Abstract: A method and system for enabling user interaction with computer software running in a computer system. A user is provided with an interface surface containing information relating to the computer software and including coded data indicative of an identity of the interface surface and of at least one reference point of the interface surface. The user places a sensing device into an operative position relative to the interface surface. In this operative position, the sensing device senses indicating data indicative of: the identity of the interface surface; and a position of the sensing device relative to the interface surface, using at least some of the coded data. The computer system receives the indicating data from the sensing device, and uses the indicating data to identify at least one interactive element relating to the computer software. The computer software is then operated in accordance with instructions associated with the at least one interactive element.

Abstract: An inkjet recording method and apparatus includes: forming a color image with color inks and an invisible ink by while scanning a first recording head multiple times on a same recording area of the recording medium, forming a thinned-out image, and jetting an invisible ink from a second recording head in accordance with an adhering amount of the color inks per unit area, wherein a nozzle pitch of the first recording head is from 10 to 50 ?m, the color inks contain pigments, organic solvent with high boiling point and water, a dot formed by the color inks has a size of 10 to 50 ?m, the recording medium has a transferred amount at 0.04 seconds of absorption time of 10 ml/m2 or more, a micro-porous layer containing inorganic fine particles and a hydrophilic binder and a 20-degree specular gloss of 20 to 45%.

Abstract: The image recording method for forming an image on a recording medium, includes the step of applying droplets of stimulus-responsive ink which responds to a stimulus so that the stimulus-responsive ink converts from a sol state to a gel state, on the recording medium, wherein each of the droplets of the stimulus-responsive ink has a volume of 0.5 pl to 2.5 pl.

Abstract: A method of determining and applying a protective ink amount to be printed in addition to a plurality of colored ink amounts to make colored pixels in an image including determining the protective ink amount such that the sum of the protective ink amount and the colored ink amounts is greater than or equal to a minimum ink amount necessary to provide adequate durability for the image, and applying using an inkjet printer the colored ink amounts and the protective ink amount to make the colored image pixels.

Abstract: An inkjet printer including a cradle; an inkjet printer cartridge releasably engaged by the cradle and including at least first and second storage reservoirs for storing an ink and an ink fixative respectively; a pagewidth printhead in fluid communication with the first and second storage reservoirs; and a controller to control application of the ink and ink fixative by said printhead in order to facilitate fixing of the ink onto a print media following delivery by said printhead.

Abstract: Ejection testing of a clear ink ejecting section is carried out easily. A clear ink is ejected toward a medium from a clear ink ejecting section for ejecting clear ink, and a color ink is ejected to a region in which the clear ink is to be adhering from a color ink ejecting section for ejecting color ink. A test pattern used for testing ejection of the clear ink ejecting section is formed on the medium by the clear ink and the color ink.

Abstract: A method of accounting for dead nozzle remapping in a multi-nozzle printhead, including remapping a fixative intended for a dot to be printed by the dead nozzle.

Abstract: An inkjet printing system for use in offset printing comprises a fixer fluid and an ink. The fixer fluid comprises a fixer polymer and a first fluorosurfactant package having a fluorosurfactant and a hydrocarbon surfactant. The ink comprises a charged dye and a second fluorosurfactant package. Methods for improving print quality in offset printing using the inkjet printing system and the fixer fluid are also disclosed.

Abstract: Ink for use in an ink-jet color recording apparatus and a plurality of kinds of small microcapsules dispersed in the solvent, each small microcapsule having an outer shell destroyable with ultrasonic waves of a predetermined resonant frequency, each small microcapsule containing a color former within its outer shell with the outer surface of the outer shell covered with a developer. The plurality of kinds of small microcapsules are destroyed selectively with the corresponding predetermined stimuli to thereby produce magenta, cyan, yellow or black. The ink is colorless before producing the color. The ink-jet color recording apparatus irradiates the plurality of small microcapsules with ultrasonic waves of a selected frequency corresponding to a desired color to thereby change the color of the ink on a path through which the ink is fed from a color ink feeding device to an ink cartridge.

Abstract: Ink-jet printing systems and methods of use for printing visible and invisible inks for subsequent development, which can produce text with associated highlighting or underlining that reduces messiness inherent in highlighting important text are disclosed. The ink-jet printing systems and methods of use can include a substrate, visible ink-jet ink configured to be ink-jetted onto at least a portion of the substrate to form a first visible image, a first invisible composition configured to be ink-jetted onto at least a portion of the substrate to form an invisible image visibly associated with the first visible image, and a second invisible composition configured for over-striking at least a portion of the invisible image. The first and second invisible compositions can be further configured to react and form a second visible image on the substrate.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for producing an accurately positioned white layer to serve as an undercoat for inkjet process colors imaging on a substrate, by accurately ink jetting a colorless loosely-bonded frame onto the substrate, thereby defining an area to be imaged, ink jetting or spraying a white layer, the white layer at least partially overlapping the frame and covering the area defined by the frame.

Abstract: A printing control method of generating dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel in a printed image represented by an given image data, by formation of dots in respective pixels with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit. This process includes a processing of setting a predetermined tone value to the tone value of the quality-enhancing ink when the pixel value is equal to the characteristic value.

Abstract: Combinations of cationic underprinting fluids and anionic ink compositions that together achieve improved color quality and image stability in ink-jet printed images.

Abstract: Ink jet recording is carried out using an ink set comprising a clear ink composition that contains polymer fine particles and does not contain a colorant, a yellow ink composition, a magenta ink composition, a cyan ink composition, a red ink composition, a violet ink composition, and a black ink composition, whereby a high-quality recorded article having excellent recorded image coloration and glossiness can be obtained.

Abstract: Fixer is detected on a print media 22 by applying a predetermined pattern 200, FIG. 3, of fixer to the media, and over or under-printing it with a fill of coloured ink, and then optically detecting the predetermined pattern. For example, magenta ink may be applied over the fixer pattern on a glossy media, areas with both fixer and ink having a detectable increase in optical density compared to areas with ink alone. The pattern is scanned and the image information is used to check fixer nozzle functionality and fixer printhead alignment.

Abstract: High-quality images that have excellent coloring properties and glossiness in the recorded images can be obtained by depositing a colorant-containing color ink composition and a clear ink composition containing water and cationic resin, but no colorant on a recording medium to form a record. The cationic resin is preferably a polyethyleneimine with a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of 100,000 or less.

Abstract: A print head provides for multi-level printing with colorants of different densities without print head replication. A continuous ink jet printer includes a plurality of ink sources; a print head connected to multiple ink sources; and apparatus adapted to selectively transfer ink from each of the connected sources to the print head or to block such transfer. The nozzles selectively create a streams of ink droplets having a plurality of volumes. The apparatus also includes a droplet deflector having a gas source to interact with the stream of ink droplets, thereby separating ink droplets into printing and non-printing paths. The apparatus includes a print heads which can be switched between “light” and “dark” ink sources. This allows multi-level printing, thus achieving higher print quality at the same resolution without incurring the costs associated with additional dedicated print heads.

Abstract: Machine-readable light-colored or invisible, but luminescent, postage-evidencing symbology and dark, readable other postage information are printed, preferably in a single print operation, to provide large amounts of information without diminishing read rates. The resulting combination image can be printed independent of substrate material to enable the provision of a high information density without obscuring any one component. The postage-evidencing symbology is printed in large-format and can include redundant information within an IBI image or between an IBI and visible dark image for a variety of practical purposes. In a preferred form, the images are printed using conventional ink jet printers using water-based inks. In one embodiment of this type, the images are printed with a conventional two-cartridge color ink jet printer by printing postage-evidencing symbology with a single-color ink and printing the visible dark image as a composite dark color from a standard multi-color cartridge.

Abstract: The invention relates to an improved systems and methods for ink-jet printing which result in images with increased permanence as measured by transfer of black or color from the image when the image is subjected to mechanical and/or chemical abrasion. The invention provides a fusible composition that may be combined with any or all of the black or color inks used to create the image, or it may be used as a colorless fluid applied during pre-, post-, or simultaneous ink-jet ink printing, with the proviso that both the ink-jet ink and the fusible composition be mixed in a liquid form for fusion. The permanence of images produced by the system can be comparable to those produced by electrophotography.

Abstract: A method for detecting a print fluid includes printing the print fluid from a printing device onto an indicating medium; and producing a visible contrast between a printed area of the indicating medium and a non-printed area of the indicating medium that is formed by a reaction of the indicating medium to the print fluid.

Abstract: This invention pertains to a method of ink jet printing, in particular to a method of ink jet printing with an ink set including a gloss equalizing colorless ink.

Abstract: A medical diagnostic device has a non-absorbent substrate that has a hydrophilic target area on which a reagent is deposited by non-impact printing of microdroplets. During deposition, the device is moved relative to the stream of microdroplets to form a substantially uniform reagent layer on the substrate. The device is particularly well adapted for measuring blood coagulation times. In a preferred embodiment, coagulation times are determined by monitoring the optical transmission of light through the target area as an applied blood sample interacts with the reagent.

Abstract: In a four pen ink jet printer comprising cyan, yellow, magenta, and black inks, a clear liquid is applied to printed ink on a print medium via a fifth pen, thereby fixing the colorants, which in turn improves the durability of the printed ink. The clear fixer fluid comprises at least one organic acid and, optionally, a salt of at least one polymeric acid.

Abstract: A preconditioning process is disclosed that provides applying a first fluid to a media; applying a second fluid comprising an ink to the media, at least a portion of which is applied over the first fluid; and applying an embossing powder to the media before the second fluid has substantially dried.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of preparing a hard copy by forming a transparent coating layer on a recording medium in areas where image has been recorded. The invention has the first step of causing clear droplets to fly from a recording head toward the areas where image has been recorded and the second step of curing the droplets while they are in flight and the third step of depositing the cured droplets in the image-recorded areas of the recording medium so as to form the coating layer. According to the invention, a clear coating layer over color layer can reproduce an even more accurate gloss than in the prior art and presents the desired surface properties in the absence of steps even if there is unevenness in image recording density, whereby the image has a sufficiently improved texture to look more real.

Abstract: A printing device is disclosed with at least one cartridge that uses a clear liquid or ink for embossing.

Abstract: A method of printing a multi-color image on a particular surface, using a digital image file having a discrete number of pixels that collectively represent the multi-color image, comprises: determining a relatively large area of the multi-color image that is represented by less than the total number of pixels, but which pixels each have a common printing color component; forming an outline of the determined relatively large image area on the particular surface the multi-colored image is to be printed; providing a colored receiver layer within the formed outline that is the same color as the common color component, but which color has a selected low color value; applying a non-colored receiver to an area on the particular surface that is outside the formed outline on the particular surface, to provide a non-colored receiver layer on the particular surface in addition to the colored receiver layer on the particular surface; modifying the digital image file by subtracting the selected low color value from the pi

Abstract: A composition and a method and an apparatus for using the composition for secure thermal ink jet printing on a substrate. The thermal ink jet ink composition is clear and is invisible to an unaided human eye in visible light when printed on the substrate.

Abstract: Ink for use in an ink-jet color recording apparatus and a plurality of kinds of small microcapsules dispersed in the solvent, each small microcapsule having an outer shell destroyable with ultrasonic waves of a predetermined resonant frequency, each small microcapsule containing a color former within its outer shell with the outer surface of the outer shell covered with a developer. The plurality of kinds of small microcapsules are destroyed selectively with the corresponding predetermined stimuli to thereby produce magenta, cyan, yellow or black. The ink is colorless before producing the color. The ink-jet color recording apparatus irradiates the plurality of small microcapsules with ultrasonic waves of a selected frequency corresponding to a desired color to thereby change the color of the ink on a path through which the ink is fed from a color ink feeding device to an ink cartridge.

Abstract: The image recording method records an image of a still subject on a recording medium using a diffuse reflection image signal of the image representing the still subject under a state where illumination light is diffuse-reflected and a glossiness signal representing glossiness of the still subject. The method forms a diffuse reflection image of the still subject on the recording medium based on the diffuse reflection image signal and forms a gloss adjustment layer made of a transparent gloss adjustment material in each region in units of pixels of the diffuse reflection image formed on the recording medium based on signal values of the glossiness signal.

Abstract: A coating liquid for forming a transparent topcoat, without requiring a hardening or fixing process that uses heating or UV radiation. The coating liquid imparts light resistance, water resistance, fixation, and glossiness to recordings. Also, a recording method using the coating liquid, and recordings produced thereby. The liquid, which is applied to recorded images, contains at least water, fine polymer particles, and a penetrating agent, preferably a penetrating agent selected acetylene glycol surfactants, acetylene alcohol surfactants, glycol ethers, and 1,2-alkylene glycols. Also, an image recording method for forming an even, transparent coating layer by spraying the coating liquid during an ink jet recording process, as well as recordings produced thereby.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for in-line conditioning of swellable print media prior to printing. Treatment with an amphiphilic solvent increases the hydrophilicity of the media surface, thereby accelerating ink penetration and improving image quality in high throughput printing. In addition, ionic components in the treatment fluid can be used to accelerate precipitation of pigment or dye from the ink.

Abstract: A drop-on-demand ink jet printing system includes a print head having at least one mixing chamber having a nozzle opening. A plurality of sources of color liquid ink and a source of colorless liquid ink communicate with the mixing chamber. A flow controller is adapted to selectably meter ink from the sources to the mixing chamber, whereby ink droplets of selectable color are prepared in the mixing chamber for delivery from the nozzle. The flow controller is further adapted to meter colorless ink into the mixing chamber after a droplet is delivered from the nozzle opening to thereby dilute color ink remaining in the mixing chamber sufficiently such that a next desired color can be attained by adding ink of appropriate color to the mixing chamber. The mixing chamber may be flushed with colorless ink after a droplet is delivered from the nozzle opening and before adding ink of appropriate color to the mixing chamber to attain a next desired color.

Abstract: A printing system includes a fixer printhead, an overcoat printhead and at least one ink printhead. The at least one ink printhead depositing drops of a colored ink on a medium. The fixer printhead deposits drops of a fixer onto the deposited drops of the colored ink. The overcoat printhead deposits drops of an overcoat onto the deposited drops of the colored ink.

Abstract: A medical diagnostic device has a non-absorbent substrate that has a hydrophilic target area on which a reagent is deposited by non-impact printing of microdroplets. During deposition, the device is moved relative to the stream of microdroplets to form a substantially uniform reagent layer on the substrate. The device is particularly well adapted for measuring blood coagulation times. In a preferred embodiment, coagulation times are determined by monitoring the optical transmission of light through the target area as an applied blood sample interacts with the reagent.

Abstract: Ink jet recording is carried out using an ink set comprising a clear ink composition that contains polymer fine particles and does not contain a colorant, a yellow ink composition, a magenta ink composition, a cyan ink composition, a red ink composition, a violet ink composition, and a black ink composition, whereby a high-quality recorded article having excellent recorded image coloration and glossiness can be obtained.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for in-line conditioning of swellable print media prior to printing. Treatment with an amphiphilic solvent increases the hydrophilicity of the media surface, thereby accelerating ink penetration and improving image quality in high throughput printing. In addition, ionic components in the treatment fluid can be used to accelerate precipitation of pigment or dye from the ink.

Abstract: The present invention provides a dynamic adjustment for black ink volume to print a black object whose height is greater than one swath of the inkjet printer. The black ink volume is increased by using a greater number of nozzles compared to the number of nozzles used to print color or a second fluid for underprinting the black ink.

Abstract: A thermal transfer printing process for making identification cards is provided. The process involves printing indicia onto a dye-receptive surface of a card substrate. The indicia is printed in a processed color generated from a combination of yellow, magenta, and cyan dyes. An overlay coating is applied in precise registration with selected print indicia to form indicia having latent fluorescent properties. The printed indicia is visible in ordinary light and exhibits a bright, distinctive fluorescent glow when irradiated with ultraviolet light (black light). The invention also includes the identification cards produced by this process. The process can be used to produce cards such as licenses, employee badges, student cards, bank cards, and the like having unique security features.

Abstract: The ink-jet recording method and apparatus use an ink containing at least, a pigment self-dispersible in water, a water soluble organic solvent and water, and carry out printing with an amount of the ink of 20 ng or less per one droplet, and the ink satisfies the following conditions: a dynamic contact angle upon dropping 4 &mgr;L of the ink on plain paper is about 60° or less after one second from dropping; a volume average particle diameter mv of dispersed particles of the pigment in the ink is about from 150 to 250 nm; and in the dispersed particles, a number of particles having a particle diameter of from 0.5 to 5 &mgr;m is about from 25×104 to 2,000×104 per microliter, and a number of particles having a particle diameter of 5 &mgr;m or more is about 100 per microliter or less.

Abstract: A method for increasing the diameter of an ink jet ink dot resulting from the application of an ink jet ink drop applied to the surface of an ink jet recording medium having a support having thereon an image-receiving layer and an overcoat layer, the ink penetration rate of the overcoat layer being faster than the ink penetration rate of the image-receiving layer; having the steps of: a) applying the overcoat layer on top of the image-receiving layer at a thickness less than the maximum thickness, the maximum thickness being that thickness whereby an ink jet ink drop applied to the surface of the overcoat layer will not substantially penetrate the surface of the image-receiving layer; and b) applying the ink jet ink drop on the surface of the overcoat layer whereby the diameter of the ink jet ink dot is increased relative to that which would have been obtained if the overcoat layer had been coated at a thickness of at least the maximum thickness.

Abstract: The presence of invisible ink drops may be relatively easily detected on a print medium by detecting the changes in specular reflection between the print medium and the print medium upon which invisible ink drops are located. An optical sensor having a detector for capturing diffuse reflections and a detector for capturing specular reflections may be implemented to detect the presence of both sufficiently colored ink drops as well as invisible ink drops. In one respect, the location of the detected invisible inks may be utilized to determine whether an ink ejection element that fired the drops of invisible inks is offset or misaligned. In another respect, the drop size of the ink drops may be detected to determine the health of the nozzles. In this regard, the method of detecting the presence of invisible ink drops may be implemented as a routine or sub-routine to determine ink ejection element alignment, apply a positional calibration of the ink ejection element, and apply a printing mask.

Abstract: The present invention provides ink-jet inks, systems, and methods for marking documents as original. Specifically, an aqueous ink-jet ink can comprise an ink vehicle; and a sufficient amount of particulates having directionally dependent light reflective properties within the ink vehicle such that when the ink-jet ink is substantially dried on a desired substrate, a multi-colored reflected light is emittable in the presence of a light source. Printing documents as original can be carried out for compensation, as a service, or by providing cartridges containing these inks to clients and/or customers.

Abstract: According to a feature of the present invention, a drop-on-demand ink jet printing system for delivering droplets of selectable-color ink to a receiver includes a print head having at least one ink ejecting chamber. Each ejecting chamber has an associated nozzle opening through which ink droplets are delivered to the receiver. A conduit is in fluid communication with each of the ejecting chambers and a plurality of sources of color liquid ink. Each source (1) contains liquid ink of a different color and (2) communicates with the conduit. A source of colorless liquid ink also communicates with the conduit to provide a flow of colorless liquid ink into the conduit for delivery into the ejecting chambers. A flow controller is adapted to selectably meter ink from the sources of color liquid ink into the conduit between the source of colorless liquid ink and the ejecting chambers, whereby ink slugs of selectable color are prepared in the conduit by controlled delivery of selected amounts of different color inks.

Abstract: An ink-jet image recording method including: forming an image by ejecting an ink composition for ink-jet recording having an oil-soluble dye onto an image-receiving material; applying a solution having a dispersion of fine polymer particles to the image-receiving material simultaneously with or after the forming of an image; and forming a coating film having the dispersion of fine polymer particles by heating the image-receiving material after the applying of a solution.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus and recording method uses a recording head wherein nozzles with small diameter are arrayed in high density, to achieve both high quality and high speed. Accordingly, whether to record a certain area in the image with recording ink alone or with both recording ink and clear ink is determined according to the image data of the certain area, and recording is performed based on the determined results, using a recording head wherein ink discharging nozzles and clear ink nozzles are arrayed alternately.

Abstract: To provide an ink jet printing apparatus that can realize fast printing based on fast fixing and that can print high density black characters with little feathering and images with little bleeding at a boundary between colors. More specifically, a black ink is applied to a printing medium and a processing liquid is then applied to the black ink to mix the black ink and the processing liquid together on the printing medium in a liquid state. After reaction resulting from the mixture of the black ink and the processing liquid, color inks are applied to an area of the printing medium to which the black ink and the processing liquid are not applied. Accordingly, a reactant between the black ink and the processing liquid or the black ink becomes insoluble and thus is prevented from flowing out to peripheries of the image, thereby reducing bleeding at the boundary between a color image and a black image as may occur when the color ink is applied to the peripheries.

Abstract: The invention provides curable ink compositions that are inkjet printable and that adhere to a variety of substrates, for example, glass and polymer. The ink compositions of the invention can be formulated so to provide cured inks that are very flexible or very rigid depending upon the desired application. The invention provides a cure-on-demand curable ink composition comprising a homogeneous mixture of at least one of: (a) a compound having 2 reactive silyl groups, and (b) a compound having at least 3 reactive silyl groups; acid generating catalyst; and pigment or pigment chip. The invention also provides methods of making and using the ink compositions and imaged articles.

Abstract: An ink-jet printing method for obtaining higher quality printed Images by utilizing an ink-jet recording technology using a pigment ink and a treatment liquid. A treatment liquid for unstabilizing the dispersed condition of the pigment in the aqueous medium is applied onto the printing medium, and subsequently either an ink containing a self-dispersion type pigment and a pigment dispersed by a polymeric dispersant or an ink containing a self-dispersion type pigment and an ink containing a pigment dispersed by a polymeric dispersant are applied together to the printing medium in such a way that the treatment liquid and the inks are mixed in a liquid state on the printing medium to make the pigments indissoluble.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for in-line conditioning of swellable print media prior to printing. Treatment with an amphiphilic solvent increases the hydrophilicity of the media surface, thereby accelerating ink penetration and improving image quality in high throughput printing. In addition, ionic components in the treatment fluid can be used to accelerate precipitation of pigment or dye from the ink.