JP2020019191A - Recording device and recording control method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a recording device and a recording control method which can prevent deterioration in through-put of recording while suppressing consumption power of the recording device.SOLUTION: The recording device comprises: a recording head for discharging ink; conveying means that conveys a recording medium having a plurality of recording areas arranged at an interval with respect to the recording head; cutting means that cuts the recording medium to be conveyed by the conveying means, within an area of the interval; and control means that performs control so that a relative position between a position where the medium is cut by the cutting means and a position where recording is performed by the recording head is shifted, if electric power consumed in performing recording by discharging ink from the recording head to the recording areas is larger than a predetermined value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording power control method, and more particularly, to a technique for suppressing power consumption in a recording apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art In a recording apparatus using continuous paper such as roll paper as a recording medium, there is an apparatus that performs a recording operation on a certain page and simultaneously performs other processing on another page. In such an apparatus, in order to suppress the power consumption of the entire apparatus within a predetermined value, control for changing the content of the recording operation or other processing may be performed in consideration of the power required for the recording operation and other processing. is there. For example, in Patent Literature 1, in an apparatus that performs drying after printing as another processing, power consumption for driving a heater of a dryer is added to power consumption required for a printing operation of a print head. If the power consumption after the addition exceeds the power supply capacity of the printing apparatus and drying performed during one scan of the printing head is insufficient, it is described that the scanning time of the printing head is extended to secure the drying time. ing.

JP 2009-143177 A

  However, if the scan time of the print head is extended as in Patent Literature 1, the throughput of the print operation may be reduced and the productivity may be affected.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus and a recording control method capable of preventing a decrease in recording throughput while suppressing power consumption of the recording apparatus. It is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a recording head for discharging ink, a conveying unit that conveys a recording medium having a plurality of recording areas arranged at intervals with respect to the recording head, and a conveying unit. A cutting means for cutting the conveyed recording medium within the interval area, and a cutting position by the cutting means when the power consumed when ejecting ink from the recording head to perform recording on the recording area is larger than a predetermined value. And a control means for controlling a relative position between the recording position and the recording position by the recording head.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus capable of suppressing power consumption of the apparatus while suppressing disadvantages of the user.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a conceptual configuration example of a recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the printing apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a recorded image recordable by the recording device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a current amount of each recording head by the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a recording position by the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the amount of current of each recording head when the recording speed of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is reduced. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a cutting position of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. An ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter, also referred to as a printer) 101 is connected to a host computer PC100 which is an external apparatus serving as a supply source of print data (image data). The image data and the standard recording image are output to the printer 101 via the cable 103 as control commands.

  The printer 101 includes a paper feed unit 108 that feeds continuous label paper P as a recording medium, a transport unit 120 that transports the supplied continuous label paper P, and a recording head 10 that performs recording on the continuous label paper P. , Is provided. Further, the printer 101 includes a cutter unit 400 for cutting the recorded continuous label paper P, a control unit 200 described later with reference to FIG. 2, and a power supply unit 210 for supplying power to each unit.

  The printer 101 can record an image on the continuous label paper P. Reference numeral 108 denotes a paper feed unit for feeding the continuous label paper P. The continuous label paper P has a shaft 104 for setting the continuous paper P on which a label piece is temporarily attached to a backing paper in a roll shape. The continuous label paper P can be set along the paper guide 105 and is supplied to the transport unit. The transport unit 120 includes the transport motor 124 illustrated in FIG. 2, a transport belt 121, a sheet leading edge detection sensor 122, and a sheet trailing edge detection sensor 123. Convey P. In the present embodiment, the roll unit 109 side on the transport path of the continuous label paper P is a transport inlet, and the opposite side is a transport outlet. An operation panel 107 of the recording apparatus has several LED display lamps and input keys.

  In order to perform full-color recording on the continuous label paper P, the printer 101 has a recording head 10K for discharging black (K) ink, a recording head 10C for discharging cyan (C) ink, and a magenta (M) ink discharge. And a recording head 10Y for discharging yellow (Y) ink. These recording heads 10K, 10C, 10M, and 10Y have ink discharge ports or nozzles arranged at a predetermined density and in a predetermined range in a width direction of the continuous label paper P (a direction orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction A). It is a line head type. The predetermined range is set to be slightly longer than the maximum effective recording width (length in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface) on a recording medium printable by the printer 101. It is needless to say that the number of recording heads, the type of color tone (color and density), the type of liquid to be ejected, and the like are merely examples.

  In the present embodiment, all of the recording heads 10K to 10Y maintain a stationary state at a recording position close to the continuous label paper P. Then, color printing is performed by ejecting K, C, M, and Y inks from the respective recording heads while the continuous label paper P passes at a constant transport speed, for example, at a transport speed of 100 mm / sec. .

  The recording head 10 is held by a holding unit (not shown) and can move up and down in the vertical direction (B direction) together with the holding unit. The recovery unit 11 having the cap 12 corresponding to each recording head 10 is held so as to be movable in the horizontal direction (the direction A and the direction opposite to the direction A).

  In a non-printing state such as a storage state or a printing standby state, the cap 12 is applied to the surface (ejection surface) of the recording head 10 on which the ejection openings are formed. If the ejection surface of the recording head is exposed to the atmosphere during non-printing, the solvent in the ink near the ejection port evaporates, causing the ink to thicken and solidify, or to adhere to dust, which may cause ejection failure. Because there is.

  The continuous label paper P is supplied from the paper supply unit 108 and is transported in the direction of arrow A by the transport unit 120 incorporated in the printer 101. The transport unit 120 includes a transport belt 121 for placing and transporting the continuous label paper P, a transport motor 124 for rotating the transport belt 121, a roller 125 for applying tension to the transport belt 121, and the like.

  In the configuration of FIG. 1, when an image is formed on the continuous label paper P, after the recording start position of the continuous label paper P being transported reaches below the black K recording head 10K, the print data (image data ), The K ink is selectively discharged from the discharge port of the recording head 10K. Similarly, a color image is formed on the continuous label paper P by discharging ink of each color in the order of the recording head 10C, the recording head 10M, and the recording head 10Y.

  In addition to the above-described units, the printer 101 includes ink tanks 30K, 30C, 30M, and 30Y (hereinafter, reference numerals unless otherwise specified) for storing inks of respective colors supplied to the recording heads 10K, 10C, 10M, and 10Y. 30 is referred to collectively).

  The continuous label paper P on which recording has been completed is conveyed to the cutter unit 400. The cutter unit 400 includes a paper detection sensor 402 for detecting a cutting position of the continuous label paper P, and a cutter 401 for cutting the continuous label paper P. In addition, the cutter unit 400 is a rotary cutter that cuts the continuous label paper P by one rotation in the present embodiment, and includes a cutter motor 404 that drives the cutter. The paper detection sensor 402 manages the positions of the leading edge and the trailing edge of the continuous label paper P.

  When the continuous label paper P is transported to the cutter unit 400, the leading edge of the continuous label paper P is detected by the paper detection sensor 402. Thereafter, a cutting position (cutting position) on the continuous label paper P is determined by a program shown in FIG. Then, the rotary cutter 401 is cut by the central processing unit 201 via the cutter motor driving unit 213 described later with reference to FIG. 2 so that the cut position coincides with the timing of contact with the fixed blade of the rotary cutter 401 as cutting means. By driving the motor 404, the continuous label paper P is cut.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the printing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. The flow of signals and the function of each component will be described. Information such as print data and commands transmitted from the host computer PC 100 is received by the central processing unit (CPU) 201 via the host interface 202. The CPU 201 is an arithmetic processing unit that performs overall control of the recording apparatus 101 such as reception of recording data to be output by the recording apparatus 101, recording operation, and handling of continuous label paper P. The CPU 201 executes a program corresponding to a later-described flowchart (see FIG. 7) stored in a nonvolatile memory (ROM) 203 to control each unit of the recording apparatus and control communication with the host computer PC100. Reference numeral 204 denotes a work memory which stores control data for data transmission / reception with the host computer 100 and recording control. Reference numeral 205 denotes an image memory in which print data to be printed by the printer 101 is stored. After analyzing the received command, the CPU 201 controls the image data of each color component of the print data so as to perform bitmap development and drawing on the image buffer RAM 205. The EEPROM 206 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and finely adjusts, for example, the serial numbers of the plurality of mounted recording heads 10K to 10Y and the vertical and horizontal recording positions (registration) between the respective recording heads. Device-specific information, such as variables for the operation, is stored. The CPU 201 is connected to each sensor (the leading edge detection sensor 122, the trailing edge detection sensor 123, the paper set sensor 215, the encoder sensor 208, and the like) via the sensor circuit 209. A head control circuit 207 receives print data and control data under the control of the CPU 201 and controls the print head 10.

  When recording an image, first, the head Up / Down motor 219 and the capping motor 220 are drive-controlled via the head Up / Down motor drive unit 216 and the capping motor drive unit 217, and the respective print heads 10 are printed. It is moved away from the corresponding capping mechanism 11 to the recording position. The capping motor 220 is a motor for moving the capping mechanism 11 in the transport direction A in FIG. 1 or the opposite direction, and the head Up / Down motor 219 moves the recording head 10 up and down in the direction of arrow B in FIG. It is a motor to make it. A feed motor 221 for sending out the continuous label paper P via a feed motor drive unit 218, a transport motor 124 for transporting the continuous label paper P at a constant speed via a transport motor drive unit 214, and the like. By controlling the drive, the continuous label paper P is transported in the transport direction A. The timing (recording timing) at which ink is started to be ejected to the continuous label paper P conveyed at a constant speed is determined based on the timing at which the leading edge detection sensor 122 detects the leading edge of the continuous label paper P. The CPU 201 sequentially reads out recording data corresponding to each ink color from the image buffer RAM 205 in synchronization with the transport of the continuous label paper P. Then, the read data is transferred to the corresponding recording heads 10K, 10C, 10M, and 10Y via the head driving circuit 207, respectively.

  The CPU 201 executes processing based on a processing program stored in a ROM 203 that is a program memory. The ROM 203 stores processing programs and tables corresponding to the control flow. The RAM 204 as a work memory is used as a work memory or the like.

  When the print data has been developed in the image buffer RAM 205, the CPU 201 drives the head Up / Down motor 219 that moves the print head 10 up and down, and drives the capping motor 220 that moves the capping mechanism 11 right and left, thereby causing the print head 10 to move. Is moved from the cap position (standby position) to the recording position. The capping mechanism 11 keeps the recording head 10 hermetically closed during standby to prevent ink from sticking due to drying in the vicinity of the ink discharge nozzle row. Subsequently, the paper feed motor 221 for feeding the continuous label paper P from the supply unit is driven. At the same time, the transport motor 124 is also driven to transport the fed continuous label paper P at a constant speed.

  In the present embodiment, the power supply unit 210 includes a logic power supply 212 (for example, +5 V) and a drive power supply 211 (for example, +24 V) to supply power to the control unit 200. The logic power supply 212 supplies power to a control logic circuit such as the CPU 201 and each memory. The drive system power supply 211 supplies power to the recording head 10 and various drive motors.

  Here, in the power supply unit 210 of the printer of the present embodiment, the power consumed by the drive system power supply 211 consumes a recording operation on the label paper 302 and a cutting operation for cutting the continuous label paper P one by one. . In the processing of the present embodiment, the maximum power consumption occurs when the recording operation for recording an image on the continuous label paper P and the cutting operation for cutting the continuous label paper P one by one overlap. It is. The recording head 10 of the present embodiment has a nozzle array corresponding to each of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) inks. In other words, each of the K, C, M, and Y ink nozzle rows is an array of 1200 nozzles at a density of 1200 dpi [dot / inch] in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction A of the label paper. This enables recording with a recording width of up to 4 inches in the orthogonal direction. The 1200 nozzles of these color inks are divided into 16 groups and are driven with a predetermined time difference, so that time-division driving is performed. That is, one group is composed of 75 nozzles. Then, one group of each of the K, M, C, and Y inks is simultaneously driven. As will be described later, the group of 75 inks × 4 color inks driven at the same time becomes a group G related to the calculation of the consumed current amount.

  As a result, the number of simultaneously driven nozzles in the recording head 10 is 75 × 4 = 300 nozzles. Assuming that the current consumed by one nozzle in one discharge is 20 [mA], the maximum current consumption when discharging from all the nozzles is 0.02 × 300 = 6 [A]. In consideration of the fact that an actual image has a blank portion and some colors of ink are not ejected, in the present embodiment, the upper limit of the current consumption of the recording head 10 is set to 4 [A].

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a continuous label sheet as a recording medium recorded by the recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The long continuous label paper P has a form in which the continuous label paper P is wound around a core in a roll shape in a cylindrical shape having a hollow portion, and FIG. 3 shows a part of the continuous label paper P. Label paper 302, which can be recorded on the surface, is temporarily attached to the backing sheet 301 at regular intervals. On the label paper 302, a print area 303 exists at a position separated by a predetermined distance from each end of the label paper 302. Further, there is a margin from the print area 303 to the end of the label paper 302, which is an upper margin, a lower margin, a left margin, and a right margin, respectively. In the present embodiment, the distance (gap) between the label paper 302 and the adjacent label paper 302 in the transport direction is 4.0 mm. The cutting position by the cutter 401 described above is configured to be the center of the interval between the label papers 302 (a position 2.0 mm from the end of the label paper 302) unless the power supply capacity is exceeded, as described later. The cut position of the label paper 302 is set as a default cut position.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the current consumption of the recording head and the cut position of the continuous label paper P according to the present embodiment. As described above, in the present embodiment, the recording head 10 has 1200 nozzles arranged in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction A for each of the K, M, C, and Y inks. Then, each of the 1200 nozzles forms one group with 75 nozzles according to the time division driving. The arrangement of the group or the nozzles in the group may be linear, may not be linear, and may be arranged in various shapes. For example, they may be arranged in a staggered manner for each group.

  As one recording example of the present embodiment, the same image is recorded on a plurality of pages (a plurality of labels). Therefore, in this recording example, the amount of current consumption is calculated for the first page of the recording data of the same image. If the image to be recorded differs for each page, it goes without saying that the current consumption amount described below is calculated for each page.

  The CPU 201 counts the number of dots (ejection of ink) for each ink color from the print data of the image of one page. More specifically, at the image position 303 (hereinafter, also referred to as an image area) recorded on the label paper by the recording head, dot counting is performed for each area at 1 mm intervals in the transport direction, and the current amount due to the ejection of the recording head is calculated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the length of the image area 303 in the transport direction A is 77 mm, the dot count is performed with respect to the current consumption. The above-described area with an interval of 1 mm corresponds to the groups G1 to G80 of 81 nozzles. . As described above, this group Gk (k = 1 to 80) is composed of 75 × 4 nozzles that are simultaneously driven for the four color inks, and is a group related to the calculation of the current consumption. More specifically, as the label paper is conveyed in the direction A with respect to the recording head 10, for example, the area 1 mm from the downstream end of the image area 303 is printed when only the K ink nozzles are printed. The group related to the calculation of the current consumption amount at that time is the group G1. Similarly, the area of 2 mm from the downstream end corresponds to the nozzles of the K ink and the C ink, and corresponds to the group G2. Further, the area of 3 mm from the downstream end corresponds to the nozzles of the K, C, and M inks, and corresponds to the group G3. Similarly, the area of N mm (when 4 ≦ N ≦ 77) from the downstream end corresponds to all the nozzles of K, C, M, and Y inks, and the current consumption calculation group is the group GN. When N is 78 to 80, it is the same as the case where N is 1 to 3 described above.

  Based on the dot count value, the current consumption is calculated for each of the groups G1 to G80. The current consumption calculated in this way is shown in a graph 403. In the graph, the horizontal axis shows groups G1 to G80, and the vertical axis shows the amount of current consumption calculated for each group. In the graph, the consumed current amount 403Bk of black (K), the consumed current amount 403C of cyan (C), the consumed current amount 403M of magenta (M), and the consumed current amount 403Y of yellow (Y) overlap in order from the bottom. Represents.

  For example, the total amount of current consumption required for recording 1 mm from the downstream end of the image area 303 in the transport direction A is group G1. At this time, the group G1 consumes only 403K of current because the recording head ejects black (K) ink. In addition, the total amount of current consumption necessary for recording 2 mm from the downstream end of the image area 303 in the transport direction A is defined as a group G2. At this time, the group G2 is the sum of the current consumption 403K and the current consumption 403C for ejecting black (K) and cyan (C) inks of the recording head. Further, the total amount of current consumption necessary for recording 3 mm from the downstream end of the image area 303 in the transport direction A is defined as a group G3. At this time, the group G3 is the sum of the current consumption of black (K), cyan (C), and magenta (M) of the recording head. Furthermore, the total amount of current consumption required for recording 4 mm from the downstream end of the image area 303 in the transport direction A is group G4. At this time, the group G4 is the total amount of current consumption because the recording head ejects black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) inks. In addition, up to the group G77, since the four colors of ink are ejected as in the group G4, the sum of the consumed current amounts of the four colors. The total amount of current consumption required for recording 3 mm from the upstream end of the image area 303 in the transport direction A is referred to as a group G78. The group G78 includes cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) of the recording head. ) Is the total amount of current consumption for ejecting ink. The total amount of current consumption required for recording 2 mm from the upstream end of the image area 303 in the transport direction A is group G79, and magenta (M) and yellow (Y) are obtained by removing cyan (C) from group G78. Is the total amount of current consumption for ejecting the ink. The total amount of current consumption required for recording 1 mm from the upstream end of the image area 303 in the transport direction A is group G80, and is the total amount of current consumption only for yellow (Y).

  As described above, the CPU 201 calculates the amount of current consumed by the ink required for printing by advancing the image area 303 by 1 mm in the transport direction A, and determines a cut position of the printing medium P described later.

  In the present embodiment, in the case of the default setting, the recording medium P is cut by the cutter when the recording head 10 reaches the position of the group GN. Therefore, the total current consumption of each color of the group GN is calculated, and it is confirmed whether or not the current exceeds the upper limit of 4 [A]. If the total current consumption of the group GN does not exceed 4 [A], there is no problem because the power supply capacity does not exceed even if the cutting is performed by the cutter at the default cutting position. Further, a position that advances 1 mm in the transport direction A from the position of the group GN is referred to as a group GN-1, and a position that retracts 1 mm in the transport direction A from the position of the group GN is referred to as a group GN + 1. Further, a position each time advancing by 1 mm in the transport direction A is referred to as a group GN-2, a group GN-3,.

  On the other hand, when the total current consumption of the group GN exceeds 4 [A], the current consumption of the region (group GN-1, group GN + 1) 1 mm before and after the position of the group GN exceeds 4 [A]. Check if it is. Then, as shown in the graph 403, when the current consumption of the group GN-1 does not exceed 4 [A], the timing of the cutting operation is advanced by 1 mm, that is, in the transport direction from the default cutting position. A is advanced by 1 mm.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, since the distance (gap) between the label sheets 302 is 4.0 mm, the area (group GN-2, group GN + 2) 2 mm before and after the group GN is set. Check whether the current consumption exceeds 4 [A]. Then, by changing the timing of the cutting operation so that the current consumption does not exceed 4 [A], control is performed so as not to exceed the power supply capacity without changing the recording speed. However, in some cases, the upper limit of 4 [A] may be exceeded in the range from the group GN-2 to the group GN + 2.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams before the current consumption of the print head in the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment exceeds the upper limit of 4 [A], respectively, and FIG. FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram after the state of FIG. The distance (gap) between the label sheets 302 is 4 mm. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, if there is no group whose current consumption is within 4 [A] in the range of 4 mm, the range is expanded to 6 mm. For example, when the current consumption of the group GN-3 or the group GN + 3 is within 4 [A], the ejection start timing of the recording head 10 is moved by 1 mm in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction A, and the margin is moved by 1 mm. By doing so, the current consumption can be kept within 4 [A]. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the position is moved upward by 1 mm in the print area 303 with respect to the label paper 302. If the print area 303 is wide and the upper margin / lower margin is about 4 mm, the user may feel discomfort by moving 1 mm, but the print area 303 is narrower and the upper margin / lower margin is 20 mm. In this case, even if the user moves 1 mm, the user does not feel uncomfortable. Therefore, when the upper margin / lower margin is equal to or larger than the threshold value, the position of the print area 303 may be moved by 1 mm or 2 mm.

  If the interval between the label papers 302 exceeds 4 [A] even if the timing of the cutting operation is changed within the range of 4 mm, or the upper margin / lower margin is only about several mm, and the position of the print area 303 is changed. If it cannot be moved, the cutting operation is performed with the recording speed and current consumption reduced.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the current consumption of the recording head when the recording speed is reduced in the recording apparatus according to the present invention. By reducing the recording speed on the label paper 302 to 2/3, the amount of current required for recording also decreases to 2/3. Therefore, the current consumption of the group GN can be kept within 4 [A]. The decrease amount of the recording speed may be determined according to the excess current amount of the group GN. For example, when the current consumption of the group GN is 6 [A], the current consumption can be reduced to 4 [A] by reducing the recording speed to 2/3. If the current consumption of the group GN is 5 [A], the current consumption can be reduced to 4 [A] by reducing the recording speed to 4/5.

  By moving from the default cut position between the label papers 302 or moving the print area, a difference from other label papers not moved is created. On the other hand, the user may feel uncomfortable. Therefore, when changing the cut position, the recording speed is prioritized, and when the image quality is prioritized, the recording speed may be set to a low value. It may not be done.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart relating to setting of a cutting position in the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. First, it is determined whether or not the current consumption of the group GN, which is the default cut position (center between label papers) of the continuous label paper P, is within the upper limit of 4 [A] (S701). If the current consumption of the group GN is within 4 [A], the entire power consumption does not exceed the power supply capacity even at the default cut position, so that the flowchart ends and image recording is performed.

  On the other hand, when the current consumption of the group GN exceeds 4 [A], it is determined whether or not the operation mode (recording speed priority mode) that prioritizes the recording speed described with reference to FIG. 7 (S702). In the recording speed priority operation mode, whether or not the recording speed is prioritized is set by the user. If the mode is the recording speed priority mode, the process proceeds to step S703. On the other hand, if the mode is not the recording speed priority mode, the recording speed is reduced (S709), the current consumption of the group GN is set within 4 [A], the default cut position is set, and the flowchart ends.

  In step S703, if there is a group whose current consumption is within 4 [A] in the range from group GN-2 to group GN + 2, the cut position is changed from the default cut position according to the range from group GN-2 to group GN + 2. It is moved within a range of ± 2 mm (S704). In the present embodiment, the interval between the label sheets 302 is 4 mm, so that the range is from the group GN-2 to the group GN + 2. However, the range of the group GN is changed according to the interval between the label sheets 302. You may.

  On the other hand, if the current consumption of the group in the range from group GN-2 to group GN + 2 exceeds 4 [A], the range is further expanded, and the current consumption in the range from group GN-3 to group +3 is 4 [A]. It is determined whether there is a group within [A] (S705). In step S705, if there is a group whose current consumption is within 4 [A], it is next determined whether or not the upper margin / lower margin of the label paper 302 is 20 mm or more (S706). If the upper margin / lower margin of the label paper 302 is 20 mm or more, the cutting position of the continuous label paper P is moved by 2 mm in the direction opposite to the transport direction A (S707), and the printing area is also moved by 1 mm (S708). , The cutting position is set, and the flowchart ends.

  In step S705, if there is only a group exceeding 4 [A] in the range from group GN-3 to group GN + 3, and if the upper margin / lower margin is less than 20 mm in step S706, the process proceeds to step S709 to reduce the recording speed. The current consumption of the group GN is reduced to a speed that does not exceed 4 [A], a default cut position is set, and the flowchart ends.

  The above is an example of the embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified and implemented without changing the gist thereof.

10 Recording head 100 Host computer PC
101 Recording device (printer)
108 Paper feed unit 120 Transport unit 200 Control unit 400 Cutter unit

Claims (7)

A recording head for discharging ink,
Conveyance means for conveying a recording medium in which a plurality of recording areas are arranged at intervals with respect to the recording head,
A cutting unit that cuts the recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit in the area of the interval,
If the power consumed when performing recording by discharging ink from the recording head to the recording area is larger than a predetermined value, control is performed such that the relative position between the cutting position by the cutting unit and the recording position by the recording head is shifted. Control means for performing
A recording device comprising:   2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates the power consumption of the print head in a predetermined range of the print area when performing printing by discharging ink from the print head to the print area. Recording device.   The control unit controls the cutting position by the cutting unit to be shifted within the interval when the interval between the recording region and the adjacent recording region is larger than a predetermined distance. 3. The recording device according to 1 or 2.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit shifts a printing position of the printing head.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutting unit cuts the recording medium using a rotary cutter.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is a roll of label paper. A recording step of recording an image by a recording head that discharges ink,
For the recording head, a conveying step of conveying a recording medium having a plurality of recording areas arranged at intervals,
A cutting step of cutting the recording medium conveyed in the conveying step in the area of the interval;
When the power consumed when performing recording by discharging ink from the recording head to the recording area is larger than a predetermined value, control is performed such that the relative position between the cutting position in the cutting step and the recording position in the recording step is shifted. A power control method comprising:

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