JP2013091224A - Printing apparatus and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out printing having a further lame feeling.SOLUTION: A printing device includes: a nozzle for injecting luster ink to a medium to form an image in photoluminescence; a nozzle for injecting color ink to the medium to form an image in color; and a control part which is the one for injecting the color ink after injecting the luster ink to the medium, applies a pattern where blocks with a predetermined area formed of pixels with the same gradation are aligned to the color image, and injects the color ink to form the color image after the application.

Description

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

  When printing on a medium, printing having a special color may be performed using metallic ink or the like. Among those having such special color development, those having a unique metallic radiance called “lamé” are also included. Lame-like printing can be said to be printing having a glittering feeling that the reflectance varies from place to place.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a card having a lame print layer. Patent Document 2 discloses a color sheet for glittering paint color. Patent Document 3 discloses a method for forming an image using a printing medium and a transfer sheet film. Patent Document 4 discloses that printing having a predetermined texture is performed by masking discharge of color ink. Patent Document 5 shows that the dot concentration of metallic ink is changed.

JP 2008-200895 A JP 2003-245600 A JP 2002-254896 A JP 2010-52226 A JP 2009-233877 A

  If lame-like printing can be performed by performing ink jet printing that performs printing by ejecting ink, it is convenient because different lame sensations can be created in each region. In this way, when a different glitter feeling is realized for each region, a printed matter having a more glitter feeling may be desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to perform printing with a more glittery feel.

The main invention for achieving the above object is:
A nozzle for ejecting glitter ink on a medium to form a glitter image;
A nozzle for ejecting color ink onto the medium to form a color image;
A control unit that ejects the color ink onto the medium and then ejects the color ink, and applies a pattern in which blocks of a predetermined area formed by pixels of the same gradation are arranged to the color image. A control unit that ejects the color ink so as to form a color image after the application;
Is a printing apparatus.

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

1 is a block diagram of a printing system 100 in the present embodiment. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer 1 in the present embodiment. It is an internal side view of the inkjet printer 1 in this embodiment. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a head 41. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of nozzles of a head 41. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the layer of the image formed in this embodiment. 7A to 7C are diagrams of random patterns used for lame tone printing in the present embodiment. It is a flowchart of execution of lame tone printing in the present embodiment.

At least the following matters will become clear from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings. That is,
A nozzle for ejecting glitter ink on a medium to form a glitter image;
A nozzle for ejecting color ink onto the medium to form a color image;
A control unit that ejects the color ink onto the medium and then ejects the color ink, and applies a pattern in which blocks of a predetermined area formed by pixels of the same gradation are arranged to the color image. A control unit that ejects the color ink so as to form a color image after the application;
Is a printing apparatus.
By doing so, since the block pattern is applied by the color image formed on the image by the glitter ink, it is possible to perform printing with a more glittery feeling.

In this printing apparatus, it is desirable that the predetermined area of the block varies within a certain range for each block.
By doing so, it is possible to perform printing with a more glittery feeling with random block sizes.

The blocks are preferably arranged irregularly.
By doing so, it is possible to perform printing with a more glittery feeling by arranging the blocks irregularly.

It is desirable that the pattern is not applied to an image smaller than the predetermined area.
If a pattern is applied to an image that is smaller than the block of the pattern, the density of the image itself may only change, and lame-like printing may not occur. However, this can avoid such inconvenience. it can.

The control unit further applies a pattern in which blocks of a predetermined area formed by pixels of the same gradation are arranged to the glitter image, and forms the glitter image after the application. It is desirable to eject the ink.
By doing in this way, since the glitter print is further executed by the glitter ink, it is possible to perform the print that brings out the glitter effect.

Further, it is desirable that the pattern applied to the color image and the pattern applied to the glitter image are different from each other.
By doing so, it is possible to avoid the overlap of the same pattern between the color image and the glitter image, and to disperse the blocks and perform appropriate lame tone printing.

In addition, the pattern applied to the color image and the pattern applied to the glitter image may be any one of rotational movement, parallel movement, and density inversion at least one of the patterns. It is desirable that it is applied.
By doing so, the pattern applied to the color image and the pattern applied to the glitter image can be made different to disperse the blocks and perform appropriate lame tone printing.

In addition, at least the following matters will become clear from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings. That is,
Applying a pattern in which blocks of a predetermined area formed by pixels of the same gradation are arranged to a color image, and forming a color image after the application;
Ejecting color ink onto a medium to form a color image after the application;
Jetting glitter ink onto the medium to form a glitter image;
Is a printing method.
By doing so, the block pattern is applied by the color image formed on the glitter ink, so that it is possible to perform a glittery print having a glitter feeling.

=== Embodiment ===
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing system 100 in the present embodiment. Hereinafter, a schematic configuration of the printing system 100 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to these.

  The printing system 100 includes an inkjet printer 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer 1”) as a printing device, a computer 110, a display device 120, and an input device 130. The printer 1 prints an image on a medium such as paper, cloth, or film. The computer 110 is communicably connected to the printer 1 via the interface 112. In order to cause the printer 1 to print an image, the computer 110 outputs print data corresponding to the image to the printer 1. The computer 110 includes a CPU 113, a memory 114, an interface 112, and a recording / reproducing device 140. Computer programs such as application programs and printer drivers are installed. The recording / reproducing device 140 is, for example, a flexible disk drive device or a CD-ROM drive device.

  The display device 120 is, for example, a liquid crystal monitor. The display device 120 is for displaying a user interface of a computer program, for example. The input device 130 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse.

  The ink jet printer 1 includes a paper transport unit 20, a recording unit 40, a control unit 51, and a drive signal generation unit 52. The paper transport unit 20 supplies a medium such as the paper S from the roll paper R to the recording unit 40 and discharges the paper S after printing. As will be described later, the recording unit 40 moves the carriage 43 on which the head 41 is mounted, and ejects ink from the head 41 to form an image on the medium.

  The ink jet printer 1 includes a control unit 51 that comprehensively controls the operation of each of the constituent devices. The control unit 51 includes a CPU 51a that performs calculations, a memory 51b that stores programs and calculation results, and an interface 51c that communicates with external devices. The control unit 51 controls the paper transport unit 20, the recording unit 40, and the drive signal generation circuit 52.

  The drive signal generation unit 52 supplies a drive signal COM to each piezo element PZT (described later) of the head 41 of the recording unit 40. Digital data defining the shape of the drive signal is sent from the control unit 51 to the drive signal generation unit 52, and a drive signal COM that is a voltage waveform is generated based on the digital data.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink jet printer 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an internal side view of the inkjet printer 1 in the present embodiment. In the following description, the conveyance direction (discharge direction) of the medium is the X-axis direction, the width direction (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3) of the conveyance path 26 orthogonal to the X-axis direction is the Y-axis direction, the X-axis direction, and the Y-axis. A vertical direction orthogonal to the axial direction may be referred to as the Z-axis direction in some cases.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the inkjet printer 1 includes a recording unit 40 that is horizontally arranged in the longitudinal direction, a casing 90 that is attached to the end of the recording unit 40, and an upper side of the recording unit 40. The loading unit 10 includes a leg unit 70 that supports the recording unit 40 and the housing 90 from below.

  The recording unit 40 includes a head 41 that ejects ink onto a medium conveyed along the conveyance path 26. The head 41 is mounted on a carriage 43 that is movable in the width direction of the transport path 14. An ink cartridge (not shown) that stores ink is mounted on the carriage 43. The head 41 includes a plurality of nozzle rows, and a predetermined color (for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), black (K), clear (Cl), metallic (Me) from each nozzle row. ) Ink can be ejected. The head 41 performs image formation for recording information such as a predetermined image and characters by ejecting ink onto the recording surface of the medium.

  The medium on which the image is formed by the recording unit 40 is discharged from the discharge roller 24. The discharge roller 24 includes a mechanism that switches a roller that nips depending on the paper type to a serrated roller 25a or a roller roller 25b.

  A cutter device 61 that shears the discharged medium to a predetermined size is provided on the downstream side of the discharge roller 24. The cutter device 61 includes a regulating member 62 that regulates the height position of the discharged medium, and a cutter unit that moves in the width direction (Y-axis direction) orthogonal to the medium discharge direction (X-axis direction) to shear the medium. 63.

  An operation panel 80 is disposed on the upper surface of the housing 90. The operation panel 80 includes a plurality of switches 82 operated by the user, and a display unit 84 that indicates an operation state of the printer 1. Accordingly, the user operates the printer 1 from the front side, with the side on which the operation panel 80 and the cartridge holder are disposed as the front side.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the head 41. A flow path 416 is formed in the head 41, and ink is supplied through the flow path 416. An adhesive substrate 412 is fixed to the case 411 of the head 41. The bonding substrate 412 is a rectangular plate, and a piezo element PZT is bonded to one surface. An island portion 413 is joined to the tip of the piezo element PZT, and an elastic region is formed by an elastic film 414 around the island portion 413.

  The piezo element PZT is deformed by applying a potential difference between opposing electrodes. In this example, it expands and contracts in the longitudinal direction of the element. The amount of expansion / contraction is determined according to the potential of the piezo element PZT. When the piezo element PZT expands and contracts, the island portion 413 is pushed toward the pressure chamber 415 or pulled in the opposite direction. At this time, since the elastic film 414 around the island portion is deformed, the ink can be efficiently ejected from the nozzle Nz.

  With such a structure, it is possible to eject ink of a plurality of sizes by adjusting the amplitude of the drive signal applied to the piezo element PZT. In the present embodiment, small dots, medium dots, and large dots can be formed.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the nozzles of the head 41. From the head 41 in the present embodiment, six types of ink can be ejected: yellow ink Y, magenta ink M, cyan ink C, black ink K, clear ink Cl, and metallic ink Me.

  The clear ink Cl is generally a colorless and transparent ink as opposed to a color ink. Here, ink that is difficult to detect by various sensors such as a reflective optical sensor when printed on the medium S, even if it is not only colorless and transparent but also colored and transparent or colored and non-transparent. Is widely used.

  The metallic ink Me contains a metal pigment (metallic pigment) and an organic solvent. The metallic pigment is not particularly limited as long as it has a function such as metallic luster, but is preferably aluminum or an aluminum alloy, or silver or a silver alloy. Among these, aluminum or an aluminum alloy is desirable from the viewpoint of cost and ensuring a high metallic luster. When an aluminum alloy is used, the other metal element or non-metal element added to aluminum is not particularly limited as long as it has a function such as having a metallic luster, but silver, gold, platinum, Examples thereof include nickel, chromium, tin, zinc, indium, titanium, copper, and the like, and at least one of these simple substances or alloys thereof and mixtures thereof is preferably used. In this embodiment, silver is used as the metal pigment. The metallic ink is included in the glitter ink. The glitter ink is not limited to the metal pigment as described above, and may be any ink that exhibits a metallic luster.

  In the figure, four nozzle rows are shown. Of these nozzles, the nozzles on the downstream side eject color ink. The upstream nozzle ejects metallic ink Me. The intermediate nozzle ejects clear ink Cl.

  Specifically, the nozzles # 1 to # 60 of the A nozzle row NA eject black ink K. The nozzles # 61 to # 120 in the A nozzle row NA eject the clear ink Cl. The nozzles # 121 to 180 in the A nozzle row NA eject the metallic ink Me.

  Similarly, the nozzles # 1 to # 60 of the B nozzle row NB eject cyan ink C. The nozzles # 61 to # 120 in the B nozzle row NB eject clear ink Cl. The nozzles # 121 to 180 in the B nozzle row NB eject the metallic ink Me.

  Similarly, nozzles # 1 to # 60 of the C nozzle array NC eject magenta ink M. The nozzles # 61 to # 120 of the C nozzle array NC eject the clear ink Cl. The nozzles # 121 to 180 in the C nozzle array NC eject the metallic ink Me.

  Similarly, the nozzles # 1 to # 60 of the D nozzle row ND eject yellow ink Y. The nozzles # 61 to # 120 in the D nozzle row ND eject clear ink Cl. The nozzles # 121 to 180 in the D nozzle row ND eject the metallic ink Me.

  With such a configuration, at least the metallic ink Me can be ejected onto the medium, the clear ink Cl can be ejected thereon, and the color ink can be further ejected thereon.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of image layers formed in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, an image composed of a plurality of layers as shown in FIG. 6 is created in order to perform lame-like printing. First, similarly to a normal image, a color image with a red R layer, a green G layer, and a blue B layer is created. When these three primary color layers are superimposed, one color image is completed.

  Further, an image indicating which region of the color image is to be applied with the glitter print is created in the color glitter layer. This image is an image having a random pattern described later. The random pattern will be described later.

  In this embodiment, a metallic layer is provided, and an area in which metallic ink is ejected is defined by an image in this layer. Further, a metallic glitter layer is provided, and an image indicating which area of the area where the metallic ink is ejected is applied with the lame tone printing is created. This image is also an image having a random pattern described later. The random pattern will be described later.

  7A to 7C are diagrams of random patterns used for lame tone printing in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, patterns as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C are referred to as random patterns. The random pattern is a pattern in which a plurality of block-like pieces are arranged irregularly. Each block is a block having a predetermined area formed by a plurality of pixels having the same gradation value. These blocks do not have exactly the same size, but the size varies within a certain range for each block, and the shapes are also different. Each block has a different gradation value. The average size of these blocks can be arbitrarily changed, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, as shown in FIG. 7B formed of coarser blocks, It may be as shown in FIG. 7C formed by blocks of smaller size.

  In these drawings, a larger amount of ink is ejected in a portion shown in black, and a smaller amount of ink is ejected in a portion shown in white. For example, in the color glitter pattern layer, when each pixel is expressed with 256 gradations (value is 0 to 255), color ink is ejected when white, that is, when the gradation value is 0 (ink ejection duty 0%). Not. Further, when the color is black, that is, when the gradation value is 255 (ink ejection duty 100%), the largest amount of color ink is ejected.

  The block size can be specified for each color glitter layer image and metallic glitter layer image. In addition, a larger block may be adopted as a lame-like region occupying the area of the medium is larger.

  In addition, it is desirable that different random patterns (random patterns of the metallic image) used in the metallic glitter layer and different random patterns (random patterns of the color image) used in the color glitter layer are prepared. In this case, the random pattern for the color image can be rotated to be a random pattern for the metallic image. Alternatively, the random pattern for the color image may be translated to form a random pattern for the metallic image. Further, the density of the random pattern for the color image may be reversed to form a random pattern for the metallic image. Moreover, it is good also as a random pattern for metallic images by combining these.

  In order to prevent the background from appearing, it is desirable that the minimum density (the density of the whitest part) of the pixels of the random pattern for the metallic image is a duty of 10% (gradation value 25). In particular, it is desirable that the duty of each pixel of the random pattern for the metallic image is about 30% to 70%. When the size of the image piece in the color image is smaller than the size of the random pattern block for the color image, the color image random pattern may not be applied to the image piece. This is because, if a random pattern is applied to such an image piece, only the density of the image piece changes and the lame tone printing is not performed.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of execution of lame tone printing in this embodiment. Hereinafter, lame-like printing in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart.

  First, image data is input (S102). The input of image data is performed by creating an image via image software capable of handling layers on the computer 110. The input image is an image composed of a plurality of layers as shown in FIG.

  Next, the input image data is converted (S104). The image data conversion process is performed by a printer driver installed in the computer 110. In the image data conversion processing, resolution conversion processing and color conversion processing are performed. The resolution conversion process is a process of converting the image of each layer into a resolution for printing. The color conversion process is a process of converting each pixel data of each RGB layer of the color image into image data in the CMYK color space. That is, the R layer, the G layer, and the B layer are converted into a cyan layer, a magenta layer, a yellow layer, and a black layer by this conversion processing.

  Next, a determination is made as to whether or not there is a region to perform lame tone printing (S106). The determination as to whether or not there is a region to perform lame tone printing is performed by referring to the image data in the color glitter layer and the metallic glitter layer. When the area for performing the glitter print is designated in the color glitter layer or the metallic glitter layer, step S108 is executed. On the other hand, when the area for performing the glitter print is not designated, step S112 is executed.

  In step S108, random pattern processing is performed on the color image. In the random pattern processing for a color image, a color glitter layer is superimposed on each of a cyan layer, a magenta layer, a yellow layer, and a block layer. The superposition is performed by multiplying the gradation value of each pixel of the CMYK layer by the gradation value of the pixel at the same position in the color glitter layer as a duty value.

  For example, when the gradation value of yellow in a certain pixel is 200 and the gradation value of the block of the same pixel in the color glitter layer is 127 (duty is 50%), the gradation value of yellow in this pixel is 100 (= 200 × 50%). Such an operation is also performed for each pixel of the yellow layer, magenta layer, cyan layer, and black layer. Thereby, a yellow layer, a magenta layer, a cyan layer, and a black layer corresponding to the random pattern of the color glitter pattern layer are generated. The feature of this embodiment is that a random pattern for lame-like printing is applied to a color image in this way.

  In addition, when an area for performing a glitter print is designated also in the metallic glitter layer, random pattern processing (S110) is performed on the metallic image. In the random pattern processing for the metallic image, the metallic glitter pattern layer is superimposed on the metallic layer. The superposition is performed by multiplying the gradation value of each pixel of the metallic layer by the gradation value of the pixel at the same position in the metallic glitter layer as a duty value.

  An image in the metallic Me layer generally has a gradation value of 255 in the area where the image is formed (in contrast to a color image formed by a plurality of gradation values, of course, It may be formed by a plurality of gradation values like a color image). Therefore, when the metallic gradation value in a certain pixel is 255 and the gradation value of the block of the same pixel in the metallic glitter layer is 127 (duty is 50%), the metallic gradation value in this pixel is 127 ( int (255 × 50%)). Such an operation is performed for each pixel to generate a metallic layer.

  Next, halftone processing (S112) is performed on the color image. The halftone process is a process for converting CMYK pixel data into gradation data of a small level that can be expressed by the printer 1. By this halftone processing, for example, CMYK pixel data indicating 256 gradations is converted into data indicating gradation values in four stages (large dots, medium dots, small dots, no dots). This processing is performed for each of the cyan layer, the magenta layer, the yellow layer, and the black layer, and is converted into data indicating a gradation value for each ink color.

  Next, halftone processing (S114) is performed on the metallic image. By this halftone processing, the pixel data of the metallic image indicating 256 gradations is converted into data indicating gradation values in four stages.

  With the above processing, for each of the cyan ink C, the magenta ink M, the yellow ink Y, the black ink K, and the metallic ink Me, it is determined which size dot is to be formed in which pixel.

  Next, rasterization processing (S116) is performed. The rasterization process is a process for changing the dot data obtained by the halftone process in the order of data to be transferred to the printer 1. Then, the printer 1 executes printing based on the data after the rasterizing process (S118).

By doing in this way, since the random pattern of a block is applied with the color image formed on the image of a metallic ink, the printing which has a more glittering feeling can be performed.

<When lame is applied only to color ink>
In the above embodiment, a lame tone printing is performed by applying a random pattern to the color ink and the metallic ink, but a lame tone printing may be performed by applying a random pattern only to the color ink. In this case, the metallic glitter layer in FIG. 6 is not created, and the random pattern processing for the metallic in step S110 in FIG. 8 is not performed.

<When applying pattern to clear ink>
Although a random pattern is applied to the color ink and the metallic ink to perform lame-like printing, a clear pattern may also be applied to the clear ink to perform lame-like printing. That is, in addition to the two layers of the color glitter pattern and the metallic glitter pattern shown in FIG. 6, a clear glitter layer and a clear layer are added. Then, step S111 is added to FIG. 8, random pattern processing is performed for clearing, step S115 is added, and halftone processing is performed for clearing. The clear layer defines an image in which clear ink is uniformly ejected to all pixels.

  By doing in this way, the printing which brings out a more glittery feeling can be performed.

=== Other Embodiments ===
In the above-described embodiment, the printer 1 has been described as a printing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, but is not limited to this. It is also possible to embody the present invention in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or ejects a fluid. For example, color filter manufacturing apparatus, dyeing apparatus, fine processing apparatus, semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, surface processing apparatus, three-dimensional modeling machine, gas vaporizer, organic EL manufacturing apparatus (especially polymer EL manufacturing apparatus), display manufacturing apparatus, film formation You may apply the technique similar to the above-mentioned embodiment to the various apparatuses which applied inkjet technology, such as an apparatus and a DNA chip manufacturing apparatus. These methods and manufacturing methods are also within the scope of application.

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

<About the head>
In the above-described embodiment, ink is ejected using a piezoelectric element. However, the method of ejecting the liquid is not limited to this. For example, other methods such as a method of generating bubbles in the nozzle by heat may be used.

1 Inkjet printer,
10 loading section,
24 Discharge roller, 25a Jagged roller, 25b Roller roller, 26 Conveyance path,
40 recording units, 41 heads, 42 top covers,
43 Carriage, 44 Front cover,
61 cutter device, 62 regulating member, 63 cutter unit,
70 legs,
80 operation panel, 82 switch, 84 display section,
90 housing,
R roll,
S paper

Claims (8)

A nozzle for ejecting glitter ink on a medium to form a glitter image;
A nozzle for ejecting color ink onto the medium to form a color image;
A control unit that ejects the color ink onto the medium and then ejects the color ink, and applies a pattern in which blocks of a predetermined area formed by pixels of the same gradation are arranged to the color image. A control unit that ejects the color ink so as to form a color image after the application;
A printing apparatus comprising:   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a size of the predetermined area of the block varies within a certain range for each block.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blocks are irregularly arranged.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pattern is not applied to an image smaller than the predetermined area.   The control unit further applies a pattern in which blocks of a predetermined area formed by pixels of the same gradation are arranged to the glitter image, and forms the glitter image after the application. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which jets water.   The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a pattern applied to the color image and a pattern applied to the glitter image are different from each other.   As for the pattern applied to the color image and the pattern applied to the glitter image, at least one of rotational movement, parallel movement, and density inversion is applied to the other pattern. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. Applying a pattern in which blocks of a predetermined area formed by pixels of the same gradation are arranged to a color image, and forming a color image after the application;
Ejecting color ink onto a medium to form a color image after the application;
Jetting glitter ink onto the medium to form a glitter image;
Including printing method.