Abstract: An ink jet printing method using an ink jet ejecting portion for ejecting ink on a printing material and a print quality improving liquid ejecting portion for ejecting print quality improving liquid to be ejected to the printing material, the improvement residing in that an application mode of the print quality improving liquid is different depending on a printing mode in which printing operation is carried out.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus comprising a wiper for wiping an ink discharge surface of an ink jet recording head, a cap for covering the ink discharge surface of the ink jet recording head, count means for counting a dot number of ink discharging from the ink jet recording head, measuring means for measuring a waiting time during when the ink discharging from the ink jet recording head is not effected, capping control means for effecting control in such a manner that, if the dot number counted by the count means reaches a second threshold value smaller than a first threshold value or exceeds the second threshold value and if the waiting time measured by the measuring means reaches a first predetermined waiting time or exceeds the first predetermined waiting time, the ink discharge surface of the ink jet recording head is covered by the cap, and wiping control means for effecting control in such a manner that, if the dot number counted by the count means exceeds the first threshold

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus that avoids application of a treatment fluid to ink in an amount more than necessary and shows a sufficient treatment fluid effect is provided when a data generator for the treatment fluid generates the treatment fluid data using a selected mask pattern in accordance with the image data binarized by a binarizing unit. The ink jet recording apparatus generates print data based on the image data and the treatment fluid data, applies the ink and treatment fluid onto a recording material, and performs recording.

Abstract: An ink jet printing method uses an ink jet ejecting portion for ejecting ink on a printing material and a print quality improving liquid ejecting portion for ejecting print quality improving liquid on the printing material. The application mode of the print quality improving liquid is different depending on the printing mode in which a printing operation is carried out.

Abstract: A control portion for arithmetically predicting a temperature transition of a printing head using a predicting parameter includes an interface for receiving the predicting parameter from outside of the apparatus. The predicting parameter is based on a table regarding temperature increase of the printing head.

Abstract: A reproducing light quantity control method for an optical memory device includes the steps of (1) recording test data on an optical recording medium; (2) reproducing the test data recorded on the optical recording medium by changing a reproducing light quantity in a plurality of light quantity values; (3) measuring a quality value and a signal quantity of each of a plurality of reproducing signals from the test data; (4) selecting an optimum reproducing signal quantity from a plurality of reproducing signal quantities in accordance with quality values of the plurality of reproducing signals so as to decide a target value of reproducing signal quantity; and (5) recording the target value on a target value recording region of the optical recording medium. This method reduces the time required to obtain a target value of a reproducing signal quantity and speeds up an operation from installing of the optical recording medium to finishing of preparation for recording and reproducing.

Abstract: A printing apparatus which prevents discharge failure due to residual bubbles generated in accordance with a printing history of past printing such as the number of printing pulses, the printing and the printing area, and a precipitate from ink, in each ink type, and/or due to residual bubbles coalesced into larger bubbles after the completion of printing and a precipitate from ink, and which enables excellent image printing without unnecessarily increasing ink consumption and without reduction of the printing speed. A CPU 600 measures a driving state of a printhead per unit period, e.g., the number of driving pulses to all the discharge orifices and the driving interval of the printhead. When the printing has been completed, the CPU calculates the number of driving pulses per unit period, and if the calculated value is greater than an allowable value, it performs discharge recovery processing on the printhead.

Abstract: A recording method includes the steps of ejecting ink onto a recording material on the basis of image data; and ejecting record quality improving liquid to improve a record quality of the ink ejected onto the recording material; wherein one of the ink ejecting step and the liquid ejecting step is carried out after the other; the liquid ejecting step ejects the liquid to a part of an ink-ejection-area on the recording material to provide liquid-ejection-area and non-liquid-ejection-area.

Abstract: The present invention is designed to make uniform frequencies with which individual recording elements of an multihead are used in a recording apparatus for performing gray scale recording by controlling a number of dots recorded in a unit area. A gray scale pattern used to display gray scale is a pattern in which a plurality of blocks each comprising a dot concentration type gray scale pattern having a size smaller than that of the gray scale pattern is dispersed. The maximum difference between numbers of times the recording elements in the range of the gray scale pattern are used can be restricted within twice, and individual nozzles can be used uniformly. Consequently, imbalance of changes in the recording elements with time, caused by the differences between the frequencies with which the recording elements are used, can be restricted, thus restricting irregularities on an image.

Abstract: In the present invention, the minimum necessary consumption of ink can recover the channel miss state of the plurality of nozzles. The present invention provides a recovery processing method of an ink jet printing apparatus for forming images using a print head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets. The method comprises a first step for detecting channel miss state of said plurality of nozzles, and a second step for executing at least one of different recovery processes depending on the channel miss states of said plurality of nozzles detected in the first step.

Abstract: A data transfer circuit or a recording apparatus includes an address setting unit for setting a start address for a buffer memory, an offset setting unit for setting an offset for the buffer memory, and an address creating unit for creating a predetermined number of consecutive transfer addresses to be supplied for the buffer memory using a reference address. The circuit also includes an arithmetic logic unit that, after the address creating unit has created transfer addresses using the start address as a reference address, calculates a new reference address in accordance with the offset relative to the start address so as to provide the new reference address to the address creating unit.

Abstract: A liquid jet recording method using thermal energy to eject liquid from a liquid passage through an ejection outlet, the liquid passage being provided with a heat generating resistor, wherein at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:

Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus ejects droplets of a recording-improvement liquid on a boundary line between two different color portions of an image by using an ink-jet recording head. The ink-jet recording head comprises a group of nozzles for ejecting the recording-improvement liquid which is responsible for precipitating or condensing a coloring substance in the ink. Accordingly, a high-quality image that comprises black-color portion with a high image density without causing any feathering and multiple-color portions without a spread of ink can be obtained.

Abstract: The present inventions allow the detection of ink in the printing head by significantly simplified their configurations and on which various printing systems can be widely applied. There are a heater for supplying an energy to ejecting ink, a driver for driving heater, and a detection electrode capable of detecting a voltage variation between the heater and the driver to be occurred depending on the driving of the heater. Furthermore, an insulating film that covers the surface of the detection electrode prevents a chemical or physical change from the detection electrode. Furthermore, a reference element group or a reference unit that produces a signal as a reference of the detection signal avoids the influence of noise. Furthermore, an energy-generating element and another signal source improve the accuracy of ink-detection. A drive pulse which is insufficient to ejecting ink may be supplied to the heater to improve the accuracy of ink-detection.

Abstract: Whether or not a color image is present adjacent to a black image is discriminated. Whether the black image is formed using a black ink or a plurality of color inks C, M, and Y is determined in accordance with the discrimination result. When the black image is formed using the plurality of color inks, it is recorded using a repetitive pattern of two of C, M, and Y so as to prevent blurring with the color image, and to improve fixing characteristics by decreasing the total ejection amount.

Abstract: An ink-jet printing apparatus which can print an image without causing bleeding or feathering with effectively using an ink and realize high quality image comparable with silver film photograph, and is convenient for use, can be provided. It enables printing in a first printing mode using a printing head unit ejecting yellow, magenta and cyan inks, respectively and a printing head unit ejecting a black ink and a printing quality improving liquid, and a second printing mode using the printing head unit ejecting yellow, magenta and cyan inks, respectively, and a printing head unit ejecting the black ink and cyan and magenta inks having lower density than that of the cyan and magenta ink.

Abstract: Disclosed are an ink-jet recording method in which scanning is performed with a recording device having a plurality of recording element groups in correspondence with inks of different hues relatively in a direction crossing the direction in which the recording medium is fed to perform recording, the method including the steps of determining the scanning direction according to the duty of the image data in the scanning for recording, and performing recording by performing scanning in the determined scanning direction, and an ink-jet recording apparatus in which scanning is performed with a recording device having a plurality of recording element groups in correspondence with inks of different hues relatively in a direction crossing the direction in which the recording medium is fed to perform recording, including a device for determining the scanning direction according to the duty of the image data in the scanning for recording, and a device for performing recording by performing scanning in the determined s

Abstract: An ink jet printing method for performing printing onto a printing medium with the use of both of a colored ink ejected from an ink jet head and a printing property improving liquid to be applied to the printing medium for improving a printing property for an ink jet printing apparatus, having the steps of: at least one time or more printing a first colored ink on the printing medium, at least one time or more applying the printing property improving liquid onto a region printed with the colored ink, and at least one time or more printing a second colored ink on a region where the printing property improving liquid is applied.

Abstract: A recording head for ejecting ink to effect recording on a recording material includes a first group of ejection outlets, arranged in a first direction, for ejecting record improving liquid for improving record property on the recording material; a second group of ejection outlets arranged in the first direction for ejecting ink having a first density; a third group of ejection outlets, arranged in the first direction, for ejecting ink having a second density which is lower than the first density; wherein the first, second and third groups are arranged in a second direction which is different from the first direction.

Abstract: In an apparatus to perform printing by ejecting an ink and a printing quality improving liquid for making a coloring agent in the ink insoluble or coagulated, reaction between the printing quality improving liquid and the coloring agent of the ink is certainly caused. Namely, after ejecting the printing quality improving liquid from a head, Bk ink, Y ink, M ink and C ink are ejected through heads within a given period, e.g. 500 msec. By this, the printing quality improving liquid may react with the coloring agent of the ink before penetrating into a printing medium to certainly make the coloring agent insoluble or coagulated.