Printing method and printing system

Details Printing method and printing system Printing method and printing system

1997-06-16

2001-02-13

Boudreau, Leo H. (Department: 2721)

Facsimile and static presentation processing

Static presentation processing

Communication

C358S001200, C358S001900

Reexamination Certificate

active

06188486

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing method and a printing system for printing an image on a printing medium under control by a control unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, in a printer employing a printing head ejecting an ink from ink passages forming a plurality of nozzles, it is possible to cause density fleck in a printed image due to adverse effect of fine fluctuation of shapes of the ink passage forming the nozzles or to variation of ejection amount of the ink as printing material. One of the correction methods to make such density fleck not perceptible is called as head shading (HS).
FIG. 8
is a general block diagram showing a system actually performing head shading. Hereinafter, at first, the conventional head shading technology in the case where three systems of reading, image processing and printing are constructed in a single apparatus.
In
FIG. 8
, an original exposure system
801
is a portion performing reading of an original, forms a portion of reading a result of printing necessary for performing head shading. An image processing portion
802
serves as a portion performing arithmetic operation and the like with respect to the image read by the original exposure system
801
. The arithmetic operation performed in the image processing portion
802
includes color processing, binarizing process, head shaping and so on. An image forming portion
803
is a portion for printing an image read by the original exposure system
801
and processed by the image processing portion
802
. The image forming portion
803
includes printing heads
804
to
807
for printing the images. In the shown example,
804
denotes a head for ejecting a black ink,
805
denotes a head for ejecting a cyan ink,
806
denotes a head for ejecting a magenta ink and
807
denotes a head for ejecting a yellow ink.
In the printer constructed as set forth above, in order to check output characteristics of respective of the printing heads
804
to
807
in the image forming portion
803
, printing of the predetermined test pattern is performed so that an image of the predetermined density is formed by respective of the printing heads
804
to
807
. Then, the resultant print is read by the original exposure system
801
. A read data read by the original exposure system
801
is used for forming a HS data
808
in the image processing portion
802
. The HS data is data for correcting output density of ink per ink passage forming a plurality of nozzles in respective of the printing heads
804
to
807
. The HS data
808
is used as a correction data for the image data input from the original exposure system
801
so as to make the density fleck not perceptible. As a result, an image avoided the density fleck is printed by the image forming portion
803
.
In the printer constructed as set forth above, the original exposure system
801
, the image processing portion
802
and the image forming portion
803
will never been separated individually. Therefore, a discrepancy such as that explained later, will never be caused between the characteristics of the printing heads
804
to
807
in the image forming portion
803
and the HS data
808
.
On the other hand, in a printing system, in which a reader device
3
, a computer terminal device
2
which can perform image processing and transmission, and a printer
1
are mutually independent, and connected through connection cable
5
, as shown in
FIG. 1
, it is possible that the printer
1
is replaced with other printer.
In the system construction as illustrated in
FIG. 1
, when the printer
1
connected to the computer terminal device
2
is replaced, a discrepancy is inherently arisen between the characteristics of the printer and the HS data managed by the computer terminal device
2
to make it impossible to perform appropriate data correction. Therefore, in the prior art, head shading cannot be performed in the system shown in FIG.
1
.
On the other hand, in the system construction set forth above, if condition of formation of the density fleck is varied due to secular change, it is possible that the HS data cannot be adapted to the secular change of the head to make it difficult to effect appropriate data correction. Particularly, where the printer is changed, appropriate data correction cannot be performed unless the HS data corresponding to the printer and the timing where the HS data is generated, are properly managed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing method and a printing system which can identify printers which are selectively connected to a control unit, and can control the selected printer with a dedicated data therefor to improve a printing image quality.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing method and a printing system which can avoid a problem to be caused by control of the printer with a correction data which has been obtained long ago exceeding a predetermined period, and whereby can improve a printing image quality.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method for selectively connecting a plurality of printers, each having a plurality of printing elements, to a control unit, and performing printing of an image on a printing medium by controlling the connected printer by the control unit, comprising the steps of:
storing correction data relative to control per each printer available for connection with the control unit, in a storage device;
identifying the printer connected to the control unit to be controlled by the control unit, on the basis of an identification code corresponding to the printer;
reading out the correction data corresponding to the printer identified as the object for control, from the storage device; and
controlling the printer to be controlled using the read out correction data.
In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system for selectively connecting a plurality of printers, each having a plurality of printing elements, to a control unit, and performing printing of an image on a printing medium by controlling the connected printer by the control unit, comprising the steps of:
a storage device storing correction data relative to control per each printer available for connection with the control unit;
identifying means for identifying the printer connected to the control unit to be controlled by the control unit, on the basis of an identification code corresponding to the printer;
retrieving means for retrieving the correction data corresponding to the printer identified as the object for control, from the storage device; and
correction means for controlling the printer to be controlled using the read out correction data.
In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method for printing an image on a printing medium with controlling a printer by a control unit, comprising the steps of:
storing a correction data relating to control of the printer and a storage time and date, on which the correction data is stored, in a storage device;
reading out the correction data and the storage time and date upon controlling the printer, from the storage device;
controlling the printer using the correction data when an elapsed time from the storage time and date is not more than or equal to a predetermined period; and
interrupting control of the printer when an elapsed time from the storage time and date is more than or equal to a predetermined period.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method for printing an image on a printing medium with controlling a printer by a control unit, comprising the steps of:
storing a correction data relating to control of the printer and storage time and date, on which the correction data is stored, in a storage device;
reading out the correction and the storage time and date upon controlling the printer, from the storage device;
controlling the printer using the correction data when an elapsed time from th

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