JP2002264421A - Printer and print control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer in which print time is prevented from increasing due to carrying operation of a sheet performed every time when a specified unit of print data is printed using a continuous sheet, e.g. a roll sheet, by simple control. SOLUTION: In a multipath print where a scanning area corresponding to a nozzle array determined by dividing the nozzle arranging width of a recording head 109 by four is printed with different nozzles by four times of scanning of the recording head 109 and carriage of a sheet by an amount corresponding to the nozzle array divided by four, when the print area is changed from n-th page to the (n+1)th page of a roll sheet, empty data ED is added to the print data of respective pages in correspondence with the empty part E between the print areas of each page thus continuing the scanning and carriage of the sheet by an amount corresponding to the nozzle array divided by four. Consequently, sheet carriage unique to multipath print at the time of changing the page including carriage incident to upper end and lower end processing is eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing control method, and more particularly, to feeding, printing, and discharging printing paper for each predetermined unit of print data supplied, such as for one page. The present invention relates to print control in a case where continuous paper is used as a print sheet in a printing apparatus that performs an operation or performs sheet feed control for an end portion of a sheet for each predetermined unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a printing apparatus such as a printer is configured to control a printing operation in units of print data for each page. Specifically, when a cut sheet of a predetermined size is used as print paper, the control unit of the printer analyzes data sent from the host device by the data analysis unit, and when the data is a paper feed command, A paper feed command is sent to a paper feed mechanism and a mechanism control unit that controls the scanning of the recording head, and the cut paper is fed. Then, after the paper feeding operation is completed, a printing command and a paper feeding command are alternately sent to the mechanism control unit, so that printing accompanying the scanning of the recording head and conveyance of a predetermined amount of paper are repeated.
Prints pages.

Here, whether or not the printing of one page has been completed is determined by, for example, whether or not there is data to be printed. To discharge the cut sheet.
When printing the data of the next page on the next cut sheet, the printing of the data of the next page is performed in the same manner as described above, after the completion of the above-described sheet discharging operation.

As described above, even when printing continuous page data using cut paper as printing paper, the paper feed and paper discharge operations are basically performed before and after printing each page.

By the way, apart from such a general printing apparatus using cut paper, there is also known an apparatus using continuous paper such as a large-capacity roll paper so that large-volume printing can be performed efficiently. In a printing apparatus using such continuous paper, basically, similarly to the case of using the above-described cut paper,
Each time a predetermined unit of printing is performed, a predetermined conveyance operation of the continuous paper is performed.

For example, when printing a plurality of pages continuously, if the end of printing of one page is detected by the absence of data of one page, the position of the recording head is set to the printing start position of the next page. In order to match, the sheet is transported in the same manner as the sheet feeding or discharging operation when using the cut sheet. This makes it possible to print the image of each page on the continuous paper at regular intervals or as a continuous image. Also, when printing only one page or after printing the last page of multi-page printing,
A predetermined amount of paper is conveyed so as to separate the printed portion, thereby enabling the user to perform a separating operation or adjusting the cutting position of the sheet to the position of the cutter.

The transport control of the printing paper, which is performed for each predetermined amount of printing, such as for each page described above, is not limited to the above. For example, in a so-called multi-pass printing method performed in an ink-jet method, when a page is switched, paper conveyance including reverse feeding of paper may be performed in order to adjust the position of a recording head to a printing position of a next page. Furthermore, depending on the configuration of the device,
Unique transport control is performed at the upper and lower ends of the printing paper for page switching.

[0008] The multi-pass printing method is for reducing unevenness in density in a printed image due to variation in ejection characteristics such as ejection amounts and ejection directions of a plurality of nozzles provided for ejecting ink in a recording head. This is a printing method. That is, the transport amount of the printing paper that is performed for each scan of the print head is set to 1 / N of the length of the number of nozzles of the nozzle pitch, and in each scan, the ejection data based on the print data is reduced by 1 / N. Ink is ejected from each nozzle in accordance with the data thinned out to N, so that each pixel row in the scanning direction is printed with ink ejected from N different nozzles.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of this multi-pass printing method. For a print head having four nozzles, each pixel row (hereinafter also referred to as a column) is scanned twice by the print head. 2 shows an example of printing with (2 passes).

As shown in FIG. 14, in the n-th scan, odd-numbered columns are printed using nozzles 1 and 3, and even-numbered columns are printed using nozzles 2 and 4. When this scanning is completed, the printing paper is transported by half of the nozzle pitch × the number of nozzles, here, two pitches. Then, in the next (n + 1) th scan, printing is performed using the nozzles 2 and 4 for the odd columns and the nozzles 1 and 3 for the even columns. By performing printing in this manner, the nozzles used for printing each column are dispersed into two nozzles, whereby variations in ink ejection characteristics,
Furthermore, even if there is an error in the nozzle pitch or printing paper conveyance, or even if the size and position of the dots formed in each pixel vary due to these influences, they are dispersed, and the above-mentioned dispersion is dispersed. It is possible to print an image with reduced density unevenness caused by the influence. Further, according to this method, particularly when using printing paper having poor ink absorption characteristics, the amount of ink ejected in one scan can be reduced, thereby preventing the occurrence of ink bleeding and the like.

By the way, when the multi-pass printing method is adopted and, for example, four-pass printing is performed, in the first scan for printing on printing paper for the first time, the end portion of the nozzle row of the print head at the end is 1/1/2 of the total nozzle number. Printing is performed using only the nozzle 4. In this case, normally, the upper end area of the printing paper, which is a portion to be printed first on the printing paper, is set to the above quarter.
May be conveyed to the position corresponding to the nozzle. But,
Depending on the configuration of the apparatus, the printing paper may not be located at a position that sufficiently covers the platen, and the printing paper may not be properly fixed to the platen. Therefore, the printing paper is conveyed more than the width corresponding to the 1/4 nozzle so that the printing paper is sufficiently fixed, and the nozzle used in the recording head is controlled not to be at the end but at the inside. As a result, it is possible to prevent the printing paper edge from rising, and obtain good printing quality. This processing is referred to as “upper end processing” in this specification. In addition, since there is a similar problem at the lower end where printing is performed at the end of the printing paper, the final conveyance is smaller than the previous conveyance amount and the lifting of the printing paper end in the last scan is also prevented. I do. This processing of the lower end of the printing paper is referred to as “lower end processing” in this specification.

Generally, the upper end processing and the lower end processing as described above are performed not only when cut paper is used but also when continuous paper is used. This is because even on continuous paper, there is printing at the beginning and end,
This is because, in a printing apparatus that is also used as a cut sheet, it is cost-effective to perform the conveyance control using one piece of software.

[0013]

However, when the printing paper is conveyed every time a predetermined unit of printing is performed, as described above, this causes the printing time of the entire apparatus to increase. It is one,
In addition, it is one of the factors that hinders an improvement in throughput.

In particular, in the case of continuous paper such as roll paper, unlike a cut sheet having a separate print area, the print area of each predetermined unit can be adjacent to each other. The predetermined printing paper transport performed for each predetermined unit of printing as described above is a relatively large factor for the problem of an increase in the printing time.

In the multi-pass printing method, regardless of whether or not the above-described upper and lower end processing is performed, after the last scanning of each page, recording is performed in the scanning area for the first scanning of the next page. To adjust the position of the head,
Since it is necessary to perform a sheet conveyance different from the sheet conveyance performed between the normal scans, for example, the sheet is conveyed in the reverse direction, and the conveyance time increases as described above.
There is a problem that the control becomes complicated. Further, when the upper end and lower end processes are performed, this problem becomes more remarkable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to be performed each time printing is performed for a predetermined unit of print data when using continuous paper such as roll paper. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing control method capable of preventing an increase in printing time due to a printing paper transport operation with simple control.

[0017]

For this purpose, the present invention provides a printing apparatus for printing on a print medium conveyed by a recording head using a recording head having a plurality of recording elements arranged therein. Transport means for transporting a predetermined amount of print medium associated with the print element array width of the print head, and a print area on the print medium other than a print area based on the print data in the predetermined unit. Means for controlling a printing operation to be performed on an area including at least the area, by adding data to the printing data in the predetermined unit, the printing operation is also performed by the predetermined amount by the transport unit. And control means for executing the transfer of the medium.

In a more preferred form, the control means adds data unrelated to the two-unit print data as the data between two consecutive print data of the predetermined unit of print data. Accordingly, printing based on the continuous two units of print data is performed with respect to two areas sandwiching a print area of data unrelated to the two units of print data with the conveyance of the predetermined amount of print medium. It is characterized by executing.

In another more preferred form, the printing device further comprises a device for cutting out a print medium, and the control means sets the data as the data between two consecutive print data of the predetermined unit of print data. By adding data unrelated to the two units of print data, a printing operation is performed on an area including at least an area other than a print area based on the predetermined unit of print data on the print medium, The cutting position of each printing area based on the two-unit print data of the printing medium is adjusted to the cutting position by the cutting device by transporting the predetermined amount of the printing medium during the printing operation.

Further, in a print control method for printing on a print medium conveyed by the print head using a print head having a plurality of print elements arranged therein, the printing operation is performed based on print data of a predetermined unit. Providing a transport unit for transporting a predetermined amount of print medium associated with the print element array width of the print head; and at least including an area other than a print area based on the predetermined unit of print data on the print medium. Controlling the execution of the printing operation on the area, and by adding data to the printing data in the predetermined unit, the conveyance of the predetermined amount of the printing medium by the conveyance unit also in the printing operation. And a control step to be executed in conjunction therewith.

More preferably, the control step includes adding, as the data, data unrelated to the two units of print data between two consecutive units of the predetermined unit of print data. Accordingly, printing based on the continuous two units of print data is performed with respect to two areas sandwiching a print area of data unrelated to the two units of print data with the conveyance of the predetermined amount of print medium. It is characterized by executing.

In another more preferred form, the print control method further comprises a step of preparing an apparatus for cutting out a print medium, wherein the control step includes the step of preparing two consecutive print data of the predetermined unit of print data. In the meantime, by adding data unrelated to the two units of print data as the data, printing is performed on an area on the print medium including at least an area other than a print area based on the predetermined unit of print data. Executing the operation, and by transporting the predetermined amount of the printing medium accompanying the printing operation, adjusting a cutting position of each printing area based on the two-unit print data of the printing medium to a cutting position by the cutting device. I do.

According to the above arrangement, when printing is performed based on a predetermined unit of print data, such as for each page, data is added after the predetermined unit of print data, so that a blank portion between pages or the like is obtained. Also, for an area printing operation including at least an area other than the printing area based on the predetermined unit of print data, the conveyance of the print medium having the same conveyance amount as the predetermined conveyance amount performed by the conveyance unit in the printing based on the predetermined unit of print data is performed. Therefore, when printing is performed based on continuous predetermined units of print data, the printing is performed along with a normal printing operation without performing a special printing medium transport operation between printing operations based on the printing data. If the print medium is to be cut every time printing is performed with a predetermined unit of print data, the print medium is cut at the cut position. May be performed conveying performed with the normal printing operation without conveying operation of special print media to align the located.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The printer of the present embodiment performs printing based on print data and a print instruction command sent from a host device (not shown) such as a personal computer, and uses roll paper as continuous paper as printing paper. ,
The multi-pass printing can be performed according to the setting of the user or the like. In addition, the recording head is of a type in which bubbles are generated in ink by using thermal energy generated by electrothermal conversion elements provided corresponding to respective nozzles as recording elements, and the ink is ejected by the pressure of the bubbles. The multi-pass printing is performed by performing a predetermined scan of the recording head and a predetermined conveyance of the roll paper. Note that a known mechanical configuration of the inkjet printer can be used, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, a CPU 101 analyzes a command transferred from a host device, generates ink discharge data for a print head based on print data sent from the host device, and print head based on the process. Control of various motors such as a motor for driving a carriage movement for scanning a print head and a conveyance roller for conveying a print sheet, etc., based on the print data, Ink can be ejected onto the printing paper, and printing can be sequentially performed on the paper as a printing medium to be conveyed.

The R @ M 102 stores the above-described processing and control programs executed by the CPU 101, various data, and the like. That is, the program stored in the R @ M 102 is read out under the control of the CPU 101, and various processes and controls are executed according to the program. The RAM 103 is used as a work area necessary for executing the above-described program, and is also used as a reception buffer as a primary storage location of data input via the interface (I / F) 104. Among these data, the print data is stored corresponding to the ink ejection position of each nozzle of the recording head with respect to the printing paper. The print data storage area in the reception buffer configured in the RAM 103 has a capacity capable of storing data of at least twice the number of lines corresponding to the number of nozzles of the head. This gives 1
Data for the next scan can be received during one scan operation. By cyclically using this limited area as the capacity, it is not necessary to have a huge memory like a page printer.

The interface (I / F) 104 is connected to a host device (not shown) and receives data such as print data and a print instruction command as described above. The host device does not necessarily need to be a personal computer as in the present embodiment for application of the present invention. For example, as long as it transmits at least print data, such as a scanner or a reading unit of a copier, Any form may be used.

The EEPROM 105 stores setting data relating to the status setting of the printer, and also stores data such as the number of prints and the remaining amount of ink. As described above, the motor controller 106 controls the driving of various motors 108 such as a carriage motor for scanning the recording head 109 and an LF motor for conveying printing paper under the control of the CPU 101. The head controller 107 similarly controls the driving of the recording head 109 that scans on the paper under the control of the CPU 101, whereby ink is ejected from each nozzle in accordance with the print data and sequentially printed on the paper. Printing is going on.

With the above configuration, the printer according to the present embodiment, in accordance with the setting of the user or the type of the image to be printed, sets the multi-pass printing method and the respective pixel rows corresponding to each nozzle of the print head. A normal printing method of performing printing by a corresponding nozzle can be selectively executed. In multi-pass printing, whether cut paper or roll paper is used as the printing paper,
Control is performed to perform upper end processing and lower end processing. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described below, by inserting blank data between data for each page, as a result, lower end processing or upper end processing on the lower end or upper end of the printing paper is performed. This prevents the paper transport operation between pages that occurs in multi-pass printing, including the paper transport operation related to the processing. That is, the paper transport control of the printer performs the upper end processing by detecting that the upper and lower ends of each page are the first print data or the last print data, respectively, in consideration of the case where cut paper is used. Alternatively, it is configured such that lower end processing can be performed. On the other hand, by inserting blank data between the print data of each page, the same conveyance as in the previous printing operation is continued as the paper conveyance, and as a result, the paper conveyance related to the lower end processing and the upper end processing is performed. The operation is not performed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example in which an output sample is printed on continuous paper under such control.

In FIG. 2, images A to D are printed on four pages, respectively. Then, a predetermined blank line E is printed between each page. Apparently, the result is the same as the result of performing the predetermined amount of paper transport operation between pages, but the paper transport operation is not performed between each page.

On the other hand, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a print example when the upper end processing and the lower end processing are performed. As shown in this figure, the upper end processing 1a, 2a, 3
a, 4a and lower end processing 1b, 2b, 3b, 4b. As a result, first, it is necessary to carry out a conveyance different from the conveyance corresponding to the nozzle array width of the recording head, which is performed between the scans during the printing operation in the normal printing method. It gets complicated. Second, after the lower edge processing, a predetermined amount c that is not directly related to printing, and is used for positioning the print head for the upper edge processing of the next page.
Transport is also required, thereby increasing the transport time in the entire printing time. Note that such a problem is the same in a multi-pass printing method in which upper and lower end processes are not performed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when continuously printing images or the like of a plurality of pages, even when each page is switched, the transport operation related to the previous printing, that is, the recording head related to the multi-pass printing is performed. By continuing the same operation as the predetermined amount of conveyance operation obtained by dividing the nozzle array width, the paper conveyance that occurs at the time of page switching as described above is not performed. This control will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing print control of the host computer for this printer.
5 is a flowchart illustrating control of the printer according to print control of the host computer.

As shown in FIG. 4, the host computer first transmits a print setting command such as an operation mode and a print area setting (step S101). Next, a paper feed command for feeding paper as a print medium and preparing for printing is transmitted to the printer (step S10).
2). Further, the print data is transmitted in step S103. Note that this transmission does not need to wait for completion of the paper feed execution on the printer side by the above-described paper feed command, and starts transmission of print data immediately after the paper feed command. This is because the printer has a reception buffer in the RAM 103 as described above, and can hold a certain amount of data.
The form of the print data sent from the host computer to the printer is a so-called bit image form, and the printer basically has only to perform a process of associating this data with each nozzle of the print head. Note that the transmission form of the print data is not limited to this. For example, when print data is sent from the host computer in the form of PDL, a process of converting the data into ejection data of the print head by a printer is performed. A predetermined image processing including the above is performed, and the ejection data obtained as a result may be developed in a buffer as data associated with each nozzle of the print head for each scan.

In response to the transmission of the print data from the host computer, the printer detects that the data has been transmitted from the host computer and stores the data in a data buffer in step S201, as shown in FIG. The data transmitted in step S202 is analyzed. If the print data is print data, in step S203, the print data is subjected to a mask process for one scan by the multi-pass printing method. Next, in step S204, thinning is performed by the mask process. Processing for controlling driving of the print head and scanning of the print head based on the ejected data is performed.

The host computer transmits print data.
If it is determined in step S103 that all the print data of the page to be transmitted has been transmitted (step S104), it is determined in step S105 whether there is print data of the next page. If it is determined that there is print data for the next page, a command for instructing continuous printing is transmitted to the printer (step S1).
06).

The printer that has received the request is sent to step S20.
In step S205, blank data, that is, data "0" for which ink is not to be ejected, is stored in the print data buffer configured in the RAM 103 at each nozzle of the print head. Is developed in correspondence with the ink ejection position of. As a result, blank data is added after the print data of the page that has been printed. Then, in step S206, the control parameters are set to carry the same carry amount as the carry operation in the multi-pass printing up to that time.

Further, when the host computer transmits the print data of the next page (step S103), in the printer, in the print data buffer, after the transmitted data comes after the above-mentioned blank data, the ejection of each nozzle of the print head is performed. The print data is added corresponding to the position, and as described above, mask processing is performed on print data for one scan (step S203), and printing is performed (step S204).

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a printing operation and the like relating to the addition of the blank data.

FIG. 4 shows 1/1 of the nozzle arrangement width of the recording head.
Scanning area of width 4 (hereinafter referred to as divided printing area)
The operation of so-called four-pass printing, in which scanning is performed four times and ink is ejected from different nozzles, is described in a page switching portion. In the actual printing operation of the printer, the printing paper is transported in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
For convenience of explanation, the recording head 109 is shown to move with respect to the printing paper.

As shown in the figure, it is determined that all the print data of the n-th page has been transmitted by the k-th scan, which is the first scan of the last divided area in the n-th page (step S104). At this point, it is determined whether there is print data for the next page (step S10).
5). If it is determined that there is print data for the next page, the printer responds accordingly to the predetermined blank area E.
Of blank data corresponding to
(Step S205), setting of paper conveyance is performed (Step S206). Thus, after the k-th scan is performed to convey a sheet having a width of １ ／ of the nozzle arrangement width, the k + th scan is performed.
In one scan, among the added blank data, blank data ED corresponding to the nozzle at the lower quarter of the print head is read out from the print data buffer together with print data corresponding to the other nozzles, and mask processing is performed. Is performed, and the recording head is driven for ink ejection based on the processed data. That is, ink is not ejected from the nozzle corresponding to the blank data ED, and the other nozzles eject according to the data associated therewith. Similarly, after the (k + 2) -th scan, the paper is conveyed in a width of 1/4 of the nozzle array width and the scan of the print head is performed. During the scan, blank data for the nozzle corresponding to the area E of the print head is changed. Are read from the buffer together with the print data corresponding to the nozzles, and the recording head is driven.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, in the (k + 3) th scan, the nth page and the next (n + 1) th page are simultaneously scanned. This depends on how to set the width of the blank area E to be set in advance. For example, when the width is larger than the nozzle arrangement width in the print head, the n-th page and the next (n + 1) -th page are used. Scans are not performed simultaneously. Further, for application of the present invention, the width does not need to be an integral multiple of １ ／ of the nozzle arrangement width.

As described above, even if the printing of the next page has been started, the printer performs a process completely equivalent to the process of printing the previous page. As a result, it is not necessary to carry out a sheet conveyance different from that at the time of the printing operation, which may occur in the multi-pass printing method, including the lower end processing and the upper end processing at the page switching portion.

When printing of a plurality of continuous pages is completed as described above, the host computer transmits the last print data (step S105), and then transmits a paper discharge command (step S107). In response to this, when the printer detects the discharge command (step S202), the printer performs a process of setting the control parameters so as to execute the lower end process, and then executes the process for printing the lower end similarly to steps S203 and S204. Perform processing. Then, a process of discharging the sheet is performed (step S207).

FIG. 7 shows an example of an image printed in this way. As is clear from the comparison between the example shown in FIG. 7 and the conventional print example shown in FIG. 3, the print result according to the present embodiment is obtained by processing the upper end once (symbol 1a) first, and printing 1 end at the end of the page. The lower end processing (symbol 4b) is executed. The printing speed is two times in total in the present embodiment, whereas the printing speed is two times in total in the present embodiment, while the time required for these processing operations is 2/8, that is, 1/4. Become.

The blank area E existing between the pages
Can be set arbitrarily as described above. For example, this area may not be provided. In this case, the print data of the next page is associated with the print data of the previous page instead of the blank data. In the above embodiment, the added blank data is data that does not eject ink. However, according to the purpose, for example, the recording head for each ink color may be black or another color according to these colors. May be data for ejecting ink from the nozzles. Thus, effective use of this area can be expected.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 8 is a block diagram mainly showing a control configuration of a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and the same elements as those shown in FIG. The reference numerals are attached and the description is omitted. The difference from the first embodiment is that a continuous paper separation control unit 110 and a cutting device (cutter) 111 are provided.

Conventionally, for a printed page, it is necessary to convey the sheet to the position of a cutter provided in the cutting device, or to convey the sheet to adjust the cutting position to the position of the cutter. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when printing an image of a predetermined size, for example, an L-size image such as a service size of a photograph, it is possible to omit the special paper conveyance for cutting out the image. Things.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the recording head 109 and the cutter 111 with respect to the printing paper being conveyed.

According to the positional relationship shown in FIG. 9, the cutter 111 mounted as a cutting device is separated from the recording head having the nozzle arrangement width X by the distance Y. On the other hand, in the printing operation, a predetermined amount of paper is conveyed for each scan of the print head, and the feed amount is based on the size of the arrangement width of the nozzles. ,
It is determined by the number of passes. For example, in the case of using 1/8 of the nozzle array width in the print head and printing a 1/8 divided area by eight scans, the transport amount is 1/8 of the nozzle array width, that is, X / 8.

Therefore, in this embodiment, basically, the distance Y from the recording head 109 to the cutter 111 is X / X.
In the multipass printing, the paper cutting position is adjusted to the position of the cutter 111 only by performing the paper conveyance performed between each scan in multi-pass printing.

However, since it is not so easy to accurately adjust the cut position to the cutter position at the joint of each page due to an error such as a slip in paper feed, a slight margin is required for each adjacent page.
The central part of these is set as the target cutting position. Here, it is assumed that the widths of the print areas discarded on each page due to the margin are equal, and this width is W. In this case, it is necessary to convey the paper by a distance Z from the first cut position on the lower side of the first page to the upper cut position on the second page. Make the amount equal to 8. Obviously, in this case, the carry amount is minimized.

In this embodiment, the distance Z = X
The blank data that is obtained by subtracting the width of 2W from / 8
As in the embodiment, by adding the print data to the print data of the first page, it is possible to adjust the cutout position of the paper to the position of the cutter 111 only by performing the paper conveyance performed between each scan in multi-pass printing. Can be.

Assuming that the number of passes in the multi-pass printing is P and the nozzle array width in the print head is X, the minimum value K _MIN of the area of blank data can be expressed by K _MIN = X / P−2W. .

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the cutting position of the paper matches the position of the cutter when scanning is not performed during each scan in multi-pass printing. The paper can be separated without performing special conveyance.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 10 is a block diagram mainly showing a control configuration of a printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, the same elements as those shown in FIGS. Are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. The first
The second embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that a character generator ROM (CGROM 112) is provided. The CGROM 112 stores character fonts to be used for printing, and the stored font data is read by the CPU 101 as needed, expanded into the RAM 103, and generated as print data.

In the present embodiment, in place of the blank data shown in each of the above-described embodiments, accompanying information relating to the image to be printed, for example, the file name when the image data is an image file, In the case of photographing data of a photograph, photographing data (date and time, photographing conditions, etc.) is printed.

Specifically, in the transmission of the print setting command described in FIG. 4 (step S101), the above-described accompanying information setting command is transmitted. The data sent by this is a character code in the present embodiment, and this data is held in the RAM 103 of the printer. When the printer receives the continuous print instruction command (step S106) transmitted at the time of page switching as described above, font data corresponding to the character code is read from the CGROM 112, print data is created from the font data, and the host computer issues the print data. The print data is added to the transmitted print data and stored in the print buffer.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a print example, in which an image file name is printed.

As an example of an image printed on each page, there is an image as shown in FIG. In this case, when transmitting the image data, data as shown in FIG. 12B can be used as data instead of blank data. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, decoration can be added to a printed matter as a print result, and by appropriately selecting arbitrary image data to be inserted,
It is also possible to make the inserted image function as a simple decorative print.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When printing based on print data of a predetermined unit such as for each page, by adding data after the print data of the predetermined unit, a blank portion between pages, etc.
Also for an area printing operation including at least an area other than the printing area based on the predetermined unit of print data, the printing medium is transported by the same transport amount as the predetermined transport amount performed by the transport unit in printing based on the predetermined unit of print data. Therefore, when printing based on continuous predetermined units of print data is performed, a transfer performed along with a normal print operation without performing a special print medium transfer operation between print operations based on the print data. If the print medium is cut every time printing is performed in a predetermined unit of print data, normal printing is performed without performing a special print medium transport operation for adjusting the separation position of the print medium to the cut position. What is necessary is just to perform the conveyance performed with an operation | movement.

As a result, it is possible to prevent, with simple control, an increase in the printing time caused by the operation of transporting the print medium performed every time printing of a predetermined unit of print data is performed using continuous paper such as roll paper. Becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of an inkjet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a print output example when printing is performed using roll paper in the printer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a printing operation when printing is performed on roll paper by a conventional printing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating print control by a host computer of the printer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a printing process of a printer corresponding to printing control by the host computer.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a printing operation by print control of the printer shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a result of a printing operation by print control of the printer shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of an inkjet printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a recording head and a cutting device for printing paper in the printer according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of an inkjet printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a print output example using roll paper in the printer of the third embodiment.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating another example of print image data and arbitrary data to be inserted in the printer according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a print output example of the data illustrated in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining a multi-pass printing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 Interface (I / F) 105 EEPROM 106 Motor controller 107 Head controller 108 Various motors 109 Recording head 110 Paper separation control unit 111 Cutter 112 CGROM

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for printing on a print medium conveyed by a printhead using a printhead having a plurality of print elements arranged therein, the printhead being configured to execute a printing operation based on print data in a predetermined unit. Transport means for transporting a predetermined amount of print medium associated with the print element array width of the printing element; and performing a printing operation on an area on the print medium including at least an area other than a print area based on the predetermined unit of print data. Control means for controlling to execute, by adding data to the print data in the predetermined unit, the printing operation is also performed with the conveyance of the predetermined amount of the print medium by the conveyance means; and A printing device comprising: 2. The control unit according to claim 2, wherein the control unit adds data unrelated to the two units of print data as the data between two consecutive units of the predetermined unit of print data. Executing printing based on continuous two-unit print data in two areas sandwiching a print area of data unrelated to the two-unit print data with the conveyance of the predetermined amount of print medium; The printing device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adds the predetermined unit of print data to be continuously printed as the data after the predetermined unit of print data, so that the control unit is configured to perform printing based on the continuous two units of print data. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed on two regions sandwiching a boundary with the conveyance of the predetermined amount of the print medium. 4. The printing apparatus further includes a device for cutting out a print medium, wherein the control unit prints the two-unit print data as the data between two consecutive print data of the predetermined unit of print data. By adding data unrelated to data, a print operation is performed on an area including at least an area other than a print area based on the predetermined unit of print data on the print medium, and the print operation is performed in accordance with the print operation. By transporting a predetermined amount of the print medium,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cutting position of each printing area based on a unit of print data is matched with a cutting position by the cutting apparatus. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit scans a print medium with respect to a print medium to perform printing. The printing unit scans the print head n times and uses the transport unit during the n times of scanning. 2. The printing of a scanning area having a width of 1 / n is performed by a different printing element by performing conveyance of an amount of 1 / n of an arrangement width of a plurality of printing elements in a print head. 5. The printing device according to any one of claims 4 to 4. 6. The printing method according to claim 2, wherein the data irrelevant to the two units of printing data is blank data that does not drive a printing element of a printing head. apparatus. 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording element includes a nozzle for discharging ink. 8. The printing device according to claim 7, wherein the recording element generates bubbles in the ink by using thermal energy, and discharges the ink from the nozzle by the pressure of the bubbles.
A printing device according to claim 1. 9. A print control method for printing on a print medium conveyed by a printhead using a printhead having a plurality of print elements arranged therein, wherein the print operation is performed based on print data of a predetermined unit. Providing a transport unit for transporting a predetermined amount of print medium associated with the print element array width of the print head; and at least including an area other than a print area based on the predetermined unit of print data on the print medium. Controlling the execution of the printing operation on the area, and by adding data to the printing data in the predetermined unit, the conveyance of the predetermined amount of the printing medium by the conveyance unit also in the printing operation. And a control step to be executed in conjunction with the print control method. 10. The control step includes adding, as the data, data unrelated to the two units of print data between two consecutive units of the predetermined unit of print data. Executing printing based on continuous two-unit print data in two areas sandwiching a print area of data unrelated to the two-unit print data with the conveyance of the predetermined amount of print medium; The print control method according to claim 9, wherein: 11. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the print data of the predetermined unit to be continuously printed as the data is added after the print data of the predetermined unit, so that the print data is based on the continuous print data of the two units. The print control method according to claim 9, wherein printing is performed on two regions sandwiching a boundary with the conveyance of the predetermined amount of the print medium. 12. The print control method further comprises the step of preparing an apparatus for cutting out a print medium, wherein the control step includes the step of storing the data between two consecutive print data of the predetermined unit of print data. By adding data unrelated to the two units of print data,
A print operation is performed on an area including at least an area other than a print area based on the print data of the predetermined unit on the print medium, and the predetermined amount of the print medium is conveyed along with the print operation, whereby the print medium is printed. The print control method according to claim 9, wherein a cut position of each print area based on two units of print data is matched with a cut position by the cut device. 13. The printing control method according to claim 1, wherein the printing is performed by causing a recording head to scan a printing medium.
The number of scans of the print head and the transport of the print head by 1 / n of the array width of the plurality of print elements in the print head during the n scans.
13. The printing control method according to claim 9, wherein printing of a scanning area having a width of / n is performed using different recording elements. 14. The printing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the data not related to the two units of print data is blank data that does not drive a print element of a print head.
3. The print control method according to any one of 3. 15. The print control method according to claim 9, wherein said recording element includes a nozzle for discharging ink. 16. The printing control method according to claim 15, wherein the recording element generates bubbles in the ink using thermal energy, and discharges the ink from the nozzles by the pressure of the bubbles.