Abstract: A printing method uses a reaction liquid containing an aggregating agent capable of causing the aggregation of a color material. This printing method includes: applying a first reaction liquid to a recording medium; applying a background color ink that contains a color material for a background color to a region of the recording medium which is coated with the first reaction liquid; drying the recording medium coated with the background color ink by heating the recording medium; applying a second reaction liquid to a region of the dried recording medium which is coated with the background color ink; and applying an image forming ink that contains a color material having a color different from that of the background color ink to a region of the recording medium which is coated with the second reaction liquid.

Abstract: In APC, if light power control with different target light powers is continuously executed, the amplitude of an output signal from a light-receiving element after the light power control is changed is generated, and a long time is required for completion of the light power control after the change. To address the problem, light power control with the same target light power is continuously executed on at least two light-emitting points in APC.

Abstract: A printer takes up slack in media while suppressing excessive rewinding, and can check the movement of a movable member that moves following change in tension on the media. The printer drives the supply motor in a first operating mode in a slack removal operation that rewinds the recording paper (media) onto a paper roll 2, and stops driving the supply motor when the tension lever (movable member) moves from a slack-side first position toward a second position. In the movement checking operation, the supply motor is driven in a second operating mode with greater output than the first operating mode, rewinds the recording paper on the paper roll, and sets the tension lever to the second position.

Abstract: A print control apparatus includes: a display control unit that provides a plurality of choices for a type of printing medium and causes a user interface, on which one of the plurality of choices is selected by a user, to be displayed on a screen; and a storage unit that stores history of the choices selected at least twice. The display control unit first provides one or more choices of the plurality of choices on the user interface based on the history.

Abstract: A liquid storage container is provided with a liquid storage part capable of storing a liquid, and a liquid supply part for supplying the liquid to the outside. The liquid supply part has a porous member containing holes for circulating the liquid, and a biasing member which is disposed between the porous member and the liquid storage part and which biases the porous member from the liquid storage part towards the outside.

Abstract: An apparatus for inspecting a liquid discharge head including an energy generation element provided on an element substrate and configured to make energy act on a liquid to discharge the liquid from an orifice, a lower protection film having an electrical insulating property and provided on the element substrate while covering the energy generation element, a wiring layer provided between the element substrate and the lower protection film and configured to supply electrical signal for driving to the energy generation element, and a conductive upper protection film provided on the lower protection film is provided. The apparatus comprises a detection circuit configured to detect a potential of the upper protection film when the energy generation element is driven; and a determination circuit configured to determine a driving state of the energy generation element from information about the potential detected by the detection circuit.

Abstract: An adjustment value obtaining unit obtains an adjustment value for a first scanning speed before a pattern forming unit forms adjustment patterns for a second scanning speed, the pattern forming unit forms adjustment patterns by scanning with a print head at the second scanning speed with a shift amount based on an adjustment value obtained for the first scanning speed, and the adjustment value obtaining unit obtains an adjustment value for the second scanning speed based on the adjustment patterns formed by scanning with the print head at the second scanning speed.

Abstract: A recording medium heating apparatus includes a plurality of heat rollers disposed in a feeding path of a recording medium and having respective heating units; and a control unit controlling temperatures of the heating units so that the temperature of a first heat roller is lower than the temperature of a second heat roller. Further, the first and the second heat rollers are included in the plurality of heat rollers and the first heat roller is disposed on the upstream side of the second heat roller in the feeding path.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method uses an ink jet recording apparatus including a plurality of heads arranged in parallel in a first direction, each of which ejects droplets of a different radiation-curable ink composition onto a recording medium, and first light sources provided for corresponding heads so as to be disposed at a predetermined side of the corresponding heads. The first light sources emit active radiation to irradiate the droplets on the recording medium. The method includes ejecting droplets of the ink compositions from the heads onto the recording medium, and performing a first irradiation by irradiating the droplets of each ink composition with the active radiation from the corresponding first light source at an irradiation energy within 500 ms after the droplets have landed. The irradiation energy is in the range of 5% to 10% of the energy E90 at which the ink composition is 90% cured.

Abstract: A print control apparatus is configured to control a print head adapted to discharge ink droplets of a plurality of sizes to execute printing. The print control apparatus includes a print control unit configured to acquire a gradation value of an ink color based on image data and to determine whether or not to discharge an ink droplet of one of the plurality of sizes based on the gradation value. The print control unit is configured to determine that the ink droplet to be discharged is the ink droplet of a first size or smaller when the gradation value belongs to a maximum value-side partial range including a maximum value, and to determine that the ink droplet to be discharged is only the ink droplet of the first size when the gradation value belongs to a range towards a minimum value-side than the partial range.

Abstract: An image processing device allows for easy removal of a process medium stuck in the conveyance path while protecting the image processing unit from the outside. In many embodiments, the device includes a conveyance path for conveying process media in a specific conveyance direction, an image processing unit having an ejection surface (process surface) disposed facing the conveyance path, and a first cover and a second cover disposed along the conveyance path and covering the conveyance path. Typically, the first and second covers open and close by pivoting on first and second pivot pins disposed in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the first and second pivot pins are disposed adjacent the conveyance path upstream and downstream of the portion of the conveyance path facing the ejection surface.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus, including a tray, a chassis defining a first conveyer path and a second conveyer path, a base member including a guiding section that forms a part of the second conveyer path, a recording unit, and a conveyer roller to convey the sheet in the first conveyer path in a first conveying direction, is provided. The second conveyer path guides an inverted sheet from an upstream of the recording unit with regard to the first conveying direction to the first conveyer path through a curved path. The guiding section includes a first guiding plane, which forms a part of the second conveyer path on an upstream of the curved path with regard to the second conveying direction, and a second guiding plane, which adjoins the first guiding plane along a widthwise direction and is formed to dent with respect to the first guiding plane.

Abstract: An inkjet recording method includes forming an image on a coated layer provided at least one side of the substrate of a recording medium with ink containing a colorant; and then applying a post-processing fluid comprising a resin to the image; wherein the application amount per unit area of the post-processing fluid to the image is controlled to be less than the application amount per unit area of the ink to form the image.

Abstract: There is provided a treatment liquid which is used in a recording method in which recording is performed using an ink for ink jet recording containing a coloring material on a non-absorbent recording medium, the treatment liquid contains water, a coagulant coagulating components of an ink, and two or more types of organic solvents, the organic compounds do not contain the coagulant, a surfactant, and a resin, when calculating the product of a log P value and the content (% by mass) included in the treatment liquid for each of the organic compounds, the summation is equal to or less than ?10, and among the organic compounds, the content of a first organic compound of which the log P value is greater than 0 is 0.1% by mass to 10% by mass with respect to the total mass of the treatment liquid.

Abstract: A dot recording apparatus forms dots on a recording medium while relatively moving a recording head that includes a plurality of nozzles and the recording medium in a main scanning direction. The dot recording apparatus performs multi-pass recording in which dot recording on a main scanning line is completed by a plurality of main scanning passes. In dot recording in each main scanning pass, the dot recording is performed with a super cell region as a unit, the super cell region including one or more unit super cells formed as a dot group of one mass by some of the plurality of nozzles. In the same main scanning pass, the number of unit super cells recorded by m nozzles at an end portion of the recording head is smaller than the number of unit super cells recorded by m nozzles at a center portion of the recording head.

Abstract: A liquid droplet ejecting device includes multiple pressure chambers communicating with multiple nozzles, to contain liquid; a vibration plate, disposed extending along the pressure chambers; multiple piezoelectric elements disposed facing the multiple chambers respectively via the vibration plate; a drive waveform generator to generate a drive voltage for the piezoelectric elements; a residual vibration detector to detect a residual vibration waveform occurring within the pressure chamber after the piezoelectric elements are driven; and a controller to calculate a damping ratio of the residual vibration waveform detected by the residual vibration detector; and to determine whether abnormal ejection occurs.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus includes a print head configured to be able to eject an ink fed from an ink tank that contains the ink in a closed space so as to apply a negative pressure to the ink, a communication path configured to allow a liquid chamber in the print head to communicate with an outside of the liquid chamber, an opening and closing unit configured to open and close the communication path, and a control unit configured to open the communication path in accordance with a pressure in the print head via the opening and closing unit, to bring the liquid chamber and the outside into communication with each other.

Abstract: A inkjet printer calculates a print percentage indicative of a load on a pressurizing mechanism for each block, based on print data, and then factors in the print percentage for each block to determine the upper limit of a transport speed so that the upper limit becomes slower as the print percentage increases and becomes slower as a printing distance in a transport direction corresponding to the print data increases. This provides the upper limit of the transport speed in consideration for not only a spontaneous temperature increase in each block but also a temperature increase due to the influence of its surrounding blocks. This allows the blocks in a head to operate at temperatures within a permissible range.

Abstract: The controller is configured to: drive a color ink ejection head and a functional ink ejection head to print test images on a sheet in a plurality of types of test patterns between which a positional relationship of a dot of a color ink and a dot of a functional ink to be formed on the sheet is varied; determine an overlapping degree of the dot of the color ink and the dot of the functional ink in the respective printed test images on a basis of a color attribute of the respective printed test images; and control the functional ink ejection head in printing on a basis of a control content corresponding to at least one test pattern selected of the plurality of types of the test patterns on a basis of the determined overlapping degrees.

Abstract: A printing method and system include a printhead configured to eject a fixer fluid. A controller is operatively connected to the printhead and configured to control the printhead so as to apply the fixer fluid to a print area in a pattern to form cells having a predetermined area without the fixer fluid.