JP2004195860A - Print control apparatus, print control method, and print control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program, by which a printing speed can be remarkably increased. <P>SOLUTION: In the print control apparatus, when discharge nozzles for cyan, magenta, and yellow are facing the same raster, and discharge nozzles for light cyan, light magenta, and black are facing a similar raster different from the raster described before, cyan and magenta are allotted to light cyan and light magenta (Step 130), black produces composite black (Step 140), and yellow is discharged by moving the dots on the raster, which does not face the discharge nozzles, to the raster, which faces the discharge nozzles, (Step 150). As a result, a printing speed can be improved by reducing the number of subscanning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a print control device, a print control method, and a print control program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 of this type is known.
The print control device disclosed in the document presupposes a printing device in which dark ink and light ink are arranged shifted in the sub-scanning direction, and discharges light ink on a raster having no discharge nozzle of dark ink when printing in high-speed mode. To generate alternative dots.
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2001-341295
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The above-described conventional print control apparatus has a problem that a substitute dot cannot be generated in black ink or yellow ink that does not include dark ink and light ink.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a print control device, a print control method, and a print control program capable of dramatically improving a printing speed.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the print heads for each color, in which discharge nozzles are arranged in a paper feed direction, which is a sub-scanning direction, are arranged side by side in a digit feed direction, which is a main scanning direction, and reciprocate. A printing apparatus that generates a print image by ejecting color inks of different colors from a nozzle onto a recording medium is to be controlled. In outputting the print data to the printing apparatus, in a high-speed print mode, a substitute dot is generated using a composite black of cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink in a raster having no black ink ejection nozzles.
[0005]
More specifically, the color inks of the printing apparatus include cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, light cyan ink, light magenta ink, and black ink, and the discharge nozzles are individually set in the sub-scanning direction for each of the color inks. Are provided in a row. In addition, the ejection nozzles of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink are arranged on the same raster in the main scanning direction, and the light cyan ink, the light magenta ink, and the black ink are arranged on a raster that does not overlap the same raster. The discharge nozzle is arranged.
[0006]
In this state, in the high-speed print mode, halftone processing is performed on the color data of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Here, there is no data for generating light cyan and light magenta dots. However, in a raster having no ejection nozzles for the cyan ink and the magenta ink, alternative dots are generated by the ejection nozzles for the light cyan ink and the light magenta ink using the data for light cyan and light magenta.
[0007]
In other words, a raster having black ink ejection nozzles generates dots of black ink as it is, and a raster having no black ink ejection nozzles generates dots of black ink using a composite of cyan, magenta and yellow.
On the other hand, as a result of the halftone process, when it is necessary to generate dots on a raster having no black ink ejection nozzle, substitute dots are generated using composite black of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink.
[0008]
In this way, black dots that are not divided into dark ink and light ink can be used, and black dots can be generated even in a raster that does not have a discharge nozzle for the black ink. The necessity of sub-scanning only for the purpose is reduced.
[0009]
In generating a substitute dot of composite black, it is possible to perform an OR operation on pixel data of a dot for generating the black ink and pixel data of a dot of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the dot of the yellow ink.
By doing so, it is possible to generate data for composite black without performing a case division according to the presence or absence of dots of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink.
[0010]
On the other hand, in the invention in which yellow ink that does not use dark ink and light ink properly is used, in a high-speed print mode, a raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzle is a raster having a yellow ink discharge nozzle in an adjacent raster. Substitute dots are being generated.
More specifically, when the same printing apparatus is used and the yellow ink discharge nozzles are arranged at intervals in the sub-scanning direction, in a high-speed print mode, in a raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzles, Then, a substitute dot is generated in a raster in which a yellow ink ejection nozzle is located in a neighboring raster.
That is, in a raster having yellow ink discharge nozzles, dots are generated with the yellow ink as it is, but in a raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzles, the print heads are not positioned just to generate dots, but are positioned close to each other only to generate dots. Generate dots in the raster with yellow ink. Since a dot is generated at an adjacent position, the position is shifted. However, since the yellow dot is hard to catch the eyes, the image quality is not degraded.
[0011]
Further, when a substitute dot is generated in an adjacent raster, the substitute dot may be a pixel that already generates a dot. In this case, a substitute dot may be generated for a pixel adjacent in the raster direction.
If the position at which the substitute dot is hit is a pixel that already generates a dot, the number of pixels of the yellow ink is reduced if the position is left as it is, and the color balance may be lost. However, if a substitute dot is generated for a pixel adjacent in the raster direction, the positional shift is hardly noticeable from the beginning, and the number of generated dots does not decrease, so that the color balance does not collapse.
[0012]
The method of replacing the black ink with the composite black in the high-speed mode as described above is not necessarily limited to a substantial device, and it can be easily understood that the method also functions as the method. In other words, there is no difference that the present invention is not necessarily limited to a substantial device and is effective as a method.
[0013]
By the way, such a print control apparatus may exist alone, or may be used in a state of being incorporated in a certain device. The idea of the invention is not limited to this, but includes various aspects. . Therefore, it can be changed as appropriate, such as software or hardware. For example, the printing control device may be incorporated into a printing device to be controlled by the printing control device, and the printing device may be configured as a whole. With this configuration, the above-described printing is executed when the printing apparatus is alone in the high-speed printing mode. Further, when the printing control apparatus and the printing apparatus to be controlled are separate bodies, the present invention can be configured as a printing system including both of them. In such a case, the computer is mainly responsible for the print control device, and forms a printing system together with the printing device connected to the computer.
When software is used as an embodiment of the idea of the present invention, the software naturally exists on a recording medium on which such software is recorded, and it must be said that the software is used. Of course, the recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium or a magneto-optical recording medium, and any recording medium to be developed in the future can be considered in the same manner. Further, the duplication stages of the primary duplicated product, the secondary duplicated product and the like are equivalent without any question.
[0014]
Further, even when a part is implemented by software and a part is implemented by hardware, the concept of the present invention is not completely different, and a part is stored on a recording medium and appropriately It may be in a form that can be read.
When the present invention is implemented by software, it may be configured to use hardware or an operating system, or may be implemented separately from these. For example, various kinds of arithmetic processing can be realized by calling a predetermined function in the operating system for processing, or by inputting from hardware without calling such a function. is there. Even if the program is actually realized with the intervention of an operating system, it can be understood that the present invention can be implemented only by the program in the process of being recorded on a medium and distributed.
[0015]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when a black ink or a yellow ink having no dark ink and light ink is used, a substitute dot is generated for a raster having no black or yellow ink ejection nozzle. It is possible to provide a print control device capable of reducing the paper feed for a simple raster and dramatically improving the printing speed.
[0016]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the calculation for generating the composite black substitute dot can be easily performed.
Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 6, since the number of dots of yellow ink is not reduced, it is possible to prevent the color balance from being lost.
Further, according to the inventions according to claims 7 and 8, a print control method having the same effects can be provided, and according to the inventions according to claims 9 and 10, a print control program can be provided. According to the eleventh aspect, a printing apparatus can be provided, and according to the twelfth aspect, a printing system can be provided.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The description will be made in the following order.
(1) Hardware configuration
(2) Software configuration
(3) Description of operation
(4) Modified example
[0018]
(1) Hardware configuration
FIG. 1 schematically shows a flow of a process performed by a print control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in a diagram according to a flowchart, which will be described later. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer system to which the print control device is applied.
In FIG. 2, a personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a computer) 10 is connected to a keyboard 31 and a mouse 32 as input instruction devices, a monitor 18 as a display device, and an output to be controlled by the present invention. A printer 40 as a device is connected.
[0019]
Inside the computer 10, a CPU 11 for executing arithmetic processing, a ROM 13 in which a non-rewritable program such as a BIOS is written, and a RAM 14 used as a temporary storage area for programs and variables are provided with address lines and data lines. They are interconnected via a bus 12 composed of interrupt signal lines and the like.
While the RAM 14 is used as a temporary storage area, a hard disk drive 15, a flexible disk drive 16, and a CD-ROM drive 17 using a non-volatile storage medium are connected to the bus 12.
The CPU 11 reads and executes an execution program such as an operating system from these non-volatile storage media in accordance with the IPL written in the ROM 13 to realize predetermined functions. The non-volatile storage medium stores not only an execution program but also various data and the like, and is appropriately read by the control of the CPU 11 and used for arithmetic processing.
The keyboard 31 and the mouse 32 are connected to the bus 12 via the serial communication interface 19a, and the printer 40 is connected to the bus 12 via the parallel communication interface 19b.
[0020]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printer 40.
In the printer 40, a CPU 41 for executing arithmetic processing, a ROM 42 in which firmware and data are written, and a RAM 40 used as a print data buffer and a storage area for raster data are connected via a bus 40a. . The printer 40 includes, as movable parts, a print head 48, a head drive unit 49, a carriage mechanism 47a, and a paper feed mechanism 47b.
The ASIC 44 connected to the bus 40a controls a head driving unit 49 that drives the print head 48. The ASIC 44 outputs to the head drive unit 49 a drive signal for appropriately moving the print head 48 right and left in the digit feed direction based on a control signal output from the CPU 41 in accordance with the raster data.
[0021]
The print head 48 is configured by arranging a predetermined number of discharge nozzles in the paper feed direction using a piezo element as a drive source, and discharges color ink droplets at a predetermined timing according to a control signal from the control IC 45. A control signal corresponding to raster data is input to the control IC 45 via the bus 40a, and generates a drive signal to the piezo element synchronized with the drive of the print head 48.
Each print head 48 is provided with a detachable ink tank 48a to 48f, and supplies a predetermined color ink to each print head 48. In this embodiment, six color inks of cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), yellow ink (Y), light cyan ink (lc), light magenta ink (lm), and black ink (K) are used. ing.
[0022]
The carriage mechanism 47a and the paper feed mechanism 47b are connected to the bus 40a via the interface 47, correspond to control signals input from the CPU 41 via the bus 40a, and drive the carriage in synchronization with the drive of the print head 48. Or doing paper feeds.
In addition, the printer 40 is provided with a parallel communication interface 46. The printer 40 is connected to the parallel communication interface 19 b of the computer 10 so that print data is input and stored in the buffer area of the RAM 43.
[0023]
Before describing the configuration of the software, the arrangement of the ejection nozzles of the print head 48 will be described.
FIG. 4 schematically shows the print head 48 viewed from the opening side of the discharge nozzle. As shown in the figure, the print head 48 is configured by arranging a plurality of print heads for each color in the digit feed direction. A plurality of ejection nozzles are arranged in the paper feed direction for each print head of each color.
A predetermined space is required to form a discharge nozzle in the print head 48, and this space is larger than the system of the ink droplet to be discharged. Therefore, in order to print at a sufficiently high resolution, at least a plurality of main scans are required to eject ink droplets to all rasters. On the other hand, when arranging the print heads 48 provided for each color ink, the ejection nozzles adjacent to each other are often arranged in a staggered manner so that adjacent ejection nozzles are not arranged in a line as shown in FIG. . Therefore, the ejection nozzles of the adjacent print heads 48 are arranged so as to be shifted by d / 2 with respect to the interval d of the ejection nozzles of each print head 48.
[0024]
For the cyan ink (C), the magenta ink (M), and the yellow ink (Y), the print heads 48 are arranged one by one, but the discharge nozzles are arranged so as to be arranged on the same raster. On the other hand, the light cyan ink (lc), the light magenta ink (lm), and the black ink (K) are also arranged such that the respective discharge nozzles are arranged on the same raster, and the group of the cyan ink (C) is d as described above. / 2 offset. As shown in FIG. 4, the arrangement of the ink tanks 48a to 48f is as follows: cyan ink (C), light cyan ink (lc), magenta ink (M), light magenta ink (lm), yellow ink (Y), black ink ( K).
[0025]
Further, for convenience of understanding, in the following, the ejection nozzles of the cyan ink (C), the magenta ink (M), and the yellow ink (Y) face the rasters of the odd rows, and the light cyan ink (lc) is located on the rasters of the even rows. The description will be made on the assumption that the discharge nozzles of the light magenta ink (lm) and the black ink (K) face each other.
[0026]
(2) Software configuration
FIG. 5 shows a software system in the computer 10.
It is an operating system OS that the CPU 11 of the computer 10 activates according to the IPL, and the operating system OS manages activation, execution, termination, and the like of each application. The operating system OS includes various drivers in advance for each type of hardware, and the driver DRV is read or executed as appropriate under the management of the operating system OS. The printer driver PRTDRV is also a type of driver, and is configured to realize various functions according to the control system of the printer 40.
[0027]
The present invention relates to high-speed mode printing in which printing is performed at high speed by the printer 40, and is realized as one function of a printer driver PRTDRV in the present embodiment.
FIG. 1 shows the flow of the processing in the high-speed mode printing substantially according to the rules of the flowchart. Hereinafter, each process will be described in order.
[0028]
In step S100, print data is input. When printing is selected by the application APL, the printer driver PRTDRV is activated via the operating system OS, and when printing is instructed via the user interface of the printer driver PRTDRV, the application APL outputs print data to the operating system OS. I do. In response, the operating system OS spools the print data, and the printer driver PRTDRV sequentially reads the spooled print data.
The print data has a broad meaning, and specifically includes a print command and bitmap data. In step S100, the spooled print data is read, a print command is interpreted in accordance with a predetermined rule, and processing for developing the print command into a print image is performed.
[0029]
In this embodiment, the print image data is data in which 256 gradations are assigned to each of the RGB colors for each pixel in the dot matrix.
In step S110, a color conversion process is executed in parallel with the process of reading the spool data and expanding the print image. The color conversion process is a process of converting the above-described RGB 256-gradation image data used for display on the computer 10 into CMYK 256-gradation image data in correspondence with the color ink ejected by the printer 40. The color data in the RGB color space is converted to the color data in the CMYK color space with reference to the lookup table.
As described above, the printer 40 is hardware capable of ejecting six color inks obtained by adding lc and lm to the four colors of CMYK, but in the present invention, color conversion from RGB to four colors of CMYK is performed. I do.
[0030]
After the color conversion, a halftone process is executed in step S120. The halftone process is a process of converting a print image generated as 256 CMYK tones into two tones according to the ejection performance of color ink in the printer 40, and can execute an error diffusion method, a dither method, or the like. In high-speed mode printing, a dither method is employed in order to cope with high-speed processing. Although not shown, an enlargement process based on a magnification that compares the resolution of the print image with the print resolution of the printer 40 is performed prior to the halftone process. After the halftone processing, the data becomes substantially raster data, and the raster data is managed on the operating system OS as one file for each plane of each color. At this time, the operating system OS also generates files for light cyan, rye, and magenta raster data.
[0031]
Although the above is not much different from the normal printing process, in the following steps S130 to S150, a process reflecting the high-speed mode of the present invention is executed. FIG. 6 schematically shows an execution result of each process in steps S130 to S150, and details of each process will be described with reference to FIG.
The details of the C and M processing in step S130 are shown in the flowchart of FIG. As shown in the figure, in step S200, even-line raster data of cyan in a print image after halftone processing is read, and in step S210, the raster data is moved to even-line raster data of light cyan. Here, moving means that the dot-on data generated at a predetermined pixel position as raster data in order to eject the cyan ink is used to eject the cyan ink. That is, dot-on data is generated at the same pixel position, and dot-on on the original cyan ink raster data is turned off.
[0032]
As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the odd-numbered raster data originally existing as the cyan raster data remains in the cyan raster data file, but all the even-numbered raster data are dot-off. . On the other hand, raster data is also generated for light cyan, which was not originally subjected to color conversion and halftoning, and raster data of even rows is generated by moving even-number raster data of cyan as it is. .
Next, similar processing is performed for magenta. That is, the magenta even-numbered row raster data is read in step S220, and the same raster data is moved to the light magenta even-numbered row raster data in step S220.
[0033]
As a result of the C and M processing, among the pixels to which cyan color ink is to be ejected, cyan color ink is ejected in odd rows, but light cyan color ink is ejected in even rows. Of course, the color reproducibility maintained by the color conversion processing and the halftone processing cannot be maintained, but as shown in FIG. 4, light cyan and light magenta discharges which face a raster in which the cyan and magenta discharge nozzles do not face each other. Light cyan and light magenta dots can be ejected from the nozzles to replace cyan and magenta. Therefore, it is not necessary to execute the sub-scan in order to print a raster in which the cyan and magenta ejection nozzles do not face each other, which is a factor that can improve the printing speed.
[0034]
In step S140, a K process is executed. The details of the K process in step S140 are shown in the flowchart of FIG.
In step S300, the odd-numbered-line raster data of black in the print image after the halftone processing is read, and in step S310, the data is written to a temporarily provided CMY raster data area. The temporary raster data area is an area for executing a logical sum (OR) operation in the next step S320, and is specifically replaced with an array variable or the like.
In step S320, OR operation is performed on the corresponding odd-numbered row raster data of CMY and the data in the temporary raster data area. That is, dot on / off data is sequentially extracted from the first pixel in each raster data, an OR operation is executed, and the operation result is stored in a temporary raster data area.
Then, in step S330, the temporary CMY raster data is stored as the original CMY odd-numbered row raster data, and in step S340, the K odd-numbered row raster data subjected to the above processing is cleared.
[0035]
As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the raster data of the even rows originally existing as the black raster data remains in the black raster data file, but all the raster data of the odd rows are dot-off. . Then, the raster data of the odd-numbered rows in which the dots are turned off causes the CMY dots to be turned on at the same pixel position, and thus is substituted by generating so-called composite black substitute dots.
[0036]
In FIG. 6, the odd rows of CMY are represented as Codd + Kodd, Modd + Kodd, Yodd + Yeven + Kodd, but the odd row pixels of C + the odd row pixels of K, the odd row pixels of M + the odd row pixels of K, and the odd rows of Y, respectively. It means an even row pixel of pixel + Y + an odd row pixel of K.
[0037]
In the next step S150, a Y process is executed. Details of the Y processing in step S150 are shown in the flowchart of FIG.
In step S400, the even-numbered row raster data of the yellow in the print image after the halftone processing is read, and in step S410, it is determined whether or not the adjacent odd-numbered row raster pixels of the even-numbered row raster data are dot-on. Here, if the number of even-numbered rows is expressed as 2n (* n is an integer of 1 or more), the number of adjacent odd-numbered rows is 2n-1 (* n is an integer of 1 or more). That is, each of the target even-numbered rows indicates a raster one row higher.
[0038]
If the dot is not turned on in the adjacent odd-numbered row raster, the pixel of the adjacent odd-numbered row raster is specified in step S420. If the dot is turned on in the adjacent odd-numbered row raster, the pixel is set in step S430. The left and right vacant pixels are specified on the raster. Then, in step S440, Y dot-on data is generated for the specific pixel.
As described above, the process of moving the dot-on data of the even-numbered row raster to the adjacent odd-numbered row raster is performed in such a manner that the yellow discharge nozzles are formed every other row. Not facing Therefore, in order to make the ejection nozzles face the even-numbered row raster, one extra scan is required.
[0039]
For this reason, yellow dots that should be generated on even-numbered row rasters are generated on adjacent odd-numbered row rasters. Further, when the adjacent odd-numbered row raster has already been turned on, the number of pixels to be turned on is reduced if only the above processing is performed. For this reason, even in the odd-numbered row raster, a pixel that has not yet been turned on is found. However, since the yellow dots originally have the property of being inconspicuous, a decrease in the number of dots does not significantly lower the image quality. Therefore, it is also possible to omit the processing of steps S410 and S430 and to simply execute step S420 to improve the speed.
After the alternative dots of the even-numbered row raster are generated in the odd-numbered row raster as described above, the data of the even-numbered row raster is cleared in step S450.
[0040]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above software configuration will be described.
Assume that the user wants to perform a trial shot to check the layout using the application APL. In the application, normal printing is selected, and high-speed mode printing is designated on the user interface of the printer driver PRTDRV.
The application APL outputs print data as usual, and is spooled by a spooler of the operating system OS. The printer driver PRTDRV acquires and interprets the spool data and develops it into a print image. The print image is represented by 256 gradations for each color of RGB, and is converted into 256 gradations of each color of CMYK, and then gradation converted into 2 gradations of each color of CMYK by halftone processing. The above processing is performed in steps S100 to S120.
[0041]
Subsequently, in step S130, the raster data of the even lines for cyan and magenta is moved as the raster data of the odd lines of light cyan and light magenta in the CM processing. In the K process of step S140, raster data of an odd-numbered line in black and odd-numbered lines in cyan, magenta, and yellow are used in order to replace the dots in the odd-numbered lines of black with composite black composed of dots of cyan, magenta, and yellow. The logical data is superimposed on the raster data of the row.
Finally, in the Y processing in step S150, the raster data is moved to the adjacent odd-numbered raster data in order to substantially eliminate the even-numbered raster data in yellow.
[0042]
By the above processing, a file of two gradations for six colors of cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow, and black is generated as image data for printing. Also, in each file, as shown in the right column of FIG. 6, dot-on data exists only for odd lines for cyan, magenta, and yellow, and dot-on data exists only for even lines for light cyan, light magenta, and black. Will exist.
[0043]
Here, in the correspondence between the ejection nozzles and the color inks assigned to the print head shown in FIG. 4, cyan, magenta, and yellow are arranged on the same raster, and light cyan, light magenta, and black are Different but on the same raster. As described above, for the sake of convenience of understanding, each raster just faces the odd and even rows. Therefore, if printing is performed using the raster data for the six colors generated as described above, it is possible to completely eliminate the dot-on of all the raster data for the odd rows and the even rows by one scan. In other words, there is no raster to be printed in even lines for cyan, magenta and yellow, and no raster to be printed in odd lines for light cyan, light magenta and black.
[0044]
Therefore, when the above raster data is output in step S160, the printer 40 can perform sub-scanning by a distance in the length direction of the print head 48, perform the next main scanning, and continue printing. That is, as in the conventional case, depending on the color ink, when the ejection nozzles face only the odd-numbered rows and do not face the even-numbered rows, it is not necessary to perform the sub-scan processing only to generate dots on the raster of the odd-numbered rows. Become.
[0045]
(4) Modified example
a. Hardware configuration
The internal configuration of the computer 10 described above is only an example. The present invention can be applied to a computer formed into a single chip including peripheral devices of the CPU, or a dual CPU computer having two CPUs and executing processes in parallel.
Further, the outer shape is not limited to the one recognized as the computer 10, but may be a printer server or a digital still camera having a printing function.
[0046]
Further, the internal configuration of the printer 40 also includes various modifications, and may include a configuration corresponding to the computer 10 that executes print control on the printer 40 itself. In addition, the present invention can be applied to not only six color inks but also more multicolor inks. Needless to say, it is necessary that the inks have properties as substitute inks that can complement each other, and that the arrangement of the ejection nozzles does not overlap each other in one main scan.
As for the storage medium, in addition to CD-ROMs and flexible disks which are currently mainly used for distribution, programs or corresponding to memory elements of various standards including magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, optical disks, and semiconductor storage elements are used. Data can be stored.
[0047]
b. Software configuration
The CM processing, the K processing, and the Y processing merely show the outline of the algorithm, and various processings for speeding up can be realized in actual operation. For example, it is also possible to combine a plurality of bytes of raster data and use a high-speed operation of 32 bits or 64 bits.
Further, it has been described that the ejection nozzles are formed at intervals of every other row for each color, and are arranged in a staggered manner, so that the ejection nozzles are exactly assigned to odd rows and even rows. However, the diameter of the actually ejected dots is often a plurality of lines within one interval of the ejection nozzles, and does not conform to the above simplified model.
[0048]
Needless to say, even in such a case, by arranging in a staggered manner, depending on the color, only the odd-numbered rows or only the even-numbered rows may be faced, so that the above-described basic processing can be applied.
Although processing for generating temporary CMY raster data is performed by the K processing, it is also possible to directly superimpose the original CMY odd-numbered row raster data by a logical OR operation.
In the K processing, each dot of CMY is generated in order to generate the composite black. However, other color inks provided in the printer 40 can be used as long as the element colors generate the black. is there.
[0049]
Further, in the Y processing, alternative dots are ejected to adjacent rasters. However, not only adjacent rasters but also dots ejected to a plurality of rasters where ejection nozzles do not face, rasters where ejection nozzles face May be used to generate alternative dots. If the target range is widened, the image quality gradually decreases, so that the allowable limit of the image quality and the effective speed improvement may be determined by comparing them.
[0050]
As described above, when the cyan, magenta, and yellow discharge nozzles face the same raster and the light cyan tri, magenta, and black discharge nozzles face the same raster different from this, light cyan and magenta light cyan are used. And light magenta (step S130), composite black is generated for black (step S140), and for yellow, raster dots whose discharge nozzles do not face are moved to the raster faced by the discharge nozzles and discharged (step S130). S150), the number of sub-scans can be reduced, and the printing speed can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic flow of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a computer system to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a printer to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an arrangement of ejection nozzles of a print head in a printer.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a software system executed by a computer.
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating an execution result of each process on a print image.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing specific contents of a CM process.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing specific contents of a K process.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing specific contents of Y processing.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Computer
11 CPU
12 ... Bus
15 ... Hard disk drive
16 ... Flexible disk drive
17… Drive
18. Monitor
19a ... Serial communication interface
19b: Interface for parallel communication
31 ... Keyboard
32 ... Mouse
40 ... Printer
40a… Bus
46 ... Parallel communication interface
47 ... Interface
47a ... Carriage mechanism
47b… Paper feed mechanism
48… Print head
48a to 48f: Ink tank
49 ... Head drive unit

Claims (12)

The print heads for each color, in which the discharge nozzles are arranged in the paper feed direction, which is the sub-scanning direction, are arranged side by side in the digit feed direction, which is the main scan direction, and reciprocate so that color inks of different colors are printed from the discharge nozzles on the recording medium. A print control device that outputs print data to a printing device that generates a print image by discharging
In a high-speed printing mode, a printing control device that generates a substitute dot using composite black of cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink in a raster having no black ink ejection nozzle. The print heads for each color, in which the discharge nozzles are arranged in the paper feed direction, which is the sub-scanning direction, are arranged side by side in the digit feed direction, which is the main scan direction, and reciprocate so that color inks of different colors are printed from the discharge nozzles on the recording medium. A print control device that outputs print data to a printing device that generates a print image by discharging
In a high-speed printing mode, a printing control device that generates a substitute dot for a raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzle in a raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzle in a neighboring raster. By discharging a color ink of a different color from the discharge nozzle onto a recording medium while reciprocating a print head for each color in which a discharge nozzle is arranged in a paper feed direction which is a sub-scanning direction in a digit feed direction which is a main scan direction. A print control device that outputs print data to a printing device that generates a print image,
The color inks include cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, light cyan ink, light magenta ink, and black ink,
The discharge nozzle is
Along with being provided in a row in the sub-scanning direction for each color ink,
The ejection nozzles of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink are arranged on the same raster in the main scanning direction, and the ejection nozzles of the light cyan ink, the light magenta ink, and the black ink are on a raster that does not overlap with the same raster. Is located,
When in high-speed print mode,
Performs halftone processing on the color data for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black,
In a raster having no ejection nozzles for the cyan ink and the magenta ink, alternative dots are generated by the ejection nozzles for the light cyan ink and the light magenta ink, respectively.
A print control apparatus, wherein in a raster having no black ink ejection nozzles, substitute dots are generated using composite black of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink. In generating a substitute dot with the composite black of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink, pixel data of a dot that generates the black ink, and pixel data of a dot of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink 4. The print control device according to claim 3, wherein an OR operation is performed by the following. The print heads for each color, in which the discharge nozzles are arranged in the paper feed direction, which is the sub-scanning direction, are arranged side by side in the digit feed direction, which is the main scan direction, and reciprocate so that color inks of different colors are printed from the discharge nozzles on the recording medium. A print control device that outputs print data to a printing device that generates a print image by discharging
The color inks include cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, light cyan ink, light magenta ink, and black ink,
The discharge nozzle is
Along with being provided in a row in the sub-scanning direction for each color ink,
The ejection nozzles of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink are arranged on the same raster in the main scanning direction, and the ejection nozzles of the light cyan ink and the light magenta ink are arranged on a raster that does not overlap with the same raster. The discharge nozzles of the yellow ink are arranged at intervals in the sub-scanning direction,
When in high-speed print mode,
Performs halftone processing on the color data for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black,
In a raster having no ejection nozzles for the cyan ink and the magenta ink, alternative dots are generated by the ejection nozzles for the light cyan ink and the light magenta ink, respectively.
A print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzle, a substitute dot is generated in a raster having a yellow ink discharge nozzle in an adjacent raster. A print control apparatus for generating a substitute dot for a pixel in which a dot has already been generated in a pixel adjacent to the raster direction when generating a substitute dot in a raster having a discharge nozzle of yellow ink in an adjacent raster. The print heads for each color, in which the discharge nozzles are arranged in the paper feed direction, which is the sub-scanning direction, are arranged side by side in the digit feed direction, which is the main scan direction, and reciprocate so that color inks of different colors are printed from the discharge nozzles on the recording medium. A print control method for outputting and controlling print data to a printing apparatus that generates a print image by discharging the print data,
In a high-speed print mode, for a raster having no black ink ejection nozzles, a substitute dot is generated using composite black of cyan, magenta, and yellow inks. The print heads for each color, in which the discharge nozzles are arranged in the paper feed direction, which is the sub-scanning direction, are arranged side by side in the digit feed direction, which is the main scan direction, and reciprocate so that color inks of different colors are printed from the discharge nozzles on the recording medium. A print control method for outputting and controlling print data to a printing apparatus that generates a print image by discharging the print data,
In a high-speed printing mode, for a raster having no yellow ink ejection nozzle, a substitute dot is generated for a raster having a yellow ink ejection nozzle in an adjacent raster. The print heads for each color, in which the discharge nozzles are arranged in the paper feed direction, which is the sub-scanning direction, are arranged side by side in the digit feed direction, which is the main scan direction, and reciprocate so that color inks of different colors are printed from the discharge nozzles on the recording medium. A print control program that realizes a function of outputting print data by a computer to a printing apparatus that generates a print image by ejecting the print image,
In a high-speed print mode, a print control program for generating a substitute dot using a composite black of cyan ink, magenta ink and yellow ink in a raster having no black ink discharge nozzle. The print heads for each color, in which the discharge nozzles are arranged in the paper feed direction, which is the sub-scanning direction, are arranged side by side in the digit feed direction, which is the main scan direction, and reciprocate so that color inks of different colors are printed from the discharge nozzles on the recording medium. A print control program that realizes a function of outputting print data by a computer to a printing apparatus that generates a print image by ejecting the print image,
In a high-speed printing mode, a printing control program for generating a substitute dot for a raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzle in a raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzle in a raster having no yellow ink discharge nozzle. A printing apparatus comprising the print control apparatus according to claim 1. A printing system comprising the print control device according to claim 1.

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