Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus is structured to perform discharges in the capping status when preliminary discharges are performed in a shot number larger than a predetermined number, and perform discharges in a cap or a preparatory port other than the cap when the preliminary discharges are performed in a shot number less than the predetermined number. With the structure thus arranged, it is made possible to implement the suppression of the mist generation due to the preliminary discharges, and to make the time of recording on a recording medium shorter as well.

Abstract: The present invention provides a print apparatus and a printing method which enable high-grade images to be output at high speed without the need to drastically reduce the number of printing elements used to print leading and trailing end portions of a print medium. A first mask pattern used to print a middle portion of the print medium is different from a second mask pattern used to print the leading or trailing end portion of the print medium. The present invention thus eliminates the need to drastically reduce the number of printing elements used to print the leading or trailing end portion as with the prior art.

Abstract: A mask pattern is employed for multi-pass printing. The mask pattern is the sum of a first mask pattern, relative to a first location that includes areas wherein dots are to be printed when a density value is smaller than a predetermined value, and a second mask pattern, relative to a second location that includes areas wherein dots are to be printed only when the density value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value. Using multiple scans, up to one dot is printed in the first region, while two dots or more are printed in the second region. With this arrangement, since the first mask pattern, which greatly affects a low-duty image, and the second mask pattern, which greatly affects a high-duty image, can be independently designed, problems that occur with images prepared at individual duties can be coped with by the separate mask patterns.

Abstract: A recording apparatus is configured to record an image on a recording medium by repeating a recording operation and a conveying operation. The recording operation is operative to apply a recording agent to the recording medium using a recording head while moving the recording head for scanning in a direction different from a predetermined direction. The recording head includes a plurality of recording elements arranged in the predetermined direction and adapted to apply the recording agent. The conveying operation is operative to convey the recording medium in a direction transverse to the scanning direction.

Abstract: In a printing apparatus which prints an image on a printing medium by alternately performing printing of an image on the printing medium by using a printing unit and conveyance of the printing medium relative to the printing unit, the conveyance amount in conveyance is corrected by using the first and second parameters for correcting the conveyance amount in accordance with different factors. This makes it possible to correct the conveyance amount in accordance with the deviation of the printing position due to the different factors.

Abstract: The present invention allows for creating high quality images by coping with a variety of kinds of print mediums without having to prepare large-sized, large-capacity power supply and ink supply source. For this purpose, this invention detects the number of printing elements to be driven in a predetermined check area set in one scan area of the print head. If the detected value is greater than a predetermined threshold, either the number of printing elements to be driven in one scan period of the print head or one scan period from when the print head starts the printing scan until the next printing scan is started is selected and changed according to the set printing condition and the printing operation is performed accordingly.

Abstract: The invention prevents a pattern arising from periodicity of dot arrangements from appearing as noise, such as a streak, when a plurality of different dot arrangements are used repeatedly in a unit of a predetermined number of the dot arrangements for the same level of gradation of input image data, and thereby makes it possible to print a high-quality image. To this end, when input image data quantized to one of multivalued levels of gradation is allocated to a dot arrangement of M×N, a matrix of A×B created by combining a plurality of different dot arrangements each displaying the same level of gradation of the input image data in a raster direction and in a column direction is used as a minimum unit, and the dot arrangement of this matrix is allocated to the input image data.

Abstract: For a horizontally arranged print head, in which nozzle rows are arranged parallel with a scanning direction of the print head, two of a plurality of ink colors used, which have the greatest hue difference, are selected. Between the nozzle rows for these two colors, at least two nozzle rows for other colors are arranged so that the nozzle rows for the two colors have a large inter-nozzle-row distance. The resulting print head is used for printing. If cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow, and black are used as ink colors, the light cyan, black, yellow, and light magenta inks are arranged between the cyan and magenta inks, having a great hue difference.

Abstract: For a recording apparatus capable of supplying a plurality of different color inks to a plurality of recording element substrates, when a condition for performing maintenance on a first recording element substrate is met, it is determined whether or not to perform maintenance on a second recording element substrate according to how close the second recording element substrate is to meeting the condition. Since maintenance is performed on the first and second recording element substrates in such a manner, unnecessary maintenance operations will be prevented from being carried out multiple times within a short period of time. Accordingly, the total amount of time required for maintenance is reduced.

Abstract: A plurality of ejection portions are divided into groups, each containing at least one ejection portion, so that the suction-based recovery operation can be performed for each group independently. Since the number of ejection portions contained in each group differs, if an ink flow resistance varies among the different groups, simultaneous suction-based recovery operations can be done by using a common suction pump, without having to sequentially perform the suction-based recovery operations under an optimum pump driving condition. For this purpose, inner diameters of a plurality of ink discharge tubes running from a plurality of cap units, which cap a plurality of print head units having different numbers of ejection portions, to the common pump are differentiated. This allows different flows to be produced in different ink discharge systems, thus generating desirable ink flows for individual ink supply systems.

Abstract: The invention provides a configuration capable of judging whether an ink jet head is exchanged or whether it is replaced, and changing an amount of recovery operation when the ink jet head is exchanged or replaced. Thus a recording apparatus capable of avoiding a defective ink supply in case the ink jet head is exchanged or replaced, and not wasting the ink by unnecessarily excessive recovery operation, can be provided.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus includes a print head that is an array of a plurality of nozzles arranged according to each color of ink in a predetermined direction. The apparatus is provided with a plurality of print modes, each using a different number of colors of ink for printing. In a print mode using a smaller number of colors of ink for printing (e.g., a monochrome print mode) out of the plurality of print modes, a print method is adopted, in which an image of a predetermined area is formed by a greater print pass count than the print pass count for the predetermined area in a print mode using a greater number of colors of ink for printing (e.g., a color print mode).

Abstract: The ink jet printing apparatus forms an image on a print medium with the following two operations. The printing operation makes a print head perform scan motions in a predetermined direction on the print medium, the print head having an array of nozzle rows corresponding to the required number of ink colors, each scan motion involving the ink being ejected from nozzles onto the print medium. The print medium feeding operation moves the print medium and the print head relative to each other a predetermined amount in a direction different from a direction of the scan motion between the scan motions. In a print mode using a small number of ink colors employed for printing, unidirectional printing is performed such that the nozzle row of a black ink to be ejected reaches a print start position when amplitude of vibration of the print head is a predetermined amount or less.

Abstract: An ink jet printing method is provided which, although it uses an ink jet print head with a fixed small ink ejection volume, can form an image with a desired density by performing data processing and printing at a lower pixel density. The dot arrangement pattern that determines the presence or absence of a printed dot in each of a plurality of element areas making up each pixel is allocated to the individual pixels according to their grayscale level. Then the printing dots are divided into a plurality of scans of the print head. At this time, for those pixels having a predetermined grayscale level, a plurality of dots are printed overlappingly in each of predetermined element areas of these pixels. This arrangement allows a greater number of dots than is determined by the allocated dot arrangement pattern to be printed in these pixels according to the grayscale level.

Abstract: After the front end area of the print medium has been printed and when the printing is to be continued following the front end area, a preliminary ejection is performed, prior to the current scan, on the nozzles that have not been used in preceding scans but begin to be used in a current scan, in order to remove viscous ink from the nozzles and making them ready to perform ejection. As a result, the ink ejection from the nozzles that begin to be used in the current scan becomes satisfactory.

Abstract: An ink ejection nozzle constituting section characterized for performing printing with a high image quality, and an ink ejection nozzle constituting section characterized for performing full-color printing at a high speed are separately disposed in one ink jet head to constitute a recovery system capable of performing suction recovery only in each of the constituting sections, and the suction recovery optimized for each constituting section is carried out. Accordingly, the size enlargement of a recording apparatus can be restrained, and total ink consumption can be suppressed at the time of maintenance.

Abstract: An ink-jet printing method, an ink-jet printing apparatus and an ink-jet printing system are proposed, which are free from the deterioration of color development effect even if a plurality of color inks are used, caused by the overlap of different color inks on a printing medium. For this purpose, when density data quantized to several ranks are converted finally to binary data by using predetermined dot arrangement patterns, a dot arrangement pattern different from those for other color inks is prepared for a particular color ink. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce as much as possible the probability in that the particular color ink is overlapped with the other inks on the printing medium, whereby the color development of the particular color ink is effectively facilitated.

Abstract: When three primary color inks and particular color ink having hue different from those of the three colors are used, the number of passes with regard to the same printing area is changeable, thereby speeding up a printing operation and improving color development at a gamut expressed by the particular color ink to achieve a high quality of images. Use or non-use of the particular color ink is switched according to the number of passes corresponding to quality information. If a high speed data generation processing is not required but sufficient color development is achieved, namely if the number of passes is large, the use of the particular color will expand the color reproduction gamut. If the high speed is required, namely if the number of passes is small, non-use of the particular color ink will reduce the number of colors of the usable inks.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method uses a recording head capable of ejecting a first ink containing a coloring material with a relatively small particle size &phgr;d and a second ink containing a coloring material with a relatively large particle size &phgr;p and also uses a specific recording medium including a porous layer and a base, wherein the porous layer has a gap size &phgr;h that is larger than the particle size &phgr;d and smaller than the particle size &phgr;p. The first ink is ejected to the porous layer side of the recording medium and then the second ink is ejected to the same side. The first ink passes through the porous layer to form an image viewed from the base side, and the second ink fixes on the surface of the porous layer to form an image viewed from the recording side.

Abstract: In an ink-jet printing apparatus which includes a plurality of printing heads each having an array of ink discharging elements, preliminary discharge of driving the elements of at least one printing head is performed a predetermined number of times as a unit in performing preliminary discharge of discharging ink irrelevant to printing. The printing head for which the preliminary discharge is to be performed is switched in a predetermined cycle. In performing the preliminary discharge and switching of the printing head are so controlled as to perform preliminary discharge a desired number of times for all the elements of the printing heads by repeating the cycle.