JP2023049672A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printing device that enables printing to be performed at a higher speed while suppressing an image quality from deteriorating.SOLUTION: A printing device comprises a head, a scanning device and a control part, where a plurality of nozzles have a first nozzle group of a plurality of nozzles arranged in an intersecting, and a second nozzle group of a plurality of nozzles arranged in a first direction closer to a scanning direction than the first nozzle group and arranged in the intersecting direction. The control part, when making the nozzles discharge ink while moving the head in the scanning direction to print an image on a printing medium, obtains nozzle information for specifying the nozzle group, of the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group, which is made to discharge ink, then obtains margin information concerning a margin between an end of the printing medium and the image in the scanning direction, and prints the image on the printing medium by making the nozzle group based on the nozzle information discharge ink, while moving the head in the scanning direction at a first speed or a second speed higher than the first speed, on the basis of the nozzle information and the margin information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to printing devices.

As a conventional printing apparatus, the image recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 records an image on a recording medium while moving the image recording head in the scanning direction at a low speed or a high speed. When recording an image while moving at a high speed based on print data, this image recording apparatus records an image during a variable speed period from when the image recording head starts moving until the speed of the image recording head reaches a high speed. A comparison result is obtained as to whether or not the recording head performs image recording. Then, based on the result of this comparison, the image recording apparatus determines the moving speed of the image recording head when actually recording an image to be low or high.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-49707

In the image recording apparatus, the image recording speed is increased by moving the image recording head at high speed. On the other hand, by moving the image recording head at a low speed, it is possible to suppress deterioration in the quality of image recording.

By the way, in such an image recording apparatus, an image may be recorded using a plurality of colors of ink. In this case, in the image recording head, a plurality of nozzle groups each composed of a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in the scanning direction for each color. When an image is recorded on the basis of print data by such an image recording apparatus, the movement speed of the image recording head is determined to be low if controlled in accordance with the image recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1. However, the inventors of the present invention have realized that the moving speed of the image recording head can be increased depending on the color of the image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus capable of speeding up printing while suppressing deterioration in image quality.

A printing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink onto a print medium, and moving the head in a first scanning direction and in a second direction opposite to the first direction. and a control unit, wherein the plurality of nozzles is a first nozzle group, which is a plurality of nozzles arranged in a crossing direction crossing the scanning direction, and the first nozzle group It has a second nozzle group, which is a plurality of the nozzles arranged in the first scanning direction and aligned in the intersecting direction, and the control unit moves the head from the nozzles to the nozzles while moving the head in the scanning direction. Acquiring nozzle information that defines from which nozzle group, the first nozzle group or the second nozzle group, the ink is to be ejected when printing an image on the printing medium by ejecting ink, and performing the scanning. obtaining margin information about the margin between the edge of the print medium and the image in a direction, and moving the head at a first speed or a second speed that is faster than the first speed based on the nozzle information and the margin information; While moving in the scanning direction, the ink is ejected from the nozzle group based on the nozzle information to print the image on the printing medium.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus capable of speeding up printing while suppressing deterioration in image quality.

The above objects, other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the underside of the head. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the printing device. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing dots formed in a print area of a print medium. FIG. 5(a) is a graph showing the relationship between the position and speed of the head when the head moves to the right at a constant speed at the first speed. FIG. 5(b) is a graph showing the relationship between the position and speed of the head when the head moves to the left at a constant speed at the first speed. FIG. 6A is a graph showing the relationship between the position and speed of the head when the head moves to the right at a constant speed at the second speed. FIG. 6(b) is a graph showing the relationship between the position and speed of the head when the head moves to the left at the second speed at a constant speed. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of a method for determining the moving speed of the head. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of a method for determining the moving speed of the head in monochrome printing. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of a method for determining the moving speed of the head in color printing. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of a head moving speed determination method in full-color printing. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a head moving speed determination method in a printing apparatus according to Modification 1 of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an example of a head moving speed determination method in a printing apparatus according to Modification 2 of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding elements throughout all the drawings, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment)
<Configuration of printing device>
A printing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus that ejects ink onto a print medium A from a head 20 and prints an image on the print medium A with the ink, as shown in FIG. An example in which the printing apparatus 10 is applied to an inkjet printer will be described below, but the printing apparatus 10 is not limited to this. Also, the print medium A is a sheet of paper, cloth, or the like.

The printing apparatus 10 is of a serial head type and includes a head 20 , a platen 11 , a conveying device 30 , a scanning device 40 , tanks 12 K, 12 Y, 12 C and 12 M, an input device 13 and a control section 50 . A first scanning direction in which the head 20 is moved by the scanning device 40 is referred to as left, and a second direction opposite to the first scanning direction is referred to as right. A crossing direction crossing (for example, perpendicular to) the scanning direction is referred to as a front-rear direction. A direction orthogonal to the scanning direction and the crossing direction is called a vertical direction. However, the layout of the printing device 10 is not limited to this. Details of the head 20 and the control unit 50 will be described later.

The platen 11 has a flat upper surface and defines the distance between the print medium A placed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the head 20 provided opposite thereto. The width of the platen 11 is wider than the width of the print medium A placed on the upper surface of the platen 11 in the left-right direction.

The transport device 30 has, for example, two transport rollers 31 and a transport motor 32 (FIG. 3). The two transport rollers 31 are arranged parallel to each other with the platen 11 interposed therebetween in the front-rear direction. The transport roller 31 has a central axis extending in the left-right direction and is connected to a transport motor 32 . The transport roller 31 is driven by the transport motor 32 to rotate and transport the print medium A forward and backward on the platen 11 .

The scanning device 40 has a carriage 41, two guide rails 42, a scanning motor 43 (FIG. 3), and the like. A carriage 41 carries the head 20, is supported by two guide rails 42, and is fixed to an endless belt. The two guide rails 42 extend in the left-right direction above the platen 11 so as to sandwich the lower surface of the head 20 between them in the front-rear direction. When the scanning motor 43 is driven, the connected endless belt runs, and the carriage 41 reciprocates in the horizontal direction along the guide rail 42 .

The tanks 12K, 12Y, 12C, and 12M are, for example, removable cartridges, and are provided for each type of ink. For example, the tank 12K stores black ink, the tank 12Y stores yellow ink, the tank 12C stores cyan ink, and the tank 12M stores magenta ink. Each tank 12K, 12Y, 12C, 12M supplies ink to the head 20. As shown in FIG. In the following description, yellow, cyan, and magenta, which are colors other than black, may be referred to as colors.

The input device 13 is a button, a touch panel, or the like, and is connected to the control section 50 . When the input device 13 is operated by the user, information such as printing conditions is input from the input device 13 to the control unit 50 .

<Head>
As shown in FIG. 2, the head 20 has a plurality of nozzles 21, a plurality of ink channels 22, and a plurality of drive elements 23 (FIG. 3). The nozzle 21 is open on the bottom surface of the head 20 . The plurality of nozzles 21 form a nozzle row arranged at equal intervals in a direction intersecting (for example, perpendicular to) the left-right direction. A plurality of (e.g., eight) nozzle rows are arranged side by side at intervals in the left-right direction.

The ink channel 22 includes a common channel 22a and a plurality of individual channels 22b branching from the common channel 22a. The common flow path 22a extends in the front-rear direction, and each of the plurality of common flow paths 22a is connected to each of the tanks 12K, 12Y, 12C, and 12M. Individual flow path 22 b is connected to nozzle 21 . Therefore, ink is supplied to the nozzles 21 through the ink flow paths 22 from the tanks 12K, 12Y, 12C, and 12M.

Here, two ink flow paths are provided in each of the tanks 12K, 12Y, 12C, and 12M so that the same type of ink is supplied to the nozzles 21 of two adjacent nozzle rows among the eight nozzle rows. 22 are connected. In the two nozzle rows, the nozzles 21 of the right nozzle row and the nozzles 21 of the left nozzle row are alternately arranged in the front-rear direction.

The eight nozzle rows include two black nozzle rows 21K, two yellow nozzle rows 21Y, two cyan nozzle rows 21C, and two magenta nozzle rows 21M, which are arranged in this order from the right. Lined up. Therefore, two black nozzle rows 21K are arranged at the right end of the head 20, and the plurality of nozzles 21 of the black nozzle row 21K are the first nozzle group 21a. Two magenta nozzle rows 21M are arranged at the left end of the head 20, and the plurality of nozzles 21 of the magenta nozzle row 21M constitute a second nozzle group 21b. Here, in this embodiment, the two yellow nozzle rows 21Y and the two cyan nozzle rows 21C, which are not located at the ends of the head 20, are included in both the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b. not However, the two yellow nozzle rows 21Y and the two cyan nozzle rows 21C may be included in either the first nozzle group 21a or the second nozzle group 21b. Note that the number of nozzle rows forming each of the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more.

A black nozzle 21k, which is a nozzle 21 of two black nozzle rows 21K, is connected to a black tank 12K and ejects black ink. The yellow nozzles 21y, which are the nozzles 21 of the two yellow nozzle rows 21Y, are connected to the yellow tank 12Y and eject yellow ink. A cyan nozzle 21c, which is the nozzle 21 of the two cyan nozzle rows 21C, is connected to the cyan tank 12C and ejects cyan ink. A magenta nozzle 21m, which is the nozzle 21 of the two magenta nozzle rows 21M, is connected to the magenta tank 12M and ejects magenta ink. Note that, hereinafter, the yellow nozzle 21y, the cyan nozzle 21c, and the magenta nozzle 21m may be referred to as color nozzles.

The driving element 23 is a piezoelectric element, a heating element, an electrostatic actuator, or the like, and is provided for each nozzle 21 and drives to vary the volume of the individual flow path 22b connected to the nozzle 21 . As a result, pressure for ejecting ink from the nozzle 21 is applied to the ink in the individual flow path 22b.

<Configuration of control unit>
The control unit 50 includes a network interface (I/F 51), a calculation unit 52 and a storage unit 53, as shown in FIG. The I/F 51 receives various data such as print data from external devices such as computers, cameras, scanners, networks and recording media, and from the input device 13 .

The storage unit 53 is a memory accessible from the calculation unit 52 and has a RAM and a ROM. The RAM temporarily stores various data such as print data and data converted by the calculation unit 52 . The ROM stores programs for performing various data processing.

The computing unit 52 includes a processor such as a CPU, and executes a computer program stored in the ROM to control each unit and execute print processing. Details of the print processing will be described later.

Such a control section 50 is electrically connected to the driving element 23 via the head driving circuit 24 and controls driving of the driving element 23 . As a result, the ejection timing and ejection amount of the ink according to the drive of the drive element 23 are controlled, and the position and size of the dots formed on the printing medium A by the ink from the head 20 are controlled.

The controller 50 is also electrically connected to the transport motor 32 via the transport drive circuit 33 and controls driving of the transport motor 32 . The control unit 50 is electrically connected to the scanning motor 43 via the scanning drive circuit 44 and controls driving of the scanning motor 43 . Thereby, the rotational speed of the scanning motor 43 is controlled, and the moving speed of the head 20 is controlled.

<Print processing>
The control unit 50 receives print data from an external device via the I/F 51 and executes print processing based on the print data. The print data includes raster data defining the image to be printed, the raster data including color information for the image. In this printing process, the control unit 50 ejects ink from the head 20 based on the acquired raster data while moving the carriage 41 on which the head 20 is mounted in one of right and left directions. perform a path that forms part of After this pass, the control unit 50 moves the print medium A forward, and then executes a pass in which ink is ejected from the head 20 while moving the head 20 in the other direction of right and left. Then, the control unit 50 moves the print medium A forward.

In this manner, the control unit 50 alternately repeats the pass and the transport of the print medium A while alternately changing the moving direction of the head 20 between right and left for each pass. As a result, dots are formed on the print medium A by the ink ejected from the head 20 in the pass, and an image composed of dots is printed on the print medium A. FIG.

The control unit 50 also determines whether the head 20 should be moved at a first speed or a second speed, which is faster than the first speed, in one pass, based on the nozzle information and the margin information. Details of nozzle information, margin information, and determination processing will be described below.

<Nozzle information>
The nozzle information indicates whether the ink is ejected from any of the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b when an image is printed on the print medium A by ejecting ink from the nozzles 21 while moving the head 20 in the horizontal direction. to be discharged.

Specifically, an external device such as a computer applies resolution conversion processing, color conversion processing, and halftone processing to data including margin setting data set by a user on a driver and image data defining an image to be printed. and other image processing to generate raster data. As a result, the image data is converted to a resolution that can be output by the printing device 10 . For example, when the colors of the image data are R (red), G (green), and B (blue), they are converted into raster data for each of the four CMYK colors of ink provided in the printing apparatus 10 . Therefore, the raster data has dot color information and dot type information.

Raster data is data composed of binary numbers of 0 and 1, and represents the type of dots formed by ink ejected from the head 20 . The two gradations are blank data (0) that does not eject ink and dot data (1) that ejects a predetermined amount of ink. The four gradations are blank data (00) that does not eject ink, small dot data (01) that ejects less than a predetermined amount of ink, medium dot data (10) that ejects a predetermined amount of ink, and more than a predetermined amount of ink. Large dot data (11) for ejecting a large amount of ink is shown. The small dot data, medium dot data and large dot data represent dot data. As a result, raster data defining dot positions and types are formed for each KYCM color.

After that, an external device such as a computer divides the raster data of each color for each pass, and transmits print data including the raster data to the printing device 10 . The control unit 50 receives print data from an external device via the I/F 51 . Then, the control unit 50 arranges the raster data of each color according to the order of ejecting ink from the nozzles 21 (the order of dot formation). The control unit 50 allocates the raster data to the nozzles 21 for ejecting ink forming dots and the drive timings of the drive elements 23 corresponding to the nozzles 21 , and controls the drive elements 23 . As a result, the dots and the nozzles 21 that eject the ink of the dots are formed as nozzle information in association with each other.

<Margin Information>
The margin information is information about the margin between the edge of the print medium A and the image in the scanning direction. Here, the blank information includes first group blank information and second group blank information. The first group margin information is the edge of the printing medium A and the plurality of first dots formed by the ink ejected from the first nozzle group 21a among the plurality of dots forming the image, and is printed in the scanning direction. is the margin between the first dot closest to the edge of medium A and The second group margin information is the edge of the print medium A and the plurality of second dots formed by the ink ejected from the second nozzle group 21b among the plurality of dots forming the image, and in the scanning direction. is the margin between the second dot closest to the edge of the print medium A at .

Also, the margin information includes first side margin information and second side margin information. The first side margin information is the margin between the left edge of the print medium A and the image in the horizontal direction. The second side margin information is the margin between the right edge of the print medium A in the horizontal direction and the image.

The blank information includes, for example, black blank information as first group blank information and magenta blank information as second group blank information. The margin information includes, for example, left margin information, which is first side margin information, and right margin information, which is second group margin information. Thus, the black margin information includes left black margin information, which is the first side margin information, and right black margin information, which is the second side margin information. The magenta margin information includes left magenta margin information, which is first side margin information, and right magenta margin information, which is second side margin information.

Specifically, as described above, the external device generates raster data from the set margin data and the image data. This raster data includes blank data for which ink is not ejected and dot data for which ink is ejected. As shown in FIG. 4, based on the raster data, the image G is printed in the print area B of the print medium A in one pass, and the image G is not printed in the set margin. The print area B is an area of the print medium A other than the set margin, and is an area where the image G is formed based on the image data. In the case of borderless printing where the set margin is 0 and there is no set margin, the print area B is the entire print medium A. , the print area B is part of the print medium A; The print area B is divided into a plurality of areas per unit area in the front-back direction and the left-right direction, and dots are formed in each area.

For example, the dots forming the image G shown in FIG. 4 include at least one of black dots Dk, yellow dots Dy, cyan dots Dc, and magenta dots Dm based on dot data, and blank dots D0 based on blank data. may contain The black dot Dk is the first dot and is formed by black ink ejected from the black nozzle 21k. The yellow dots Dy are formed by yellow ink ejected from the yellow nozzles 21y. The cyan dots Dc are formed by cyan ink ejected from the cyan nozzle 21c. The magenta dots Dm are the second dots and are formed by magenta ink ejected from the magenta nozzles 21m.

The left black margin Ekl is the space between the leftmost black dot Dkl, which is the leftmost black dot in the horizontal direction among the plurality of black dots Dk, and the left edge Al of the print medium A. The dimension of the left black margin Ekl is the dimension of the left set margin El between the left edge Al of the print medium A and the left edge Bl of the print area B, and the left black dot between the left edge Bl of the print area B and the left edge black dot Dkl. It is the total dimension of the margin Edkl dimensions.

The size of the set left margin El is a set margin set by the user on the driver. The dimension of the left black dot margin Edkl is obtained from the presence or absence and position of the black dot Dk in the dot data. In the example of FIG. 4, the left edge black dot Dkl is arranged in the fourth area from the left edge Bl of the print area B. In the example of FIG. Between the area of the left end black dots Dkl and the left end Bl, there is an area of yellow dots Dy and cyan dots Dc other than the black dots Dk, and one area of blank dots D0. Therefore, these three areas become the left black dot margin Edkl, and the dimension of the three areas in the horizontal direction becomes the dimension of the left black dot margin Edkl.

The right black margin Ekr is the space between the rightmost black dot Dkr of the plurality of black dots Dk and the rightmost black dot Dkr in the horizontal direction and the right edge Ar of the print medium A. FIG. The dimension of the right black margin Ekr is the dimension of the right set margin Er between the right edge Ar of the print medium A and the right edge Br of the print area B, and the right black dot between the right edge Br of the print area B and the right edge black dot Dkr. This is the total size with the size of the margin Edkr.

The size of the right set margin Er is set by the user on the driver. The dimension of the right black dot margin Edkr is obtained from the presence or absence and position of the black dot Dk in the dot data. In the example of FIG. 4, the right edge black dot Dkr is arranged in the first area from the right edge Br of the printing area B. In the example of FIG. Since there is no area between the area of the right edge black dot Dkr and the right edge Br, the dimension of the right edge black dot margin Edkr is zero. Therefore, the size of the right black margin Ekr is equal to the size of the right set margin Er.

The left magenta margin Eml is the space between the leftmost magenta dot Dml located on the leftmost side in the horizontal direction among the plurality of magenta dots Dm and the left edge Al of the print medium A. FIG. The dimension of the left magenta margin Eml is the dimension of the left set margin El between the left edge Al of the print medium A and the left edge Bl of the print area B, and the dimension of the left margin El between the left edge Bl of the print area B and the left edge magenta dot Dml. This is the total size with the size of the magenta dot margin Edml.

The size of this left magenta dot margin Edml is obtained from the presence or absence and position of the magenta dot Dm in the dot data. In the example of FIG. 4, the leftmost magenta dot Dml is arranged in the second area from the leftmost Bl of the printing area B. In the example of FIG. Between the leftmost magenta dot area Dml and the leftmost area Bl is an area of yellow dots Dy other than the magenta dots Dm. Therefore, this one area becomes the left magenta dot margin Edml, and the dimension of the one area in the horizontal direction becomes the dimension of the left magenta dot margin Edml.

The right magenta margin Emr is the space between the rightmost magenta dot Dmr of the plurality of magenta dots Dm and the right edge Ar of the print medium A in the horizontal direction. The dimension of the right magenta margin Emr is the dimension of the right set margin Er between the right edge Ar of the print medium A and the right edge Br of the print area B, and the dimension of the right margin Er between the right edge Br of the print area B and the right edge magenta dot Dmr. This is the total size with the size of the magenta dot margin Edmr.

The dimension of this right magenta dot margin Edmr is obtained from the presence or absence and position of the magenta dot Dm in the dot data. In the example of FIG. 4, the rightmost magenta dot Dmr is arranged in the third area from the rightmost Br of the printing area B. In the example of FIG. Between the area of the rightmost magenta dots Dmr and the rightmost Br, there is an area of black dots Dk other than the magenta dots Dm and an area of blank dots D0. Therefore, these two areas become the right magenta dot margin Edmr, and the dimension of the two areas in the horizontal direction becomes the dimension of the right magenta dot margin Emr.

In this way, the margin information is acquired from the set margin data and the raster data based on the image data, and indicates the set margin based on the set margin data and the dot margin based on the image data. The black margin has a set margin and a dot margin, and the dot margin includes an area of blank dots D0 and an area of color dots Dm, Dc, and Dy of colors other than black dots Dk. The magenta margin has a set margin and a dot margin, and the dot margin includes areas of blank dots D0 and areas of color dots Dc, Dy and black dots Dk of colors other than magenta dots.

<Decision process>
When the control unit 50 executes print processing based on the print data, the nozzle information determines whether the head 20 is to be moved at a first speed or at a second speed, which is faster than the first speed, in one pass. and margin information. In one pass, the control unit 50 controls the movement of the head 20 so that the movement speed of the head 20 becomes the first speed or the second speed from the movement start position of the head 20 to the ink ejection start position or before the ink ejection start position. 20 set the movement start position. Furthermore, in the previous pass, the stop position of the head 20 is determined based on the ejection start position and the acceleration distance of the current pass. On the other hand, since the carriage 41 on which the head 20 is mounted moves along the guide rails 42 , the right end position and the left end position of the horizontal movable range of the head 20 are determined according to the guide rails 42 . Therefore, even if the head 20 starts moving from either the right end position or the left end position, the movement speed of the head 20 cannot reach the second speed at the ink ejection start position or before the ejection start position. Sometimes. In such a case, the control unit 50 causes the head 20 to move at the first speed slower than the second speed through the determination process. Details of this determination process will be described below.

The graphs of FIGS. 5A and 5B show the relationship between the position and speed of the head 20 when the head 20 moves at the first speed in the movable range of the head 20 . The horizontal axis indicates the position of the head 20 in the horizontal direction, and the vertical axis indicates the moving speed of the head 20 . As shown in FIG. 5(a), when the head 20 moves to the right, the head 20 starts moving at the left end position, accelerates from the speed 0 to the first speed in the first left range, and then moves to the first speed. It moves at a constant speed of the first speed in the constant speed range, decelerates from the first speed to speed 0 in the first right range, and stops at the right end position. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the head 20 moves to the left, the head 20 starts moving at the right end position, accelerates from the speed 0 to the first speed in the first right range, and then It moves at a constant speed of the first speed in the first constant speed range, decelerates from the first speed to 0 in the first left range, and stops at the left end position.

Here, the head 20 ejects ink from the nozzles 21 to form dots on the print medium A and print an image while moving at a constant speed at the first speed. In this case, ink is ejected from the first nozzle group 21a to form dots in the first dot formable region, and ink is ejected from the second nozzle group 21b to form dots in the second dot formable region. . The second nozzle group 21b is arranged on the left side of the first nozzle group 21a and the first nozzle group 21a. Therefore, the first dot formable area and the second dot formable area are shifted in the horizontal direction.

Therefore, in the head 20 moving to the right, when ink is ejected from the first nozzle group 21a, a wider margin is required on the left side than on the right side. On the other hand, in the head 20 moving to the right, when ejecting ink from the second nozzle group 21b, a wider margin is required on the right side than on the left side. Also, in the head 20 moving to the left, when ejecting ink from the first nozzle group 21a, a wider margin is required on the right side than on the left side. On the other hand, in the head 20 moving to the left, when ejecting ink from the second nozzle group 21b, a wider margin is required on the left side than on the right side.

The graphs of FIGS. 6A and 6B show the relationship between the position and speed of the head 20 when the head 20 moves at the second speed in the movable range of the head 20 . The horizontal axis indicates the position of the head 20 in the horizontal direction, and the vertical axis indicates the moving speed of the head 20 . As shown in FIG. 6A, when the head 20 moves to the right, the head 20 starts moving at the left end position, accelerates from the speed 0 to the second speed in the second left range, and then moves to the second speed. It moves at a constant speed of the second speed in the constant speed range, decelerates from the second speed to speed 0 in the second right range, and stops at the right end position. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the head 20 moves to the left, the head 20 starts moving at the right end position, accelerates from the speed 0 to the second speed in the second right range, and then moves to the second speed. It moves at a constant speed of the second speed in the constant speed range, decelerates from the second speed to speed 0 in the second left range, and stops at the left end position.

Since the second speed is faster than the first speed, the acceleration distance to the second speed and the deceleration distance from the second speed are longer than the acceleration distance to the first speed and the deceleration distance from the first speed, respectively. Therefore, the second constant speed range is shorter than the first constant speed range. Therefore, the first dot formable region and the second dot formable region when the head 20 moves at the second speed are the same as the first dot formable region and the second dot formable region when the head 20 moves at the first speed. each shorter than

For example, as shown in the graph of FIG. 6A, the case where the head 20 is moved at the second speed to print in the printing area B will be described. The head 20 starts moving to the right at the left end position, and at the position where the movement speed of the head 20 reaches the second speed and changes to the constant speed, both the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b are in the print area. It is left of the left edge Bl of B and does not enter the printing area B. However, at the position where the head 20 starts to decelerate from the second speed, the first nozzle group 21a is to the right of the right edge Br of the printing area B and does not enter the printing area B, but the second nozzle group 21b is printing. It is located on the left of the right edge Br of the area B and is in the printing area B.

In such a case, the conventional control did not take into consideration the arrangement of the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b, so printing was performed by moving the head 20 at the first speed. On the other hand, the moving speed of the head 20 is determined according to the positions of the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b. In this case, when printing only with ink from the second nozzle group 21b, the head 20 is moved at the first speed. When printing with ink from both the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b, the head 20 is moved at the first speed. However, when printing only with ink from the first nozzle group 21a, the head 20 is moved at the second speed. This makes it possible to speed up printing while suppressing degradation in image quality.

As described above, the moving speed of the head 20 differs depending on the nozzles that eject ink and the margin. Therefore, the control unit 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 based on the nozzle information and blank space information corresponding to the dot color. Here, when ink is to be ejected only from the black nozzles 21k that are the first nozzle group 21a, it is determined whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed based on the black margin information. Further, when ink is not ejected from the black nozzles 21k in printing, and ink is to be ejected only from the color nozzles including the magenta nozzles 21m of the second nozzle group 21b, the control unit 50 controls the first Determines whether to move the head 20 at a velocity or a second velocity. Here, the controller 50 moves the head 20 at the second speed in printing when the value of the margin is equal to or greater than the threshold. Also, when the value of the margin is less than the threshold, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 at the first speed in printing.

The control unit 50 starts the process of determining the movement speed of the head 20 by receiving print data from an external device via the I/F 51 . In the determination process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, first, the control unit 50 acquires nozzle information based on the color type of raster data included in the acquired print data (step S1). Also, the control unit 50 acquires margin information including the set margin and the dot margin based on the raster data included in the print data (step S2). Then, the control unit 50 determines based on the nozzle information whether or not to eject ink from the color nozzles in printing the image G based on the print data (step S3).

Here, if ink is not to be ejected from the yellow nozzle 21y, cyan nozzle 21c, and magenta nozzle 21m to form dots of the image G, the controller 50 determines that ink is not to be ejected from the color nozzles (step S3). : NO). In this case, in the dot formation of the image G, since the print mode is for monochrome printing in which ink is ejected from the black nozzles 21k without ejecting from the color nozzles, the control unit 50 executes monochrome printing determination (step S4). .

On the other hand, if ink is to be ejected from the yellow nozzle 21y, the cyan nozzle 21c, and the magenta nozzle 21m (step S3: YES), the controller 50 determines whether ink is to be ejected from the black nozzle 21k in dot formation of the image G. (step S5). Here, if the print mode is color printing in which ink is ejected from the magenta nozzle 21m but ink is not ejected from the black nozzle 21k (step S5: NO), the controller 50 executes color printing determination (step S6). ). On the other hand, in dot formation of image G, if the print mode is full-color printing in which ink is ejected from both the magenta nozzle 21m and the black nozzle 21k (step S5: YES), the control unit 50 executes full-color printing determination. (step S7).

(Monochrome print judgment)
In the monochrome printing determination in step S4, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 to the left in the horizontal direction during printing, and if ink is not ejected from the magenta nozzle 21m but is ejected from the black nozzle 21k, the right It is determined whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed based on the margin information. Further, when the head 20 is moved to the right in the horizontal direction during printing and ink is not ejected from the magenta nozzles 21m but ink is ejected from the black nozzles 21k, the control unit 50 controls the black nozzles 21k to eject ink based on the left black margin information. Determines whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed.

That is, as shown in an example of monochrome printing determination in FIG. 8, when performing monochrome printing, the control unit 50 determines the movement direction of the head 20 for each pass (step S10). When the head 20 moves to the right during the pass, the control unit 50 determines whether the left black margin Ekl is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S11). If the left black margin Ekl is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S11: YES), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the high second speed (step S12). As a result, the head 20 can be accelerated to the second speed within the movable range, and eject black ink during constant speed movement at the second speed to form the left end black dot Dkl. As a result, printing can be speeded up.

On the other hand, if the left black margin Ekl is less than the threshold (step S11: NO), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the low first speed (step S13). As a result, the head 20 can be accelerated to the first speed and eject black ink during constant-speed movement at the first speed to form the left-end black dot Dkl. This suppresses deterioration in image quality.

In step S10, when the head 20 moves to the left in the pass (step S10: NO), the control unit 50 determines whether or not the right black margin Ekr is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S14). If the right black margin Ekr is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S14: YES), the control unit 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 as the high second speed (step S15). As a result, the head 20 can be accelerated to the second speed within the movable range, and eject black ink during constant speed movement at the second speed to form the right end black dot Dkr. As a result, printing can be speeded up.

On the other hand, if the right black margin Ekr is less than the threshold (step S14: NO), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the low first speed (step S16). As a result, the head 20 is accelerated to the first speed, and ejects black ink during constant-speed movement at the first speed to form the right-end black dot Dkr. This suppresses deterioration in image quality.

(color print judgment)
In the color printing determination in step S6, the controller 50 moves the head 20 to the left in the horizontal direction during printing, and if ink is not ejected from the black nozzles 21k but is ejected from the magenta nozzles 21m, the left magenta It is determined whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed based on the margin information. Further, when moving the head 20 to the right during printing and ejecting ink from the magenta nozzles 21m without ejecting ink from the black nozzles 21k, the control unit 50 controls the first speed or Determine whether to move the head 20 at the second speed.

That is, as shown in an example of color printing determination in FIG. 9, when performing color printing, the control unit 50 determines the movement direction of the head 20 for each pass (step S20). When the head 20 moves to the right during the pass, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the right magenta margin Emr is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (step S21). If the right magenta margin Emr is greater than or equal to the threshold value (step S21: YES), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the high second speed (step S22). As a result, the head 20 can eject magenta ink during constant-speed movement at the second speed to form the rightmost magenta dot Dmr, and then decelerate from the second speed and stop within the movable range. As a result, printing can be speeded up.

On the other hand, if the right magenta margin Emr is less than the threshold (step S21: NO), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the low first speed (step S23). As a result, the head 20 ejects magenta ink during constant-speed movement at the first speed to form the rightmost magenta dot Dmr, and then decelerates from the first speed and stops. This suppresses deterioration in image quality.

In step S20, when the head 20 moves to the left in the pass (step S20: NO), the control unit 50 determines whether the left magenta margin Eml is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S24). If the left magenta margin Eml is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S24: YES), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 as the high second speed (step S25). As a result, the head 20 can eject magenta ink during constant-speed movement at the second speed to form the leftmost magenta dot Dml, and then decelerate from the second speed and stop within the movable range. As a result, printing can be speeded up.

On the other hand, if the right magenta margin Emr is less than the threshold (step S24: NO), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the low first speed (step S26). As a result, the head 20 ejects magenta ink during constant-speed movement at the first speed to form the leftmost magenta dot Dml, and then decelerates from the first speed and stops. This suppresses deterioration in image quality.

(Full-color print judgment)
In the full-color printing determination in step S7, the control unit 50 determines based on the right black margin information and the left magenta margin information when ejecting ink from the black nozzles 21k and the magenta nozzles 21m while moving the head 20 to the left in printing. determines whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed. Further, when ejecting ink from the black nozzles 21k and the magenta nozzles 21m while moving the head 20 to the right during printing, the control unit 50 controls the first speed or the first speed based on the left black margin information and the right magenta margin information. Determine whether to move the head 20 at two speeds.

That is, as shown in an example of full-color printing determination in FIG. 10, when performing full-color printing, the control unit 50 determines the moving direction of the head 20 for each pass (step S30). When the head 20 moves to the right during the pass, the control unit 50 determines whether the left black margin Ekl is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S31). If the left black margin Ekl is greater than or equal to the threshold (step S31: YES), the control section 50 determines whether or not the right magenta margin Emr is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (step S32).

If the right magenta margin Emr is greater than or equal to the threshold value (step S32: YES), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the high second speed (step S33). As a result, the head 20 can be accelerated to the second speed within the movable range, and eject black ink during constant speed movement at the second speed to form the left end black dot Dkl. Then, the head 20 can eject magenta ink during constant-speed movement at the second speed to form the rightmost magenta dot Dmr, and then decelerate from the second speed and stop within the movable range. As a result, printing can be speeded up.

On the other hand, if the left black margin Ekl is less than the threshold (step S31: NO) and if the right magenta margin Emr is less than the threshold (step S32: NO), the controller 50 reduces the moving speed of the head 20 to a low speed. The first speed is determined (step S34). As a result, the head 20 is accelerated to the first speed, and black ink is ejected from the head 20 during constant speed movement at the first speed to form the left end black dot Dkl. Then, the head 20 ejects magenta ink during constant-speed movement at the first speed to form the rightmost magenta dot Dmr, and then decelerates from the first speed and stops. This suppresses deterioration in image quality.

In step S30, when the head 20 moves to the left in the pass (step S30: NO), the control unit 50 determines whether the right black margin Ekr is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S35). If the right black margin Ekr is greater than or equal to the threshold (step S35: YES), the control unit 50 determines whether or not the left magenta margin Eml is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (step S36). If the left magenta margin Eml is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S36: YES), the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 as the high second speed (step S37). As a result, the head 20 can be accelerated to the second speed within the movable range, and eject black ink during constant-speed movement at the second speed to form the right-end black dot Dkr. Then, the head 20 can eject magenta ink during constant-speed movement at the second speed to form the leftmost magenta dot Dml, and then decelerate from the second speed and stop within the movable range. As a result, printing can be speeded up.

On the other hand, if the right black margin Ekr is less than the threshold (step S35: NO) and if the right magenta margin Emr is less than the threshold (step S36: NO), the controller 50 reduces the moving speed of the head 20 to a low speed. The first speed is determined (step S38). As a result, the head 20 is accelerated to the first speed, and ejects black ink during constant-speed movement at the first speed to form the right-end black dot Dkr. Then, the head 20 ejects magenta ink during constant-speed movement at the first speed to form the leftmost magenta dot Dml, and then decelerates from the first speed and stops. This suppresses deterioration in image quality.

<Action, effect>
In this embodiment, printing is performed by ejecting ink from nozzle groups based on nozzle information while moving the head 20 in the scanning direction at a first speed or a second speed faster than the first speed based on nozzle information and margin information. Control for printing an image on medium A is executed. As a result, the movement speed of the head 20 can be selected based on the position of the nozzles 21 in the head 20, so that the second speed is selected more often than in the past. This makes it possible to speed up printing while suppressing deterioration in image quality.

In this embodiment, the first nozzle group 21a has a black nozzle row 21K that ejects black ink, and the second nozzle group 21b has a magenta nozzle row 21M. In the case of black printing, determination is made using the first nozzle group 21a, in the case of color printing, determination is made using the second nozzle group 21b, and in the case of black and color printing, the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group are used. 21b is used for determination. As a result, the corresponding nozzle group can be selected according to the print mode, so the processing of the control unit 50 is speeded up.

In this embodiment, the margin information includes set margins preset by the user and blank dots that are non-ejection dots in the print area B other than the set margins. More specifically, the edge of the print medium A and the plurality of first dots formed by the ink ejected from the first nozzle group 21a among the plurality of dots forming the image and the print medium A in the scanning direction 1st group margin information that is the margin between the first dot closest to the edge of the print medium A, the edge of the printing medium A, and the ink ejected from the second nozzle group 21b among the plurality of dots forming the image. and second group margin information, which is the margin between the plurality of second dots to be formed and the second dot closest to the edge of the print medium A in the scanning direction. According to this, it is possible to select the speed of the head 20 with higher accuracy based on the positions of the dots ejected from the nozzle groups, so that the second speed is more often selected than in the conventional case. This makes it possible to speed up printing while suppressing degradation in image quality.

In this embodiment, the control unit 50 controls the first speed or Determine whether to move the head 20 at the second speed. In printing, when ink is not ejected from the first nozzle group 21a but ink is ejected from the second nozzle group 21b, the control unit 50 controls the head movement at the first speed or the second speed based on the second group margin information. Decide whether to move 20. According to this, it is possible to select the margin information according to the print mode, so the processing of the control unit 50 is speeded up.

In this embodiment, the margin information includes the first side margin information, which is the margin between the edge of the print medium A in the first direction in the scanning direction and the image, and the margin information of the print medium A in the second direction in the scanning direction. and second side margin information, which is the margin between the edge and the image. According to this, it is possible to select the margin information according to the movement direction of the head 20, so that the processing of the control section 50 becomes faster.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 in the first scanning direction in printing, and when ejecting ink from the first nozzle group 21a without ejecting ink from the second nozzle group 21b, determines whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed based on the second side margin information of the first group margin information. When the control unit 50 causes the first nozzle group 21a to eject ink without ejecting ink from the second nozzle group 21b while moving the head 20 in the second direction of the scanning direction in printing, the control unit 50 causes the first group Whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed is determined based on the first side margin information of the margin information. According to this, only necessary margin information according to the print mode and the moving direction of the head 20 can be selected, and the moving speed of the head 20 can be determined, so the processing of the control unit 50 can be speeded up.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 in the first scanning direction in printing, and when ejecting ink from the second nozzle group 21b without ejecting ink from the first nozzle group 21a, determines whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed based on the first side margin information of the second group margin information. When the control unit 50 causes the second nozzle group 21b to eject ink without ejecting ink from the first nozzle group 21a while moving the head 20 in the second direction of the scanning direction in printing, the second group Whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed is determined based on the second side margin information of the margin information. According to this, only necessary margin information according to the print mode and the moving direction of the head 20 can be selected, and the moving speed of the head 20 can be determined, so the processing of the control unit 50 can be speeded up.

In this embodiment, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 in the first scanning direction in printing, and when ejecting ink from the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b, the first group margin Whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed is determined based on the second side margin information of the information and the first side margin information of the second group margin information. When the control unit 50 causes the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b to eject ink while moving the head 20 in the second direction of the scanning direction in printing, the control unit 50 controls the first side of the first group margin information. Based on the margin information and the second side margin information of the second group margin information, it is determined whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed. According to this, it is possible to select the margin information according to the print mode and the movement direction of the head 20, so the processing of the control unit 50 is speeded up.

In this embodiment, the controller 50 moves the head 20 at the second speed in printing when the value of the margin is equal to or greater than the threshold. When the value of the margin is less than the threshold, the controller 50 moves the head 20 at the first speed in printing. According to this, the speed of the head 20 can be selected based on the threshold value, so the processing of the control unit 50 is speeded up.

<Modification 1>
In the printing apparatus 10 according to Modification 1, in the above embodiment, if there is a margin, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed based on the nozzle information and the margin information. determine whether Also, when there is no margin, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 at the first speed in printing.

Specifically, the control unit 50 executes the processes of steps S8 and S9 between steps S2 and S3 in the flowchart of FIG. 7, as shown in an example of the determination process of FIG. In the process of step S8, the control unit 50 determines whether or not there is any blank space based on the blank space information.

Here, for example, when the print area B is the entire area of the print medium A, such as borderless printing, the margin between the edge of the print medium A and the image in the horizontal direction is 0, and the margin is None (step S8: YES). In this case, the control unit 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 as the low first speed (step S9).

On the other hand, if the margin between the edge of the print medium A and the image in the horizontal direction is set to be larger than 0, the control unit 50 determines that there is a margin (step S8: NO). The processing after S3 is executed. As a result, if each margin is equal to or greater than the threshold value in monochrome printing determination in step S4, color printing determination in step S6, and full-color printing determination in step s7, the control unit 50 sets the moving speed of the head 20 to the second speed. If it is determined and each margin is less than the threshold, the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 as the first speed. As a result, the printing apparatus 10 can speed up printing while suppressing deterioration in image quality.

<Modification 2>
In the printing apparatus 10 according to Modification 2, in the embodiment and Modification 1 described above, the thresholds are the first threshold when ink is ejected from the black nozzle 21k in printing, and the first threshold when ink is ejected from the magenta nozzle 21m in printing. and a second threshold that is different from the first threshold if the Further, the threshold has a third threshold when the head 20 moves to the left during printing and a fourth threshold when the head 20 moves to the right during printing.

As described above, in the head 20, the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b arranged to the left of the first nozzle group 21a are arranged to be shifted from each other in the moving direction of the head 20. . Therefore, the first dot formable range by the first nozzle group 21a and the second dot formable range by the second nozzle group 21b are shifted in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the first threshold when ink is ejected from the black nozzle 21k and the second threshold when ink is ejected from the magenta nozzle 21m are different from each other.

Also, the acceleration distance and the deceleration distance of the head 20 may differ from each other. Furthermore, there are cases where the movable area of the carriage 62 with respect to the print medium A also moves to the left and moves to the right. In such a case, the third threshold when the head 20 moves to the left and the fourth threshold when the head 20 moves to the right are different from each other.

<Modification 3>
In the printing apparatus 10 according to Modification 3, the control unit 50 acquires size information regarding the size of the print medium A in the embodiment and Modifications 1 and 2 described above. If the size is the predetermined size, the control unit 50 determines whether to move the head 20 at the first speed or the second speed based on the nozzle information and the margin information. The control unit 50 determines to move the head 20 at the second speed if the size is not the predetermined size.

Specifically, as shown in an example of the determination process in FIG. 12, the processes of steps S8' and S9' are executed between steps S2 and S3 in the flowchart of FIG. In the process of step S8', the control unit 50 determines whether or not the print medium A has a predetermined size.

Here, the predetermined size is, for example, A4 size, which is the maximum size that can be printed by the printing apparatus 10, and is a size that may not leave a margin for moving the head 20 at the second speed. The size of the print medium A may be included in the print data, input to the control unit 50 by the user through the input device 13, or detected by a sensor detecting the print medium A. 50. Also, the size is not limited to the maximum size that can be printed by the printing apparatus 10, and multiple sizes may be set.

If the print medium A is smaller than the A4 size, the controller 50 determines that the size of the print medium A is not the predetermined size (step S8': NO), and determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the high second speed. (Step S9'). On the other hand, if the print medium A is A4 size, the control unit 50 assumes that the size of the print medium A is the predetermined size (step S8': YES), and executes the processes from step S3 onwards. . In this way, with the print medium A having a large size, the print area B on the print medium A is larger than the movable range of the head 20 in the horizontal direction, and the print area B is printed while moving the head 20 at the second speed. may not be possible. Therefore, in the determination of monochrome printing in step S4, the determination of color printing in step S6, and the determination of full-color printing in step S7, if each margin is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the control unit 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 to be the second speed. , and each margin is less than the threshold, the control unit 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 as the first speed.

In addition to the size of the print medium A, the controller 50 may determine the moving speed of the head 20 based on the direction in which the print medium A is arranged. Print medium A may have a rectangular shape with one length longer than the other. In this case, even if the size of the print medium A is smaller than the predetermined size, such as A5 size, which is not the maximum size that can be printed by the printing apparatus 10, depending on the arrangement direction of the print medium A, the carriage 41 may cause the head 20 to move. The length of the print medium A may be the same as the A4 size in the left-right direction, which is the moving direction of the . In such a case, the print area B is larger than the movable range of the head 20 in the left-right direction, and there is a possibility that a margin that allows the head 20 to move at the second speed cannot be obtained. Therefore, the control unit 50 may determine the movement speed of the head 20 based on the size of the print medium A and the direction in which the print medium A is arranged. The arrangement direction of the print medium A may be input to the control unit 50 by the user through the input device 13, or may be obtained by the control unit 50 from a detection signal of a sensor that detects the print medium A.

<Other embodiments>
In all the embodiments and modifications described above, the plurality of nozzles 21 of the black nozzle row 21K is the first nozzle group 21a. Also, the plurality of nozzles 21 of the magenta nozzle row 21M are used as the second nozzle group 21b. However, the first nozzle group 21a and the second nozzle group 21b are not limited to the above configurations. A plurality of nozzles 21 of a black nozzle row 21K and a yellow nozzle row 21Y located on the right side of the center of the head 20 in the horizontal direction are defined as a first nozzle group 21a, and a cyan nozzle row located on the left side of the center of the head 20 in the horizontal direction. A plurality of nozzles 21 of 21C and magenta nozzle row 21M may be used as the second nozzle group 21b. Alternatively, the plurality of nozzles 21 of the black nozzle row 21K may be the first nozzle group 21a, and the plurality of nozzles 21 of the yellow nozzle row 21Y, the cyan nozzle row 21C, and the magenta nozzle row 21M may be the second nozzle group 21b. The control unit 50 may determine the moving speed of the head 20 based on the margins for each of a plurality of or all of the color inks provided in the printing apparatus 10 .

In all the embodiments and modifications described above, the controller 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 for each pass. However, the control unit 50 may determine the moving speed of the head 20 throughout the printing based on the print data. In this case, the control unit 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 for at least the pass with the smallest margin among the plurality of passes included in printing before starting printing. Then, when a plurality of determinations includes determination that the moving speed of the head 20 is the first speed, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 at the first speed in all passes in printing. As a result, the uniformity between passes in the printed image quality is improved while shortening the determination processing time of the control unit 50 .

Alternatively, when printing a plurality of pages of the print medium A based on one print data, the control unit 50 may determine the moving speed of the head 20 for each page. In this case, the control unit 50 determines the moving speed of the head 20 for each of the multiple passes included in printing before starting printing. Then, if a plurality of determinations for each page includes determinations that the moving speed of the head 20 is the first speed, the control unit 50 moves the head 20 to the first speed in all passes in printing the page. Move at 1 speed. This improves pass-to-pass uniformity in printed image quality.

In all of the above-described embodiments and modifications, an external device such as a computer executes image processing on set margin data and image data, generates raster data, and sends print data including raster data to the printing device 10. sent. The control unit 50 of the printer 10 acquires print data from an external device through the I/F 51 . However, the raster data acquisition method is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 50 acquires image data from an external device such as a scanner through the I/F 51, acquires set margin data from the input device 13 or the like, and executes image processing on the set margin data and the image data. , may generate raster data. In this way, the process of generating raster data by combining image data with set margin data may be performed by an external device or may be performed by the control unit 50 of the printing apparatus 10 .

Further, in all the above-described embodiments and modifications, the margin information is the information of the set margin based on the data of the set margin and the information of the dot margin based on the image data, and the moving speed of the head 20 is the set margin. and dot margins. However, the moving speed of the head 20 may be determined based on the set margin, not based on the dot margin. In this case, the margin information does not contain dot margin information, but contains set margin information. In this case, the external device may transmit to the printing device 10 print data including raster data and set margin data. Since the control unit 50 of the printing apparatus 10 acquires the set margin data as the margin information without processing the raster data, the data processing speeds up and the printing speed improves. Note that the control unit 50 may acquire the set margin as the margin information from the raster data. Alternatively, the control unit 50 may acquire the dot margin from the raster data as the margin information instead of using the set margin as the margin information.

Also, the set margins are not limited to those set by the user. For example, a driver in an external device such as a computer may set the area other than the image on the print medium A based on the set margin and raster data regardless of the user's intention. Alternatively, the control unit 50 of the printing apparatus 10 may set the area other than the image on the printing medium A based on the set margin and the raster data regardless of the user's intention.

In addition, in all the embodiments and modifications described above, the control unit 50 acquires the nozzle information based on the color type of the raster data included in the print data, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the external device may determine which color of ink is to be ejected from print setting information, include color information other than raster data in print data, and transmit the print data to the printer 10 . As a result, the control unit 50 can acquire nozzle information from color information without data processing of raster data, so that the data processing time can be shortened, thereby speeding up printing.

All the above embodiments may be combined with each other unless they exclude each other. Also, many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the above description. Accordingly, the above description is to be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. Substantial details of construction and/or function may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to a printing apparatus capable of speeding up printing while suppressing deterioration in image quality.

0: speed 10: printing device 20: head 21: nozzle 40: scanning device 50: control unit

Claims (13)

a head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink onto a print medium;
a scanning device for moving the head in a first scanning direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a control unit;
The plurality of nozzles includes a first nozzle group, which is a plurality of nozzles arranged in a crossing direction that crosses the scanning direction, and a plurality of nozzles arranged in the first direction of the scanning direction rather than the first nozzle group. having a second nozzle group that is a plurality of the nozzles arranged in the cross direction;
The control unit
When an image is printed on the print medium by ejecting the ink from the nozzles while moving the head in the scanning direction, the ink is ejected from either the first nozzle group or the second nozzle group. Acquire nozzle information that defines whether to eject,
obtaining margin information about the margin between the edge of the print medium and the image in the scanning direction;
The ink is ejected from the nozzle group based on the nozzle information while moving the head in the scanning direction at a first speed or a second speed faster than the first speed based on the nozzle information and the margin information. printing apparatus for printing the image on the print medium. The first nozzle group has a plurality of nozzles for ejecting the black ink,
2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second nozzle group has a plurality of nozzles for ejecting said color ink. The margin information is
an edge of the print medium and a plurality of first dots formed by the ink ejected from the first nozzle group among the plurality of dots forming the image and an edge of the print medium in the scanning direction; the first group margin information, which is the margin between the first dot closest to
an edge of the print medium and a plurality of second dots formed by the ink ejected from the second nozzle group among the plurality of dots forming the image, and the print medium in the scanning direction; 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising second group margin information, which is the margin between the second dot closest to the edge. The control unit
When the ink is ejected from the first nozzle group without ejecting the ink from the second nozzle group in the printing, at the first speed or the second speed based on the first group margin information determining whether to move the head;
In the printing, when the ink is not ejected from the first nozzle group and the ink is ejected from the second nozzle group, the ink is ejected at the first speed or the second speed based on the second group margin information. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, which determines whether to move said head. The margin information is
first side margin information, which is the margin between the edge of the print medium in the first direction in the scanning direction and the image;
5. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, comprising second side margin information, which is the margin between the edge of the print medium in the second direction in the scanning direction and the image. . The control unit
When the ink is ejected from the first nozzle group without ejecting the ink from the second nozzle group while moving the head in the first direction of the scanning direction in the printing, the first determining whether to move the head at the first speed or the second speed based on the second side margin information of the group margin information;
When the ink is ejected from the first nozzle group without ejecting the ink from the second nozzle group while moving the head in the second direction of the scanning direction in the printing, the first 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein whether to move said head at said first speed or said second speed is determined based on said first side margin information of group margin information. The control unit
When the ink is ejected from the second nozzle group without ejecting the ink from the first nozzle group while moving the head in the first direction of the scanning direction in the printing, the second determining whether to move the head at the first speed or the second speed based on the first side margin information of the group margin information;
When the ink is ejected from the second nozzle group without ejecting the ink from the first nozzle group while moving the head in the second direction of the scanning direction in the printing, the second 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein whether to move said head at said first speed or said second speed is determined based on said second side margin information of group margin information. The control unit
When the ink is ejected from the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group while moving the head in the first direction of the scanning direction in the printing, the second determining whether to move the head at the first speed or the second speed based on the side margin information and the first side margin information of the second group margin information;
When the ink is ejected from the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group while moving the head in the second direction of the scanning direction in the printing, the first 8. A decision as to whether to move said head at said first speed or at said second speed is made based on side margin information and said second side margin information of said second group margin information. The printing device according to . The control unit
determining whether to move the head at the first speed or the second speed based on the nozzle information and the margin information when the margin exists;
9. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein said head is moved at said first speed in said printing when said margin does not exist. The control unit
moving the head at the second speed in the printing when the value of the margin is equal to or greater than the threshold;
10. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein said head is moved at said first speed in said printing when said margin value is less than said threshold value. The threshold is
a first threshold when the ink is ejected from the first nozzle group in the printing;
11. The printing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a second threshold different from said first threshold when said ink is ejected from said second nozzle group in said printing. The threshold is
a third threshold when the head moves in the first direction of the scanning direction in the printing;
12. The printing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a fourth threshold when said head moves in said second direction of said scanning direction in said printing. The control unit
obtaining size information of the size of the print medium;
if the size is a predetermined size, determining whether to move the head at the first speed or the second speed based on the nozzle information and the margin information;
13. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein said head is determined to be moved at said second speed if said size is not said predetermined size.

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