JP2017124559A - Printer and printing mode selection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately select a printing mode according to mounting status of cartridges.SOLUTION: A printer has a plurality cartridge mounting sections capable of detaching cartridges, and performs printing by any printing mode out of a plurality of printing modes having different combinations of ink used when discharging the ink supplied from the cartridges mounted to the plurality cartridge mounting sections and performing the printing. The printer comprises a control section acquiring information related to a plurality of cartridges mounted to the plurality of cartridge mounting sections. The control section selects the printing mode according to whether a combination of the plurality of cartridges mounted to the plurality of cartridge mounting sections determined on the basis of the information is a combination of the cartridges having the ink or is a combination including the cartridge not having the ink.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

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

  2. Related Art Inkjet printers that perform printing by discharging ink supplied from a cartridge containing ink are known.

  An ejection control apparatus for controlling a head unit capable of individually mounting a plurality of types of ink cartridges, comprising: an identification unit for identifying a mounting state of the ink cartridge with respect to the head unit; and a printing mode suitable for the identified mounting state There is known a configuration having a mode selection unit for selecting (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-193645 A

  Conventionally, in an inkjet printer, regardless of whether printing is performed in a printing mode for performing color printing or a printing mode for performing monochrome printing, all of a plurality of predetermined multi-color cartridges to be mounted by the printer are used. It could not operate unless it was put on. In addition, it is a burden for the user to operate the printer for switching the print mode.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a printing apparatus and a printing mode selection method capable of appropriately selecting a printing mode according to the mounting state of a cartridge.

  One aspect of the present invention is a combination of inks used when printing is performed by ejecting ink supplied from a cartridge mounted on the cartridge mounting unit, and having a plurality of cartridge mounting units to which cartridges can be attached and detached. A printing apparatus that performs printing in any one of a plurality of printing modes, and includes a control unit that acquires information about a plurality of cartridges mounted on the plurality of cartridge mounting units, The control unit is configured such that the combination of the plurality of cartridges mounted on the plurality of cartridge mounting units determined based on the information is a combination of cartridges having ink or a combination including cartridges having no ink. The print mode is selected according to whether there is any.

  According to this configuration, the control unit determines whether the combination of the plurality of cartridges mounted on the plurality of cartridge mounting units is a combination of cartridges having ink or a combination including cartridges having no ink. The print mode is selected accordingly. That is, even if a normal cartridge having ink is not mounted in all of the plurality of cartridge mounting portions, an appropriate print mode is automatically selected according to the mounting status of the cartridge at that time. Also, an appropriate print mode is automatically selected depending on whether or not a plurality of cartridges include cartridges that do not have ink.

One aspect of the present invention is that the control unit performs color printing using black ink and color ink when the combination of the plurality of cartridges is a combination of a cartridge having black ink and a cartridge having color ink. A mode is selected, and when the combination of the plurality of cartridges is a combination of a cartridge having black ink and a cartridge not having ink, the first monochrome printing mode using only black ink is selected. Further, the control unit is configured to reproduce a black color by mixing color inks when the combination of the plurality of cartridges is a combination of a cartridge having no ink and a cartridge having color ink. Select.
According to such a configuration, an appropriate print mode is automatically selected according to the presence or absence of a cartridge that does not have ink and the type of cartridge other than the cartridge that does not have ink.

In one aspect of the present invention, the control unit may notify the outside that printing is not possible when the combination of the plurality of cartridges is a combination of cartridges that do not have the ink. .
According to this configuration, it is possible to notify the user of a situation where printing cannot be performed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the printing apparatus includes a recovery processing unit capable of executing a recovery process for recovering the state of the nozzle for ejecting ink when the cartridge is replaced in the cartridge mounting unit. The recovery processing unit executes the recovery process when the replaced cartridge is a cartridge having the ink, and the recovery process unit performs the recovery process when the cartridge after the replacement is a cartridge not having the ink. May not be executed.
According to this configuration, the recovery process can be executed only when there is a meaning to execute the recovery process, and the burden on the apparatus and the waiting time of the user can be reduced.

In one aspect of the present invention, the control unit may exclude a printing mode selected according to a combination of the plurality of cartridges from a target that can be changed according to an external operation.
According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the user from ignoring the situation and changing the print mode in a state where the print modes that can be selected from the mounting situation of the cartridge are substantially limited.

  The technical idea of the present invention is also realized by a device other than a printing device. For example, a method (print mode selection method) including each process executed by each unit of the printing apparatus can be regarded as an invention. Furthermore, an invention of a program for causing a computer to execute such a method, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the program can be realized as one invention.

The block diagram which illustrates the device composition concerning this embodiment. The figure which shows simply one part structure containing a cartridge mounting part. 6 is a flowchart showing print mode selection processing. 10 is a flowchart illustrating print mode selection processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram simply showing a partial configuration according to a third embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Each figure is only an example for explaining this embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating functions of the printing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The printing apparatus 10 is grasped as a product such as a printer, a multifunction machine including a plurality of functions such as a printer, a scanner, and a facsimile. The printing apparatus may be referred to as a recording apparatus, a liquid ejection (ejection) apparatus, or the like. In FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 10 is illustrated as a configuration including a control unit 11, an operation input unit 12, a display unit 13, a communication interface (I / F) 14, a slot unit 15, a printing unit 30, and the like.

  The control unit 11 includes, for example, an IC having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and other storage media. In the control unit 11, the CPU controls the behavior of each component of the printing apparatus 10 by executing arithmetic processing according to a program (firmware) stored in a ROM or the like using the RAM or the like as a work area. A print mode selection process described later is executed.

  The operation input unit 12 includes various buttons and keys for accepting an operation by the user. The display unit 13 is a part for displaying various information related to the printing apparatus 10 and is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD). A part of the operation input unit 12 may be realized as a touch panel displayed on the display unit 13.

  The printing unit 30 is a mechanism for printing an image on a printing medium under the control of the control unit 11. When the printing method employed by the printing unit 30 is an inkjet method, the printing unit 30 is mounted on the print head 31, the carriage 32 that moves along a predetermined main scanning direction, and the carriage 32 moves. A CR motor 33 that supplies the motive power, a transport unit 34 that transports the print medium along a transport direction that intersects the main scanning direction, and the like.

  The print head 31 receives ink supplied from the cartridge. The print head 31 has a plurality of nozzles. In the print head 31, a drive element (for example, a piezoelectric element) is provided for each nozzle, and when the drive element is driven, ink is ejected (ejected) from the nozzle corresponding to the drive element. The print head 31 ejects ink from each nozzle as the carriage 32 moves. When the ejected ink lands on the print medium, dots are formed on the print medium and printing is realized. The print head may be called a print head, a recording head, a liquid ejection (ejection) head, or the like.

  The transport unit 34 includes a roller for supporting and transporting the print medium, a motor for rotating the roller (all not shown), and the like. The print medium is typically paper. However, in the present embodiment, materials other than paper are included in the concept of the printing medium as long as the material can record the liquid and can be transported by the transport unit 34.

  The communication I / F 14 is a general term for interfaces for connecting the printing apparatus 10 to the external device 100 by wire or wirelessly. Examples of the external device 100 include various devices that are sources of data used for printing for the printing apparatus 10 such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a digital still camera, and a personal computer (PC). The printing apparatus 10 can be connected to the external device 100 via the communication I / F 14 by various means and communication standards such as a USB cable, a wired network, a wireless LAN, and e-mail communication. The slot 15 is a part for inserting an external storage medium such as a memory card. That is, the printing apparatus 10 can also input data stored in the storage medium from an external storage medium such as a memory card inserted into the slot unit 15.

  FIG. 2 simply shows a partial configuration of the printing apparatus 10 including the cartridge mounting portion. As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 32 carries a print head 31. The print head 31 has its lower surface 31a exposed downward. A nozzle is opened on the lower surface 31a, and the lower surface 31a is also referred to as a nozzle surface 31a. Below the nozzle surface 31a, the print medium is conveyed so as to face the nozzle surface 31a. A symbol D1 shown in the drawing indicates the main scanning direction. The conveyance direction of the print medium is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. The carriage 32 moves along the main scanning direction D1, and during the movement, the print head 31 ejects ink from the nozzle surface 31a toward the print medium.

  In the example of FIG. 2, a plurality of cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 are provided on the carriage 32. The cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 are portions where cartridges can be attached and detached, respectively. That is, the user can attach a cartridge to the cartridge attachment portions 35 and 36 or remove the cartridge from the cartridge attachment portions 35 and 36. In this embodiment, a cartridge having ink and a cartridge not having ink will be described.

  The cartridge having ink is a normal cartridge in which ink is contained in the internal space of the cartridge. Hereinafter, a cartridge having ink is referred to as an ink cartridge. Examples of the ink cartridge include a K ink cartridge having black (K) ink, a C ink cartridge having cyan (C) ink, an M ink cartridge having magenta (M) ink, and a Y ink cartridge having yellow (Y) ink. Etc., there are things corresponding to various inks. When the ink cartridge is mounted on the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36, the ink in the cartridge is supplied to the nozzles through the ink flow path in the print head 31.

  On the other hand, a cartridge that does not have ink is a cartridge that has the same outer shape as the ink cartridge but does not contain ink in the internal space. Hereinafter, the cartridge having no ink is referred to as a dummy cartridge. In the dummy cartridge, for example, there is no supply port provided in the ink cartridge for supplying ink to the print head 31 side. Of course, no ink is supplied to the print head 31 side from the dummy cartridges mounted in the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the cartridge mounting part 35 is a part for mounting the K ink cartridge 40 or the dummy cartridge 41, and the cartridge mounting part 36 is a part for mounting the color ink cartridge 42 or the dummy cartridge 43. is there. In FIG. 2, only one cartridge mounting portion 35, 36 is shown in a simplified manner, but two or more cartridge mounting portions 35, 36 may exist.

  In the present embodiment, the K ink includes, in addition to the ink that is called black and distributed in the market, for example, the ink that is distributed called mat black and the like and the ink that is distributed called gray etc. It is good. Therefore, the K ink may be called an achromatic ink. When there are a plurality of cartridge mounting portions 35, for example, a cartridge having black ink (a kind of K ink cartridge 40) is mounted on one cartridge mounting portion 35, and an ink having matte black ink is mounted on the other cartridge mounting portions 35. A mode in which a cartridge (a kind of K ink cartridge 40) or the like is mounted can be considered. In addition, a dummy cartridge 41 may be attached to a part of the plurality of cartridge attachment portions 35 instead of the K ink cartridge 40. Further, the dummy cartridge 41 may be mounted on all of the plurality of cartridge mounting portions 35.

  The color ink cartridge 42 corresponds to the above-described C ink cartridge, M ink cartridge, Y ink cartridge, and the like. For example, there are three cartridge mounting portions 36, and one C ink cartridge, one M ink cartridge, and one Y ink cartridge are mounted on the three cartridge mounting portions 36. Of course, four or more cartridge mounting portions 36 may be provided, and in addition to CMY, each color ink cartridge 42 of light cyan, light magenta, orange, green, etc. may be mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 36. As described above, the K ink may be referred to as an achromatic color ink, and the color ink may be referred to as a chromatic color ink. In some cases, a dummy cartridge 43 may be mounted in some of the plurality of cartridge mounting portions 36 instead of the color ink cartridge 42. Further, the dummy cartridge 43 may be mounted on all of the plurality of cartridge mounting portions 36.

Due to product specifications, the K ink cartridge 40 and the color ink cartridge 42 may have the same size or different sizes.
Assuming that the K ink cartridge 40 and the color ink cartridge 42 have different sizes, the cartridge mounting portion 35 is designed to be a size that allows the K ink cartridge 40 to be attached and detached, and the cartridge mounting portion 36 attaches and detaches the color ink cartridge 42. Designed with possible size. In this case, the dummy cartridge 41 is the same size as the K ink cartridge 40, and the dummy cartridge 43 is the same size as the color ink cartridge 42.
On the other hand, assuming that the K ink cartridge 40 and the color ink cartridge 42 have the same size, the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 are both designed to have the same size. In this case, since the dummy cartridges 41 and 43 are the same size as the K ink cartridge 40 and the color ink cartridge 42, there is no substantial difference between the dummy cartridges 41 and 43.

  The K ink cartridge 40 has a storage unit 40a, and the dummy cartridge 41 has a storage unit 41a. Similarly, the color ink cartridge 42 has a storage unit 42a, and the dummy cartridge 43 has a storage unit 43a. These storage units 40a, 41a, 42a and 43a are all non-volatile memories. The storage units 40a, 41a, 42a, and 43a store information (cartridge information) related to the cartridges having the storage units 40a, 41a, 42a, and 43a. The cartridge information stored in advance in the storage units 40a, 41a, 42a, and 43a may include information indicating that the cartridge is a dummy cartridge, information indicating the color of ink (CMYK, etc.) included in the cartridge, and the like. . When the cartridges 40, 41, 42, 43 are mounted on the cartridge mounting portions 35, 36, the storage portions 40 a, 41 a, 42 a, 43 a come into contact with the electrodes provided on the cartridge mounting portions 35, 36 side. Electrically connected to the printing apparatus 10 side. In such a state, the control unit 11 can read cartridge information from the storage units 40a, 41a, 42a, and 43a. Therefore, the control unit 11 can recognize the cartridge currently installed in each of the cartridge mounting units 35 and 36 based on the cartridge information.

  FIG. 2 shows a mode in which the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 are mounted on the carriage 32, that is, a mode in which the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 also move together with the carriage 32. However, in the present embodiment, the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 may be provided at predetermined positions in the printing apparatus 10 that are not on the carriage 32. In particular, when the printing apparatus 10 is a product using a large-capacity type ink cartridge, the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 are provided at predetermined positions in the printing apparatus 10 that are not on the carriage 32. In this case, the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 and the carriage 32 (print head 31) are connected by an ink tube (not shown). That is, ink is supplied from the ink cartridge mounted in the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 to the print head 31 side through the ink tube.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing print mode selection processing (method) according to this embodiment. The print mode selection process is executed, for example, as a process in the start-up process after the printing apparatus 10 is turned on, or at a timing after one or more cartridges are replaced with respect to the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36. Or The print mode here means a print mode in which the combination of inks used for printing is different from each other.

  In step S100, the control unit 11 determines each cartridge from the storage unit (one or more storage units of the storage units 40a, 41a, 42a, and 43a) of each cartridge currently mounted in the cartridge mounting units 35 and 36. Get cartridge information. Step S100 corresponds to an information acquisition process.

  Next, the control unit 11 determines a combination of cartridges currently mounted in the cartridge mounting units 35 and 36 based on the acquired cartridge information for each cartridge, and branches the process according to the determination result. (Steps S110 and 120). Specifically, when the determined combination of cartridges is a combination of ink cartridges, the control unit 11 determines “Yes” in step S110 and proceeds to step S130. On the other hand, the control unit 11 includes a combination including a dummy cartridge. If there is, “No” is determined in step S110, and the process proceeds to step S120. The combination of cartridges is a combination of ink cartridges means that the K ink cartridge 40 is mounted on all of the cartridge mounting portions 35 and the color ink cartridge 42 is mounted on all of the cartridge mounting portions 36. . In other words, when one or more dummy cartridges are included in the cartridges mounted in the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36, the process proceeds from the determination in step S110 to step S120.

  In step S120, the control unit 11 determines “Yes” when the determined combination of the cartridges is a combination of the K ink cartridge 40 and the dummy cartridge 43, and proceeds to step S140. On the other hand, if the determined combination of the cartridges is not the combination of the K ink cartridge 40 and the dummy cartridge 43, in other words, the combination of the dummy cartridge 41 and the color ink cartridge 42, it is determined “No”, and the process proceeds to Step S150. move on. That is, if the K ink cartridge 40 is mounted on all of the cartridge mounting portions 35 and the dummy cartridge 43 is mounted on one or more of the cartridge mounting portions 36, the process proceeds to step S140. On the other hand, when the dummy cartridge 41 is mounted on one or more of the cartridge mounting portions 35 and the color ink cartridge 42 is mounted on all of the cartridge mounting portions 36, the process proceeds to step S150.

In step S130, the control unit 11 selects a color printing mode using K ink and color ink as the printing mode.
In step S140, the control unit 11 selects the first monochrome print mode using only K ink as the print mode.
In step S150, the control unit 11 selects a second monochrome printing mode for reproducing black by mixing color inks as a printing mode.

  Such steps S110 to S150 correspond to a selection process. The control unit 11 sets the print mode selected in any of steps S130, S140, and S150 as a print mode that is used for subsequent printing. That is, when the currently set print mode is different from the print mode selected in any of steps S130, S140, and S150, the currently set print mode is switched to the selected print mode. Such setting of the print mode after switching may be further switched when the print mode selection process is executed again.

  Each print mode will be briefly described. When the print mode setting is the color print mode, the control unit 11 controls the printing apparatus 10 so that color printing is executed. For example, the control unit 11 converts the color system of image data (for example, RGB data) representing an image to be printed into a color system of ink (for example, CMYK ink) used for printing. The image data after color conversion is data representing the ink amount for each CMYK ink for each pixel with gradation (for example, 256 gradations of 0 to 255). The control unit 11 converts the image data after the color conversion into (for example, binary) print data that defines dot-on / dot-off (ink ejection / non-ejection) of each CMYK ink for each pixel. Then, by controlling ejection / non-ejection of CMYK ink from the print head 31 based on the print data, the image is expressed on the print medium with CMYK ink.

  When the print mode setting is the first monochrome print mode, the control unit 11 controls the printing apparatus 10 so that monochrome printing using only K ink is executed. For example, the control unit 11 performs color conversion of image data representing an image to be printed into image data that represents the ink amount of K ink for each pixel. The control unit 11 converts the color-converted image data into print data that defines K ink dot on / dot off for each pixel. Then, by controlling ejection / non-ejection of K ink from the print head 31 based on the print data, the image is expressed on the print medium with K ink.

  When the print mode setting is the second monochrome print mode, the control unit 11 controls the printing apparatus 10 so that monochrome printing using CMY ink is executed. For example, the control unit 11 color-converts image data representing an image to be printed into image data that represents the gradation of the ink amount of K ink for each pixel, and further sets the ink amount of K ink for each pixel to a predetermined value. The ratio is replaced with the amount of each CMY ink. The control unit 11 converts the replaced image data into print data that defines dot-on / dot-off of each CMY ink for each pixel. Then, ejection / non-ejection of CMY ink from the print head 31 is controlled based on the print data. As a result, the image is expressed on the print medium in black (composite black) based on a mixed color of CMY inks.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the printing apparatus 10, the combination of the plurality of cartridges mounted on the plurality of cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 is a combination of ink cartridges or a combination including dummy cartridges. The print mode is selected according to whether or not. In other words, the printing apparatus 10 does not have the ink cartridges attached to all of the cartridge attachment portions 35 and 36 (even if the dummy cartridge is attached to a part of the cartridge attachment portions 35 and 36). An appropriate print mode is automatically selected according to the mounting state of the printer, and the printer operates in the selected print mode. Further, since the print mode is automatically selected according to the mounting state of the cartridge as described above, it is not necessary for the user to select the print mode, and the operation burden on the user is reduced.

  According to the present embodiment, the user does not have to place the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 in a state in which the ink cartridge is mounted on all of them. For example, when the user causes the printing medium 10 to execute monochrome printing using only K ink, it is not necessary to purchase the color ink cartridge 42, and instead, if the dummy cartridge 43 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 36, The printing apparatus 10 can be operated in the first monochrome printing mode. Further, when the user runs out of ink in the K ink cartridge 40, the user installs the dummy cartridge 41 in the cartridge mounting portion 35 and installs the color ink cartridge 42 in the cartridge mounting portion 36 so that there is no K ink. Even in the situation, the printing apparatus 10 can be operated in the second monochrome printing mode.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment can employ examples as will be described later. The embodiment described so far is referred to as Example 1, and each example different from Example 1 will be described below. In the following embodiments, the description common to the first embodiment is omitted.

Example 2:
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating print mode selection processing (method) according to the second embodiment. 4 is different from FIG. 3 in that steps S125 and S160 are included when FIG. 4 is compared with FIG. When the controller 11 determines in step S120 that the determined combination of cartridges is not a combination of the K ink cartridge 40 and the dummy cartridge 43, the process proceeds to step S125. In step S125, the control unit 11 determines “Yes” when the determined combination of cartridges is a combination of the dummy cartridge 41 and the color ink cartridge 42, and proceeds to step S150. On the other hand, in step S125, the control unit 11 determines “No” when the determined combination of cartridges is a combination of the dummy cartridge 41 and the dummy cartridge 43, and proceeds to step S160.

  That is, when the dummy cartridge 41 is mounted on one or more of the cartridge mounting portions 35 and the dummy cartridge 43 is mounted on one or more of the cartridge mounting portions 36, the color printing mode and the first monochrome printing mode are selected. , And the second monochrome printing mode cannot be selected, the process proceeds to step S160 as the fourth option. Although the situation in which the dummy cartridges are mounted in both the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 is a rare case, it is not mentioned in the first embodiment, but the second embodiment assumes such a rare case. If the user mistakenly installs the dummy cartridge in both the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36, step S160 is executed.

  In step S160, the control unit 11 notifies the outside that printing is not possible. That is, error notification is performed. The notification is realized by displaying a predetermined message (message indicating that printing is not possible) on the display unit 13 or by outputting the message by voice to a speaker (not shown). By recognizing such notification, the user can understand the situation in which printing cannot be performed, and can change the cartridge mounting status in the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36.

Example 3:
The printing apparatus 10 includes a recovery processing unit capable of executing a recovery process for recovering the state of the nozzles of the print head 31 when cartridge replacement is executed in the cartridge mounting units 35 and 36.

  FIG. 5 simply illustrates a partial configuration of the printing apparatus 10 from the same viewpoint as that of FIG. 2. The printing apparatus 10 has a cap 50. When executing the recovery process, the control unit 11 controls the CR motor 33 to move the carriage 32 to a predetermined position. Further, the control unit 11 moves the cap 50 toward the carriage 32 that has moved to the predetermined position, and closes the nozzle surface 31a from below by using the cap 50. The control unit 11 drives the print head 31 in a state where the nozzle surface 31a is closed with the cap 50, and executes an operation of ejecting ink from each nozzle. As a result, the recovery process is performed, and the state of each nozzle is recovered (ink remaining in the nozzle before the replacement of the cartridge is discharged to the cap 50).

  A configuration including the cap 50, the control unit 11, the print head 31, and the like for realizing such recovery processing corresponds to the recovery processing unit. The control unit 11 executes the recovery process at the timing when the cartridge is replaced, for example. When the cartridge is replaced, for example, another chromatic (second color) color ink cartridge 42 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 36 where the chromatic (first color) color ink cartridge 42 has been mounted. Suppose. By executing the recovery process after such replacement, it is avoided that the first color is mixed with the second color during printing after the recovery process, and the ink color is stabilized. Further, it is assumed that, for example, the color ink cartridge 42 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 36 in which the dummy cartridge 43 is mounted by replacing the cartridge. By executing the recovery process after such replacement, the color ink mounted at the same position this time as the ink of the color ink cartridge 42 mounted at the same position before the dummy cartridge 42 at the time of printing after the recovery process. It is avoided that the ink in the cartridge 42 is mixed and discharged.

  However, in the third embodiment, the recovery processing unit does not execute the recovery process when the replaced cartridge is a dummy cartridge. For example, it is assumed that the dummy cartridge 43 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 36 on which the chromatic (first color) color ink cartridge 42 has been mounted. As described above, if the cartridge after replacement is a dummy cartridge, in any of the print modes (first monochrome print mode or second monochrome print mode) selected in the print mode selection process executed in response to the replacement, The nozzle at the position corresponding to the dummy cartridge is not driven. For this reason, when the cartridge after replacement is a dummy cartridge, there is no need to perform recovery processing. According to the third embodiment, the recovery process is executed only when it is meaningful to execute the recovery process, and the burden on the printing apparatus 10 and the waiting time of the user can be reduced.

Example 4:
The control unit 11 can change the print mode selected according to the combination of the plurality of cartridges mounted on the cartridge mounting units 35 and 36, that is, the print mode selected in the print mode selection process, according to an operation from the outside. Exclude from the target. The object that can be changed according to an external operation means a print setting item in the printing apparatus 10 that can be arbitrarily changed through a user interface screen by the user operating the operation input unit 12 or the external device 100. Examples of such objects include paper size and type, paper layout, single-sided / double-sided printing, print quality level, and the like. The control unit 11 does not accept a change made by the user's operation for the print mode selected by executing the print mode selection process. The setting of the print mode selected in the print mode selection process can be changed when the print mode selection process is executed again. According to such a configuration, since the dummy cartridge is mounted, the number of print modes that can be realized is practically limited to one (for example, because the dummy cartridge 43 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 36). In a situation where only the first monochrome print mode can be executed, it is possible to prevent a situation in which another print mode is selected by a user operation.

Other examples:
Up to now, as an example of the printing apparatus 10, a so-called serial printer that performs printing by scanning the print head 31 in the main scanning direction D1 as shown in FIGS. However, the printing apparatus 10 may be a so-called line printer having a fixed line head. When it is assumed that the printing apparatus 10 is a line printer, the carriage 32 and the CR motor 33 are not necessary. The print head 31 as a line head has a nozzle row having a length in which nozzles are arranged over the width of the print medium along a direction corresponding to the main scanning direction D1. When the print head 31 is a line head, the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 are provided in the print head 31 or provided at a position away from the print head 31 and connected to the print head 31 by the ink tube described above. To do.

  The print head 31 may be provided integrally with the cartridge. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, the print head 31 is not provided on the carriage 32, but is provided integrally with the K ink cartridge 40, and is provided integrally with the color ink cartridge 42. . Accordingly, when an ink cartridge is removed from the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 or an ink cartridge is mounted on the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36, the print head 31 is also detached from the cartridge mounting portions 35 and 36 (carriage 32) together with the ink cartridge. The

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing apparatus, 11 ... Control part, 30 ... Printing part, 31 ... Print head, 32 ... Carriage, 33 ... CR motor, 34 ... Conveyance part, 35, 36 ... Cartridge mounting part, 40 ... K ink cartridge, 41 ... Dummy cartridge, 42 ... color ink cartridge, 43 ... dummy cartridge, 40a, 41a, 42a, 43a ... storage unit, 50 ... cap

Claims (7)

There are a plurality of cartridge mounting portions to which cartridges can be attached and detached, and when printing is performed by discharging ink supplied from the cartridges mounted on the cartridge mounting portions, a plurality of printing modes with different combinations of inks to be used are used. A printing device that performs printing in any of the printing modes,
A control unit for acquiring information on a plurality of cartridges mounted on the plurality of cartridge mounting units;
The control unit is a combination of a plurality of cartridges mounted on the plurality of cartridge mounting units determined based on the information is a combination of cartridges having ink or a combination including cartridges having no ink A printing apparatus that selects the print mode according to whether the print mode is selected.   When the combination of the plurality of cartridges is a combination of a cartridge having black ink and a cartridge having color ink, the control unit selects a color printing mode using black ink and color ink, and the plurality of cartridges 2. The printing according to claim 1, wherein the first monochrome printing mode using only the black ink is selected when the combination is a combination of a cartridge having black ink and a cartridge not having the ink. apparatus.   When the combination of the plurality of cartridges is a combination of a cartridge having black ink and a cartridge having color ink, the control unit selects a color printing mode using black ink and color ink, and the plurality of cartridges The second monochrome printing mode for reproducing black by mixing color inks is selected when the combination is a combination of a cartridge having no ink and a cartridge having color ink. Or the printing apparatus of Claim 2.   The control unit notifies the outside that printing is not possible when the combination of the plurality of cartridges is a combination of cartridges not having the ink. The printing apparatus in any one of. A recovery processing unit capable of executing a recovery process for recovering the state of the nozzles for ejecting ink when the cartridge is replaced in the cartridge mounting unit;
The recovery processing unit executes the recovery process when the replaced cartridge is a cartridge having the ink, and executes the recovery process when the cartridge after the replacement is a cartridge not having the ink. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is not.   The said control part excludes the printing mode selected according to the combination of these cartridges from the object which can be changed according to the operation from the outside. The printing apparatus as described. An information acquisition step of acquiring information on a plurality of cartridges mounted on a plurality of cartridge mounting portions to which the cartridges can be attached and detached;
A selection step of selecting any one of a plurality of printing modes using different combinations of inks to be used,
In the selection step, the combination of the plurality of cartridges mounted on the plurality of cartridge mounting portions determined based on the information is a combination of cartridges having ink or a combination including cartridges having no ink A printing mode selection method, wherein the printing mode is selected depending on whether the printing mode is selected.

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