Abstract: In an image processing apparatus, a data amount of printing data generated for each different size of dot is reduced. Specifically, in quantization to obtain data for each printing head, printing data for a large dot is set as data in which a bit number per pixel is two bits, and printing data for a medium or small dot is set as data in which a bit number per pixel is one bit. Thereby, a data amount per pixel can be reduced compared with data in which all bit numbers per pixel for the large, medium and small dots are equally two bits.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus and a print head recovery method are provided which effectively execute a preliminary ejection to eject ink not contributing to image printing from nozzle opening of the print head to maintain the ink ejection performance in good condition. The ink in the print head is heated to a first temperature, at which a first preliminary ejection is executed. Then, when the ink temperature falls to a second temperature, which is lower than the first temperature, a second preliminary ejection is executed.

Abstract: There are provided an inkjet printing apparatus and an inkjet printing method, whereby, the temperature of a print head is controlled and the ejection volume of ink to be ejected is stabilized to print a high-quality image, even at a high printing duty. Based on print data, an ejection number of ink to be ejected into a unit printing area is counted. The print head is heated to a target temperature that is raised in consonance with an increase in the count value.

Abstract: Wet wiping processing is performed on an ink ejection opening forming surface of a print head by use of a wiper. Then, as bubble removal processing, the print head is heated by use of either an electrothermal conversion element or a heat generating element located inside the print head, and then a control unit causes the print head to perform preliminary ejection K1 and preliminary ejection K2.

Abstract: Provided is a print position control method whereby displacement of a print position in a wide range can be corrected very accurately, without reducing a printing speed or increasing a manufacturing cost. Thus, a printing apparatus includes: a first correction unit, for correcting a print position at accuracy equal to the resolution of the printing apparatus; and a second correction unit, for correcting the print position at accuracy higher than the resolution and in the range of an area that corresponds to one pixel of the resolution. With this arrangement, the print position displacement in a wide range equal to or greater than one pixel can be corrected by the first correction unit, and a print position displacement smaller than one pixel can be corrected by the second correction unit. Therefore, correction of a print position displacement in a wide range is enabled at a higher accuracy.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording device is capable of correcting a recording position due to a leaning of a printing head and correcting of driving timing between multiple printing heads. Each nozzle row of a printing head is classified into multiple nozzle groups, and the driving timing of the nozzle groups other than the nozzle group serving as a reference of correction of the multiple nozzle groups is adjustable to correct for any leaning of the printing head. Moreover, in the event of performing the driving timing between printing heads, the driving timing of a non-reference printing head is adjustable relative to a reference printing head employed for leaning correction of multiple printing heads.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus is disclosed that can more appropriately clean the nozzle faces of line-type print heads. The apparatus includes: a print head having nozzle chips, each having nozzle arrays arrayed on a common chip mounting face of the print head; a first cleaning unit configured to wipe the chip mounting face including wiping nozzle faces of the nozzle chips; a second cleaning unit configured to suction the chip mounting face including suctioning nozzle faces; a moving mechanism configured to move the first and second cleaning units relative to the print head in a first cleaning direction and in a second cleaning direction opposite to the first cleaning direction; and a selection unit configured to select a cleaning unit to be used for cleaning in the first and second cleaning directions from the first and second cleaning units, respectively.

Abstract: When completing an image in a predetermined area by an odd or even number of bidirectional printing scans, this invention makes it possible to suppress lines of image defects and density variations and thereby print a high-quality image at high speed. In completing an image by an odd number of bidirectional printing scans, the print data for small ink droplets and large ink droplets are thinned using the first and second thinning pattern. The first and second thinning pattern thin the print data for small ink droplets and large ink droplets so that a difference between the total print ratio of all forward printing scans of the odd number of scans and the total print ratio of all backward printing scans of the odd number of scans when the first thinning pattern is used differs from that when the second thinning pattern is used.

Abstract: This invention reduces an unprinted stripe occurred by edge deviation of a printhead. An inkjet printing apparatus according to this invention can execute a first printing mode in which an image is printed by scanning the printhead in a first region on the printing medium N times and scanning the printhead in a second region adjacent to the first region (N+1) times, and a second mode in which an image is printed by scanning the printhead in the first region M times and scanning the printhead in the second region (M+1) times. The width, in the conveyance direction of the printing medium, of the second region printed in the second printing mode is narrower than the width, in the conveyance direction of the printing medium, of the second region printed in the first printing mode.

Abstract: To achieve high-quality printing by controlling an ink-travelling direction by an electrostatic force so that the ink can be accurately applied on a printing medium, the ink is landed on a desired position of the printing medium effectively without disturbing the ink ejection, independent of a difference in the thickness of the printing medium. An electric field between a printing head and the printing medium is generated by applying a voltage to a platen of conductive material positioned immediately below the printing medium. At this point, the voltage applied to the platen is adjusted so that the electric field of a preferable intensity can be generated on a face of the printing head where ejection openings are formed irrespective of the thickness of the printing medium.

Abstract: The invention provides a printing apparatus and a recovery method therefore which can minimize ink consumption in a recovery process for a print head of the apparatus. The invention has a control unit to cause a print head to eject ink from nozzles arrayed on the print head so as to recover ink ejecting function of the nozzles, and a specification unit to specify a set print mode selected from among a plurality of print modes. The print modes define number and position of nozzles in use for printing an image. The control unit executes a first preliminary ejection process before or after printing an image on a print medium. The first preliminary ejection process has selectively ejecting ink from both of the nozzles in use selected by the currently set print mode and the unused nozzles in the vicinity of the nozzles in use.

Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus and a print head recovery method are provided according to which, in an environment in which dust (e.g., paper dust) is easily attached to the periphery of an ejection port of a print head, the print head is subjected to a recovery operation depending on the level of the attached dust. The inkjet printing apparatus has a cutter unit for cutting a print medium and a recovery unit for performing the recovery operation by wiping the ejection port formation portion at which the ejection port is formed of the print head while sucking the ejection port formation portion. When the passing number showing how many times the cut part of the print medium cut by the cutter passes the printing position is equal to or higher than a threshold value, the recovery means subjects the print head to the recovery operation.

Abstract: The present invention uses a temperature sensor to sense the temperature of a print head configured to eject ink, and senses the environmental temperature of a printing apparatus. The temperature of the print head is corrected based on the environmental temperature only if information from the temperature sensor is different from the last information acquired.

Abstract: A recording apparatus, performing recording by time-division driving of multiple recording elements on a recording head in increments of blocks, includes: a storing unit storing recording data; an obtaining unit obtaining information relating to inclination of the recording elements in the main scanning direction; a changing unit changing, in increments of recording elements, the main scanning direction storage position of recording data stored in the storing unit to be provided to recording elements of a group, configured of consecutive recording elements in each block of the recording elements, based on the obtained information; and a determining unit determining the driving order of the recording elements subjected to time-division driving in increments of the blocks, for each of the scans; wherein recording is performed based on recording data with the main scanning direction storage position having been changed by the changing unit, and the driving order determined by the determining unit.

Abstract: Provided are an ink jet printing apparatus and an ink jet printing method which are capable of printing high-quality images by performing printing scanning in a forward direction and in an opposite direction without needing complicated control of a transfer amount of a printing medium nor causing throughput degradation. Inks are ejected from odd-numbered nozzles in scanning in the forward direction and are ejected from even-numbered nozzles in scanning in the opposite direction.

Abstract: A recording apparatus scans a recording head in a main scanning direction to perform time-division driving for a plurality of blocks of recording elements to perform recording. The recording apparatus includes an obtaining unit configured to obtain information regarding inclination of the recording element array with respect to a main scanning direction, a first changing unit configured to change, in units of recording elements, based on the obtained information, storage positions of recording data items that are stored in a storage unit and that are assigned to recording elements in each of groups, each of the groups including recording elements belonging to the blocks in the recording element array which are consecutive, and a second changing unit configured to change, in units of groups, based on the obtained information, the storage positions of the recording data items in the main scanning direction.

Abstract: With the width in the main scanning direction of the image region of which the recording width in the main scanning direction is the shortest of all of the image regions to be recorded on the recording surface of the recording medium as X1 in the main scanning direction, the width obtained by subtracting the width of the ink discharge orifice from the width between the ink discharge orifice closet to the discharge side, of the ink discharge orifices employed for recording of an image region and the roller as Y1 in the sub scanning direction, and the period necessary for completing another image region defined by the width X1 and the width Y1 as T1, the sub scanning of the recording medium is controlled such that the one image region comes into contact with the roller after the period T1 from the point of completion thereof.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus and a method for controlling temperature for the ink jet printing apparatus wherein the temperature of a print head, which may lower during printing, is controlled before printing without using any sub-heater to allow a favorable ejection condition to be established without reducing the head temperature below a predetermined value. Thus, scan width information and dot count information are acquired before a carriage starts scanning to determine the heating temperature of the print head on the basis of the information.

Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid ejection head which includes a plurality of ejection ports 302 arranged so as to form an ejection port row and which, after a recovery process of expanding and transferring a bubble toward an ink supply port, allows the bubble to be smoothly removed from a nozzle 310. electrothermal transducing elementA plurality of nozzle filters 306 are arranged between an ink supply port and the ink channel 304 so that ink supplied to the bubbling chamber 303 through the ink supply port is passed between the nozzle filters 306 to separate impurities contained in the ink, from the ink. When a distance between an ink channel inlet 311 and the nozzle filter 306 is defined as L1 and a distance between the adjacent nozzle filters 306 is defined as L2, a relationship between L1 and L2 satisfies L1?L2.

Abstract: To achieve high-quality printing by controlling an ink-traveling direction by an electrostatic force so that the ink can be accurately applied on a printing medium, the ink ejected to areas outside edges of the printing medium is prevented from being attracted to the end portions in margin-less printing. This configuration includes: a platen, made of a conductive material, positioned immediately below the printing medium; an absorber positioned at a side of the edge; and a mesh conductive member disposed on the absorber. A first voltage is applied to the platen, causing polarization in the printing medium, and a second voltage higher than the first voltage is applied to the conductive member. Thereby, ink ejected outside the edges in the margin-less printing, travels straight-forwardly toward the conductive member without being attracted to the end portions, and is absorbed into the absorber via the conductive member.