JP2011161756A - Printer and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer in which suitable fixing energy is imparted to ink according to the kind of the ink. <P>SOLUTION: The printer includes: a first nozzle for discharging first ink to a medium to be conveyed in the conveying direction; a second nozzle for discharging second ink to the medium; a first lamp which is arranged on the downstream side of the first nozzle in the conveying direction of the medium and used for drying the first ink; and a second lamp which is arranged on the downstream side of the second nozzle in the conveying direction of the medium and used for drying the second ink. The second lamp is configured such that when a difference between the temperature of the first ink on the medium when the first ink is irradiated with light from the first lamp and the temperature of the second ink on the medium when the second ink is irradiated with light from the second lamp, is smaller than a difference between the temperature of the first ink on the medium and that of the second ink on the medium when the first ink and the second ink are irradiated with the light from the first lamp. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method.

  As a printing apparatus having a head that ejects ink toward a medium, for example, an ink jet printer is known. Some inkjet printers include a fixing unit that applies fixing energy for fixing the ink ejected onto the medium. For example, a halogen lamp is known as the fixing unit. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-288905 A

  By the way, an ink jet printer uses a plurality of different types of inks such as color inks for mainly printing images such as photographs and black inks for mainly printing characters. These plural types of inks may have different fixing energy absorption rates. If fixing energy is applied to the inks having different absorption rates of the fixing energy by the same fixing unit, the medium on which the ink is ejected may be excessively heated depending on the ink.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that applies appropriate fixing energy according to the type of ink.

The main present invention includes a first nozzle that ejects a first ink onto a medium conveyed in the conveying direction;
A second nozzle for discharging a second ink to the medium;
A first lamp disposed on the downstream side of the first nozzle in the transport direction and for drying the first ink ejected to the medium;
A second lamp disposed on the downstream side of the second nozzle in the transport direction for drying the second ink ejected to the medium;
With
The second lamp is
The temperature of the first ink on the medium when the first ink is irradiated with light on the first lamp, and the temperature on the medium when the second ink is irradiated with light on the second ink The difference from the temperature of the second ink is
The first lamp is a lamp that is smaller than the difference between the temperature of the first ink and the temperature of the second ink on the medium when the first ink and the second ink are irradiated with light. A printing apparatus characterized by the above.
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

1 is an overall configuration block diagram of a printer according to an embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing of a printer. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the head. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of nozzles in the nozzle unit.

  At least the following will be made clear by the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

A first nozzle that discharges first ink to a medium transported in the transport direction; a second nozzle that discharges second ink to the medium; and the first nozzle disposed downstream of the transport direction, A first lamp for drying the first ink ejected on the medium and a second nozzle disposed downstream of the second nozzle in the transport direction and for drying the second ink ejected on the medium A second lamp, and the second lamp has a temperature of the first ink on the medium when the first ink is irradiated with light by the first lamp, and the second lamp has the second lamp. The difference between the temperature of the second ink on the medium when the second ink is irradiated with light and the medium when the first ink and the second ink are irradiated with light by the first lamp Said first above A printing device which is a smaller becomes the lamp than the difference between the temperature of the temperature and the second ink tank.
According to such a printing apparatus, the first ink is irradiated with light by the first lamp, and the second ink is irradiated with light by the second lamp, whereby the first ink and the second ink on the medium are This temperature difference can be made smaller than the temperature difference between the first ink and the second ink on the medium when the first ink and the second ink are irradiated with light by the first lamp. That is, it is possible to apply appropriate fixing energy such that the first ink and the second ink are heated to substantially the same temperature and dried. For this reason, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus in which only the first ink or only the second ink is prevented from being excessively heated, and an appropriate fixing energy according to the type of ink is applied.

In such a printing apparatus, the first ink and the second ink are different in color from each other, and the color of the first ink is lower in light absorption by the irradiation of the first lamp than the color of the second ink, The emission wavelength of the second lamp is preferably closer to the light absorption wavelength of water than the emission wavelength of the first lamp.
The first ink color has a lower light absorptance due to the irradiation of the first lamp than the color of the second ink. Therefore, if the second ink is irradiated with light from the same first lamp as the first ink, the second ink is excessive. Will be heated. For this reason, it is possible to prevent an excessive temperature rise of the second ink by using different irradiation lamps for the first ink and the second ink as in the printing apparatus. In particular, the second lamp is absorbed by the water contained in the ink and warms the water, so that even inks of different colors can be similarly dried without depending on the color.

In such a printing apparatus, it is preferable that the color of the second ink is black and the color of the first ink is a color other than black.
Since all black inks easily absorb light having a wavelength, they have a higher light absorption rate than colors other than black and are easily dried. For this reason, it is possible to give appropriate fixing energy to any color ink by using different lamps for the black ink and the color ink other than black.

In the printing apparatus, it is preferable that the first lamp is a flash lamp and the second lamp is a far infrared lamp.
According to such a printing apparatus, the first ink having a light absorption rate lower than that of the second ink is irradiated with light with a flash lamp that momentarily applies a large energy, and the light absorption rate of the first ink is higher than that of the first ink. By irradiating far-infrared rays to the two inks with a far-infrared lamp that imparts energy smaller than that of the flash lamp, it is possible to irradiate any ink with light having an appropriate fixing energy. That is, by using a far-infrared lamp as the second lamp, it is possible to prevent an excessive temperature rise of the second ink.

In such a printing apparatus, a halogen lamp is provided on the downstream side of the second lamp, and includes an image quality priority print mode that prioritizes image quality and a throughput priority print mode that prioritizes throughput, In this case, it is desirable to irradiate the light from the halogen lamp to the second ink ejected onto the medium.
According to such a printing apparatus, when the image quality is prioritized by using the halogen lamp and the second lamp as the light source for irradiating the second ink with light in the printing mode, the second lamp is used to achieve high image quality. If a high throughput is required, it is possible to achieve faster printing using a halogen lamp.

In such a printing apparatus, the printing apparatus has a white ink discharge nozzle that is located on the downstream side of the first lamp and the second lamp and discharges white ink on the upstream side of the halogen lamp. A mirror image printing mode for discharging the white ink from the white ink discharge nozzle to the print area after printing a mirror image of a predetermined image with at least one of the first ink and the second ink; It is desirable.
According to such a printing apparatus, a mirror image is formed on a transparent medium, and white ink is ejected to a print region including the formed mirror image. Therefore, when the transparent medium is viewed from the side opposite to the ink ejection surface side, In the medium, a normal image is formed on a base formed of white ink. Therefore, it is possible to form an image for viewing through the medium. Further, since the first lamp and the second lamp for irradiating the first ink and the second ink discharged on the upstream side of the white ink discharge nozzle are provided on the upstream side of the white ink discharge nozzle, the dried first ink and the second lamp are provided. White ink can be ejected onto one ink and the second ink. For this reason, since the first ink, the second ink, and the white ink do not blur each other, it is possible to print an image for viewing through the medium with higher image quality.

In such a printing apparatus, the intensity of the second lamp that irradiates the second ink in the mirror image printing mode is the intensity of the second lamp that irradiates the second ink during printing in a printing mode other than the mirror image printing mode. Higher is desirable.
When such a printing apparatus is in the mirror image printing mode, white ink is ejected onto the second ink ejected onto the medium. Therefore, the second ink is dried before the white ink is ejected. There is a need. For this reason, in the case of the mirror image printing mode, the image quality of the image printed in the mirror image printing mode can be improved by increasing the intensity of the second lamp compared to the case of the printing mode other than the mirror image printing mode. It is.

  In addition, the first ink discharging step of discharging the first ink from the first nozzle to the medium transported in the transport direction, and the first lamp disposed downstream of the first nozzle in the transport direction. A first drying step for drying the first ink discharged onto the medium; a second ink discharging step for discharging the second ink from the second nozzle onto the medium; and a downstream side of the second nozzle in the transport direction. The temperature of the first ink on the medium when the first ink is irradiated with light by the first lamp, and when the second ink is irradiated with light by the second lamp The difference between the temperature of the second ink on the medium and the temperature of the first ink on the medium when the first lamp and the second ink are irradiated with light by the first lamp, At smaller second lamp from the difference between the temperature of the second ink is a printing method characterized by having a second drying step of drying the second ink ejected on the medium.

  According to such a printing method, it is possible to provide a printing method that provides appropriate fixing energy according to the type of ink.

=== Overview of Printer 1 ===
<<< Configuration of Printer 1 >>>
As an example of the printing apparatus, an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as printer 1) is taken as an example, and an embodiment will be described using a printing system in which the printer 1 and the computer 60 are connected.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration of the printer 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the printer 1. The printer 1 that has received a print command (print data) from the computer 60 that is an external device controls each unit (conveyance unit 20, head unit 30, irradiation unit 40) by the controller 10, and images on a medium such as paper S. Form. Further, the detector group 50 monitors the situation in the printer 1, and the controller 10 controls each unit based on the detection result.

  The controller 10 is a control unit for controlling the printer 1. The interface unit 11 is for transmitting and receiving data between the computer 60 as an external device and the printer 1. The CPU 12 is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire printer 1. The memory 13 is for securing an area for storing a program of the CPU 12, a work area, and the like. The CPU 12 controls each unit by a unit control circuit 14 according to a program stored in the memory 13.

  The transport unit 20 is for transporting a medium such as paper S or a transparent film in a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as a transport direction). As illustrated in FIG. 2, the transport unit 20 includes an upstream transport roller 23 a and a downstream transport roller 23 b, and a belt 24. When a transport motor (not shown) rotates, the upstream transport roller 23a and the downstream transport roller 23b rotate, and the belt 24 rotates. The paper S as a medium fed by a paper feed roller (not shown) is transported to a printable area (area facing the head) by the belt 24 after being placed on the belt 24. When the belt 24 transports the paper S, the paper S moves in the transport direction with respect to the head unit 30. The paper S that has passed through the printable area is discharged to the outside by the belt 24. The paper S being conveyed is electrostatically attracted or vacuum attracted to the belt 24.

  The head unit 30 has a head 31 for ejecting ink onto paper. In the printer 1 shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of heads 31 that eject different inks toward the paper S are provided. A plurality of nozzles that are ink discharge portions are provided on the lower surface of each head 31. Each nozzle is provided with a pressure chamber (not shown) containing ink, and a driving element (for example, a piezo element) for discharging ink by changing the capacity of the pressure chamber. When the drive signal is applied to the drive element, the drive element is deformed, and the pressure chamber expands / contracts along with the deformation, and ink is ejected from the nozzle.

  In the present embodiment, the ink is a concept including both water-based ink and oil-based ink.

  The printer 1 can discharge five types of colored inks, that is, black ink K, cyan ink C, magenta ink M, yellow ink Y, and white ink W.

  As shown in FIG. 2, among the five types of colored inks, the black ink K, the cyan ink C, the magenta ink M, and the yellow ink Y each have one head 31, and the white ink W is the most upstream side in the transport direction. Two heads 31 are provided, one on the most downstream side. More specifically, as the head 31, the head 31 (W) that discharges the white ink W, the head 31 (Y) that discharges the yellow ink Y, and the cyan ink C in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction. A head 31 (C) that discharges magenta ink M, a head 31 (M) that discharges black ink K, and a head 31 (W) that discharges white ink W are provided.

  Here, when printing on a medium such as paper, it is sufficient that black ink K, cyan ink C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y can be ejected. For example, an image is printed on a transparent medium that can transmit light. When printing, it may be required to add a base color to a transparent part without an image. In order to meet such demands, first, a white ink W is used to print a background on a transparent medium and then an image is printed, or an inverted image (mirror image) is printed on a transparent medium and then white ink is used. The background may be printed at W. For this reason, the printer 1 of the present embodiment is configured to discharge the white ink W.

  In the case of so-called front printing in which an image is printed on a transparent medium after printing the background with white ink W, the background is printed by the head 31 (W) on the upstream side in the transport direction. In the case of so-called back printing, in which a reversed image is printed on a transparent medium and the background is printed with white ink W, the background as a background is printed by the head 31 (W) on the downstream side in the transport direction. Is done. Here, the front printing is to print an image for viewing from the side on which ink is ejected, and the back printing is to view through a transparent medium from the side opposite to the surface on which ink is ejected. Is to print the image.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the head. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of nozzles in the nozzle unit. 3A and 3B are top views of the head 31 and the nozzle unit 31a, but in order to explain the arrangement of the nozzle unit 31a and the nozzle, the nozzle unit 31a and the nozzle that are originally visible only from below are shown.

  The nozzle unit 31a has one nozzle row, and the nozzle pitch P in each nozzle row is 360 dpi. In this way, in the present embodiment, a nozzle pitch of 360 dpi is realized in the paper width direction.

  The head 31 includes six nozzle units 31a. The nozzle units 31a are arranged in two rows as shown in the figure, and can form dots at a uniform dot pitch in the nozzle row direction (paper width direction).

  The irradiation unit 40 is for irradiating the ink discharged by the heads 31 toward the paper S with light and heating the ink by the energy (fixing energy) of the irradiated light to dry the ink.

  In the printer 1 of the present embodiment, there are provided a plurality of irradiation members corresponding to each of the plurality of heads 31 for irradiating each of the five different types of ink ejected by the plurality of heads 31 described above. ing. More specifically, the halogen lamp 42 for irradiating the white ink W to dry the white ink W, the cyan ink C, the magenta ink M, and the yellow ink Y are irradiated to the cyan ink C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y. And a carbon lamp 43 as a far-infrared lamp for irradiating the black ink K to dry the black ink K. In the present embodiment, cyan ink C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y correspond to the first ink, and the xenon flash lamp 41 corresponds to the first lamp. The black ink K corresponds to the second ink, and the carbon lamp 43 corresponds to the second lamp. The nozzles of the head 31 (Y), the head 31 (C), and the head 31 (M) correspond to the first nozzle, the nozzle of the head 31 (K) corresponds to the second nozzle, and the head 31 ( The nozzle W) corresponds to a white ink discharge nozzle.

  Here, the cyan lamp C, the magenta ink M, the yellow ink Y, the white ink W, and the black ink K have different irradiation lamps because the xenon flash lamp 41 or the halogen lamp 42 is replaced with the black ink K. This is because when the print surface is irradiated, the temperature becomes too high compared with other color inks (W, C, M, Y). That is, the xenon flash lamp 41 or the halogen lamp 42 has a large temperature difference of the ink heated on the medium depending on the color of the ink. For this reason, the lamp for irradiating the black ink K is a carbon lamp 43, which is a far-infrared lamp whose emission wavelength is out of the color absorption band and the absorption of water is almost long, thereby suppressing the temperature rise of the ink on the medium. ing.

  On the other hand, the reason why all the irradiation lamps are not the carbon lamps 43 is that printing using cyan ink C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y requires high image quality such as photographs. That is, when printing a high-quality image, it is desired to dry the ink ejected on the paper as soon as possible. Therefore, the xenon flash lamp 41 that emits light instantaneously from the carbon lamp 43 and generates a large amount of instantaneous heat is used. ing. In addition, the halogen lamp 42 is used as the lamp for irradiating the white ink W. The halogen lamp 42 has no difference in calorific value from the xenon flash lamp 41, and therefore the halogen lamp 42, which is cheaper, is used.

<<< Operation of Printer 1 >>>
In the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the nozzles of the head 31 positioned on the upstream side in the transport direction based on a print command (including print data) from the computer 60, for example, on the medium sucked and transported on the belt 24. Ink is ejected in order to form an image.

  When printing a color image on paper with the printer 1, printing is performed when the paper S is conveyed by the belt 24 to an area printable by the head 31 (Y) (area facing the head 31 (Y)). Based on the command, the yellow ink Y is ejected from the head 31 (Y) (first ink ejection step), and the light of the xenon flash lamp 41 is irradiated onto the paper S that has reached the region facing the xenon flash lamp 41 ( First drying step). When the paper S is further transported and transported to a region facing the head 31 (C), cyan ink C is ejected from the head 31 (C) based on the print command (first ink ejection step), and the xenon flash lamp is discharged. The light of the xenon flash lamp 41 is irradiated onto the paper S that has reached the region facing 41 (first drying step). Thereafter, magenta ink M is ejected in a region facing the head 31 (M) (first ink ejection step), and the light of the xenon flash lamp 41 is irradiated (first drying step). The black ink K is ejected in the opposing region (second ink ejection step), and the light of the carbon lamp 43 is irradiated (second drying step). Printing a color image on paper with the printer 1 is included in the image quality priority printing mode.

  When a monochrome image is printed on paper by the printer 1, the paper S is conveyed by the belt 24 to an area that can be printed by the head 31 (K) (an area facing the head 31 (K)). Based on the print command, the black ink K is ejected from the head 31 (K), and the light from the halogen lamp 42 is applied to the paper S that reaches the area facing the halogen lamp 42 provided downstream from the head 31 (K). Irradiated. In this case, since the halogen lamp is irradiated to the black ink K having a wide absorption wavelength band, the irradiation time can be shortened. For this reason, the conveyance speed of the paper S is increased to improve the throughput. Such a monochrome image printing on paper by the printer 1 is included in the throughput priority print mode.

  Next, when the printer 1 prints a color image on a transparent medium, for example, a transparent film, the transparent film is printed on the belt 31 by the head 31 (W) (the head 31 (W)). The white ink W is ejected from the head 31 (W) to the entire area of the transparent film to be printed based on the print command, and the transparent film reaches the area facing the halogen lamp 42. Light from the halogen lamp 42 is irradiated. When the transparent film is further transported and transported to an area facing the head 31 (Y), the yellow ink Y is ejected from the head 31 (Y) onto the white ink W based on the print command (first ink ejection). Step) The light from the xenon flash lamp 41 is irradiated onto the transparent film that has reached the region facing the xenon flash lamp 41 (first drying step). Thereafter, the shear ink C is ejected in a region facing the head 31 (C) (first ink ejection step), irradiated with light from the xenon flash lamp 41 (first drying step), and opposed to the head 31 (M). The magenta ink M is ejected in the area to be ejected (first ink ejecting step), the light of the xenon flash lamp 41 is irradiated (first drying step), and the black ink K is ejected in the area facing the head 31 (K). After being discharged (second ink discharge step), light from the carbon lamp 43 is irradiated (second drying step).

  When a color image is printed on the transparent film by the printer 1, an inverted image (mirror image) is printed when the transparent film is conveyed to the area facing the head 31 (Y) by the belt 24. The yellow ink Y is ejected from the head 31 (Y) based on the printing command for the first ink ejection step (first ink ejection step), and the light of the xenon flash lamp 41 is irradiated onto the transparent film that has reached the area facing the xenon flash lamp 41. (First drying step). Thereafter, the shear ink C is ejected in a region facing the head 31 (C) (first ink ejection step), irradiated with light from the xenon flash lamp 41 (first drying step), and opposed to the head 31 (M). The magenta ink M is ejected in the area to be ejected (first ink ejecting step), the light of the xenon flash lamp 41 is irradiated (first drying step), and the black ink K is ejected in the area facing the head 31 (K). After being discharged (second ink discharging step), the light of the carbon lamp 43 is irradiated. When the transparent film is further transported and transported to a printable area (area facing the head 31 (W)) by the head 31 (W), the ink of the transparent film is ejected based on the print command. The white ink W is ejected from the head 31 (W) to the entire area to be printed including the part, and the light from the halogen lamp 42 is irradiated to the transparent film that has reached the area facing the halogen lamp 42 (second drying step). . In this mirror image printing mode, since the white ink W is ejected onto the black ink K ejected onto a transparent medium, another printing mode is used in order to dry the black ink K faster. It is desirable to make the strength of the carbon lamp higher than in the case of.

=== Effectiveness of Printer 1 According to the Present Embodiment ===
Since the black ink K has a wide absorption wavelength band, it has a higher light absorption rate than the cyan ink C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y, which are inks of colors other than black, and is easy to dry. For this reason, as in the printer 1 described above, by irradiating the lamps of the black ink K with the cyan ink C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y of colors other than black, any color ink can be obtained. It is possible to irradiate light appropriately.

  That is, the cyan ink C, the magenta ink M, and the yellow ink Y are irradiated with light by the xenon flash lamp 41, and the black ink K is irradiated with light by the carbon lamp 43 having a wavelength that is absorbed by moisture contained in the ink. Accordingly, the temperature difference between the cyan ink C, magenta ink M, yellow ink Y and black ink K on the paper S or transparent film is measured by the xenon flash lamp 41 with cyan ink C, magenta ink M, yellow ink Y and The temperature difference between the cyan ink C, the magenta ink M, the yellow ink Y, and the black ink K on the medium S when the black ink K is irradiated with light can be made smaller. For this reason, it is possible to provide the printer 1 that prevents the paper S and the transparent film from being excessively heated and applies appropriate fixing energy according to the type of ink.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the cyan ink C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y, which have a light absorption rate lower than that of the black ink K, are irradiated with light from a flash lamp that instantaneously applies a large amount of cyan ink. By irradiating far-infrared rays to a black ink K, which has a higher light absorption rate than C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y, with a carbon lamp that gives energy smaller than that of a flash lamp, appropriate fixing energy is applied to any ink. It is possible to irradiate with the light which has. That is, by using a carbon lamp, it is possible to more effectively prevent an excessive temperature rise of the black ink K.

  In addition, since the carbon lamp is absorbed by the moisture contained in the ink and warms the ink, even inks of different colors can be similarly dried without depending on the color. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a temperature difference due to a difference in ink color of heated ink.

  Further, since the mirror image is formed on the transparent medium and the white ink W is ejected to the print area including the formed mirror image, when the transparent medium is viewed from the side opposite to the ink ejection surface side, the transparent medium is white. A normal image is formed on the base formed with the ink W. Therefore, it is possible to form an image for viewing through the medium.

  Further, a xenon flash lamp 41 and a carbon lamp 43 for irradiating cyan ink C, magenta ink M, yellow ink Y, and black ink K ejected upstream of the white ink ejection nozzle are located upstream of the white ink ejection nozzle. Thus, the white ink W can be ejected onto the dried cyan ink C, magenta ink M, yellow ink Y, and black ink K. For this reason, since the cyan ink C, magenta ink M, yellow ink Y, black ink K, and white ink W do not blur each other, it is possible to print an image for viewing through the medium with higher image quality.

  In the case of the mirror image printing mode, the white ink W is ejected onto the black ink K ejected onto a transparent medium. Therefore, it is necessary to dry the black ink K before the white ink W is ejected. There is. For this reason, in the mirror image printing mode, it is possible to improve the image quality of an image printed in the mirror image printing mode by increasing the strength of the carbon lamp as compared with the case where the white ink W is not ejected.

  Further, in the printer 1 having the image quality priority print mode that prioritizes the image quality and the throughput priority print mode that prioritizes the throughput as in the printer 1, the paper S or the transparent film is used in the throughput priority print mode. Since the discharged black ink K is irradiated with light from the halogen lamp 42, it is possible to improve the throughput during monochrome printing. Therefore, by properly using the xenon flash lamp 41 and the carbon lamp 43 in the print mode for the black ink K, a high-quality image is obtained when priority is given to the image quality, and a higher speed is required when throughput is required. Printing can be realized.

  As described above, the yellow ink Y, the cyan ink C, and the magenta ink M are applied to the paper S or the transparent film that is transported in the transport direction from the nozzles of the head 31 (Y), the head 31 (C), and the head 31 (M). The first ink ejection step and the xenon flash lamp 41 disposed on the downstream side of the head 31 (Y), the head 31 (C), and the head 31 (M) in the transport direction. A first drying step for drying the discharged yellow ink Y, cyan ink C, and magenta ink M; and a second ink discharging step for discharging the black ink K onto the paper S or transparent film from the nozzles of the head 31 (K). The carbon lamp 43 disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction of the head 31 (K) is discharged onto the paper S or transparent film. It has a second drying step of drying the black ink K, and it is possible to provide a printing method for imparting an appropriate fixing energy in accordance with the type of ink.

=== Other Embodiments ===
Although the above embodiments are mainly described with respect to a printing apparatus, disclosure of a printing method and the like is also included. The above-described embodiments are for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In particular, the embodiments described below are also included in the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, the xenon flash lamp 41 is described as an example of a lamp that irradiates light to the cyan ink C, magenta ink M, and yellow ink Y. However, a halogen lamp may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the white ink discharge nozzle and the halogen lamp 42 for discharging the white ink W are provided on the most upstream side and the most downstream side in the transport direction has been described. However, the white ink discharge nozzle and the halogen lamp 42 are provided. May be in a form in which only one of the two sides is provided. For example, when printing with a printer having a white ink discharge nozzle and a halogen lamp 42 only on the most upstream side, an image is printed with cyan ink C, magenta ink M, yellow ink Y, black ink K, etc. The transparent medium thus transported is conveyed upstream, and light is emitted from a halogen lamp to the white ink W ejected by the white ink ejection nozzle provided on the most upstream side in a printing area including the printed image. In addition, when printing with a printer provided with the white ink discharge nozzle and the halogen lamp 42 only on the most downstream side, the transparent medium is first transported to the downstream side, and the white ink provided on the most downstream side is discharged. After irradiating light with a halogen lamp to the white ink W ejected to the printing area by the nozzle, the transparent medium is conveyed upstream, and cyan ink C, magenta ink M, yellow is formed on the background formed of white ink. An image is printed with ink Y, black ink K, or the like. At this time, the printed transparent medium may be appropriately discharged from the discharge place to either the paper discharge unit on the downstream side in the transport direction or the paper supply unit on the upstream side in the transport direction.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the paper S and the transparent film were mentioned as an example as a medium, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be a cloth.

1 Printer, 10 Controller, 11 Interface section,
12 CPU, 13 memory, 14 unit control circuit, 20 transport unit,
23a upstream conveyance roller, 23b downstream conveyance roller, 24 belt 30 head unit, 31 head, 31a nozzle unit,
40 irradiation units, 41 xenon flash lamps, 42 halogen lamps,
43 carbon lamps, 50 detector groups, 60 computers

Claims (8)

A first nozzle that ejects a first ink onto a medium transported in the transport direction;
A second nozzle for discharging a second ink to the medium;
A first lamp disposed on the downstream side of the first nozzle in the transport direction and for drying the first ink ejected to the medium;
A second lamp disposed on the downstream side of the second nozzle in the transport direction for drying the second ink ejected to the medium;
With
The second lamp is
The temperature of the first ink on the medium when the first ink is irradiated with light on the first lamp, and the temperature on the medium when the second ink is irradiated with light on the second ink The difference from the temperature of the second ink is
The first lamp is a lamp that is smaller than the difference between the temperature of the first ink and the temperature of the second ink on the medium when the first ink and the second ink are irradiated with light. A printing apparatus characterized by the above. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The first ink and the second ink have different colors from each other,
The color of the first ink is lower in light absorption by the irradiation of the first lamp than the color of the second ink,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a radiation wavelength of the second lamp is closer to a light absorption wavelength of water than a radiation wavelength of the first lamp. The printing apparatus according to claim 2,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color of the second ink is black, and the color of the first ink is a color other than black. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The printing apparatus, wherein the first lamp is a flash lamp and the second lamp is a far-infrared lamp. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A halogen lamp is provided downstream of the second lamp;
An image quality priority print mode that prioritizes image quality and a throughput priority print mode that prioritizes throughput;
In the throughput priority printing mode, the printing apparatus irradiates light of the halogen lamp onto the second ink ejected onto the medium. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
A white ink discharge nozzle that is positioned downstream of the first lamp and the second lamp and discharges white ink upstream of the halogen lamp;
After a mirror image of a predetermined image is printed on at least one of the first ink and the second ink on a transparent print area of the medium, the white ink discharge nozzle is used to print the white image on the print area. A printing apparatus having a mirror image printing mode for discharging ink. The printing apparatus according to claim 6.
The intensity of the second lamp that irradiates the second ink in the mirror image printing mode is higher than the intensity of the second lamp that irradiates the second ink when printing in a printing mode other than the mirror image printing mode. A printing device. For media transported in the transport direction,
A first ink ejection step for ejecting the first ink from the first nozzle;
A first drying step of drying the first ink ejected onto the medium by a first lamp disposed downstream of the first nozzle in the transport direction;
A second ink ejection step for ejecting the second ink from the second nozzle to the medium;
The temperature of the first ink on the medium when the first ink is irradiated with light by the first lamp, and disposed on the downstream side of the second nozzle in the transport direction, and the second lamp The difference between the temperature of the second ink on the medium when the second ink is irradiated with light is that when the first ink and the second ink are irradiated with light by the first lamp. A second drying step of drying the second ink ejected onto the medium with a second lamp that is smaller than the difference between the temperature of the first ink and the temperature of the second ink on the medium;
A printing method characterized by comprising:

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