JP2015123735A - Data generation apparatus, data generation method, recording apparatus, and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording device in which the a required frequency of sheet surface preliminary discharge is considered to be different, for proper surface preliminary discharge, in a case where a temperature that a head reaches differs depending on image data when a recording head that discharges ink by heating is used.SOLUTION: Based on the image data to be recorded and a head temperature before recording an image, a sheet surface preliminary discharge pattern is generated, for an optimum amount of sheet surface preliminary discharge.

Description

  The present invention relates to a data generation apparatus, a data generation method, a recording apparatus, and a recording method for recording an image using a recording element that discharges ink by heat generation.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an inkjet recording apparatus, a preliminary ejection operation is performed for the purpose of preventing ejection failure due to thickening of ink in a nozzle by ejecting ink from a nozzle separately from ink ejection for image recording. In particular, in an ink jet recording apparatus using a line head, a method of performing preliminary discharge on a paper surface during actual image recording based on preliminary discharge data created separately from actual image data (hereinafter referred to as paper preliminary discharge) is known. It has been.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a method for detecting whether or not ejection is performed from each nozzle within a predetermined period and setting a paper surface preliminary ejection pattern in order to reduce unnecessary paper surface preliminary ejection. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a method of detecting the temperature of the recording head and changing the number of ejections of the preliminary ejection operation at a position not accompanied by image recording information.

JP 2006-76247 A JP 2006-168041 A

  However, when using a so-called thermal ink jet recording head that includes a recording element that discharges ink droplets by generating heat, the frequency of the recording element generating heat differs depending on the image to be recorded, and the degree of increase in the head temperature is different. . That is, the required frequency of preliminary paper ejection varies depending on what image is recorded.

  When the paper surface preliminary discharge is performed without considering the degree of temperature rise of the recording head due to the image to be recorded as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a possibility that the amount of paper preliminary discharge is excessive or insufficient. There is.

  In view of such a problem, the present invention is a data generation apparatus that generates data for recording an image on a recording medium using a recording head provided with a plurality of recording elements that eject ink by heat generation. First acquisition means for acquiring the temperature of the recording head before recording the image on the recording medium, and second for acquiring ejection data indicating ejection or non-ejection of ink for recording the image. Based on the acquisition means, the temperature acquired by the first acquisition means, and the discharge data acquired by the second acquisition means, the preliminary discharge for maintaining the discharge state from the plurality of recording elements, And generating means for generating preliminary ejection data to be performed on the image recording area on the recording medium.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to perform an appropriate amount of preliminary paper ejection according to the ejection state of the recording elements of the recording head.

It is a conceptual diagram of an inkjet recording device. It is a figure for demonstrating a recording head. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a temperature distribution of a recording head. It is an electrical block diagram. It is a flowchart which shows the process of 1st Embodiment. It is a table for obtaining the maximum temperature reached by the recording head. It is explanatory drawing for producing | generating a paper surface preliminary discharge pattern. 3 is a flowchart for generating ejection data from a recording head. It is a flowchart which shows the process of 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conceptual configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the head unit 1, seven recording heads 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, and 1g are arranged. Each of the recording heads 1a to 1g is provided with a plurality of discharge ports (nozzles) each including a heating element (not shown) as a recording element. In the present embodiment, an electrothermal converter is used as the heating element. The seven recording heads respectively apply seven types of inks of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), light cyan (Lc), light magenta (Lm), and gray (Gy). It corresponds. An ink tank 3 having seven colors of ink is connected to the recording heads 1a to 1g via the ink supply tube 4, and ink is supplied from the ink tank for each recording head. Further, a flexible cable (not shown) is connected to the recording heads 1a to 1g, and a control signal is sent from the control circuit.

  In the present embodiment, the recording medium 2 is sandwiched between transport rollers, paper discharge rollers and the like (not shown), and is driven in the main scanning direction (hereinafter referred to as X direction) indicated by an arrow in the drawing as the transport motor is driven. Be transported. Each of the recording heads 1a to 1g adjusts the relative position with respect to the recording medium 2 by moving in a direction crossing the main scanning direction (hereinafter referred to as Y direction or a predetermined direction) by a position adjusting mechanism (not shown). be able to. Then, in the relative movement between the recording heads 1a to 1g whose positions are fixed and the recording medium 2 conveyed in the X direction, an image is recorded by ejecting ink to the recording medium 2. The recording medium 2 includes plain paper, high-quality exclusive paper, OHP sheet, glossy paper, glossy film, postcard, and the like, and recording is possible on a plurality of types of recording media having different widths in the Y direction.

(Head structure)
FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a detailed structure of the recording head 1a and the recording head 1b according to the present embodiment. The structure of the recording heads 1c to 1g is the same as that of the recording head 1a. In the recording head 1a, recording chips 11a, 12a, 13a, and 14a, which are ejection substrates provided with a plurality of recording elements, are arranged in a staggered manner. In each recording chip, nozzle rows 111a, 112a, 113a, and 114a in which nozzles provided with recording elements as electrothermal transducers are arranged along the Y direction are arranged along the X direction. Each recording chip is provided with a plurality of diode sensors 6 in the Y direction for detecting the temperature of the discharge substrate surface. The recording chips 11a to 14a are connected in series by the ink supply path 5, and ink is supplied through the flow paths in the order indicated by arrows from the left to the right in the drawing. The structure of the recording heads 1b to 1g is the same as that of the recording head 1a, but the arrangement of the recording heads is shifted so that the connecting portions of the recording chips do not overlap with the same position in the Y direction.

  When the recording medium 2 is conveyed, a plurality of positions in the Y direction can be changed, and it is desirable to change for each recording job in consideration of the temperature rise of the recording head. For example, when a job instructing image recording is received, it is conveyed at the position of the recording medium 2 in the figure, and when a job instructing image recording is received next, the recording medium at the position adjacent to the previous time Transport at 2 'position. As a result, when an image is recorded on a recording medium having a width smaller than the recordable width of the recording head, recording can be performed at a plurality of recording positions. The change of the recording position may be performed every job, every predetermined time, or every predetermined number of images. Further, in the above example, in two consecutive jobs, the position has moved to the position next to the previous recording position, but the recording ranges may overlap, or the positions may be further away.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram of each recording chip described in FIG. 2A viewed from the back side, and shows the structure of the ink supply path 5 inside the recording head 1a. In the drawing, the hatched portions are the recording chips 11a to 13a shown in FIG. Then, ink flows in the order indicated by the arrows, and ink is supplied from the upstream recording chip 11a to the downstream recording chip 14a. The recording element provided in each recording chip generates heat to cause film boiling in the ink, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles (ejection ports) by the pressure of bubbles generated at that time. An image is formed on the recording medium by adjusting the ejection timing of the ink droplets and the conveyance timing of the recording medium 2.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the temperature distribution of the recording head 1a detected by the diode sensor 6 when performing image recording. 4a is the temperature distribution of the recording chip 11a, 4b is the temperature distribution of the recording chip 12a, 4c is the temperature distribution of the recording chip 13a, and 4d is the temperature distribution of the recording chip 14a. During the image recording, the temperature of the ink rises due to the heat from the recording head. As can be seen from the figure, there is a temperature difference in the direction in which the ink flows. The temperature of the recording chip located upstream of the ink supply path 5 tends to be lower and the temperature of the recording chip located downstream is higher. This temperature difference is because the ink flowing through the ink supply path 5 receives a part of the thermal energy used for ejection from each recording chip, and further the thermal energy continues to be accumulated until the ink flows from upstream to downstream. it is conceivable that.

(Electrical block diagram)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system in the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment. 51 is an image data input unit, 52 is an operation unit, 53 is a CPU unit that performs various processes, and 54 is a storage medium that stores various data. The print information storage memory of the storage medium 54 stores information 54a mainly relating to the type of the recording medium, information 54b relating to ink used for printing, and information 54c relating to the environment such as temperature and humidity during recording. 54d is a group of various control programs. 55 is a RAM, 56 is an image data processing unit, 57 is an image recording unit that outputs an image, 58 is a paper surface preliminary ejection pattern generation unit, 59 is a Y position determination unit that determines a nozzle position used for recording, and 60 is various data. It is a bus part to transfer.

  The image data input unit 51 receives multi-value image data from an image input device such as a scanner or a digital camera, or multi-value image data stored in a hard disk of a personal computer. The operation unit 52 includes various keys for instructing the setting of various parameters and the start of recording. The CPU 53 controls the entire recording apparatus as recording control means in accordance with various programs in the storage medium. The storage medium 54 stores a program for operating the recording apparatus according to a control program and an error processing program. All operations in this embodiment are performed according to this program. As the storage medium 54 for storing such a program, a ROM, FD, CD-ROM, HD, memory card, magneto-optical disk, or the like can be used. The RAM 55 is used as a work area for various programs in the storage medium 54, a temporary save area for error processing, and a work area for image processing. The RAM 55 can also copy various tables in the storage medium 54, change the contents of the tables, and proceed with image processing while referring to the changed tables.

  The image data processing unit 56 functions as data generation means for quantizing the input multi-value image data into N-value image data for each pixel. N is an integer of 3 or more. Next, based on the gradation value “N” indicated by each quantized pixel, a dot arrangement pattern corresponding to the gradation value is selected. This dot arrangement pattern is a binary pattern indicating the presence or absence of dot recording, that is, ink ejection or non-ejection. Accordingly, binary ejection data can be obtained by selecting the dot arrangement pattern. As described above, the image data processing unit 56 performs N-value processing on the input multi-value image data, and then creates binary ejection data based on the N-value image data. For example, when multi-value image data expressed in 8 bits (256 gradations) is input to the image data input unit 51, the gradation value of the image data output from the image data processing unit 56 is, for example, 25 (= 24 + 1) value Quantize to Next, in the image data processing unit 56, a dot arrangement pattern is assigned to the 25-value image data, and binary ejection data indicating ink ejection or non-ejection is generated. Thereafter, the generated binary discharge data is distributed to a plurality of nozzle rows, thereby generating a plurality of binary discharge data corresponding to each nozzle row. Note that the method of performing the N-value processing of the input gradation image data is not limited to the multi-value error diffusion method employed in the present embodiment, and for example, an arbitrary halftone such as an average density storage method or a dither matrix method. Processing methods can be used. The image data processing unit 56 only needs to be able to finally generate binary ejection data from the multi-value image data, and it is not essential to interpose the N-value conversion process as described above. For example, a binarization process may be performed in which multi-value image data input to the image data processing unit 56 is directly converted into binary ejection data.

  The image recording unit 57 forms an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink droplets from the corresponding nozzles based on the binary ejection data generated by the image data processing unit 56. The bus line 60 transmits address signals, data, control signals, and the like in the recording apparatus.

  The Y position determination unit 59 determines the position of the nozzle used for recording based on the size of the recording medium on which the image is to be recorded. Here, when an image is recorded on a recording medium having a width narrower than the width that can be recorded by the recording head in the Y direction (referred to as a recording width), the nozzle used when the image is recorded on the recording medium having the same width last time The position is acquired, and the position adjacent to the position in the Y direction is determined as the use nozzle position.

(Paper pre-discharge pattern generation processing)
The paper preliminary ejection data generation process for determining the paper preliminary ejection pattern and generating the paper preliminary ejection ejection data will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the head temperature (base temperature) before recording and the number of times ink droplets are ejected to record an image are used as information indicating the ejection state of ink droplets from the nozzles. Then, based on the base temperature and the number of times ink droplets are ejected, the maximum temperature reached by the recording head is estimated. From the estimated maximum temperature, an interval for performing preliminary discharge (paper surface preliminary discharge) for maintaining the discharge state of the recording head is determined for an area in which an image is recorded during image recording.

  When a job instructing recording is received, in step S1, information indicating the nozzle used when the previous image was recorded on the recording medium having the same width as the recording medium from which the image is to be recorded is acquired. Then, the position of the nozzle used for the current image recording is determined at a position different from the previously used nozzle position. The nozzle positions determined here may overlap with the previously used nozzle range and some of the nozzles, but it is more preferable that they do not overlap. In the present embodiment, in the current recording operation, the nozzles in the range adjacent to the previously used nozzle range in the Y direction are determined as the nozzle usage positions so that the nozzles used in the previous recording operation are not used. . When the nozzle use position is determined, information regarding the determined nozzle use position is sent to the position adjustment mechanism of the recording head 1, and the position adjustment mechanism adjusts the Y position of the recording head.

  In step S2, the temperature of the recording head before image recording is acquired for each nozzle group using the diode sensor 6. Hereinafter, this temperature is referred to as a base temperature. Here, the recording head of each ink color is divided into a plurality of nozzle groups in the Y direction. Each nozzle group includes a predetermined number of nozzles continuous in the Y direction. In the present embodiment, a recording chip including a plurality of nozzle arrays that eject ink of the same color in the X direction is used. However, nozzles that can record the same position in the X direction are divided so as to belong to the same nozzle group.

  In order to acquire the base temperature for each nozzle group, it is preferable that at least one diode sensor 6 is arranged for each nozzle group. When a plurality of diode sensors are arranged for one nozzle group, the accuracy can be increased by using the average value. When no diode sensor is arranged for each nozzle group, the temperature may be acquired by performing complementary calculation from the temperatures of the two nearby diode sensors 6 and the distance to each diode sensor.

  In step S3, based on the binary ejection data generated by the image data processing unit, the number of times the nozzles are used for each nozzle group, that is, the number of times ink droplets are ejected in order to record an image is acquired.

  In step S4, based on the base temperature acquired in step S2 and the number of times the nozzle is used acquired in step S3, the maximum temperature T of each nozzle group is estimated.

  FIG. 6 is a table for estimating the maximum temperature T used in step S4 based on the base temperature t acquired in step S2 and the ink usage count acquired in step S3. In this table, since the degree of temperature rise of the recording head varies depending on the base temperature before the start of recording, such a table is generated in advance and stored in the storage medium 54.

  In step S5, the paper surface preliminary discharge pattern generation unit 58 determines an interval for performing the paper surface preliminary discharge for each ink color based on the highest temperature of each nozzle group estimated in S4. Here, for each ink color, the highest maximum temperature among the maximum temperatures of the nozzle groups used for recording is acquired, and a value corresponding to this temperature is determined as the paper preliminary ejection interval.

  FIG. 7A shows a binary image diagram of the preliminary ejection data on the recording medium. In FIG. 7A, each square indicates a pixel set in a region on the recording medium with a resolution of 1200 dpi × 1200 dpi. Black squares indicate pixels that eject ink droplets, and white squares indicate pixels that do not eject ink droplets. In the figure, A is an ejection interval representing the number of pixels from the ejection of ink droplets as preliminary ejection on the paper surface until the next ejection.

  FIG. 7B is a table for determining the paper surface preliminary discharge pattern, and shows the value of the discharge interval A set corresponding to the ink color and the maximum temperature T. As the head temperature is higher, the evaporation of moisture in the ink is promoted and the viscosity of the ink is increased. Therefore, the higher the maximum temperature T, the smaller the value of the discharge interval A so that the preliminary discharge on the paper surface is performed at shorter intervals. Is set to

  In step S6, the paper preliminary ejection pattern generation unit 58 refers to the ejection interval A from the table based on the maximum temperature T of the nozzle group used for image recording for each ink color, and based on the pattern data in FIG. Thus, ejection data for preliminary ejection on the paper surface is generated. Note that by repeatedly using the pattern data shown in FIG. 7A, the paper preliminary ejection data for the entire area on the recording medium is generated.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process for combining the ejection data of the recording image instructed by the user and the ejection data of the preliminary paper ejection. First, in step S11, multilevel data indicated by 256 gradations from 0 to 255 is acquired, and binarization processing is performed. The binarization method is not particularly limited, such as error diffusion or INDEX expansion method. Here, as described above, multi-value data is quantized into N-value data by the error diffusion method, and a dot arrangement pattern is assigned to the N-value data. Thus, the binarization process is performed. In step S12, the binary ejection data of the print image generated in step S11 and the binary paper surface preliminary ejection data generated in the paper preliminary ejection pattern generation flow in FIG. In step S13, the combined ejection data is distributed to each nozzle row, and an image is recorded on the recording medium.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the maximum temperature reached at each position of the recording head is estimated based on the image data to be recorded, and the paper surface preliminary ejection interval is determined based on the estimated maximum temperature. As a result, the paper surface preliminary discharge amount can be appropriately adjusted and wasteful ink consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the paper surface preliminary discharge is performed without considering the image data to be recorded. Further, by appropriately adjusting the paper surface preliminary discharge amount, it is also possible to suppress a decrease in the brightness of the recorded image due to the paper surface preliminary discharge.

  In the present embodiment, the recording medium is conveyed at a constant recording speed. However, the recording speed may be changed. When the recording speed changes, the distance interval for performing preliminary ejection on the paper surface changes. For this reason, in order to perform the preliminary ejection on the paper surface at a desired time interval, a method of multiplying a value determined in the table by a coefficient corresponding to the recording speed may be used. The coefficient has a characteristic that the value increases as the recording speed increases. Note that a method for preparing a table for determining a paper preliminary ejection pattern for each recording speed without having a coefficient may be used.

  When determining the maximum temperature, the nozzles in the range determined as the nozzle use position used for image recording may be divided into a plurality of groups, and the maximum temperature may be acquired for each group. Alternatively, a plurality of groups may be set in the Y direction, and the highest achieved temperature may be acquired for each group included in the range determined as the nozzle use position.

  Further, although the same paper preliminary ejection pattern is used in the Y direction of the recording medium, the recording medium may be divided into a plurality of areas in the Y direction, and the paper preliminary ejection pattern may be determined in each area. . In the present embodiment, the maximum temperature reached for each recording chip recorded in advance for determining the table reference position is used. However, the value of the diode sensor 6 of each recording chip is acquired, and the table is obtained based on the acquired temperature. The reference position may be determined.

  Further, in this embodiment, the maximum temperature reached is determined based on the base temperature and the number of times of nozzle use. However, a form in which the degree of increase in head temperature is estimated from the number of times of nozzle use may be used. In this case, data relating the number of nozzles used and the temperature rise is stored in advance, the temperature rise is obtained based on the number of nozzles used, and the obtained temperature rise is added to the base temperature to obtain the maximum temperature reached. It may be estimated.

(Second Embodiment)
In the above-described embodiment, the method for determining the paper preliminary discharge interval by predicting the maximum temperature reached for each ink color has been described. In this embodiment, the color of the ink used for recording by the preliminary paper discharge of chromatic ink is described. A method for determining the paper preliminary discharge interval in consideration of rollover will be described.

  When the paper surface preliminary ejection is performed with a plurality of chromatic color inks, a so-called “color shift” in which the color of the recorded image is shifted may occur depending on the amount of ink preliminarily ejected on the paper surface. In order to suppress the occurrence of this color shift, it is preferable to adjust the ejection number of the chromatic color ink for the preliminary ejection on the paper so that the color of the image created by the preliminary ejection on the paper becomes an achromatic color.

  In this embodiment, a case where Y, Lc, and Lm inks are used as chromatic inks and Gy ink is preliminarily ejected as achromatic inks will be described as an example. When the table of FIG. 7B is generated in advance, the value of the paper preliminary ejection interval arranged vertically in the table is set so that the color of the image generated by the preliminary paper ejection of chromatic ink becomes an achromatic color. Keep it. For example, when the maximum temperature T is 10 ° C. ≦ T <20 ° C., the Y ink pre-discharge interval A = 576, the Lc ink pre-discharge interval A = 280, and the Lm ink pre-discharge interval A = 280. It has become. This is a value adjusted so that the recorded image is achromatic when Y, Lc, and Lm inks are preliminarily ejected on the paper surface at the above intervals. Therefore, if the paper preliminary ejection interval A is determined from the highest temperature for each ink color as in the first embodiment, the balance of the chromatic color ink may be lost, and the color of the recorded image may change. .

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, for the preliminary discharge of chromatic ink on the paper surface, the highest highest temperature among the highest temperatures of each ink is determined, and the value of the preliminary paper discharge interval A corresponding to the determined maximum temperature is obtained. decide. That is, the paper surface preliminary ejection interval of other chromatic color inks is also determined in accordance with the ink having the highest maximum temperature.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the process of generating the preliminary ejection pattern on the paper surface in the present embodiment. In step S <b> 21, the paper preliminary ejection pattern generation unit 58 determines whether the target ink for generating the paper preliminary ejection pattern is an achromatic color ink. If it is determined that the ink is achromatic ink, the process proceeds to step S22, and the paper surface preliminary ejection pattern generation processing of the achromatic ink is performed. The paper surface preliminary ejection pattern generation process for achromatic ink is a method of determining the paper preliminary ejection interval for each ink as in the first embodiment, and is omitted here because it is the same process as the flowchart of FIG. If it is determined in step 21 that the ink is not achromatic ink, that is, it is chromatic color ink, the process proceeds to step S23, and the highest temperature reached is obtained for the determined chromatic color ink. In step S24, it is determined whether or not the determination has been made for all the inks to be preliminarily ejected on the paper surface. If not, the process returns to step S21. If all the inks to be preliminarily ejected on the paper have been determined, the process proceeds to step S25, where the highest maximum temperature T among the maximum temperatures acquired for each of the chromatic color inks is determined, and the determined maximum level is reached. The paper surface preliminary discharge interval corresponding to the temperature is determined. For example, when the maximum temperature of Y ink is 15 ° C., the maximum temperature of Lc ink is 35 ° C., and the maximum temperature of Lm ink is 25 ° C., the highest temperature is 35 ° C. The preliminary discharge interval is adjusted to a value of 30 ° C. ≦ T <40 ° C. That is, the Y ink pre-discharge interval A = 1115, the Lc ink pre-discharge interval A = 560, and the Lm ink pre-discharge interval A = 560. In step S26, a paper surface preliminary discharge pattern of chromatic color ink is generated using the paper surface preliminary discharge interval determined in step S25.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the preliminary discharge on the paper surface of each chromatic color ink is not determined independently, but is determined using the highest maximum temperature among the chromatic ink heads that perform preliminary discharge on the paper surface. As a result, it is possible to adjust the appropriate paper preliminary ejection amount while suppressing color shift due to preliminary paper ejection of chromatic color ink.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head unit 1a-1g Recording head 2 Recording medium 3 Ink tank 11a-14a Recording chip 5 Ink supply path

Claims (14)

A data generation device that generates data for recording an image on a recording medium using a recording head provided with a plurality of recording elements that eject ink by heat generation,
First acquisition means for acquiring the temperature of the recording head before recording the image on the recording medium;
Second acquisition means for acquiring ejection data indicating ejection or non-ejection of ink for recording the image;
Based on the temperature acquired by the first acquisition unit and the discharge data acquired by the second acquisition unit, preliminary ejection for maintaining the ejection state from the plurality of recording elements is performed on the recording medium. Generating means for generating preliminary ejection data to be performed on an area for recording the image;
A data generation device comprising:   2. The data according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit estimates a maximum temperature that the recording head reaches in recording the image, and generates the preliminary ejection data based on the estimated maximum temperature. Generator.   The said generating means generates the said preliminary discharge data by determining the space | interval which performs the said preliminary discharge with respect to the area | region which records the said image based on the said highest temperature. Data generator.   4. The temperature acquired by the first acquisition unit is acquired by a sensor arranged on an ejection substrate provided with the plurality of recording elements in the recording head. 5. The data generation device according to item 1. The plurality of recording elements are divided into a plurality of groups along a predetermined direction,
The first acquisition means acquires the temperature for each of the plurality of groups,
The second acquisition means acquires the ejection data for each of the plurality of groups,
The generation unit estimates the maximum temperature for each of the plurality of groups, and generates the preliminary discharge data based on the highest maximum temperature among the estimated maximum temperatures. 5. The data generation device according to any one of items 1 to 4.   6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the image is recorded using a plurality of recording heads, the generation unit generates the preliminary ejection data for each of the recording heads. Data generator.   The data generation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of recording heads respectively correspond to a plurality of colors of ink. A plurality of the recording heads respectively correspond to a plurality of chromatic inks,
The generating means generates the preliminary ejection data of each of the plurality of chromatic color inks based on the highest maximum temperature among the plurality of maximum temperatures respectively corresponding to the plurality of chromatic color inks. The data generation device according to claim 2.   Second generation means for generating data for discharging ink from the recording head based on the preliminary discharge data generated by the generation means and the discharge data for recording the image. The data generation device according to claim 1, wherein the data generation device is a data generation device. A data generation method for generating data for recording an image on a recording medium using a recording head provided with a plurality of recording elements that eject ink by heat generation,
A first acquisition step of acquiring a temperature of the recording head before recording the image on the recording medium;
A second acquisition step of acquiring ejection data indicating ejection or non-ejection of ink for recording the image;
Based on the temperature acquired in the first acquisition step and the discharge data acquired in the second acquisition step, preliminary discharge for maintaining the discharge state from the plurality of recording elements is performed on the recording medium. A generating step for generating preliminary ejection data to be performed on the area for recording the image;
A data generation method comprising: A recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium using a recording head provided with a plurality of recording elements for discharging ink by heat generation,
First acquisition means for acquiring the temperature of the recording head before recording the image on the recording medium;
Second acquisition means for acquiring ejection data indicating ejection or non-ejection of ink for recording the image;
Based on the temperature acquired by the first acquisition unit and the discharge data acquired by the second acquisition unit, preliminary ejection for maintaining the ejection state from the plurality of recording elements is performed on the recording medium. Generating means for generating preliminary ejection data to be performed on an area for recording the image;
Recording control means for recording the image by driving the recording head based on the ejection data and the preliminary ejection data;
A recording apparatus comprising:   12. The recording control unit according to claim 11, wherein the recording control unit records the image on the recording medium while the recording medium is conveyed in a direction crossing a predetermined direction in which the plurality of recording elements are arranged. Recording device. The relative position in the predetermined direction between the recording medium and the recording head when the image is recorded can be changed,
The recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the first acquisition unit acquires the temperature corresponding to the relative position. A recording method for recording an image on a recording medium using a recording head provided with a plurality of recording elements for discharging ink by heat generation,
Acquiring the temperature of the recording head before recording the image on the recording medium, and ejection data indicating ejection or non-ejection of ink for recording the image;
Based on the acquired temperature and the discharge data, preliminary discharge for performing preliminary discharge for maintaining the discharge state from the plurality of recording elements to the area on the recording medium on which the image is recorded. Generating data; and
Recording the image by driving the recording head based on the ejection data and the preliminary ejection data;
A recording method comprising:

Images