JP2006076288A - Printing apparatus, printing method, and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inhibit buildup of ink that impacts outside a medium. <P>SOLUTION: The printing apparatus comprises a head for ejecting a first pigment ink containing a moisturizing agent and a second pigment ink containing the moisturizing agent more than the first pigment ink, a receiving section that receives the first and second pigment inks not impacting on the medium when the first and second pigment inks are ejected from the head in a state where the medium is present in the print region and a controller which causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving section in a state where the medium is not present in the print region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

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

An ink jet printer is known as one of printing apparatuses that perform printing by discharging a liquid toward a medium. The ink jet printer performs printing by ejecting ink as a liquid onto a medium such as paper. Recently, such an ink jet printer is provided with a printing function in which ink is applied to the edge of the medium and the ink is received from an ink receiving portion provided with an absorbent material.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-225311

  However, such printing has the following problems. That is, among the ejected inks, there are inks with low permeability and inks that are easily solidified. When such ink comes off the medium and reaches the absorber of the ink receiving portion, it may not easily penetrate into the absorber and remain as it is. When the ink is accumulated and piled up in this way, the ink is piled up sequentially on the absorbent material, and there is a possibility that the medium to be printed will be soiled eventually.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and is to suppress the accumulation of ink that has come off the medium.

  A main invention for achieving the above object includes a head for discharging a first pigment ink having a humectant and a second pigment ink having more humectant than the first pigment ink, and printing. The first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on the medium when the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink are ejected from the head in a state where there is a medium in the region. A printing apparatus comprising: a receiving unit that receives pigment ink; and a controller that causes the receiving unit to discharge the second pigment ink to the head when no medium is in the printing area.

  In addition, a main invention for achieving the above object includes a head that discharges pigment ink, and the pigment ink that does not land on the medium when the pigment ink is discharged from the head in a state where the medium is in a printing region. And a controller that causes the head to eject the pigment ink to the receiving portion when there is no medium in the printing area.

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

=== Summary of disclosure ===
At least the following matters will become clear from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

A head that ejects a first pigment ink having a humectant and a second pigment ink having more humectant than the first pigment ink, and the first pigment ink in a state where there is a medium in a print region A receiving portion for receiving the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that does not land on the medium when the pigment ink and the second pigment ink are ejected from the head, and the printing region And a controller that causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving portion when there is no medium.
In such a printing apparatus, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of ink that has come off the medium.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said receiving part has an absorber which absorbs the said 1st pigment ink and the said 2nd pigment ink.
In such a printing apparatus, the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink can be absorbed by the absorbent material.

Further, it is preferable that the receiving portion receives the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on a side end portion of the medium.
In such a printing apparatus, an image can be formed without a margin up to the side edge of the medium.

Further, it is preferable that the receiving portion receives the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on the upper and lower end portions of the medium.
In such a printing apparatus, an image can be formed without margins up to the upper and lower ends of the medium.

In addition, it is preferable that the controller causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving unit before printing the medium.
In such a printing apparatus, since the absorbent is moisturized in advance, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of ink accumulated on the absorbent.

Further, it is preferable that the controller causes the second pigment ink to be ejected to the receiving portion with respect to the head after printing of the medium.
In such a printing apparatus, the absorbent material can be moisturized, so that a pile of ink deposited on the absorbent material can be suppressed.

Further, it is preferable that the controller determines whether or not the second pigment ink is ejected to the receiving portion with respect to the head in a state where there is no medium in the printing area, according to a user setting.
In such a printing apparatus, in order to save the consumption amount of the second pigment ink, the user can set the second pigment ink not to be ejected to the receiving portion.

Further, it is preferable that the controller does not cause the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving portion when there is no medium in the printing area when the end of the medium is not printed.
In such a printing apparatus, when the end portion of the medium is not printed, the second pigment ink is not ejected to the receiving portion. Therefore, the consumption amount of the second pigment ink can be saved.

Further, it is preferable that the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink each absorb light having the same wavelength and have different absorption amounts.
In such a printing apparatus, the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink are inks having the same color and different densities.

In addition, the head for ejecting the first pigment ink having a humectant and the second pigment ink having more humectant than the first pigment ink, and the medium in the printing area A receiving portion for receiving the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on the medium when the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink are ejected from the head; and A controller that causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving portion when there is no medium in the printing region, and the receiving portion includes the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink. An absorbing material that absorbs pigment ink; and the receiving portion receives the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on a side end portion of the medium, and the receiving portion includes the medium Wear on top and bottom The controller receives the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink, and the controller causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving unit before printing the medium. In response to a user setting, the controller determines whether or not the second pigment ink is ejected to the receiving portion with respect to the head in a state where there is no medium in the print region, and the controller controls the end of the medium. When printing is not performed, the second pigment ink is not ejected to the receiving portion with respect to the head in a state where there is no medium in the print area, and the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink have the same wavelength. It is also possible to realize a printing apparatus that absorbs the light and absorbs different amounts of light.
In this way, the effects of the present invention can be achieved most effectively because all the effects described above can be achieved.

Further, when the first pigment ink having a humectant and the second pigment ink having more humectant than the first pigment ink are ejected from the head in a state where the medium is in the printing region, The first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on the medium are received by the receiving unit, and the second pigment is received by the receiving unit with respect to the head when the medium is not present in the printing region. A printing method characterized by ejecting ink can also be realized.
The printing method realized in this way is a better method than the conventional method.

A printing system comprising a computer main body and a printing device connectable to the computer main body, wherein the printing device includes a first pigment ink having a humectant and more than the first pigment ink. A head that ejects the second pigment ink having the humectant, and when the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink are ejected from the head in a state in which there is a medium in the print region A receiving portion for receiving the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on the medium, and the second pigment ink in the receiving portion with respect to the head when there is no medium in the printing area. It is also possible to realize a printing system including a controller that discharges ink.
The printing system realized in this way is a system superior to the conventional system.

A head for ejecting pigment ink; a receiving portion for receiving the pigment ink that does not land on the medium when the pigment ink is ejected from the head in a state where the medium is in the print area; and no medium in the print area And a controller that causes the head to eject the pigment ink to the receiving portion in a state.
In such a printing apparatus, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of ink that has come off the medium.

Further, the controller is configured to determine the amount of the pigment ink ejected from the head to the receiving unit when the medium is not present in the printing region, and from the head to the receiving unit when the medium is present in the printing region. The amount is preferably larger than the amount of the pigment ink to be ejected.
In such a printing apparatus, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of ink positively ejected to the receiving portion.

  In addition, the type of the pigment ink ejected from the head to the receiving portion when the medium is not present in the printing area is the same as that of the pigment ink ejected from the head to the receiving portion when the medium is present in the printing area. It is preferably included in the type of pigment ink. However, the type of the pigment ink that is ejected from the head to the receiving portion when the medium is not present in the printing region is the same as that of the pigment ink that is ejected from the head to the receiving portion when the medium is present in the printing region. It may be different from the type of pigment ink.

In addition, when pigment ink is ejected from the head in a state where there is a medium in the print region, the pigment ink that does not land on the medium is received by the receiving unit, and when there is no medium in the print region, It is also possible to realize a printing method characterized by causing the pigment ink to be ejected to the receiving portion.
The printing method realized in this way is a better method than the conventional method.

The printing system includes a computer main body and a printing device connectable to the computer main body. The printing device includes a head that discharges the pigment ink, and the pigment ink in a state where there is a medium in the printing area. A receiving portion that receives the pigment ink that does not land on the medium when discharged from the head, and a controller that causes the head to discharge the pigment ink to the receiving portion when there is no medium in the print region. It is also possible to realize a printing system characterized by having the above.
The printing system realized in this way is a system superior to the conventional system.

=== Configuration of Printing System ===
Next, an embodiment of a printing system will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the description of the following embodiments includes embodiments relating to a computer program and a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an external configuration of a printing system. The printing system 100 includes a printer 1 and a computer 110. The printer 1 is a printing apparatus that prints an image on a medium such as paper, cloth, or film. The computer 110 is communicably connected to the printer 1 and outputs print data corresponding to the image to be printed to the printer 1 in order to cause the printer 1 to print an image. Since the computer 110 controls the printer 1 via print data, it is also a print control device.

  The printing system 100 further includes a display device 120, an input device 130, and a recording / reproducing device 140. The display device 120 has a display and displays a user interface such as a printer driver. The input device 130 is, for example, a keyboard 130A or a mouse 130B, and is used for operating an application program, setting a printer driver, or the like along a user interface displayed on the display device 120. As the recording / reproducing device 140, for example, a flexible disk drive device 140A or a CD-ROM drive device 140B is used.

  A printer driver is installed in the computer 110. The printer driver is a program for realizing the function of displaying the user interface on the display device 120 and the function of converting the image data output from the application program into print data. This printer driver is recorded on a recording medium (computer-readable recording medium) such as a flexible disk FD or a CD-ROM. Alternatively, the printer driver can be downloaded to the computer 110 via the Internet. In addition, this program is comprised from the code | cord | chord for implement | achieving various functions.

=== Configuration of Printer and Computer ===
<About the configuration of the printer and computer>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the overall configuration of the computer 110 and the printer 1.
The computer 110 includes an interface unit 161, a CPU 162, and a computer side memory 163. The interface unit 161 is for transmitting and receiving data between the printer 110 as an external device and the computer 110. The CPU 162 is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire computer 110. The computer-side memory 163 is a storage element that secures an area for storing a program such as a printer driver and a work area. The CPU 162 generates print data from the image data according to the printer driver stored in the computer-side memory 163 and transmits the print data to the printer 1. By installing the printer driver in the computer 110, the CPU 162 and the computer-side memory 163 become a computer-side controller that controls the printer 1 via print data.

  The printer 1 includes a transport unit 20, a carriage unit 30, a head unit 40, a detector group 50, and a printer-side controller 60. The printer 1 that has received print data from the computer 110, which is an external device, controls each unit (conveyance unit 20, carriage unit 30, head unit 40) by the printer-side controller 60. The printer-side controller 60 controls each unit based on the print data received from the computer 110 and prints an image on paper. The situation in the printer 1 is monitored by the detector group 50, and the detector group 50 outputs the detection result to the printer-side controller 60. The printer-side controller 60 controls each unit based on the detection result output from the detector group 50.

  The printer-side controller 60 is a control unit for controlling the printer. The printer-side controller 60 includes an interface unit 61, a CPU 62, a printer-side memory 63, and a unit control circuit 64. The interface unit 61 is for transmitting and receiving data between the computer 110 which is an external device and the printer 1. The CPU 62 is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire printer. The printer-side memory 63 is for securing an area for storing a program of the CPU 62, a work area, and the like, and has storage means such as a RAM and an EEPROM. The CPU 62 controls each unit via the unit control circuit 64 according to a program stored in the printer-side memory 63.

  The computer-side controller (CPU 162 and computer-side memory 163) and the printer-side controller 60 are controllers that control the entire printing system. The printer driver stored in the computer-side memory 163 causes the computer 110 to generate print data and transmit the print data to the printer 1. On the other hand, the program stored in the printer-side memory 63 causes the transport unit 20 to transport the paper, moves the carriage to the carriage unit 30 and causes the head unit 40 to eject ink according to the print data. For this reason, the printer driver and the printer-side program are also programs that cause the printing system to perform printing in cooperation.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of the printer 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the overall configuration of the printer 1. Hereinafter, the basic configuration of the printer of this embodiment will be described.

  The transport unit 20 is for feeding a medium (for example, the paper S) to a printable position and transporting the paper by a predetermined transport amount in a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as a transport direction) during printing. That is, the transport unit 20 is a transport unit that transports paper. The transport unit 20 includes a paper feed roller 21, a transport motor 22 (also referred to as a PF motor), a transport roller 23, a platen 24, and a paper discharge roller 25. However, in order for the transport unit 20 to function as a transport unit, all of these components are not necessarily required. The paper feed roller 21 is a roller for feeding the paper inserted into the paper insertion slot into the printer. The paper feed roller 21 has a D-shaped cross section, and the length of the circumferential portion is set to be longer than the transport distance to the transport roller 23. 23 can be conveyed. The transport motor 22 is a motor for transporting paper in the transport direction, and is configured by a DC motor, for example. The transport roller 23 is a roller that transports the paper S fed by the paper feed roller 21 to a printable area, and is driven by the transport motor 22. The platen 24 supports the paper S being printed. The paper discharge roller 25 is a roller for discharging the paper S to the outside of the printer, and is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the printable area. The paper discharge roller 25 rotates in synchronization with the transport roller 23.

  The carriage unit 30 is for moving (also referred to as “scanning”) the head in a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as a moving direction). The carriage unit 30 includes a carriage 31 and a carriage motor 32 (also referred to as a CR motor). The carriage 31 can reciprocate in the moving direction. (Thus, the head moves along the moving direction.) The carriage 31 detachably holds an ink cartridge that stores ink. The carriage motor 32 is a motor for moving the carriage 31 in the movement direction, and is constituted by, for example, a DC motor. The carriage motor 32 serves as a moving unit that moves a head (described later) in the moving direction.

  The head unit 40 is for ejecting ink onto paper. The head unit 40 has a head 41. The head 41 has a plurality of nozzles, and ejects ink intermittently from each nozzle. The head 41 is provided on the carriage 31. Therefore, when the carriage 31 moves in the movement direction, the head 41 also moves in the movement direction. Then, by intermittently ejecting ink while the head 41 is moving in the moving direction, dot lines (raster lines) along the moving direction are formed on the paper.

  The detector group 50 includes a linear encoder 51, a rotary encoder 52, a paper detection sensor 53, an optical sensor 54, and the like. The linear encoder 51 is for detecting the position of the carriage 31 in the moving direction. The rotary encoder 52 is for detecting the rotation amount of the transport roller 23. The paper detection sensor 53 is for detecting the position of the leading edge of the paper to be printed. The paper detection sensor 53 is provided at a position where the position of the leading edge of the paper can be detected while the paper feed roller 21 feeds the paper toward the transport roller 23. The paper detection sensor 53 is a mechanical sensor that detects the leading edge of the paper by a mechanical mechanism. More specifically, the paper detection sensor 53 has a lever that can rotate in the transport direction, and this lever is disposed so as to protrude into the paper transport path. For this reason, since the leading edge of the paper comes into contact with the lever and the lever is rotated, the paper detection sensor 53 detects the position of the leading edge of the paper by detecting the movement of the lever. The optical sensor 54 is attached to the carriage 31. The optical sensor 54 detects the presence or absence of paper by the light receiving unit detecting reflected light of light irradiated on the paper from the light emitting unit. The optical sensor 54 can detect the position of the edge of the paper while being moved by the carriage 31 to detect the width of the paper. The optical sensor 54 also detects the leading end (the end on the downstream side in the transport direction, also referred to as the upper end) and the rear end (the end on the upstream side in the transport direction, also referred to as the lower end) depending on the situation. it can. Since the optical sensor 54 optically detects the edge of the paper, the detection accuracy is higher than that of the mechanical paper detection sensor 53.

<About nozzle>
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of nozzles on the lower surface of the head 41. Six nozzle groups are formed on the lower surface of the head 41. Each nozzle group includes a plurality of nozzles (180 in this embodiment) that are ejection openings for ejecting ink of each color.
The plurality of nozzles of each nozzle group are aligned at a constant interval (nozzle pitch: k · D) along the transport direction. Here, D is the minimum dot pitch in the carrying direction (that is, the interval at the highest resolution of dots formed on the paper S). K is an integer of 1 or more.
The nozzles of each nozzle group are assigned a smaller number as the nozzles on the downstream side in the transport direction (# 1 to # 180). It should be noted that the above-described optical sensor 54 is substantially at the same position as the nozzle # 180 on the most upstream side with respect to the position in the transport direction.
Each nozzle is provided with an ink chamber (not shown) and a piezoelectric element. By driving the piezo element, the ink chamber expands and contracts, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles.

By the way, in an ink jet printer, when a print image is formed on paper, the print image is composed of a large number of dots. In such an ink jet printer, the gradation of the print image is expressed by changing the density of dots on the paper. For example, the density of dots is high in the dark portion of the print image, and the dot density is low in the light portion of the print image.
In the portion where the density of the printed image is light, graininess tends to appear. For example, when printing light cyan using only cyan ink, dots of cyan ink are formed sparsely, resulting in a printed image that looks more like cyan polka dots than light cyan (graininess) ).

Therefore, the head 41 of the present embodiment includes the light ink nozzle group LC, the light magenta ink, the black ink nozzle group K, the cyan ink nozzle group C, the magenta ink nozzle group M, and the yellow ink nozzle group Y. A nozzle group LM is formed.
Light cyan ink has a lighter density than cyan ink (dark ink). Cyan absorbs red light, which is a complementary color, and light cyan dots (light dots) formed with light cyan ink have a smaller amount of red light absorption than dots (dark dots) formed with cyan ink.
Light magenta ink has a lighter density than magenta ink (dark ink). Magenta has a property of absorbing green light, which is a complementary color, and a dot (light dot) formed with light magenta ink has a smaller amount of green light absorption than a dot (dark dot) formed with magenta ink.

  When printing a light cyan image in this embodiment, light cyan dots are formed on paper using light cyan ink. Compared with the case where only cyan ink is used, if the light cyan dot is used to express a light cyan, the number of dots increases, so that the graininess can be reduced.

  For yellow, light ink is not prepared because the influence of density is small. However, if dark yellow ink (dark ink) is used, deep yellow can be expressed in the printed image. Note that yellow has the property of absorbing blue light, which is a complementary color, but dark yellow dots (dark dots) formed with dark yellow ink are more blue light than dots (light dots) formed with yellow ink. Absorption is high.

<About the configuration of each ink>
Here, the configuration of each ink will be described with reference to FIG. Each ink is composed of a pigment component, a resin component, a moisturizing agent, other components, and pure water.

  The pigment content is a color material. In the dye ink, the color material is dissolved in the solvent, but in the pigment ink, the pigment component is dispersed in the liquid. When the pigment ink lands on the paper, the color material stays on the surface of the paper and hardly penetrates into the paper. Thus, the color material that is a pigment component has a function of placing a color on the paper surface. For this reason, the ratio of the pigment component increases in the dark-colored ink, and the ratio of the pigment component decreases in the light-colored ink. For example, the color material of “Color Index Pigment Blue 15: 3” is used for cyan, but the pigment content of cyan ink is 4.0%, while that of light cyan ink is 1.0%. Light cyan ink has less pigment content than cyan ink. Similarly, magenta ink has a pigment content of 5.5%, while light magenta ink has a pigment content of 1.0%, and light magenta ink has less pigment content than magenta ink.

  The resin component is, for example, “resin”. The resin component is coated with the pigment component so that the pigment component dispersed and present does not aggregate. Thus, the resin component functions as a dispersant. Since the resin component coats the pigment component, the resin component increases as the pigment component increases, and the resin component decreases as the pigment component decreases. For example, the resin content of cyan ink is 2.0%, whereas the light cyan ink has a resin content of 0.5%, and light cyan ink has less resin content than cyan ink. The same applies to magenta and light magenta.

  The humectant is, for example, a polyhydric alcohol such as “glycerin”. The humectant has a function of preventing evaporation of moisture contained in the ink. Further, the humectant prevents the ink in the nozzle from evaporating, thereby preventing the ink from solidifying at the nozzle and preventing the nozzle from being clogged. The ink contains other components such as a surfactant and pure water.

  Next, adjustment of the viscosity of the ink will be described. The viscosity of the ink is affected by the solid content (mainly pigment content and resin content) contained in the ink and the amount of humectant. For example, if the amount of the solid content and the humectant increases, the viscosity of the ink increases, and if the amount of the solid content and the humectant decreases, the viscosity of the ink decreases. However, the viscosity of each color ink is preferably equal. This is because the amount of ink ejected from each nozzle differs if the viscosity of each color ink differs. Therefore, the ink viscosity is adjusted by decreasing the amount of the humectant if the amount of the solid content is large, and increasing the amount of the humectant if the amount of the solid content is small.

Here, the amount of the moisturizing agent for cyan ink and light ink will be examined. Light cyan ink is lighter than cyan ink. For this reason, the light cyan ink has a smaller pigment content than the cyan ink, so that the solid content (pigment content and resin content) is reduced. On the other hand, it is necessary to adjust the viscosity of the light cyan ink to the same level as that of the cyan ink. Therefore, the humectant contained in the light cyan ink is adjusted so as to be more than the humectant contained in the cyan ink. For the same reason, the humectant contained in the light magenta ink is larger than the humectant contained in the magenta ink.
The light cyan ink has a smaller solid content and a larger amount of humectant than the cyan ink, so that the ink is less likely to solidify due to evaporation of moisture. Similarly, light magenta ink has a smaller solid content and a larger amount of moisturizing agent than magenta ink, and therefore, solidification of ink due to evaporation of moisture hardly occurs.

=== Borderless printing ===
<About borderless printing>
Here, borderless printing will be described. Borderless printing is a printing method in which printing is performed without leaving margins at the side edges and upper and lower edges of the paper S. When borderless printing is performed, as shown in FIG. 7, ink is ejected from each nozzle toward a range wider than the size of the paper S. As a result, even if the paper position is shifted during conveyance, printing can be performed without leaving a blank on the entire surface of the paper.
However, there is ink ejected outside the paper during borderless printing. Since this ink does not land on the paper S, it will land on the platen 24 that supports the paper S. Note that an area where ink that does not land on the paper S lands is referred to as a “leaked area”.
If ink that has landed on the platen 24 during borderless printing adheres to the back side of the next paper to be transported, the paper will be soiled. Therefore, the platen 24 of the printer that performs borderless printing has a structure as described below.

FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of ink ejection during borderless printing. FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of ink landing during borderless printing. As shown in FIG. 8A, the platen 24 includes a support portion 242 that supports the paper S and a groove portion 244 that is provided at a position lower than the support portion.
During borderless printing, ink is ejected from a nozzle provided in the head 41 toward a wider range than the paper S. Then, ink that does not land on the paper S reaches the groove 244. However, since the groove portion 244 is located at a position lower than the support portion 242, the ink that has landed on the groove portion is located at a position lower than the support portion 242. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the ink that has landed in the groove 244 from adhering to the back surface of the paper.
In addition, the groove part 244 is designed in advance so that the leakage area is positioned on the groove part 244 (in FIG. 8B, the area where the ink has landed on the groove part 244 is the leakage area). Thus, the groove 244 becomes a receiving part for receiving ink that does not land on the paper S during borderless printing.
By the way, when a large amount of ink lands on the groove portion 244, the ink accumulates in the groove portion 244, and a crest of ink solidified in the groove portion 244 is formed. When the pile of ink reaches the height of the support portion 242, the back surface of the paper S may be stained. In order to prevent this, a sponge 246 is provided as an absorbing material that absorbs ink at a position that becomes a leakage region in the groove 244.

<Accumulation of pigment ink>
Sponge is composed of fine fibers intertwined in a mesh shape, and is a porous material with excellent water absorption. However, in the case of the pigment ink, unlike the dye ink in which the color material is dissolved, the color material is likely to be deposited on the sponge 246.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a state when dark ink has landed on the sponge 246. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a situation when light ink has landed on the sponge 246.
A dark ink (for example, cyan ink) has a smaller amount of humectant than a light ink (for example, light cyan ink). For this reason, when the dark ink lands on the sponge 246, the moisturizing agent does not penetrate to the inner deep layer of the sponge 246, and the surface of the sponge is also in a state of being easily dried. As a result, the pigment component landed on the sponge 246 does not penetrate into the sponge 246, and the pigment component of the ink is caught on the fiber on the sponge surface. In addition, since the dark ink has a large amount of pigment, when the dark ink lands on the sponge 246, the pigment tends to accumulate on the sponge surface.
When the dark ink repeatedly lands on the sponge 246, the pigment component accumulates in the fiber on the sponge surface, and the mesh of the fiber on the sponge surface is filled with the pigment component. In this case, the sponge 246 does not function as an absorbent material. As a result, the ink tends to accumulate on the sponge, and the ink peak tends to be high.

  On the other hand, light ink (for example, light cyan ink) has a larger amount of humectant than dark ink (for example, cyan ink). For this reason, when light ink lands on the sponge 246, the moisturizing agent penetrates widely from the surface of the sponge 246 to the inner deep layer. Then, the pigment component of the ink that has landed on the sponge 246 is promoted to flow by the moisturizing agent that has permeated the sponge 246 and penetrates into the sponge 246. As a result, the amount of pigment accumulated on the sponge surface is reduced, and the fiber network on the sponge surface is less likely to be filled with the pigment component. In addition, since the light ink has a small amount of pigment, even if the light ink lands on the sponge 246, it is difficult for the pigment to accumulate on the sponge surface.

Further, if the moisturizing agent has penetrated to the inner deep layer of the sponge 246, even if the dark ink lands on the sponge 246, the pigment component flows by the moisturizing agent, and the pigment component penetrates into the sponge 246. That is, if the moisturizing agent has penetrated to the inner deep layer of the sponge 246, it is difficult for the pigment component to accumulate on the sponge surface.
Even if pigments have accumulated on the sponge surface, before the fiber mesh on the sponge surface is filled, when a large amount of light ink lands on the sponge, the moisturizer penetrates into the sponge and The accumulated pigment will penetrate into the sponge. That is, even if the dark ink is landed on the sponge 246 and then the light ink is landed on the sponge 246, it is difficult for the pigment component to accumulate on the sponge surface.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the ink is prevented from being deposited on the sponge 246 by positively ejecting light ink onto the sponge 246 and allowing the moisturizing agent to penetrate into the sponge.

=== Printing Method 1 of the Present Embodiment ===
Next, the printing method 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This printing method is executed by the printer-side controller 60 controlling each unit in the printer based on a program stored in the memory 63. In the following description, the light ink that is positively ejected to the sponge 246 is light cyan ink. However, light magenta ink may be used instead of light cyan ink or together with light cyan ink.

In step S101, the printer-side controller 60 determines whether or not light cyan ink ejection is prohibited by the user. In the initial setting, since the prohibition setting is cancelled, this determination is NO.
In step S <b> 102, the printer-side controller 60 determines whether the printing method is “marginless printing”. Since the user sets whether or not to perform “marginless printing” on the printer driver when instructing printing, the printer-side controller 60 makes a determination based on this setting. Here, this determination is YES.
In step S <b> 103, the printer-side controller 60 causes the head 41 to discharge light cyan ink to the area where the groove 244 is broken.

FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B are explanatory diagrams of the breakthrough region. When borderless printing is performed on the paper S having the width shown in FIG. 12A, the hatched portion shown in FIG. Since the bleed area varies depending on the paper width, the printer-side controller 60 determines the position of the bleed area according to the width of the paper to be printed. Since the user sets a paper size (for example, A4 size) on the printer driver when instructing printing, the printer-side controller 60 determines the position of the leakage area based on this setting.
Then, the printer-side controller 60 moves the carriage 31 so that the light cyan ink nozzle group opposes the leakage area, and causes the head 41 to eject light cyan ink from the light cyan ink nozzle group. As a result, light cyan ink is applied to the leaked area, and the moisturizing agent penetrates into the sponge 246 in the leaked area.

  In this printing method, the light cyan ink is positively ejected to the blown area before the paper feed process (S104). For this reason, since there is no paper in the print area at this time, the discharged light cyan ink does not land on the paper.

  In step S104, the printer-side controller 60 performs a paper feed process. The paper feed process is a process of supplying paper to be printed into the printer and positioning the paper at a print start position (also referred to as a cue position). The printer-side controller 60 rotates the paper feed roller 21 and sends the paper S to be printed to the transport roller 23. The printer-side controller 60 rotates the carry roller 23 to position the paper S sent from the paper supply roller 21 at the print start position. When the paper S is positioned at the print start position, the paper S is in a position that can face at least some of the nozzles of the head 41. That is, when the paper feeding process is finished, the paper S reaches a printable position (printing area).

  In step S105, the printer-side controller 60 performs a dot formation process. The dot forming process is a process of forming dots on the paper S by intermittently ejecting ink from the head 41 moving in the moving direction. The printer-side controller 60 drives the carriage motor 32 to move the carriage 31 in the movement direction. The printer-side controller 60 ejects ink from the head based on the print data while the carriage 31 is moving. When ink droplets ejected from the head land on the paper, dots are formed on the paper S. Note that a region where ink is ejected from the head 41 during the dot formation process is a region called a “printing region”.

  In the dot formation process at the time of borderless printing, ink that does not land on the paper S lands on the sponge 246 as described with reference to FIG. However, since the light cyan ink has already been applied in step S103, the moisturizing agent has penetrated into the sponge 246 in the area where ink that does not land on the paper S has landed (leakage area). For this reason, even when dark ink (for example, cyan ink or magenta ink) lands on the sponge 246 during dot formation processing in borderless printing, the pigment component penetrates into the sponge 246.

  In step S106, the printer-side controller 60 performs a conveyance process. The transport process is a process of moving the paper S relative to the head along the transport direction. The printer-side controller 60 drives the carry motor and rotates the carry roller to carry the paper S in the carrying direction. By this carrying process, the head 41 can form dots at positions different from the positions of the dots formed by the previous dot formation process.

  In step S107, the printer-side controller 60 determines whether to discharge the paper S being printed. If data for printing on the paper S being printed remains, the paper is not discharged. Then, the process returns to step S105, and the printer-side controller 60 alternately repeats the dot formation process and the conveyance process until there is no data to be printed, and gradually prints an image composed of dots on the paper S. If there is no data to be printed on the paper S being printed, the process proceeds to step S108.

  In step S108, the printer-side controller 60 performs a paper discharge process. The printer-side controller 60 discharges the printed paper to the outside by rotating the paper discharge roller. The determination of whether or not to discharge paper may be based on a paper discharge command included in the print data.

  In step S109, the printer-side controller 60 determines whether to continue printing. If printing is to be performed on the next paper, the process returns to step S101. If printing is not performed on the next paper, the printing operation is terminated.

  In the present embodiment, before the dot formation process (step S105), the light cyan ink is positively ejected to the blown area in step S103. As a result, even when ink that does not land on the paper during the dot formation process (S105) during borderless printing lands on the groove 244, the pigment component penetrates into the sponge 246 and the ink does not accumulate on the sponge.

  However, there are cases where a user who wants to suppress ink consumption does not want to discharge ink that is not related to printing. In such a case, the user can set the printer driver to prohibit ejection of light cyan ink or the like in step 103. If the user sets to prohibit the discharge of light cyan ink or the like, the printer-side controller skips the process of step 103 (YES in step S101) and starts printing (step S104). As a result, ink easily accumulates on the sponge, but the consumption of ink can be suppressed instead. Even if the ink is deposited on the sponge, the back of the paper S is not soiled because the height of the ink crest is low if the amount is small.

  Further, when borderless printing is not performed, ink does not land on the groove 244. If the process in step S103 is performed up to such a case, ink is wasted. For this reason, if the printer-side controller 60 determines in step S102 that it is not “marginless printing”, the printer-side controller 60 omits the processing in step S103 (NO in step S102) and starts printing (step S104). ).

=== Printing Method 2 of the Present Embodiment ===
Next, the printing method 2 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the above-described printing method, the light cyan ink is positively discharged and discharged to the area before the dot formation process. On the other hand, in this printing method, after the dot formation process, light cyan ink is positively ejected and discharged to the area. The contents of each process of this printing method are the same as the contents of each process of the above-described printing method, and thus description thereof is omitted.

In this printing method, there is a possibility that a pigment component may accumulate on the sponge surface during the dot formation process (step S202). However, since the amount of ink that lands on the sponge 246 during one printing operation (the amount of leakage) is small, the fiber mesh on the surface of the sponge is not buried. Moreover, the ink on the sponge surface is not dried immediately after printing. In such a sponge state, the light cyan ink is positively discharged and discharged into the region (step S208), so that the pigment accumulated on the sponge surface can penetrate into the sponge.
However, when the light cyan ink is ejected to the groove portion 244 before printing is performed as in the printing method 1, since the groove portion 244 can be moisturized in advance, it is more effective that the ink landing on the groove portion 244 is accumulated. Can be suppressed.

  In this printing method, after the paper discharge process (S205), the light cyan ink is positively ejected to the area to be discharged (step S208). For this reason, in step S208, since there is no paper in the print area, the discharged light cyan ink does not land on the paper.

=== Printing Method 3 of the Present Embodiment ===
In borderless printing, photographic images are mainly printed on paper. On the other hand, in photographic image printing, dots are rarely formed in all pixels, and dots are formed in a dispersed manner (for example, dots are formed in a dispersed manner in a light image portion such as a sky color). ). Therefore, the amount of ink that lands on the leakage area during borderless printing is relatively small. By the way, when the amount of ink landed on the sponge is small, the surface area of the ink with respect to the amount of ink increases, so that the moisture of the ink is easily evaporated and the surface of the sponge is easily dried. For this reason, at the time of borderless printing, since the amount of ink that lands on the leaked area is small, the ink that has landed on the sponge 246 is easily dried, and the pigment component is less likely to penetrate into the sponge 246. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the pigment component accumulates on the surface of the sponge 246 during borderless printing. In particular, since dark ink has a small amount of moisturizing agent and a large amount of pigment, when the dark ink is dispersed and landed on the sponge 246, the water content of the ink tends to evaporate and the pigment content tends to accumulate on the sponge surface. For this reason, in the above-described printing method, ink containing a large amount of moisturizing agent (light cyan ink) is actively ejected to the leaked area before and after the dot formation process (S103 in FIG. 11, FIG. 13 S208).

  However, as in the above-described printing method, the type of ink that is positively ejected into the breaching region is not limited to ink that contains a large amount of moisturizing agent. In short, it is considered that if the surface of the sponge 246 is made difficult to dry, the pigment component is less likely to accumulate on the sponge surface.

  For example, in the above-described S103 and S208, the printer-side controller may positively discharge cyan ink that is darker than light cyan ink into the leaked area. However, when the cyan ink ejected at this time is dispersed and landed on the leaked area in the same manner as in borderless printing, the deposition of the pigment is promoted rather than suppressing the deposition of the pigment. For this reason, when the cyan ink is positively ejected in the above-described S103 and S208, the printer-side controller ejects more ink than the amount ejected at the time of borderless printing, so that the surface of the sponge 246 is soaked. Let As a result, the surface area of the ink with respect to the amount of ink is reduced, and the surface of the sponge is difficult to dry even with cyan ink. The pigment content is difficult to accumulate. Note that “a large amount of ink” means that the amount of ink per unit time and unit area is large in view of the purpose of making it difficult to dry the sponge.

  It should be noted that the type of ink that is positively ejected to the smashed area (the type of ink that is ejected to the sponge 246 when there is no paper in the print area) is the type of ink that is ejected during borderless printing (the print area). There is no need to be included in the type of ink ejected to the sponge 246 when paper is present. For example, when the type of ink ejected at the time of borderless printing is only the color ink excluding the black ink, the black ink may be positively ejected to the breached area.

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

<About the head>
In the above-described embodiment, ink is ejected using a piezoelectric element. However, the method for discharging the liquid is not limited to this. For example, other methods such as a method of generating bubbles in the nozzle by heat may be used.
In the above-described embodiment, the head is provided on the carriage. However, the head may be provided in an ink cartridge that is detachable from the carriage.

<About borderless printing>
In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which printing is performed without leaving margins at the side edges of the paper S as borderless printing. However, even when printing is performed so that no margin is left in the upper and lower ends of the paper S, there is a leakage area, so light cyan ink (or light magenta ink) may be positively ejected in this area. . Hereinafter, the borderless printing of the upper end portion of the paper S will be described (the borderless printing of the lower end portion is substantially the same as the borderless printing of the upper end portion, and thus description thereof will be omitted).

FIG. 14A is an explanatory diagram of ink ejection during borderless printing at the upper end of the paper. FIG. 14B is an explanatory diagram of ink landing at the time of borderless printing at the upper end of the paper.
During borderless printing of the upper end of the paper, ink is ejected from nozzles that do not face the paper S, and ink is ejected over a wider area than the paper S. For this reason, the ink ejected from the nozzles that do not face the paper S (nozzles on the downstream side in the transport direction in the figure) does not land on the paper S but landes on the sponge 246 of the groove portion 244 (the area where this ink landes). Will be the breaching area).
Therefore, the light cyan ink is ejected from the nozzle on the downstream side in the transport direction before the paper feed process (S104) or after the paper discharge process (S205), so that the light cyan ink is applied to the spilled area at the time of borderless printing. You may make it discharge. As a result, it is possible to suppress the ink from being deposited in the leakage region during borderless printing at the upper end.
However, the amount of ink leakage at the time of borderless printing at the upper end of the paper is smaller than the amount of ink leakage at the time of borderless printing at the side edge of the paper. For this reason, it is not necessary to positively discharge the light cyan ink only to the leakage area at the side edge of the paper, and not to positively discharge the light cyan ink to the leakage area at the upper and lower ends of the paper. .

=== Summary ===
(1) The printer described above includes a cyan ink (first pigment ink) that is a pigment ink having a humectant, and a light cyan ink (second pigment ink) that is a pigment ink having more humectants than the cyan ink. The head 41 is discharged.
When this printer performs borderless printing, there is an ink that does not land on the paper, and if this ink adheres to the back surface of the paper, the paper may be soiled. In view of this, the above-described printer is provided with a groove 244 in the platen 24 in order to receive ink ejected from the head 41 during printing (when there is paper in the printing area).
When a large amount of dark pigment ink lands on the groove 244, a pigment component accumulates in the groove 244, and an ink peak is formed. When the ink crest becomes higher than the support portion 242, there is a possibility that the back side of the paper is stained.
Therefore, in the printer-side controller 60 described above, light cyan ink containing a large amount of moisturizing agent is actively ejected to the head 41. This makes it difficult for the cyan ink pigment component to accumulate and makes it difficult for the ink peaks to become high, so that the back side of the paper does not have to be stained.

  Note that if light cyan ink is ejected with paper in the print area, the light cyan ink may land on the paper. Therefore, the printer-side controller 60 described above discharges light cyan ink with no paper in the print area.

(2) The aforementioned groove 244 is provided with a sponge 246 as an absorbent material. In particular, a sponge 246 is provided at a location where the groove portion 244 is to be leaked.
The sponge 246 is a porous and excellent absorbent material. However, if the fiber mesh on the sponge surface is filled with pigment, the sponge 246 does not function as an absorbent material, and a pile of ink is formed on the sponge. It becomes easy. Therefore, the above-described printer-side controller positively causes the head 41 to eject light cyan ink toward the sponge 246.
By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the sponge 246 is provided in the piercing region of the groove portion 244. However, it goes without saying that the absorbent material is not limited to sponge. Further, there is no need for an absorbent material in the leaked area. Even in such a case, if the light cyan ink is ejected to the leaked area, the pigment component of the dark ink can be flowed with the moisturizing agent, and the piles of the accumulated ink can be destroyed.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the groove 244 receives ink that does not land on the side edge of the paper S during borderless printing of the side edge of the paper S (see FIG. 8B). According to the above-described printer, the crest of ink does not increase in the leaked area during borderless printing of the side edge of the paper S.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the groove 244 receives ink that does not land on the upper and lower ends of the paper S during borderless printing of the upper and lower ends of the paper S (see FIG. 14B). And according to the above-mentioned printer, at the time of borderless printing of the upper and lower ends of the paper S, it is not necessary to make the ink crest high in the leakage area.

(5) In the above-described printing method 1 (see FIG. 11), the printer-side controller 60 causes the head 41 to eject light cyan ink into the groove 244 before printing. In other words, in the printing method 1 described above, the process of step S103 is performed before the dot formation process (S105). As a result, the moisturizing agent can be applied to the groove portion 244 in advance before ink lands on the leaked area during borderless printing, and the accumulation of pigment can be prevented.

(6) In the above-described printing method 2 (see FIG. 13), after printing, the printer-side controller 60 causes the head 41 to eject light cyan ink into the groove 244. In other words, in the printing method 2 described above, the process of step S208 is performed after the dot formation process (S202). Even after printing, if the ink in the groove 244 is before drying, the ink accumulation can be suppressed by positively ejecting the light cyan ink into the region.

(7) In the above-described embodiment, the process of positively ejecting the light cyan ink into the area according to the user setting is omitted (see S101 or S206). Thereby, consumption of ink can be suppressed according to the user's desire.

(8) In the above-described embodiment, when the borderless printing is not performed, the process of positively ejecting the light cyan ink into the area is omitted (see S102 or S207). If borderless printing is not performed, ink does not land on the groove 244, so there is no possibility of ink accumulation. Thereby, useless consumption of ink can be suppressed.

(9) Both the cyan ink and the light cyan ink described above absorb red light. However, since the amount of the pigment that is the color material is different between the cyan ink and the light cyan ink, the amount of absorption of red light is different. By using such inks with different shades, the graininess of the printed image can be improved.

By the way, since the cyan ink is darker than the light cyan ink, the amount of pigment is large. As the amount of pigment increases, the amount of resin also increases and the amount of solids increases. On the other hand, when the amount of solid content increases, the amount of humectant decreases because the viscosity of the ink is adjusted. That is, cyan ink has a smaller amount of humectant than light cyan ink.
When cyan ink with a small amount of moisturizing agent lands on the groove 244, the pigment component tends to accumulate and ink peaks are likely to be formed. On the other hand, even if light cyan ink with a large amount of humectant lands on the groove 244, the pigment component does not accumulate, but rather has an effect of suppressing the pigment component accumulation.
Therefore, the light cyan ink, which is the lighter of the inks of different shades, is positively ejected to the groove 244 to suppress the formation of ink crests.

(10) If all the elements of the above embodiment are included, it is desirable because all the effects can be obtained. However, it goes without saying that not all elements are necessarily required to obtain the effect of suppressing the accumulation of ink.

(11) In the above-described embodiment, it is needless to say that not only the printer is disclosed but also the printing method is disclosed.

(12) In the above-described embodiment, it is needless to say that not only the printer is disclosed but also the printing system is disclosed.

(13) Note that the type of ink that is positively ejected into the area before and after the dot formation process is not limited to ink with a large amount of moisturizing agent. For example, cyan ink that is darker than light cyan ink may be ejected. Even in such a printing apparatus, it is possible to obtain an effect of suppressing the accumulation of ink.

(14) However, if it is dispersed and landed on the leaked area as in borderless printing, the deposition of the pigment is promoted rather than suppressing the deposition of the pigment. For this reason, when cyan ink is positively ejected, the printer-side controller needs to eject more ink than at least the amount of ink ejected during borderless printing to make the surface of the sponge 246 soaked.

(15) Note that the type of ink that is positively ejected into the breached area before and after the dot formation process (the type of ink that is ejected from the head when there is no medium in the print area) is ejected during borderless printing. (The type of ink ejected from the head when there is a medium in the print area).

(16) However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the type of ink that is positively ejected into the area before and after the dot formation process may be different from the type of ink that is ejected during borderless printing. . For example, when the type of ink ejected at the time of borderless printing is only the color ink excluding the black ink, the black ink may be positively ejected to the area where it is leaked.

(17) It is obvious that the effect of suppressing the accumulation of ink can be obtained according to the printing method in which ink is positively ejected to the leaked area.

(18) It is also clear that the printing system that positively discharges to the area where ink is actively leaked can obtain the effect of suppressing the accumulation of ink.

It is explanatory drawing which showed the external appearance structure of the printing system. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration of a computer 110 and a printer 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an overall configuration of a printer 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the overall configuration of the printer 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | sequence of a nozzle. It is explanatory drawing explaining the structure of each ink. It is explanatory drawing explaining the ink discharge range at the time of borderless printing. FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of ink ejection during borderless printing. FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of ink landing during borderless printing. It is explanatory drawing of a mode when dark ink lands on sponge. It is explanatory drawing of a mode when light ink lands on sponge. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printing method. FIG. FIG. 12A is an explanatory diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the paper S and the platen during printing. FIG. 12B is an explanatory diagram for explaining a breakthrough region. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a printing method 2; FIG. FIG. 14A is an explanatory diagram of ink ejection during borderless printing. FIG. 14B is an explanatory diagram of ink landing during borderless printing.

Explanation of symbols

1 printer,
20 transport unit, 21 paper feed roller, 22 transport motor, 23 transport roller,
24 platen,
242 support part, 244 groove part, 246 sponge, 25 paper discharge roller,
30 Carriage unit, 31 Carriage, 32 Carriage motor,
40 head units, 41 heads,
50 detector groups, 51 linear encoder, 52 rotary encoder,
53 Paper detection sensor, 54 Optical sensor,
60 printer-side controller, 61 interface unit, 62 CPU,
63 Printer side memory,
64 unit control circuit,
100 printing system, 110 computer, 120 display device,
130 input device, 130A keyboard, 130B mouse,
140 recording / reproducing apparatus,
140A flexible disk drive device,
140B CD-ROM drive device,
161 interface unit, 162 CPU, 163 computer side memory,
S paper

Claims (18)

A head for discharging a first pigment ink having a humectant and a second pigment ink having more humectant than the first pigment ink;
The first pigment ink that does not land on the medium and the second pigment ink when the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink are ejected from the head in a state where the medium exists in the print region. Receiving part for receiving pigment ink,
A controller that causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving portion in a state where there is no medium in the printing area;
A printing apparatus. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion includes an absorbent material that absorbs the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion receives the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on a side end portion of the medium. In the printing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3,
The printing apparatus, wherein the receiving unit receives the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on the upper and lower ends of the medium. In the printing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4,
The printing apparatus, wherein the controller causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving unit before printing the medium. In the printing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4,
The printing apparatus, wherein the controller causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving unit after printing the medium. In the printing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-6,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller determines whether or not the second pigment ink is ejected to the receiving portion with respect to the head in a state where there is no medium in the printing area, according to a user setting. In the printing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-7,
The printing apparatus, wherein when the edge of the medium is not printed, the controller does not cause the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving portion when there is no medium in the print area. In the printing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-8,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink each absorb light having the same wavelength and have different absorption amounts. A head that ejects a first pigment ink having a humectant and a second pigment ink having more humectant than the first pigment ink;
The first pigment ink that does not land on the medium and the second pigment ink when the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink are ejected from the head in a state where the medium exists in the print region. Receiving part for receiving pigment ink,
A controller that causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving portion in a state where there is no medium in the printing area;
Have
The receiving portion has an absorbent material that absorbs the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink,
The receiving portion receives the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on a side end portion of the medium;
The receiving portion receives the first pigment ink that does not land on the upper and lower end portions of the medium, and the second pigment ink,
The controller causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving portion before printing the medium;
The controller determines whether to cause the head to eject the second pigment ink to the head in a state where there is no medium in the print area, according to a user setting,
When the controller does not print the edge of the medium, the controller does not cause the head to discharge the second pigment ink in the state where there is no medium in the print area,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink each absorb light having the same wavelength and have different absorption amounts. When the first pigment ink having a humectant and the second pigment ink having more humectant than the first pigment ink are ejected from the head in a state where the medium is in the printing area, the medium Receiving the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on the receiving portion,
The printing method, wherein the second pigment ink is ejected to the receiving portion with respect to the head in a state where the medium is not present in the printing area. A printing system comprising a computer main body and a printing device connectable to the computer main body,
The printing apparatus includes a head for ejecting a first pigment ink having a humectant and a second pigment ink having a larger amount of humectant than the first pigment ink, and a state in which a medium is present in a print region. Receiving the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink that do not land on the medium when the first pigment ink and the second pigment ink are ejected from the head. And a controller that causes the head to eject the second pigment ink to the receiving portion when there is no medium in the printing area;
A printing system comprising: A head for ejecting pigment ink;
A receiving portion for receiving the pigment ink that does not land on the medium when the pigment ink is ejected from the head in a state where the medium is in a print region;
A controller for ejecting the pigment ink to the receiving portion with respect to the head in a state where there is no medium in the printing region;
A printing apparatus. The printing apparatus according to claim 13,
The controller discharges the amount of the pigment ink discharged from the head to the receiving portion when the medium is not present in the printing area, and discharges the amount of the pigment ink from the head to the receiving portion when the medium is in the printing area. A printing apparatus characterized in that it is larger than the amount of the pigment ink. The printing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14,
The type of the pigment ink ejected from the head to the receiving part when the medium is not present in the printing area is the pigment ink that is ejected from the head to the receiving part when the medium is present in the printing area. Printing device characterized in that it is included in the type of The printing apparatus according to claim 13 or 14,
The type of the pigment ink ejected from the head to the receiving part when the medium is not present in the printing area is the pigment ink that is ejected from the head to the receiving part when the medium is present in the printing area. A printing apparatus characterized in that it is different from the type. When the pigment ink is ejected from the head in a state where the medium is in the printing area, the pigment ink that does not land on the medium is received by the receiving unit,
The printing method, wherein the pigment ink is ejected to the receiving portion with respect to the head in a state where the medium is not present in the printing area. A printing system comprising a computer main body and a printing device connectable to the computer main body,
The printing apparatus includes: a head that ejects pigment ink; a receiving portion that receives the pigment ink that does not land on the medium when the pigment ink is ejected from the head in a state where the medium is in a print region; A controller for ejecting the pigment ink to the receiving portion with respect to the head in a state where there is no medium in the region;
A printing system comprising:

Images