Abstract: A recording apparatus that records images on a recording medium by use of an ink jet recording head to discharge ink from discharge ports comprises a cap covering the discharge port surface of the ink jet recording head having discharge ports formed thereon, being capable of receiving ink discharged from the discharge ports, idle suction means for exhausting ink received by the cap to the outside, predischarge means for pre-discharging ink from the ink jet recording head to the inside of the cap at designated time intervals aside from recording operation, accumulating means for accumulating the amount of ink consumption by the predischarge, first comparison means for comparing the amount of ink consumption accumulated by the accumulating means with a first threshold value per predischarge, first predischarge control means for controlling to reduce the amount of ink discharge for predischarge to follow in accordance with the comparison result provided by the first comparison means, second comparison means for

Abstract: An operation method for an ink jet recording apparatus comprises a cap for covering the discharge orifices for discharging the ink, and suction means for effecting suction through said discharge orifices. The method includes a suction process of effecting suction through said discharge orifices by driving said suction means when said cap covers said discharge orifices, a discharge process of discharging the ink from said discharge orifices into said cap, and an exhausting process of exhausting the ink out of said cap.

Abstract: Printing is performed on a printing medium by using an ink-jet printhead for discharging ink, multilevel printing is performed by multipass printing operation of executing main scanning operation of moving the printhead relative to the printing medium with respect to each print area while changing the number of ink droplets discharged to each pixel, and the number of scans to be performed to discharge ink droplets used to print a pixel with a low gray level value is made larger than the number of scans to be performed to discharge ink droplets used only to print a pixel with a high gray level value, thereby preventing the occurrence of density irregularity and streaks in a low gray level portion and printing a high-quality image.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink-jet recording method that allows a time for ink to penetrate into the recording medium and to be fixed thereto, and prevents density irregularity, color unevenness, blot between colors, and stain of the recording medium caused by contact between the recording head and the recording medium. When conducting multi-pass recording comprising the step of executing a plurality of runs of main scanning to each recording area while relatively moving the recording head which discharges ink on the recording medium, it is made possible to select a recording mode from a plurality of recording modes of different numbers of runs of main scanning, and a rest period, during which recording is discontinued after each run of main scanning, is set in response to the number of runs of main scanning corresponding to the selected recording mode.

Abstract: Printing of a unit pixel (1/D=1/600) in 4-pass printing (64 nozzles, and a total sheet supply amount of 62/600 in four operations) is exemplified in an image printing apparatus capable of printing a uniform, high-quality image while avoiding printing of a visually nonuniform image in multipass printing of two or more passes. A first pass printing dot (101) is printed using an Even nozzle by a sheet supply amount of 16/600 (even multiple of 1/D) while a carriage moves in the main scanning direction (main droplet and satellite land apart from each other). A second pass printing dot (102) is printed using an Odd nozzle by a sheet supply amount is 15/600 (odd multiple of 1/D) while the carriage moves in a direction opposite to the main scanning direction (main droplet and satellite land apart from each other).

Abstract: A CPU generates a mask pattern by generating patterns corresponding to a predetermined number of times in the sub-scanning direction in accordance with the number of printing elements of a printhead which corresponds to the amount by which scanning is performed once in the sub-scanning direction, and repeating this operation by the number of times corresponding to a predetermined number of columns. The generated mask pattern is stored in an RAM. An image is then printed by using image data and the mask pattern stored in the RAM for each printing timing signal in the main scanning direction.

Abstract: Disclosed is an inkjet printing apparatus for forming an image by repeatedly causing the scanning of a printhead that prints an image in a scan area using inks of a plurality of types. Residual duty, which is obtained by quantifying the mixed state of the inks used in printing the image in the scan area, is defined. The residual duty with regard to the next scan area is found from image data, the scanning direction for printing in the next scan area is decided based upon the residual duty, and the area is printed in the scanning direction that has been decided. Thus, back-and-forth scanning and unidirectional scanning are used jointly in appropriate fashion in accordance with the printed image. As a result, high-quality printing of an image becomes possible and a higher printing speed is achieved.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording method includes the steps of recording black circles of a black ink ejected by black ink nozzles at the positions corresponding to a resolution of, for example, 600 dpi, and recording black dots of the black ink formed by selectively mixing cyan, magenta, and yellow inks at the positions offset by a distance corresponding to a resolution of 1200 dpi, thereby forming a black image having high resolutions, whereby the black image can be recorded at a high speed and with high resolutions.

Abstract: An ink set for use in an ink-jet recording method for recording a color image on a recording medium using four colors or more of ink, each ink includes a coloring material and a liquid medium, wherein any combination of two different inks causes aggregation of the coloring material by a chemical reaction on mutual contact on a recording medium.

Abstract: A system using discharge orifices having waterproof ink orifices for discharging waterproof ink which becomes water insoluble after drying and non-waterproof ink orifices for discharging non-waterproof ink, a cap for covering the discharge orifices, and a suction device for effecting suction through the discharge orifices when the cap covers the discharge orifices. The system includes covering both the waterproof ink orifices and the non-waterproof ink orifices collectively by the cap, effecting suction through both the waterproof ink orifices and the non-waterproof ink orifices by driving the suction device when the cap covers both the waterproof ink orifices and the non-waterproof ink orifices collectively, discharging, after sucking, both the waterproof ink orifices and the non-waterproof ink orifices into the cap, and exhausting, after discharging, ink out of the cap by driving the suction means when an inside of the cap communicates with air.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus comprises a recording head having discharge ports to discharge ink; an ink tank containing ink to be supplied to the recording head; and device for performing predischarges to stabilize ink discharges from the recording head. In this apparatus, the recording head is provided with a discharge unit to discharge plural kinds of ink, and the device for performing predischarges operates predischarges from all the discharge ports, only from the discharges ports in the vicinity of each end of the discharging units, and from all the discharge ports in that order at least for predischarges from discharging unit having relatively thin ink. With such head and device for performing predischarges, it is possible to remove mixed ink after suction recovery with a lesser amount of ink consumption, and execute a high quality recording stably at all times.

Abstract: To provide an ink jet recording head substrate, an ink jet recording head, an ink jet recording unit, and an ink jet recording apparatus which allow scorch deposits on a heating section to be prevented by exerting on the section effect of providing super-hydrophilicity. The ink jet recording head substrate includes heating resistors formed through an insulating layer on a substrate which produce thermal energy used to eject ink, and the ink jet recording head includes an ejection orifice through which ink is ejected, and ink path which communicates with the ejection orifice and has a section exerting on the liquid thermal energy used to eject the liquid and heating resistors which produce thermal energy and an area corresponding to a heating section in which heat produced by the heating resistors acts on ink is given super-hydrophilicity treatment, and a contact angle between the area and water is 5° or less.

Abstract: An operation method for an ink jet recording apparatus comprises a cap for covering the discharge orifices for discharging the ink, and suction means for effecting suction through said discharge orifices. The method includes a suction process of effecting suction through said discharge orifices by driving said suction means when said cap covers said discharge orifices, a discharge process of discharging the ink from said discharge orifices into said cap, and an exhausting process of exhausting the ink out of said cap.

Abstract: The ink jet printing apparatus of this invention is intended to reduce degradations in image quality caused by color mixing due to bleeding of inks of different colors and thereby enable printing an image with high quality at high speed. To this end, in the ink jet printing apparatus of this invention, a plurality of different nozzle groups are main-scanned M times (M≧2) over a print area to print all print data to be printed on the print area to complete an image. The print head, successively perform the main scans over the print area in such a way that the print head, located at the front position in the printing order, performs an Mth main scan with a lower print density than that of an Nth main scan (1≦N<M).

Abstract: A high-quality image is printed with reduced bleeding in colors that may appear at a boundary between a black image and a color image. A head for ejecting black ink and a head for ejecting color ink perform three times of scanning while feeding is carried out therebetween for moving the printing medium by four pitches of ejection openings arranged on the heads, different ejection openings are caused to correspond to a scanning area, which corresponds to the four pitches, and multi-pass printing is performed to complete printing on the area. The black head completes printing of the black image, and then, the color head completes printing of the color image adjacent to the black image. The arrangement of ejection openings is determined so that between last scanning for completing printing of the black image and the first scanning for printing of the color image, scanning with no performing printing exists.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus capable of recording high-quality images in which not only color shading caused in the process of reciprocating recording is prevented, but also bleeding between colors inherent in a multi-pass recording method is reduced. The position of the top of ejection orifices in a second ejection orifice row for ejecting color ink is spaced a length away from a first ejection orifice row for ejecting black ink. The length is determined according to values m, n and such a condition that the value a makes (m+a) an even number. Under the circumstances, recording is performed by reciprocating scanning, which makes differences in recording time between colors equal to each other.

Abstract: A recording apparatus is provided with two or more kinds of sub-scanning amounts per main scan, which records a high quality image by reducing the bleeding between colors created characteristically by a multi-pass recoding method. The main scanning numbers whereby to complete an image by a first discharge port array for black ink use and a second discharge port array for color ink use, respectively, are set to be m (m is a positive integer) and n (n is a positive integer) times. Then, with respect to the first discharge port array, the second discharge port array makes the position of the end portion of the discharge ports used from the upstream side in the sub-scan equal to the length of the amount of continuous sub-scan of (m+a) (a is a positive integer) times using at least two kinds of sub-scanning amounts.

Abstract: A printing apparatus which prevents discharge failure due to residual bubbles generated in accordance with a printing history of past printing such as the number of printing pulses, the printing and the printing area, and a precipitate from ink, in each ink type, and/or due to residual bubbles coalesced into larger bubbles after the completion of printing and a precipitate from ink, and which enables excellent image printing without unnecessarily increasing ink consumption and without reduction of the printing speed. A CPU 600 measures a driving state of a printhead per unit period, e.g., the number of driving pulses to all the discharge orifices and the driving interval of the printhead. When the printing has been completed, the CPU calculates the number of driving pulses per unit period, and if the calculated value is greater than an allowable value, it performs discharge recovery processing on the printhead.

Abstract: In a multipass printing using a print head which has a plurality of staggered columns of print elements, one and the same print line is formed by using nozzles (k1-129, k2-1) of different nozzle columns (k1, k2) to disperse the directivity of landing deviations of dots in the same print line.

Abstract: To provide a liquid discharge head, a liquid discharge apparatus, a value protection method of the liquid discharge head, and a maintenance device.