JP2020163579A - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an inkjet printer which allows an additional head to be fitted between a ground printing head and a color printing head.SOLUTION: An inkjet printer of a serial system comprises: a ground printing head 100 for discharging underlayer ink on a printing medium; a color printing head 200 for discharging ink of at least two colors among yellow, magenta, cyan and black on the printing medium; and a carriage 20A for scanning the ground printing head 100 and the color printing head 200 relative to the printing medium. In the inkjet printer of a serial system, the ground printing head 100 and the color printing head 200 are arranged alienated in a direction orthogonal to a scanning direction by the carriage 20A. In between the ground printing head 100 and the color printing head 200 that are capable of printing together in the same scanning relative to the printing medium, an additional head fitting part 310 is provided to fit an additional head 300 for discharging ink.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to an inkjet printer.

An inkjet printer that ejects ink that base-treats a printing medium prior to ejecting printing ink is known. For example, the inkjet printers described in Patent Document 1 are arranged at a predetermined pitch along the transport direction of printing paper, and have a first nozzle row for ejecting printing ink and a row upstream of the first nozzle row in the transport direction. It is arranged in the area and includes a second nozzle row capable of ejecting printing ink or precoat ink. In the inkjet printer, the second nozzle row capable of injecting the precoat ink is arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction from the first nozzle row in which the printing ink is ejected. Therefore, when the precoat ink is used, first, the precoat ink is ejected from the second nozzle row toward the print medium to form the base layer on the print medium, and then the base layer is formed from the first nozzle. Printing ink is sprayed onto the area. As a result, the permeation of the printing ink into the printing medium is suppressed, so that high-quality printing becomes possible.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-147426

However, in the above-mentioned conventional inkjet printer, it is assumed that the color head is attached to the attachment portion arranged on the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction from the base printing head attachment portion, and the head to be attached is attached. There was a problem that it was not possible to change various things.

An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer in which an additional head can be attached between a base printing head and a color printing head. Further, when the additional head is not attached, the purpose is to secure a drying time for the liquid discharged from the base printing head and to perform good printing quickly.

The inkjet printer according to the first aspect of the present invention has a base printing head that ejects background ink onto a print medium, and ejects ink of at least two colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black onto the print medium. In a serial type inkjet printer including a color printing head, a base printing head, and a scanning means for scanning the color printing head with respect to the printing medium, the base printing head and the color printing head The ink is placed between the base printing head and the color printing head, which are arranged apart from each other in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction by the scanning means and can print together on the printing medium in the same scanning. It is characterized in that an additional head mounting portion to which an additional head for discharging is mounted is provided.

In this case, the additional head can be selectively attached to the additional head attachment portion to support various printing. Further, when the additional head is not attached, a drying time for the liquid discharged from the base printing head can be secured, and good printing can be performed quickly.

Further, corresponding to the additional head attached to the additional head mounting portion, at least one space of a maintenance mechanism for performing maintenance of the additional head or an ink flow path for supplying ink to the additional head is provided. You may.

In this case, the maintenance mechanism and the ink flow path can be attached to the space corresponding to the additional head attached to the additional head attachment portion.

Further, the control unit for controlling the ink ejection from the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head is provided, and the ink ejected by the additional head is yellow, magenta, or cyan. In the case of special color ink, which is an ink of a specific color which is a color different from black, black, and white, printing is performed together in the same scanning of the base ink, the color ink, and the special color ink on the printing medium. You may do it.

In this case, printing can be performed together in the same scanning of the printing medium with the base ink, the color ink, and the special color ink. Therefore, the printing time can be shortened as compared with the ink for printing, the color ink, and the spot color ink, which are printed in different relative scans in this order.

The base printing head, the color printing head, and a control unit for controlling ink ejection from the additional head are provided, and the control unit includes yellow, magenta, cyan, and black ink ejected by the additional head. In the case of a special color ink which is an ink of a specific color which is a color different from white, the ink of the color and the special color ink are applied to the area of the printing medium printed by the ink for the base. Printing may be performed together in the same scanning by.

In this case, printing can be executed on the area of the print medium printed by the base ink in the same scanning with the color ink and the spot color ink. Therefore, the printing time can be shortened as compared with the ink for printing, the color ink, and the spot color ink, which are printed in different relative scans in this order.

Further, the base printing head, the color printing head, and a control unit for controlling ink ejection from the additional head are provided, and the control unit includes ink ejected by the additional head to control the color of the printing medium. In the case of the discharge printing ink to be ejected, printing may be executed together in the same scanning of the discharge printing ink and the color ink on the printing medium.

In this case, printing can be executed together in the same scanning of the discharge printing ink discharged by the additional head and the color ink on the printing medium. Therefore, the printing time can be shortened as compared with the printing in which the discharge printing ink and the color ink are printed in different relative scans in this order.

Further, the base printing head, the color printing head, and a control unit for controlling the ejection of ink from the additional head are provided. In the control unit, the ink ejected by the additional head determines the color of the printing medium. In the case of discharge printing ink to be ejected, after setting either the scanning position including the discharge printing start position by the additional head or the scanning position including the discharge printing completion position by the additional head to the start position of color printing by the color printing head. Color printing may be performed by the color printing head on the area of the printing medium that has been discharge-printed by the discharge printing ink.

In this case, as compared with the case where the discharge printing and the color printing are performed by a completely different device, the color printing can be performed without shifting the area of the print medium printed by the discharge printing ink.

Further, the base printing head, the color printing head, and a control unit for controlling the ejection of ink from the additional head are provided. In the control unit, the ink ejected by the additional head determines the color of the printing medium. In the case of discharge printing ink to be ejected, after either the scanning position including the discharge printing start position by the additional head or the scanning position including the discharge printing completion position by the additional head is set to the base printing start position by the background printing head. , Printing on the printing medium with the base ink and color printing with the color ink may be performed on the area of the printing medium printed by the discharge printing ink.

In this case, it is possible to perform printing on the printing medium with the base ink and color printing with the color ink on the area of the printing medium printed by the discharge printing ink.

Further, when the ink discharged by the additional head is a discharge printing ink that removes the color of the printing medium as compared with the case where the ink discharged by the additional head is not a discharge printing ink that removes the color of the printing medium, the ink for color printing is used. The control unit may control the background printing head so that the amount of ink ejected from at least one of the head or the background printing head is small.

In this case, when the ink ejected by the additional head is discharge printing ink, the amount of ink ejected from at least one of the color printing head or the base printing head can be saved.

When the ink ejected by the additional head is a special color ink which is a specific color ink which is a color different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white, the base ink and the color ink. In the first print mode in which printing is performed together in the same scanning on the print medium by the special color ink, or the area of the print medium printed by the base ink, the ink of the color and the ink of the color and A setting means for setting at least one of the second print modes for executing printing together in the same scan on the print medium by the special color ink may be provided.

In this case, either the first print mode or the second print mode can be set by the setting means. Therefore, the print mode can be set according to the print medium.

When the ink ejected by the additional head is a special color ink which is a specific color ink which is a color different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white, the base ink and the color ink. In the first print mode in which printing is performed together in the same scanning on the print medium by the spot color ink, or the area of the print medium printed by the base ink, the color ink and A setting means for setting one of the second printing modes for executing printing together in the same scanning with the spot color ink may be provided.

In this case, one of the first print mode and the second print mode can be set by the setting means. Therefore, the print mode can be set according to the print medium.

Further, in the first print scan in which the inkjet printer prints on the print medium, the base print head, the color print head, and the additional head are used for the base print upstream in the scanning direction by the scanning means. The head, the color printing head, and the additional head are located, and in the final printing scan, the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head are located downstream in the scanning direction by the scanning means. You may.

In this case, the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head can perform printing by scanning by scanning means.

Further, the mounting portion of the base printing head and the color printing so that the nozzle row of the base printing head, the nozzle row of the color printing head, and the nozzle row of the additional head are aligned or parallel to each other. The mounting portion of the head for use and the additional head mounting portion may be arranged.

In this case, the background printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head so that the nozzle row of the background printing head, the nozzle row of the color printing head, and the nozzle row of the additional head are aligned or parallel to each other. Is attached, so that the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head can print by scanning by the scanning means.

The inkjet printer according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of first heads that eject a printing material onto a printing medium, a second head that ejects a printing material having a composition different from that of the printing material ejected by the first head, and the above. A main scanning direction in which the first head and the second head move relative to the print medium, and the control unit for controlling the ejection of ink from the second head are provided. Of the first head and the second head in a serial type inkjet printer in which the first head and the second head move relative to the printing medium in a sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction for printing. The first head and the second head are arranged apart from each other in the sub-scanning direction so as to be longer than the length of the head having the shorter nozzle row in the sub-scanning direction in the sub-scanning direction. At the time of printing, the control unit faces the first head, then faces the separated portion between the first head and the second head, and further faces the second head. As described above, the first head, the second head, and the printing medium are moved relative to each other, and the printing material discharged from the first head to the printing medium is before facing the second head. It is characterized in that it faces a separated portion between the first head and the second head.

In this case, it is not necessary to provide a weight time between the ejection of the first head and the ejection of the second head, and the printing time can be shortened as compared with the case where the weight time is provided.

Further, the first head may be a head that ejects a printing material for a base, and the second head may be a head that ejects a printing material to be overlapped with a printing portion by the base printing head.

In this case, it is not necessary to provide a weight time between the ejection of the printing material for the substrate by the first head and the ejection of the printing material to be overlapped with the printing portion by the substrate printing head from the second head, and the weight time is increased. The printing time can be shortened as compared with the case of providing.

Further, the first head is a head for ejecting the printing material for the base, and the second head may eject the printing material to the printing portion of the printing material for the base by the first head.

In this case, it is not necessary to provide a weight time between the ejection of the printing material for the substrate by the first head and the ejection of the printing material to the printing portion by the substrate printing head from the second head, and the weight time is provided. The printing time can be shortened in some cases.

Further, the first head may be a head that ejects white ink or a discharge printing material.

Further, the second head may be a head for yellow, magenta, cyan, black ink, or a spot color ink different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white ink.

Also,
L: Distance between the first head and the second head,
Tpw: Time until the nozzle of the second head prints on the portion printed by the nozzle of the first head of the first head.
Tcr: total time of main scan return,
Tw: Weight time,
Ln: Length of nozzle row in the sub-scanning direction (hereinafter, also referred to as “nozzle length”),
In: When the number of interlaces is taken, L ≧ (Tpw · Ln) / ((Tcr + Tw) · In) may be used.

When the condition of L ≧ (Tpw ・ Ln) / ((Tcr + Tw) ・ In) is satisfied, it is not necessary to provide a weight time between the discharge of the first head and the discharge of the second head, and the weight time. The printing time can be shortened as compared with the case of providing.

Further, the additional head may eject at least one of a discharge printing ink that removes the color of the printing medium, or a special color ink that is different from the base ink and the color ink.

Further, the base printing head and the color printing head may be mounted on one carriage. In this case, the base printing head and the color printing head are scanned by scanning one carriage.

It is a perspective view of the printer 1. It is a perspective view of the printer 1 which removed the housing 2. It is a top view of the structure of maintenance part 141, 142. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of the printer 1. It is a top view of the carriage 20A. It is a top view of the carriage 20B. It is a top view of the carriage 20B. It is a top view of the carriage 20B. It is a top view of the carriage 20B. It is a top view of the carriage 20B. It is a top view of the carriage 20C. It is a top view of the carriage 20C. It is a top view of the carriage 20C. It is a top view of the carriage 20D. It is a top view of the carriage 20E. It is a top view of the maintenance unit 145A. It is a top view of the maintenance unit 145B. It is a figure of the ink flow path 70A. It is a figure of the ink flow path 70B. It is a figure of the ink flow path 70C. It is a flowchart of the ink amount setting process. It is a flowchart of a mode setting process. It is a flowchart of a print process. It is a figure which shows the nozzle surface 60 of a head. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 at the base printing start position. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 at the color printing start position. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 at the base printing start position. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 at the printing start position with the spot color ink. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 in the state where the spot color ink and the color ink can be ejected at the same time (color printing start position). It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 at the discharge printing start position. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 which is in the state of being able to eject discharge ink and color ink at the same time (color printing start position). It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 at the discharge printing start position. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which passed through the platen 5 at the discharge printing completion position. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 at the base printing start position. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which moves toward the platen 5 in the state where white ink and color ink can be ejected at the same time (color printing start position). It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the carriage 20A which passed through the platen 5 at the base printing completion position. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the moving carriage 20A which passed through the platen 5 at the color printing completion position. It is a figure which shows the discharge printing start position when a plurality of discharge ink heads 302A and 302B are provided in the main scanning direction. It is a figure which shows the base | base start position when a plurality of white ink heads 101A, 101B are provided in the main scanning direction. It is a figure which shows the base | base start position when a plurality of color printing heads 201A, 201B are provided in the main scanning direction. It is a conceptual diagram of a printing process.

The configuration of the printer 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The upper, lower, lower left, upper right, lower right, and upper left of FIG. 1 are the upper, lower, front, rear, right, and left of the printer 1, respectively.

<Mechanical configuration of printer 1>
The printer 1 is a serial type inkjet printer that prints by ejecting a liquid onto a cloth such as a T-shirt and a printing medium (not shown) such as paper. The printer 1 discharges, for example, five types of inks (white (W), black (K), yellow (Y), cyan (C), and magenta (M)) that are different from each other as liquids downward. , Print a color image on a print medium. In the following description, among the five types of ink, white ink is referred to as white ink, and when the four color inks of black, cyan, yellow, and magenta are collectively referred to as color ink.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printer 1 includes a housing 2, a platen drive mechanism 6, a platen 5, a tray 4, a frame 10, a guide shaft 9, a rail 11, a carriage 20, a head 100, 200, and a drive belt. A maintenance unit 141, 142 (see FIG. 3) and the like are provided in the 101, the drive motor 19, and the non-printing area 140 described later. The housing 2 has a box shape having openings on each of the front surface and the back surface. An operation unit 47 is provided at a position on the right front side of the housing 2. The operation unit 47 includes a display 49 and an operation button 46. The operation button 46 is operated when the user inputs instructions regarding various operations of the printer 1. The display 49 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) capable of displaying various information.

The platen drive mechanism 6 uses a motor (not shown) provided at the rear end as a drive source to drive the platen 5 and the tray 4 in the front-rear direction (hereinafter, not shown) of the housing 2 along a pair of guide rails (not shown). , Also referred to as "sub-scanning direction"). The platen 5 has a rectangular plate shape in a plan view. A printing medium, which is a cloth such as a T-shirt, is placed on the upper surface of the platen 5. The tray 4 has a rectangular shape in a plan view and is provided below the platen 5. When the operator places the T-shirt or the like on the platen 5, the tray 4 receives the sleeve or the like of the T-shirt and protects the sleeve or the like from contacting other parts inside the housing 2.

The frame body 10 has a rectangular frame shape in a plan view. The frame body 10 is installed on the upper part of the housing 2. The frame body 10 supports the guide shaft 9 and the rail 11 on the inside, respectively. The carriage 20 is supported so as to be conveyed in the left-right direction (hereinafter, also referred to as “main scanning direction”) along the guide shaft 9. The heads 100 and 200, and the head 300 described later, are mounted on the carriage 20. The head 100 is located behind the head 200. As shown in FIG. 24, nozzle surfaces 60 are provided on the bottom surfaces of the heads 100 and 200 and the head 300 described later. On the nozzle surface 60, a fine nozzle 61 is mounted in the front-rear direction (sub-scanning direction). A plurality of nozzle rows 62 provided in the above are provided. The nozzle length, which is the length of the nozzle row 62 in the front-rear direction, is Ln. Ink droplets are ejected downward from the nozzle 61 by driving the piezoelectric element. When printing on a print medium when the platen 5 moves from the rear side to the front side, the rear side of the nozzle surface 60 is the upstream side (the side to be printed first) in the sub-scanning direction. As for the printing start positions of the color printing head 200, the base printing head 100, and the additional head 300, the rearmost nozzle used for printing in each head is located at the rearmost side of the printing area. The length of the nozzle surface 60 in the sub-scanning direction is H. The heads in this case all have the same outer shape and nozzle surface 60 even if the inks to be ejected are different.

The drive belt 101 has a strip shape that is bridged along the left-right direction inside the frame body 10. The drive motor 19 can rotate in the forward and reverse directions, and is connected to the carriage 20 via a drive belt 101. While the platen 5 conveys the print medium in the front-rear direction (conveyance direction, sub-scanning direction), ink is ejected from the heads 100, 200, and 300 that reciprocate in the left-right direction by driving the drive motor 19, so that the printer 1 Is printed on a print medium.

A mounting portion 3 is provided on the right side of the printer 1. In the present embodiment, the cartridge 30 is connected to the mounting portion 3. The cartridge 30 is a cartridge that supplies the liquid contained in the cartridge 30 to the head of the printer 1.

<Structure of maintenance section>
The structure of the maintenance unit will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, maintenance units 141 and 142 are provided in the non-printing area 140 below the movement paths of the heads 100 and 200, respectively. The maintenance units 141 and 142 include a wiper 81, a nozzle cap 91, an exhaust cap 93, and the like. In the maintenance units 141 and 142, various maintenance operations such as purging and wiping the nozzle surface are executed in order to recover the ink ejection performance of the heads 100 and 200 and ensure the print quality of the printer 1. The purge is an operation in which the heads 100 and 200 are covered with the nozzle cap 91 and the exhaust cap 93, respectively, and ink containing foreign matter or air bubbles is discharged from the heads 100 and 200 and the like. By executing the purge, the printer 1 can reduce the possibility that ink containing foreign matter and air bubbles is sucked from the heads 100 and 200, for example, and a ejection failure occurs in the heads 100 and 200. The nozzle surface wiping is an operation of wiping the excess ink and the like remaining on the surface of the nozzle surface 60 of the heads 100 and 200 with the wiper 81. An empty space 143 for the maintenance unit for maintaining the additional head 300 is provided between the maintenance units 141 and 142.

<Electrical configuration of printer 1>
The electrical configuration of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The printer 1 includes a CPU 40 that controls the printer 1. The CPU 40 includes a ROM 41, a RAM 42, a head drive unit 43, a main scan drive unit 44, a sub scan drive unit 45, an ASIC 18, a display control unit 48, an operation processing unit 50, a cartridge sensor 33, and a head sensor 34 for a bus 39. It is electrically connected via.

The ROM 41 stores a control program, initial values, and the like for the CPU 40 to control the operation of the printer 1. Various data, flags, and the like used in the control program are temporarily stored in the RAM 42. The head drive unit 43 is electrically connected to the heads 100 and 200 that eject ink, drives piezoelectric elements provided in the ejection channels of the heads 100 and 200 (see FIG. 2), and ejects ink from the nozzles. Let me.

The main scanning drive unit 44 includes a drive motor 19 (see FIG. 2) and moves the carriage 20 in the main scanning direction. The sub-scanning drive unit 45 drives the platen drive mechanism 6 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) to move the platen 5 (see FIG. 1) in the sub-scanning direction. The ASIC 18 controls the head drive unit 43, the main scan drive unit 44, and the sub scan drive unit 45. The cartridge sensor 33 detects the attachment / detachment and type of the cartridge 30 containing the ink. The head sensor 34 detects the type of head mounted on the additional head mounting portion 310. The head sensor 34 is provided in the additional head mounting portion 310, is composed of a plurality of microswitches as an example, detects the unevenness of the additional head 300, and detects the type of the additional head 300. Note that the CPU 40 can eject the respective inks by the heads 100, 200, and 300 (described later) when the carriage 20 moves in either the left or right direction. The CPU 40 can eject the respective inks by the heads 100, 200, and 300 when the platen 5 moves in any of the front and rear directions. Hereinafter, the head 100 is also referred to as a "base printing head 100", the head 200 is also referred to as a "color printing head 200", and the head 300 is also referred to as an "additional head 300".

<Structure of carriage 20A>
The carriage 20A, which is the first embodiment of the carriage 20, will be described with reference to FIG. The carriage 20A is a rectangle that is long in the front-rear direction when viewed in a plan view. As shown in FIG. 5, a head printing head mounting portion 110 for base printing is provided on the rear side of the carriage 20A. The base printing head 100 is attached to the base printing head mounting portion 110. An example of the head 100 is a white ink head. The base printing head mounting portion 110 has an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface (not shown) on the lower surface of the head 100 downward, and a screw hole (not shown) for fixing the head 100. It is provided. A head mounting portion 210 for color printing is provided on the front side of the carriage 20A. A head 200 for color printing is attached to the head attachment portion 210 for color printing. An example of the head 200 is a head for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. Further, in the color printing head mounting portion 210, an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface (not shown) on the lower surface of the head 200 downward and a screw hole (not shown) for fixing the head 200 are provided. ) Is provided. Further, the base printing head 100 and the color printing head 200 are arranged apart from each other in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The separation distance (FIG. 5: La = m1 + m2) is more than twice the value M obtained by (Equation 1) described later.

That is, in FIG. 5, m1 and m2 are distances when one additional head 300 is virtually arranged between the first head 101A and the second head 201A. In FIG. 5, it is assumed that the additional head 300, the first head 101A, and the second head 201A are aligned in the sub-scanning direction, and their nozzle rows are also in a straight line in the sub-scanning direction. In FIG. 5, M is an bleeding prevention distance obtained by the same mathematical formula as L based on the same idea as L with respect to the first head 100 or the second head 200 with respect to the additional head 300. The magnitude relation of these distances is m1 ≧ M, m2 ≧ M, and La = m1 + m2 ≧ 2M. Therefore, even if one additional head 300 is arranged between the first head 101A and the second head 201A in FIG. 5, bleeding of the ink of the additional head 300 is prevented.

As shown in FIG. 5, an additional head mounting portion 310 is provided between the base printing head mounting portion 110 and the color printing head mounting portion 210. An additional head 300 is attached to the additional head mounting portion 310. That is, an additional head mounting portion 310 to which the additional head 300 can be mounted is provided between the base printing head 100 and the color printing head 200. An example of the additional head 300 is a special color ink head 301 which is an ink of a specific color different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white, or discharge printing which ejects a discharge ink that removes the color of a printing medium. The ink head 302. Examples of spot color inks are fluorescent colors, gold, silver, metallic colors, pastel colors and the like. In the drawing, among the heads for background printing 100, the white head is "W", and among the color printing heads 200, the heads for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are "C", and the head for spot color ink 301. Is indicated by “S”, and the discharge ink head 302 is indicated by “D”.

<Structure of carriage 20B>
The carriage 20B of the second embodiment of the carriage 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The carriage 20B is a rectangle that is long in the front-rear direction when viewed in a plan view. As shown in FIG. 6, similarly to the carriage 20A of the first embodiment, the carriage 20B includes a base printing head mounting portion 110A and an additional head from the left side of the center of the carriage 20B and from the rear side to the front side. A mounting portion 310A and a color printing head mounting portion 210A are provided. Further, in the carriage 20B, on the right side of the base printing head mounting portion 110A, the additional head mounting portion 310A, and the color printing head mounting portion 210A, the base printing head mounting portion 110B is added from the rear side to the front. A head mounting portion 310B and a color printing head mounting portion 210B are provided. The base printing head mounting portion 110B is provided so as to be offset forward by a predetermined length from the base printing head mounting portion 110A. Further, the additional head mounting portion 310B is also provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the additional head mounting portion 310A. Further, the color printing head mounting portion 210B is also provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the color printing head mounting portion 210A.

The base printing head mounting portions 110A and 110B, the additional head mounting portions 310A and 310B, and the color printing head mounting portions 210A and 210B are the base printing head mounting portion 110 and the additional head of the carriage 20A of the first embodiment, respectively. It has the same structure as the mounting portion 310 and the color printing head mounting portion 210. White ink heads 101A and 101B are attached to the base printing head attachment portions 110A and 110B. Further, color printing heads 201A and 201B are attached to the color printing head mounting portions 210A and 210B. No additional head is attached to the additional head attachment portions 310A and 310B. Further, the separation distance (FIG. 6: Lb = m3 + m4) between the white ink head 101A and the color printing head 201A in the sub-scanning direction is more than twice the value M obtained by (Equation 1) described later.

That is, in FIG. 6, m3 and m4 are the assumed distances as in FIG. 5 when one additional head 300 is virtually arranged between the first head 101A and the second head 201A. In FIG. 6, it is assumed that the additional head 300, the first head 101A, and the second head 201A are aligned in the sub-scanning direction, and their nozzle rows are also in a straight line in the sub-scanning direction. In FIG. 6, M is an bleeding prevention distance obtained by the same mathematical formula as L based on the same idea as L with respect to the first head 101A or the second head 201A with respect to the additional head 300. The magnitude relation of these distances is m3 ≧ M, m4 ≧ M, and Lb = m3 + m4 ≧ 2M. Therefore, even if one additional head 300 is arranged between the first head 101A and the second head 201A in FIG. 6, bleeding of the ink of the additional head 300 is prevented.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the spot color ink heads 301A and 301B are attached to the additional head attachment portions 310A and 310B of the carriage 20B of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, respectively. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the discharge ink heads 302A and 302B are attached to the additional head attachment portions 310A and 310B of the carriage 20B of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, respectively. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the discharge ink head 302A is attached to the additional head mounting portion 310A of the carriage 20B of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, and the spot color ink head 301B is attached to the additional head mounting portion 310B. .. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the spot color ink head 301A is attached to the additional head mounting portion 310A of the carriage 20B of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, and the discharge printing ink head 302B is attached to the additional head mounting portion 310B. ..

<Structure of carriage 20C>
The carriage 20C of the third embodiment of the carriage 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The carriage 20C has the same shape as the carriage 20B of the second embodiment when viewed in a plan view, and is a rectangle long in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 11, the first head mounting portion 111A is provided on the left side and the rear side of the carriage 20C from the center. The first head is attached to the first head attachment portion 111A. An example of the first head is the white ink head 101A or the discharge ink head 302A. The first head mounting portion 111A has an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface (not shown) on the lower surface of the first head downward, and a screw hole (not shown) for fixing the first head. Is provided. A second head mounting portion 211A is provided on the front side of the carriage 20C. A second head is attached to the second head attachment portion 211A. An example of the second head is a color printing head 201A or a spot color ink head 301A. Further, the second head mounting portion 211A has an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface (not shown) on the lower surface of the second head downward, and a screw hole (not shown) for fixing the second head. (Omitted) is provided. Therefore, the first head and the second head are arranged apart from each other in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. Unlike the carriage 20B, no additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A.

Further, in the carriage 20C, on the right side of the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A, the first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B are located from the rear side to the front. It is provided. No additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B. Further, the first head mounting portion 111B is provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the first head mounting portion 111A. Further, the second head mounting portion 211B is also provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the second head mounting portion 211A. The first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B have the same structure as the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A, respectively. An example of the first head attached to the first head mounting portion 111B is a white ink head 101B or a discharge ink head 302B. Further, an example of the second head attached to the second head mounting portion 211B is a color printing head 201B for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, or a color different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white. It is a special color ink head 301B which is an ink of a specific color. In FIG. 11, white ink heads 101A and 101B are attached to the first head attachment portions 111A and 111B of the carriage 20C. Further, color printing heads 201A and 201B are attached to the second head attachment portions 211A and 211B.

In FIG. 12, the white ink heads 101A and 101B are attached to the first head attachment portions 111A and 111B of the carriage 20C, the color printing head 201B is attached to the second head attachment portion 211A, and the second head attachment portion is attached. The state in which the special color ink head 301B is attached to 211B is shown. In FIG. 13, the discharge ink head 302A is attached to the first head attachment portion 111A of the carriage 20C, the white ink head 101B is attached to the first head attachment portion 111B, and the second head attachment portions 211A and 211B are attached. , The state in which the color printing heads 201A and 201B are attached, respectively.

In FIG. 13, the discharge ink heads 302A and 302B are attached to the first head attachment portions 111A and 111B of the carriage 20C, and the color printing heads 201A and 201B are attached to the second head attachment portions 211A and 211B, respectively. Indicates the state of printing.

<Structure of carriage 20D>
The carriage 20D of the fourth embodiment of the carriage 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The carriage 20D is a rectangle that is long in the front-rear direction when viewed in a plan view. As shown in FIG. 14, the first head mounting portion 111A is provided on the leftmost side and the rear side of the carriage 20D. The first head is attached to the first head attachment portion 111A. An example of the first head is the white ink head 101A. The first head mounting portion 111A has an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface (not shown) on the lower surface of the first head downward, and a screw hole (not shown) for fixing the first head. Is provided. A second head mounting portion 211A is provided on the front side of the first head mounting portion 111A. A second head is attached to the second head attachment portion 211A. An example of the second head is the color printing head 201A. Further, the second head mounting portion 211A has an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface (not shown) on the lower surface of the second head downward, and a screw hole (not shown) for fixing the second head. (Omitted) is provided. The first head and the second head are arranged apart from each other in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The separation distance (FIG. 14: Lc = m5 + m6 + m7) is three times or more the value M obtained by (Equation 1) described later. No additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A.

That is, in FIG. 14, in m5 to m7, virtual heads (dashed lines) corresponding to the additional head 300 are virtually arranged between the first head 101A and the second head 201A in a row in the two sub-scanning directions. This is the assumed distance as in FIG. In FIG. 15, it is assumed that the two virtual heads corresponding to the additional head 300, the first head 101A, and the second head 201A are aligned in the sub-scanning direction, and their nozzle rows are also in a straight line in the sub-scanning direction. .. In FIG. 14, M is an bleeding prevention distance obtained by the same mathematical formula as L with respect to the first head 101A or the second head 201A with respect to the virtual head corresponding to the additional head 300, based on the same idea as L. The magnitude relation of these distances is m5 ≧ M, m6 ≧ M, m7 ≧ M, Lc = m5 + m6 + m7 ≧ 3M. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, even if two virtual heads corresponding to the additional head 300 are arranged in a row in the sub-scanning direction between the first head 101A and the second head 201A. Bleeding of the ink of the virtual head corresponding to the additional head 300 is prevented.

Further, in the carriage 20D, on the right side of the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A, the first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B are located from the rear side to the front side. It is provided. No additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B. Further, the first head mounting portion 111B is provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the first head mounting portion 111A. Further, the second head mounting portion 211B is also provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the second head mounting portion 211A. In the carriage 20D, the first head mounting portion 111C and the second head mounting portion 211C are provided on the right side of the first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B from the rear side to the front. ing. No additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111C and the second head mounting portion 211C. Further, the first head mounting portion 111C is provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the first head mounting portion 111B. Further, the second head mounting portion 211C is also provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the second head mounting portion 211B. The first head mounting portions 111B1 and 111C and the second head mounting portions 211B and 211C have the same structure as the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A, respectively. An example of the first head attached to the first head attachment portions 111A to 111C is the white ink heads 101A to 101C. Further, an example of the second head attached to the second head attachment portions 211A to 211C is the color printing heads 201A to 201C.

<Structure of carriage 20E>
The carriage 20E of the fifth embodiment of the carriage 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The carriage 20E is a rectangle that is long in the front-rear direction when viewed in a plan view. As shown in FIG. 15, the first head mounting portion 111A is provided on the leftmost side and the rear side of the carriage 20E. The first head is attached to the first head attachment portion 111A. An example of the first head is the white ink head 101A. The first head mounting portion 111A has an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface (not shown) on the lower surface of the first head downward, and a screw hole (not shown) for fixing the first head. Is provided. A second head mounting portion 211A is provided on the front side of the carriage 20E. A second head is attached to the second head attachment portion 211A. An example of the second head is a color printing head 201A for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. Further, the second head mounting portion 211A has an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface (not shown) on the lower surface of the second head downward, and a screw hole (not shown) for fixing the second head. (Omitted) is provided. The first head and the second head are arranged apart from each other in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The separation distance (FIG. 15: Ld = m8 + m9 + m10 + m11) is four times or more the value M obtained by (Equation 1) described later. No additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A.

That is, in FIG. 15, in m8 to m11, virtual heads (dashed lines) corresponding to the additional head 300 are virtually arranged between the first head 101A and the second head 201A in a row in the three sub-scanning directions. This is the assumed distance as in FIG. In FIG. 15, it is assumed that the three virtual heads corresponding to the additional head 300, the first head 101A, and the second head 201A are aligned in the sub-scanning direction, and their nozzle rows are also in a straight line in the sub-scanning direction. .. In FIG. 15, M is an bleeding prevention distance obtained by the same mathematical formula as L with respect to the first head 101A or the second head 201A with respect to the virtual head corresponding to the additional head 300, based on the same idea as L. The magnitude relation of these distances is m8 ≧ M, m9 ≧ M, m10 ≧ M, m11 ≧ M, Ld = m8 + m9 + m10 + m11 ≧ 4M. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, even if three virtual heads corresponding to the additional head 300 are arranged in a row in the sub-scanning direction between the first head 101A and the second head 201A, Bleeding of the virtual head corresponding to the additional head 300 is prevented.

Further, in the carriage 20E, on the right side of the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A, the first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B are located from the rear side to the front side. It is provided. No additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B. Further, the first head mounting portion 111B is provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the first head mounting portion 111A. Further, the second head mounting portion 211B is also provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the second head mounting portion 211A. In the carriage 20E, the first head mounting portion 111C and the second head mounting portion 211C are provided on the right side of the first head mounting portion 111B and the second head mounting portion 211B from the rear side to the front. ing. No additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111C and the second head mounting portion 211C. Further, the first head mounting portion 111C is provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the first head mounting portion 111B. Further, the second head mounting portion 211C is also provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the second head mounting portion 211B.

On the right side of the first head mounting portion 111C and the second head mounting portion 211C, the first head mounting portion 111D and the second head mounting portion 211D are provided from the rear side to the front. No additional head mounting portion is provided between the first head mounting portion 111D and the second head mounting portion 211D. Further, the first head mounting portion 111D is provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the first head mounting portion 111C. Further, the second head mounting portion 211D is also provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length from the second head mounting portion 211C. The first head mounting portions 111B, 111C, 111D and the second head mounting portions 211B, 211C, 211D have the same structure as the first head mounting portion 111A and the second head mounting portion 211A, respectively. An example of the first head attached to the first head attachment portions 111A to 111D is the white ink heads 101A to 101D. Further, an example of the second head attached to the second head attachment portions 211A to 211D is the color printing heads 201A to 201D.

<Structure of maintenance unit 145A>
The maintenance unit 145A corresponding to the carriage 20B of the second embodiment of the carriage 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The maintenance unit 145A shown in FIG. 16 corresponds to the carriage 20B shown in FIG. The maintenance unit 145A is provided in the non-printing area 140 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 16, in the maintenance unit 145A, the maintenance unit 141A is provided on the left side and the rear side on the base 146 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and the maintenance unit 142A is provided on the left side and the front side. There is. An empty space 143A is provided between the maintenance unit 141A and the maintenance unit 142A. Maintenance units 141B and 142B are provided on the right side of the maintenance units 141A and 142A. An empty space 143B is provided between the maintenance unit 141B and the maintenance unit 142B. The maintenance units 141B and 142B are provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length with respect to the maintenance units 141A and 142A, respectively. The structure of the maintenance units 141A, 142A, 141B, 142B is the same as that of the maintenance unit 141 shown in FIG.

<Structure of maintenance unit 145B>
The maintenance unit 145B corresponding to the carriage 20B of the second embodiment of the carriage 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The maintenance unit 145B shown in FIG. 17 corresponds to the carriage 20B shown in FIG. 7. The maintenance unit 145B is provided in the non-printing area 140 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, the maintenance unit 145B is provided with maintenance units 141A, 144A, 142A on the left side and from the rear side to the front on the base 146 having a rectangular shape in a plan view. Maintenance units 141B, 144B, 142B are provided on the right side of the maintenance units 141A, 144A, 142A from the rear side to the front side. The maintenance units 141B, 144B, and 142B are provided so as to be displaced forward by a predetermined length with respect to the maintenance units 141A, 144A, and 142A, respectively. The structure of the maintenance units 141A, 144A, 142A, 141B, 144B, 142B is the same as that of the maintenance unit 141 shown in FIG. The maintenance units 144A and 144B have been added to the empty space 143 shown in FIG. 3 due to the increase in the number of heads.

<Structure of ink flow path 70A>
The structure of the ink flow path 70A for supplying ink from the cartridge 30 to the head will be described with reference to FIG. The ink flow path 70A corresponds to the carriage 20B shown in FIG. Y, M, C, K, and W cartridges 30 are mounted on the mounting portion 3. A lid 32 is provided on the unused housing portion 31 of the mounting portion 3. One end of the tube 71 is connected to the Y, M, C, and K cartridges 30. The tube 71 shows a state in which tubes of each color of Y, M, C, and K are put together. The tube 71 branches into tubes 71A and 71B on the way. The other end of the tube 71A is connected to the color printing head 201A, and the other end of the tube 71B is connected to the color printing head 201B. Further, one end of the tube 72 is connected to the W cartridge 30. The tube 72 branches into tubes 72A and 72B on the way. The other end of the tube 72A is connected to the white ink head 101A, and the other end of the tube 72B is connected to the white ink head 101B.

<Structure of ink flow path 70B>
The structure of the ink flow path 70B will be described with reference to FIG. The ink flow path 70B corresponds to the carriage 20B shown in FIG. 7. The Y, M, C, K, and W cartridges 30 (not shown) and the spot color inks S1, S2, S3, and S4 cartridges 30 (not shown) are connected to the mounting portion 3. The spot color inks S1, S2, S3, and S4 may be the same color or different colors. One end of the tube 71 is connected to the Y, M, C, and K cartridges 30 (not shown). The tube 71 shows a state in which tubes of each color of Y, M, C, and K are put together. The tube 71 branches into tubes 71A and 71B on the way. The other end of the tube 71A is connected to the color printing head 201A, and the other end of the tube 71B is connected to the color printing head 201B. Further, one end of the tube 72 is connected to the W cartridge 30 (not shown). The tube 72 branches into tubes 72A and 72B on the way. The other end of the tube 72A is connected to the white ink head 101A, and the other end of the tube 72B is connected to the white ink head 101B.

Further, one end of the tube 74 is connected to the cartridge 30 (not shown) of the spot color inks S1 to S4. The tube 74 shows a state in which the tubes of the spot color inks S1 to S4 are put together. The tube 74 branches into tubes 74A and 74B on the way. The other end of the tube 74A is connected to the spot color ink head 301A, and the other end of the tube 74B is connected to the spot color ink head 301B. The tube 74 is configured to correspond to the spot color inks S1 to S4 and the four cartridges 30. As the tube 74, one to a maximum of four cartridges 30 of the spot color inks S1 to S4 may be selectively used according to the print content and the color of the spot color inks S1 to S4. A plurality of cartridges 30 of the spot color inks S1 to S4 of the same color may be mounted, and the spot color inks S1 to S4 may be supplied to the single spot color ink heads 301A and 301B from the plurality of cartridges 30 at the same time or by switching. An on-off valve (not shown) is provided in the flow path of the spot color inks S1 to S4 of the unused tube 74 so as not to affect the used tube 74.

<Structure of ink flow path 70C>
The structure of the ink flow path 70C will be described with reference to FIG. The ink flow path 70C corresponds to the carriage 20B shown in FIG. A Y, M, C, K, and W cartridge 30 (not shown) and a discharge ink cartridge 30 (not shown) are connected to the mounting portion 3. A lid 32 is provided on the unused housing portion 31 of the mounting portion 3. One end of the tube 71 is connected to the Y, M, C, and K cartridges 30 (not shown). The tube 71 shows a state in which tubes of each color of Y, M, C, and K are put together. The tube 71 branches into tubes 71A and 71B on the way. The other end of the tube 71A is connected to the color printing head 201A, and the other end of the tube 71B is connected to the color printing head 201B. Further, one end of the tube 72 is connected to the W cartridge 30 (not shown). The tube 72 branches into tubes 72A and 72B on the way. The other end of the tube 72A is connected to the white ink head 101A, and the other end of the tube 72B is connected to the white ink head 101B. Further, one end of the tube 73 is connected to the discharge printing ink (D) cartridge 30 (not shown). The tube 73 branches into tubes 73A and 73B on the way. The other end of the tube 73A is connected to the discharge ink head 302A, and the other end of the tube 73B is connected to the discharge ink head 302A.

<Distance L between leading nozzles that does not cause bleeding>
Hereinafter, the distance L between the leading nozzles where bleeding does not occur will be described with reference to FIG. A second head (color printing head) is printed on a portion printed by a leading nozzle (not shown) on the rear end side of the first head (base printing head 100 (W)) of the carriage 20A of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Assuming that the time until the first nozzle of 200 (C)) prints is Tpw,
L: Distance between head nozzles, that is, the head nozzle (not shown) on the rear end side of the first head (base printing head 100 (W)) and the head of the second head (color printing head 200 (C)). Distance to the nozzle,
Tpw: Time until the nozzle of the second head prints on the portion printed by the nozzle of the first head of the first head.
Tcr: total time of main scan,
Tw: Weight time,
Cw: Platen feed count Ln: Length of nozzle row in sub-scanning direction,
In: When the number of interlaces is taken as Tpw = (total time of main scan + weight time), (distance between head nozzles / nozzle length), number of interlaces Therefore, Tpw = (Tcr + Tw), Cw = (Tcr + Tw), (L) / Ln) ・ In
Here, by substituting Cw = (L / Ln) · In into the above equation and summarizing L,
L = (Tpw · Ln) / ((Tcr + Tw) · In) ... (Equation 1)
Therefore, in order to prevent bleeding
L ≧ (Tpw ・ Ln) / ((Tcr + Tw) ・ In) ・ ・ ・ (Equation 2)
Is desirable.

<Ink amount setting process>
The ink amount setting process will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 21. Since the CPU 40 is connected to the operation unit 47 or the printer 1, the CPU 40 detects the type of the additional head when there is an instruction to set the ink amount from a terminal device such as a PC (S11: YES) (S11: YES). S12). If the CPU 40 does not determine that the ink amount setting instruction has been given (S11: NO), the processing returns to S11. The CPU 40 detects the type of the additional head 300 attached to the additional head mounting portion 310 detected by the head sensor 34 (S12). When the CPU 40 detects the discharge ink head 302 (S13: YES), the CPU 40 performs an ink amount reduction process (S14). In the ink amount reduction process, the CPU 40 stores a flag in the RAM 42 that reduces the amount of ink in base printing or color printing as compared with the case where the head is not the discharge ink head 302. If the CPU 40 does not detect the discharge ink head 302 (S13: NO), the CPU 40 ends the ink amount setting process.

<Mode setting process>
The mode setting process will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 22. When the CPU 40 is connected to the operation unit 47 or the printer 1 and therefore receives an instruction for mode setting processing from a terminal device such as a PC (S21: YES), the CPU 40 determines whether the mode is the first print mode (S21: YES). S22). If the CPU 40 does not determine that the mode setting process has been instructed (S21: NO), the process returns to S21. When the CPU 40 determines that the instruction is for the first print mode (S22: YES), the CPU 40 stores a flag indicating the first print mode in the RAM 42 (S23). The first print mode is a print mode in which, when the ink ejected by the additional head 300 is a spot color ink, printing is executed together in the same scanning of the base ink, the color ink, and the spot color ink on the printing medium. Further, the CPU 40 does not determine that the instruction is for the first print mode (S22: NO), and if it determines that the instruction is for the second print mode (S24: YES), sets a flag indicating the second print mode to the RAM 42. It is stored in (S25). The second printing mode is a mode in which printing is executed on the area of the printing medium printed by the base ink in the same scanning with the color ink and the spot color ink. The CPU 40 does not determine that the instruction is for the first print mode (S22: NO), and does not determine that the instruction is for the second print mode (S24: NO), and ends the mode setting process.

<Printing process>
The printing process will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 23. When the CPU 40 is connected to the operation unit 47 or the printer 1 and therefore receives an instruction for printing processing from a terminal device such as a PC (S31: YES), the CPU 40 determines whether it is the first print mode (S32). ). When the flag stored in the RAM 42 is the flag of the first print mode, the CPU 40 determines that it is the first print mode (S32: YES), and prints in the first print mode (S33). The CPU 40 determines that the flag stored in the RAM 42 is not the flag of the first print mode (S32: NO), but is the second print mode (S34: YES) in the case of the second print mode (S34: NO). YES), printing is performed in the second print mode (S35). When the flag stored in the RAM 42 does not determine the second print mode (S34: NO), the CPU 40 ends the process. If the CPU 40 does not determine that the print processing instruction has been given (S31: NO), the CPU 40 returns the processing to S31.

With reference to FIGS. 25 and 26, printing in the first printing mode by the carriage 20A provided with the base printing head 100 for ejecting white ink, the spot color ink head 301 as an additional head, and the color printing head 200. An example of processing will be described. The rectangular area A1 surrounded by the positions P1, P2, P3, and P4 shown in FIG. 25 is an area that requires base printing. As shown in FIG. 25, the CPU 40 moves the platen 5 to the scanning position L2 including the position P3 which is the base printing start position by the base printing head 100. Next, the CPU 40 reciprocates the carriage 20A in the left-right direction from the position P3 to the area A1 in which the background printing is required, and ejects white ink from the nozzle 61 (see FIG. 24) of the background printing head 100 to eject the background. Start printing. The CPU 40 sequentially moves the platen 5 forward (in the direction of arrow A) and reciprocates the carriage 20A in the left-right direction to perform base printing.

Next, when the front end of the nozzle row 62 (see FIG. 24) of the spot color ink head 301 faces the position P3, the CPU 40 starts ejecting the spot color ink from the spot color ink head 301. When the carriage 20A moves to the right from the state shown in FIG. 26 and the front end of the nozzle row 62 (see FIG. 24) of the color printing head 200 faces the position P3, the CPU 40 starts from the color printing head 200. Start ejecting color ink. Therefore, the CPU 40 prints together in the same scan (same main scan) on the print medium using the white ink for the base, the color ink, and the spot color ink.

In the above embodiment, if the inks of the plurality of heads are ejected at the same time, the printing time is shorter than that at the same time. "Printing together in the same scan" by a plurality of heads in the above embodiment does not mean that the plurality of heads eject ink to the same area at the same time. The area where the plurality of heads eject ink is different for each head. "Printing together in the same scan" means that each head ejects ink to each facing region during one scan (movement in the main scanning direction). That is, it is desirable that the timing at which the plurality of heads eject ink is the same, but the ink may be separately shifted for each head for the convenience of power supply and control.

Next, the CPU 40 ends the ejection of the white ink from the background printing head 100 when the ejection of the white ink to the position P2 is completed by the background printing head 100. Further, when the special color ink head 301 completes the discharge of the special color ink to the position P2, the CPU 40 ends the discharge of the special color ink from the special color ink head 301. Further, the CPU 40 ends the ejection of the color ink from the color printing head 200 when the ejection of the color ink to the position P2 is completed by the color printing head 200.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 27 to 29, an example of the printing process in the second printing mode by the carriage 20A including the base printing head 100, the spot color ink head 301, and the color printing head 200 will be described. .. As an example, as shown in FIG. 27, the CPU 40 performs base printing on the area A1 when the platen 5 is conveyed from the front side to the rear side (direction of arrow B). When the rear end of the nozzle row 62 (see FIG. 24) of the base printing head 100 faces the position P1, the CPU 40 starts ejecting white ink from the base printing head 100. Next, the CPU 40 ends the ejection of the white ink from the background printing head 100 when the ejection of the white ink to the position P4 is completed by the background printing head 100.

Next, as shown in FIG. 28, the CPU 40 moves the platen 5 from the rear side to the front side (arrow A direction) with respect to the area A1 in which the base printing is completed. When the front end of the nozzle row 62 (see FIG. 24) of the spot color ink head 301 faces the position P3, the CPU 40 starts ejecting the spot color ink from the spot color ink head 301. Further, as shown in FIG. 29, when the front end of the nozzle row 62 (see FIG. 24) of the color printing head 200 faces the position P3, the CPU 40 starts ejecting color ink from the color printing head 200. To do. Therefore, the CPU 40 performs printing together in the same scan on the print medium with the color ink and the spot color ink. Further, when the special color ink head 301 completes the discharge of the special color ink to the position P2, the CPU 40 ends the discharge of the special color ink from the special color ink head 301. Further, the CPU 40 ends the ejection of the color ink from the color printing head 200 when the ejection of the color ink to the position P2 is completed by the color printing head 200.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31, the printing process when the additional head 300 is the discharge ink head 302 will be described. As shown in FIG. 30, the CPU 40 moves the platen 5 to the scanning position L2 including the position P3, which is the discharge printing start position by the discharge ink head 302. Next, the CPU 40 moves the carriage 20A to the right, ejects discharge ink from the nozzle 61 (see FIG. 24) of the additional head 300 to the area A1 requiring discharge printing, and starts discharge printing. The CPU 40 sequentially moves the platen 5 forward (in the direction of arrow A), reciprocates the carriage 20A in the left-right direction, and performs discharge printing by the discharge ink head 302.

Further, as shown in FIG. 31, when the front end of the nozzle row 62 (see FIG. 24) of the color printing head 200 faces the position P3, the CPU 40 starts ejecting color ink from the color printing head 200. To do. Therefore, the CPU 40 ejects the discharge ink to the region below the discharge ink head 302 by the discharge ink head 302, and at the same time, discharges the color ink to the region below the color printing head 200 for color printing. Discharge by the head 200. Therefore, the CPU 40 performs printing together in the same scan on the print medium with the discharge printing ink and the color ink. That is, the discharge printing area and the color printing area separated from each other in the sub-scanning direction are formed together in the same scanning. Further, when the discharge ink discharge is completed up to the position P2 by the discharge ink head 302, the CPU 40 ends the discharge ink discharge from the discharge ink head 302. Further, the CPU 40 ends the ejection of the color ink from the color printing head 200 when the ejection of the color ink to the position P2 is completed by the color printing head 200.

Next, the printing process when the additional head 300 is the discharge ink head 302 will be described with reference to FIGS. 32 to 36. As shown in FIG. 32, the CPU 40 moves the platen 5 to the scanning position L1 including the position P1 which is the discharge printing start position by the discharge ink head 302, and then moves the carriage 20A to the right to determine the area where discharge printing is required. Discharge ink is ejected from the nozzle 61 (see FIG. 24) of the discharge ink head 302 with respect to A1, and discharge printing is started. Therefore, the CPU 40 performs discharge printing by moving the platen 5 from the front side to the rear side. The CPU 40 sequentially moves the platen 5 backward (in the direction of arrow B), reciprocates the carriage 20A in the left-right direction, and performs discharge printing by the discharge ink head 302. As shown in FIG. 33, the CPU 40 finishes discharging the discharge ink from the discharge ink head 302 when the discharge of the discharge ink is completed up to the position P4.

Next, when base printing with white ink is required between discharge printing and color printing, the CPU 40 moves the platen 5 in the direction of arrow B (rearward) in FIG. 33. Next, the carriage 20A moves to the right from the state shown in FIG. 34, and the platen 5 is moved so that the front end of the nozzle row 62 (see FIG. 24) of the base printing head 100 comes to the scanning position including the position P3. .. After that, when the carriage 20A is moved to the left with the background printing, the CPU 40 starts the background printing with the background printing head 100 with respect to the area A1 of the print medium that has been discharged printed with the discharge printing ink. The CPU 40 sequentially moves the platen 5 forward (in the direction of arrow A), reciprocates the carriage 20A in the left-right direction, and performs background printing by the background printing head 100.

Next, the carriage 20A is moved to the right from the state shown in FIG. 35, and the platen 5 is moved so that the front end of the nozzle row 62 (see FIG. 24) of the color printing head 200 comes to the scanning position including the position P3. In this state, the CPU 40 ejects the white ink to the area below the base printing head 100 by the base printing head 100. Therefore, the CPU 40 ejects the color ink to the region below the color printing head 200 by the color printing head 200. That is, the base print area and the color print area that are separated from each other in the sub-scanning direction are formed together in the same scan. As shown in FIG. 36, the CPU 40 ends the ejection of the white ink from the base printing head 100 when the ejection of the white ink is completed up to the position P2. Further, as shown in FIG. 37, the CPU 40 finishes ejecting the color ink from the color printing head 200 when the ejection of the color ink is completed up to the position P2. The CPU 40 moves the platen 5 forward (in the direction of arrow A) in order to take out the printed print medium. Further, the carriage 20A moves to the left and returns to the standby position.

<Operation effect of printer 1 of the embodiment>
In the printer 1 of the second aspect of the present invention, the special color ink head 301 or the discharge ink head 302, which is the additional head 300, can be selectively attached to the additional head mounting portion 310 for various printing. Can be handled. Further, when the additional head is not attached, a drying time for the liquid discharged from the base printing head can be secured, and good printing can be performed quickly.

A maintenance mechanism and an ink flow path can be attached to the empty space 143 corresponding to the additional head 300 attached to the additional head attachment portion 310.

Further, when the ink ejected by the additional head 300 is a spot color ink, the CPU 40 can perform printing together in the same scanning of the printing medium with the base ink, the color ink, and the spot color ink. Therefore, the printing time can be shortened as compared with the ink for printing, the color ink, and the spot color ink, which are printed in different relative scans in this order.

Further, when the ink ejected by the additional head 300 is a spot color ink, the CPU 40 prints both the color ink and the spot color ink in the same scan on the area of the print medium printed by the base ink. Can be executed. Therefore, the printing time can be shortened as compared with the ink for printing, the color ink, and the spot color ink, which are printed in different relative scans in this order.

Further, when the ink ejected by the additional head 300 is the discharge printing ink, the CPU 40 can perform printing together in the same scanning on the printing medium with the discharge printing ink and the color ink. Therefore, the printing time can be shortened as compared with the printing in which the discharge printing ink and the color ink are printed in different relative scans in this order.

Further, when the ink discharged by the additional head 300 is discharge printing ink, the CPU 40 sets the discharge printing start position by the additional head 300 to the start position of color printing by the color printing head, and then discharge prints with the discharge printing ink. Color printing is performed on the area of the above with a color printing head. Therefore, the color printing head 200 can perform color printing on the area of the print medium that has been discharge-printed with the discharge printing ink. In this case, as compared with the case where the discharge printing and the color printing are performed by a completely different device, the color printing can be performed without shifting the area of the discharge printing medium.

Further, when the ink discharged by the additional head 300 is the discharge ink, the CPU 40 sets the discharge printing start position by the additional head 300 to the start position of the background printing by the background printing head, and then discharge prints the printing medium with the discharge ink. Printing on a printing medium with base ink and color printing with color ink are performed on the above area. In this case, it is possible to perform printing on the printing medium with the base ink and color printing with the color ink on the area of the printing medium printed by the discharge printing ink. In this case, as compared with the case where the background printing and the color printing are performed by a completely different device, the color printing can be performed without shifting the area of the printing medium on which the background printing is performed with the white ink.

Further, when the ink ejected by the additional head 300 is discharge printing ink, the CPU 40 controls so that the amount of ink ejected from at least one of the color printing head 200 or the base printing head is reduced. In this case, when the ink ejected by the additional head is discharge printing ink, the amount of ink ejected from at least one of the color printing head or the base printing head can be saved. That is, the pigment, dye, dye, etc. of the fabric are decolorized by the discharge printing agent to whiten the fabric, and the amount of white ink can be reduced when painting with white ink.

Further, since either the first print mode or the second print mode can be set by the setting means, the print mode can be set according to the print medium.

Further, one of the first print mode and the second print mode can be set by the setting means. Therefore, the print mode can be set according to the print medium.

Further, the printer 1 can print by scanning the base printing head 100, the color printing head 200, and the additional head 300 by scanning means.

Further, the background printing head 100, the color printing head 200, so that the nozzle row of the base printing head 100, the nozzle row of the color printing head 200, and the nozzle row of the additional head 300 are aligned or parallel to each other. Since the additional head 300 is attached, the base printing head 100, the color printing head 200, and the additional head 300 can print by scanning by scanning means.

The printer 1 of the second aspect of the present invention includes the first head and the second head, which has a shorter nozzle row length in the sub-scanning direction than the length in the sub-scanning direction. The second head is arranged so as to be separated from each other in the sub-scanning direction, and the CPU 40 is separated from the first head and the second head after the print medium faces the first head at the time of printing. The first head, the second head, and the printing medium are relatively moved so as to face each other and further face the second head, and the printing material discharged from the first head to the printing medium faces the second head. It is opposed to the separated portion between the first head and the second head. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a weight time between the ejection of the first head and the ejection of the second head, and the printing time can be shortened as compared with the case where the weight time is provided.

Further, it is not necessary to provide a weight time between the ejection of the printing material for the base by the first head and the ejection of the printing material to be overlapped with the printing portion by the background printing head from the second head, and the weight time is provided. The printing time can be shortened in some cases.

Further, when it is not necessary to provide a weight time between the ejection of the printing material for the substrate by the first head and the ejection of the printing material to the printing portion by the substrate printing head from the second head, and a weight time is provided. However, the printing time can be shortened.

When the condition of L ≧ (Tpw ・ Ln) / ((Tcr + Tw) ・ In) is satisfied, it is not necessary to provide a weight time between the discharge of the first head and the discharge of the second head, and the weight time. The printing time can be shortened as compared with the case of providing.

The printer 1 is an example of the "injection printer" of the present invention. The base printing head 100 and the white ink heads 101A to 101D are examples of the "base printing head" and the first head of the present invention. The color printing head 200 and the color printing heads 201A to 201D are examples of the "color printing head" and the "second head" of the present invention. The additional head 300 is an example of the "additional head" of the present invention. The CPU 40 is an example of the "control unit" of the present invention. White ink and color ink are examples of the "printing material" of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the ink amount setting process, instead of the additional head type detection process (S12), the user inputs the head type to be mounted on the printer 1 from the operation unit 47, and the CPU 40 automatically inputs the head type based on the input result. Ink weight loss may be set to. Further, the CPU 40 may automatically analyze the print data to be printed by the printer 1, and the CPU 40 may automatically set the ink reduction based on the analysis result. An example of automatic analysis is a case where the CPU 40 analyzes that a head other than the additional head 300 ejects the liquid after the liquid is ejected by the additional head 300 for the entire area where the additional head 300 ejects ink. .. The CPU 40 may execute automatic analysis based on the ejection order of each head and the overlap of printing positions. Further, in the printer 1, drive control such as voltage, current, waveform, and timing for driving the carriage 20 may be appropriately changed according to the number and types of heads mounted on the carriage 20. The change in the drive control may be determined by an input operation by the user. In addition, the drive control can be changed by automatically detecting the number and type of heads mounted on the carriage 20 and automatically analyzing the number and type of heads from the printed image and process. , It may be determined automatically.

Further, FIGS. 33 to 35 show the order in which the CPU 40 performs discharge printing, and then background printing and color printing. The CPU 40 moves the platen 5 to a scanning position including the discharge printing completion position P4 before the color printing by performing the base printing after the discharge printing. It is separated from the scanning position of the printing start position by the color printing head 200 in the sub-scanning direction in order to ensure the drying time of the discharge printing ink and the base ink by starting the base printing from the front side. Is. The movement of platen 5 is not limited to this. In addition, when the drying time of the discharge ink or the base ink is short, or when the base ink bleeding due to the influence of the discharge ink can be tolerated, the CPU 40 discharges the ink from the position shown in FIG. 33 by a short distance shown in FIG. 34. After printing, the platen 5 is once moved backward. Therefore, the background printing is started from the rear side, the distance between the background printing head 100 and the color printing head 200 is extended due to the additional head 300, and the discharge printing ink and the background ink are dried with respect to the color ink. Time is secured. In order to secure a longer drying time for the discharge ink and the base ink than the color ink, the platen 5 which has already passed through the base print head 100 and is located behind before the base print after the discharge print. The scanning position including the position P1 may be moved to the scanning position of the printing start position by the base printing head 100 in the direction opposite to the arrow B in FIG. 33. Next, the base printing is performed up to the discharge printing completion position P4 while moving the platen 5 from the front side to the rear side, and then the scanning position including the discharge printing start position P1 of the platen 5 is set to the printing start position by the color printing head 200. The platen 5 may be moved to the scanning position of the above, and then color printing may be performed up to the discharge printing completion position P4 while moving the platen 5 from the front side to the rear side.

In the printing process described above, when the carriage 20A moves from left to right, printing is started on the area A1, so that the start position (position) of discharge printing, base printing, and color printing is on the left end side of the area A1. P1) is located. If printing is started on the area A1 when the carriage 20A moves from right to left, the start position (position P2) of discharge printing, base printing, and color printing is located on the right end side of the area A1. .. All of the start positions of discharge printing, base printing, and color printing are located only on the left end side or the right end side of area A1, but any of the start positions of discharge printing, base printing, and color printing is on another side. There may be.

In the above-mentioned printing process, when the platen 5 moves from the back to the front and printing is started on the area A1 that needs to be printed, discharge printing, base printing, and color printing are performed on the rear side of the area A1. The starting position of is located. If printing is started on the area A1 when the platen 5 moves from the front to the back, the start positions of discharge printing, base printing, and color printing may be located on the front side of the area A1. Further, the start positions of discharge printing, base printing, and color printing are not limited to those located only on the rear side or the front side of the area A1, and any of the start positions of discharge printing, base printing, and color printing is different. May be on the side of.

For example, as shown in FIG. 41 (1), in the printer 1, discharge printing is performed when the platen 5 is transported from the front side to the rear side, and base printing is performed when the platen 5 is transported from the rear side to the front side. , And, when color printing is performed, the start position of discharge printing is located on the rear side of the area A1, and the start position of the base printing and color printing is located on the front side of the area A1. In this case, on the front side, the user can mount the print medium on the platen 5 and perform discharge printing, base printing, and color printing in one round trip in the front-rear direction of the platen 5. Further, since the platen 5 on which the color-printed print medium is mounted is projected on the front side of the printer 1, the print medium can be immediately removed from the platen 5.

Further, as shown in FIG. 41 (2), in the printer 1, discharge printing and base printing are performed when the platen 5 is conveyed from the front side to the rear side, and the platen 5 is conveyed from the rear side to the front side. When color printing is performed at this time, the start position of discharge printing and base printing is located on the rear side of the area A1, and the start position of color printing is located on the front side of the area A1. In this case, on the front side, the user can mount the print medium on the platen 5 and perform discharge printing, base printing, and color printing in one round trip in the front-rear direction of the platen 5. Further, the distance between the base printing head 100 and the color printing head 200 is longer than the time for the platen 5 to move, and the time gap between the base printing and the color printing can be increased.

In addition, the difficulty of drying ink depends on the working environment. Therefore, when it is desired to increase the time interval between the discharge printing, the background printing, and the color printing instead of widening the distance between the base printing head 100, the discharge ink head 302, and the color printing head 200, the work efficiency is increased. Even if the value is lowered, discharge printing, base printing, and color printing are performed in two round trips in the front-back direction of the platen 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 41 (3), in the printer 1, discharge printing is performed when the platen 5 is conveyed from the rear side to the front side. Next, base printing is performed when the platen 5 is conveyed from the front side to the rear side. Next, color printing is performed when the platen 5 is conveyed from the front side to the rear side. In this case, the time for each interval of discharge printing, base printing, and color printing can be extended to secure the ink drying time. The discharge printing is performed when the platen 5 is transported from the back to the front in order to visually check whether the discharge printing portion is formed. The final color printing is done with the platen 5 from the back side to the front side. Therefore, the printed print medium can be taken out immediately.

Further, either the scanning position including the discharge printing start position P1 by the discharge ink head 302 or the scanning position including the discharge completion position P4 by the discharge ink head 302 is set to the color printing head 200 or the base printing head 100. It may be adjusted to the scanning position including the printing start position. In this case, even when the color printing head 200, the background printing head 100, and the additional head 300 print in exactly the same area, the printing start position of the color printing head 200 and the background printing head 100 is , It is not always necessary to be the discharge printing start position P1 by the discharge printing ink head 302. The end position P2 of the printing area on the opposite side of the scan in the scanning including the discharge printing start position P1 by the discharge ink head 302 may be the printing start position of the color printing head 200 or the base printing head 100. The discharge printing completion position P4 by the additional head 300 may be set as the printing start position of the color printing head 200 or the base printing head 100. The end position P3 of the printing area on the opposite side of the scan in the scanning including the discharge printing completion position P4 by the discharge ink head 302 may be the printing start position of the color printing head 200 or the base printing head 100. The discharge printing starts from the position PI, but the base printing may start from P2 and the color printing may start from P4. The start position may be set as appropriate in consideration of the printed image, the drying time of the ink, and the like. The standby position of the carriage 20A is on the right side, but it may be on the left side.

As shown in FIGS. 38, 39, 40, when a plurality of heads of the same type are provided in the main scanning direction of the carriage 20B and the heads of the same type are arranged so as to be offset in the sub scanning direction, the same type is provided. Which part of which head is to be the printing start position is determined as follows. With respect to printing by a plurality of heads of the same type, the moving direction of the platen 5 in the sub-scanning direction (arrow B direction in FIG. 38, arrow A direction in FIGS. 39 and 40) is specified. The side on which the platen 5 moves in the moving direction as the printing progresses is the printing downstream side, and the opposite side is the printing upstream side. Among a plurality of heads of the same type, the head whose nozzle row on the downstream side of each head is located on the upstream side of printing is specified. Further, with respect to the specified head, the printing start position may be determined with reference to the end of the nozzle row on the downstream side of printing, which is located on the downstream side of printing most. In FIG. 38, the downstream side of printing is the rear side in the drawing, and the rear side of the discharge ink head 302B in the right column of the two left and right rows of heads is the side including the printing start position. In FIGS. 39 and 40, the downstream side of printing is the front side in the drawing, and of the two left and right rows of head rows, the front side of the head in the left row is the side including the printing start position. In FIG. 39, the front side of the white ink head 101A, and in FIG. 40, the front side of the color printing head 201A is the side including the printing start position.

In the present invention, the discharge printing ink is an agent that removes the color of the object to be printed, and does not have the effect of imparting a color to the color of the object to be printed by some dye or pigment. However, the discharge printing ink may be a chemical that causes an action of removing the color of the object to be printed, and may also have an action of imparting a color to the color of the object to be printed by some kind of dye or pigment. For the discharge printing ink, the action of removing the color of the object to be printed is indispensable, but the action of imparting a color to the color of the object to be printed by some kind of dye or pigment is not essential.

1 Printer 3 Mounting part 5 Platen 6 Platen drive mechanism 20 Carriage 20A to 20E Carriage 30 Cartridge 31 Housing unit 33 Cartridge sensor 34 Head sensor 40 CPU
42 RAM
47 Operation unit 61 Nozzle 62 Nozzle row 70A to 70C Ink flow path 100 Base printing head 101A to 101D White ink head 110, 110A, 110B Base printing head mounting part 111A to 111D First head mounting part 200, 201A to 201D Color printing heads 210, 210A, 210B Color printing head mounting parts 211A to 211D Second head mounting parts 300 Additional heads 301, 301A, 301B Special color ink heads 302, 302A, 302B Discharge ink heads 310, 310A, 310B added Head mounting part L Distance between head nozzles

Claims (20)

A background printing head that ejects background ink to a print medium,
A color printing head that ejects inks of at least two colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black onto the printing medium, and
A scanning means for scanning the base printing head and the color printing head with respect to the printing medium.
In a serial type inkjet printer equipped with
The base printing head and the color printing head are arranged apart from each other in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction by the scanning means.
An additional head mounting portion to which an additional head for ejecting ink can be mounted is provided between the base printing head and the color printing head, which can print together on the printing medium in the same scan. A featured inkjet printer. A maintenance mechanism for maintaining the additional head or a space for at least one of the ink flow paths for supplying ink to the additional head is provided corresponding to the additional head attached to the additional head mounting portion. The inkjet printer according to claim 1. A control unit for controlling ink ejection from the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head is provided.
When the ink ejected by the additional head is a special color ink which is a specific color ink different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white, the control unit uses the base ink, the said ink. The inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein printing is performed together in the same scanning of the color ink and the spot color ink onto the printing medium. A control unit for controlling ink ejection from the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head is provided.
When the ink ejected by the additional head is a special color ink which is a specific color ink different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white, the control unit prints with the base ink. The inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein printing is performed on the area of the printing medium in the same scanning with the color ink and the spot color ink. A control unit for controlling ink ejection from the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head is provided.
When the ink ejected by the additional head is a discharge printing ink that removes the color of the print medium, the control unit executes printing together in the same scanning of the print medium with the discharge ink and the color ink. The inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2. A control unit for controlling ink ejection from the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head is provided.
When the ink discharged by the additional head is a discharge printing ink that removes the color of the print medium, the control unit scans a scanning position including a discharge printing start position by the additional head or a scanning position including a discharge completion position by the additional head. After setting any of the positions to the start position of the color printing by the color printing head, the color printing is performed by the color printing head on the area of the printing medium printed by the discharge printing ink. The inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2. A control unit for controlling ink ejection from the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head is provided.
When the ink discharged by the additional head is a discharge printing ink that removes the color of the print medium, the control unit scans a scanning position including a discharge printing start position by the additional head or a scanning position including a discharge completion position by the additional head. After setting any of the positions to the start position of the base printing by the base printing head, the printing on the printing medium by the base ink is applied to the area of the printing medium printed by the discharge printing ink. The inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein color printing is performed using the color ink. Compared to the case where the ink ejected by the additional head is not a discharge printing ink that removes the color of the print medium, when the ink ejected by the additional head is a discharge ink that removes the color of the print medium, the color printing head or The inkjet printer according to claim 7, wherein the control unit controls the background printing head so that the amount of ink ejected from at least one of the background printing heads is reduced. When the ink ejected by the additional head is a special color ink which is a specific color ink which is a color different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white, the base ink, the color ink, and the above. The first print mode in which printing is performed together in the same scanning on the print medium by the special color ink, or the area of the print medium printed by the base ink, the color ink and the special color The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a setting means for setting at least one of the second print modes for executing printing together in the same scanning of the print medium with ink. .. When the ink ejected by the additional head is a special color ink which is a specific color ink which is a color different from yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white, the base ink, the color ink, and the above. The first print mode in which printing is performed together in the same scanning on the print medium by the special color ink, or the area of the print medium printed by the base ink, the color ink and the special color The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a setting means for setting one of the second print modes for executing printing together in the same scanning of the print medium with ink. In the first print scan in which the inkjet printer prints on the print medium, the base print head, the color print head, and the base print head upstream in the scanning direction of the additional head by the scanning means. The color printing head and the additional head are located.
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein in the final printing scan, the base printing head, the color printing head, and the additional head are located downstream in the scanning direction by the scanning means. Inkjet printer. The mounting portion of the base printing head and the color printing head so that the nozzle row of the base printing head, the nozzle row of the color printing head, and the nozzle row of the additional head are aligned or parallel to each other. The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the mounting portion of the above and the additional head mounting portion are arranged. Multiple first heads that eject printing material onto the printing medium,
A second head that ejects a printing material having a composition different from that of the printing material ejected by the first head,
A control unit that controls the ejection of ink from the first head and the second head is provided.
The first head and the second head move in the main scanning direction in which the first head and the second head move relative to the printing medium, and the first head and the second head move in the sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction. In a serial type inkjet printer that prints by moving relative to
Of the first head and the second head, the head having a shorter nozzle row length in the sub-scanning direction has a length equal to or greater than the length in the sub-scanning direction. Arranged apart in the sub-scanning direction,
At the time of printing, the control unit faces the separated portion between the first head and the second head after the printing medium faces the first head, and further faces the second head. As such, the first head, the second head, and the printing medium are moved relative to each other, and the printing material discharged from the first head to the printing medium is before facing the second head. An inkjet printer characterized in that it faces a separated portion between the first head and the second head. 13. The thirteenth aspect of the present invention, wherein the first head is a head that ejects a printing material for a base, and the second head is a head that ejects a printing material to be overlapped with a printing portion by the base printing head. Inkjet printer. The first head is a head for discharging a printing material for a base, and the second head is characterized in that the printing material is discharged to a printing portion of the printing material for the base by the first head. The inkjet printer according to 13 or 14. The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the first head is a head that ejects white ink or a discharge printing material. The second head is a head for a yellow, magenta, cyan, black ink, or a spot color ink different from the yellow, magenta, cyan, black, and white inks, according to claims 13 to 16. The inkjet printer described in any of. L: Distance between the first head and the second head,
Tpw: Time until the nozzle of the second head prints on the portion printed by the nozzle of the first head of the first head.
Tcr: total main scan time,
Tw: Weight time,
Ln: Length of nozzle row in sub-scanning direction,
In: The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein L ≧ (Tpw · Ln) / ((Tcr + Tw) · In) in terms of the number of interlaces. The additional head according to claim 1, wherein the additional head ejects at least one of a discharge printing ink that removes the color of the print medium, or a special color ink that is different from the base ink and the color ink. Ink printer. The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the base printing head and the color printing head are mounted on one carriage.

Images