JP2007130939A - Printing control method and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To alleviate an operating burden by shut-off to a recording head by inhibiting the shift of the recording head which need not record data to a printable state, in compliance with an image targeted for printing, and also cut time required from the prompting of printing to the start of printing by inhibiting the shift of the recording head which need not record data to the printable state. <P>SOLUTION: Each one of a plurality of inkjet recording heads sharing the printing job for the width portion accounting for a part of the total recording width of a recording medium P, can be operated under control independently in the printable state and a printing standby state. Even after the start of printing by the printing system, the inkjet recording head which need not record data is kept in the printing standby state. As to the group of the recording heads which need not record data, the transfer of printing data for the total color from an information processing device is omitted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing control method and a printing system for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing using a plurality of inkjet recording heads that share printing of a part of the entire recording width of a recording medium.

  Currently, image forming devices such as printers, copiers, and facsimiles use an ink jet recording system that forms images by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium because of the advantages of ease of color recording, high speed, and quietness. The ones that have been used are widespread.

  In order to record a full-color image, normally, four inkjet recording heads for ejecting yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) inks are provided. Each ink jet recording head usually includes a nozzle row in which a plurality of ink discharge ports are arranged.

  In an ink jet recording head, it is known that when an ink discharge port is exposed to the atmosphere during a period when ink is not discharged, the ink is dried and thickened, which causes discharge failure. In order to prevent such drying of the ink, conventionally, capping is performed on the recording head to cover the ink discharge ports with a cap. Further, the conventional capping is performed collectively for all colors. Even in a printing system using a so-called line head in which nozzle rows extend in the width direction of the recording medium, capping is performed over the entire length of the line head.

  By the way, a printing apparatus that performs printing using a plurality of inkjet recording heads that share printing of a part of the entire recording width of a recording medium has been proposed. In a printing system using a line type recording head, the number of nozzles is remarkably increased as compared with a serial type that scans the recording head in the width direction of the recording medium. In addition, since the position where each nozzle is in charge of recording is a fixed position in the width direction of the recording medium, depending on the image to be printed, all recording heads of a set of multiple colors may be used for printing one recording medium. It often happens that they are not involved in printing at all.

  On the other hand, as described above, since conventional capping is performed collectively for all the same recording heads, all nozzles of all heads are kept in the atmosphere during image printing regardless of whether or not they are involved in printing. Placed in a state of exposure. As a result, the recording head that does not perform printing at all has a problem in that the ink discharge ports are exposed to the atmosphere, and thus the ink is unnecessarily dried.

  Further, in a printing apparatus using a plurality of ink jet recording heads as described above, when printing is performed, all the recording heads are interlocked to shift to a printable state regardless of printing data. In such a printing system, the printing operation is started after the print data has been transferred from the information processing apparatus to all of the plurality of recording heads. However, the printing operation is sequentially performed on all the heads regardless of the image data to be printed. Similarly, since the print data is transferred, even when there is no image in some width portions, it takes a certain time to start printing. (If a technology for compressing and transferring print data is adopted, the amount of data is reduced, but data of non-recording dots (OFF dots) is also transferred.)

  The present invention has been made in such a background, and a first object of the invention is to prevent a recording head that does not need to perform recording in accordance with an image to be printed from being transferred to a printable state. To reduce the burden of exposure.

  The object of the second invention according to the present application is to reduce the time required from the printing instruction to the start of printing by not shifting the recording head that does not need to perform recording to a printable state.

  A printing control method according to the present invention is a printing control method for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing using a plurality of inkjet recording heads that share printing of a part of the entire recording width of a recording medium. The inkjet recording head can be controlled independently in a printable state and a print standby state, and the print standby state is maintained for an inkjet recording head that does not need to perform recording even after printing of the printing system is started.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system comprising: a printing apparatus that prints using a plurality of recording heads that eject ink; and an information processing apparatus that generates print data for the inkjet recording head. The apparatus can control each inkjet recording head independently in a printable state and a print standby state, and maintain a print standby state for an inkjet recording head that does not need to perform recording even after the printing system starts printing. It is characterized by.

  As the plurality of ink jet recording heads, it is preferable to apply to a plurality of line type ink jet recording heads that perform printing of a part of the entire width of the recording medium.

  More specifically, a capping mechanism for individually capping the plurality of ink jet recording heads is provided, and the ink jet recording heads are capped by the capping mechanism in the print standby state. According to the present invention, since the capping state can be maintained for an ink jet recording head that does not need to perform recording, unnecessary ink drying due to exposure of the ink discharge port to the atmosphere is prevented.

  Whether or not recording is necessary is determined on the printing device side or on the information processing device side based on the print data transferred from the information processing device. When determining on the information processing apparatus side, it is preferable to notify the printing apparatus of the existence of a recording head that does not need to perform recording, and to omit the transfer of print data to the recording head. Alternatively, it is preferable that a recording inhibition command for a recording head that does not need to perform recording is transferred from the information processing apparatus to the printing apparatus and the transfer of print data to the recording head is omitted. As a result, the transfer time of the print data is shortened, so that the transition time from the print instruction to the start of printing is shortened.

  According to the present invention, by preventing a recording head that does not need to perform recording from shifting to a printable state, ink drying due to exposure of the recording head to the atmosphere can be prevented, and the burden on the recording head can be reduced.

  According to another invention, the time required from the print instruction to the start of printing can be shortened by omitting the transfer of the print data to the recording head that does not need to perform recording.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a printing system according to the present embodiment. The printing system includes a personal computer (PC) 100 that is an information processing apparatus that generates print data, and a printing apparatus 200 that prints the print data in accordance with an instruction from the PC 100.

  The PC 100 is connected to the printing apparatus 102 via the communication interface 150. As the communication interface 150, a network cable, a USB cable, IEEE1284, IEEE1394, or the like can be used. In the present embodiment, print data is transmitted to the printing apparatus 200 using a USB cable. After generating the image, the PC 100 transmits print data to the printing apparatus 102 to monitor the status of the printing apparatus.

  FIG. 2 shows an internal configuration example of the PC 100 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the PC 100 executes an application (program) that generates image data, a print control program (printer driver), and the like under the control of the operating system. In this example, “Windows (registered trademark)” is used as the operating system. Specifically, the PC 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 102 that constitutes a control unit that performs various controls of the PC 100, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a memory that provides a work area and a temporary storage area for the CPU 102. 103 and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 104 which is a non-volatile memory for storing a boot program initially executed by the CPU 102 are connected to each other via a system bus 109. A display 110 that is a display device is connected to a system bus 109 via a video interface 108. A mouse 111 as a kind of pointing device is connected to the system bus 109 via a mouse interface 105. A hard disk device 113, which is a large-capacity external storage device storing an operating system and various programs, is connected to the system bus 109 via a hard disk interface 107. The system bus 109 is connected to the printing apparatus 200 via the printer interface 101 (corresponding to 150 described above).

  When controlling the printing apparatus 200 in the PC 100, a program stored in the hard disk apparatus 113 is loaded into the RAM 103 and executed by the CPU 102.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the printing apparatus 200 of FIG. The PC 100 is also shown.

  The CPU 210 constitutes a control unit that controls the overall operation of the printing apparatus 200, and a memory controller 212, an interface controller 213, a program ROM 214, a work RAM 215, an EEPROM 216, a recording head control circuit 219, and an I / O port 221 via a bus. Connected with.

  The memory controller 212 is connected to the VRAM 211 that is a memory for storing print data, writes the print data to the VRAM 211 under the control of the CPU 210, and reads out from the VRAM 211 in synchronization with the output signal from the synchronization circuit 217. I do. The synchronization circuit 217 has a function of generating a signal to the memory controller 212 in synchronization with the recording medium conveyance state in the medium conveyance device 218.

  The interface controller 213 is a part that performs data communication with a PC via a communication interface (an example of USB in the figure) under the control of the CPU 210.

  The program ROM 214 is a non-volatile memory that stores a computer program for realizing the operation of the printing apparatus 200. The work RAM 215 is a readable / writable memory that provides a work area used by the CPU 210 and a temporary storage area for data. The EEPROM 216 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and is used to record user setting data in a nonvolatile manner, for example.

  The recording head control circuits 219a to 219d receive the print data from the memory controller 212 under the control of the CPU 210, and transfer different portions of the print data to the four sets of recording heads 220a to 220d, respectively. In this example, an example in which four sets of recording heads 220a to 220d are arranged in the width direction of the recording medium is shown. One set of recording heads 220 includes recording heads for each color of CMYK.

  The I / O port 221 gives a control signal to the motor driving unit 222 under the control of the CPU 210 to control an external output device such as the capping motor 223 or the pump motor 224. The capping motor 223 is a power source that drives a capping mechanism (capping means) 225 that caps the recording head 220 to prevent ink drying when not in use. It is assumed that capping in this embodiment is performed for every recording head of each printing apparatus. The pump motor 224 is a power source for driving a pump 226 that applies pressure to the ink in the recording head to perform a recovery operation of the recording head. The capping motor 223, the capping mechanism 225, the pump motor 224, and the pump 226 are also provided for the number of recording heads (four in this example).

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of a plurality of sets of recording heads 220a to 220d in the present embodiment. 4A is a plan view of the recording medium P as viewed from the printing surface, and FIG. 4B is a diagram of the four sets of recording heads 220a to 220d as viewed from the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium P.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, four sets of recording heads 220a to 220d are arranged in the width direction of the recording medium, and printing on the recording medium P is performed while sharing different width portions. When arranging them in the width direction of the recording medium, they do not necessarily need to be arranged in a straight line, and they may be arranged in a staggered manner so that several dots at the ends of adjacent recording heads overlap each other. By determining in advance which nozzles at the end are effective, it is possible to control so that no blank is generated in the image at the boundary between adjacent recording heads. The four sets of recording heads 220a to 220d are configured to move to different positions of the standby position 421 and the printable position 422 by the action of the above-described capping mechanism. At the standby position 421, capping is performed for each group, and the ink discharge port is prevented from being exposed to air.

  The print image 401 for one recording medium does not necessarily exist over the recording range of all the recording heads 220a to 220d. In the example of FIG. 4A, an image (recording dot: ON dot) exists only in the recording heads 220b and 220c. As described above, the recording head 220 (one set of recording heads) in which no image exists (no data that requires ink ejection) remains in the standby position 421 without shifting to the printable position 422. .

  FIG. 5 shows a related software configuration in the PC 100 and the printing apparatus 200 in the printing system of the present embodiment.

  The PC 100 creates an image to be printed using the print image design application 301, converts the created image into print data by the print control program 302, and transmits the print data to the printing apparatus 200. (However, the image to be printed may be an image created externally and taken into the PC 100.) More specifically, the print control program 302 uses the created print data for four recording heads. Are compressed and transferred to the printing apparatus 200. As a print data compression method, for example, encoding "PackBits" is used. In the print data transferred to the printing apparatus 200, instructions for the printing apparatus and image (CMYK) data are described.

  The printing apparatus 200 decompresses the print data received from the PC 100 using the print control program 312, decodes the contents of the data, and performs a printing operation. At this time, the print control program 312 can determine whether there is a set of recording heads that do not need to perform a recording operation based on the print data received from the PC 100, and can print only the set of recording heads that need to perform the recording operation. Transition to the state. “No need to perform recording operation” includes not only the case where the print data indicates non-record dots for all dots, but also the case where the print data itself does not exist outside the image size. The printing apparatus 200 also transfers status information indicating the current state to the PC 100.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing from when print data is generated by the PC 100 to when the printing apparatus 200 finishes printing. The processing of the PC 100 is realized by the print control program 302 stored in the hard disk device 113 being transferred to the RAM 103, which is read and interpreted by the CPU 102. The processing of the printing apparatus 200 is realized by the CPU 210 interpreting and executing the print control program 312 stored in the program ROM 214. The same applies to the processing of other flowcharts to be described later.

  When the PC 100 receives a print instruction from the user, the print control program 302 on the PC 100 generates print data (S11). When the print data generation is completed, the print data is transferred to the printing apparatus 200 (S12).

  Based on the print data transferred from the PC 100, the printing apparatus 200 determines whether there is a set of recording heads that do not require recording (S13). Whether or not it is necessary to perform recording can be determined by whether or not there is ON dot data for ejecting ink from the recording head of any color for each set of recording heads. If there is no set of recording heads that do not require recording, all the recording heads are shifted to a printable state (S14). If there is a set of recording heads that do not require recording, only the set of recording heads that need to perform recording is shifted to a printable state (S15). Thereafter, a recording operation is performed with the set of recording heads in a printable state (S16), and printing is completed.

  According to the processing of FIG. 6, since the capping state is maintained for the set of recording heads that do not need to perform recording, it is possible to prevent the ink from being dried unnecessarily.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another process instead of the process of FIG. In the process of FIG. 6, print data is transferred from the PC 100 to the printing apparatus 200 regardless of whether or not recording is necessary. (In other words, print data of non-recording dots was transferred to a recording head that does not need to perform recording.)

  On the other hand, in the process of FIG. 7, after the print data is generated by the PC 100 (S21), before the print data is transferred to the printing apparatus, a set of recording heads that do not need to be recorded is recognized on the PC 100 side. (S22). If there is a set of recording heads that do not need to be recorded, the print data is transferred to the printing apparatus together with information specifying the set of recording heads (S23). There is no need to transfer print data for a set of recording heads that do not require recording.

  When the printing apparatus 200 receives information designating a set of recording heads that do not need to be recorded together with the print data (Yes in S24), all the recording head sets are shifted to a printable state (S25). ). When information specifying a set of recording heads that do not need to be recorded is received, only the set of recording heads that need to be recorded is shifted to a printable state (S26). Thereafter, recording is performed by the recording head (S27), and the printing process is terminated.

  According to the process of FIG. 7, as in the process of FIG. 6, not only can the ink be prevented from being dried unnecessarily, but also the print data of all colors for a set of print heads that do not require printing. Therefore, the total amount of print data to be transferred can be reduced, and the time required from the start of printing to the start can be shortened.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing still another process instead of the process of FIG. In this process, similar to the process of FIG. 7, after print data is generated by the PC 100 (S31), before the print data is transferred to the printing apparatus, a set of recording heads that do not need to be recorded is recognized on the PC 100 side (see FIG. 7). S32). The PC 100 generates a command (hereinafter referred to as a “recording inhibition command”) that inhibits recording with respect to the set of recording heads instead of transmitting the information to the set of recording heads that do not need to perform recording (S33). ). Thereafter, the print data is transferred to the printing apparatus together with an instruction (if any) for suppressing recording (S34). Also in this case, it is not necessary to transfer print data for a set of recording heads that do not require recording.

  When the printing apparatus 200 does not receive the recording inhibition command together with the print data (S35, Yes), it shifts all the recording head sets to a printable state (S36). When a recording inhibition command is received for any of the recording head groups, the recording of the recording head group is inhibited according to the command, and only the recording head group that needs to print can be printed. (S37). Thereafter, recording is performed by the recording head (S38), and the printing process is terminated.

  In the process of FIG. 8, similarly to the process of FIG. 7, the ink is prevented from being dried unnecessarily, and the total amount of print data to be transferred is reduced to shorten the time required from the print instruction to the start. Can do.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various modifications and changes other than those mentioned above can be made.

  For example, each set of recording heads not only performs such control when there is no image that it is responsible for printing, but also when no recording state continues for a predetermined length or more in the recording medium conveyance direction, It is also possible to configure to wait at the standby position 421 during that period. Such a predetermined length may be different in a portion until one first recording dot of a recording medium is recorded, a portion after recording is started once, and a portion after recording the last recording dot. Since the transition to the printable state requires a known predetermined time, the printable state is shifted ahead of the predetermined time before the start of recording.

  The example of four sets of recording heads arranged in the width direction of the recording medium has been shown, but is not limited thereto, and may be more or less. One set of recording heads has four colors of CMYK, but it may be more or less.

  Although capping is performed in units of a set of recording heads of CMYK, capping may be performed in units of individual recording heads of each color such as CMYK. In this case, whether or not it is necessary to perform recording is determined for each recording head, not for each recording head group. In this case, it is not necessary to arrange the recording heads in the width direction.

  Although a plurality of sets of recording heads have been described as belonging to one printing apparatus, the present invention can also be applied to a printing system that performs printing on a single recording medium using a plurality of printing apparatuses.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of PC shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the printing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a plurality of sets of recording heads according to an embodiment of the invention. It is a figure which shows the related software structure in PC and the printing apparatus in the printing system of embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart showing processing from generation of print data by a PC to termination of printing by the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart showing the other process instead of the process of FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing still another process instead of the process of FIG. 6.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Printer interface 102 ... Printing device 105 ... Mouse interface 107 ... Hard disk interface 108 ... Video interface 109 ... System bus 110 ... Display 111 ... Mouse 113 ... Hard disk device 150 ... Communication interface 200 ... Printing device 212 ... Memory controller 213 ... Interface controller 214 ... Program ROM
215 ... Work RAM
217 ... Synchronization circuit 218 ... Medium transport device 219 ... Recording head control circuit 220, 220a to 220d ... Recording head 221 ... I / O port 222 ... Motor drive unit 223 ... Capping motor 224 ... Pump motor 225 ... Capping mechanism 226 ... Pump 301 ... Print image design application 302 ... Print control program 312 ... Print control program 401 ... Print image 421 ... Standby position 422 ... Printable position P ... Recording medium

Claims (9)

A printing control method for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing using a plurality of inkjet recording heads that share printing of a part of the entire recording width of a recording medium,
Each inkjet recording head can be controlled independently in a printable state and a print standby state, and the print standby state is maintained for an inkjet recording head that does not need to perform recording even after the printing system starts printing. Print control method.   The print control method according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of ink jet recording heads is a line type ink jet recording head.   3. The print control method according to claim 1, further comprising a capping mechanism for capping the plurality of inkjet recording heads individually, wherein the inkjet recording head is capped by the capping mechanism in the print standby state. In a printing system comprising: a printing apparatus that prints using a plurality of recording heads that eject ink; and an information processing apparatus that generates print data for the inkjet recording head.
The printing apparatus can control each inkjet recording head independently in a printable state and a print standby state, and maintains a print standby state for inkjet printheads that do not need to perform recording even after the printing system starts printing. A printing system characterized by:   5. The printing system according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of ink jet recording heads are a plurality of line type ink jet recording heads that perform printing of a part of a width portion of the entire recording width of the recording medium.   6. The printing system according to claim 4, further comprising a capping mechanism for capping the plurality of inkjet recording heads individually, wherein the inkjet recording head is capped by the capping mechanism in the printing standby state.   The printing system according to claim 4, wherein the printing apparatus determines whether or not recording is necessary based on the print data transferred from the information processing apparatus.   The information processing apparatus determines whether it is necessary to perform recording on the inkjet recording head, and notifies the printing apparatus of the presence of a recording head that does not need to perform recording from the information processing apparatus. 5. The printing system according to claim 4, wherein transfer of print data to the printer is omitted.   The information processing apparatus determines whether it is necessary to perform recording on the inkjet recording head, and transfers a recording suppression command for the recording head that does not need to perform recording from the information processing apparatus to the printing apparatus. 5. The printing system according to claim 4, wherein transfer of print data to the recording head is omitted.

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