JP2023063970A - recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve high-level image recording precision by securely correcting landing precision defects of a plurality of ink jet heads caused by a mechanical precision error or the like.SOLUTION: A recording device includes a plurality of recording heads which have nozzle arrays with a plurality of nozzles for discharging a recording agent to a recorded medium arrayed in a predetermined direction, movement means which relatively moves the recorded medium and the plurality of recording heads to record on the recorded medium according to image data, acquisition means which acquires information relating to deviation between a recording position of the one recording head out of the plurality of recording heads corresponding to a plurality of positions of the recorded medium and a recording position by the other recording heads in movement by the movement means, and correction means which corrects the image data according to the information acquired by the acquisition means. The correction means divides the image data into a plurality of blocks corresponding to the plurality of respective positions of the recording medium, and corrects the image data by moving each of the plurality of blocks by a movement amount according to the deviation of each of the plurality of positions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 18

Description

The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium.

Conventionally, as an image recording apparatus for directly recording an image on a recording medium, ink is applied to the recording medium while scanning an inkjet head having a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in a predetermined direction. 2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording apparatuses that record images by ejecting ink are known. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various techniques have been proposed for improving recording accuracy of image recording by an inkjet recording apparatus.

JP 2010-204421 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-21782

For example, in Patent Document 1, in a drawing apparatus for a substrate, drawing data for drawing a circuit pattern converted from vector data to raster data is divided into a plurality of mesh regions, and the mesh regions are arranged at the positions of alignment marks provided on the substrate. By rearranging the mesh area according to the shape of the substrate based on the lithography method, it is possible to easily generate drawing data corresponding to deformation such as warping and distortion of the substrate and distortion due to processing in the previous process. is proposed.

Further, in Patent Document 2, in a drawing apparatus for a substrate, run-length data of an image corresponding to a plurality of segmented tilt angles, which are deviations in the circumferential direction of the substrate from a reference position on a stage, are used as a plurality of initial drawing data. One of the initial drawing data is stored in advance according to the actual tilt angle of the substrate on the stage, and a plurality of drawing blocks arranged in a matrix are set for the selected initial drawing data. By moving the drawing block according to the difference between the tilt angle and the section tilt angle, the drawing data is generated quickly, and the substrate placed at an angle on the stage is drawn quickly and accurately. A rendering device has been proposed.

By the way, an inkjet recording apparatus is composed of various members such as an inkjet head, a table on which a recording medium is placed, a carriage on which the inkjet head and the like are mounted, and various drive units for driving the carriage and the table. Therefore, the ink ejected from the inkjet head may be caused by machine accuracy errors based on complex factors including but not limited to poor manufacturing accuracy of the members that make up the inkjet recording apparatus, and poor assembly accuracy of each member. Degradation of recording quality may occur due to the occurrence of poor landing accuracy in which the droplets do not land on the intended position of the image data on the surface of the recording medium.

Further, in the case of ejecting a plurality of types of ink such as black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), or in the case of widening the printable width, the inkjet recording apparatus has a plurality of An inkjet head may be mounted on a carriage. In the case of such an inkjet recording apparatus, each of the plurality of inkjet heads may be individually affected by the machine accuracy error. Due to such effects, different types of poor landing accuracy may occur in each of the plurality of inkjet heads. As a result, the landing position of the ink droplets ejected from one of the plurality of inkjet heads and the landing position of the ink droplets ejected from the other inkjet head are different from the intended positions of the image data. A phenomenon that the ink lands at a certain position and a phenomenon such as streaks due to positional deviation of the band formed by each scan by the ink jet head may occur, which may lead to deterioration of the recording quality.

Resolving such machine accuracy errors by selecting high-precision components or improving assembly accuracy will lead to an increase in part prices and an increase in the number of assembly man-hours, which will lead to an increase in the manufacturing cost of the inkjet recording device. Connect.

Furthermore, the above machine accuracy error occurs as a defect in the image recording accuracy of the ink jet recording apparatus itself regardless of the distortion of the recording medium and the mounting state. However, in some cases, errors in the shape of the recording medium itself, such as warpage, cannot be resolved by correcting the drawing data according to the inclination of the mounting on the stage. Machine accuracy errors are disclosed in these documents. It may also cause a decrease in recording accuracy using drawing data generated by the method described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. To provide a recording device capable of

In order to achieve the above object, the inventor of the present invention discovered the following configuration as a result of diligent ingenuity.

That is, in the present invention,
a plurality of recording heads each having a nozzle array in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a recording material onto a recording medium are arranged in a predetermined direction;
moving means for relatively moving the recording medium and the plurality of recording heads in order to record image data on the recording medium;
Acquisition for acquiring information related to a deviation between a recording position by one of the plurality of recording heads corresponding to the plurality of positions of the recording medium and a recording position by the other recording heads during the movement by the moving means means and
correction means for correcting the image data according to the information acquired by the acquisition means;
has
The correction means divides the image data into a plurality of blocks corresponding to each of the plurality of positions on the recording medium, and moves each of the plurality of blocks according to the displacement of each of the plurality of positions. A recording device for correcting the image data by moving an amount.

Further, the correcting means corrects the image data by moving each of the plurality of blocks in a direction opposite to the direction of displacement of each of the plurality of positions.

Further, the obtaining means obtains a reference mark recorded with the recording agent ejected from one of the plurality of recording heads and a recording medium recorded with the recording agent ejected from one of the other recording heads. The information is acquired according to the positional relationship with the measurement mark.

Further, the reference mark and the mark to be measured are recorded using some nozzles among the plurality of nozzles of the recording head.

The moving means moves the recording medium and the plurality of recording heads relatively in a first direction crossing the predetermined direction in order to record an image with a recording width corresponding to the plurality of nozzles. After recording is completed, the recording medium and the plurality of recording heads are relatively moved in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction.

The plurality of positions are provided within a recording area recorded with the recording width by relative movement of the recording medium and the plurality of recording heads in the first direction, and the correcting means comprises The image data corresponding to the recording area is corrected according to the information.

Also, the plurality of positions are provided in the recording area in plurality with respect to the first direction and the second direction.

Also, the correcting means comprises storage means for storing the information.

Further, the storage means stores a plurality of the information for each temperature of the recording device, and the correction means selects the information according to the temperature of the recording device from the plurality of the information stored in the storage means. and move the block according to the selected information.

Further, by using two or more pieces of the temperature-specific information stored in the storage means, the information corresponding to the temperature not stored in the storage means is further calculated.

In addition, in the correcting means, when an area where pixels overlap occurs between adjacent blocks when the block is moved, the image data of the overlapping area is logically sum-processed.

Further, in the correcting means, when the amount of movement of the block exceeds a predetermined amount, the block is further divided.

Also, the prescribed amount is one pixel.

According to the present invention, by adopting the configuration described above, the above problems are solved, and a recording apparatus is provided that achieves a high degree of image recording accuracy by correcting poor landing accuracy of a plurality of inkjet heads due to machine accuracy errors and the like. I was able to

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of an inkjet recording apparatus used in this embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an ideal moving trajectory in the X direction of a carriage on which a plurality of inkjet heads are mounted, and an example of an actual moving trajectory; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a state of color registration deviation; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a phenomenon that occurs when scaling is performed; It is a schematic diagram explaining an example of a block correction process. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which image data of a checkered pattern is moved by one pixel from upstream to downstream in the X direction for enlargement; FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing how ink dots are formed before and after enlargement in an enlarged portion when the image of FIG. 6 is printed; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which image data of a checkered pattern is shifted by one pixel from downstream to upstream in the X direction for reduction; 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams showing how ink dots are formed before and after enlargement in an enlarged portion when the image of FIG. 8 is printed; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a situation in which a block requiring movement of more than one pixel is further divided and moved. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an overall image of a test pattern image used for acquiring information related to color misregistration in the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of reference marks and marks to be measured arranged in a test pattern block; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of test pattern blocks forming a test pattern image; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how a reference mark and a mark to be measured are read using a camera; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of image data according to correction values; It is an example of color misregistration block correction data for one band. FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating steps up to acquisition of color misregistration information; FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the flow of block correction. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating switching of color misregistration block correction data and block correction processing according to temperature conditions of an inkjet printing apparatus;

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of an inkjet recording apparatus used in this embodiment.

A carriage 2 has a plurality of nozzles arranged in the nozzle row direction, a plurality of inkjet heads 1 having a recording width of one band in the nozzle row direction, a control board 3 for controlling the inkjet heads 1, and a sub-tank 4 for supplying ink to the inkjet heads 1. , a camera 5 for capturing an image of the recording medium 7 and the like, a camera illumination 6, and the like are mounted, and driven by an X-axis drive unit 8 to move in the horizontal direction (X direction) of the drawing.

An inkjet recording apparatus for recording color images is usually equipped with an inkjet head 1 for ejecting four colors of ink, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). be. In addition, if necessary, an inkjet head for ejecting special color ink such as white (W) and clear (CL) required for required image formation can be further mounted, or an unnecessary color ink can be mounted. can be omitted. Further, as the inkjet head 1, one inkjet head 1 capable of ejecting one color of ink may be used, or one inkjet head 1 capable of ejecting two or more different types of ink (many types). It is also possible to use a colored ink head). An example in which four inkjet heads 1 corresponding to four colors of ink, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), are installed in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. is used.

A predetermined amount of ink to be supplied to the lower inkjet head 1 is supplied to the sub tank 4 corresponding to each of the plurality of inkjet heads 1 . Each pump is operated by a signal from a liquid level sensor (not shown), and ink is supplied from the main tank corresponding to each of the plurality of inkjet heads 1 to each sub-tank 4. The liquid level is kept almost constant so that

In addition, the gas portion in each sub-tank 4 is controlled to have a negative pressure by a negative pressure pump so that the ink can stably be ejected from the nozzles of the inkjet head 1 without leaking. A constant negative pressure value is always applied to each gas portion in the sub-tank 4 by feeding back the measured value of the negative pressure sensor (not shown) to the negative pressure pump. In addition, the ink can be forcibly discharged by applying a gas of 1 atm or more from the pump to each of the sub-tanks 4 to create a positive pressure.

The control personal computer 12 is connected to the control board 3 mounted on the carriage 2 via an interface board 13, and print data and printing conditions can be set from the control personal computer 12. FIG. Further, the control personal computer 12 is equipped with storage means 51 such as a memory capable of storing various types of necessary information such as color misregistration block correction data, which will be described later. The control personal computer 12 also has a selection means 55 realized by the operation of the CPU, etc., and selects an appropriate one from a plurality of color misregistration block correction data (to be described later) stored in the storage means 51, for example. be able to.

The recording medium 7 is attracted to the table 14 with a predetermined distance (preferably about 1 mm to 3 mm, but not limited to this) between the nozzle surface of the inkjet head 1 and the surface of the recording medium 7 . is placed on the By driving the Y-axis drive unit 15, the table 14 can be moved in the front and back direction (Y direction) of the plane of FIG. 1, which is a direction substantially perpendicular to the X direction. A gate-type frame (not shown) for supporting the X-axis drive unit 8, the Y-axis drive unit 15, and the like are all fixed on a base plate 16 that is sturdy and has high plane accuracy.

The table 14 is moved in the Y direction by a predetermined distance by driving the Y-axis drive unit 15. With the position of the table 14 in the Y direction fixed, the inkjet head 1 is moved in the X direction by driving the X-axis drive unit 8. One scan is performed by ejecting ink from the nozzles of the inkjet head 1 onto the recording medium 7, and an image for one band is recorded. Further, the Y-axis drive unit 15 is driven to move the table 14 by a predetermined distance in the Y direction, and while the Y-direction position of the table 14 is fixed, the X-axis drive unit 8 is driven to move the inkjet head 1 in the X direction. By ejecting ink from the nozzles of the inkjet head 1 onto the recording medium 7 while moving, one more scan is performed and an image for one more band is recorded.
By alternately repeating the movement of the table 14 in the Y direction and the scanning by the movement of the inkjet head 1 in the X direction, the surface of the recording medium 7 placed over the entire surface of the table 14 is can be printed on the entire surface in the X direction and the Y direction.

The X-axis drive unit 8 and the Y-axis drive unit 15 employ drive means capable of linear motion such as linear motors and ball screws. Applies. In this embodiment, various types of position detection means can be applied, and for example, a linear encoder can be used.

A linear encoder is a device that detects a position in a linear direction and outputs it as position information, and is also called a linear encoder, a positioning encoder, or a linear scale. A linear encoder is usually composed of a scale (division) that serves as a ruler and a head (detector) that detects position information. In addition, there are two types of linear encoders: the optical type that uses light reflection to detect the scale, and the magnetic type that uses magnetism. There is an increment expression. In the present embodiment, whether or not the position detection means is a linear encoder, and even if a linear encoder is applied, whether it is optical, magnetic, or other means, and whether it is an absolute type or an incremental type , and other means are not limited, and appropriate methods can be adopted.

The temperature sensor 19 can measure the temperature inside the ink jet recording apparatus and transfer the measured temperature data to the control personal computer 12 via a cable (not shown). In the inkjet recording apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, an example in which one temperature sensor 19 is arranged is shown, but a plurality of temperature sensors 19 may be installed to measure temperatures at a plurality of locations.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an ideal movement trajectory in the X direction and an example of an actual movement trajectory of a carriage on which a plurality of inkjet heads are mounted. Multiple inkjet heads 1 (in the example of FIG. 2, from the left, four inkjet heads 1 corresponding to four colors of ink, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y)) ) is moved in the X direction by the drive of the X-axis drive unit 8 . Here, in order to print ink droplets on the surface of the recording medium 7 with high landing accuracy, the carriage 2 should originally move on an ideal straight line indicated by the dotted line 20 . However, in reality, the movement of the carriage 2 is affected by machine accuracy errors, and a movement precision defect may occur in which the carriage 2 moves along a meandering movement track as indicated by the thick line 21, for example. It is assumed that this movement accuracy failure may occur on the order of plus or minus several tens of micrometers.

Due to such a mechanical precision error, the ink droplets ejected from the inkjet head 1 may not land on the intended position on the surface of the recording medium 7, resulting in poor landing precision, and deterioration of recording quality may occur. In particular, as the inkjet recording apparatus becomes larger and the image to be recorded becomes as large as several meters in width, it becomes more difficult to achieve high mechanical precision, and deterioration of recording quality is more likely to occur.

When a plurality of inkjet heads 1 are mounted on the carriage 2, a phenomenon called landing position deviation (color registration deviation) occurs between the heads, in which each ink droplet ejected from each inkjet head 1 does not land in the intended position. sell. That is, in the example of FIG. 2, the inks land at the same set positions in each of the inkjet heads 1 corresponding to black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) inks. Color registration accuracy is required such that all ink droplets of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) land on the same position on the surface of the recording medium 7 when a command is issued. be done. However, if color misregistration occurs due to machine precision error, at a certain position, some or all of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) will deviate from the set positions. In this way, a deviation in the degree of overlap between colors can occur.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the state of color misregistration. This is an example of recording a grid-like image with the inkjet head 1 corresponding to black (K) and the inkjet head 1 corresponding to cyan (C) among the plurality of inkjet heads 1 mounted on the carriage 2. The grids recorded by the inkjet head 1 corresponding to K) are indicated by solid lines, and the grids recorded by the inkjet head 1 corresponding to cyan (C) are indicated by dashed lines. Ideally, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the solid-line grid and the broken-line grid should be recorded so as to overlap each other. However, when color misregistration occurs due to machine precision error, as shown in FIG. In addition, a phenomenon can occur in which the solid-line grid and the broken-line grid deviate in the direction of rotation. As shown in FIG. 2, when the carriage 2 moves in the X direction while meandering due to machine precision errors, the state of FIG. 3A at one point, the state of FIG. A plurality of phenomena can occur at the same time, such as state (c). Such color misregistration causes significant deterioration in image recording quality. For example, when ink droplets of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) are superimposed, color misregistration occurs, causing the color tone of the recorded image to differ from that intended by the image data. A phenomenon that diverges from the Further, when performing image recording by sequentially adjoining adjacent band-like images by scanning the recording medium 7 a plurality of times, a phenomenon may occur in which each band overlaps or is too far apart. As a result, a phenomenon of band streaks such as black streaks and white streaks may occur at the boundaries of images recorded by each scan.

Various machine precision errors are assumed to cause color misregistration. Also, the machine precision error may occur under the influence of manufacturing precision, assembly precision, and the like of each component that constitutes the inkjet recording apparatus. Among these, machine accuracy errors related to the X-axis and machine accuracy errors related to the carriage may be the main contributors.

Machine accuracy errors related to the X-axis include the assembly accuracy of the inkjet head 1, the carriage 2, the X-axis drive unit 8, the gate-type frame, etc., and the influence of the linear motion accuracy and assembly accuracy of the X-axis drive unit 8 itself. is assumed. Furthermore, the movement instructed by the control personal computer 12 is caused by the error in the absolute position accuracy of the linear encoder itself constituting the X-axis drive unit 8 and the accuracy of pasting the linear encoder to the X-axis drive unit 8. The influence of the error between the amount and the amount of movement of the X-axis drive unit 8 is also assumed.

Further, as machine accuracy errors related to the carriage, errors in mounting accuracy of each ink jet head 1 to the carriage 2, errors in manufacturing accuracy of the carriage 2, and the like are assumed.

However, depending on the means of improving the machine accuracy itself, such as selecting higher-precision parts to improve the machine accuracy error and improving the accuracy to improve the assembly accuracy, the price of parts and the number of assembly man-hours may increase. lead to an increase.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, ink droplets ejected from one inkjet head 1 of the plurality of inkjet heads 1 are used as reference ink droplets, and the landing position of the reference ink droplet is used as a reference. Information related to color misregistration, which is the difference between the position of the ejected ink droplet and the landing position of the reference ink droplet, is acquired. Then, according to the acquired information related to relative color registration deviation, the image data used for image recording is transformed by performing block correction processing, which will be described later. As a result, the ink landing positions are adjusted according to the machine precision error in each of the plurality of inkjet heads 1, thereby relatively improving the deterioration of the recording quality due to the color registration deviation, and achieving a high degree of color registration accuracy. ing. The correction processing in this embodiment will be described in detail below.

First, as a premise of the description of the present embodiment, block correction processing including block division and block movement of image data will be described.

As a premise, the purpose of using block correction processing will be described. When the method of simply transforming the print image data is used to correct the machine precision error, one pixel line disappears due to the scaling of the print image data due to the nature of the image processing. A phenomenon may occur in which one pixel line becomes two pixel lines due to enlargement. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a phenomenon that occurs when scaling is performed. As shown in FIG. 4, a phenomenon that one pixel line disappears due to reduction or a phenomenon that one pixel line becomes two pixel lines due to enlargement may occur. These phenomena do not necessarily occur during enlargement/reduction, but may occur with a certain probability depending on the enlargement/reduction magnification. For example, if the image data of 1000×1000 pixels is reduced to 99%, it is necessary to delete 1 pixel out of 100 pixels, or 10 pixels in total. may occur. In addition, if it is enlarged to 101%, it is necessary to increase the image by 1 pixel in 100 pixels, or a total of 10 pixels. possibility to occur. Occurrence of such a phenomenon causes a phenomenon in which printing is not performed on a portion that should be printed or a phenomenon in which printing is performed on a position that should not be printed. Therefore, by adopting a method of dividing the print image data into blocks and moving the blocks according to the machine precision error, the above-mentioned problems associated with scaling of the print image data can be avoided and image deformation can be realized.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of block correction processing. In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the image data 44 of 100×100 pixels is divided into four blocks 47 of 50×50 pixels, and the lower right block 47 (most downstream in the X and Y directions) is A simplified example of moving is used. Each block 47 is designated with a representative point 76 as the reference origin of the block 47 . One representative point 76 may be designated at a predetermined position such as the upper left, center, lower left, or other position of each block 47. In this example, the upper left of each block 47 upstream). Each block 47 is moved by setting the amount of movement of the representative point 76 of each block 47 and moving the entire block 47 according to the movement of each representative point 76 .

FIG. 5(a) shows a state before execution of block correction processing, in which four blocks are arranged adjacently without movement. In FIG. 5B, the lower right block 47 is moved by one pixel in the downstream expansion direction in the X direction. As a result, image data transformation equivalent to transformation of the image data as a whole into image data of 101×100 pixels is realized. In FIG. 5C, the lower right block 47 is moved by one pixel in the downstream enlargement direction in the X direction and by one pixel in the upstream reduction direction in the Y direction. As a result, the image data as a whole is transformed into image data of 101.times.100 pixels as in FIG. 4B. Considering the upper left block 47 as a reference, the upper right, lower left, and lower right blocks 47 can be moved up, down, left, and right by one pixel.

Here, in performing the block correction processing in this embodiment, by keeping the amount of movement of each block 47 within one pixel, it is possible to avoid the deterioration of the printing image quality caused by the block correction processing. This point will be described below.

First, in the block correction process, when the block 47 is moved in the one-pixel enlargement direction, the interval between the block 47 and the adjacent block 47 is increased by one pixel.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which image data of a checkered pattern is shifted by one pixel from upstream to downstream in the X direction for enlargement. In this example, by moving one pixel from upstream to downstream in the X direction, the length in the horizontal direction (X direction) is increased from 16 pixels to 17 pixels.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing how ink dots are formed before and after enlargement in an enlarged portion when the image of FIG. 6 is printed. Note that FIG. 7 uses an example in which the resolution of image data is 2880 dpi. When the ink dot 48 and the ink dot 49 move one pixel relative to each other in the enlargement direction, if the image data is 2880 dpi, the interval between one pixel of the image data is about 8.8 μm, which is equivalent to one pixel in the enlargement direction. When moved, the interval doubles to 17.6 μm. At this time, the ink droplet size of one pixel after printing spreads on the recording medium, and each of the ink dots 48 and 49 has a diameter of about 50 μm. Therefore, even if the ink dots 48 and 49 are moved by 8.8 μm in the enlargement direction as a result of moving the adjacent pixels of the image data by one pixel, the ink dots 48 and 49 will still overlap. , and no white streaks are generated.

Further, when the block 47 is moved in the one-pixel contraction direction, the block 47 and the adjacent block 47 overlap by one pixel.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which image data of a checkered pattern is shifted by one pixel from downstream to upstream in the X direction for reduction. In this example, by moving one pixel from downstream to upstream in the X direction, the length in the horizontal direction (X direction) is reduced from 16 pixels to 15 pixels. By moving in the direction of reduction, the lines of the reduced portion overlap. In this embodiment, when the image data is a checkered pattern, the image data of the overlapped portion is logically summed, resulting in a solid image with a density of 100%.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing how ink dots are formed before and after enlargement in the enlarged portion when the image of FIG. 8 is printed. Note that FIG. 9 also uses an example in which the resolution of image data is 2880 dpi. As described above, if the image data is 2880 dpi, the interval of one pixel of the image data is about 8.8 μm. When moved by one pixel in the reduction direction, the interval becomes about 0 μm. After printing, the ink droplet size of one pixel spreads on the recording medium and has a diameter of about 50 μm. In this way, the ink dots 48 and 49 are still overlapping each other before and after reduction, and the recording quality as a whole is hardly affected, and phenomena such as black streaks do not occur.

In this way, in the block correction process, by keeping the amount of movement of the block 47 within one pixel, it is possible to avoid deterioration of print quality due to block correction. Various methods are conceivable for keeping the amount of movement of the block 47 within one pixel. For example, when blocks 47 of a predetermined size are set, if there is a block 47 that must be moved by more than one pixel in order to correct color misregistration, all blocks 47 are set to a predetermined size. By resetting to be smaller than the size, it is possible to keep the amount of movement of each of the reset blocks 47 within one pixel. Also, by minimizing the number of reset blocks 47 that need to be moved and minimizing the overall amount of movement of the blocks 47, it is possible to improve the processing speed. The size of the block 47 to be moved can also be the maximum size in which the amount of movement is within one pixel.

Further, in the block correction process, as shown in FIG. 10, it is also possible to further divide only the block 47 that needs to be moved by more than one pixel. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a situation in which a block requiring movement of more than one pixel is further divided and moved. In the example of FIG. 10, when a block 47 of a predetermined size is set, only the block 47 that must be moved by more than one pixel is further divided to correct the color misregistration. Each block 61 is moved by one pixel. By this method, the block 47, which is originally required to be moved by two pixels, can be moved in a manner equivalent to moving the block 47 by more than one pixel while keeping the amount of movement of the small block to be moved within one pixel.

The above is the outline of the block correction processing that is the premise of the present embodiment.

Next, a method for acquiring information related to the above-described color misregistration will be described.

First, what is meant by color misregistration will be explained again in detail. For example, in the case of an inkjet recording apparatus that ejects four colors of ink, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), as described above, the inkjet heads 1 corresponding to these four colors of ink It is necessary to achieve color registration accuracy based on the level of accuracy of landing positions so that the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles can land on the surface of the recording medium 7 so as to always overlap each other. If it is not possible to print so as to overlap, ink droplets of the four colors of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) cannot be made to land as intended by the image data. As a result, variations from the intended color tone of the image data and degradation of recording quality such as band streaks may occur. For example, in the case of image recording with a resolution of 600×600 dpi, the interval per pixel is 25.4 mm/600=42 μm, and the amount of color misregistration is preferably within one pixel (42 μm), more preferably. is within 0.5 pixels (21 μm). However, as described with reference to FIG. 2, due to the influence of various machine precision errors, the plurality of inkjet heads 1 mounted on the carriage 2 may not be able to achieve the required color registration accuracy, resulting in color registration deviation.

Appropriate control and adjustment of each ink jet head 1 is the basis for countermeasures against such color misregistration. However, in the inkjet recording apparatus, as described above, machine accuracy errors may occur due to the influence of the manufacturing accuracy and assembly accuracy of each component that constitutes the inkjet recording apparatus. Color misregistration that cannot be prevented by adjustment may occur. Therefore, as a precondition for improving color misregistration due to machine precision errors by block correction processing, it is necessary to acquire information related to actual color misregistration. A method of acquiring information related to color misregistration will be described below.

First, in the present embodiment, ink droplets ejected from one of the plurality of inkjet heads 1 are used as reference ink droplets. Then, using the landing position of the reference ink droplet as a reference, how much is the positional relationship between the position of the ink droplet to be measured ejected from the other inkjet head 1 and the landing position of the reference ink droplet from the ideal positional relationship? Information related to color misregistration is obtained by measuring the misalignment. Various methods are conceivable as a method for measuring such a positional relationship, but a method of recording a predetermined test pattern image using each of a plurality of inkjet heads 1 and taking an image of the image will be described as an example. . In the following description, an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with four inkjet heads 1 for ejecting ink droplets of four colors, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). will be described as an example. In the following description, an example in which black (K) ink droplets are used as reference ink droplets will be used. may Further, when a special color ink is used, the special color ink may be used as the reference ink droplet, and there is no particular limitation.

First, a test pattern image is used to measure color misregistration, and ink droplets are ejected from a plurality of mounted inkjet heads 1 to record on the surface of the recording medium 7 .

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an overall image of a test pattern image used for obtaining information related to color misregistration in this embodiment. In the test pattern image used in the present embodiment, a test pattern block 80 corresponding to each block of the image divided for block correction is created, and the position of the test pattern block 80 is corrected in the block correction. By arranging the same number of blocks in a predetermined direction, one test pattern image 85 is configured as a whole.

FIG. 11A shows a test pattern block of 10 mm square covering the entire surface of the recording medium 7 placed on the table 14 in the X direction and covering the width of one band corresponding to the printing width of the inkjet head 1 in the Y direction. 80 is a test pattern image 85 in which 80 is arranged. As described above, color misregistration is mainly caused by machine precision errors related to the X axis and machine precision errors related to the carriage. is assumed to occur uniformly. Therefore, considering the processing time for block correction, etc., it is also possible to use a test pattern image 85 having a width of one band as shown in FIG. 11(a). Also, on the premise that the manufacturing precision error in the arrangement of each nozzle row in the inkjet head 1 itself is within the allowable range, half the band width of the nozzles constituting the nozzle surface of each of the plurality of inkjet heads 1 and one predetermined nozzle arranged in the other half of the band width are used to form a reference dot as a reference mark 81 and a measurement target mark 82 on a test pattern block 80. Dots are recorded. In such a test pattern image 85, two test pattern blocks 80 are arranged in the nozzle row direction. If a higher degree of color registration accuracy is required, a plurality of even smaller test pattern blocks 80 may be arranged in the direction of the bandwidth.

FIG. 11B is an example of a test pattern image 85 for measuring the amount of color misregistration over the entire surface of the recording medium 7 placed on the table 14 in the XY directions. Poor movement accuracy due to machine accuracy error may naturally occur in movement of the table 14 in the Y direction by driving the Y-axis drive unit 15 as well. For example, the accuracy of assembling the table 14 and the Y-axis driving unit 15, the linear motion accuracy of the Y-axis driving unit 15 itself, the assembling accuracy of the Y-axis driving unit 15 and the base plate 16, etc. can be expected. Furthermore, the movement instructed by the control personal computer 12 caused by the influence of the error in the absolute position accuracy of the linear encoder itself constituting the Y-axis drive unit 15 and the accuracy of attaching the linear encoder to the Y-axis drive unit 15 The influence of the error between the amount and the amount of movement of the Y-axis drive unit 15 is also assumed. Therefore, in order to realize higher color registration accuracy over the entire surface of the table 14, it is assumed to use the test pattern image 85 in which the test pattern blocks 80 are arranged over the entire surface in the XY directions. In the following description, an example of the test pattern image 85 in FIG. 11(a) will be used. Note that the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 are not limited to one dot formed by ink droplets ejected from one nozzle, and various shapes can be used as described later.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of reference marks and marks to be measured arranged in a test pattern block. The reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 are used to grasp their positional relationship as described above. The reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 preferably have shapes that are easy to measure with a camera or the like, but there is no particular limitation. FIG. 12A shows an example in which the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 are circular. It may be the size of an ink dot formed by one ink droplet ejected from one nozzle, or it may be of a larger size. FIG. 12B shows an example in which the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 are cross-shaped, and FIG. 12C shows an example in which the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 are square. 12(d) is an example in which the reference mark 81 and the mark 82 to be measured are L-shaped. In the following description, the example of FIG. 12(a) will be used.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of test pattern blocks forming a test pattern image. In the example of FIG. 13(a), in one test pattern block 80, a reference mark 81 in black (K) and a group of marks 82 to be measured in cyan (C) arranged at a predetermined interval from the reference mark 81. , a reference mark 81 made of black (K) and a group of marks to be measured 82 made of magenta (M) arranged at a predetermined distance from the reference mark 81 , a reference mark 81 made of black (K) and a predetermined distance from the reference mark 81 . There are three reference marks 81 and a group of marks to be measured 82, a group of marks to be measured 82 in yellow (Y) spaced apart. The reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 need only be arranged so as not to overlap each other so that the distance between them can be measured. In the example of FIG. ing. As for the nozzles used for recording the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82, one arbitrary nozzle may be selected and used for each test pattern block 80, or a predetermined plurality of nozzles may be selected and used. may If more ink jet heads 1 are mounted and more marks to be measured need to be arranged, groups of reference marks 81 and marks to be measured 82 can also be arranged in the test pattern block 80 .

In the example of FIG. 13(b), a reference mark 81 in black (K) is surrounded by a mark 82 in cyan (C), a mark 82 in magenta (M), and a mark 82 in yellow (Y). 82 are arranged. In this manner, the reference mark 81 and the required number of marks to be measured 82 may be arranged at predetermined intervals from the reference mark 81 in the test pattern block 80 . Groups of reference marks 81 and marks to be measured 82 are arranged in one test pattern block 80, for example, groups of two or more black (K) and cyan (C) ink dots are arranged. , and the average value of these can be used to obtain information about color misregistration. In the following description, the example of FIG. 13(a) will be used.

Next, the camera 5 is used to read the reference mark and the mark to be measured of the printed test pattern. Reading of the reference mark and the mark to be measured will be described below. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing how the reference mark and the mark to be measured are read using a camera. FIG. 14A is a schematic diagram of an imaging frame of the camera 5. FIG. The outer camera frame 27 shows the entire field of view of the camera 5. For example, if the number of pixels is 1280 pixels×1024 pixels and the resolution per pixel is 5 μm, the field of view in the X direction is 1280 pixels×5 μm=6.4 mm. , the field of view in the Y direction is 1024 pixels×5 μm=5.12 mm. An intersection point 28 of dotted lines indicates the center of the camera frame 27 . The reference mark and the mark to be measured recorded on the recording medium 7 are imaged, the actual distance between the imaged reference mark and the mark to be measured is measured, and the predetermined distance set in the test pattern image and the actual distance are measured. By measuring how far the interval is, information about the color misregistration is obtained. In this manner, in the present embodiment, information about color misregistration of the inkjet heads 1 corresponding to each of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) is obtained.

FIG. 14(b) is an example of an imaging situation of the reference mark 81 and the mark 82 to be measured. As described above, in the example of the test pattern block 80 in FIG. 13A, the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 are spaced by 5 pixels each in the XY directions as the predetermined interval set in the test pattern image. are placed. That is, if the test pattern image has a resolution of 600×600 dpi, the interval per pixel is 42 μm, and the actual interval between the imaged reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 is 42× in the X and Y directions. 5=210 μm. Therefore, if the actual distance between the imaged reference mark 81 and the mark 82 to be measured is 42×5=210 μm in the X and Y directions, no color misregistration has occurred. FIG. 10B shows an example in which the actual distance between the imaged reference mark 81 and the mark 82 to be measured is 210 μm in the X and Y directions, and no color misregistration occurs in this portion. Be an example.

FIG. 14(c) is also an example of the imaging situation of the reference mark 81 and the mark 82 to be measured. As described above, the actual distance between the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 should be 210 μm in both the X and Y directions. However, in this example, the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 are separated by 300 μm in the X direction and by 180 μm in the Y direction. Therefore, it can be seen that a color misregistration of 90 μm in the X direction and −30 μm in the Y direction has occurred. These become the X coordinate correction value 31 and the Y coordinate correction value 32, respectively, and correction is performed by the respective correction values. you know you need it.

Note that the X-coordinate correction value 31 and the Y-coordinate correction value 32 in FIG. 14 are acquired by the number of pixels because they are captured by the camera. When the resolution per pixel of the camera 5 is 5 μm as in the above example, the values of the X-coordinate correction value of 31×5 μm and the Y-coordinate correction value of 32×5 μm are the amounts of deviation. Even if the resolution of the camera is 5 μm/pixel, the reference mark and the mark to be measured are measured at their center of gravity, so they can be measured with a finer resolution than 5 μm.

Through the above process, it is possible to calculate a correction value, which is a numerical value to be corrected according to the color misregistration, assuming that the value of the position information of the reference mark 81 is true, which is a premise of the block correction process. Based on the acquired correction value, block correction processing is performed on the entire image data to be printed, and the image data is deformed according to the color registration deviation to correct the color registration deviation. In the inkjet recording apparatus, image data such as TIFF format corresponding to each of the plurality of inkjet heads 1 is normally used. In this embodiment, the ink jet head 1 used for recording the reference mark 81 is used as a reference to correct the color misregistration of the other ink jet heads 1 . Therefore, the image data corresponding to the inkjet head 1 used for recording the reference mark 81 is not subjected to block correction processing, and the image data corresponding to the inkjet head 1 used for the mark to be measured 82 is subjected to block correction. is executed. In this embodiment, the ink dots formed by the inkjet head 1 corresponding to black (K) are the reference marks 81, and the ink dots formed by the inkjet head 1 corresponding to cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) are measured. An example of the mark 82 will be described.

First, an overview of block correction processing for machine precision errors will be described. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of image data according to correction values. A modified image shape 45 indicates the outer shape of the converted print image data obtained by deforming the image data 44 in accordance with the color misregistration, and the converted image data 46 is indicated by the outer dotted line. The inner block 47 shows the state after the movement, and has a shape spread over the image shape 45 after deformation, but a part of it is illustrated here. The image block is moved up, down, left, and right while maintaining the condition that the amount of movement between the image blocks is within a predetermined value, for example, within one pixel, and the image data 46 as a whole is converted into image data 46 that substantially matches the color registration deviation.

Further, the color registration deviation of the actual device is reversed to the shape of the image after deformation. Blank data is arranged between the image shape 45 after deformation and the image data 46 after conversion because they are not actually printed.

By processing in this way, it is possible to avoid the problem that one pixel line disappears due to reduction as described above, or that one pixel line becomes two pixel lines due to enlargement. Since the correction can be made different for each color, it is possible to correct non-linear color misregistration as shown in FIG.

Then, in order to correct color misregistration, virtual blocks corresponding to the set test pattern blocks 80 are set in the image data to be printed. set. A correction value corresponding to the amount of color misregistration obtained by the above method is applied to each band to this representative point 76 . Then, according to the movement of the representative point 76, the entire virtual block including the representative point 76 is moved by a correction value corresponding to the amount of color misregistration, thereby performing block correction processing. As a result, color misregistration is eliminated, and a state equivalent to achieving a high degree of color registration accuracy in which the color registrations of all the inkjet heads 1 are appropriately matched is realized. For this reason, one band of color misregistration block correction data is prepared in advance before printing, stored in the storage means 51 of the control personal computer 12, and referenced at the time of printing. can be printed in a corrected state. In this embodiment, the above processing is performed on image data corresponding to cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y).

Further, in the block correction process, since the image data is transformed, the correction value must be converted in units of pixels. It is assumed that the correction value is converted by setting a predetermined threshold according to the measured correction value and print resolution. As a method of setting the threshold value, if the amount of displacement is from 0 to 21.1 μm in image data of 600 dpi, the color registration displacement block correction data is assumed to be 0 pixel movement as a block that is not moved, and the displacement is 21.2 μm. to 63.4 μm, the movement is one pixel, if the amount of deviation is from 63.5 to 105.7 μm, the movement is two pixels, and if the amount of deviation is from 105.8 to 148 μm, the movement is three pixels. is assumed to be set to Applying this to the example of FIG. 14C, if the recording resolution of the inkjet head 1 is 600 dpi, the interval of one pixel is 42.3 μm, which is 90 μm (2.1 pixels) in the X direction and −1 in the Y direction. A color misregistration of 30 μm (−0.7 pixels) occurs, and the amount of block movement is 2 pixels in the X direction and −1 pixel in the Y direction.

FIG. 16 is an example of color misregistration block correction data for one band. As described above, for each test pattern block 80, the color misregistration in the X direction and the Y direction is measured, and the movement amount of the block is stored in pixels in the storage means 51 according to the set threshold value. Image data corresponding to the inkjet head 1 recording the image of the mark 82 to be measured, other than the image data corresponding to the inkjet head 1 recording the image of the reference mark 81 (black (K) in this embodiment). (In this embodiment, image data corresponding to each of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y)) color misregistration block correction data (three in this embodiment) are created. be done. If the number is negative, the direction of movement is reversed.

As described above, by storing the color misregistration block correction data in the storage unit 51 and referring to it before printing as described above, each image to be printed can be divided into blocks, moved, and synthesized. .
Note that the value after conversion into the number of pixels may be stored in advance in the storage unit 51 as the color misregistration block correction data.

The steps of the block correction processing according to the present embodiment described above will be described using a flowchart. This block correction processing is executed by the control personal computer 12 in which a program corresponding to the flow of FIG. 17 is stored.

First, the flowchart of FIG. 17 will be described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining the process up to acquisition of color misregistration information, which is executed before the start of printing operation by the inkjet printing apparatus. In flow 101 , a test pattern image is recorded on the recording medium 7 . Next, in flow 102, by processing of the control personal computer 12, the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 on which the test pattern image is recorded are imaged using the camera 5, and the distance between the reference mark 81 and the mark to be measured 82 is measured. to acquire information about color misregistration. In flow 103 , color registration error block correction data corresponding to each inkjet head 1 that recorded the mark 82 to be measured is created based on the color registration error information by processing of the control personal computer 12 . Then, in flow 104 , the color misregistration block correction data is stored in the storage means 51 by the processing of the control personal computer 12 . In this embodiment, the above steps are performed for each of the inkjet heads 1 corresponding to cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y).

The above steps may be performed before manufacturing the inkjet recording apparatus, when the installation environment of the inkjet recording apparatus changes, when replacing the inkjet head 1, or depending on the print quality after manufacturing the inkjet recording apparatus. implemented as appropriate.

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 18 will be described. FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram for explaining the flow of block correction. First, in flow 105 , one band corresponding to the color misregistration block correction data is cut out of the print image data by the processing of the control personal computer 12 . Next, in flow 106, color registration block correction data is acquired from the storage means, and the image data for one band cut out in flow 105 is divided into blocks. Next, in flow 107, the control personal computer 12 processes the print data corresponding to each of the divided blocks based on the coordinates of the print start position and the X-coordinate correction value and Y-coordinate correction value of the block correction data within color misregistration. After calculating the amount of movement of each block according to the resolution in units of pixels, color registration error block correction data is assigned to each of the divided blocks. Then, in flow 108, each block is moved by processing of the control personal computer 12 according to the movement amount calculated in flow 107, and in flow 109, the moved blocks are combined to generate corrected image data for one band. do. Then, in flow 110, the image data for all bands necessary for printing the image data is subjected to block correction by repeating the steps from flow 105 to flow 109, and thus corrected image data for all bands is obtained. create. The above steps are performed for each image data corresponding to cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y).

Through the above steps, the block correction processing was performed on the print image data, and the color misregistration could be corrected.

By the way, color misregistration may vary depending on environmental conditions such as temperature conditions of each member constituting the inkjet recording apparatus. That is, in the example of the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG. 1, members such as the X-axis drive unit 8, the linear encoder, and the gate-type frame on which the X-axis drive unit 8 is assembled are made of a plurality of materials such as aluminum and iron. and each material has a different coefficient of thermal expansion. In addition, it is assumed that the occurrence of machine accuracy errors due to temperature changes also varies depending on the assembling conditions of each member, such as the tightening strength of screws. Therefore, a plurality of color misregistration block correction data corresponding to the temperature conditions of the inkjet printing apparatus are obtained in advance, and the corresponding color misregistration block correction data are referred to according to the temperature conditions of the inkjet printing apparatus. A correction process can be implemented.

FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram for explaining switching of color misregistration block correction data and block correction processing in accordance with the temperature condition of the inkjet printing apparatus. For example, color misregistration block correction data corresponding to temperatures every 4.degree. Then, according to the temperature information obtained from the temperature sensor 19 mounted in the inkjet recording apparatus, the control personal computer 12 uses the selection means 55 to select color registration deviation block correction data for each temperature stored in the recording means, Color misregistration block correction data closer to the acquired temperature information is selected and referred to, and used for block correction processing.

If it is necessary to select color registration block correction data corresponding to more detailed temperature changes, it is possible to store more detailed color registration block correction data for each temperature. The block correction data can also be used to generate color registration block correction data corresponding to temperatures between these two temperatures by linear interpolation. For example, in the example of FIG. 19, using the data of the color registration block correction table of 20° C. and the color registration block correction table of 24° C., the color registration block correction table of 21° C. is generated by linear interpolation. be able to.

The block correction processing described above is executed by the control personal computer 12 in which the program corresponding to the flow described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 is stored.

By carrying out the printing operation through the above process, it was possible to achieve printing with even higher precision.

1 Inkjet head 2 Carriage 3 Control board 4 Sub-tank 5 Camera 6 Camera lighting 7 Recording medium 8 X-axis drive unit 12 Control personal computer 13 Interface board 14 Table 15 Y-axis drive unit 19 Temperature sensor 27 Camera frame 31 X-coordinate correction value 32 Y coordinate correction value 44 Image data 45 Image shape after transformation 46 Image data after transformation 47 Block 51 Storage means 55 Selection means 60 Divided small block 61 Divided small block 76 Representative point 80 Test pattern block 81 Reference mark 82 Measurement object Mark 85 Test pattern image

Claims (13)

a plurality of recording heads each having a nozzle array in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a recording material onto a recording medium are arranged in a predetermined direction;
moving means for relatively moving the recording medium and the plurality of recording heads in order to record image data on the recording medium;
Acquisition for acquiring information related to a deviation between a recording position by one of the plurality of recording heads corresponding to the plurality of positions of the recording medium and a recording position by the other recording heads during the movement by the moving means means and
correction means for correcting the image data according to the information acquired by the acquisition means;
has
The correction means divides the image data into a plurality of blocks corresponding to each of the plurality of positions on the recording medium, and moves each of the plurality of blocks according to the displacement of each of the plurality of positions. A recording device that corrects the image data by moving it by an amount. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said correction means corrects said image data by moving each of said plurality of blocks in a direction opposite to the direction of displacement of each of said plurality of positions. The obtaining means includes a reference mark recorded with the recording agent ejected from one of the plurality of recording heads, and a measurement target mark recorded with the recording agent ejected from one of the other recording heads. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said information is acquired according to a positional relationship with said recording device. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reference mark and said mark to be measured are recorded using some of said plurality of nozzles of said recording head. The moving means relatively moves the recording medium and the plurality of recording heads in a first direction crossing the predetermined direction in order to record an image with a recording width corresponding to the plurality of nozzles. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the recording medium and the plurality of recording heads are relatively moved in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction after the recording is finished. recording device. The plurality of positions are provided within a recording area recorded with the recording width by relative movement of the recording medium and the plurality of recording heads in the first direction, and the correcting means corrects the information. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said image data corresponding to said recording area is corrected in accordance with . 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said plurality of positions are provided in plurality in said recording area with respect to said first direction and said second direction. 8. A recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said correction means comprises storage means for storing said information. The storage means stores a plurality of the information for each temperature of the recording device, the correction means selects the information according to the temperature of the recording device from the plurality of the information stored in the storage means, 9. A recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said block is moved according to said selected information. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein two or more pieces of said information for each temperature stored in said storage means are used to further calculate said information corresponding to temperature not stored in said storage means. 10. In said correcting means, when an area where pixels overlap with said adjacent block occurs when said block is moved, said image data in said overlapping area undergoes a logical sum process. The recording device according to any one of 1. 12. The recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said correcting means further divides said block when the amount of movement of said block exceeds a predetermined amount. 13. The recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said specified amount is one pixel.

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