphragm with respect to the pressure chamber, wherein: the piezoelectric element is formed integrally by distributing a first piezoelectric body section and a second piezoelectric body section unevenly in a plane parallel to the diaphragm; the first piezoelectric body section causes the diaphragm to deform for applying the discharge pressure to the liquid stored in the pressure chamber, the first piezoelectric body section be

Abstract: An identification code is formed in a code formation area provided on a substrate. The code formation area is divided into a plurality of data cells. A plurality of dots are bonded with the substrate in such a manner that each of the dots is arranged in a predetermined data cell selected from the data cells. Each dot includes a projection formed in a peripheral portion of the dot and a flat portion formed in a center of the dot encompassed by the peripheral portion. The ratio of the thickness of the projection to the thickness of the flat portion is greater than 4 and smaller than 7. This structure improves the bonding strength of each dot with respect to the substrate.

Abstract: A head main body includes a passage unit in which pressure chambers are arranged adjacent to each other along its surface, and an actuator unit that is fixed to the passage unit to change the volume of the pressure chambers. A piezoelectric sheet constituting a piezoelectric element in the actuator unit spans a plurality of pressure chambers. On a surface of the piezoelectric sheet, formed are not only individual electrodes corresponding to respective pressure chambers but also dummy electrodes. Any individual electrode is surrounded with other individual electrodes or the dummy electrodes arranged in substantially the same pattern. Both the individual electrodes and the dummy electrodes are formed by arranging conductive pastes at predetermined positions on the piezoelectric sheet and then sintering these pastes.

Abstract: An ink jet printer 20 of the present invention can carry out a head check on whether or not ink is normally ejected from nozzles 23, by having a voltage detection circuit 54 detect electrical change resulting from ejecting of charged ink droplets onto an ink receiving area 52. When instructed to do borderfree printing, the ink jet printer 20 has a voltage application circuit 50 to charge ink in the print head 24, and ejects ink onto an area within the ink receiving area 52 where a recording sheet S is present and an area where a recording sheet is not present. The ink jet printer 20 also carries a print head 24 and determines a front edge of the recording sheet S based on a position where a voltage detection circuit no longer detects voltage. Thus, the ink jet printer 20 determines a front edge, side edges, and rear edge of the recording sheet S by directly using ink.

Abstract: Provided is a temperature detection method capable of more accurately acquiring an environmental temperature and more accurately correcting temperature detection of a printhead. In a printing apparatus to which this method is applied, a previous printing time when the printhead has performed a printing operation is stored in a nonvolatile memory. The current time is acquired using a timer which always performs a time counting operation by power supply from an auxiliary power supply capable of supplying power independently of a main power supply that supplies power for performing the printing operation by the printing apparatus. A time elapsed after the previous printing time is calculated on the basis of the current time and previous printing time. The elapsed time and a predetermined time are compared. The temperature is measured using a sensor arranged in at least one of the printing apparatus and the printhead in accordance with the comparison result.

Abstract: A printing method of the present invention is a printing method for forming, on a medium, a plurality of correction patterns each including a pre-carry pattern and a post-carry pattern, and includes: forming the pre-carry pattern on the medium, carrying the medium in a carrying direction after forming the pre-carry pattern, and then forming the post-carry pattern on the medium after carrying the medium. In the printing method of the present invention, the plurality of correction patterns are formed on the medium lined up in a direction that intersects the carrying direction. With this printing method, it is possible to form a greater number of correction patterns in a narrow region on the medium.

Abstract: An inkjet printer is provided having at least one printhead module of at least two inkjet printhead integrated circuits, a casing in which the at least one printhead module is removably mounted, and a printer body arranged to removably receive the casing. The printhead module has a first side which is slidably received in a longitudinally extending groove of the casing and a second side which is clamped to the casing by a clamp mounted to the casing. The clamp is configured to constrain movement of the printhead module relative to the casing, and therefore the printer body, across the longitudinal direction of the casing and in the direction of ink ejection from the printed integrated circuits, and to allow movement of the printhead module along the longitudinal direction of the casing.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus comprises: a liquid droplet discharge head which has a plurality of first nozzles that discharge liquid droplets onto a recording medium to perform an image recording, and has a plurality of second nozzles that discharge liquid droplets under previously established prescribed discharge conditions; a discharge determinnation device which determines a liquid droplet discharge status of the plurality of second nozzles; and a restoration control device which controls a timing at which a restoring process is carried out with respect to the plurality of first nozzles according to a determination result obtained by the discharge determination device.

Abstract: In a method for manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator, the piezoelectric layer is formed by using material particles M having a composition which differs from an optimum composition by a diffusion amount of Ti. The piezoelectric layer has a two-layer structure including a first piezoelectric layer formed on a vibration plate and a second piezoelectric layer laminated on the first piezoelectric layer. Only the first piezoelectric layer has a composition different from the optimum composition, and the second piezoelectric layer laminated thereupon has the optimum composition. When the piezoelectric layer of such a two-layer structure is subjected to the annealing treatment, the composition of the first piezoelectric layer is corrected and becomes the optimum composition by the diffusion of a diffusion element.

Abstract: A droplet ejecting head includes a first substrate, a nozzle plate, a second substrate, an annular symmetrically channel plate and an actuator device. The nozzle plate with a nozzle is disposed on a first surface of the first substrate. The second substrate with a liquid inlet is disposed over the first substrate. The annular symmetrically channel plate with a fluid channel is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate so that a pressure chamber is formed between the second substrate and the annular symmetrically channel plate. The liquid to be ejected flows to the fluid channel from the liquid inlet and overflows to the pressure chamber from the fluid channel. The actuator device is disposed on the second substrate. The second substrate is deformed by the actuator device for changing volume of the pressure chamber, and then the liquid in the pressure chamber is ejected via the nozzle.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, and a drive pulse generator. The recording head includes a nozzle to discharge a droplet of recording liquid, a pressure-generating room to store the recording liquid and communicate with the nozzle, and a pressure-generating device to change a pressure condition of the recording liquid in the pressure-generating room. The drive pulse generator generates a drive pulse pattern having a plurality of drive signals generated sequentially. The plurality of drive signals are selectively applied to the pressure-generating device, and include at least a first drive signal and a second drive signal, generated sequentially. A discharge speed of a droplet discharged by applying a combination of the first and second drive signals to the pressure-generating device is set to be slower than a discharge speed of a droplet discharged by applying only the second drive signal to the pressure-generating device.

Abstract: A printing device includes: a print head having nozzles for printing different size dots; an acquirer acquiring discharge deviation characteristic information of the nozzles; an acquirer acquiring M-level image data (M?3); an identifier identifying pixels relating to discharge deviation based on the discharge deviation characteristic information from the discharge deviation characteristic information acquirer out of respective pixels in the M-level image data; an adjuster adjusting pixel values of the pixels relating to the discharge deviation from the deviated pixel identifier; a generator generating N-level data (M>N?2) for image data in which the pixel value is adjusted; a generator generating the print data to which the dots having sizes corresponding to the respective pixels are allocated based on the N-level data, and a printer using the print head to print based on the print data.