JP2010052207A - Apparatus and method of printing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure both the metal sensation and saturation of color printing, when observing a printed image which concurrently uses a metallic ink and a dye-based color ink. <P>SOLUTION: In printing by concurrently using the metallic ink and the color ink on a printing medium P, equipped with an ink absorbing layer PIK on a translucent base material PTK, a metallic region MA is printed and formed, by ejecting the metallic ink to the ink absorbing layer PIK. Thereafter, the dye-based color ink is ejected. Since the metallic region MA is not necessarily covered in its entirety by a metal pigment contained by the metallic ink, color ink with a high permeability, because it is dye-based, forms a color-developing region CA which colors permeating the ink-absorbing layer PIK of a lower layer side than the metallic region MA. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method for printing on a printing medium provided with a translucent substrate having translucency.

  In recent years, not only high-quality color printing using color inks but also various printing methods that provide metallic feeling by using metallic inks in combination with color inks have been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-50347 A

  As proposed in this patent publication, when the metallic ink is used in combination with the color ink, the printing area by the metallic ink is set as the lower layer side of the printing area by the color ink on the printing paper. By doing so, a metallic feeling due to the metallic pigment containing the metallic ink is brought from the lower layer side of the color ink coloring portion. Therefore, as shown in the above publication, when the print image is observed from the printed medium surface side on the print medium surface, the color ink print area overlaps with the metallic ink print area. In the region, the color of the color ink is observed with a metallic feeling.

  In the case of printing by an ink jet method, pigment-based color inks and dye-based color inks can be considered as color inks. However, pigment-based color inks have been used exclusively as color inks used in combination with metallic inks. It was. This is because the dye ink penetrates into the printing medium under the metallic layer and does not remain on the metallic layer, and therefore, the dye ink is blocked by the highly light-shielding metallic layer and hardly develops color. On the other hand, in the case of pigment ink, even if the solvent is absorbed by the print medium, the pigment particles remain on the metallic layer and develop color.

  However, pigmented color inks have low transparency. For this reason, when the printing area of the metallic ink and the printing area of the pigmented color ink overlap in this order, there is a problem that the metallic feeling of the printing area of the lower-layer metallic ink is lowered. These problems are not unique to metallic inks containing metallic pigments that express metallic sensations, such as inks similar to metallic inks, such as inks containing pigments that exhibit lustrous feeling similar to pearl luster, etc. This is also a common problem when various inks that develop a texture other than coloring are used.

  Based on the above-described problems, the present invention secures a texture such as a metallic feeling developed by a specific ink when observing a print image in which a specific ink such as a metallic ink and a color ink are used together, and saturation of color printing. Its purpose is to ensure both.

  In order to achieve at least a part of the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.

[Application 1: Printing device]
A printing apparatus for printing on a print medium provided with a translucent substrate having translucency,
Medium moving means for moving the print medium along the transport direction with the side of the ink absorbing layer exhibiting translucency formed on the surface of the translucent substrate as a printing surface;
A print head having a special gloss ink discharge head for discharging a special gloss ink exhibiting a special gloss and a color ink discharge head for discharging a color ink;
The special gloss ink is ejected from the special gloss ink ejection head and the color ink is ejected from the color ink ejection head to print a special gloss area using the special gloss ink. And a discharge control means for performing printing of the color development area using the color ink so as to cause penetration into the ink absorption layer in the area.

[Application 2: Printing method]
Printing method,
Preparing a print medium on which an ink absorbing layer exhibiting translucency has been formed on the surface of a translucent substrate having translucency, so that the ink absorbing layer side becomes a printing surface;
Printing of special glossy area using special glossy ink exhibiting special gloss,
The gist of the present invention is to perform color area printing using color ink on the printing surface so as to cause penetration into the ink absorption layer in the special gloss area.

  The special glossy ink exhibiting special gloss referred to in the present application is an ink exhibiting special gloss on the surface of the print medium that has undergone printing, and can be a texture-expressing ink containing a pigment that exhibits a predetermined texture. A metallic ink, which is an example of such a special gloss ink, contains a metallic pigment that develops a metallic feeling after fixing on the surface of a printing medium. In addition to this, a special glossy ink is a pearly luster ink containing a pigment that expresses a pearly luster after fixing on the medium surface, for example, a pigment in which a plurality of thin film layers having a pearl color like natural pearls are stacked, Also included are lamainques and plain inks containing pigments with minute irregularities so as to cause irregular reflection after fixing on the medium surface and express a so-called lame or plain feeling. The metallic ink, which is one of the special glossy inks referred to in the present application, is an ink having a metallic gloss, and the metallic gloss is expressed by a metal pigment contained in the metallic ink. As such a metallic ink, an oil-based ink composition containing a metal pigment, an organic solvent, and a resin can be used. In order to effectively produce a metallic luster, the above-mentioned metal pigment is preferably a tabular grain, and the major axis on the plane of the tabular grain is X, the minor axis is Y, and the thickness is In the case of Z, the 50% average particle diameter R50 of the equivalent circle diameter obtained from the area of the XY plane of the tabular grains is 0.5 to 3 μm, and the condition of R50 / Z> 5 is satisfied. preferable. Such a metal pigment can be formed of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy, or can be formed by crushing a metal vapor-deposited film. The concentration of the metal pigment contained in the metallic ink can be, for example, 0.1 to 10.0% by weight. Of course, the metallic ink is not limited to such a composition, and any other composition can be appropriately employed as long as the metallic gloss is generated.

  In addition, the special glossy ink can be an ink in which the optical characteristics of the ink printed on the surface of the medium have a reflection angle dependency, and the metallic feeling of the metallic ink which is an example of these special glossy inks From a viewpoint, it is as follows. Since the metallic sensation is a sensation of looking at the reflected light, various indexes indicating the metallic sensation have been proposed that have reflection angle dependency in optical characteristics. Therefore, it is possible to define a metallic ink that expresses a metallic feeling with this index. For example, a known metallic feeling index value In1 represented by the following formula (1) may be used. This metallic sensation index value In1 measures the brightness of reflected light at three different locations defined in the formula (1) when the measured object (metallic sensation printed matter) is irradiated from an angle of -45 degrees. It can be determined from the relationship of brightness obtained at three locations. Therefore, the metallic ink can be defined by the metallic index value In1 in the same manner as the metallic pigment for expressing the metallic feeling.

  In addition, the metallic feeling index value In2 represented by the following expression (2) using the lightness at three locations for defining the metallic feeling index value In1, and the metallic feeling index value represented by the following expression (3): In3 or the like may be used as an index of metallic feeling.

  Since any index value expressed by the above formula is determined as a numerical value depending on the reflection angle, the special gloss ink can be defined by these index values.

  In addition, the color ink referred to in the present application is an ink that penetrates into the ink absorption layer of the print medium and develops color in the ink absorption layer. A dye-based color ink which is an example of such a color ink is an ink containing a dye as an organic dye, and develops a color defined by the organic dye contained therein. The dye may be either a natural dye or a synthetic dye. Examples of the color used for color printing and a dye ink of that color are as follows.

  For example, in addition to the usual four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, light cyan and light magenta will be described as an example. For cyan ink, direct blue 99, which is an example of a dye that emits cyan, For example, the ink is dissolved in a solvent prepared by mixing diethylene glycol and water. The light cyan ink is an ink in which the content of the above dye that emits cyan is refrained and this dye is dissolved in the above solvent. The magenta ink is an ink in which Acid Red 289, which is an example of a dye that emits magenta, is dissolved in the above solvent. The light magenta ink is an ink in which the content of the dye that emits a magenta color is reduced and the dye is dissolved in the solvent. The yellow ink is an ink in which direct yellow 86, which is an example of a dye that emits a yellow color, is dissolved in the above solvent. The black ink is an ink in which hood black 2, which is an example of a dye that emits black, is dissolved in the above solvent. In such dye-based color inks, the viscosity is adjusted after the content of the dye and the content of diethylene glycol and water for viscosity adjustment are adjusted. Even in the case of pigmented color ink, if the particle diameter of the pigment to be contained is small enough to allow entry into the voids of the ink absorbing layer, it penetrates into the ink absorbing layer of the print medium and An ink that develops color in the ink absorbing layer can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the ink absorbing layer referred to in the present application is a layer in which the color ink of each color described above penetrates to cause color development with the color of the ink. For example, the ink absorbing layer is formed on the surface of the light-transmitting substrate using a solvent containing a material for forming an absorbing layer such as polyvinyl alcohol, which allows easy penetration of dye-based color ink and dye fixing. The thickness of the ink absorbing layer need not be specified as long as it can absorb the amount of ink necessary for sufficient color development. If the absorbing layer thickness is in the range of up to about 50 μm, the thickness of the dye-based color ink can be reduced. There is no particular obstacle to penetration and dye fixing and color development. The above-described ink absorption layer functions as a so-called swelling type ink absorption layer because polyvinyl alcohol as a forming material functions as a binder and absorbs ink. In addition to such a swelling type ink absorption layer, so-called voids are formed. It can also be an ink absorbing layer called a mold. This void-type ink absorbing layer has an ink receiving layer composed of inorganic fine particles such as silica and alumina, and ink is applied to the innumerable fine voids (average diameter around 20 nm) present in the ink receiving layer by capillary action. Absorb.

  In the printing apparatus and the printing method configured as described above using these inks, a special gloss is applied to a translucent print medium having a translucent ink absorbing layer formed on the surface of a translucent substrate having translucency. Printing is performed using both ink and color ink. At this time, ink printing is performed on the surface of the print medium on the ink absorbing layer side. In this case, as the special gloss ink, in addition to the metallic ink described above, there are also inks such as a pearl gloss ink, a lama ink, and a plain ink, etc. In the following description, it is assumed that the special glossy ink is a metallic ink.

  When printing is performed as described above, the printed portion of only the metallic ink becomes a metallic region where a metallic feeling (predetermined texture) due to the metallic pigment of the metallic ink is expressed, and the colored ink is the ink absorbing layer in the printed portion of the color ink. It becomes a color development area that penetrates into and develops color. In the metallic region that overlaps with the coloring region, the color ink penetrates into the ink absorbing layer on the lower layer side than the metallic region and develops color in the ink absorbing layer.

  Therefore, if a translucent printing medium printed with a combination of metallic ink and color ink is observed through the back side of the ink printing surface, the color development area of the color ink that has penetrated the ink absorbing layer is observed. It will be overlaid on the metallic area by printing. Then, the color development region that overlaps the metallic region by printing of the metallic ink (hereinafter, this region is appropriately referred to as the metallic color region) is colored with the color of the color ink with good saturation, and the color ink in the metallic color region is Since it has high transparency as long as it is a dye, the metallic feeling (predetermined texture) of the metallic region located on the lower layer side is less likely to be impaired. As a result, according to the printing apparatus and the printing method having the above-described configuration, it is possible to ensure the metallic feeling (predetermined texture) of the printed image using the metallic ink (special gloss ink) and the color ink together and to ensure the saturation of the color printing. Both can be achieved. In addition, in the printed product obtained by the printing apparatus and the printing method having the above-described configuration, the translucent printing medium itself serves the protection function of the printing area, which can contribute to the maintenance of the printing quality.

  The printing method described above can be configured as follows. For example, a print head having a metallic ink (special gloss ink) discharge head for discharging the metallic ink (special gloss ink) and a color ink discharge head for discharging the color ink is prepared, and the print medium and the print head While performing the relative movement, ink is ejected from the ejection head of the print head to print the metallic area (special gloss area) and the color development area. If it carries out like this, while being able to show the above-mentioned effect with an ink-jet type printing technique, the printed result which can maintain print quality can be obtained easily.

  In this case, when ejecting ink from the ejection head, metallic ink (special gloss ink) is ejected from the metallic ink (special gloss ink) ejection head to print the metallic region (special gloss region) to form a metallic layer. Later, the color ink can be ejected from the color ink ejection head in a range including the printed metallic area (special gloss area) to print the color development area. In this way, the color ink penetrates into the ink absorption layer on the lower layer side of the previously printed metallic area (special gloss area), and the color development area (metallic color area) of the color ink is formed in the ink absorption layer. It is formed. That is, since the metallic layer can be formed prior to the discharge of the color ink, the metallic layer forming conditions are stable, and a metallic layer having a smooth and high metallic luster and excellent in abrasion resistance can be formed. Although the color ink is ejected later, the color ink layer is formed under the metallic layer.

  Also, when discharging metallic ink (special glossy ink) from a metallic ink (special glossy ink) discharge head, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the entire metallic region (special glossy region) is covered with a pigment contained in the metallic ink. Printing can be performed by discharging metallic ink (special gloss ink). In this way, the effectiveness of the penetration of the color ink into the ink absorption layer on the lower side of the metallic region (special gloss region) can be enhanced, so that the formation of the color ink coloring region (metallic color region) in the ink absorption layer can be achieved. It becomes certain and can improve saturation.

  Further, metallic ink (special gloss ink) from a metallic ink (special gloss ink) discharge head while performing medium movement along the sub-scan direction of the print medium and head movement along the main scan direction of the print head. ) Printing of the metallic area (special gloss area) by the ejection of the color ink and printing of the color development area by the ejection of the color ink from the color ink ejection head once in the main scanning direction of the printing head. Can be done at the same time. By doing so, a color development region (printing of a metallic region (special gloss region) during one movement of the print head in the main scanning direction, that is, one pass, and penetrating into the ink absorption layer on the lower layer side ( (Metallic color region) can be printed and formed, so that the printing speed can be increased. In this method, the printing order of the metallic ink and the color ink is not necessarily fixed, and a mixture of both colors occurs. However, even when the mixture occurs, the color ink penetrates into the ink absorption layer, and the pigment contained in the metallic ink is the ink. In order to form a metallic layer on the surface of the absorption layer, a two-layer structure is automatically formed, which is a color ink coloring layer underneath and a light-shielding metallic layer thereon.

  In addition, the color ink is ejected from the color ink ejection head to print the color development area, and then the metallic ink (special gloss ink) is ejected from the metallic ink (special gloss ink) ejection head to form the metallic area ( (Special gloss area) can be printed. In this way, in the ink absorbing layer on the lower side of the metallic area (special gloss area), the color development area by the color ink that has penetrated the ink is surely printed and formed, and the metallic area (special gloss area) is superimposed on the color development area. ) Can be reliably printed. In other words, all of the discharged color ink can penetrate into the ink absorption layer, so high coloration and color development when the print medium is observed through the back side of the ink print surface as described above. It is possible to secure a metallic feeling (special gloss or predetermined texture) in the metallic area (special gloss area) which is the lower layer side of the area.

[Application 3: Printing method]
A printing method for printing on a print medium provided with a translucent substrate having translucency,
A color development region using color ink is printed on the light-absorbing ink absorbing layer formed on one surface of the translucent substrate,
The gist is to print a special gloss region on the other surface of the print medium using a special gloss ink exhibiting a special gloss.

  In the printing method having the above-described configuration, ink printing is performed on both surfaces of a translucent print medium having an ink absorbing layer exhibiting translucency on the surface of the translucent substrate having translucency. As a result, the color-development region by the color ink that has permeated and colored in the ink absorption layer with the translucent substrate interposed therebetween overlaps the metallic region (special gloss region) by the metallic ink (special gloss ink). In the coloring area, the ink penetration into the ink absorption layer proceeds and the coloring that does not cause a decrease in saturation is secured. On the other hand, the metallic feeling (special gloss or predetermined texture) of the metallic area (special gloss area) when the transparent printing medium is observed from the color development area side is the translucent substrate on the area. In addition, it is difficult to be damaged in the translucent coloring region. As a result, the above-described effects can also be achieved by the printing method having the above-described configuration.

  In the printing method and the aspect described above, a white layer is formed on the surface of the print medium on the side where the metallic region (special gloss region) using the metallic ink (special gloss ink) is printed. be able to. In this way, the back side of the medium when observing through a translucent print medium is covered with white, so that the saturation of the coloring area by the color ink is increased or the influence of the color of the wall on the back side of the print medium is affected. It becomes possible to eliminate.

  In this case, if the white layer is printed and formed by ejecting ink from the ejection head, the white layer can be formed while printing with metallic ink (special gloss ink) or color ink. Further, if the white layer is printed and formed in a range excluding the metallic region (special gloss region), the amount of ink used for forming the white layer can be reduced. In addition to such printing, a white layer may be formed with a white sheet.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples.
A. Summary of embodiment:
B. Device configuration:
C. Example:
D. Other examples

A. Summary of embodiment:
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system 10 as an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a printing system 10 according to the present embodiment includes a computer 100 as a printing control apparatus, a printer 200 that actually prints an image under the control of the computer 100, and the like. The printing system 10 functions as a printing device in a broad sense as a whole.

  The printer 200 according to the present embodiment includes cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, and black ink as color inks, and further includes metallic ink that exhibits a metallic luster due to the contained metal pigment. ing. In this embodiment, the term “color ink” includes black ink.

  As the metallic ink, an oil-based ink composition containing a metal pigment, an organic solvent, and a resin was used in this example. About the metal pigment to contain, what was prescribed | regulated as follows is contained. For example, when a tabular grain metal pigment is used and the major axis on the plane of the tabular grain is X, the minor axis is Y, and the thickness is Z, the tabular grain is obtained from the area of the XY plane of the tabular grain. A 50% average particle diameter R50 of the equivalent circle diameter was 0.5 to 3 μm and a condition satisfying the condition of R50 / Z> 5 was employed. In this case, it is possible to use a metal pigment formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, or a metal pigment formed by crushing a metal vapor deposition film. In this example, a metal pigment formed from aluminum was employed. The concentration of the metal pigment contained in the metallic ink can also be set to 0.1 to 10.0% by weight, for example, and in this example, 1.5% by weight was used.

  The color ink is a dye-based color ink containing a dye as an organic pigment that develops colors with the above-described colors. In this embodiment, four color inks of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black were used. The cyan ink contains 3.6 weight percent of direct blue 99, a cyan dye, which contains 30 weight percent viscosity adjusting diethylene glycol, 1 weight percent Surfynol 465, 65.4. This ink is dissolved in a solvent mixed with weight percent water. The magenta ink contains 2.8 weight percent Acid Red 289, a magenta dye, which contains 20 weight percent diethylene glycol for viscosity adjustment, 1 weight percent Surfynol 465, 76.2. This ink is dissolved in a solvent mixed with weight percent water.

  The yellow ink contains 1.8 percent by weight of direct yellow 86, a dye that produces a yellow color, and includes 30 percent by weight of diethylene glycol for viscosity adjustment, 1 percent by weight of Surfinol 465, 67.2. This ink is dissolved in a solvent mixed with weight percent water. The black ink contains 4.8 weight percent Food Black 2, which is a black emitting dye, containing 35 weight percent diethylene glycol for viscosity adjustment, 1 weight percent Surfynol 465, 69.2 weight percent. Ink dissolved in a solvent mixed with percent water. In any of the inks, for example, the viscosity is adjusted to about 3 [mPa · s] so as not to hinder the ejection from the ejection head.

  If so-called light-colored ink is used in addition to the above-described color ink, direct blue 99, which is a dye that emits cyan, is used as a light cyan ink at 0.9 weight percent, which is 1/4 of cyan ink. In addition, the dye may be an ink in which 35% by weight of diethylene glycol for viscosity adjustment, 1% by weight of Surfynol 465, and 63.1% by weight of water are dissolved. As light magenta ink, acid red, which is a magenta dye, is reduced to 0.7 weight percent, which is 1/4 of magenta ink, and this dye is mixed with 25 weight percent diethylene glycol for viscosity adjustment. An ink in which 1% by weight of Surfinol 465 and 73.3% by weight of water are dissolved in a mixed solvent may be used.

  A predetermined operating system is installed in the computer 100, and the application program 20 operates under this operating system. A video driver 22 and a printer driver 24 are incorporated in the operating system. The application program 20 inputs image data ORG from the digital camera 120 through the peripheral device interface 108, for example. Then, the application program 20 displays an image represented by the image data ORG on the display 114 via the video driver 22. The application program 20 outputs the image data ORG to the printer 200 via the printer driver 24. Image data ORG input from the digital camera 120 by the application program 20 is data composed of three color components of red (R), green (G), and blue (B).

  The application program 20 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an area composed of R, G, and B color components (hereinafter referred to as “color coloring area”) and an area printed with metallic ink for an arbitrary area in the image data ORG. (Hereinafter referred to as “metallic area”) can be designated. A part of the metallic area and the color development area are overlapped, and in the overlapped area, a color image is formed on the metallic luster exhibited by the metallic pigment of the metallic ink as a background color. That is, this weight area becomes a metallic color area. Further, it may be a metallic region (metallic single region) where only metallic ink is used. When the metallic area is designated in this way, in addition to designating the area in advance, for example, the application program 20 is programmed so that the printing area of a specific graphic shape is set as the metallic area, or the printing area in a specific color is set. It can also be programmed by the application program 20 so as to be a metallic area.

  Inside the printer driver 24, a color conversion module 42, a halftone module 44, and a print control module 46 are provided. Among these, the printing control module 46 includes a metallic dot forming module 47 and a color printing module 48.

  In accordance with a color conversion table LUT prepared in advance, the color conversion module 42 is a color component (cyan (C), magenta) that can be expressed by the printer 200 for the color components R, G, and B of the color development region in the image data ORG. (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) colors).

  The halftone module 44 performs a halftone process in which the gradation of the image data color-converted by the color conversion module 42 is represented by dot distribution. In this embodiment, a known systematic dither method is used as the halftone process. As the halftone process, an error diffusion method, a density pattern method, and other halftone techniques can be used in addition to the systematic dither method.

  The print control module 46 rearranges the halftone processed image data in the order to be transferred to the printer 200 and outputs the data to the printer 200 as print data. The print control module 46 controls the printer 200 by outputting various commands such as a print start command and a print end command to the printer 200.

  In this embodiment, the print control module 46 includes a metallic dot forming module 47 and a color printing module 48. The metallic dot forming module 47 forms metallic dots of a predetermined size in the metallic area designated by the application program 20. In the present embodiment, by changing the dot size of the metallic dots, for example, the metal pigment distribution amount per unit area in the metallic region can be defined. For example, the metallic pigment distribution amount may be increased to increase the metallic feeling, and the metallic pigment distribution amount may be decreased to refrain from the metallic feeling. In this case, in this embodiment, as will be described later, the metallic region is entirely covered with a metal pigment in order to allow the dye-based color ink printed (dot discharge) to penetrate below the metallic region of the metallic ink. In order not to be broken, the dot size of metallic dots, specifically, the amount of metal pigment distribution is limited. The color printing module 48 forms dots with the color inks of the above-described colors on the halftone-processed image, that is, the image in the color development region.

B. Device configuration:
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a computer 100 as a print control apparatus. The computer 100 is a well-known computer configured by connecting a ROM 104, a RAM 106, and the like with a bus 116 around a CPU 102.

  The computer 100 includes a disk controller 109 for reading data such as the flexible disk 124 and the compact disk 126, a peripheral device interface 108 for exchanging data with peripheral devices, and a video interface 112 for driving the display 114. It is connected. A printer 200 and a hard disk 118 are connected to the peripheral device interface 108. Further, if the digital camera 120 or the color scanner 122 is connected to the peripheral device interface 108, it is possible to perform image processing on an image captured by the digital camera 120 or the color scanner 122. If the network interface card 110 is installed, the computer 100 can be connected to the communication line 300 to obtain data stored in the storage device 310 connected to the communication line. When the computer 100 obtains image data to be printed, the printer driver 24 controls the printer 200 to print the image data.

  Next, the configuration of the printer 200 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer 200. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 200 is mounted on the carriage 240, a mechanism for transporting the print medium P by the paper feed motor 235, a mechanism for reciprocating the carriage 240 in the axial direction of the platen 236 by the carriage motor 230. And a control circuit 260 that controls the exchange of signals with the paper feed motor 235, the carriage motor 230, the print head 241, and the operation panel 256. Has been.

  The mechanism for reciprocating the carriage 240 in the axial direction of the platen 236 is an endless drive belt between the carriage motor 230 and a slide shaft 233 that is installed in parallel with the platen 236 axis and slidably holds the carriage 240. A pulley 232 that stretches 231, a position detection sensor 234 that detects the origin position of the carriage 240, and the like.

  On the carriage 240, a color ink cartridge 243 that contains cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), yellow ink (Y), and black ink (K) as color inks is mounted. The carriage 240 is mounted with a metallic ink cartridge 242 containing metallic ink (S). A total of five types of ink discharge heads 244 to 248 corresponding to these colors are formed on the print head 241 below the carriage 240. When these ink cartridges 242 and 243 are mounted on the carriage 240 from above, ink can be supplied from each cartridge to the ink ejection heads 244 to 248.

  Here, the print head 241 will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the nozzle arrangement of the ink ejection head that constitutes the print head 241. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, ten nozzles are printed for each color of metallic ink (S), cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), yellow ink (Y), and black ink (K). Arranged in the sub-scanning direction on the lower surface of the head 241. Each nozzle is arranged at an interval of 2 dots in the sub-scanning direction. In the drawing, since the lower part indicates the sub-scanning direction, the printing medium P passes through the nozzle shown at the lowermost part during printing. In the figure, a black-filled nozzle indicates that the metallic ink is ejected, and a hatched nozzle indicates that the color ink is ejected. The other nozzles indicate nozzles that are not used.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, for the ink ejection head 248 for metallic ink, among the 10 nozzles, three nozzles that first pass through the print medium P are used during actual printing. The remaining seven are not used. For the ink ejection heads 244 to 247 forming the nozzle row of color ink (C, M, Y, K), four nozzles that pass through the print medium P first among the ten nozzles are not used. And use the remaining six. Accordingly, none of the fourth nozzle nozzles in the nozzle array is counted from the first nozzle that passes through the print medium. Hereinafter, as necessary, nozzles that eject metallic ink are referred to as metallic nozzle groups, and nozzles that eject color ink are referred to as color nozzle groups.

  Piezo elements are incorporated in each nozzle shown in FIG. As is well known, a piezo element is an element that transforms electro-mechanical energy at an extremely high speed because its crystal structure is distorted by application of a voltage. In the present embodiment, by applying a predetermined voltage signal (drive signal) to the piezo element, one side wall of the ink passage in the nozzle is deformed, thereby ejecting an ink droplet from the nozzle. In this embodiment, ink is ejected using a piezo element as described above. However, a method of ejecting ink by generating bubbles in the nozzle may be employed.

  The control circuit 260 of the printer 200 shown in FIG. 3 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a PIF (peripheral device interface), and the like connected to each other via a bus. The operation of the carriage motor 230 and the paper feed motor 235 is performed. By controlling, the main scanning operation and the sub scanning operation of the carriage 240 are controlled. When print data output from the computer 100 is received via the PIF, a drive signal corresponding to the print data is supplied to the ink ejection heads 244 to 248 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 240 in the main scanning or sub scanning. Thus, these heads can be driven.

  The printer 200 having the hardware configuration described above drives the carriage motor 230 to reciprocate the ink ejection heads 244 to 247 for each color in the main scanning direction with respect to the print medium P, and to perform a paper feed motor. By driving 235, the print medium P is moved in the sub-scanning direction. The control circuit 260 performs printing by driving the nozzles at an appropriate timing based on the print data in accordance with the movement of the carriage 240 reciprocally (main scanning) or the movement of paper feeding of the printing medium (sub scanning). Ink dots of appropriate colors are formed at appropriate positions on the medium P. By doing so, the printer 200 can print a color image on the print medium P and form a color print image area (metallic color area) superimposed on the metallic area.

  The printer 200 of this embodiment is described as a so-called inkjet printer that forms ink dots by ejecting ink droplets toward the print medium P. However, any method is used to form dots. It may be a printer. For example, the present invention can be suitably applied to a printer that forms dots by attaching toner powder of each color onto a print medium using static electricity instead of ejecting ink droplets, and a line printer described later. Is possible.

C. Example:
(C1) First embodiment:
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the printing process in the first embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state of combined printing of metallic ink and color ink in this printing process. In the first embodiment, the computer 100 determines a metallic area using metallic ink, and performs a process of printing only with color ink by restricting the use of the metallic ink for areas other than the metallic area.

  When the printing process is started, the computer 100 first inputs RGB format image data (step S100). When the image data is input, the computer 100 determines a metallic area defined by the application program 20 (step S102). This determination process will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The computer 100 determines, for example, a heart-shaped graphic area as shown in FIG. 6 as a metallic area according to a program defined by the application program 20. In addition, the application program 20 can also determine an area printed in a predetermined color as a metallic area including its shape. For example, in the case of a print image including the sun and stars, the sun and stars in the image can be distinguished through image analysis such as shape and color, and the distinction region can be determined as a metallic region.

  If the metallic area is determined, the computer 100 then uses the color conversion module 42 to convert the RGB format image data input in step S100 into CMYK format image data (step S104). When the CMYK format image data is obtained, the computer 100 performs halftone processing using the halftone module 44 and generates data that can be transferred to the printer 200 (step S106).

  When the halftone process ends, the computer 100 uses the print control module 46 to control the printer 200 and starts printing (step S108).

  When the computer 100 starts printing, the metallic area determined in step S102 is compared with the current dot position assigned by dot formation so as to become the printing target, so that the current printing target dot becomes the metallic area. It is determined whether the region is a non-metallic region (that is, a color single region using only color ink) (step S110). If it is determined that the current printing target dot is a non-metallic area, the computer 100 prohibits the use of metallic ink for the current printing target dot (step S112), and the dot is formed using only the color ink. Is formed and printing is performed (step S114).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the current print target dot is a metallic region, the computer 100 determines to use the metallic ink for the current print target dot (step S116), and uses the metallic ink and the color ink. Dots are formed (step S118). Specifically, for a current print target dot, a dot of metallic ink having a constant density is formed, the metallic ink is ejected first, and a metallic area is printed and formed, and then a color is formed on the metallic area. Ink is ejected and a color development region is printed by color ink. As a result, a metallic color region in which the color coloring region overlaps the metallic region is formed.

  When the formation of the current printing target dot and ink ejection are completed in step S114 or step S118, the computer 100 determines whether printing of the entire image data has been completed (step S120). If printing of the entire image data has not been completed, the computer 100 returns the process to step S110 to continue forming other dots. On the other hand, when printing of the entire image data is finished, the printing process is finished.

  The state of printing in the above-described step S118 when the dot formation and printing by the discharge are repeated for the entire image data in this way will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  First, the print medium P will be described. As shown in FIG. 6 (A), the print medium P to be printed in this example is formed on a translucent base material PTK such as translucent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the base material surface. An ink absorption layer PIK. Since the ink absorbing layer PIK exhibits translucency, the print medium P has translucency as a whole medium. In this case, the print medium P is transported to the platen 236 so that the ink absorption layer PIK side is the printing surface, and moves in the sub-scanning direction.

  The ink absorbing layer PIK already formed on the translucent substrate PTK penetrates the above-described dye-based color inks to cause fixing of the dyes of the inks, and causes color development depending on the dyes. For example, the ink absorption layer PIK is made of a light-transmitting substrate PTK having a thickness of up to about 50 μm using a material for forming an absorption layer such as polyvinyl alcohol, which allows easy penetration of dye-based color ink and dye fixing. After fixing the dyes of the color inks of the respective colors formed and penetrated on the surface, the color of the color inks is developed. In this case, if color inks are mixed, the color is generated with the mixed color.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, in the present embodiment, the heart-shaped metallic area MA is determined in the process of step S102. Therefore, in step S118, the metallic dot forming module 47 of the print control module 46 first discharges the metallic ink from the ink discharge head 248 of the print head 241 and then forms the heart-shaped metallic area MA with the ink on the printing medium P. Is printed on the ink absorbing layer PIK side. In this case, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the metallic nozzle group is a nozzle that first passes through the print medium P. Therefore, the printing of the heart-shaped metallic area MA with the metallic ink is physically performed first. Done.

  Since the metallic ink is an oil-based ink composition containing a metal pigment as described above, the metallic region MA is printed and formed on the surface of the absorbing layer without penetrating into the ink absorbing layer PIK. The contained metal pigments MG are dispersed and arranged in the heart-shaped metallic region MA, and a metallic feeling is expressed in the metallic region MA by each metal pigment MG. In this case, the state of dispersion of the metal pigment MG is determined by the discharge amount of the metallic ink. The state of dispersion of the metal pigment MG will be described in detail with reference to the side view and the top arrow view of FIG.

  When the heart-shaped metallic area MA is observed with the naked eye, the entire area of the metallic area MA is covered with the metal pigment MG. However, since the metallic pigment MG contained in the metallic ink is fine as described above, when a partial area of the metallic area MA is enlarged, the metallic ink is shown as schematically enlarged in the drawing. The state of dispersion of the metal pigment MG can be changed by the discharge amount. That is, as shown in the enlarged view in the figure, by controlling the metallic ink discharge amount, the metallic pigment MG is dispersed so as to cover the entire area of the metallic area MA with the metallic pigment MG, or all of the metallic area MA is It can be made not to be coated with the metal pigment MG. As shown in one enlarged view in the figure, even if the entire region of the metallic region MA is covered with the metal pigment MG, there are fine or gaps between the adjacent metal pigments MG or the overlapping metal pigments MG. Therefore, the color ink discharged later penetrates the ink absorbing layer PIK through such fine gaps. When the metal pigment MG is dispersed without covering the entire area of the metallic region MA as shown in the other enlarged view in the figure, the color discharged later from the portion where the metal pigment MG is not dispersed. The ink penetrates into the ink absorption layer PIK.

  When printing of the metallic area MA with the metallic ink is finished in this way, specifically, when printing of the metallic area MA in a partial area in the main scanning / sub-scanning direction is finished, the nozzles of the print head 241 are printed in the printed metallic area MA. After discharging the color ink of each color from each of the ink discharge heads 244 to 247 forming a row, a heart-shaped color coloring area CA is printed with the ink. In this case, the color development area CA is printed and overlapped with the printed metallic area MA. However, since it is a dye-based ink as described above, the color ink having high permeability to the ink absorption layer PIK is: As described above, it penetrates into the ink absorption layer PIK from the fine gaps between the metal pigments MG or the portions where the metal pigments MG are not dispersed. Therefore, as shown in the side view of FIG. 6C, the dye-based color ink penetrates into the ink absorption layer PIK located below the metallic region MA to fix the dye, and this ink absorption layer PIK. The color development area CA is formed in the heart shape similar to the metallic area MA with high saturation under the metallic area MA. In this case, the color development area CA may have a shape different from that of the metallic area MA. For example, it may be a partial area of the metallic area MA or an area including the metallic area MA. In FIG. 6C, the color development area CA is illustrated as being uniformly penetrating to the bottom surface in the thickness direction of the ink absorption layer PIK. However, when the amount of ink is small, etc. It is not always necessary to penetrate to the lowermost surface, and a concentration gradient may be generated such that the color is developed at a higher concentration as the surface is closer to the upper surface.

  On the other hand, in the non-metallic area, printing with metallic ink is not performed in step S112. Therefore, only the color development region is printed and formed by the color ink that has permeated the ink absorbing layer PIK by printing with only the color ink in step S114.

  By the printing process of the first embodiment described above, the printing system 10 of this embodiment allows the metallic area printing with metallic ink and each color of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). The color coloring area printing with the dye-based color ink is performed in the order of metallic area printing and color coloring area printing on the translucent print medium P having the ink absorption layer PIK on the printing surface side. As described above, since the metallic region printing is performed first, it is possible to stably form the metallic region having high smoothness and good metallic luster. The printing system 10 performs printing in this order. However, as shown in FIG. 6, after the dye-based color ink penetrates into the ink absorption layer PIK, the color coloring area CA is changed to the metallic area MA by the metallic ink. It is formed with high saturation on the lower layer side.

  For this reason, if the print result portion of the translucent print medium P obtained by the printing system 10 of this embodiment is observed through the back side of the ink print surface, that is, the lower side in FIG. The color development area CA formed by the dye-based color ink that has penetrated into the absorption layer PIK overlaps with the metallic area MA formed by printing the metallic ink. Then, the color development area CA that overlaps the metallic area MA due to the printing of the metallic ink is colored with the color of the dye color ink with good saturation. Moreover, since the color ink in the color development area CA is dye-like and has high transparency, the metallic feeling of the metallic area MA located on the lower layer side can be prevented from being impaired. As a result, according to the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to achieve both ensuring the metallic feel of the printed image using both the metallic ink and the dye color ink and ensuring the saturation of the color printing. In addition, in the print result obtained by the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, the translucent print medium P itself serves to protect all the print areas including the metallic area MA and the color development area CA. Can contribute to maintenance.

  The printing system 10 according to the present embodiment is a so-called inkjet printing method that is widely used as a printing method. The printing system 10 uses a metallic ink and a dye-based color ink together to ensure the metallic feel of the printed image and perform color printing. It is possible to achieve both of ensuring saturation. Moreover, it is possible to easily obtain a printing result capable of maintaining the printing quality by an ink jet printing method.

  Further, in the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, when discharging the metallic ink for providing the metallic feeling, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the metallic region MA is not covered with the metallic pigment MG containing the metallic ink. I made it. For this reason, it is possible to enhance the effectiveness of penetration of the dye color ink discharged after printing the metallic area MA into the ink absorption layer PIK. As a result, the formation of the color development region of the color ink in the ink absorption layer PIK is ensured, which can contribute to the improvement of saturation.

D. Other Example (D1) Second Example:
FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 and is an explanatory view schematically showing the nozzle arrangement of the ink discharge head constituting the print head 241A in the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the second embodiment, the ink ejection heads 244 to 247 for each color of metallic ink (S), cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), yellow ink (Y), and black ink (K) are shown. The ink ejection heads 248R and 248L for metallic ink are provided on both sides, and the ink ejection heads are arranged in the sub-scanning direction. In the second embodiment, ink can be ejected from all nozzles in the ink ejection head. Therefore, ink discharge from each ink discharge head can be performed simultaneously when the print head 241 moves once along the main scanning direction. That is, in the second embodiment, printing of the metallic area MA in FIG. 6 by metallic ink ejection from either of the left and right ink ejection heads 248R, 248L and color ink ejection from the ink ejection heads 244 to 247 are performed. 6 is characterized in that printing of the color development area CA in FIG. 6 is performed simultaneously with one movement of the print head 241 along the main scanning direction.

  In this way, even if both the metallic area MA and the color coloring area CA are simultaneously printed, the metallic ink ejection and the color ink ejection are simultaneously performed when the print head 241 moves once along the main scanning direction. However, the color development area CA can be formed below the metallic area MA in substantially the same manner as in FIG. That is, the metallic ink does not penetrate into the ink absorbing layer PIK and forms a metallic region MA on the surface thereof. However, the metallic ink and the color ink ejected simultaneously as described above are dye-like and are applied to the ink absorbing layer PIK. As described above, the metallic region MA is not covered with the metallic pigment MG of the metallic ink in the printed region as described above, or a fine gap is left between the metallic pigments MG. Therefore, since the color formation due to the penetration and fixing of the color ink into the ink absorption layer PIK and the printing formation of the metallic area MA on the surface of the ink absorption layer PIK occur without any trouble, the metallic ink and the dye are also used in the second embodiment. As described above, it is possible to achieve the effects described above, such as ensuring both the metallic feel of the printed image and the saturation of color printing.

  Further, in this second embodiment, the color which has undergone one-time movement of the print head 241 along the main scanning direction, that is, so-called one pass, the printing of the metallic area MA and the penetration into the ink absorbing layer on the lower layer side. The color forming area CA can be formed by printing. Therefore, it is possible to increase the printing speed.

  Moreover, in the second embodiment, the ink discharge heads 248R and 248L for the metallic ink are provided on both sides of the ink discharge heads 244 to 247 for the color ink. Therefore, there are the following advantages. Assuming that only the ink ejection head 248R for metallic ink is used, the group of moving nozzles in the moving direction is arranged for the metallic nozzle group and the color nozzle group depending on whether the print head 241 moves forward or backward along the main scanning direction. The order is different. However, in the second embodiment, either one of the metallic nozzle groups of the metallic ink ink ejection heads 248R and 248L is positioned on both sides of the color nozzle group composed of the color ink ink ejection heads 244 to 247. The group arrangement order is the same when the head 241 moves forward along the main scanning direction and when the head 241 moves backward. For this reason, the printing situation during the forward movement of the print head and the printing situation during the backward movement can be made the same, which is preferable from the viewpoint of ensuring print quality.

(D2) Third embodiment:
FIG. 8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 and is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the nozzle arrangement of the ink ejection head constituting the print head 241B in the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the mode of the combined printing of the metallic ink and color ink in a printing process. As shown in FIG. 8, in the third embodiment, the arrangement of the ink discharge heads 244 to 247 for each color and the ink discharge head 248 for the metallic ink is the same as that in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The positions of the ink discharge nozzles in each ink discharge head are different. In other words, in the third embodiment, the black nozzles (metallic ink discharge nozzles) in the ink discharge head 248 are three on the side where the passage of the print medium P is delayed, and the ink discharge heads 244 to 247 are used. The number of nozzles (color ink ejection nozzles) that are hatched in FIG. That is, in the third embodiment, contrary to the first embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 9A, printing of the color development area CA by discharging the color ink from the ink discharge heads 244 to 247 is performed. As shown in FIG. 9B, the metallic region MA shown in FIG. 6 is printed by discharging the metallic ink from the ink discharging head 248.

  As described above, when both the color coloring area CA and the metallic area MA are printed in this order, the ink absorbing layer PIK is surely infiltrated with all the color inks ejected from the ink ejection heads 244 to 247. A metallic area MA can be printed over the color development area CA. For this reason, the color development area CA can be colored with high saturation as much as the penetration of the color ink into the ink absorption layer PIK is ensured, and as described above, the print medium P is loaded from the back side of the ink print surface. It is possible to secure a metallic feeling in the metallic area MA when observed through the watermark.

(D3) Fourth embodiment:
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printer 200C in the fourth embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 3, and FIG. 11 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6, in which combined printing of metallic ink and color ink is performed in the printing process of the fourth embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the printer 200 </ b> C according to the fourth embodiment includes a medium reversal / reloading unit 350. After the printed print medium P is turned over by the medium reversal / reloading unit 350, printing on the back surface The printing medium P is re-inserted into the platen 236 so that That is, in the fourth embodiment, printing on the front and back surfaces of the print medium P is possible, and the color development area CA is formed by printing with the color ink on the ink absorption layer PIK of the print medium P. Is characterized in that the metallic area MA is printed and formed with metallic ink.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, in the fourth embodiment, first, the printing medium P is sent out by the platen 236 so that the ink absorption layer PIK becomes the printing surface, and ink is discharged to the ink absorption layer PIK. Color ink is ejected from the heads 244 to 247. As a result, in the ink absorption layer PIK, all the discharged color inks penetrate and fix and emit light, and the color development area CA is printed. Thus, when all the printing on the ink absorbing layer PIK side is completed, the printed printing medium P is received by the medium reversal re-insertion unit 350, and in this unit, the printing medium P is set so that the back side becomes the printing side. Then, the platen 236 is sent out again. Then, as shown in FIG. 11B, metallic ink is ejected from the ink ejection head 248 onto a new printing surface of the sent printing medium P, that is, one surface of the translucent base material PTK. The MA is printed and formed.

  As described above, according to the fourth embodiment in which the color coloring area CA and the metallic area MA are separately printed on the front and back surfaces of the printing medium P, the color coloring area CA by the color ink penetrating the ink absorbing layer PIK, The metallic region MA made of metallic ink is printed and overlapped with the translucent base material PTK interposed therebetween. In the color development area CA, color development that does not cause a reduction in saturation due to ink penetration into the ink absorption layer PIK is ensured. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11B, the metallic feeling of the metallic area MA when viewed through the translucent printing medium P from the color coloring area CA side is the translucent group on the area. The material PTK and the translucent color coloring area CA can be prevented from being damaged. As a result, according to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to achieve the above-described effects such as ensuring the metallic feeling of the printed image using both the metallic ink and the dye-based color ink and ensuring the saturation of the color printing.

(D4) Fifth embodiment:
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of processing in the fifth embodiment. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the metallic area MA is printed on the printing medium P on which the metallic area MA and the color coloring area CA have been printed in accordance with the printing process of any of the above-described embodiments. This is characterized in that the white layer WS is formed on the surface of the print medium. As shown in FIG. 12A, when the metallic area MA and the color coloring area CA are overlapped on the ink absorbing layer PIK side in the first embodiment, the ink absorption in which the metallic area MA has been printed is performed. On the side of the layer PIK, the white layer WS is formed so as to cover the metallic region MA. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12B, in the fourth embodiment, the metallic area MA is printed on the back side of the printing medium P, and the metallic area MA and the color development area CA are overlapped with the printing medium P interposed therebetween. In this case, the white layer WS is formed so as to cover the metallic area MA on the back side of the print medium P on which the metallic area MA has been printed. According to the fifth embodiment in which the white layer WS is formed in this way, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the back side of the medium in the case of observing through the translucent print medium P is white. Therefore, it is possible to increase the saturation of the color development area CA that has been printed with color ink, and to eliminate the influence of the color of the wall on the back side of the print medium on the developed color. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a suitable saturation.

  Various methods can be employed to form the white layer WS in the fifth embodiment described above. For example, the white layer WS can be printed by mixing the color inks provided in the print head 241. In this way, the white layer WS can be easily formed on the printing side of the metallic area MA so as to cover the metallic area MA without any special modification to the printer 200. In this case, it is possible to print and form the white layer WS only in the area excluding the metallic area MA, and in this way, it is possible to reduce the amount of ink used.

  Further, the printer 200 may be provided with a mechanism for attaching release paper to the print medium P in the metallic area MA, and the white release paper may be attached to the printing surface side of the metallic area MA. . In this way, the white layer WS can be formed by pasting the white release paper.

(D5) Sixth embodiment:
FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet line printer 200D when applied to the line printer, corresponding to FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the line printer 200 </ b> D of this embodiment includes a line-shaped printer head 400 and a transport mechanism 420 for the print medium P. The transport mechanism 420 includes a platen platen 422, a roller pair 424, and a drive motor 426 thereof, and feeds the print medium P between the platen 422 and the printer head 400 along the sub-scanning direction.

  The printer head 400 includes line-shaped ink ejection heads 402 to 406 that change to the ink ejection heads 244 to 248 in the print head 241 described above, and cartridges 412 to 416. The ink ejection heads 402 to 406 are arranged so as to intersect with the paper feeding direction which is the sub-scanning direction, extend in the main scanning direction, and are arranged to face the flat platen 422. In this case, the line-shaped ink ejection heads 402 to 406 may be an aggregate of a plurality of sets of print head chips, and the print head chips may be arranged in a staggered pattern at the same pitch to form a line.

  The ink ejection head 402 through which the print medium P first passes ejects the metallic ink (S) onto the transported print medium P. The ink ejection heads 403 to 406 through which the print medium P passes after the second eject the cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), yellow ink (Y), and black ink (K). The cartridges 412 to 416 contain metallic ink (S), cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), yellow ink (Y), and black ink (K), respectively, and are disposed in the corresponding discharge heads. Supply ink respectively.

  Even in the sixth embodiment, from the arrangement of the ink discharge heads 402 to 406 in the printer head 400 and the order in which the print medium P passes through each ink discharge head, as in the above-described embodiment, It is possible to perform printing formation of the metallic area MA after discharging the metallic ink and printing formation of the color coloring area CA after discharging the color ink of each color thereafter. Therefore, the sixth embodiment can achieve the effects described above, such as ensuring both the metallic feel of the printed image using the metallic ink and the dye-based color ink and ensuring the saturation of the color printing.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this invention is not restricted to above-described embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary, it is possible to implement in various aspects. For example, in the above-described embodiment, printing using metallic ink is performed in the printing system 10 including the computer 100 and the printer 200. In contrast, the printer 200 itself may input image data from a digital camera or various memory cards and perform printing with metallic ink. That is, the CPU in the control circuit 260 of the printer 200 may perform printing using metallic ink by executing processing equivalent to the printing processing in each of the embodiments described above.

  In addition, the metallic glossy ink has been described as an example of the special glossy ink. However, a pigment that expresses a pearly luster after being fixed on the medium surface, for example, a pigment in which a plurality of thin pearly layers such as natural pearls are stacked. In place of metallic ink, pearlescent ink containing lacquer, or lamaque or plain ink containing pigments with minute irregularities to cause irregular reflection after fixing on the medium surface to express so-called lame or plain texture It can also be used.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing system 10 as an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a configuration diagram of a computer 100 as a print control apparatus. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer 200. FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the nozzle arrangement of an ink ejection head constituting the print head 241. 6 is a flowchart of print processing in the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the mode of the combined printing of metallic ink and color ink in this printing process. FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4, and is an explanatory view schematically showing a nozzle arrangement of an ink discharge head constituting the print head 241 </ b> A in the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4, and is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a nozzle arrangement of an ink ejection head constituting the print head 241 </ b> B in the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state of combined printing of metallic ink and color ink in the printing process of the third embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3, and is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer 200 </ b> C in a fourth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6, and is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the combined printing of metallic ink and color ink in the printing process of the fourth embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the process in 5th Example. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an inkjet line printer 200D when applied to the line printer, corresponding to FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing system 20 ... Application program 22 ... Video driver 24 ... Printer driver 42 ... Color conversion module 44 ... Halftone module 46 ... Print control module 47 ... Metallic dot formation module 48 ... Color printing module 100 ... Computer 102 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 108 ... Peripheral device interface 109 ... Disk controller 110 ... Network interface card 112 ... Video interface 114 ... Display 116 ... Bus 118 ... Hard disk 120 ... Digital camera 122 ... Color scanner 124 ... Flexible disk 126 ... Compact disk 200 ... Printer 200C ... Printer 200D ... line printer 230 ... carriage motor 231 ... drive belt 232 ... pulley 233 ... sliding shaft 234 ... position detection sensor 235 ... motor 236 ... platen 240 ... carriage 241 ... print head 241A ... print head 241B ... print head 242 ... for metallic ink Cartridge 243 ... Color ink cartridges 244 to 247 ... Ink ejection of color ink Head 248... Metallic ink ink ejection head 248 R, 248 L. Metallic ink ink ejection head 256... Operation panel 260... Control circuit 300 .. Communication line 310... Storage device 350. ˜406 ... Ink ejection heads 412 to 416... Cartridge 420... Transport mechanism 422... Platen 424... Roller pair 426. Pigment CA ... Color development area WS ... White layer

Claims (17)

A printing apparatus for printing on a print medium provided with a translucent substrate having translucency,
Medium moving means for moving the print medium along the transport direction with the side of the ink absorbing layer exhibiting translucency formed on the surface of the translucent substrate as a printing surface;
A print head having a special gloss ink discharge head for discharging a special gloss ink exhibiting a special gloss and a color ink discharge head for discharging a color ink;
The special gloss ink is ejected from the special gloss ink ejection head and the color ink is ejected from the color ink ejection head to print a special gloss area using the special gloss ink. A printing apparatus comprising: an ejection control unit that performs printing of a color development region using the color ink so as to cause penetration into the ink absorption layer in the region.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the special gloss ink ejection head ejects a texture-expressing ink containing a pigment that exhibits a predetermined texture as the special gloss ink.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the special glossy ink discharge head discharges, as the special glossy ink, an ink whose optical characteristics printed on a medium surface have a reflection angle dependency. Printing method,
Preparing a print medium on which an ink absorbing layer exhibiting translucency has been formed on the surface of a translucent substrate having translucency, so that the ink absorbing layer side becomes a printing surface;
Printing of special glossy area using special glossy ink exhibiting special gloss,
A printing method of performing printing of a color development region using color ink on the printing surface so as to cause penetration into the ink absorption layer in the special glossy region. The printing method according to claim 4, wherein
A print head having a special gloss ink discharge head for discharging the special gloss ink and a color ink discharge head for discharging the color ink is prepared, and the print medium and the print head are moved relative to each other, A printing method in which ink is ejected from an ejection head to print the special glossy area and the color development area. The printing method according to claim 5, wherein
In discharging ink from the discharge head,
The special gloss ink is ejected from the special gloss ink discharge head to print the special gloss area,
A printing method for printing the color development area by ejecting the color ink from the color ink ejection head in a range including the printed special glossy area.   When discharging the special glossy ink from the special glossy ink discharge head, printing is performed by discharging the special glossy ink so as to avoid a situation where the special glossy region is entirely covered with the pigment contained in the special glossy ink. The printing method according to claim 6 which performs. The printing method according to claim 5, wherein
While performing medium movement along the sub-scanning direction of the print medium and head movement along the main scanning direction of the print head,
Printing of the special glossy region by discharging the special glossy ink from the special glossy ink discharge head and printing of the color developing region by discharging the color ink from the color ink discharge head are performed by main scanning of the print head. A printing method that is performed simultaneously during a single movement along a direction. The printing method according to claim 5, wherein
The color ink is ejected from the color ink ejection head to print the color development area, and then
A printing method in which the special gloss ink is ejected from the special gloss ink ejection head to print the special gloss area. A printing method for printing on a print medium provided with a translucent substrate having translucency,
A color development region using color ink is printed on the light-absorbing ink absorbing layer formed on one surface of the translucent substrate,
A printing method for printing a special gloss region on the other surface of the print medium using a special gloss ink exhibiting a special gloss.   The printing method according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein a white layer is formed on a surface of the print medium on the side where the special glossy current area is printed using the special gloss ink.   The printing method according to claim 11, wherein the white layer is a white print layer printed by ejecting ink from an ejection head.   The printing method according to claim 12, wherein the white layer is printed in a range excluding the special glossy region.   The printing method according to claim 11, wherein the white layer is formed of a white sheet.   The printing method according to claim 4, wherein the special gloss ink is a texture-expressing ink containing a pigment that exhibits a predetermined texture.   The printing method according to any one of claims 4 to 14, wherein the special glossy ink is an ink in which an optical characteristic of ink printed on a medium surface has a reflection angle dependency.   The printing method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the special glossy ink is a metallic ink containing a pigment that develops a metallic feeling.

Images