Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus that improves the visibility of a character and its background in different colors or of outline characters is provided. Specifically, outline character bold data is inverted and each of the pixels in the data is expanded to adjacent eight pixels. Then, the expanded outline character is processed into expanded inverted data. The logical AND of the inverted expanded data and K data on a background image is then calculated to generate K data with the outline character expanded. This results in an image with the outline character expanded. That is, the present invention enables characters with improved visibility and free from blurredness to be printed while preventing the adverse effect of bleeding on the outline character.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus which inhibits possible bleeding by thinning color data adjacent to black data and enables printing free from image quality degradation such as gradation skip is provided. Specifically, when only one pixel has color data and pixels located vertically and horizontally adjacent to that pixel have no color data, an isolated point pixel containing a color dot is detected only in that pixel. Then, the dots other than the isolated point are thinned-out. This makes it possible to inhibit possible bleeding at the boundary between a color area and a black area and to achieve proper printing with the appropriate gradation of the entire image maintained.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus which inhibits possible bleeding by thinning color data adjacent to black data and enables printing free from image quality degradation such as gradation skip is provided. Specifically, when only one pixel has color data and pixels located vertically and horizontally adjacent to that pixel have no color data, an isolated point pixel containing a color dot is detected only in that pixel. Then, the dots other than the isolated point are thinned-out. This makes it possible to inhibit possible bleeding at the boundary between a color area and a black area and to achieve proper printing with the appropriate gradation of the entire image maintained.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus which inhibits possible bleeding by thinning color data adjacent to black data and enables printing free from image quality degradation such as gradation skip is provided. Specifically, when only one pixel has color data and pixels located vertically and horizontally adjacent to that pixel have no color data, an isolated point pixel containing a color dot is detected only in that pixel. Then, the dots other than the isolated point are thinned-out. This makes it possible to inhibit possible bleeding at the boundary between a color area and a black area and to achieve proper printing with the appropriate gradation of the entire image maintained.

Abstract: In a serial inkjet printing apparatus mounting a plurality of kinds of inks which have different properties and are arranged in parallel, high-speed bidirectional printing is realized without causing an influence of fixing period to prolong output time more than necessary. In order to realize the high-speed bidirectional printing, an order of executing forward print scanning and backward print scanning is controlled so as to further reduce a sum of time required to form an image and time required to wait for the formed image to be fixed. Thus, also in the bidirectional printing, between a forward direction and a backward direction, print scanning in a direction having shorter fixing period is set prior to that in the other direction. Consequently, total time required for image output can be further reduced.

Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus includes an edge detecting unit adapted to detect an edge portion and a non-edge portion in the image data; a memory adapted to store a plurality of edge reducing masks used to reduce image data in the edge portion and a plurality of non-edge reducing masks used to reduce image data in the non-edge portion; a reduced data generating unit adapted to generate multiple sets of edge reduced data from image data in the edge portion using the plurality of edge reducing masks and to generate multiple sets of non-edge reduced data from image data in the non-edge portion using the plurality of non-edge reducing masks; and a printing data generating unit adapted to generate multiple sets of printing data by combining the multiple sets of edge reduced data and the multiple sets of non-edge reduced data.

Abstract: For a serial inkjet printing apparatus that performs printing by employing ink having different properties, the occurrence of smear is prevented without decreasing the printing speed more than necessary. A high duty area, i.e., a unit area for which a large amount of ink is applied, is detected in a preceding printing medium. Then, while taking into account the scanning direction (ink application order) in which the detected high duty area has been printed, the period until the following printing medium is permitted to contact the high duty area is determined. Then, during printing of the following printing medium, the printing operation is delayed, so that, within the determined period of time, the following printing medium does not contact the high duty area of the preceding printing medium.

Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided which can utilize a power supply to its maximum capacity without overly degrading throughput. A print area that can be printed in one scan of a print head is divided into a plurality of blocks. The number of data indicating print in each block is detected. Then the detected value is compared with a plurality of thresholds. Based on a result of the comparison, a scan speed of the print head and the number of scans are determined. This arrangement allows for a selection of an optimum printing method from among a plurality of scan speeds and a plurality of divided printing modes even when an image that may cause a CURRENT in excess of the maximum power supply capacity to flow is printed. With this printing apparatus it is possible to execute printing fully utilizing the power supply capacity without overly degrading throughput.

Abstract: The image quality deterioration due to the collection of dots of low-lightness by the preliminary ejection is prevented, in the case of performing the ink ejection for preliminary ejection during the printing onto printing paper. More specifically, the preliminary ejection pattern is set as a pattern in which the distance between a cyan dot of relatively low-lightness and a magenta dot is longer than a distance between a yellow dot of relatively high-lightness and a cyan dot nearest the yellow dot among low-lightness colors. Closely forming dots of low-lightness that would be perceived as a group of collected dots can be prevented, thereby performing printing that will not deteriorate the printing quality due to the paper preliminary ejection.

Abstract: In an ink jet printer in which preliminary ejection is performed onto printing paper, unnecessary ink consumption due to the preliminary ejection is suppressed. More specifically, the paper preliminary ejection is designed to be performed only for a printing head of cyan ink. For this cyan ink the longest duration of its non-ejection state, in which the printer can attain high printing quality when restarting printing after continuation of the non-ejection state in the case of not performing the paper preliminary ejection, is shorter than 1.6 seconds of the duration which is necessary for the reciprocal printing. This eliminates the paper preliminary ejection for the printing heads of the other colors of ink, thereby avoiding unnecessary ink consumption due to the paper preliminary ejection performed uniformly for every color of ink.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus that improves the visibility of a character and its background in different colors or of outline characters is provided. Specifically, outline character bold data is inverted and each of the pixels in the data is expanded to adjacent eight pixels. Then, the expanded outline character is processed into expanded inverted data. The logical AND of the inverted expanded data and K data on a background image is then calculated to generate K data with the outline character expanded. This results in an image with the outline character expanded. That is, the present invention enables characters with improved visibility and free from blurredness to be printed while preventing the adverse effect of bleeding on the outline character.

Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus which inhibits possible bleeding by thinning color data adjacent to black data and enables printing free from image quality degradation such as gradation skip is provided. Specifically, when only one pixel has color data and pixels located vertically and horizontally adjacent to that pixel have no color data, an isolated point pixel containing a color dot is detected only in that pixel. Then, the dots other than the isolated point are thinned-out. This makes it possible to inhibit possible bleeding at the boundary between a color area and a black area and to achieve proper printing with the appropriate gradation of the entire image maintained.

Abstract: In a data creating method for creating image data corresponding to each of a plurality of color inks applied to a black image area formed on the basis of image data on a black ink, with the plurality of color inks being a cyan ink, a magenta ink, and a yellow ink, an image data creating step creates image data corresponding to each of the plurality of color inks on the basis of the image data on the black ink. The image data creating step creates the image data on each of the plurality of color inks so that the rate of areas in which all the plurality of color inks are applied, in the black image area, is higher than that of areas to which only some of the plurality of color inks are applied. At least one of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink contains a component that coagulates a color material of the black ink.

Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus includes an edge detecting unit adapted to detect an edge portion or a non-edge portion in the image data a memory adapted to store a plurality of edge reducing masks used to reduce image data in the edge portion and a plurality of non-edge reducing masks used to reduce image data in the non-edge portion; a reduced data generating unit adapted to generate multiple sets of edge reduced data from image data in the edge portion using the plurality of edge reducing masks and to generate multiple sets of non-edge reduced data from image data in the non-edge portion using the plurality of non-edge reducing masks; and a printing data generating unit adapted to generate multiple sets of printing data by combining the multiple sets of edge reduced data and the multiple sets of non-edge reduced data.

Abstract: Disclosed is an inkjet print apparatus in which a printhead capable of printing utilizing ink of at least one color is mounted on a carriage and the carriage is caused to move across a printing medium to print an image on the printing medium, comprising: a head temperature detector for detecting temperature of the printhead; a dot counter for counting number of dots, which are formed in divided areas, per each divided area obtained by dividing an area of the printing medium into a plurality of areas in prescribed units; a comparator for comparing a threshold value, which corresponds to printhead temperature information that has been detected by the head temperature detector, and a count value representing the number of dots counted by the dot counter; and a decision unit for deciding, based upon result of the comparison performed by the comparator, a drive frequency for driving the printhead and a moving speed of the carriage; wherein printing of an image on the printing medium is performed at the drive frequ

Abstract: For a serial inkjet printing apparatus that performs printing by employing ink having different properties, the occurrence of smear is prevented without the printing speed being deteriorated more than necessarily. Therefore, a high duty area, i.e., a unit area for which a large amount of ink is applied, is detected in a preceding printing medium. Then, while taking into account the scanning direction (ink application order) in which the detected high duty area has been printed, the period until the following printing medium is permitted to contact the high duty area is determined. Then, during printing of the following printing medium, the printing operation is delayed, so that, within the determined period of time, the following printing medium does not contact the high duty area of the preceding printing medium.

Abstract: In a serial inkjet printing apparatus mounting a plurality of kinds of inks which have different properties and are arranged in parallel, high-speed bidirectional printing is realized without causing an influence of fixing period to prolong output time more than necessary. In order to realize the high-speed bidirectional printing, an order of executing forward print scanning and backward print scanning is controlled so as to further reduce a sum of time required to form an image and time required to wait for the formed image to be fixed. Thus, also in the bidirectional printing, between a forward direction and a backward direction, print scanning in a direction having shorter fixing period is set prior to that in the other direction. Consequently, total time required for image output can be further reduced.

Abstract: The image quality deterioration due to the collection of dots of low-lightness by the preliminary ejection is prevented, in the case of performing the ink ejection for preliminary ejection during the printing onto printing paper. More specifically, the preliminary ejection pattern is set as the pattern 1207, wherein the distance 1215 between cyan dot 1201 of relatively low-lightness and magenta dot 1202 is longer than the distance 1216 between yellow dot 1205 of relatively high-lightness and the cyan dot 1201 nearest the yellow dot among low-lightness colors. To closely form dots of low-lightness that would be perceived as a group of collected dots can be prevented, thereby permitting to perform printing that would not deteriorate the printing quality due to the paper preliminary ejection.

Abstract: In an ink jet printer in which preliminary ejection is performed onto printing paper, unnecessary ink consumption due to the preliminary ejection is suppressed. More specifically, the paper preliminary ejection is designed to be performed only for a printing head of cyan ink. Because for this cyan ink the longest duration of its non-ejection state, in which the printer can attain high printing quality when restarting printing after continuation of non-ejection state in the case of not performing the paper preliminary ejection, is shorter than 1.6 seconds of the duration which are necessary for the reciprocal printing. This eliminates the paper preliminary ejection for the printing heads of the other colors of ink, thereby avoiding unnecessary ink consumption due to the paper preliminary ejection performed uniformly for every color of ink.

Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided which can utilize a power supply to its maximum capacity without overly degrading a throughput. Print area that can be printed in one scan of a print head is divided into a plurality of blocks. The number of data indicating print in each block is detected. Then the detected value is compared with a plurality of thresholds. Based on a result of the comparison, a scan speed of the print head and the number of scan are determined. This arrangement allows for a selection of an optimum printing method from among a plurality of scan speeds and a plurality of divided printing modes even when an image that may cause a current in excess of the maximum power supply capacity to flow is printed. With this printing apparatus it is possible to execute printing fully utilizing the power supply capacity without overly degrading the throughput.