JP2006103053A - Recording apparatus, color compensating recording method and inkjet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording head capable of realizing a recording with a high quality and a high speed at a low cost even when non-delivery is generated, and to provide a recording apparatus and a color compensating recording method. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet recording head in which a plurality of nozzle lines are arranged to deliver ink of different colors, is constituted, for example, by changing the nozzle sizes so that the amount of ink delivery by one delivery operation from a first nozzle constituting a nozzle line for delivering a black ink is made less than the amount of ink delivery by one delivery operation from a second nozzle constituting a nozzle line for delivering a color ink. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, a color complementary recording method, and an ink jet recording head, and more particularly to a recording apparatus, a color complementary recording method, and an ink jet recording head having a configuration corresponding to performing complementary recording.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, ink jet recording apparatuses that perform recording on a recording medium by ejecting ink from nozzles arranged in a recording head have been applied to many information devices such as printers, FAX machines, and copiers. In particular, color printers capable of recording color images using a plurality of colors of inks have shown remarkable growth in the market because the use of an ink jet recording method has improved the image quality.

  While achieving high image quality, speeding up printing is also an important factor for color printers, increasing the frequency of droplet ejection from the printhead and increasing the number of nozzles arranged in the printhead. To meet the demand for higher speeds.

  However, the ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head) discharges dust that has entered the nozzle of the recording head at the time of manufacture, deterioration of an ink discharge nozzle (hereinafter referred to as a nozzle) due to long-term use, and ink. In some cases, a so-called “non-ejection” ink droplet cannot be ejected due to deterioration of the recording element. When nozzle deterioration or recording element deterioration is a cause, non-ejection may occur suddenly during use of the recording apparatus.

  In addition, the ink droplet ejection direction is greatly deviated from the desired direction (hereinafter referred to as “ejection good”) or the ink droplet ejection amount is larger than the desired amount without causing a completely non-ejection state. Different states (hereinafter referred to as “drop diameter variation”) may occur. Such a nozzle that has deteriorated to such a degree that the quality of a recorded image is greatly reduced when used for recording is a nozzle that does not correspond to a recordable nozzle. It shall be included in “Discharge”.

  Now, such non-ejection and the like can be suppressed in frequency by improving the manufacturing environment and the like, so that it has not been a big problem in the past. However, as described above, when the number of nozzles arranged in the recording head is increased in order to increase the recording speed, the problem cannot be ignored. In particular, in order to manufacture a recording head that does not include a nozzle in a non-ejection state or a good recording head in which non-ejection is unlikely to occur, the production cost increases, and as a result, the recording head becomes expensive.

When such a non-ejection occurs, it appears as a white streak on the recorded image. Therefore, in order to eliminate such white streak portions, conventionally, a multi-pass recording in which the recording head scans the same area on the recording medium a plurality of times to perform recording is used, and white streak portions are replaced with other normal portions. Techniques such as supplementing with a nozzle and recording have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-094662 A

  However, as in the conventional example described above, when multi-pass recording is performed, a decrease in recording speed is unavoidable, which goes against the demand for higher recording speed. Therefore, it goes without saying that in order to achieve the high-speed recording as described above, it is preferable to perform so-called one-pass recording in which the recording is completed by one scan. However, in the one-pass printing, there is a problem that it is very difficult to supplement a portion that is not recorded due to non-ejection or to be inconspicuous.

  Even when multi-pass printing is used, depending on the position and number of nozzles where ejection failure has occurred, it may be difficult to perform complementary printing of that position.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example. Even if non-ejection occurs, a recording apparatus, a color complementary recording method, and an ink jet recording head capable of realizing high-quality recording and high-speed recording at low cost. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, the amount of ink ejected by one ejection operation from the first nozzle constituting the nozzle row for ejecting black ink is one time from the second nozzle constituting the nozzle row for ejecting color ink. A recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium using an ink jet recording head that can reduce the amount of ink ejected by the ejection operation of
Instead of the second nozzle in which ejection failure has occurred, the first nozzle located in the vicinity of the nozzle should be used, and the second nozzle in which the ejection failure has occurred should record on the recording medium. And a complementary recording means for performing complementary recording by ejecting a black ink smaller than the color ink ejection amount at the same position.

  The recording apparatus configured as described above preferably includes at least one of the following features as an embodiment.

  (1) The size of the first nozzle of the ink jet recording head is smaller than the size of the second nozzle.

  (2) The first and second nozzles of the ink jet recording head have the same size, but a first heater for discharging a large liquid droplet and a small liquid droplet are discharged into the first nozzle. And a second heater for changing the ink discharge amount from the first nozzle.

  (3) The inkjet recording head includes a plurality of nozzle rows for ejecting black ink, and among the plurality of nozzle rows that eject black ink, the size of the nozzles constituting one nozzle row is the size of the other nozzle rows Is smaller than the size of the nozzle.

  (4) The resolution of the nozzle array composed of the first nozzles of the inkjet recording head is higher than the resolution of the nozzle array composed of the second nozzles.

  According to another invention, the amount of ink ejected by one ejection operation from the first nozzle constituting the nozzle row for ejecting black ink is the second amount constituting the nozzle row for ejecting color ink. A color-complementary recording method in a recording apparatus using an inkjet recording head that can reduce the amount of ink discharged by one discharge operation from the nozzles of the nozzles, in place of the second nozzle in which a discharge failure has occurred. Using the first nozzle located in the vicinity, an amount smaller than the discharge amount of the color ink at the same position as the second nozzle where the discharge failure occurred should be recorded on the recording medium. A color complementary recording method is provided, which performs complementary recording by discharging black ink.

  According to yet another invention, there is provided an ink jet recording head in which a plurality of nozzle rows are arranged to eject different color inks, once from a first nozzle constituting a nozzle row for ejecting black ink. The ink jet recording head is characterized in that the ink discharge amount by the discharge operation can be smaller than the ink discharge amount by one discharge operation from the second nozzle constituting the nozzle row for discharging the color ink.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, since complementary recording is performed using a small amount of black ink having a lower brightness than color ink, the overlap with the color ink ejected at a position close to the position where the ejection failure has occurred is reduced, and the overlap. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an increase in local contrast caused by an increase in density due to ink bleeding or ink bleeding.

  Thereby, even if an ejection failure nozzle is generated in the ink jet recording head, high-quality recording complement can be realized. Also, by reducing the amount of black ink used for complementary recording itself, the graininess of the recording dots by the black ink itself is reduced, and the complementary recording should originally be recorded with color ink. Since the positions of the recording dots for complementation are not extremely discrete, there is an advantage that the graininess is reduced.

  Further, the complementary recording according to the present invention depends on the nozzle arrangement of the ink jet recording head, and does not require a nozzle for complementary recording or the like, and does not require special recording control such as multi-pass recording. The recording speed is not only maintained, but the manufacturing cost of the recording head does not increase.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described more specifically and in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In this specification, “recording” (sometimes referred to as “printing”) is not only for forming significant information such as characters and figures, but also for human beings visually perceived regardless of significance. Regardless of whether or not it has been manifested, it also represents a case where an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like is widely formed on a recording medium or the medium is processed.

  “Recording medium” refers not only to paper used in general recording apparatuses but also widely to cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, and the like that can accept ink. Shall.

  Furthermore, “ink” (sometimes referred to as “liquid”) is to be interpreted broadly in the same way as the definition of “recording (printing)” above. It represents a liquid that can be used for forming a pattern or the like, processing a recording medium, or processing an ink (for example, solidification or insolubilization of a colorant in ink applied to the recording medium).

  Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the “nozzle” collectively refers to an ejection port or a liquid channel communicating with the ejection port and an element that generates energy used for ink ejection.

<Description of Inkjet Recording Apparatus (FIG. 1)>
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an outline of the configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus 1 which is a typical embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus) transmits a driving force generated by a carriage motor M1 to a carriage 2 on which a recording head 3 that performs recording by discharging ink according to an ink jet system is mounted. 4, the carriage 2 is reciprocated in the direction of arrow A, and for example, a recording medium P such as recording paper is fed through a paper feeding mechanism 5 and conveyed to a recording position. Recording is performed by ejecting ink onto the recording medium P.

  Further, in order to maintain the state of the recording head 3 satisfactorily, the carriage 2 is moved to the position of the recovery device 10 and the ejection recovery process of the recording head 3 is intermittently performed.

  In addition to mounting the recording head 3 on the carriage 2 of the recording apparatus 1, an ink cartridge 6 for storing ink to be supplied to the recording head 3 is mounted. The ink cartridge 6 is detachable from the carriage 2.

  The recording apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is capable of color recording. For this reason, the carriage 2 contains four inks containing magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (K) inks, respectively. An ink cartridge is installed. These four ink cartridges are detachable independently.

  Now, the carriage 2 and the recording head 3 can achieve and maintain a required electrical connection by properly contacting the joint surfaces of both members. The recording head 3 applies energy according to a recording signal to selectively eject ink from a plurality of ejection ports for recording. In particular, the recording head 3 of this embodiment employs an ink jet system that ejects ink using thermal energy, and responds by applying a pulse voltage to a corresponding electrothermal transducer in accordance with a recording signal. Ink is ejected from the ejection port.

  Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes a transport roller that is driven by a transport motor M2 to transport the recording medium P.

  In the above-described example, the recording head and the ink cartridge for storing ink are separable. However, as described below, the head cartridge in which these recording head and ink cartridge are integrated is used as the carriage 2. May be installed.

<Control Configuration of Inkjet Recording Apparatus (FIG. 2)>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 600 includes an MPU 601, a program corresponding to a control sequence to be described later, a required table, a ROM 602 that stores other fixed data, a carriage motor M1, a conveyance motor M2, and a recording. A special purpose integrated circuit (ASIC) 603 that generates a control signal for controlling the head 3, and a RAM 604, an MPU 601, an ASIC 603, and a RAM 604, which are provided with image data development areas and program execution areas, are connected to each other. A system bus 605 for transferring data, and an A / D converter 606 for inputting analog signals from the sensor group described below, A / D converting them, and supplying digital signals to the MPU 601 and the like.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 610 denotes a computer (or a reader for image reading, a digital camera, etc.) serving as a supply source of image data, and is collectively referred to as a host device. Image data, commands, status signals, and the like are transmitted and received between the host apparatus 610 and the recording apparatus 1 via an interface (I / F) 611.

  Further, reference numeral 620 denotes a switch group, which instructs activation of a power switch 621, a print switch 622 for instructing printing start, and a process (recovery process) for maintaining the ink ejection performance of the recording head 3 in a good state. For example, a recovery switch 623 for receiving a command input from the operator. Reference numeral 630 denotes a position sensor 631 such as a photocoupler for detecting the home position h, a temperature sensor 632 provided at an appropriate location of the recording apparatus for detecting the environmental temperature, and the like. It is a sensor group.

  Further, 640 is a carriage motor driver that drives a carriage motor M1 for reciprocating scanning of the carriage 2 in the direction of arrow A, and 642 is a conveyance motor driver that drives a conveyance motor M2 for conveying the recording medium P.

  The ASIC 603 transfers drive data (DATA) of the recording element (heater) to the recording head while directly accessing the storage area of the RAM 602 during recording scanning by the recording head 3.

  Next, complementary recording control using the recording apparatus configured as described above will be described.

  In the following description, normal nozzles in which ejection failure has occurred, nozzles in which the ejection direction of ink droplets is greatly deviated from a desired direction, and nozzles in which ejection amounts of ink droplets are significantly different from the desired amount The nozzle will be described as a nozzle that cannot perform proper recording (ejection failure nozzle). In this embodiment, the defective ejection nozzle is treated as a nozzle that does not perform recording, and complementary recording is performed with respect to the position that should have been recorded by this nozzle, or recording that performs recording so that the unrecorded position is less noticeable. Specific examples will be described in detail.

  When the inventor has a defective ejection nozzle, the inventors have studied from the viewpoint of complementary recording using ink of other colors in the portion to be recorded by the nozzle. As a result, an appropriate amount of ink is ejected to perform complementary recording. It was found that unevenness caused by non-ejection of ink can be difficult to visually recognize.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of supplementary recording.

  This example is an example of complementary recording using a nozzle row 40a that discharges cyan ink and a nozzle row 40b that discharges black ink. In this example, when one nozzle 41a in the nozzle row 40a is an ejection failure nozzle, the black (K) ink is used by using the alternative nozzle 41b at a position where the cyan (C) ink should be ejected by the nozzle 41a. Control is performed so as to discharge. Since the dots recorded with cyan (C) ink have higher brightness than the dots recorded with black (K) ink, the number is the same as the number of dots to be recorded by the nozzle 41a that has failed to be ejected. When black (K) ink dots are recorded, the brightness of the pixel line corresponding to the nozzle 41a is lowered. In short, since the brightness of the portion where the supplementary recording is performed becomes low, the complemented position becomes conspicuous. Therefore, the black (K) ink having a lightness lower than that of the cyan (C) ink is used for the cyan (C) ink ejection failure pixel line to be recorded by the nozzle 41a, and the number of dots is thinned out to complement. Thus, uneven recording due to streaks caused by poor discharge of cyan (C) ink can be reduced. The amount to be thinned out when complementing with black (K) ink is determined based on the relative relationship between the lightness of dots with cyan (C) ink to be originally recorded and the lightness of dots with black (K) ink used for complementation. Thus, the complemented position can be made inconspicuous.

  In FIG. 3, ◯ represents a recording dot using cyan (C) ink, and ● represents a recording dot using black (K) ink.

  Now, as can be seen from FIG. 3, since the dots recorded by the ink are designed to have a dot diameter larger than the width of one pixel so as to cover the pixel, the actual ejection defect portion is larger than the width of the pixel. narrow.

  Accordingly, when complementary recording is performed with the black (K) ink with a dot diameter larger than the width of one pixel on the discharge failure portion having the narrow width, the dot with the cyan (C) ink recorded by the normal adjacent nozzle overlaps. In some cases, the density of the overlapped portion becomes high, or the blur is increased by mixing two types of ink. In addition, since the dot diameter is large, there may be a feeling of graininess in the image on which supplementary recording has been made, even if there is no sense of incongruity in brightness, and as a result, the unevenness may not disappear.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of complementary recording.

  In this example, the dots used for the complementary recording are made small in consideration of the drawbacks of the complementary recording shown in FIG. This example is an example of complementary recording using a nozzle row 40a that discharges cyan ink and a nozzle row 40c that discharges black ink with a small discharge amount. In this example, when one nozzle 41a in the nozzle row 40a is an ejection failure nozzle, black (K) ink is used by using the alternative nozzle 41c at a position where the nozzle 41a should eject cyan (C) ink. Control is performed so as to discharge.

  In this case, not only the dot diameter used for the complementary recording is simply reduced in order to eliminate lightness, but the number of dots in the complementary recording is increased as compared with the example shown in FIG. In this way, the brightness of the dots by complementary recording is made close to the brightness of the image recorded when there is no ejection failure as a whole.

  By performing such complementary recording control, recording unevenness due to ejection failure becomes less visible.

  In the case of performing complementary recording using inks of other colors, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the overlap with the dots recorded by the adjacent normal nozzles is smaller than in the example shown in FIG. It is possible to prevent an increase in local contrast caused by an increase in density of the overlapping portion or ink bleeding and to prevent unevenness in high spatial frequency. In addition, by reducing the dots used for complementary recording, not only the graininess of the image itself but also the number of complementary dots can be increased, so that the interval between the complementary dots and the complementary dots is narrowed and the graininess is reduced.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the most preferable supplement recording.

  In FIG. 5, (a) is a diagram showing the recording dots before complementary recording is performed, where the solid circles should be recorded by normal nozzles, and the dashed circles should be recorded by defective ejection nozzles. Indicates a dotted dot. And (b) is a figure which shows a recording dot when complementary recording is made. Black dots are dots recorded by complementary recording.

  As can be seen from this figure, the number of dots by complementary recording is substantially the same as the number of dots that should have been originally recorded, and the dot diameter by the complementary recording is adjusted to be small. By performing supplementary recording in this way, in addition to effects such as reduction in graininess, changes in the texture of surrounding images of defective ejection portions are reduced, and unevenness is less noticeable.

  In addition, as a method for adjusting the complementary recording dot diameter, a dot placement similar to that of an image to be recorded is performed while changing the recording dot diameter by gradually changing the discharge amount of the black ink with the discharge amount of the color ink. It is preferable to perform complementary recording of a plurality of patterns and select an ink discharge amount in a pattern in which unevenness is not conspicuous from the patterns.

  Further, in the above examination, a case has been described in which dots are complementarily recorded using a nozzle that ejects black (K) ink to a defective ejection nozzle that uses color ink (here, cyan (C) ink). The invention is not limited thereby. For example, when a nozzle that discharges light cyan (LC) is defective in ejection, a configuration that performs complementary recording with dots having a small diameter using a nozzle that discharges a small amount of cyan (C) ink may be used.

  A specific embodiment of the recording head based on the above examination will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a nozzle configuration of the recording head according to the first embodiment.

  In the first embodiment, four nozzle rows that eject four colors of YMCK ink are arranged in the carriage scanning direction. However, the nozzle diameter for ejecting black (K) ink is smaller than the nozzle diameter for ejecting the other three color inks, whereas the ejection amount of black (K) ink is 2 pl per ejection operation. The discharge amount of the color ink is 4 pl.

  Therefore, when the recording head according to the first embodiment is used, the dots recorded with the black (K) ink are smaller than those of the color ink. When the recording resolution is the same, the number of dots with black (K) ink for one black pixel in normal recording is made larger than the number of dots used for one color pixel. For example, in the case of a recording resolution of 600 DPI × 600 DPI, one pixel is formed with one dot of ink droplet in the color ink, whereas it is formed with two dots in the black (K) ink.

  In the complementary recording when the recording head having such a configuration is used, the ejection failure with respect to the color ink is complemented with dots having a small diameter by the black ink.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the nozzle configuration of the recording head according to the second embodiment.

  Unlike Example 1, in this example, the nozzle diameter for ejecting black (K) ink is the same as that for ejecting color ink, and two large and small heaters 50a and 50b are mounted in the nozzle. One nozzle is configured to eject a small amount (2 pl) of ink droplets by energizing the heater 50b and to eject a large amount (4 pl) of ink droplets by energizing the large heater 50a. The amount of ink discharged from is varied.

  For example, for one pixel recorded with a recording resolution of 600 DPI × 600 DPI, dots are formed by combining large and small ejection amounts in normal recording, whereas ink with black ink is used for ejection failure for color ink. It complements using the ink droplet with a small discharge amount.

  In this configuration, it is possible to control to increase the discharge amount of black (K) ink used for complementary recording as the recording duty of color ink increases.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the nozzle configuration of the recording head according to the third embodiment.

  In this embodiment, two nozzle rows of nozzles that discharge black (K) ink are provided, from which one ejects a large amount of (4 pl) ink droplets and from the other ejects a small amount of (1 pl) ink. A droplet is discharged. On the other hand, the three nozzle rows that eject color ink eject ink droplets with a large ejection amount (4 pl).

  By adopting such a configuration, for color ink ejection defects, complementary recording is performed using a nozzle with a small black ink ejection amount.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, by using a head configuration including two nozzle rows that eject black inks having different ejection amounts, it is possible to use nozzle rows having a smaller ejection amount for complementary recording.

  In this embodiment, it is also possible to control to increase the discharge amount of black (K) ink used for complementary recording by using a nozzle row having a large discharge amount as the recording duty of color ink increases.

  In addition, with such a configuration, a nozzle row that ejects a small volume of ink may be provided for the nozzle that ejects color ink.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a nozzle configuration of a recording head according to the fourth embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the nozzle density (for example, 1200 DPI) of the nozzle that discharges black ink is increased with respect to the nozzle density (for example, 600 DPI) of the nozzle that discharges color ink.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a dot configuration when recording is performed using the recording head according to the fourth embodiment.

  In recording with such a nozzle configuration, as shown in FIG. 9, the black (K) ink ejects one 4 pl ink droplet for one pixel recorded with a resolution of 1200 DPI × 1200 DPI. In contrast, color ink ejects one 8 pl ink droplet for one pixel recorded at a resolution of 600 DPI × 1200 DPI, that is, an 8 pl ink droplet per pixel recorded at a resolution of 600 DPI × 600 DPI. Are recorded with two ink amounts, ie, 16 pl.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, complementary recording is performed using the ink droplets ejected from the two nozzles ejecting the black ink on the defective ejection portion of one nozzle ejecting the color ink.

  In any of the above-described four embodiments, the discharge failure of the color ink is reduced by reducing the discharge amount of the black ink and performing the complementary recording using the black ink. High-quality recording is achieved by making the streaks and unevenness caused by

  In the above embodiment, no mention was made of changing the discharge amount of the color ink. However, a nozzle for discharging a small volume of color ink is provided so that the discharge amount of the color ink can be modulated. Also good.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the liquid droplets ejected from the recording head have been described as ink, and the liquid stored in the ink tank has been described as ink. However, the storage is limited to ink. It is not a thing. For example, a treatment liquid discharged to the recording medium may be accommodated in the ink tank in order to improve the fixability and water resistance of the recorded image or to improve the image quality.

  The above embodiment includes means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) that generates thermal energy as energy used to perform ink ejection, particularly in the ink jet recording system, and the ink is generated by the thermal energy. By using a system that causes a change in the state of recording, it is possible to achieve higher recording density and higher definition.

  In the above embodiment, the serial scan type inkjet recording apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and inkjet recording using a full line recording head having the maximum width of a recordable recording medium. The present invention can be effectively applied to an apparatus. As such a recording head, either a configuration satisfying the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally may be used.

  In addition, even the serial scan type as in the above-described embodiments is mounted on the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the apparatus main body so that the electrical connection with the apparatus main body and the ink from the apparatus main body The present invention is also effective when an exchangeable cartridge type recording head that can be supplied is used.

  In addition, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention may be used as an image output apparatus for information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader, or a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may be one taken.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an ink jet recording apparatus that is a typical embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the recording apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows an example of a complementation record. It is a figure which shows another example of a supplementary record. It is a figure which shows the example of the most suitable complementation record. 2 is a diagram illustrating a nozzle configuration of a recording head according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a nozzle configuration of a recording head according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a nozzle configuration of a recording head according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a nozzle configuration of a recording head according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a dot configuration when recording is performed using a recording head according to a fourth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

40a, 40b, 40c Nozzle row 41a Discharge failure nozzle 41b, 41c Alternative nozzle 50a, 50b Heater

Claims (7)

The amount of ink ejected by one ejection operation from the first nozzle that constitutes the nozzle row for ejecting black ink is one ejection from the second nozzle that constitutes the nozzle row for ejecting color ink. A recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium using an ink jet recording head capable of reducing the amount of ink ejected by operation,
Instead of the second nozzle in which ejection failure has occurred, the first nozzle located in the vicinity of the nozzle should be used, and the second nozzle in which the ejection failure has occurred should record on the recording medium. A recording apparatus comprising: complementary recording means for performing complementary recording by ejecting a smaller amount of black ink than the ejection amount of the color ink at the same position.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the size of the first nozzle of the inkjet recording head is smaller than the size of the second nozzle. The first and second nozzles have the same size;
In the first nozzle,
A first heater for ejecting large droplets;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second heater for discharging small droplets. The inkjet recording head is
A plurality of nozzle rows for discharging the black ink;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a size of a nozzle constituting one nozzle row is smaller than a size of a nozzle constituting another nozzle row among the plurality of nozzle rows.   2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a resolution of a nozzle row composed of the first nozzles of the inkjet recording head is higher than a resolution of a nozzle row composed of the second nozzles. The amount of ink ejected by one ejection operation from the first nozzle that constitutes the nozzle row for ejecting black ink is one ejection from the second nozzle that constitutes the nozzle row for ejecting color ink. A color-complementary recording method in a recording apparatus using an inkjet recording head that can be less than the amount of ink discharged by operation,
Instead of the second nozzle in which ejection failure has occurred, the first nozzle located in the vicinity of the nozzle should be used, and the second nozzle in which the ejection failure has occurred should record on the recording medium. A complementary color recording method, wherein complementary recording is performed by ejecting a black ink in an amount smaller than the color ink ejection amount at the same position. An inkjet recording head in which a plurality of nozzle rows are arranged to eject different color inks,
The amount of ink ejected by one ejection operation from the first nozzle that constitutes the nozzle row for ejecting black ink is one ejection from the second nozzle that constitutes the nozzle row for ejecting color ink. An ink jet recording head characterized by being able to reduce the amount of ink discharged by operation.

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