JP2001191546A - Color recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a color recorder capable of automatically performing substitutive outputting wherein a load to a user is minimized when a black recording material is running out during monochrome recording. SOLUTION: When the black recording material is running out during the monochrome recording, the recording is performed in such a manner that a recording material, of which the residual amount is the greatest among the other recording materials or the average consumption amount is smallest, is selected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a color recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been provided a color recording apparatus capable of recording a clear color image by combining a plurality of recording materials, for example, four colors of black, magenta, cyan, and yellow. In addition, examples of the material of the recording material of a plurality of colors include ink and toner.
Further, such a color recording apparatus has a mode for performing color recording and a mode for recording using only one recording material (usually black) among recording materials of four colors, that is, a so-called monochrome recording mode. are doing.

[0003]

However, when recording is performed in a monochrome recording mode using a conventional color recording apparatus, when the recording material used in the monochrome recording mode is insufficient, the recording is interrupted and the recording apparatus is stopped. Becomes an error state. In order to eliminate this error, the recording material must be replenished or replaced, or the recording mode must be changed to the color recording mode, and the color of the information to be recorded must be specified again before recording. In the former case, there is a problem that if the recording material is not close at hand, it is not possible to immediately record. In the latter case, there is a problem that the operation is complicated and places a heavy burden on the user.

On the other hand, when a recording material is used for a long period of time, its performance deteriorates due to chemical change, and there is a problem of so-called aging.

According to the present invention, when monochrome recording is performed using a color recording apparatus, a recording material to be used is insufficient.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a color printing apparatus capable of reducing a user's burden when automatically performing substitute output using another printing material.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a color recording apparatus capable of reducing the influence of a recording material on aging and reducing the burden on a user.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a recording means for recording on a recording medium by using a plurality of color recording materials, a detecting means for respectively detecting the remaining amounts of the plurality of color recording materials,
When printing is performed using only one predetermined recording material among the plurality of recording materials, the detection unit detects that the remaining amount of the predetermined one recording material is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. In this case, when the remaining amount is the largest among the recording materials of the plurality of colors,
Recording control means for recording on the recording medium using the recording material detected by the detection means.

Further, the present invention provides a recording means for recording on a recording medium using a plurality of color recording materials, a detecting means for respectively detecting the remaining amounts of the plurality of color recording materials, a timing means, Means, an average consumption calculating means for calculating an average consumption of each of the plurality of colors of the recording material according to the remaining amount of the recording material detected by the detecting means, and a recording material of the plurality of colors. When performing recording using only one predetermined recording material, when the detection unit detects that the remaining amount of the predetermined one recording material is equal to or less than a predetermined amount,
If the average consumption is the smallest among the recording materials of the plurality of colors (excluding the recording material whose remaining amount is detected to be equal to or less than the predetermined amount), the recording material calculated by the average consumption calculating means is used. And a recording control means for recording on the recording medium.

Further, the present invention provides a recording device for recording an image on a recording medium using a plurality of recording materials of a plurality of colors, a detecting device for respectively detecting the remaining amounts of the plurality of recording materials, and each of the plurality of recording materials. A recording material mounting time calculating means for calculating the mounting time of the recording material, and a mode for recording using only a specific one of the recording materials. When the detection unit detects that the remaining amount is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, of the remaining plurality of recording materials, the recording material calculated by the recording material mounting time calculation unit when the mounting time is longest is used. An output control unit for performing recording on a recording medium.

Further, the present invention provides a recording means for recording an image on a recording medium using a plurality of recording materials, a detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the plurality of recording materials, a timer means,
The remaining recordable time of each of the plurality of recording materials, based on the output results of the timer means and the detection means,
A remaining recordable time calculating means for calculating, and a mode for recording using only a specific one of the recording materials, wherein when recording in the mode, the remaining amount of the specific recording material is determined. When the detection unit detects that the remaining recording material is equal to or less than the fixed amount, the recording medium is calculated using the recording material calculated by the remaining recording possible time calculation unit when the remaining remaining recording time is the longest among the remaining recording materials. And an output control unit for performing printing.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a color recording apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the color recording apparatus 100, the control unit 1
Is a control unit that controls the entire color printing apparatus 100, and stores a CPU 2 that is an arithmetic unit, a ROM 3 that stores an operation control program of the CPU 2, a work memory used when the CPU 2 is executed, and print data. And a RAM 4 having a print memory and the like.

The SRAM 5 stores management information and various data that should be retained even when the power is turned off. The clock 6 updates the time in units of one second, for example, and updates the year / month / day.・ Hour, minute and second are stored and time is measured. The power supply of the SRAM 5 and the clock 6 is backed up by a battery 7 and the color recording device 100
The information is retained even when the power is turned off.

A motor driver 8 is a motor 9 for transporting a recording medium, such as a recording head 11 or paper, which will be described later.
The sensor 10 is a sensor that detects a recording medium and a position of the recording medium. Recording head 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes a recording head that records on a recording medium, and includes a plurality of ink tanks that store ink, which is a recording material, for each color. The colors of the recording material are, for example, four colors of black, magenta, cyan, and yellow. The remaining ink amount detection sensor 12 independently detects the remaining ink amount for all of these colors.

Incidentally, as a method for detecting the actual remaining amount of ink, a known method described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-19467 is used.

The operation section 13 is an operation section having keys for instructing turning off / on of the power and stopping the recording operation, and the like. The display section 14 is a display section for displaying the operation state of the color recording apparatus 100 and the like. Yes, it is displayed by LED, LCD, etc.

The PC I / F 15 is a main device, a PC.
(Personal computer) 51 is a PC interface connected to the PC 51, for example, a parallel interface conforming to the Centronics standard. Data can be transmitted and received with the PC 51 via the PC interface 15.

The CPU 2 provided in the color printing apparatus 100 operates in accordance with an operation program stored in the ROM 3 to store the RAM 4, the SRAM 5, the clock 6, the print head 11,
By controlling the remaining ink amount detection sensor 12, the display unit 14, and the like, the remaining amounts of the recording materials of a plurality of colors provided on the recording head 11 are respectively detected, and the image data is recorded using only one predetermined recording material. When recording is performed, if the remaining amount of the predetermined one recording material is detected to be equal to or less than the predetermined amount, the detection unit detects that the remaining amount is the largest among the recording materials of the plurality of colors. When recording is performed using a predetermined recording material, or when recording is performed using only a predetermined one of the recording materials, if the remaining amount of the predetermined one of the recording materials is detected to be equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the plurality of the plurality of recording materials are detected. Among the color recording materials (excluding the recording material whose remaining amount is detected to be equal to or less than the predetermined amount), the recording is performed by using the recording material calculated to have the lowest average consumption,
Further, when recording is performed using the substitute recording material, control is performed to display the color of the recording material used for the substitute recording.

Next, the operation of the color recording apparatus 100 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the color recording apparatus 100.

First, the CPU 2 provided in the color recording apparatus 100 performs a predetermined initialization operation after the power is turned on, and then the PC 2 input via the PC interface 15.
51, and enters a state of waiting for a recording start instruction (S1).
When a recording start instruction is received from 51, the operation branches depending on the recording mode (S2). If the recording mode is not the monochrome recording mode, a normal color recording operation is performed (S
3) After the end of the recording operation, the system again waits for a recording start instruction from the PC 51 (S1).

On the other hand, if the recording mode is the monochrome recording mode (S2), the remaining amount of black ink is detected by the remaining ink detection sensor 12 (S4). If the black ink remains, the normal monochrome recording operation is performed. (S5), and after the end of the recording operation, the system again waits for a recording start instruction from the PC 51 (S1).

On the other hand, when the remaining amount of black ink is detected by the remaining ink amount detection sensor 12 (S4), the remaining ink amount of the other three colors, that is, magenta, cyan and yellow, is detected by the remaining ink amount detection sensor 12. The amount is detected (S6). Based on the detection result, the ink having the maximum remaining amount is determined, and the color of the ink determined to have the maximum remaining amount is displayed on the display unit 14 (S7). Then, information that should have been monochrome-recorded is recorded using the ink determined to have the maximum remaining amount (S8). Then, after the end of the recording operation,
It again waits for a recording start instruction from the PC 51 (S
1).

Although not shown, the printing operation is stopped by the operation unit 13 from the time when the color of the ink determined to have the maximum remaining amount is displayed (S7) to the time when printing is started (S8). Is entered, error processing is started, and the PC 51 is input via the PC interface 15.
May be notified that printing is not possible due to the absence of black ink, the same initialization operation as after power-on is performed, and the system may again wait for a recording start instruction from the PC 51 (S1).

According to the above embodiment, when black recording material becomes insufficient during monochrome recording, the recording material having the maximum remaining amount among the remaining recording materials is automatically detected and a substitute output is performed.
A desired image different from the assumed color can be output, and the output can visually recognize the shortage of the black recording material. Further, since the recording material used instead has the maximum remaining amount, the influence on the color recording is small.

Next, another operation of the color recording apparatus 100 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing another operation of the color recording apparatus 100.

First, the CPU 2 provided in the color recording apparatus 100 performs a predetermined initialization operation after turning on the power. Then, steps S11 to S16 are performed in steps S1 to S16 in the embodiment described with reference to FIG. The same operation as in S6 is performed. The operation after step S17 is different from the operation of the embodiment described with reference to FIG. The average consumption of each ink is calculated based on the remaining amount of each of the magenta, cyan, and yellow inks detected by the remaining amount detection sensor 12 (S16) (S17).

A specific method for calculating the average consumption of ink will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a calculation example of the average consumption amount of each ink.

First, at the time of ink filling or replacement, the amount of ink (initial weight) detected by the ink remaining amount detecting sensor 12 and the date and time measured by the clock 6 are set in the SRA.
It is stored in M5. Since such information is backed up by the battery 7, it is retained even when the power is turned off.

The contents stored in the SRAM 5 will be exemplified. In this case, it is assumed that the ink tank is replaced for each color. The actual SRAM 5 stores only the year, month, date, hour, minute, and second when the ink tank was replaced and the weight (initial weight) of the ink at that time.

If the ink remaining amount detecting sensor 12 cannot directly measure the weight of the ink, the detection result is converted into a weight and stored. As a method that cannot directly measure the weight of the ink, for example, there is a method of detecting the liquid level of the ink.

The date and time when the remaining amount of each of the magenta, cyan, and yellow inks detected by the ink remaining amount detection sensor 12 is 9:00 on September 19, 1999, and the detected remaining amount of ink is If the detected weight is the detected weight shown in FIG. 4 (S16), the difference between the initial weight and the detected weight is divided by the elapsed time from the ink tank replacement to the present time (the time when the remaining amount of ink is detected in step S16). Is calculated for each color as the average consumption.

The magenta of the above example will be described. The magenta ink was changed at 17: 00: 00: 00 on August 8, 1999, and the initial weight of the ink at that time was 30 g.
Met. The remaining amount of the ink detected at 9:00 on September 19, 1999 was 10 g. Therefore, magenta is
This means that 20 g of ink was consumed between 17:00 on August 8, 1999 and 9:00 on September 19, 1999 (1000 hours). Therefore, the average consumption of ink is 0.0
2 g / hour.

Next, the color of the ink whose average consumption is determined to be the minimum is displayed on the display unit 14 (S18). After a predetermined time has elapsed, the ink whose average consumption has been determined to be the minimum is replaced with black ink. Is used to record the information that should have been monochrome recording (S19), and after the recording operation is completed, the PC 51 again waits for a recording start instruction (S1).
1).

Although not shown, the printing operation is performed by the operation unit 13 between the time when the color of the ink determined to have the minimum average consumption is displayed (S18) and the time when printing is started (S19). If the key input to stop is made,
The error processing is started, the PC 51 is notified via the PC interface 15 that recording is impossible due to the absence of black ink, the same initialization operation as after power-on is performed, and the PC 51 waits for a recording start instruction again. Become (S11)
You may do so.

In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the ink tank is replaced. However, even if the ink is replenished, the ink tank is operated in exactly the same manner except that the initial weight differs for each ink color. Can be.

According to the above embodiment, if black recording material is insufficient during monochrome recording, the recording material having the smallest average consumption among the remaining recording materials is automatically detected and the substitute output is performed. A desired image different from the assumed color can be output, and the output can visually recognize the shortage of the black recording material.

The recording material used in place of the black recording material has the lowest average consumption. 3 other than black
In the case where the ink tanks for the colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) are simultaneously replaced, the ink having the largest remaining amount and the ink having the smallest average consumption amount are the same. However, if the ink tanks of the respective colors can be replaced independently, the ink having the largest remaining amount and the ink having the smallest average consumption amount are not always the same. For example, as shown in yellow in FIG. 4, the remaining amount is the maximum (24 g) but the average consumption amount (0.0 g).
25 g / hour) is not the minimum.

Therefore, in order to make the consumption of the recording material of each color uniform, the present embodiment (the recording material having the smallest average consumption is the substitute output) is more effective, and the number of times of ink replacement for the user is also large. And annoyance is reduced.

In the monochrome recording mode, the operation branches depending on the presence or absence of black ink (S4, S14).
When monochrome recording is performed using ink other than black ink, the operation may be branched based on the presence or absence of the monochrome ink other than black. The absence of ink in the above-described operation branch condition is not limited to the case where the remaining amount is 0 g, but may be equal to or less than a predetermined amount.

In displaying the maximum amount of remaining ink (S7) and displaying the minimum amount of consumed ink (S18), the color of the ink actually used is notified to the PC 51 via the PC interface 15, and the display of the PC 51 is displayed. May be displayed. Further, the above display may not be performed at all.

Further, a toner may be used instead of ink as a recording material in the above embodiment, and the color recording apparatus may be of an electrophotographic type. Further, the recording medium may be a film or a sticker other than paper.

In the above-described embodiment, the color recording apparatus 100 includes a recording unit that records on a recording medium by using a plurality of color recording materials, and a detecting unit that detects the remaining amounts of the plurality of color recording materials. When recording using only a predetermined one of the recording materials of the plurality of colors, it is determined that the remaining amount of the predetermined one of the recording materials is equal to or less than a predetermined amount.
A recording control unit for recording on the recording medium by using the recording material detected by the detection unit when the remaining amount is the largest among the recording materials of the plurality of colors when the detection unit detects; It is an example of a recording device.

Further, in the above embodiment, the color recording apparatus 100 comprises a recording means for recording on a recording medium by using a plurality of color recording materials, and a detecting means for respectively detecting the remaining amounts of the plurality of color recording materials. , Clocking means, the clocking means, and the remaining amount of the recording material detected by the detecting means,
An average consumption calculating means for calculating an average consumption of each of the plurality of color recording materials; and a method for performing recording using only a predetermined one of the plurality of color recording materials. If the detecting means detects that the remaining amount of one of the recording materials is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the recording materials of the plurality of colors (excluding the recording material whose remaining amount is detected to be equal to or less than the predetermined amount) ) Is an example of a color printing apparatus having a printing control means for printing on the printing medium using the printing material calculated by the mean consumption calculating means when the average consumption is the smallest.

In the above embodiment, the color recording apparatus 100 has a display means, and when recording is performed using only one predetermined recording material, recording is performed using a recording material other than the one recording material. This is an example of a color recording apparatus that displays the color of a recording material used in such a case on the display unit.

[First Modification] Next, a first modification of the above embodiment.
Will be described.

The basic structure of the first modification of the above embodiment is the same as the structure of the color recording apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, but the first modification detects the remaining amount of ink when the ink is filled or replaced. The amount of ink detected by the sensor 12 and the date and time measured by the clock 6 are stored in the SRAM 5. Since such information is backed up by the battery 7, it is retained even when the power is turned off. Also,
In a method in which the remaining ink detection sensor 12 cannot directly measure the weight of ink, the detection result is converted into a weight and stored.

Next, a description will be given of a characteristic operation of the color recording apparatus according to the first modification.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the color recording apparatus according to the first modification.

In the first modification, after the power is turned on, a predetermined initialization operation is performed, and a state of waiting for a recording start instruction from the PC 51 input through the PC interface 15 is entered (S201). When it is received, the operation branches depending on the recording mode (S202). If the mode is not the monochrome recording mode, a normal color recording operation is performed (S203), and after this operation, the process returns to step S201.

In the monochrome recording mode (S20)
2) The remaining amount of black ink is detected by the remaining ink amount detection sensor 12 (S204). If black ink remains, normal monochrome recording is performed (S205).
Return to When it is detected that there is no black ink (S204), the remaining ink amounts of the other three colors, that is, magenta, cyan, and yellow, are detected by the ink remaining amount detection sensor 12 (S206). Then, in accordance with the detection result, the colors of the printable inks are extracted, and the ink having the longest mounting time is determined from the information on the date and time when the ink was filled or the date and time when the ink tank was replaced stored in the SRAM 5 for each color. Extraction (S207), the color of the ink determined to be the longest in the mounting time is displayed on the display unit 14 (S208), and after a predetermined time, monochrome recording is originally performed using the color of the ink determined to be the longest in the mounting time. Record the information that should have been
09), and returns to S201 after the end.

Although not shown, the operation unit 13 stops the operation from the time when the ink color determined to be the longest in the mounting time is displayed (S208) to the time when recording is started (S209). Is input, an error process is started, and the PC 5 is notified via the PC interface 15 that the recording is impossible due to the absence of black ink.
1 and performs the same initialization operation as after power-on, and returns to step S201.

According to the first modification, when the black recording material becomes insufficient during monochrome recording, the recording material having the longest mounting time among the remaining recording materials is automatically detected and the substitute output is performed. Therefore, a desired output can be obtained although the color is different from the assumed color, and the output can visually recognize the shortage of the black recording material. Further, since the recording material used instead has the longest mounting time, it is possible to reduce performance deterioration due to aging of the recording material.

[Modification 2] Next, modification 2 of the above embodiment.
Will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the color recording apparatus according to the second modification.

In FIG. 6, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 5 perform the same operations as those described with reference to FIG. 5, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The color recording apparatus according to the second modification performs a predetermined initialization operation after the power is turned on, and performs steps S201 to S2.
The operation 06 performs the same operation as that described with reference to FIG. The subsequent operation is different from that of FIG.

First, a predicted value of the remaining recordable time is calculated in accordance with the detection results of the remaining amounts of the magenta, cyan, and yellow inks detected in step S206 (S307). At this time, according to the detection result, a color in which the remaining amount of the ink is equal to or less than a predetermined value is excluded from the calculation below as a print impossible.

A specific calculation method will be described with reference to FIG. First, as described above, at the time of ink filling or replacement, the amount of ink detected by the ink remaining amount detection sensor 12 and the date and time measured by the clock 6 are stored in the SRAM.
5 is stored.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the contents stored in the SRAM 5.

In FIG. 7, it is assumed that the ink tank is replaced for each color. The actual SRAM 5 stores only the year / month / date / time when the ink tank was replaced and the weight (initial weight) of the ink at that time.
The elapsed time, average consumption, and remaining recordable time are also shown for convenience of explanation. Since the ink remaining amount detection sensor 12 actually measures the weight of the ink tank, it measures the weight of the empty ink tank in advance, and subtracts the weight of the empty ink tank from the detection result. It shall be treated as the detected weight.

Assuming that the date and time detected in step S206 is 10:00 on November 11, 1999, and the detected ink remaining amount is the result shown in FIG.
The difference between the initial weight and the detected weight divided by the elapsed time from the ink tank replacement to the current time is calculated as the average consumption amount for each color. Then, a value obtained by dividing the detected weight by the average consumption is calculated as the remaining recordable time. The calculation result in this example is as described in FIG.

Next, the color of the ink determined to have the longest remaining recordable time is displayed on the display unit 14 (S308), and after a predetermined time, the color of the ink determined to have the longest remaining recordable time is displayed. The information that should have been monochrome recording is recorded (S309).
Return to 201. Although not shown, step S3
08 until the recording is started at 08
In, when a key input for instructing operation stop is performed,
The error processing starts, and the PC 51 is notified via the PC interface 15 that recording is impossible due to the absence of black ink.
And performs the same initialization operation as after power-on, and returns to step S201.

In the description of FIG. 7, the method of replacing the ink tank is premised. However, even in the method of refilling the ink, only the initial weight differs for each color of the ink. The operation can be performed in exactly the same way as in the case of.

According to the second modification, when black recording material becomes insufficient during monochrome recording,
The recording material that has the longest remaining recordable time is automatically detected and output as a substitute, so although it differs from the expected color,
A desired output can be obtained, and the shortage of the black recording material can be visually recognized by the output. Further, since the recording material used instead has the longest remaining recordable time, the influence on the user is small from the viewpoint of consumption of the recording material, and the performance deterioration due to the aging of the recording material is reduced. be able to.

Further, the above-described first and second modifications may be implemented in combination. Specifically, first, the processing is performed up to step S207 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, the recording material having the longest mounting time is selected.
Here, if the mounting time does not exceed a predetermined time, for example, 2160 hours (= 90 days), recording is performed on the recording material, and if it exceeds the predetermined time, a remaining recordable time is calculated (S307). Hereinafter, according to the flowchart of FIG. 6, recording is performed using a recording material having the longest remaining recordable time. By operating in this way, it is possible to reduce the deterioration of performance due to the aging of the recording material, and it is more preferable in consideration of the influence on the user from the viewpoint of consumption of the recording material.

Note that step S20 in FIGS.
In FIG. 4, the operation branches depending on the presence or absence of black ink. However, in order to prevent running out of ink during printing, the operation may branch depending on whether a predetermined amount of ink remains.

In step S207 of FIG. 5 and step S308 of FIG. 6, the color of the ink actually used may be notified to the PC 51 via the PC interface 15 and displayed on the display of the PC 51.

Further, in the above case, a toner may be used as a recording material, and a color recording apparatus may be of an electrophotographic type.

As described above, according to the first and second modifications, when the recording material used for monochrome recording becomes insufficient, the recording material having the longest mounting time or the remaining recording is possible among the other recording materials. By selecting and recording the recording material having the longest time, it is possible to reduce the influence on the aging of the recording material and to automatically perform the substitute output with a minimum burden on the user. .

[0073]

According to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, when monochrome recording is performed using a color recording apparatus,
In a case where the recording material to be used is insufficient and the substitute output using another recording material is automatically performed, the effect that the burden on the user can be minimized is exerted.

Further, according to the inventions as set forth in claims 6 to 10, it is possible to reduce the influence on the aging of the recording material and to reduce the burden on the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a color printing apparatus 100.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the color printing apparatus 100.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating another operation of the color printing apparatus 100.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a calculation example of an average consumption amount of each ink.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a color recording apparatus according to a first modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a color recording apparatus according to a second modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram exemplifying storage contents in an SRAM 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Color recording device, 1 ... Control part, 2 ... CPU, 3 ... ROM, 4 ... RAM, 5 ... SRAM, 6 ... Timepiece, 11 ... Recording head, 12 ... Ink remaining amount detection sensor, 14 ... Display part.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A recording means for recording on a recording medium by using a plurality of color recording materials; a detecting means for detecting the remaining amounts of the plurality of color recording materials, respectively; When recording is performed using only one predetermined recording material, when the detecting unit detects that the remaining amount of the predetermined one recording material is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the recording material of the plurality of colors is detected. And a recording control means for recording on the recording medium using the recording material detected by the detection means when the remaining amount is the largest. 2. A recording means for recording on a recording medium using a plurality of colors of recording material; a detecting means for detecting the remaining amounts of the plurality of colors of recording material; a clocking means; Depending on the remaining amount of recording material detected by the detecting means,
An average consumption calculating means for calculating an average consumption of each of the plurality of color recording materials; and a method for performing recording using only a predetermined one of the plurality of color recording materials. If the detecting means detects that the remaining amount of one of the recording materials is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the recording materials of the plurality of colors (excluding the recording material whose remaining amount is detected to be equal to or less than the predetermined amount) A) a recording control means for recording on the recording medium using the recording material calculated by the average consumption calculation means when the average consumption is the smallest. 3. The recording device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit, wherein when recording is performed using only one predetermined recording material, recording is performed using a recording material other than the one recording material. A color recording apparatus, wherein a color of a recording material to be used is displayed on the display means. 4. The color recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one recording material is black. 5. The color recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording material is ink. 6. A recording means for recording an image on a recording medium using a plurality of recording materials; a detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of each of the plurality of recording materials; and calculating a mounting time of each of the plurality of recording materials. Recording material mounting time calculating means; and a mode for recording using only a specific one of the recording materials, wherein when recording in the mode, the remaining amount of the specific recording material is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. When the detection means detects that, among the remaining plurality of recording materials,
Output control means for performing recording on a recording medium using the recording material calculated by the recording material mounting time calculating means when the mounting time is longest. 7. Recording means for recording an image on a recording medium by using a plurality of recording materials; detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of each of the plurality of recording materials; timer means; A remaining recordable time calculation means for calculating a recordable time based on the output results of the timer means and the detection means; and a mode for recording using only a specific one of the recording materials. When recording in the mode, when the detection unit detects that the remaining amount of the specific recording material is equal to or less than a predetermined amount,
Output control means for performing recording on a recording medium using the recording material calculated by the remaining recordable time calculation means when the remaining recordable time is the longest among the remaining plurality of recording materials. Color recording device. 8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a display unit, wherein in a mode in which recording is performed using only the specific one recording material, recording is performed on a recording material other than the specific one recording material. A color recording apparatus, wherein the color of the recording material to be displayed is displayed on the display means. 9. The color recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the specific recording material is black. 10. The color recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the recording material is ink.