JP2009061726A - Liquid jetting device and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fmore suppress solid contents caused by a liquid from being deposited in a liquid receiving area. <P>SOLUTION: Upon receiving print data about edge-less printing in which ink is ejected from a printing head 24 to an area other than the area of a recording sheet S and the edges of the recording sheet S, a printer 20 performs a pre-ejecting process prior to an edge-less printing process for the print data. The pre-ejecting process is performed by ejecting ink from the printing head 24 to the ink receiving area 52 which includes an area other than the edges of the recording sheet S. In this case, this pre-ejecting process is performed when the printing head 24 is moved to a flushing area 38 during a flushing process performed before the printing of the print data. By pre-wetting the ink receiving area 52 with the ink prior to the edge-less printing process for the print data in such a manner, the ability to spread the ink for the edge-less printing process for the print data is improved in the ink receiving area 52. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection device and a control method thereof.

Conventionally, as a liquid ejecting apparatus, a print head that ejects a liquid such as ink to a target such as recording paper, and an ink-penetrating solvent that is selectively impregnated and ejected from the print head are separated from the edge of the recording paper. When performing so-called borderless printing in which ink is discharged to the edge of the recording paper, solid content contained in the ink accumulates in the ink receiving area. The thing which suppresses is proposed (for example, refer patent document 1).
JP 2004-174978 A

  However, in the liquid ejecting apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to impregnate the ink penetrating solvent to suppress the solid content of the ink, but the ink penetrating solvent decreases due to, for example, continued use. Was considered. If solid matter accumulates in the ink receiving area, it may adversely affect the printing process by contacting the solid component of the accumulated ink when the recording paper is transported to the printing area. It has been desired to suppress solids accumulation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejection apparatus and a control method for the liquid ejection apparatus that can further suppress the solid content caused by the liquid from accumulating in the liquid receiving region. And

  The present invention adopts the following means in order to achieve the above-mentioned object.

The liquid ejection device of the present invention is
An ejection head for ejecting a liquid containing a solid component to a target from a plurality of nozzles;
A liquid receiving area where the liquid discharged from the nozzle and coming off the edge of the target can reach at least;
When receiving an ejection processing command for processing data for ejecting the liquid from the ejection head to an area outside the target edge and the target edge, the target edge is moved prior to the processing data ejection processing. Control means for controlling the ejection head to execute a preceding ejection process for ejecting liquid from the ejection head to the liquid receiving area including a detached area;
It is equipped with.

  In this liquid ejecting apparatus, when receiving an ejection processing command for processing data for ejecting liquid from the ejection head to an area of the target and an area outside the edge of the target, prior to the ejection processing of the processing data, A pre-ejection process is performed in which the liquid is ejected from the ejection head to the liquid receiving area including the area off the edge. As described above, the liquid receiving area is wetted by the liquid before the processing data is discharged, so that the diffusibility of the liquid in the liquid receiving area during the processing data discharging process is enhanced. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the solid content caused by the liquid from being deposited on the liquid receiving region. Here, the liquid discharged in the “preceding discharge process” may be a liquid containing a component that becomes a solid content or may be a liquid that does not contain a component that becomes a solid content.

  The liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention includes the flushing area where the liquid ejected by the flushing process for forcibly ejecting the liquid can reach, an initial position where the ejection head stands by, and a position facing the flushing area. Moving means for moving the ejection head, the liquid receiving area is disposed between the initial position through which the ejection head passes and the flushing area, and the control means Upon receiving a discharge processing command, the discharge head controls the moving means so that the discharge head moves between the initial position and the flushing region, and performs the preceding discharge processing during the movement of the discharge head. And controlling the ejection head to execute the flushing process at a position facing the flushing area. Good. In many cases, flushing processing is performed before ejection processing data from the initial position where the ejection head stands by in the flushing area disposed across the liquid receiving area. By sharing the processing time, the entire processing time can be shortened, and solid content caused by the liquid can be further suppressed from being deposited in the liquid receiving region. At this time, when executing the preceding discharge process while moving between the initial position and the flushing region, the control means performs the preceding operation while the discharge head moves from the initial position to the flushing region. The ejection head may be controlled to perform the ejection process, or the ejection head may be controlled to perform the preceding ejection process while the ejection head moves from the flushing region to the initial position. Alternatively, the ejection head may be controlled so that the preceding ejection process is performed while the ejection head moves from the initial position to the flushing area and moves from the flushing area to the initial position.

  In the liquid ejection apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, when the control unit performs the preceding ejection process, the liquid receiving area out of the upper edge of the target and the lower edge of the target in the liquid receiving area. The ejection head may be controlled so that at least the preceding ejection process is performed on the liquid receiving area outside the portion. Since the upper and lower edges of the target have a smaller amount of liquid reaching the liquid receiving area than the edge of the side edge of the target, solids resulting from the liquid tend to accumulate more easily. By performing the preceding discharge process at the upper and lower edges of the liquid, it is possible to further suppress the solid content due to the liquid from accumulating in the liquid receiving area.

  The liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of types of liquids and supplies each of the stored liquids to the discharge head, and the control unit has a permeation improvement capability of the plurality of types of liquids. The ejection head may be controlled to execute the preceding ejection process using a higher liquid. In this way, it is possible to more easily suppress the solid content caused by the liquid from being deposited on the liquid receiving region. Here, the “liquid with high penetration improving ability” refers to a liquid that enhances the permeability of the liquid in the liquid receiving region, and includes, for example, a liquid with a lower solid content or a liquid with a lower viscosity. At this time, the storage means stores, as one of the plurality of types of liquids, a liquid that does not contain a colorant for smoothing the discharge surface on the target that has received the liquid, and the control means May control the ejection head to perform the preceding ejection process using a liquid that does not contain the colorant as the liquid having a higher permeation improvement capability. By doing so, it is possible to further suppress the solid content due to the liquid from being deposited in the liquid receiving region by using the liquid having a smaller solid content. At this time, the liquid not containing the colorant may be solidified without depending on a chemical reaction, or may be transparent.

  In the liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention, the liquid may be pigment ink containing a pigment as the solid content. Since the pigment ink has a relatively large solid content and is relatively easy to deposit, the significance of applying the present invention is high.

  The liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores each of area image data corresponding to a plurality of sizes of targets, which is an area for receiving liquid ejected from an edge of the target in the liquid receiving area. The control means acquires a target size included in the discharge processing command when receiving a discharge processing command of processing data, and stores the stored area image data corresponding to the acquired target size; The ejection head may be controlled so as to execute the preceding ejection process based on the acquired area image data. In this way, it is possible to execute the preceding ejection process corresponding to the targets of a plurality of sizes relatively easily by using the area image data corresponding to the plurality of sizes.

The method for controlling the liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention includes:
Liquid discharge comprising: a discharge head that discharges a liquid containing a component that becomes a solid content from a plurality of nozzles to a target; and a liquid receiving region that can be discharged from the nozzles and that can reach at least the liquid outside the edge of the target An apparatus control method comprising:
When receiving an ejection processing command for processing data for ejecting the liquid from the ejection head to an area outside the target edge and the target edge, the target edge is moved prior to the processing data ejection processing. And controlling the ejection head to execute a preceding ejection process for ejecting the liquid from the ejection head to the liquid receiving area including the detached area.

  In this liquid ejection apparatus control method, when a process data ejection process command for ejecting liquid from the ejection head to a target area and an area outside the target edge is received, prior to the process data ejection process. Then, a pre-ejection process is performed in which the liquid is ejected from the ejection head to the liquid receiving area including the area outside the edge of the target. As described above, the liquid receiving area is wetted by the liquid before the processing data is discharged, so that the diffusibility of the liquid in the liquid receiving area during the processing data discharging process is enhanced. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the solid content caused by the liquid from being deposited on the liquid receiving region. In this method of controlling the liquid ejection apparatus, various aspects of the above-described liquid ejection apparatus may be employed, and steps for realizing each function of the above-described liquid ejection apparatus may be added. . Moreover, it is good also as an aspect of a program in order to make each step of the control method of the liquid discharge apparatus mentioned above implement | achieve in 1 or several computers.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the printer 20 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an ink receiving area 52 and area image data. FIG. 2 (b) is an explanatory diagram of the postcard size area image data 62, FIG. 2 (c) is an explanatory view of the B4 size area image data 64, and FIG. 2 (d) is an explanatory view of the A4 size area image data 66. is there. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 20 of the present embodiment includes an ink ejection device 21 that ejects ink as a fluid onto a recording sheet S as a target, and a drive motor 33 that drives the platen 36 from the front in the figure. A transport mechanism 31 for transporting the recording paper S to the right, a capping device 37 formed at one end on the right side of the platen 36, a flushing region 38 provided at one end on the left side of the platen 36, An ink receiving area 52 provided in the printing area where ink ejected from the print head 24 can reach and a controller 70 for controlling the entire printer 20 are provided.

  The ink ejection device 21 includes a carriage 22 that reciprocates left and right (main scanning direction) along a carriage shaft 28 by a carriage belt 32, and a print head that ejects ink droplets as fluid from nozzles 23 by applying pressure to each color ink. 24, and an ink cartridge 26 that stores ink of each color and supplies the stored ink to the print head 24. The carriage 22 moves as the carriage belt 32 installed between the carriage motor 34a attached to the right side of the frame 29 and the driven roller 34b attached to the left side of the frame 29 is driven by the carriage motor 34a. To do. A linear encoder 25 that detects the position of the carriage 22 is disposed on the rear surface of the carriage 22, and the position of the carriage 22 can be managed using the linear encoder 25. The print head 24 is provided in the lower part of the carriage 22, and each color is applied from a nozzle 23 provided on the lower surface of the print head 24 by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element to deform the piezoelectric element and pressurize the ink. Ink is ejected. On the lower surface of the print head 24, a nozzle row 27 in which nozzles 23 are arranged is provided for each color. Here, all nozzles are collectively referred to as nozzles 23 and all nozzle rows are collectively referred to as nozzle rows 27. The ink cartridge 26 is mounted on the carriage 22 and contains cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), red (R), blue (B), matte containing water as a solvent and a pigment as a colorant. Black (Km), photo black (Kp) and ink for each color used for printing such as a gloss optimizer (G) for smoothing the ejection surface on the recording paper S receiving ink are individually stored. This gloss optimizer (G) is a liquid that solidifies on the recording paper S without interaction with other liquids and has a lower solid content such as a pigment, and ink permeability in the ink receiving area 52. It is an ink with a high ability to improve penetration that enhances the ink. The print head 24 may employ a method in which ink is pressurized with bubbles generated by applying voltage to a heating resistor (for example, a heater) to heat the ink. The ink cartridge 26 may be configured as a so-called off-carriage that is attached to the frame 29 and supplies ink or the like to the print head 24 through a tube.

  The transport mechanism 31 includes a paper feed roller 35 that transports the recording paper S to the print head 24 and a paper discharge roller 39 that discharges the printed recording paper S. The paper feed roller 35 and the paper discharge roller 39 are driven by the drive motor 33 via a gear mechanism (not shown).

  The capping device 37 is disposed on one end side (the right side in FIG. 1) of the platen 36, and when the print head 24 abuts, the inside of the device is made negative pressure by a suction pump (not shown) so that the ink in the nozzles 23 is discharged. In addition to the cleaning process forcibly sucking out, it is also used when the nozzles 23 are sealed to prevent the nozzles 23 from being dried during a printing pause or the like. The position where the print head 24 comes into contact with the capping device 37 is a home position (initial position) as a standby position of the print head 24. The flushing area 38 is disposed on the other end side of the capping device 37 of the platen 36, and is irrelevant to the print data periodically or at a predetermined timing to prevent the ink from drying and solidifying at the tip of the nozzle 23. This is an area used when a so-called flushing process for forcibly ejecting ink droplets is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ink receiving area 52 is configured as an area that absorbs ink droplets flying from the nozzles 23 of the print head 24, and is capable of printing from postcard size recording paper to A4 size recording paper. 36 is provided over substantially the entire printable area formed from the left end to the right end. The ink receiving area 52 is formed of a highly permeable material (for example, sponge or felt) that allows the ink droplet that has reached to move quickly downward. The ink receiving area 52 includes first to fourth side edge receiving areas 52a to 52d that absorb ink that protrudes from the edge of the side edge of each size of recording paper at the time of borderless printing. An upper end receiving area 52e that absorbs ink protruding from the upper edge of the recording paper, a lower end receiving area 52f that absorbs ink protruding from the lower edge of the recording paper during borderless printing, and the ink receiving area 52 A plurality of support pillars 36a for supporting the recording paper passing therethrough from the back side are formed. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the printer 20 supports three types of recording paper: postcard size, B5 size, and A4 size. The first side edge receiving area 52a is formed such that when the right edge of the recording paper of each size is arranged along the reference guide provided in the vicinity of the capping device 37, the right edge thereof passes above. Has been. The second to fourth side end receiving areas 52b to 52d are formed so that the left end portion of the postcard size, B5 size, and A4 size recording paper passes above them. The lengths of the first to fourth side end receiving areas 52a to 52d in the transport direction are designed to be longer than the nozzle row 27 (see FIG. 4 described later). Further, the upper end receiving area 52e and the lower end receiving area 52f are designed to have a size exceeding the largest A4 size width of the recording paper, and the support pillar 36a does not prevent the ink from reaching the side end. The receiving area 52 is provided in an area other than the first to fourth side end receiving areas 52a to 52d.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 70 is configured as a microprocessor centered on a CPU 72, and stores a flash ROM 74 capable of storing various processing programs and writing and erasing data, and temporarily storing data and data. A RAM 76 for storing data, an interface (I / F) 78 for exchanging information with an external device, and an input / output port (not shown) are provided. The flash ROM 74 stores processing programs such as a print processing routine described later. The RAM 76 is provided with a print buffer area, and print data is stored in this print buffer area. The controller 70 is a device for a user to input various instructions to the printer 20, and includes a display unit composed of a color liquid crystal panel on which characters and images corresponding to the various instructions are displayed, An operation panel 79 provided with an operation unit on which keys and the like for operation are arranged is electrically connected. The controller 70 receives a position signal of the carriage 22 from the linear encoder 25 and an operation signal from the operation panel 79 via an input port (not shown) and prints output from a user personal computer (PC) 80. A job or the like is input via the I / F 78. The controller 70 outputs a control signal to the print head 24, a control signal to the drive motor 33, a drive signal to the carriage motor 34a, a signal to the operation panel 79, and the like via an output port (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the printer 20 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described in particular for the printing process. FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart of a printing process routine executed by the CPU 72 of the controller 70, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the preceding ejection process and the borderless printing process, and FIG. 4A is the preceding ejection process. FIG. 4B is a diagram of printing processing for the upper edge portion, and FIG. 4C is a diagram of printing processing for the lower edge portion. This routine is repeatedly executed after the printer 20 is turned on. When this routine is started, the CPU 72 first determines whether or not print data has been received (step S100). If the print data has not been received, the CPU 72 ends this routine as it is. On the other hand, when the print data is received, the CPU 72 determines whether or not the print data is data for borderless printing (step S110). Whether the print data is data for borderless printing is determined based on whether the print condition information included in the print data includes information for borderless printing. did. Note that the print data also serves as a print processing command. Further, when borderless printing is selected by the user, the user PC 80 enlarges the image data for which printing has been instructed into image data larger than the size of the recording paper S so that the recording paper S does not have a border, Print data including the image data and information that is data for borderless printing is transmitted to the printer 20.

  When the print data is not data for borderless printing, the CPU 72 moves the print head 24 from the home position to the flushing area 38 to execute the flushing process (step S120), and after moving the print head 24 to the home position. Printing processing is executed (step S170), and this routine is terminated. Here, the flushing process executes a process for forcibly ejecting ink from all the nozzles 23 of the print head 24. In the printing process, the CPU 72 expands the print data stored in the print buffer of the RAM 76 into a bitmap image, and ejects each color ink stored in the ink cartridge 26 onto the recording paper S based on the expanded data. The print head 24 is driven so that the recording paper S is conveyed by driving the paper feed roller 35 and the paper discharge roller 39 by the drive motor 33. Here, since printing of print data that is not borderless printing is executed, all of the ink ejected from the print head 24 reaches the recording paper S. Note that when the recording paper S is set to plain paper, matte black (Km) is used, and when it is photographic paper, photoblack (Kp) is used. In addition, the gloss optimizer (G) is appropriately discharged onto the recording paper S so as to smooth the printing surface between the portion where other ink is overlapped and the portion where the ink is not discharged. Further, the position of the print head 24 is assumed to be managed by the controller 70 using the linear encoder 25.

  On the other hand, when the print data is data for borderless printing in step S110, the CPU 72 sets area image data corresponding to the print paper size (step S130). Here, as shown in FIGS. 2B to 2D, the area image data is data used as print data when executing the preceding ejection process described later, and is stored in the flash ROM 74. For example, when the size of the printing paper is a postcard size, an area in which the ink that has deviated from the edge of the paper reaches the ink receiving area 52 plus a predetermined margin, that is, the first and second side edge receiving areas The area image data 62 corresponding to the areas of the upper end receiving area 52e and the lower end receiving area 52f up to 52a, 52b and the second side end receiving area 52b is set as the execution area image data. When the size of the printing paper is B5 size, region image data 64 corresponding to a region obtained by adding a predetermined margin to the region where the ink outside the edge of the B5 size reaches the ink receiving region 52 is used as the region image for execution. When the print paper size is set to A4 size and the print paper size is A4 size, area image data 66 corresponding to an area in which a predetermined margin is added to the area where the ink outside the edge of the A4 size reaches the ink receiving area 52 is obtained. Set to area image data for execution.

  Next, the CPU 72 drives the carriage motor 34a to move the print head 24 from the home position to the flushing area 38 to execute the flushing process, and executes the preceding ejection process using the set area image data (step). S140). This “preceding ejection process” is a process in which the ink receiving area 52 is sufficiently moistened to increase the ink diffusibility in the ink receiving area 52 before executing the borderless printing process of the print data. In the borderless printing process, particularly at the upper and lower ends of the recording paper S, there are cases where the amount of ink discharged to the area outside the recording paper S is smaller than the side edge, and the like, for example, a dry ink receiving area When a small amount of ink droplet reaches 52, moisture is absorbed by the ink receiving area 52 and the solid content is deposited on the surface of the ink receiving area 52 and solidifies. Ink discharge may easily accumulate on the upper surface of the ink receiving area 52 due to ink discharge. Here, ink is ejected to the ink receiving area 52 using area image data corresponding to the size of the printing paper. In the preceding ejection process, as shown in FIG. 4A, the area corresponding to the side edge of the recording paper S (for example, the first side edge receiving area 52a) or the area corresponding to the upper end and the lower end of the recording paper S is formed. On the other hand, ink is ejected to a region where a margin is added to the print data to be actually printed. Here, in the preceding discharge process, the gloss optimizer (G) containing no pigment is set to be discharged from the nozzle 23 during the reciprocating movement between the home position and the flushing region 38.

  When the print head 24 faces the flushing area 38, the CPU 72 executes the flushing process similar to step S120 (step S150). When the flushing process is completed, the CPU 72 drives the carriage motor 34a to move the print head 24 to the home position and executes the preceding discharge process. When the print head 24 reaches the home position, the CPU 72 drives the carriage motor 34a. The preceding discharge process is terminated (step S160). Subsequently, the CPU 72 executes a printing process (step S170) and ends this routine. In this printing process, the same process as the above-described printing process is performed except that the ink reaches the ink receiving area 52 at the edge of the recording paper S. In this printing process, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the upper end of the recording sheet S is above the upper end receiving area 52e, the ink is also applied from the nozzles 23 to the areas outside the upper end and the left and right ends of the recording sheet S. Since the ink is ejected, the ink ejected from the print head 24 is separated from the upper end region of the recording sheet S and the left and right end receiving regions 52e and the first side end receiving region 52a. The area 52 is reached. When the upper end of the recording sheet S passes the upper end receiving area 52e, the ink ejected from the print head 24 is divided into the area of the recording sheet S and the area of the ink receiving area 52 off the left and right ends of the recording sheet S. To reach. Further, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the lower end of the recording sheet S is above the lower end receiving area 52f, the ink is ejected from the nozzles 23 to areas outside the lower end and the left and right ends of the recording sheet S. The ink ejected from the print head 24 reaches the lower end area of the recording paper S, and the lower end receiving area 52f outside the lower end and the ink receiving area 52 outside the left and right ends. As described above, in the borderless printing process, the ink also reaches the ink receiving area 52, but the ink receiving area 52 is sufficiently wet by the preceding ejection process, so that the ink quickly penetrates into the ink receiving area 52.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. The print head 24 of this embodiment corresponds to the ejection head of the present invention, the ink receiving area 52 corresponds to the liquid receiving area, the controller 70 corresponds to the control means, and the carriage belt 32, the carriage motor 34a, and the driven roller 34b include The ink cartridge 26 corresponds to a storage unit, and the flash ROM 74 corresponds to a storage unit. Further, ink corresponds to a liquid, pigment corresponds to a solid content, a gloss optimizer corresponds to a liquid not containing a colorant, a recording paper S corresponds to a target, and print data corresponds to processing data and an ejection processing command. To do. In this embodiment, an example of the control method of the liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention is also clarified by describing the operation of the printer 20.

  According to the printer 20 of the present embodiment described in detail above, when print data for borderless printing that ejects ink from the print head 24 to the area of the recording paper S and the area outside the edge of the recording paper S is received, Prior to this borderless printing process of the print data, the gloss optimizer (which has less solid components contained in the ink receiving area 52 including the area off the edge of the recording paper S from the print head 24 and has a high penetration improving ability) A preceding discharge process for discharging G) is executed. As described above, the ink receiving area 52 is wetted using the gloss optimizer (G) before the borderless printing process of the print data is performed, so that the liquid ink receiving area 52 in the discharge process of the processing data can be obtained. Since the diffusibility is enhanced, it is possible to further suppress the solid content of the ink from being deposited on the ink receiving area 52. In addition, since the preceding ejection process is executed when the flushing process is performed before the printing process of the print data in the flushing area 38 arranged with the ink receiving area 52 sandwiched from the home position where the print head 24 stands by, the preceding ejection process is executed. By sharing the ejection processing time and the flushing processing time, the overall processing time can be shortened. Furthermore, the amount of liquid reaching the ink receiving area 52 is smaller at the upper edge and lower edge of the recording paper S than at the edge of the side edge of the recording paper S, and the solid content caused by the liquid accumulates more. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the solid content of the ink from accumulating in the ink receiving area 52 by executing the preceding ejection process at the upper and lower edges of the recording paper S. Furthermore, since a pigment ink containing a pigment having a relatively large solid content and easily deposited is used, it is highly significant to apply the present invention. Then, using the area image data 62 and 64.66 corresponding to a plurality of sizes of printing paper, the preceding ejection processing corresponding to the recording paper S of a plurality of sizes can be executed relatively easily.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modes as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the preceding ejection process is performed at the time of reciprocation to the flushing area 38 before execution of the printing process. However, the preceding ejection process is performed only during the forward movement to the flushing area 38. Alternatively, the preceding ejection process may be executed only when the vehicle moves backward from the flushing area 38. Alternatively, the preceding ejection process may be executed at a time other than the reciprocating movement to the flushing area 38 before the printing process is executed. Even in this case, the solid content of the ink can be further suppressed from being deposited in the ink receiving area 52. Note that the flushing process is always executed before the printing process is executed, but this may be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the preceding ejection process is performed before the printing process is performed. However, the execution timing of the preceding ejection process is not limited to this, and may be performed at any time. For example, the preceding discharge process may be executed before starting printing for each page or before starting printing for each predetermined number of pages. Further, as the preceding ejection process in the next printing, the preceding ejection process may be executed after the current printing is completed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the preceding ejection process is performed using the gloss optimizer (G). However, the ink may be performed using other colors such as cyan (C). Even in this case, it is possible to further suppress the solid content of the ink from being deposited on the ink receiving area 52 simply by wetting the ink receiving area 52 before executing the borderless printing process. In the above-described embodiment, eight colors of ink are accommodated in the ink cartridge 26. However, one or more of these inks may not be accommodated, or ink other than those described above, for example, light cyan (Lc), light magenta (Lm), and the like may be accommodated in the ink cartridge 26, and the preceding ejection process may be executed using any of these inks. At this time, it is more preferable to use ink stored in the ink cartridge 26 that has a higher permeation improving ability in the ink receiving area 52, such as ink having less solid content or ink having a low viscosity.

  In the embodiment described above, the preceding ejection process is executed using the gloss optimizer (G) used for printing. However, the liquid that is not used for printing is stored in the ink cartridge 26, and the preceding ejection is performed using this liquid. It is good also as what performs a process. Examples of the “liquid not used for printing” include water (purified water), water mixed with a solvent, water mixed with a surfactant, and the like. As the liquid not used for printing, it is more preferable to use a liquid having a higher permeation improving ability in the ink receiving area 52. Even in this case, the solid content of the ink can be further suppressed from being deposited in the ink receiving area 52. Note that if the gloss optimizer (G) is used as in the above-described embodiment, it is not necessary to provide a liquid dedicated to the preceding discharge process.

  In the above-described embodiment, the preceding ejection process is performed on the area of the ink receiving area 52 where the ink reaches the upper edge, the lower edge, and the side edges of the recording paper S. The preceding ejection process may be performed on the area of the ink receiving area 52 where the ink reaches the edge of the upper end / lower end. Since a relatively large amount of ink reaches the area of the ink receiving area 52 outside the edge of the side end even during the borderless printing process, this may be omitted. It should be noted that the preceding ejection process may be executed only for the area of the ink receiving area 52 that is off the edge of the side edge.

  In the above-described embodiment, the preceding ejection process is executed using the area image data 62, 64, 66, but the preceding ejection process may be executed without using these. Even in this case, the solid content of the ink can be further suppressed from being deposited in the ink receiving area 52.

  In the above-described embodiment, the print head 24 ejects the pigment ink. However, the print head 24 may eject ink containing other solid content caused by the ink, such as dye ink. However, in the case of the pigment ink, the solid content is easily accumulated as compared with the dye ink, so that the effect of executing the preceding discharge process is higher.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ink ejecting apparatus 21 includes the carriage 22 that moves in the carriage movement direction. However, the ink ejecting apparatus includes a so-called line inkjet head in which the nozzle rows 27 of the respective colors are provided in the width direction of the recording paper S. It is good. Even in this case, the solid content of the ink can be further suppressed from being deposited in the ink receiving area 52.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention is embodied in the printer 20 has been described. However, the present invention is applicable as long as it ejects liquid by removing the edge of the target. The present invention may be embodied in a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid (dispersion) in which particles of other liquids or functional materials are dispersed, a fluid such as a gel, or the like. For example, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid in which a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, and a color filter is dissolved, or a liquid material in which the material is dispersed It is good also as a liquid injection apparatus which injects the liquid used as a liquid material injection apparatus which injects, and the liquid used as a precision pipette. Also, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a transparent resin liquid such as an ultraviolet curable resin onto a substrate to form a micro hemispherical lens (optical lens) used for an optical communication element or the like, an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate, etc. It is good also as a fluid injection apparatus which injects etching liquids, such as the fluid body injection apparatus which injects a gel.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printer 20 is configured as a printing apparatus including the ink ejecting apparatus 21. However, the printer 20 may be a multifunction printer including a scanner, a FAX apparatus, or the like. Further, although described in the form of the printer 20, it may be a form of a control method of the liquid ejection apparatus or a form of a program of this method.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a printer 20 according to an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the ink receiving area | region 52 and area | region image data. It is an example of the flowchart of a printing process routine. It is explanatory drawing of a preceding discharge process and a borderless printing process.

Explanation of symbols

  20 Printer, 21 Ink Ejecting Device, 22 Carriage, 23 Nozzle, 24 Print Head, 25 Linear Encoder, 26 Ink Cartridge, 27 Nozzle Row, 28 Carriage Shaft, 29 Frame, 31 Carrying Mechanism, 32 Carriage Belt, 33 Drive Motor, 34a Carriage motor, 34b Driven roller, 35 Paper feed roller, 36 Platen, 36a Support column, 37 Capping device, 38 Flushing area, 39 Paper discharge roller, 52 Ink receiving area, 52a-52d First to fourth side end receiving area 52e, upper end receiving area, 52f lower end receiving area, 62, 64.66 area image data, 70 controller, 72 CPU, 74 flash ROM, 76 RAM, 78 interface (I / F), 79 operation panel, 80 user Sokon (PC), S recording paper.

Claims (8)

An ejection head for ejecting a liquid containing a solid component to a target from a plurality of nozzles;
A liquid receiving area where the liquid discharged from the nozzle and coming off the edge of the target can reach at least;
When receiving an ejection processing command for processing data for ejecting the liquid from the ejection head to an area outside the target edge and the target edge, the target edge is moved prior to the processing data ejection processing. Control means for controlling the ejection head to execute a preceding ejection process for ejecting liquid from the ejection head to the liquid receiving area including a detached area;
A liquid ejection device comprising: The liquid ejection device according to claim 1,
A flushing region where the liquid ejected by the flushing process forcibly ejecting the liquid can reach;
A moving means for moving the discharge head to an initial position where the discharge head stands by and a position facing the flushing region;
The liquid receiving area is disposed between the initial position through which the ejection head passes and the flushing area,
The control means controls the moving means so that the discharge head moves between the initial position and the flushing area when receiving the discharge processing command of the processing data, and the movement of the discharge head during the movement of the discharge head A liquid ejection apparatus that controls an ejection head to perform an advance ejection process and controls the ejection head to perform the flushing process at a position facing the flushing region.   The control means, when executing the preceding ejection process, out of the liquid receiving area, the liquid receiving area outside the upper edge of the target and the liquid receiving area outside the lower edge of the target. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejection head is controlled to execute at least the preceding ejection process. The liquid ejection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Storage means for storing a plurality of types of liquids and supplying each of the stored liquids to the ejection head;
The liquid ejection apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the ejection head to execute the preceding ejection process using a liquid having a higher permeation improvement ability among the plurality of types of liquids. The storage means stores, as one of the plurality of types of liquid, a liquid that does not contain a colorant that smoothes the discharge surface on the target that has received the liquid.
5. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the ejection head to perform the preceding ejection process using a liquid that does not include the colorant as the liquid having a higher permeation improvement capability.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is a pigment ink containing a pigment as the solid content. The liquid ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Storage means for storing each of region image data corresponding to a plurality of sizes of targets, which is a region for receiving the liquid discharged out of the edge of the target in the liquid receiving region,
When the control means receives a discharge processing command for processing data, the control means acquires a target size included in the discharge processing command, and stores the stored region image data corresponding to the acquired target size from the storage means. A liquid ejection apparatus that acquires and controls the ejection head to execute the preceding ejection process based on the obtained area image data. Liquid discharge comprising: a discharge head that discharges a liquid containing a component that becomes a solid content from a plurality of nozzles to a target; and a liquid receiving region that can be discharged from the nozzles and that can reach at least the liquid outside the edge of the target An apparatus control method comprising:
When receiving an ejection processing command for processing data for ejecting the liquid from the ejection head to an area outside the target edge and the target edge, the target edge is moved prior to the processing data ejection processing. Controlling the ejection head to perform a preceding ejection process for ejecting liquid from the ejection head to the liquid receiving area including a detached area;
Control method of liquid ejection apparatus.

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