Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Controller
Patent
1995-12-11
2000-08-08
Le, N.
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Controller
B41J 2205
Patent
active
060991046
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for printing an image on a print medium by jetting ink droplets through nozzle openings against the print medium in accordance with print data.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
In printing an image on a print medium by jetting ink droplets through nozzle openings against the print medium, an amount of ink droplet is controlled so that the adjacent dots are as close as possible to each other, in order to improve the print quality.
There are various kinds of print media. Those print media are different in wettabilities to ink and ink absorbing rates. Ink droplets successively landing on the print medium attract to each other to form a large ink droplet, which in turn moves along fibers of the print medium. This phenomenon is frequently observed in the print of ruled lines and graphic pattern, which are formed by successively jetting ink droplets.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. Hei. 3-231861 and 4-259566, for example, discloses methods for solving those problems inevitable in the ink jet printing device. In those methods, ink droplets are shot forth every other dot in the main and vertical scan directions in the first scan. In the second scan, ink droplets are shot forth against the regions where dots were not printed in the first scan. Thus, the time to print one dot is made different from the time to print another dot adjacent to the former.
Two scan operations are used for printing a pattern on the region on which a pattern can be printed by one scan operation. This remarkably makes the printing speed slow.
There is a proposal to reduce a mixing of color inks in a manner that an amount of color ink first used is set to be smaller than a predetermined amount of ink (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei. 2-253958). The proposal requires a fine adjustment of ink amounts. Further, it cannot solve the above problem of the monochromatic printing in which one dot is printed at one position.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel printing method by ink jet which can eliminate the handing down of ink and ink blot in both monochromatic and color prints, without making the printing speed slow.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing method by ink jet which can print thin patterns, such as ruled lines, in a clearly-delineated fashion.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a printing method by ink jet which can minimize ink blot in a color print.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a printing device for realizing the printing methods as mentioned above.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided a printing method in which dots are formed on a print medium by shooting forth ink droplets against the print medium while moving a print head having a plural number of nozzle openings in the main scan direction, characterized in that an amount of ink used to form a dot that is printed every dots in the main scan direction is smaller than an amount of ink used to form each of the other dots by a predetermined amount of ink.
The dots formed by the reduced amount of ink droplets receive excessive ink, to thereby eliminate the irregular ink flow along fibers of a print medium.
Elimination of irregular ink blot provides clearly delineated lines and images of clear edges.
When the invention is applied to a color print, the resultant color image is clear and sharp since the out-of-register condition of colors caused by the ink blot and the handing down of ink are eliminated.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of an ink jet printing device incorporating the present invention thereinto.
FIG. 2 is a view showing an embodiment of an ink jet print head, and
FIG. 3 is a view showing a pattern of nozzle openings of the print head.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a print controller according to the present invention,
FIGS. 5(a) to 5(d) show a set of waveforms of drive signals used
REFERENCES:
patent: 4050077 (1977-09-01), Yamada et al.
patent: 4710784 (1987-12-01), Nakayama
patent: 4714964 (1987-12-01), Sasaki
patent: 5412410 (1995-05-01), Rezanka
patent: 5617123 (1997-04-01), Takaoki et al.
patent: 5729259 (1998-03-01), Gotoh et al.
patent: 5745131 (1998-04-01), Kneezel et al.
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 009, No. 111 (M-379), May 15, 1985, & JP-A-59 232877 (Fujitsu KK), Dec. 27, 1984, *Abstract.
Sato Akito
Yamazaki Hideo
Hallacher Craig A.
Le N.
Seiko Epson Corporation
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