Abstract: An imaging apparatus which outputs image data to be processed by an image processing apparatus. The imaging apparatus includes an image acquiring unit, a storage, and a communication unit. The image acquiring unit is adapted to acquire image data from an image storing medium. The storage is adapted to store information of an image processing condition suited to the image processing apparatus. The information is usable to control image processing for the image data acquired by the image acquiring unit. The communication unit is adapted to communicate with the image processing apparatus to transmit the image data and the information of an image processing condition.

Abstract: A printhead has a common liquid chamber which receives a liquid, a plurality of main nozzles which align at a predetermined interval on the two sides of the common liquid chamber along the longitudinal direction of the common liquid chamber and used for printing, a plurality of dummy nozzles which align on the two sides of the main nozzles along their array direction and are not used for printing, and a plurality of liquid chambers which communicate with the common liquid chamber while the main and dummy nozzles are open in the liquid chambers. A printing apparatus which drives and controls the printhead for discharging a liquid from the main nozzles and printing on a printing medium includes a toggle preliminary discharge data generation block (77) which alternately switches between the main nozzles and the dummy nozzles every column serving as the driving cycle of all nozzles for the main nozzles and the dummy nozzles.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided to enable high speed printing of an image with high resolution while suppressing degradation of image quality due to white stripes and density variations. In an ink jet printing apparatus using a multi-pass printing system, the same scan print area is divided at a predetermined pitch and the printing duties of the divided areas determined by the thinning out mask pattern are set to different values. In regard to the same scan print area formed by a plurality of the main scans, the divided areas corresponding to the ends of the print head have their printing duties set smaller than those of the divided areas on the inner side of the ends of the print head.

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: In a printing apparatus communicating with an image data output device, a comparison unit compares a resolution of an image to be printed with a capability of the printer based upon image additional information, a request unit requests low quality image data corresponding to the image to be printed of the image data output device in accordance with a result of a comparison in the comparison unit, a determination unit determines a size of the image to be printed, and a second request unit requests image additional information, regarding the low quality image data corresponding to the image to be printed, of the image data output device in accordance with the size of the image to be printed. A printing method and a computer readable medium storing program code for causing a computer to perform the steps of the method are also provided.

Abstract: A contamination of a printing medium caused by ink mist or the like is suppressed, which may scatter or float in an apparatus when margin-less printing is carried out in an ink jet printer. When margin-less printing for an edge of a printing medium P is performed, a predetermined edge area {circle around (1)} is printed using a smaller number of ejection openings during one scanning operation than that used for other areas {circle around (2)} and {circle around (3)}, while taking transportation errors relating to this end into consideration. This reduces the amount of ink mist resulting from ink ejected out of the edge of the printing medium during one scanning operation.

Abstract: The present invention is capable of providing the information for telling the current states of an ink tank and a printing apparatus within a rang exceeding a standard amount of the ink in the ink tank to be controlled as an amount of the ink usable by the printing apparatus. For this purpose, information concerning an amount of the ink used exceeding the standard amount of the ink being controlled as an amount of the ink usable by the printing apparatus is stored in a memory portion of an ink tank.

Abstract: A contamination of a printing medium caused by ink mist or the like is suppressed, which may scatter or float in an apparatus when margin-less printing is carried out in an ink jet printer. When margin-less printing for an edge of a printing medium P is performed, a predetermined edge area {circle over (1)} is printed using a smaller number of ejection openings during one scanning operation than that used for other areas {circle over (2)} and {circle over (3)}, while taking transportation errors relating to this end into consideration. This reduces the amount of ink mist resulting from ink ejected out of the edge of the printing medium during one scanning operation.

Abstract: In an liquid ejection head according to the present invention having a plurality of ejection openings arranged in a predetermined direction and a plurality of electro-thermal transducers for ejecting liquid from the ejection openings and being in relative motion with a printing medium, a kinetic energy of the liquid ejected from each ejection opening constituting an end group disposed in the respective opposite end section along the predetermined direction is larger than a kinetic energy of the liquid ejected from each ejection opening constituting a central group disposed in a central section along the predetermined direction. According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an ink droplet ejected from the ejection opening in the end group from being deviated toward the central section along the predetermined direction, whereby the generation of white streaks is avoidable when a solid printing is carried out.

Abstract: The present invention provides a printing apparatus and method which can appropriately thin dots for printing so as to ensure a print grade. When dots of a black ink is subjected to thinned printing, the dots are thinned using output gamma correction that corrects print data so as to reduce the print density of an image. On the other hand, when dot of a color ink other than the black ink is subjected to the thinned printing, the number of dots formed per print pixel is reduced.

Abstract: When printing data is to be printed, the number of simultaneously driven printing elements of a plurality of printing elements of a printhead is discriminated. On the basis of the number of simultaneously driven printing elements discriminated and a fundamental pulse width changeably, determined on the basis of driving conditions of the printhead, a driving pulse to be applied to printing elements used in the printing of the printing data is controlled.

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: An ink jet recording apparatus adjusts at least one of a preliminary discharge time representing a time until the subsequent preliminary discharge is performed and a compensated time determined on the basis of the time elapsed since the previous preliminary discharge, so that the preliminary discharge is performed at a predetermined preliminary discharge hole. Accordingly, the ink jet recording apparatus is capable of recording on different kinds of recording media in a manner suitable for each of them without using a complex control process, and of performing the preliminary discharge according to the size of the recording media. In addition, a reduction in the throughput is prevented by using the ink jet recording apparatus.

Abstract: Simple manual management and easy use are aimed for a system having a printer and an external apparatus such as a digital camera connectable thereto. This aim can be achieved by storing the contents of a manual, an error countermeasure corresponding to an error code and the like respectively of the external apparatus in a memory of the printer or external apparatus in the form of text and by printing out a necessary portion of the contents stored in the memory when necessary such as when a user requests and when an error is detected.

Abstract: Provided is a temperature detection method capable of more accurately acquiring an environmental temperature and more accurately correcting temperature detection of a printhead. In a printing apparatus to which this method is applied, a previous printing time when the printhead has performed printing operation is stored in a nonvolatile memory. The current time is acquired using a timer which always performs time counting operation by power supply from an auxiliary power supply capable of supplying power independently of a main power supply that supplies power for performing printing operation by the printing apparatus. A time elapsed after the previous printing time is calculated on the basis of the current time and previous printing time. The elapsed time and a predetermined time are compared. The temperature is measured using a sensor arranged in at least either of the printing apparatus and the printhead in accordance with the comparison result.

Abstract: When an image is sensed by a digital camera, image additional information as the image sensing conditions is stored together with the sensed image information. Also, information unique to that digital camera is stored together with the image additional information. The digital camera is connected to a printer by, e.g., an IEEE1394 I/F. The printer stores printing control information as various combinations of unique information such as its printing method, the types of ink, paper, and the like, print quality and print speed, and processing technique such as masking. In response to a print instruction, the printer reads the image information and image additional information from the digital camera, and selects the printing control information in accordance with the read information and the set printing mode. The printer prints an image using the selected printing control information.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of printing a high quality color image with no color variations at high speed. For this purpose, this invention arranges in a main scan direction a plurality of print heads that eject different color inks, and reciprocally moves each of the print heads to perform a multipass printing in which a print operation is executed in both the forward and backward passes. During the multipass printing, the print duties of the print heads are set by mask patterns. Each of the mask patterns divides the print duty setting area for each nozzle group of each head into subdivided areas, sets the print duties of the subdivided areas to values different from each other and sets the print duties of the print heads to different values.

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.

Abstract: There is provided a printing apparatus capable of printing input data in proper adaptation to plural types of printing data input units and environments of use. For this purpose, the type of an input unit is first recognized. For example, when it is recognized that a personal computer capable of causing the printing apparatus to perform a setting process for registration is connected, it is judged that the process has already been performed, and a mode for printing at a high speed is adopted. When it is recognized that a digital camera is connected, since it is likely that the process has not been performed yet, a mode for printing at a low speed is adopted to prevent any reduction in image quality.

Abstract: When an image is sensed by a digital camera, image additional information as the image sensing conditions is stored together with the sensed image information. Also, information unique to that digital camera is stored together with the image additional information. The digital camera is connected to a printer by, e.g., an IEEE1394 I/F. The printer stores printing control information as various combinations of unique information such as its printing method, the types of ink, paper, and the like, print quality and print speed, and processing technique such as masking. In response to a print instruction, the printer reads the image information and image additional information from the digital camera, and selects the printing control information in accordance with the read information and the set printing mode. The printer prints an image using the selected printing control information.