Abstract: Disclosed herein is a printing medium comprising a cloth and having a Clark stiffness not lower than 10, but not higher than 400 at least at its ends.

Abstract: A recording medium for information signals including a substrate, a signal recording layer provided on one major surface of the substrate and a clamp member having a positioning unit at its center portion and formed of a material that can be magnetically attracted by a magnet. The clamp member is unified to the center portion of the substrate so that the surface of the clamp member will be flush with the substrate surface.

Abstract: In addition to the patches to be measured, a pattern of strips, one of which is formed by a combination of cyan and magenta and the other by a combination of yellow and black, is printed prior to the printing of the patches. The band patterns are printed by setting each of the component colors at the same gray scale value as the maximum value of the measurement patches for each color. Thus, in the printing of each band pattern, ink is ejected at two times the duty of the patch with the maximum gray scale value, thereby eliminating the viscous ink almost completely.

Abstract: A paper feed operation is performed by a width less than one pixel (½) in addition to an integer multiple number of pixels (n/2) with respect to a basic number of pixels inherent to an ink jet recording apparatus having a multi nozzle head having n nozzles. When a plurality of tines of pixel recording operations are performed for a single pixel region, ink dots land at a distance less than one pixel (½) at the pixel density. Thus, a variation in ink surface density on a recording sheet in an overlapping print operation is reduced, thereby efficiently increasing the image density, and preventing blurring by promoting absorption and evaporation of an ink to and from a paper sheet.

Abstract: A liquid container for containing printing liquid for supplying to a recording head for an ink jet recording apparatus, the container includes a first chamber containing a negative pressure producing material and having a printing liquid supply port connectable to a recording head for allowing printing liquid to be supplied to the recording head and an air vent for allowing ambient air to enter the container, and a second chamber which provides a printing liquid reservoir for the first chamber and is substantially closed apart from a communication port communicating with the first chamber to allow the printing liquid to flow into the first chamber and to allow air to be introduced into the second chamber from the first chamber. The second chamber comprises a replaceable printing liquid chamber.

Abstract: An ink containing apparatus for containing ink includes a negative pressure producing material; a first container for containing the negative pressure producing material, the first container having an air vent and a supply port for supplying the ink out; a second container for containing ink; a communication part for communication between bottom portions of the first and second containers; and ribs for introducing ambient air adjacent the air vent for introducing air into the communication part.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide an ink-jet recording apparatus and an ink-jet recording method which make it possible to obtain an image featuring reduced grainy look and good gradation.

Abstract: A method of production of a multilayer optical recording medium capable of avoiding difficulties in separating a stamper and forming a semi-transparent film on a thin flexible film and a production method thereof, comprising steps of forming a first optical recording layer on a substrate formed with a pattern of irregularities for a first optical recording layer on a surface thereof, forming a transfer substrate comprised of an acrylic resin formed with a pattern of irregularities on a surface thereof, forming a second optical recording layer on the pattern of irregularities of the transfer substrate, adhering a flexible film at the upper portion of the second optical recording layer by an adhesive layer, separating the second optical recording layer and the transfer substrate at their boundary to transfer the second optical recording layer to the flexible film, and bonding together the first optical recording layer and the second optical recording layer with them facing each other.

Abstract: An ink containing apparatus for containing ink includes a negative pressure producing material; a first container for containing the negative pressure producing material, the first container having an air vent and a supply port for supplying the ink out; a second container for containing ink; a communication part for communication between bottom portions of the first and second containers; and ribs for introducing ambient air adjacent the air vent for introducing air into the communication part.

Abstract: A leather coloring process for carrying out coloring on a natural leather, or a natural leather which has been subjected to degreasing. The coloring process is accomplished by ink-jet coloring on at least a partial area of the natural leather.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a printing medium comprising a cloth and having a Clark stiffness not lower than 10, but not higher than 400 at least at its ends.

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: A liquid container for a liquid jet recording apparatus comprises a first chamber containing negative pressure producing material and having a liquid outlet connectable to a liquid jet head to supply liquid from the container to the liquid jet head and an air vent for allowing ambient air into the container, wherein the liquid outlet is provided in a bottom portion of the first chamber. A second chamber communicates with the first chamber by a communication path and is substantially hermetically sealed. A wall extends upwardly from the communication path of the first chamber. An ambient air introducing path is provided for between the wall and the negative pressure producing material extending from a point partly up the wall toward the communication path for introducing ambient air into the second chamber.

Abstract: An ink-jet printing process using an ink containing a dye having an ionicity. The process includes the steps of: providing a cloth containing (a) a substance having an ionicity opposite to the ionicity of the dye and a molecular weight of from 100 to 700, or a nonionic surfactant having a molecular weight of from 100 to 700 and an H.L.B. of from 7 to 15, and (b) a polymeric substance having an ionicity opposite to the ionicity of the dye and a molecular weight of from 2,000 to 200,000; printing on the cloth with the ink; washing the cloth after printing; and drying the cloth.

Abstract: A recording apparatus for performing recording on a recording medium by scanning the medium with a recording device having heads of a plurality of colors has a setting device for setting a color recording mode for recording a color image or a monochromic recording mode for recording a monochromic image, and a drive device having a first recording mode for driving the recording device while reducing a drive load on the recording device and a second recording mode for driving without reducing the drive load.

Abstract: An optical disc molding apparatus is able to mold an optical disc in which the occurrence of swollen portions of trumpet shape on the upper and lower surfaces of on the outer peripheral portion of a disc base may be minimized and in which a burr may be prevented from being produced on the outer peripheral portion of the disc base. In the optical disc molding apparatus having a ring (6) for molding an outer diameter portion of a disc base and holding a stamper (5) for transfer a signal pit, a holding surface of the ring (6) for holding the stamper (5) is formed as the concave and convex surfaces comprising a plurality of concentric land portions (21) and a plurality of concentric groove portions (22). The outer peripheral surface of the stamper (5) is held by each land portion (21) with a pressure.

Abstract: A liquid container including a first chamber for containing a reservoir of liquid, a second chamber containing a negative pressure producing material, an air vent for fluid communication with ambient air, a liquid supply port for supplying liquid out of the second chamber, a communication path for fluid communication between the first and second chambers where the first chamber is generally sealed by the ambient air except through the communication path, and a wall extending from the communication port. The communication path has a first region for permitting movement of air from the second chamber to the first chamber and a second region for permitting movement of the liquid from the first chamber to the second chamber.

Abstract: An ink jet recording method includes supplying a driving signal of a phase, wherein the driving signal comprising at least first and second signal periods with a rest period therebetween; and supplying a driving signal of a phase which is different to provide the first or second signal overlaps with the rest period of the driving signal having the first mentioned phase.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording using a recording head for ejecting an ink from a plurality of ejection orifices, includes a print control unit for performing a print operation while switching a print mode between a thin multi-pass print mode for sequentially recording divided recording data in a plurality of number of times of relative scan operations of the recording head with respect to a single recording area, and a 1-pass print mode for recording all recording data in a single relative scan operation of the recording head, and an eject quantity control unit for controlling the eject quantity of the ink ejected from the recording head so that a total ink quantity on the recording area in the thin multi-pass print mode is larger than a total ink quantity in the 1-pass print mode.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an ink-jet printing cloth suitable for use in printing with inks each containing a dye having an ionicity, wherein a substance not having the same ionicity as that of the dye and having a molecular weight lower than 1,000, and a polymeric substance having an ionicity opposite to that of the dye and a molecular weight higher than 2,000 are applied to the cloth.