Abstract: A movement detection apparatus acquires a displacement direction and an amount of displacement of a template region in the first image data that is displaced in the second image data in a direction orthogonal to a direction of a movement of an object. Based on the acquired displacement direction and the amount of displacement, a position at which the template pattern is clipped in the direction is set.

Abstract: Multi-valued image data corresponding to a pixel area is divided into the first scanning multi-valued data, first and second scanning common multi-valued data, and second scanning multi-valued data. A quantization processing is executed on each of the multi-valued data to generate first scanning quantized data, first and second scanning common quantized data, and second scanning quantized data. After that, these pieces of quantized data are combined for each scanning to generate first scanning combined quantized data and second scanning combined quantized data. According to this, the amount of pixels where dots are both recorded by performing a scanning by plural times (the amount of overlapping dots) is controlled, and while suppressing the image density variations, the granularity is held to a low level.

Abstract: The present invention suppresses data processing load and processing time when generating density data for the same color that corresponds to a plurality of printing scans (or plurality of printing element groups) of a printing head and printing medium. In order to accomplish this, input image data is converted to a plurality of density data by referencing a three-dimensional lookup table that performs one-to-one correlation of input image data with a plurality of density data that corresponds to a plurality of relative movements (or plurality of printing element groups). By doing so, it is possible to perform a process of generating density data (CMYK) that corresponds to a plurality of relative movements (or plurality of printing element groups) from input image data at once, and thus it is possible to suppress an increase in data processing load and processing time.

Abstract: The image processing apparatus executes quantization processing of second multi-valued image data that corresponds to a second relative movement of a plurality of relative movements based on first multi-valued image data that corresponds to a first relative movement of the plurality of relative movements, and executes quantization processing of the first multi-valued image data based on the second multi-valued image data. This makes it possible to output a high-quality image having excellent robustness and reduced graininess by controlling the overlap rate of dots that are printed by the first relative movement and the dots that are printed by the second relative movement.

Abstract: By suppressing deviation of dot-formation positions stemming from insufficient accuracy in conveying a printing medium due to eccentricity of a conveying roller, a printed image in which unevenness is less visible is obtained. An accumulated amount of conveyance errors is decreased by narrowing a nozzle-use range and reducing a conveyance amount over an entire printing region according to a mode used for printing an image in which the coverage of a printing medium is low due to a small number of ink colors to be used, for example, a mode used for printing a monochrome image by using a black ink dominantly in all of the density regions.

Abstract: The sequence of the acquisition of a correction value of a conveying error depending on the eccentricity of the conveying roller (correction value for eccentricity) and the acquisition of a correction value of a conveying error depending on the outer diameter of the roller (correction value for outer diameter) is considered to acquire a precise correction value for outer diameter. A test pattern to acquire the correction values for eccentricity and for outer diameter is formed with an area exceeds the area corresponding to an integer multiple of the circumferential length of the roller. The correction value for eccentricity and that for outer diameter are acquired in this sequence. The fluctuation in the conveying error is reduced by the application of the correction value for eccentricity, and the influence of the excess area is made smaller before the correction value for outer diameter is acquired by averaging the conveying errors.

Abstract: A discharge failure nozzle, which cannot print, can be complemented by a printable discharge nozzle according to a simple, low-cost method capable of a high-speed process. A printing apparatus, which prints by using an inkjet head having nozzle arrays formed by arraying a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink while scanning the inkjet head on a printing medium, includes a storage unit which stores the position of an abnormal nozzle that abnormally discharges ink among the plurality of nozzles arrayed in the nozzle arrays, an assignment unit which assigns data subjected to discharge by the abnormal nozzle to a plurality of normal nozzles positioned near the abnormal nozzle in a nozzle array including the abnormal nozzle in accordance with predetermined priorities, and a control unit which controls to perform assignment of data subjected to discharge by the abnormal nozzle every time column data along the scanning direction are created by a predetermined number of columns.

Abstract: By suppressing deviation of dot-formation positions stemming from insufficient accuracy in conveying a printing medium due to eccentricity of a conveying roller, a printed image in which unevenness is less visible is obtained. An accumulated amount of conveyance errors is reduced by narrowing a nozzle-use range and by reducing a conveyance amount over an entire printing region according to the number of colors to be used and desired printing quality in printing an image. Moreover, the nozzles used when the nozzle-use range is narrowed are not fixed, and are switched to be used as appropriate. This prevents only certain nozzles from being used concentratedly, and allows all of the nozzles to maintain substantially the same ejection performance.

Abstract: When recording is performed in a pixel region by M (M is an integer equal to or larger than 2) passes with N (N is an integer equal to or larger than 2) recording element groups, density variation due to a deviation between recording positions of dots that are recorded by different passes is suppressed while a load of data processing is decreased. First, multivalued image data (24-1 to 24-2) corresponding to the M passes is generated from input image data, and the multivalued image data corresponding to the M passes is quantized to generate quantized data (26-1 to 26-2) corresponding to the M passes. Then, the quantized data corresponding to the M passes is divided into quantized data being complements of each other and corresponding to the N recording element groups. Accordingly, the quantized data (28-1 to 28-4) corresponding to the M passes for the N recording element groups is obtained.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus for processing multilevel image data including values of respective color components includes an adding unit configured to add quantization errors to the respective values of the color components of a target pixel, an output determination unit configured to perform quantization to determine output values of the respective color components of the target pixel based on a combination of the values of the respective color components to which the quantization errors are added, and an error calculation unit configured to calculate quantization errors of the respective color components of the target pixel based on the output values of the respective color components and the values of the respective color components to which the quantization errors are added.

Abstract: Mask patterns to be used for multi-pass printing make it possible to make a print with a higher quality at a higher speed. Specifically, by performing a swapping process with adjacency forbiddance, two points in the horizontal direction, or the scanning direction of a printing head, are selected in a buffer in which codes for each scan pass are set depending on printing ratios of a gradation mask. Subsequently, codes are swapped between the two points. By this swap, adjacencies between print permitting areas are eliminated in the mask pattern. As a result, when driving frequencies set for the printing head is kept constant, the scanning speed can be doubled at minimum.

Abstract: By suppressing deviation of dot-formation positions stemming from insufficient accuracy in conveying a printing medium due to eccentricity of a conveying roller, a printed image in which unevenness is less visible is obtained. An accumulated amount of conveyance errors is decreased by narrowing a nozzle-use range and reducing a conveyance amount over an entire printing region according to a mode used for printing an image in which the coverage of a printing medium is low due to a small number of ink colors to be used, for example, a mode used for printing a monochrome image by using a black ink dominantly in all of the density regions.

Abstract: The sequence of the acquisition of a correction value of a conveying error depending on the eccentricity of the conveying roller (correction value for eccentricity) and the acquisition of a correction value of a conveying error depending on the outer diameter of the roller (correction value for outer diameter) is considered to acquire a precise correction value for outer diameter. A test pattern to acquire the correction values for eccentricity and for outer diameter is formed with an area exceeds the area corresponding to an integer multiple of the circumferential length of the roller. The correction value for eccentricity and that for outer diameter are acquired in this sequence. The fluctuation in the conveying error is reduced by the application of the correction value for eccentricity, and the influence of the excess area is made smaller before the correction value for outer diameter is acquired by averaging the conveying errors.

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: To provide a prepared color separation table for an inkjet printing apparatus that suppresses unevenness due to differences in the color of regular reflected light when a printing medium surface used for printing pigment-based inks is irradiated with light and which can output a high quality image. It is a printing apparatus that can carry out printing using recording materials and when reproducing a color of a predetermined color region using numerous types of the said recording materials with different regular reflected light colors it uses at least one type of the recording materials over the entire area in the predetermined color region.

Abstract: Printing can be properly performed on a print medium other than print media preset in accordance with print modes of a printer. Specifically, when the print medium other than the print media preset in accordance with the print modes is used, patches are printed on the print medium in each combination of the ink ejection amount and the number of passes, and information regarding each evaluation of granularity and banding based on colorimetry of the patches is obtained for each combination of the ink ejection amount and the number of passes. Next, a combination of the maximum ink ejection amount and the maximum number of passes is selected from the combinations that each evaluation of the granularity and the banding satisfies a certain level. Then, a print mode having a combination nearest the combination is selected from the plurality of print modes.

Abstract: A printing apparatus and a printing method are provided which, even if a print position misalignment occurs between a plurality of print scans during a multipass printing, can minimize density variations in a unit area reliably and stably, thus producing an image without density unevenness. For this purpose, multi-grayscale-level image data is converted into a plurality of dot arrangement patterns that determine individual subpixels either to be printed or not to be printed with a dot. Then, these dot arrangement patterns are printed overlappingly on a print medium in different print scans of the print head. At this time, the plurality of dot arrangement patterns are so arranged that, if these dot arrangement patterns are shifted from one another, a change in the dot-overlapping area ratio will be smaller than when the dots are arranged separately so that they do not overlap one another.

Abstract: In a 2M-pass printing operation that forms dots including overlapping dots, this invention makes an arrangement to ensure that the number of overlapping dots that are printed in a unit area in pairs of passes each straddling a print medium convey operation executed between an Mth pass and an (M+1)st pass is greater than the number of overlapping dots that are printed in pairs of passes straddling any other convey operation. This arrangement can cause two dots of the overlapping dots to be separated from each other in the event of a print position misalignment, preventing a possible density fall even in a unit area where the largest density reduction is feared to occur at time of the print position misalignment.

Abstract: To provide a printing apparatus and a printing method capable of not permitting a printable ratio of each printing scan to have a deviation and, even if a sudden conveyance shift occurs, outputting a uniform and smooth image in the whole area of the print medium. In order to achieve this, when performing multipass printing of 2M passes, a mask such that a printable area overlapping ratio that relates to straddling between Pass M and Pass M+1 is set higher than the printable area overlapping ratio that relates to straddling between other two consecutive passes is used. By this configuration, even if a complementary relationship of dots collapses due to a sudden conveyance shift etc. and thereby a density reduction is anticipated, by an overlapped dot being separated, increase of the density is accelerated, and it becomes possible to mitigate the above-mentioned density reduction.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus and an ink jet printing method which are capable of stabilizing the amount of ink ejection and of printing a high-definition image by selecting a driving condition with heat conductivity of an electrothermal converter being taken into consideration. The heat conductivity from a heater to ink is classified into heater ranks, and, on the basis of the heater rank, a voltage of a drive pulse to be applied to the heater is changed.