JP2003063078A - Printer, pattern printing method, computer program, recording medium, and computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer, a pattern printing method, a computer program, a recording medium, and a computer system, which can realize the easy correction of the feed of a printing material. SOLUTION: In this printer, a pre-feed pattern is printed on the printing material by a print head so as to correct the feed of the printing material; and after the printing material is fed in a prescribed quantity, a post-feed pattern is printed on the printing material by the print head. The printer is characterized in that a mark, which indicates a starting position of a boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern, and a mark, which indicates an ending position of the boundary, are printed on the printing material by the print head.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing device, a pattern printing method, a computer program, a recording medium, and a computer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an output device of a computer, an ink jet printer, a laser printer or the like, which ejects ink from a head and prints on various kinds of materials to be printed, is widely used. In recent years, color printers using color ink have been widely used.

Various types of printed materials for printers are commercially available, and the type of the printed material affects the accuracy of the sub-scan feed (also referred to as "paper feed") of the printed material. For example, the printed material having a slippery surface and the printed material having a slippery surface may have considerably different actual feed amounts even if the same feeding operation is performed. Further, the paper feeding accuracy tends to vary considerably from printer to printer.

Since the paper feed accuracy has a great influence on the quality of the image quality, the paper feed error is directly corrected by the supplier before the printer is shipped or by the user after the printer is shipped.

The correction is performed as follows, for example. First, several test patterns with different paper feed amounts are printed. When the paper feed amount is appropriate, the test pattern is a clean pattern without image quality deterioration. However, if the paper feed amount is insufficient, the pattern will be overwritten, resulting in a pattern with black stripes.If the paper feed amount is too large, white stripes will occur because the pattern will not be written. It becomes a pattern with.
The user or the like selects the test pattern with the highest image quality from these plural test patterns, and the paper feed amount corresponding to the selected pattern is stored in the printer or computer. Then, the paper feed amount is applied during the subsequent printing.

By the way, in order for a user or the like to select a test pattern having the highest image quality from a plurality of test patterns, it is necessary to determine whether or not a black stripe or a white stripe is generated. Since the test pattern written based on the paper feed amount that greatly deviates from the appropriate paper feed amount has black stripes or white stripes that appear in a wide range, the user or the like can determine whether black stripes or white stripes have occurred. It is easy, but it is difficult to determine the most suitable pattern from several test patterns written based on the paper feed amount that is slightly different from the appropriate paper feed amount.

In this case, since it is difficult for the user or the like to directly specify the position where the black streak or the white streak is generated, the black on the test pattern having the black streak or the white streak appearing in the wide range is black. Predict from the position of the streak or white streak, identify the position where the black streak or white streak should appear, and apply a few test patterns written based on the paper feed amount slightly deviated from the appropriate paper feed amount. You will carefully compare the positions and determine the most appropriate pattern.

Thus, in order to specify the position where the black stripes or the white stripes should appear on the several test patterns written based on the paper feed amount slightly deviated from the appropriate paper feed amount, it is obvious It is inefficient to look at a test pattern that has a wide range of black or white lines that cannot be selected. In order to eliminate this, a measure that enables the position where the black stripes or the white stripes are generated to be specified directly is desired.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that realizes easy correction of the feed amount of a printing medium, It is to realize a pattern printing method, a computer program, a recording medium, and a computer system.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to correct the feeding amount of an object to be printed, a main feature of the present invention is to print a pre-feed pattern on the object to be printed by a print head and feed the object to be printed by a predetermined amount. After that, in a printing apparatus that prints a post-feed pattern on the printing medium by the print head, a mark indicating a start position of a boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern and a mark indicating an end position of the boundary are provided. The printing apparatus prints on the printing medium by the printing head.

Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS At least the following will be made clear by the description in the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

In order to correct the feed amount of the printing medium, a pre-feed pattern is printed on the printing medium by the print head,
In a printing device that prints a post-feed pattern on the print target by the print head after feeding the print target by a predetermined amount, a mark indicating a start position of a boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern. A printing apparatus, wherein a mark indicating an end position of the boundary is printed on the printing medium by the printing head.

The mark indicating the start position of the boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern and the mark indicating the end position of the border are printed on the printing medium by the print head, so that the user can test the test pattern. And the like become clear, and the user or the like can easily select an appropriate test pattern.

In order to correct the feed amount of the printing medium, a pre-feed pattern is printed on the printing medium by the print head,
In a printing apparatus that prints a post-feed pattern on the print target by the print head after feeding the print target by a predetermined amount, a start position of the pre-feed pattern and a start position of the post-feed pattern in a main scanning direction. And at least one of the end position of the pre-feed pattern and the end position of the post-feed pattern are different positions.

At least one of a start position of the pre-feed pattern and a start position of the post-feed pattern, and an end position of the pre-feed pattern and an end position of the post-feed pattern in the main scanning direction are different from each other. As a result, the portion of the test pattern that the user or the like should pay attention to is clear, and the user or the like can easily select an appropriate test pattern.

Further, the pre-feed dots which are recorded on the print medium by the print head and which form the pre-feed pattern, and the pre-feed dots are recorded on the print medium by the print head,
The pre-feed dots and the post-feed dots may be recorded so that the post-feed dots forming the post-feed pattern are aligned in the main scanning direction.

In this case, in a test pattern or the like in which the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern overlap each other, the dots before the feed and the dots after the feed surely overlap each other. Becomes clear,
The user or the like can easily select an appropriate test pattern.

It is also possible to eject ink from the print head to print the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern on the printing medium.

In the so-called ink jet type printing apparatus for printing by ejecting ink from the print head,
In particular, since it is required to improve the image quality of the printing result, the merit of the above means for simplifying the correction of the feed amount of the printing medium becomes greater.

In order to correct the feed amount of the printing medium, the printing head prints a pre-feeding pattern on the printing medium, the printing medium is fed by a predetermined amount, and the printing head prints the pattern. A pattern printing method including a step of printing a post-feed pattern on a body, the print head including a mark indicating a start position of a boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern and a mark indicating an end position of the boundary. A method for printing a pattern, comprising:

The mark indicating the start position of the boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern and the mark indicating the end position of the border are printed on the printing medium by the print head, so that the user can test the test pattern. And the like become clear, and the user or the like can easily select an appropriate test pattern.

In order to correct the feeding amount of the printing medium, the printing head prints a pre-feed pattern on the printing medium, the feeding of the printing medium by a predetermined amount, and the printing head prints the pattern. A step of printing a post-feed pattern on the body, in the main scanning direction, the start position of the pre-feed pattern and the start position of the post-feed pattern, and the end position of the pre-feed pattern and the End position of the pattern after feeding,
A pattern printing method, characterized in that at least one of the above is set at a different position.

At least one of the start position of the pre-feed pattern and the start position of the post-feed pattern, and the end position of the pre-feed pattern and the end position of the post-feed pattern in the main scanning direction are different positions. As a result, the portion of the test pattern that the user or the like should pay attention to is clear, and the user or the like can easily select an appropriate test pattern.

It is also possible to realize a computer program for causing a printing apparatus to execute the above pattern printing method. It is also possible to realize a computer-readable recording medium in which a computer program for causing the printing apparatus to execute the above pattern printing method is recorded.

A computer device, a display device, and
Input device, flexible drive device, CD-RO
It is also possible to realize a computer system having an M drive device and the above printing device.

=== Overall Configuration of Apparatus === FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing system as an embodiment of the present invention. This printing system includes a computer 90 and a color inkjet printer 20 as an example of a printing device. The printer 2
A printing system including 0 and the computer 90 can also be called a “printing device” in a broad sense. Although not shown, a computer system includes a computer 90, the color inkjet printer 20, a display device such as a CRT 21 and a liquid crystal display device, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, a flexible drive device, and a CD-ROM drive device. Has been built.

In the computer 90, the application program 9 is executed under a predetermined operating system.
5 is working. A video driver 91 and a printer driver 96 are incorporated in the operating system, and the print data PD to be transferred to the printer 20 is output from the application program 95 via these drivers. An application program 95 for retouching an image performs desired processing on an image to be processed, and also a video driver 91.
An image is displayed on the CRT 21 via.

When the application program 95 issues a print command, the printer driver 9 of the computer 90
6 receives the image data from the application program 95 and converts it into print data PD to be supplied to the printer 20. Inside the printer driver 96, a resolution conversion module 97, a color conversion module 98,
Halftone module 99 and riser riser 100
And a user interface display module 101,
A test pattern supply module 102 and a color conversion lookup table LUT are provided.

The resolution conversion module 97 plays a role of converting the resolution of the color image data formed by the application program 95 into the print resolution. The image data whose resolution has been converted in this way is still image information composed of three color components of RGB. Color conversion module 98
Refers to the color conversion lookup table LUT,
The RGB image data is converted into multi-tone data of a plurality of ink colors that can be used by the printer 20 for each pixel.

The color-converted multi-tone data is, for example, 25
It has 6 gradation values. The halftone module 99 executes so-called halftone processing to generate halftone image data. The halftone image data is sorted by the rasterizer 100 in the order of data to be transferred to the printer 20, and the final print data PD
Is output as. The print data PD includes raster data indicating the dot formation state during each main scan and data indicating the sub-scan feed amount. The halftone process may not be executed, as described later.

User interface display module 1
01 has a function of displaying various user interface windows related to printing, and a function of receiving user input in those windows.

The test pattern supply module 102
The test pattern print signal TPS used to determine the correction value of the sub-scan feed amount (also referred to as “paper feed amount”) for feeding the paper as an example of the printing medium is read from the hard disk 92 and supplied to the printer 20. It has a function to do. Also, when the test pattern print signal TPS is stored as compressed data, it has a function of expanding the compressed data.

The printer driver 96 sends the print data PD and the test pattern print signal TPS to the printer 20.
It realizes the function to supply to. The program for realizing the functions of the printer driver 96 is supplied in the form recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. As such a recording medium, a flexible disk or a C
A computer such as a D-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, an IC card, a ROM cartridge, a punched card, a printed matter on which codes such as a bar code are printed, an internal storage device (memory such as RAM or ROM) of the computer, or an external storage device is used. A variety of readable media are available. It is also possible to download such a computer program to the computer 90 via the Internet.

The computer 90 equipped with the printer driver 96 uses the print data PD and the test pattern print signal T.
It functions as a print control device that supplies PS to the printer 20 to perform printing.

FIG. 2 shows a color ink jet printer 2.
It is a schematic perspective view which shows the main structures of 0. The printer 20 includes a paper stacker 22, a paper feed roller 24 driven by a step motor (not shown), a platen 26,
A carriage 28, a carriage motor 30, a towing belt 32 driven by the carriage motor 30,
And a guide rail 34 for the carriage 28. A print head 36 having a large number of nozzles is mounted on the carriage 28.

The printing paper P is wound from the paper stacker 22 by the paper feeding roller 24 and is fed on the surface of the platen 26 in the sub scanning direction. The carriage 28 is pulled by the pull belt 32 driven by the carriage motor 30 and moves along the guide rail 34 in the main scanning direction. The main scanning direction is perpendicular to the sub scanning direction.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of the ink jet printer 20. This printer 20
Is a reception buffer memory 50 that receives signals supplied from the computer 90, an image buffer 52 that stores print data, a system controller 54 that controls the overall operation of the printer 20, a main memory 56, and E
And an EPROM 58. The system controller 54 is further connected to a main scanning drive circuit 61 that drives the carriage motor 30, a sub-scanning drive circuit 62 that drives the paper feed motor 31, and a head drive circuit 63 that drives the print head 36. .

The main scanning drive circuit 61, the carriage motor 30, the traction belt 32 (FIG. 2), and the guide rail 34.
Constitutes a main scanning drive mechanism. Further, the sub-scanning drive circuit 62, the paper feed motor 31, the paper feed roller 24
(FIG. 2) is a sub-scanning drive mechanism (also called a "feed mechanism").
Are configured.

The print data transferred from the computer 90 is temporarily stored in the reception buffer memory 50. In the printer 20, the system controller 54 reads necessary information from the print data from the reception buffer memory 50, and based on this, the drive circuits 61, 62,
A control signal is sent to 63.

The image buffer 52 stores print data of a plurality of color components received by the reception buffer memory 50. The head drive circuit 63 receives the image buffer 52 according to the control signal from the system controller 54.
The print data of each color component is read out from, and the nozzle array of each color provided in the print head 36 is driven accordingly.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the sub-scanning drive mechanism. The power of the paper feed motor 31 is the gear train 4
It is transmitted to the paper feed roller 24 and the paper discharge roller 42 via 0. The paper feed roller 24 is provided with a driven roller 25, and the paper discharge roller 42 is also provided with a serrated roller 44 as a driven roller thereof. The printing paper P is sent while being nipped by these rollers and moves on the platen 26.

A code plate 46a is provided on the shaft of the paper feed roller 24.
A rotary encoder 46 including a photo sensor 46b and a photo sensor 46b is provided. The paper feed amount is determined according to the pulse signal from the rotary encoder 46.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the nozzle arrangement on the lower surface of the print head 36. This print head 36
It has a black nozzle row and a color nozzle row that are respectively arranged on a straight line along the sub-scanning direction SS. In the present specification, the “nozzle row” is also referred to as a “nozzle group”.

The number of black nozzle rows (shown by white circles) is 18
It has zero nozzles # 1 to # 180. These nozzles # 1 to # 180 are arranged at a constant nozzle pitch k · D along the sub-scanning direction. Here, D is a dot pitch in the sub-scanning direction SS, and k is an integer. The dot pitch D in the sub-scanning direction is also equal to the pitch of the main scanning line (raster line). In the following, the nozzle pitch k
The integer k representing D is simply referred to as "nozzle pitch k". The unit of the nozzle pitch k is "dot", which means the dot pitch in the sub-scanning direction.

In the example of FIG. 5, the nozzle pitch k is 4 dots. However, the nozzle pitch k can be set to an arbitrary integer.

The color nozzle row is a yellow nozzle group Y.
(Shown by white triangles), a magenta nozzle group M (shown by black squares), and a cyan nozzle group C (shown by white diamonds). In this specification, the nozzle group for chromatic color ink is also referred to as a “chromatic color nozzle group”. Each chromatic color nozzle group has 60 nozzles # 1 to # 60. The nozzle pitch of the chromatic color nozzle group is the same as the nozzle pitch k of the black nozzle row. The nozzles of the chromatic color nozzle group are arranged at the same sub-scanning positions as the nozzles of the black nozzle row.

During printing, ink droplets are ejected from each nozzle while the print head 36 moves together with the carriage 28 (FIG. 2) in the main scanning direction at a constant speed. However,
Depending on the printing method, not all nozzles are always used, and only some nozzles may be used.

In black and white printing, almost all 180 black nozzles are used. On the other hand, in color printing, 60 nozzles are used for each CMY color, and 60 black nozzles are also used. The 60 black nozzles used in color printing are nozzles # 121 to # 180 arranged at the same sub-scanning position as the 60 cyan nozzles, for example.

=== General Procedure of Paper Feed Correction === As described below, the paper feed error can be corrected before the printer 20 is shipped, and can be corrected by the user after the shipment.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure of paper feed correction before the printer 20 is shipped. In step S1, the type of print paper (print medium) scheduled to be used in the printer 20 is sequentially selected. Examples of types of printing paper include plain paper, glossy film, photo paper, and roll-type photo paper. In step S2, the selected printing paper is set in the printer 20, and
Print a predetermined test pattern.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the test pattern. In this example, a test pattern including three color patches having different paper feed correction values δ is shown. The patch number printed next to each color patch is associated with the paper feed correction value δ in advance. However, the paper feed correction value δ
Is only written for convenience, and may not actually be printed.

Each color patch is a gray patch in which a gray area having a uniform density is reproduced by composite black using CMY ink. Such a gray patch reflects both the paper feed error and the dot position error of each color. The image quality of an actual printed matter affects not only the paper feed error but also the dot position error of each color. Therefore, from the viewpoint of improving the image quality, it is preferable to use a gray patch reproduced in composite black as a test pattern. However, various patterns other than this can be used as the test pattern, and for example, it is also possible to use other types of color patches, patches reproduced only with black ink, and the like. The details of the test pattern that produces the effect described in the outline of the above disclosure and the method of creating the test pattern will be described later.

In the present specification, "composite black" means a gray color reproduced by using inks of three hues of CMY, and even if reproduced by using three or more kinds of inks. Good. For example, when dark and light inks are available for cyan and magenta, respectively, it is also possible to reproduce composite black using these four types of ink and five types of yellow ink.

The main cause of the paper feed error in the printer 20 is the manufacturing error of the paper feed roller 24 (FIG. 4). This manufacturing error includes an outer diameter error and a surface roughness error. For example, if the outer diameter of the paper feed roller 24 is larger than the design value, the feeding error becomes positive, and if it is small, the feeding error becomes negative. In the present embodiment, the correction of the paper feed error due to the manufacturing error of the paper feed roller 24 is performed for each printer before shipping. Therefore, even if the tolerance of the paper feed roller 24 is set to be slightly large, the paper feed error during actual printing can be made almost zero. In addition, since the yield of the paper feed roller 24 increases as the tolerance for the manufacturing error of the paper feed roller 24 is relaxed, there is an advantage that the cost of the printer 20 decreases.

In step S3 of FIG. 6, the color patch with the highest image quality is selected from the plurality of printed color patches, and the patch number is assigned to EEPRO of the printer 20.
Set in M58 (FIG. 3). In the example of FIG. 7, white streaks are generated in the uppermost color patch, and black streaks are generated in the lowermost test pattern. Therefore, the patch number of the central color patch without such image quality deterioration is stored in the EEPROM 58. It should be noted that the paper feed correction value set by the inspection before shipment is called a "reference correction value".

The white stripes and the black stripes are sometimes called banding. Where "banding"
Means a streak-like image deterioration portion along the main scanning direction.

In step S4, all the printing papers scheduled to be used in the printer 20 are processed in step S1.
~ It is determined whether or not S3 is completed, and if not completed, the process returns to step S1. Here, "all printing papers scheduled to be used in the printer 20" mean, for example, paper types that the user can select in the property window of the printer driver 96 (FIG. 1). Thus
Paper feed reference correction values are set for all types of printing paper.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the procedure of paper feed correction by the user. In step S11, the user selects the type of print paper, and in step S12, a test pattern is printed by inputting a test pattern print command. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the user interface window W1 that allows the user to print a test pattern. This window W1 is
This is a utility window in the printer properties, and is provided with a button B1 for inputting a print instruction of a paper feed adjustment test pattern. When the user clicks the button B1, the test pattern supply module 102 (FIG. 1) reads the test pattern print signal TPS from the hard disk 92 and supplies it to the printer 20, and the printer 20 prints the test pattern accordingly. This test pattern may be the same as the test pattern (FIG. 7) used in the paper feed correction before shipping,
Alternatively, a different test pattern may be used. In the present embodiment, the test pattern shown in FIG. 7 is also used in the paper feed correction by the user.

In step S13 of FIG. 8, the color patch with the highest image quality is selected from the plurality of printed color patches, and the patch number is set. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user interface window W2 that allows the user to set a preferable patch number.
This window W2 is used for the user interface display module 101 when the test pattern is printed.
(Fig. 1) automatically displays. The window W2 is provided with a plurality of buttons B11 to B13 for selecting a preferable patch number. When the user clicks any of these buttons B11-B13, the preferred patch number is the EEPROM of printer 20.
58 (FIG. 3).

The patch number is set in step S3 of FIG.
EEP as a substitute for the reference correction value set in
It may be registered in the ROM 58, or may be registered in the EEPROM 58 as a value for further correcting the reference correction value. Further, the patch number indicating the feed correction value by the user is not the EEPROM 58 but the printer driver 9
6 may be registered.

In step S14 of FIG. 8, actual printing is executed according to the user's instruction. At this time, the operation of the paper feed motor 31 (FIG. 3) is controlled according to the paper feed correction value set in step S13.

=== Test Pattern for Improving Visibility === FIG. 11 to FIG. 13 illustrate examples of test patterns that achieve the effects described in the outline of the above disclosure. As will be described later, these test patterns improve the visibility of the test pattern to the user, that is,
The part of the test pattern that the user or the like should pay attention to becomes clear, and the user or the like can easily select an appropriate test pattern.

In addition, in FIG. 11 to FIG.
Although the figure corresponding to the figure of patch number = 2 (the figure in the middle) is shown, the same applies to those corresponding to the other figures of FIG. 7. A specific method of creating a test pattern will be described later.

FIG. 11 shows marks indicating the start and end positions of the boundary between the pre-feed pattern before feeding a predetermined amount of paper and the post-feed pattern after feeding a predetermined amount of paper, which is an example of a printing medium. It is an example of a printed test pattern. The upper side of the line connecting the left and right arrows corresponds to the pattern before feeding, and the lower side corresponds to the pattern after feeding.

In the drawing, an arrow is shown as an example of the mark, but the mark may not be an arrow as long as it shows the start position and the end position of the boundary of the pattern.
In the case of an arrow, FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B
The shape of the arrow may be any as shown in FIG.

In this specification, the term "boundary" means
This is a broad concept including the boundary when the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern overlap or are separated. That is, the entire black streak part or the white streak part described above is
Each is a boundary when the patterns overlap or when the patterns are separated.

In this way, by printing the mark indicating the start position of the boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern and the mark indicating the end position of the boundary on the printing medium by the print head, The part that the user or the like should pay attention to in the test pattern becomes clear. That is,
If the feeding amount of the printed material is not appropriate, white stripes or black stripes are indicated by the marks such as arrows, so the user does not have to look over the entire test pattern and look only at the parts indicated by the marks. This makes it possible to easily select an appropriate test pattern.

FIG. 12 shows the start position of the pre-feed pattern before feeding a predetermined amount of paper, the start position of the post-feed pattern after feeding a predetermined amount of paper, and the end position of the pre-feed pattern in the main scanning direction. 7 shows an example of a test pattern in which at least one of the following positions and the end position of the post-feed pattern is set to a different position.

The patterns shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B are examples in which both the start position and the end position are different positions. In FIG. 12A, the position of the post-feed pattern is shifted to the right of the position of the pre-feed pattern at both the start position and the end position. On the other hand, FIG.
In the above, the start position of the post-feed pattern is shifted to the right of the start position of the pre-feed pattern, and the end position of the post-feed pattern is shifted to the left of the end position of the pre-feed pattern. Although not shown, in the example of FIG. 12A, the position of the post-feed pattern may be shifted to the left of the position of the pre-feed pattern, or in the example of FIG. It is also possible to shift to the left from the start position of the pre-feed pattern and shift the end position of the post-feed pattern to the right side of the end position of the pre-feed pattern.

The pattern shown in FIG. 12C is an example in which one of the start position and the end position is different. In FIG. 12C, the start position of the post-feed pattern is shifted to the right of the start position of the pre-feed pattern, but the end positions of both patterns match. Although not shown, in the example of FIG. 12C, the start position of the post-feed pattern may be shifted to the left of the start position of the pre-feed pattern. Further, instead of the start position, the end position of the post-feed pattern may be shifted to the right or left of the end position of the pre-feed pattern.

As described above, at least one of the start position of the pre-feed pattern and the start position of the post-feed pattern, and the end position of the pre-feed pattern and the end position of the post-feed pattern in the main scanning direction. By setting one of them at a different position, the portion of the test pattern that the user or the like should pay attention to becomes clear. In other words, when the feeding amount of the printed material is not appropriate, the portion where white or black lines are generated is indicated by the so-called "deviation" between the pattern before feeding and the pattern after feeding, so the user etc. need to look over the entire test pattern. Instead, it is possible to easily select an appropriate test pattern by looking only at the portion indicated by the "shift".

FIG. 13 shows dots before feeding which are recorded on the paper as an example of the printing medium by the print head to form a pattern before feeding and dots after feeding which are recorded on the paper by the print head to form a pattern after feeding. It is an example of a test pattern in which dots are recorded so that the positions in the main scanning direction are aligned. The figure shown in the lower part of FIG. 13 (lower left and lower right) corresponds to this example. The upper part (upper left and upper right) of FIG. 13 shows an example of a test pattern in which the positions of the dots before feeding and the dots after feeding are not aligned in the main scanning direction. It is described for comparison with the figure shown in the lower right).

The left (upper left and lower left) figure shows a test pattern in which the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern do not overlap, and the right (upper right and lower right) figure shows a test pattern in which the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern overlap. It shows a pattern.
That is, the left diagram corresponds to the patch number = 2 diagram in FIG. 7 (middle diagram), and the right diagram corresponds to the patch number = 3 diagram in FIG. 7 (lower diagram). There is.

Attention is now paid to the figures on the right (upper right and lower right). The test pattern shown in the lower right figure is the dot before feeding,
Since the dots are recorded so that the positions of the post-feed dots in the main scanning direction are aligned, in the test pattern in which the pre-feed patterns and the post-feed patterns overlap, the pre-feed dots and the post-feed dots overlap at the boundary. Become. This point is different from the test pattern shown in the upper right diagram in which the dots before feeding and the dots after feeding do not overlap at the boundary.

As described above, in the test pattern shown in the lower right diagram, the dots before feeding and the dots after feeding surely overlap each other, so that the overlapped portion becomes dark in color and the black stripes are emphasized. . Therefore, in the test pattern shown in the lower right diagram, the part that the user or the like should pay attention to becomes clear, and the user or the like can easily select an appropriate test pattern.

In FIG. 13, dots other than the part where the pre-feed dot and the post-feed dot overlap at the boundary are recorded so that the pre-feed dot and the post-feed dot are aligned in the main scanning direction. However, it is sufficient to record the dots so that the pre-feed dots and the post-feed dots are aligned in the main scanning direction at the boundary where the pre-feed dots and the post-feed dots overlap.

=== Example of Paper Feed for Printing Test Pattern === FIG. 14 shows step 2 in FIG. 6 and step S1 in FIG.
2 shows an example of paper feeding used when printing a test pattern. Here, the positions of the print head 36 in the sub-scanning direction in the five passes of pass 1 to pass 5 are shown. Here, "pass" means one main scan. Note that in FIG. 14, the number of nozzles of the print head 36 is small for convenience of illustration,
The number of black nozzles (indicated by white circles) is nine, and the number of chromatic color nozzles for one color is three. Also,
Since the gray patch of composite black shown in FIG. 7 is reproduced, nine black nozzles are not used. In other words, three nozzles are used for each of the three colors of CMY.

Here, since the nozzle pitch k is 4 dots, there is a gap of 3 lines between the raster lines (main scanning lines) recorded in one pass. Paths 1, 2, 3
The subsequent paper feed amounts F1, F2, and F3 are each 1 dot. Therefore, in passes 2 to 4, three lines in the gap that were not recorded in pass 1 are recorded. At the right end of FIG. 14, the raster line positions recorded in passes 1 to 4 are shown. As you can see, in passes 1-4,
Twelve consecutive lines are printed with one color of ink. Here, 12 lines recorded in yellow are referred to as "yellow color band YCB". Similarly,
The 12 lines recorded in magenta are called "magenta color band MCB", and the 12 lines recorded in cyan are called "cyan color band CCB". These color bands are the same as raster lines printed in one pass using a virtual dense nozzle row having 12 nozzles in which the nozzle pitch k is arranged at 1 dot for each ink. In other words, passes 1 to 4 are equivalent to one pass using the dense nozzle row as shown at the right end of FIG.

The paper feed amount F4 after pass 4 is 9 dots, and by this paper feed, the nozzle at the upper end of the yellow nozzle of the print head 36 is positioned at the uppermost end of the area where no yellow dot is recorded. . The same applies to the nozzles at the upper ends of other inks. Such a recording method is shown in FIG.
It can be understood that it is substantially equivalent to the recording method in which the virtual dense nozzle row shown at the right end of is used to feed the paper by the band width Lc1 of one color for each pass. Therefore, the paper feeding as shown in FIG. 14 is called “pseudo band feeding”.

The feed amount F4 after pass 4 is equal to the value obtained by subtracting the total value (= 3 dots) of the feed amounts F1 to F3 of the preceding three times from the band width Lc1 for one color. Therefore, the total ΣFi of the four feeding amounts F1 to F4 is equal to the band width Lc1 for one color. The band width Lc1 for one color
Is equal to the range of one chromatic nozzle row, which is also equal to the value N × k (= 12) obtained by multiplying the number of nozzles N (= 3) by the nozzle pitch k (= 4).

FIG. 15 shows an example of the paper feed amount used for printing using the print head 36 shown in FIG. FIG. 15A is an example of pseudo band feed. As described above, in the color mode, the feed amounts F1 to F3 are three times.
Is 1 dot, and the fourth feed amount F4 is 9 dots. The total of these four feeding amounts F1 to F4 is equal to the band width N × k (= 12) for one color. The number N of paper nozzles for one color is three.

In the monochrome mode of FIG. 15A, nine black nozzles are used. Three feeds F1 to F
3 is 1 dot, and the fourth feed amount F4 is 33 dots. The total of these four feed amounts F1 to F4 is
It is equal to the band width N × k (= 36) of the black nozzle.

FIG. 15B shows an example of the paper feed amount when the nozzle pitch k = 1, that is, when the pseudo band feed is not performed. In the example of FIG. 15B, since k = 1, the number of nozzles N and the band width N × k are equal. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the above-described pseudo band feed, and the paper feed amount is 12 dots in the color mode and 36 dots in the monochrome mode.

FIG. 15C shows an example of the paper feed amount in which the pseudo band feed is not performed when the nozzle pitch k = 4. In the example of FIG. 15C, since k = 4, the number of nozzles N and the band width N × k are different. Nevertheless, similar to FIG. 12B, the pseudo band feed is not performed,
Since the paper feed amount is set to 12 dots in the color mode and 36 dots in the monochrome mode, as a matter of course, some lines are not printed. Therefore, the test pattern printed by such a method is slightly insufficient.

In the above description, the number of nozzles per color is N = 3 or 9 for the sake of convenience of description.
The number N of nozzles per color is several tens or more.

=== Method of Creating Test Pattern for Improving Visibility === FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a method of creating the test pattern shown in FIG.

In FIG. 16, a case will be described in which the paper feed corresponds to the color mode of the paper feed example 1 (k = 4) shown in FIG. 15A.

First, pass 1 is recorded (step G
1). As shown in FIG. 14, pass 1 is initially recorded in cyan. Each dot shown in FIG. 16 is a dot recorded in cyan here. Further, for the sake of convenience, the number of chromatic color nozzles for one color is three, so step G1
In, 3 lines are recorded, but it is not limited to 3 lines. Further, in FIG. 16, each line is formed by 4 dots, but this is not limited to 4 dots.

Next, the paper is fed one dot at a time, and pass 2
Records 4 to 4 (steps G2, G3, G4). Pass 2
In ~ 4, three lines of the gap which were not recorded in pass 1 are recorded. In addition, in these passes, dots are printed in order to write an arrow as an example of a mark indicating the start position and the end position of the boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern. Specifically, one dot at each of the illustrated positions on the left and right of the line printed in pass 2 (step G2),
One dot is printed at each of the positions shown on the left and right of the line printed at pass 3 (step G3), and 7 dots is printed at each of the positions shown on the left and right of the line printed at pass 4 (step G4). As can be seen from the figure, the mark composed of dots recorded in this way is in the upper half of the arrow. As described above, the marks indicating the start position and the end position of the boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern are not limited to the arrows, and even the arrows may have any form. Naturally, the dot recording method differs depending on the form of these marks.

Next, 9-dot paper feeding is performed, pass 5 is recorded (step G5), and then paper is fed dot by dot, and passes 6-8 are recorded (steps G6, G).
7, G8). In the present embodiment, the paper feed of 9 dots is the paper feed to be corrected, and the patterns obtained by passes 1 to 4 are the pre-feed patterns and the patterns obtained from passes 5 to 8 are the post-feed patterns. There is. And to write the arrow in pass 5-8, pass 1
The procedure is the reverse of ~ 4. Specifically, pass 5
Print 7 dots at the positions shown on the left and right of the line printed in (Step G5) and 1 dot at the positions shown on the left and right of the line printed in Pass 6 (Step G6) in the pass 7 (Step G7) Dots are recorded one by one at the positions shown on the left and right of the line to be formed. As can be seen from the figure, the mark composed of dots recorded in this way is in the lower half of the arrow.

The test pattern created in this way is the pattern shown in step G8 in the figure. As can be seen from the figure, arrows indicating the start position and the end position of the boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern are written.

Next, 9-dot paper feeding is performed, and the same dots as those described above are recorded with magenta. Further, after the recording, 9-dot paper feeding is performed, and similar dots are recorded in yellow. Although not shown, the procedure is 9 dot paper feed → pass 9 → 1 dot paper feed → pass 10 → 1 dot paper feed → pass 11 → 1 dot paper feed → pass 12 → 9 dot paper feed → pass 13 → 1 Dot paper feed → Pass 14 → 1 dot paper feed → Pass 15 → 1 dot paper feed → Pass 16 (end of magenta) → 9 dot paper feed → Pass 17 (Begin yellow) → 1 dot paper feed → Pass 18 → 1 dot paper Feed → Pass 19 → 1 dot paper feed → Pass 20 → 9 dot paper feed →
Path 21 → 1 dot paper feed → pass 22 → 1 dot paper feed → pass 23 → 1 dot paper feed → pass 24. As a result, a test pattern with a gray patch reproduced in composite black is created.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, FIG.
The case of performing paper feeding corresponding to the color mode of the paper feeding example 1 (k = 4) shown in (A) has been described. For example, the paper feeding example 1 (k = 4) shown in FIG. 15: A case of paper feeding corresponding to the monochrome mode of FIG.
A case in which k is an integer other than 4 in the paper feed example 1 illustrated in FIG. 15A and paper feed corresponding to a color or monochrome mode is performed, and the paper feed example 2 or the paper feed example illustrated in FIGS. Also in the case of paper feeding corresponding to the color or monochrome mode of No. 3, it is possible to write marks indicating the start position and the end position of the boundary between the pre-feed pattern and the post-feed pattern by the same method.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the procedure for writing the mark before and after feeding the pattern and the sequence is shown, but the order of writing the mark and the pattern is arbitrary. For example, it may be a procedure of writing the mark before and after feeding the mark after writing the mark, or may be a procedure of writing the mark after writing the before-and-after pattern.

Further, in the above embodiment, dots are recorded in the order of cyan → magenta → yellow in order to create a gray patch reproduced in composite black, but this order is also arbitrary.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the mark and the patterns before and after the feeding are formed by the gray patch reproduced in the composite black, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the mark may be created by a gray patch and the pre-feed and post-feed patterns may be created in monochrome, or the mark may be created in monochrome and the pre-feed and post-feed patterns may be created by gray patches. .

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing a method of creating the test pattern shown in FIG.

Also in FIG. 17, a case will be described in which the paper is fed in the color mode of the paper feeding example 1 (k = 4) shown in FIG. 15A.

First, pass 1 is recorded (step G1).
1). As shown in FIG. 14, pass 1 is initially recorded in cyan. Each dot shown in FIG. 17 is a dot recorded in cyan here. Further, for the sake of convenience, the number of chromatic color nozzles for one color is three, so step G1
Although 3 lines are recorded in No. 1, it is not limited to 3 lines. Further, in FIG. 17, each line is formed by 4 dots, but this is not limited to 4 dots.

Next, the paper is fed one dot at a time, and pass 2
Records 4 to 4 (steps G12, G13, G14).
In passes 2 to 4, 3 lines of the gap that were not recorded in pass 1 are recorded.

Next, 9-dot paper feed is performed, pass 5 is recorded (step G15), and then paper is fed dot by dot, and passes 6-8 are recorded (step G16, step G16).
G17, G18). In the present embodiment, the paper feed of 9 dots is the paper feed to be corrected, and the pass 1
The pattern obtained by ~ 4 is the pattern before sending, pass 5
The patterns obtained by 8 to 8 are post-feed patterns. In passes 5-8, lines are recorded in a manner similar to that already described for passes 1-4, but FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the line is recorded with the start position and end position of the line in the main scanning direction being delayed. In the present embodiment, lines are started to be written with a delay of 2 dots, 4 dots are recorded, and lines are written with a delay of 2 dots.

Next, 9-dot paper feeding is performed, the same dot recording as described above is performed with magenta, and further, after the above recording, 9-dot paper feeding is performed, and similar dot recording is performed with yellow. , Which is similar to that already described above in connection with FIG.

In the above embodiment, FIG.
The case of performing paper feeding corresponding to the color mode of the paper feeding example 1 (k = 4) shown in (A) has been described. For example, the paper feeding example 1 (k = 4) shown in FIG. 15: A case of paper feeding corresponding to the monochrome mode of FIG.
A case in which k is an integer other than 4 in the paper feed example 1 illustrated in FIG. 15A and paper feed corresponding to a color or monochrome mode is performed, and the paper feed example 2 or the paper feed example illustrated in FIGS. Also in the case of paper feeding corresponding to the color or monochrome mode of No. 3, it is possible to record the line by delaying the start position and the end position of the line in the main scanning direction by the same method.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, dots are recorded in the order of cyan → magenta → yellow in order to create a gray patch reproduced in composite black, but this order is arbitrary.

In the above embodiment, the start positions of all the lines forming the pre-feed pattern and the start positions of all the lines forming the post-feed pattern are different positions in the main scanning direction. The start positions of some lines may be different positions. The same applies to the end position.

The test pattern shown in FIG. 13 is
Generally, without performing the halftone processing described above,
It can be created by aligning the dot recording start position of the line before feeding composed of the dots before feeding and the dot recording start position of the line after feeding composed of the dots after feeding.

So far, patch number = 2 in FIG.
I explained mainly about the test pattern creation method that improves the visibility corresponding to the figure (center figure), but here,
An example of a test pattern creating method corresponding to the figure with patch number = 1 (upper figure) and the figure with patch number = 3 (lower figure) will be outlined.

The test patterns corresponding to the figures of patch numbers = 1 and 3 are realized by setting the dot recording method as described above and gradually changing the paper feed amount to be corrected. In the above embodiment, pass 4 and pass 1
2. Paper feed of 9 dots after pass 20 corresponds to “paper feed to be corrected”. The test pattern shown in the figure with patch number = 1 is created by slightly increasing the paper feed amount, and the test pattern shown in the figure with patch number = 3 is created by slightly reducing the paper feed amount.

The above-mentioned test pattern print signal TPS for each patch number indicates raster data indicating the dot recording method (in other words, dot formation state) and sub-scan feed amount during each main scan. It will be composed of data etc.

=== Variation Example === The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention. Such modifications are also possible.

Although the color ink jet printer has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention can be applied to a monochrome printer and also to a printer other than the ink jet system. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is generally applicable to a printing apparatus that records an image on a print medium, and is also applicable to, for example, a facsimile apparatus or a copying machine. However, in a so-called inkjet type printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink from the print head, it is particularly required to improve the image quality of the printing result, and thus the above-described means for simplifying the correction of the feed amount of the printing medium is used. The benefits will be greater.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the case where the print head 36 having the two-row structure of the black nozzle row and the color nozzle row is used has been described. It is also applicable to a print head in which all the nozzle rows are at the same position in the sub-scanning direction and are sequentially arranged in the main scanning direction.

In the above embodiment, the correction value is determined by one type of test pattern, but the correction value may be determined by using a plurality of types of test patterns. For example, a coarse correction value may be determined using the first test pattern for coarse adjustment, and a final fine correction value may be determined using the second test pattern for fine adjustment.

[0115]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a printing apparatus, a pattern printing method, a computer program, a recording medium, and a computer system, which can easily perform the correction of the feeding amount of the printing medium. Becomes

[0116]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing system as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a main configuration of a color inkjet printer 20.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printer 20.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a sub-scanning drive mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a nozzle array on the lower surface of the print head.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of paper feed correction before shipping the printer.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a test pattern.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of paper feed correction by a user.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user interface window W1 which allows a user to print a test pattern.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user interface window W2 that allows a user to set patch numbers.

FIG. 11 is a test in which marks indicating start and end positions of a boundary between a pre-feed pattern before feeding a predetermined amount of paper and a post-feed pattern after feeding a predetermined amount of paper are printed as an example of a printing medium. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a pattern.

FIG. 12 is a start position of a pre-feed pattern before feeding a predetermined amount of paper in the main scanning direction, a start position of a post-feed pattern after feeding a predetermined amount of paper, and an end position of the pre-feed pattern and the feed. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of the test pattern which made at least one of the end position of a back pattern a different position.

FIG. 13 shows pre-feed dots which are recorded on paper as an example of a printing medium by a print head to form a pre-feed pattern,
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a test pattern in which dots are recorded so that the positions in the main scanning direction are aligned with the post-feed dots that are recorded on the paper by the print head and that constitute the post-feed pattern.

FIG. 14 is step 2 of FIG. 6 and step S1 of FIG.
3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of paper feeding used when printing a test pattern in 2. FIG.

15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a paper feed amount used for printing using the print head shown in FIG.

16 is a flowchart showing a method of creating the test pattern shown in FIG.

17 is a flowchart showing a method of creating the test pattern shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 ... Color inkjet printer 21 ... CRT 22 ... Paper stacker 24: Paper feed roller 25: driven roller 26 ... Platen 28 ... Carriage 30 ... Carriage motor 31 ... Paper feed motor 32 ... traction belt 34 ... Guide rail 36 ... Print head 40 ... Gear train 42 ... Ejection roller 44 ... Giza Roller 46 ... Rotary encoder 46a ... Code plate 46b ... Photo sensor 50 ... Reception buffer memory 52 ... Image buffer 54 ... System controller 56 ... Main memory 58 ... EEPROM 61 ... Main scanning drive circuit 62 ... Sub-scanning drive circuit 63 ... Head drive circuit 90 ... Computer 91 ... Video driver 92 ... Hard disk 95 ... Application program 96 ... Printer driver 97 ... Resolution conversion module 98 ... Color conversion module 99 ... Halftone module 100 ... rasterizer 101 ... User interface display module 102 ... Test pattern supply module

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A printing head prints a pre-feed pattern on the printing medium to correct the feeding amount of the printing medium, and after feeding the printing medium by a predetermined amount, the printing head prints the pattern. In a printing device that prints a pattern after feeding on a body, a mark indicating a starting position of a boundary between the pattern before feeding and the pattern after feeding and a mark indicating an ending position of the boundary are printed on the printing medium by the print head. A printing device characterized by printing. 2. A print head prints a pre-feed pattern on the printing medium to correct the feeding amount of the printing medium, and after feeding the printing medium by a predetermined amount, the printing head prints the pattern. In a printing device that prints a post-feed pattern on a body, in the main scanning direction, the start position of the pre-feed pattern and the start position of the post-feed pattern, and the end position of the pre-feed pattern and the end position of the post-feed pattern , At least one of which is set at a different position. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print head records the dots on the printing medium, the dots before the feeding forming the pre-feeding pattern, and the printing head performing the printing. A printing apparatus, which records the pre-feed dots and the post-feed dots so that the post-feed dots that are recorded on the body and that form the post-feed pattern are aligned in the main scanning direction. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein ink is ejected from a print head to print a pre-feed pattern and a post-feed pattern on the printing medium. Printing device. 5. A step of printing a pre-feed pattern on the printing medium by a print head to correct the feeding amount of the printing medium, and a step of feeding the printing medium by a predetermined amount.
A pattern printing method comprising: printing a post-feeding pattern on the printing medium by the print head; a mark indicating a starting position of a boundary between the pre-feeding pattern and the post-feeding pattern, and an ending position of the boundary. Is printed on the object to be printed by the print head. 6. A step of printing a pre-feed pattern on the printing medium by a print head to correct the feeding amount of the printing medium, and a step of feeding the printing medium by a predetermined amount.
A pattern printing method including a step of printing a post-feed pattern on the printing medium by the print head, the start position of the pre-feed pattern and the start position of the post-feed pattern in the main scanning direction, and the feed A pattern printing method, wherein at least one of the end position of the previous pattern and the end position of the post-feed pattern is set to a different position. 7. A print head prints a pre-feed pattern on the printing medium to correct the feeding amount of the printing medium, and after the printing medium is fed by a predetermined amount, the printing head prints the pattern. In a printing device that prints a pattern after feeding on a body, a mark indicating a starting position of a boundary between the pattern before feeding and the pattern after feeding and a mark indicating an end position of the boundary are printed on the printing medium by the print head. A computer program for printing. 8. A print head prints a pre-feed pattern on the print medium to correct the feed amount of the print medium, and after the print medium is fed by a predetermined amount, the print head prints the pattern. A printing device for printing a post-feed pattern on a body, in the main scanning direction, the start position of the pre-feed pattern and the start position of the post-feed pattern, and the end position of the pre-feed pattern and the end position of the post-feed pattern , A computer program for causing at least one of the two positions to be different. 9. A printing head prints a pre-feed pattern on the printing medium to correct the feeding amount of the printing medium, and after feeding the printing medium by a predetermined amount, the printing head prints the pattern. In a printing device that prints a pattern after feeding on a body, a mark indicating a starting position of a boundary between the pattern before feeding and the pattern after feeding and a mark indicating an end position of the boundary are printed on the printing medium by the print head. A computer-readable recording medium recording a computer program for printing. 10. In order to correct the feeding amount of the printing medium,
A pre-sending pattern is printed on the printing target by the print head, and after a predetermined amount of the printing target is sent, a printing device that prints the post-sending pattern on the printing target by the printing head, in the main scanning direction, Recording a computer program for setting at least one of the start position of the pre-feed pattern and the start position of the post-feed pattern, and the end position of the pre-feed pattern and the end position of the post-feed pattern to different positions Computer readable recording medium. 11. A computer device, a display device, an input device, a flexible drive device, and a CD-ROM.
In order to correct the drive unit and the feed amount of the printing medium,
A printing apparatus that prints a pre-feed pattern on the print target by a print head, feeds the print target by a predetermined amount, and then prints the post-feed pattern on the print target by the print head. A computer system comprising: a pattern; a mark indicating a start position of a boundary between the post-feed pattern and a mark indicating an end position of the boundary; and a printing device that prints the mark indicating the end position of the boundary on the printing medium by the print head. . 12. A computer device, a display device, an input device, a flexible drive device, and a CD-ROM.
In order to correct the drive unit and the feed amount of the printing medium,
A printing apparatus that prints a pre-feed pattern on the print target by a print head, feeds the print target by a predetermined amount, and then prints the post-feed pattern on the print target by the print head in the main scanning direction. In, the start position of the pre-feed pattern and the start position of the post-feed pattern, and a printing device with at least one of the end position of the pre-feed pattern and the end position of the post-feed pattern, a different position, A computer system comprising: