Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes carriages each carrying a liquid discharge head and circuitry. The circuitry acquires divided print data having a size extended in a direction corresponding to a conveyance direction of a recording medium from a size corresponding to a length of a nozzle array of the liquid discharge head in the conveyance direction; identifies, for the liquid discharge head of a particular carriage, from the divided print data, a shifted data portion having a size corresponding to the length of the nozzle array and being shifted by a number of pixels corresponding to an amount of deviation from a target installation position of the particular carriage in the conveyance direction; controls the liquid discharge head to discharge ink to the recording medium using the shifted data portion; and controls the particular carriage to move in a main scanning direction based on the shifted data portion.

Abstract: An image forming method is provided that includes discharging, from a liquid discharged head, a white ink onto a recording medium to form a first layer having a first width, and a color ink onto the first layer to form a second layer having a second width. When the second width is equal to or smaller than a threshold, the first width is equal to the second width, and when the second width is larger than the threshold, the first width is smaller than the second width.

Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes: an applicator configured to apply a first liquid onto a surface of a fabric medium to increase repellency of the surface of the fabric medium; a head configured to discharge a second liquid onto the surface of the fabric medium, onto which the first liquid has been discharged; a detector configured to detect the repellency of the surface of the fabric medium on which the first liquid has been discharged; circuitry configured to: determine whether the repellency detected by the detector is equal to or larger than a predetermined repellency; and control the applicator to further apply the first liquid onto the surface of the fabric medium in response to a determination in which the repellency detected by the detector is lower than the predetermined repellency.

Abstract: An image forming method is provided that includes discharging, from a liquid discharged head, a white ink onto a recording medium to form a first layer having a first width, and a color ink onto the first layer to form a second layer having a second width. When the second width is equal to or smaller than a threshold, the first width is equal to the second width, and when the second width is larger than the threshold, the first width is smaller than the second width.

Abstract: Provided is an image forming method including an image forming step of discharging liquid droplets of an active-energy-ray-curable ink onto a base to form a liquid-droplet film and irradiating the liquid-droplet film with an active energy ray to form a cured film, to form a laminated cured product in which the cured film is laminated on the base, wherein an elongation rate of the laminated cured product obtained according to a formula below is 60 percent or greater. Elongation rate=[(length after tensile test?length before tensile test)/(length before tensile test)]×100 Length before tensile test is a length of the laminated cured product obtained by laminating the cured film on the base to have an average thickness of 30 ?m, and length after tensile test is a length of the laminated cured product after elongated with a tensile tester at a tensile speed of 20 mm/minute at 180 degrees C.

Abstract: An image processing method generates image data of an image made up of a plurality of dots and having resolution in a first direction and resolution in a second direction. The second direction intersects the first direction. The resolution in the first direction is different from the resolution in the second direction. The image processing method includes performing contour portion correction including adding a dot at a correction target pixel, the correction target pixel being a pixel adjacent to a step-like contour portion in the image, and when a dot is arranged at a pixel adjacent to a pixel of interest adjacent to the correction target pixel, deleting the dot at the pixel of interest.

Abstract: Provided is an image forming method including an image forming step of discharging liquid droplets of an active-energy-ray-curable ink onto a base to form a liquid-droplet film and irradiating the liquid-droplet film with an active energy ray to form a cured film, to form a laminated cured product in which the cured film is laminated on the base, wherein an elongation rate of the laminated cured product obtained according to a formula below is 60 percent or greater. Elongation rate=[(length after tensile test?length before tensile test)/(length before tensile test)]×100 Length before tensile test is a length of the laminated cured product obtained by laminating the cured film on the base to have an average thickness of 30 ?m, and length after tensile test is a length of the laminated cured product after elongated with a tensile tester at a tensile speed of 20 mm/minute at 180 degrees C.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an input unit that inputs printing information containing image data and a conversion unit that, when the pixel value of the top pixel from among successive N pixels (N is an integer equal to or larger than 2) of the image data is a specific value, sets a pixel having a pixel value that is not the specific value as a new top pixel from among pixels from a pixel adjacent to the to pixel to the N-th pixel, refers to data of the new top pixel to the N-th pixel, and performs a conversion into pixel values that are calculated with coefficient values according to the magnitude of the pixel values.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device, a threshold comparator, a first image compensator, and a second image compensator. The first compensator executes a processing of, for at least a pixel value less than a threshold, setting a value of stopping discharge of a droplet from a defective nozzle in converting multi-valued data of an input image into n-value data, and spreading a quantization error due to setting the value, to neighboring pixels of a pixel corresponding to a defective nozzle. The second compensator executes a processing of replacing a smaller dot among dots around the defective nozzle with a larger dot by pattern matching using a mask pattern in accordance with a dot size and placement around the defective nozzle, on condition that as a result of comparison of the comparator, the pixel value corresponding to the defective nozzle is equal to or more than the threshold.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device, a threshold comparator, a first image compensator, and a second image compensator. The first compensator executes a processing of, for at least a pixel value less than a threshold, setting a value of stopping discharge of a droplet from a defective nozzle in converting multi-valued data of an input image into n-value data, and spreading a quantization error due to setting the value, to neighboring pixels of a pixel corresponding to a defective nozzle. The second compensator executes a processing of replacing a smaller dot among dots around the defective nozzle with a larger dot by pattern matching using a mask pattern in accordance with a dot size and placement around the defective nozzle, on condition that as a result of comparison of the comparator, the pixel value corresponding to the defective nozzle is equal to or more than the threshold.

Abstract: A film forming method performs a film forming process on a target object having on a surface thereof an insulating layer. The film forming method includes a first thin film forming step of forming a first thin film containing a first metal, an oxidation step of forming an oxide film by oxidizing the first thin film, and a second thin film forming step of forming a second thin film containing a second metal on the oxide film.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an input unit that inputs printing information containing image data and a conversion unit that, when the pixel value of the top pixel from among successive N pixels (N is an integer equal to or larger than 2) of the image data is a specific value, sets a pixel having a pixel value that is not the specific value as a new top pixel from among pixels from a pixel adjacent to the to pixel to the N-th pixel, refers to data of the new top pixel to the N-th pixel, and performs a conversion into pixel values that are calculated with coefficient values according to the magnitude of the pixel values.

Abstract: An image processing method generates image data of an image made up of a plurality of dots and having resolution in a first direction and resolution in a second direction. The second direction intersects the first direction. The resolution in the first direction is different from the resolution in the second direction. The image processing method includes performing contour portion correction including adding a dot at a correction target pixel, the correction target pixel being a pixel adjacent to a step-like contour portion in the image, and when a dot is arranged at a pixel adjacent to a pixel of interest adjacent to the correction target pixel, deleting the dot at the pixel of interest.

Abstract: A film forming method is disclosed in which a thin film comprising manganese is formed on an object to be processed which has, on a surface thereof, an insulating layer constituted of a low-k film and having a recess. The method comprises a hydrophilization step in which the surface of the insulating layer is hydrophilized to make the surface hydrophilic and a thin-film formation step in which a thin film containing manganese is formed on the surface of the hydrophilized insulating layer by performing a film forming process using a manganese-containing material gas on the surface of the hydrophilized insulating layer. Thus, a thin film comprising manganese, e.g., an MnOx film, is effectively formed on the surface of the insulating layer constituted of a low-k film, which has a low dielectric constant.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus shifts dots of a recording dot pattern by half of a dot pitch in a main scanning direction to generate a shift dot pattern, corrects a jagged outline of the shift dot pattern caused by shifted dots using correction dots to generate a corrected shift dot pattern, and determines an increased number of ink droplets to be additionally ejected from one or more of a plurality of nozzles to form the shifted dot or the correction dot of the corrected shift dot pattern with an increased dot size, based on an estimated shift value indicating the displacement in landing position of ink droplets forming the dot of the recording dot pattern.

Abstract: A disclosed image processing apparatus performs an image processing operation to execute double-side printing on both sides of an image forming medium. The image processing apparatus forms a dot font including a dot pattern of a character in a character image that has undergone a halftone process using a predetermined coefficient for mitigating show-through when the double-side printing is performed; forms a correction dot for making a correction to reduce step-like irregularities along an outline portion of the character in the character image, which correction dot is formed based on an arrangement position, a color, and a dot size of the correction dot for reproducing a gradation that has undergone the halftone process using said predetermined coefficient; and combines the dot font and the correction dot.

Abstract: A film forming method performs a film forming process on a target object having on a surface thereof an insulating layer. The film forming method includes a first thin film forming step of forming a first thin film containing a first metal, an oxidation step of forming an oxide film by oxidizing the first thin film, and a second thin film forming step of forming a second thin film containing a second metal on the oxide film.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus shifts dots of a recording dot pattern by half of a dot pitch in a main scanning direction to generate a shift dot pattern, corrects a jagged outline of the shift dot pattern caused by shifted dots using correction dots to generate a corrected shift dot pattern, and determines an increased number of ink droplets to be additionally ejected from one or more of a plurality of nozzles to form the shifted dot or the correction dot of the corrected shift dot pattern with an increased dot size, based on an estimated shift value indicating the displacement in landing position of ink droplets forming the dot of the recording dot pattern.

Abstract: A heat treatment apparatus for heat treating a plurality of substrates, includes: a processing chamber which accommodates the plurality of substrates to be subjected to the heat treatment; a substrate holding member which holds the plurality of substrates in a vertical arrangement and is capable of being loaded into/unloaded from the processing chamber; an induction heating coil which forms an induction magnetic field for induction heating in the processing chamber; a high frequency power supply which applies high frequency power to the induction heating coil; and induction heating bodies including spiral-shaped parts which are respectively installed to overlap with the plurality of substrates in the processing chamber and generate heat by a flow of induction current generated by applying the high frequency power to the induction heating coil.

Abstract: A film forming method is disclosed in which a thin film comprising manganese is formed on an object to be processed which has, on a surface thereof, an insulating layer constituted of a low-k film and having a recess. The method comprises a hydrophilization step in which the surface of the insulating layer is hydrophilized to make the surface hydrophilic and a thin-film formation step in which a thin film containing manganese is formed on the surface of the hydrophilized insulating layer by performing a film forming process using a manganese-containing material gas on the surface of the hydrophilized insulating layer. Thus, a thin film comprising manganese, e.g., an MnOx film, is effectively formed on the surface of the insulating layer constituted of a low-k film, which has a low dielectric constant.