JP4280400B2 - Inkjet recording method, recording apparatus, and data processing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method, a recording apparatus, and a data processing method capable of obtaining a high-quality image on a recording medium, and more specifically, an ink jet recording method in which recording is performed by a recording head in one pass or multiple passes, The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a data processing method.
[0002]
The present invention is applicable to all devices using recording media such as paper, cloth, leather, non-woven fabric, OHP paper, and metal. Specific examples of applicable equipment include office equipment such as printers, copiers, and facsimile machines, and industrial production equipment.
[0003]
[Prior art]
In recording on a recording medium by a recording apparatus, there is an increasing need for users who want to print at high speed. When printing with an emphasis on speeding up, a method of reducing the number of passes in multi-pass printing that is used to achieve high image quality is effective. Here, the number of printing passes is the number of times the carriage is scanned to complete one line.
[0004]
This is because the number of ejection ports of the recording head is a fixed value, so the larger the number of passes, the smaller the paper feed amount per one time. Conversely, the smaller the number of passes, the smaller the amount of paper feed per time. This is because it can be enlarged. For example, if it is possible to print in one pass where printing is being performed in two passes, the speed can be increased approximately twice. In other words, the smaller the number of passes, the smaller the number of carriage scans required to record a predetermined area (for example, one sheet), and the larger the amount of paper feed that can be done, resulting in printing one sheet. Such time is shortened.
[0005]
When printing is performed in one pass, the recording head having a plurality of ejection openings for ejecting recording liquid (ink) is scanned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the ejection openings. By this scanning, a band-shaped image region (band) is formed as shown in FIG.
[0006]
In this way, when printing in one pass, since one band area is formed by one scan, a plurality of areas where the duty (ratio) of the recording ink that is driven onto the recording medium at one time is one band are plural. More than multi-pass printing formed by one scan. For this reason, although the degree of difference varies depending on the properties of the recording medium and the recording liquid, black streaking between passes (between bands) becomes remarkable in a portion with a high printing duty in one-pass printing.
[0007]
This adverse effect becomes even greater in a so-called side-by-side head configuration in which recording heads that discharge a plurality of different recording inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, etc.) are arranged in the main scanning direction. This is because the connecting position of each color occurs in the same place. A schematic diagram of the recording heads arranged side by side is shown in FIG.
[0008]
The black streaks generated at the boundary between the band and the band as described above are also referred to as connecting streaks or banding, and if this connecting streaks occur, the print quality may be difficult to withstand actual use.
[0009]
For this reason, a method has been proposed in which such connecting stripes are eliminated and image quality is improved in one pass.
[0010]
For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-188898, when a recording head repeatedly scans in the main scanning direction and records an image for each band in the serial scanning method, a joint portion of the recording area for each band is recorded. Describes a method for preventing the generation of streaks. That is, at least one of the first raster and the final raster of one band recorded by one scan of the recording head is divided into a plurality of unit areas composed of a predetermined number of dots, and each unit is determined based on the image data. In this method, printing is performed by thinning out the ink discharge amount of interest in accordance with the sum of the ink discharge amount of the color of interest in the region and the other ink discharge amounts in the unit region.
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the conventional method, for example, in printing on a recording medium such as plain paper in which a connecting stripe is likely to occur, the accuracy of reducing the connecting stripe is not sufficient, and the connecting stripe may be conspicuous in the printed image. there were.
[0012]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus and a recording method capable of obtaining an image with less splicing lines when one-pass recording is performed. And providing a data processing method.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus that records on a recording medium by ejecting ink while scanning the recording head with respect to the recording medium, and is recorded on the recording medium by scanning the recording head. For each unit area formed by dividing the vicinity of the connecting part between bands into a plurality of parts, the unit area is driven Each color Ink amount Sum of Indicate amount information And relative information showing the relative relationship between the amount of ink of each color For each unit area acquired by this acquisition means amount information And relative information Based on the unit area Ink reduction area And a processing means for performing processing for reducing the amount of ink to be ejected on the unit area, A preceding band recorded by a preceding scan and a succeeding band recorded by a subsequent scan; Is an area that spans Thus, the ink amount reduction area is set only for the preceding band in the unit area. It is characterized by that.
[0014]
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording method for performing recording on a recording medium by ejecting ink while scanning the recording head with respect to the recording medium, and a connecting portion between bands recorded on the recording medium by scanning of the recording head For each unit area formed by dividing the neighborhood into a plurality of areas, the unit area is driven Each color Ink amount Sum of Indicate amount information And relative information showing the relative relationship between the amount of ink of each color And the acquisition process for each unit area acquired by this acquisition process amount information And relative information Based on the unit area Ink reduction area And a processing step for performing processing for reducing the amount of ink to be ejected on the unit region, A preceding band recorded by a preceding scan and a succeeding band recorded by a subsequent scan; Is an area that spans Thus, the ink amount reduction area is set only for the preceding band in the unit area. It is characterized by that.
[0015]
Furthermore, the present invention performs recording on a recording medium by ejecting ink while scanning the recording head with respect to the recording medium. Used for Data processing to process data apparatus In each unit region obtained by dividing the vicinity of the connecting portion between the bands recorded on the recording medium by scanning the recording head into a plurality of Based on the data corresponding to each color ink in the unit area, Drive into the unit area Each color Ink amount Sum of Indicate amount information And relative information showing the relative relationship between the amount of ink of each color Earn to win means And this win means For each unit area acquired by amount information And relative information Based on the unit area Ink reduction area To reduce the amount of ink Therefore, data corresponding to each color ink in the unit area is processing Do processing means And the unit area is A preceding band recorded by a preceding scan and a succeeding band recorded by a subsequent scan; Is an area that spans Thus, the ink amount reduction area is set only for the preceding band in the unit area. It is characterized by that.
[0016]
Furthermore, the present invention provides an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium in units of bands by discharging ink while scanning the recording head with respect to the recording medium. The preceding band recorded by the preceding scan and the succeeding recorded by the subsequent scan band When For each unit area obtained by dividing the vicinity of the connecting portion into a plurality of parts, Each color Counting means for counting the number of ink ejection data; Acquisition means for acquiring relative information indicating the relative relationship of the number of ink ejection data of each color in the unit area for each unit area; Result of counting by counting means And relative information acquired by the acquisition means On the basis of the , The unit area For thinning out the ink ejection data of each color corresponding to the thinning area inside Based on the determining means for determining the thinning rate and the thinning rate determined by the determining means, For each color corresponding to the thinning area Ink ejection data The Thinning For Thinning means, and the unit area is The preceding band and the succeeding band In the area that spans the band. The thinning area is set only for the preceding band in the unit area. It is characterized by that.
[0017]
According to the above configuration, since the unit area for counting the ink ejection amount is set to an area extending over both bands, it is possible to appropriately grasp the behavior of the connecting stripe. In addition, since the dot count area and the thinning area are set with different sizes, thinning can be performed appropriately.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described by taking a serial printer having a plurality of recording heads as an example.
[0019]
In one embodiment of the present invention, in the data for one band, the vicinity of the connecting portion is divided into certain unit areas, the number of dots of each color is counted for each area, and attention is paid from the dot count value for each color. The color gamut of the area is determined. In this color gamut, the thinning processing area is thinned out for each color from the dot count value (or print duty) for each unit area obtained by the sum of the dot count values for each color and the thinning rank graph given in advance. Determine the rank and execute the SMS thinning process.
[0020]
Here, it supplements about the following points in the said form.
[0021]
(Thinning processing position)
As shown in FIG. 5, the area for performing the blinking process is set to a number of rasters (for example, 4 rasters) on the paper feed side in one scan for printing. The reason for thinning the paper supply side is that the paper discharge side has a relatively large margin (margin) with respect to the recording medium than the paper supply side. By thinning out the paper supply side, it is possible to support a relatively larger number of recording media than by thinning out the paper discharge side by one parameter.
[0022]
Further, when thinning is performed over several rasters, the thinning level (in this case, the rank graph) is set independently for each raster or in units of several rasters. By setting in this way, it is possible to increase the accuracy of thinning, that is, the accuracy of thinning processing.
[0023]
(Dot count area)
As shown in FIG. 5, the dot count area is a 16 dot × 16 raster (dot) area straddling the connecting portion. Although details will be described later, it is possible to appropriately grasp the bleeding state in the joint portion by making the area larger than the thinning region and dot-counting the print data of both bands across the joint portion.
[0024]
(Thinning processing method)
In the present embodiment, the print data thinning process is executed using a thinning method called SMS (sequential multi-scan) thinning process. Other thinning processing methods include a pattern mask method and error diffusion (ED).
[0025]
However, in the method using the pattern mask, as shown in FIG. 22, for example, when using the staggered pattern thinning mask shown in FIG. ) And (b-2), when print data having the same driving amount is processed, the processed data becomes (c-1) and (c-2), and the print data is in the grid indicated by x. Thinning is performed. As can be seen from these two figures, the pattern mask method causes interference between the thinning mask and the print data depending on the arrangement of the print data with respect to the same recording ink shot amount (duty) data. There is a case where the thinning amount cannot be controlled uniformly.
[0026]
Moreover, although it is the method by ED, the following operation can be considered as an example of this.
・ If there is data to be printed on the pixel that processes quantized image data, multi-values are assigned based on the nozzle correction value obtained in advance.
・ Add errors from surrounding pixels
・ Determine whether or not to thin out the print data of pixels by comparing with a predetermined threshold
・ Calculate the error caused by the judgment
・ Distribute the error to surrounding pixels
If there is no data to be printed on the pixel that performs the processing of the quantized image data, an error from the surrounding pixels is acquired and distributed to the predetermined surrounding pixels.
The pixel to which the error is distributed is that the error is distributed to at least one of the pixels in the data string to be processed next, as viewed from the data string of the pixel in the scanning direction of the connecting stripe process and the other pixel being processed. .
[0027]
However, it is easy to imagine that when such a process is performed, when one-pass printing is performed, there are many nozzles in the current high-density nozzle head, and the processing of the print data may not be in time. it can. When waiting for data processing, a phenomenon of carriage stoppage due to print data waiting is caused, which is contrary to the purpose of speeding up printing by performing one-pass printing.
[0028]
For this reason, in this embodiment, the SMS thinning process is adopted in order to achieve uniform control of the thinning amount and high-speed processing. Here, the SMS thinning process reads the count value (specific bit, for example, MSB) specified by the counter (register) every time print data exists. If it is 1, the print data is not thinned (printing) On the other hand, if the counter value is 0, the print data is thinned out (printing is not performed). Then, the counter is moved to the right by one (bit shift). When the counter moves to the rightmost position, it returns to the leftmost position again (shifts cyclically). This is a processing method in which thinning dots are determined (thinning processing) by repeating this processing every time print data comes. As described above, since only thinning or non-thinning is determined for a certain dot of print data, there is no synchronization with the print data pattern.
[0029]
(Thinning table)
The color development at the printing edge varies depending on the printing order of the ink used on the recording medium. An example of the penetration of the recording ink into the recording medium is schematically shown in FIG. However, the state of penetration of the recording ink differs depending on the recording ink used, the recording medium, the environment, the printing time difference between the recording inks for printing, and the like.
[0030]
Here, a state is shown in which the recording ink 232 to be printed later sinks under the recording ink 231 to be printed first. Thus, normally, different recording inks recorded at the same position on the recording medium are not completely mixed and colored, but become colored as shown in FIG. Yes. At this time, the printing end portion 233 indicated by a circle in FIG. 23B differs in color from the print interior 234, and it can be seen that the color of the recording ink applied later is strong. As a result, the connecting stripes are getting worse. For this reason, even if the same thinning rate is used for the recording ink that has been printed first and the recording ink that will be printed later, the difference in color at the end cannot be eliminated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the thinning rate is determined in consideration of the order in which the ink adheres to the recording medium.
[0031]
Next, an example of a thinning rank graph for determining the thinning rate in this embodiment is shown in FIG. This thinning rank graph shows the thinning rank corresponding to the dot count number in the dot count area for each ink to be thinned.
[0032]
The thinning rank graph is specified by a combination of three numerical values: the number of start dots, the dot interval, and the MAX rank. The thinning rank is designated in advance. For example, in the present invention, the thinning rate is 0%, 12.5%, 25%, 37.5%, 50%, 62.5%, 75%, 87.5%, 100%. Set 9 levels.
[0033]
Each parameter will be described first. The number of start dots is the total dot count value when starting to use a thinning rate of 12.5% (thinning rank 1). The dot interval means a dot count number until the next thinning rate (25% if 12.5% is followed), that is, a range of dot counts using the same thinning rate. The MAX rank is the maximum thinning rate, and if the thinning rate reaches the MAX rank without selecting a thinning rate exceeding this, even if the dot count value for the dot interval comes after that, the thinning rate is increased. It means that the thinning rate of MAX rank is maintained without doing.
[0034]
If it is possible to set with three parameters in this way, for example, one thinning rank graph such as 3 dots for start dots (8 steps), 3 bits for dot interval (8 steps), and MAX rank 2 bits (4 steps) Can be expressed in 1 byte (8 bits).
[0035]
In order to increase the resolution of each parameter, the number of bits of the parameter may be increased. Alternatively, the parameter can be set with higher accuracy by leaving the number of bits as it is, and giving a common offset for the thinning rank graph in 1 byte for each of the start dot number, dot interval, and MAX rank. .
[0036]
In this way, it is possible to reduce the amount of data necessary to set the thinning rank graph. As described above, reducing the amount of data is very important in the present embodiment. This is because, in a printing mode such as one pass where the printing speed is fast, it is difficult to implement with a software and a hardware implementation is desirable in order to perform a linkage process as in this embodiment. This is because when data processing is performed with software, data cannot be generated in time for the printing speed of the carriage, and print data waits. For this reason, it is desirable to implement in hardware, that is, a gate array. However, since the required number of data directly affects the number of gates, the smaller the number of data, the better in terms of circuit scale.
[0037]
Another example of the thinning rank is shown in FIG. 10 (b). This is effective when it is desired to change the inclination in the middle of the thinning rank graph.
[0038]
In addition to the three parameters required to describe the thinning rank of the previous point, in order to specify the second slope, the number of changed dots indicating the start point of the change and the dot interval 2 that specifies the subsequent slope are It is something to have. If such parameter setting is performed, more accurate processing can be performed.
[0039]
(Color gamut judgment)
Depending on the relationship between the ink used and the recording medium, the behavior on the recording medium will differ when printing is performed, and the appearance of the connecting stripe and the effect on the connecting stripe when thinned will differ depending on the color. .
[0040]
For example, in a gradation that goes from white to blue and UC (mixed color of under color and YMC), printing is performed using cyan ink and magenta ink in the direction toward blue, and when the maximum of blue is reached. Cyan and magenta are solid print data (maximum duty data). In this state, thinning is applied to some extent to cyan and magenta in order to reduce the connecting stripes.
[0041]
Consider the case of printing gradation from white to red and then to UC using the same thinning parameters. You will start using cyan ink for the first time from the red MAX to the UC. The driving amount at this point is the maximum duty data of magenta and yellow, and is equal to the direction from blue to black in the case of the white-blue-black gradation above, so the cyan and magenta first Thinning is performed using the high thinning rate used. For this reason, since a large amount of cyan dots are extracted when data starts to enter and dots are arranged only in a sparse state, there is a problem that cyan dot omission is noticeable.
[0042]
In this way, in addition to the total amount of ink applied to the unit area in the vicinity of the edge used in the past, information on the hue and saturation of the unit area and information on which printing ink is used for printing are obtained. Therefore, it is necessary to set the thinning rate according to the information in performing the joining process when forming a color image. In order to realize this, in the present embodiment, the hue and saturation of the region of interest (unit region) are determined from the dot count value of each color. Hereinafter, the hue and saturation are collectively referred to as a color gamut.
[0043]
According to the above embodiment, the color gamut of the region of interest is determined from the number of print data in the vicinity of the connection (the number of dots to be drawn), and the thinning rank (thinning-out) is determined for each ink used and each print position according to this color gamut. By using the thinning rank set in this way and performing the thinning process for each ink, the degree of joint streaks that occur between bands in one-pass printing can be reduced. .
[0044]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each figure, elements indicated by the same reference numerals are the same or corresponding elements.
[0045]
(First embodiment)
The first embodiment of the present invention relates to a recording method in which a plurality of recording heads print on a recording medium using recording ink to form an image.
[0046]
(Configuration example of recording device)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main configuration of an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a plurality (three) of head cartridges 1A, 1B, and 1C are mounted on a carriage 2 in a replaceable manner. Each of the cartridges 1A to 1C is provided with a connector for receiving a signal for driving the recording head unit. In the following description, when referring to the whole or any one of the recording means 1A to 1C, the recording means (recording head or head cartridge) 1 is simply indicated.
[0047]
The plurality of cartridges 1 record with different color inks, and different inks such as cyan, magenta, and yellow are stored in their ink tanks. Each recording means 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 so as to be replaceable. The carriage 2 has a connector holder (electrical connection part) for transmitting a drive signal and the like to each recording means 1 via the connector. Is provided.
[0048]
The carriage 2 is guided in the moving direction along the guide shaft 3 installed in the apparatus main body in the main scanning direction. The carriage 2 is driven by the main scanning motor 4 via the motor pulley 5, the driven pulley 6, and the timing belt 7, and its position and movement are controlled. A recording material 8 such as paper or a plastic thin plate is conveyed (paper fed) through a position (recording unit) facing the discharge port surface of the recording head 1 by rotation of two sets of conveying rollers. The back surface of the recording material 8 is instructed by a platen (not shown) so that a flat recording surface can be formed in the recording portion. In this case, the cartridges 1 mounted on the carriage 2 are held so that their discharge port surfaces protrude downward from the carriage 2 and are flat with the recording material 8 between the two pairs of transport rollers. .
[0049]
The recording head 1 is an ink jet recording unit that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes an electrothermal transducer for generating thermal energy. The recording head 1 performs recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port using pressure change caused by bubble growth and contraction caused by film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. . FIG. 6 shows the nozzle configuration of a plurality of heads used in this example.
[0050]
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view partially showing a main part structure of the ink ejection part 13 of the recording head 1. In FIG. 2, a plurality of (here, 256) discharge ports 21 facing the recording material 8 with a predetermined gap (about 0.5 to 2 [mm]) at a predetermined pitch (here, 360 dpi). In order to generate ink discharge amount energy along the wall surface of each flow path 24 in which the discharge port 22 is formed and communicates with each discharge port 22 through the common liquid chamber 23, an electrothermal converter (such as a heating resistor) 25 Is arranged. In this example, the recording head 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 in such a positional relationship that the ejection ports 22 are arranged in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the carriage 2. In this way, the corresponding electrothermal transducer 25 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal, the ink in the flow path 24 is boiled, and ink is ejected from the ejection port 22 by the pressure generated at that time A head 1 is configured.
[0051]
FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration example of the control circuit in the ink jet printing apparatus shown in FIG.
[0052]
In FIG. 3, a controller 100 is a main control unit, which includes, for example, a CPU 101 in the form of a microcomputer, a ROM 103 storing programs, necessary tables and other fixed data, an area for developing image data, a work area, and the like. A RAM 105 is included. The host device 110 is an image data supply source (a computer that creates and processes data such as images related to printing, or may be in the form of a reader unit for image reading, etc.). Image data, other commands, status signals, and the like are transmitted / received to / from the controller 100 via the interface (I / F) 112.
[0053]
The operation unit 120 is a switch group that receives an instruction input from the operator, and includes a power switch 122, a switch 124 for instructing the start of printing, a recovery switch 126 for instructing the start of suction recovery, and the like.
[0054]
The head driver 140 is a driver that drives the discharge heater 25 of the print head 1 in accordance with print data or the like. The head driver 140 includes a shift register that aligns print data according to the position of the discharge heater 25, a latch circuit that latches at appropriate timing, and a logic circuit element that operates the discharge heater in synchronization with a drive timing signal. And a timing setting section for appropriately setting drive timing (discharge timing) for dot formation position alignment.
[0055]
The print head 1 is provided with a sub-heater 142. The sub-heater 142 adjusts the temperature to stabilize the ink ejection characteristics, and is formed on the print head substrate at the same time as the ejection heater 25 and / or attached to the print head main body or head cartridge. It can be.
[0056]
The motor driver 150 is a driver that drives the main scanning motor 152, the sub-scanning motor 162 is a motor that is used to transport (sub-scan) the print medium 8, and the motor driver 160 is the driver.
[0057]
(Print data processing)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the process from reception of print data for one scan to the end of print data processing.
[0058]
In step S1, print data of an amount necessary for one-scan printing corresponding to each color ink is received. For one-scan printing, in addition to data for one band, data for the dot count area of the next band is required. Here, one band is a print area formed in one carriage scan.
[0059]
After receiving the print data, for each unit area, here, each area of 16 dots × 16 rasters shown in FIG. 5, the dot count is determined in step S2, the color gamut is determined in step S3, the thinning rank is determined in step S4, and in step S5. SMS thinning process is performed. In step S6, the above process is repeated until one band is completed. Details of each process will be described below.
[0060]
(Dot count)
In this embodiment, the dot count area has a width corresponding to 16 rasters including the band connecting portion.
[0061]
Dot counting is performed on all the recording inks installed in the recording apparatus used in this embodiment, that is, binary data for each color of cyan, magenta, and yellow, and the total dot count obtained from each is calculated as dot count. The resulting dot count value (or total dot count value).
[0062]
Here, supplementing the dot count value, `` dot count value is 1 '' means that there is one dot per pixel, and if it is 2, it means that there are two dots per pixel. Show.
[0063]
The dot count is performed in the divided area in the vicinity of the connecting portion. The size is 16 rasters in the paper discharge direction and 16 dots in the carriage scanning direction (hereinafter referred to as “dot count unit area”). Notation.) For this reason, the maximum value of the total dot count value is 16 (raster) × 16 (dots) × 3 (number of colors) = 768.
[0064]
The processing of this embodiment is performed according to the flow of determining the thinning rank from the total dot count value obtained by this dot count and performing the SMS thinning processing. In addition, it is possible to obtain relative information indicating the relative relationship between the amounts of inks that are shot into the unit area from the dot count value of each color, and the color gamut (hue and saturation) of the unit area is determined from this relative information. ing.
[0065]
Such processing is repeated for all the bands, and print data is generated by performing processing for all the bands for one page.
[0066]
Therefore, for example, in the case of 360 dpi and A4 full scan (8 inches) to form one band, 360 (dpi) × 8 (inch) ÷ 16 = 180, and 180 calculations are performed. .
[0067]
In this embodiment, the total dot count value is simply the sum of the dot count values of cyan, magenta, and yellow. However, if the degree of influence on the occurrence of streaks differs depending on the color, a weight is assigned to each color. You can put it on. For example, if the level of the connecting stripes deteriorates when yellow ink enters, the dot count value may be weighted by the yellow dot count value (for example, only the yellow dot count value is multiplied by 1.2), or Of course, if there is a condition that the discharge amount varies depending on the color (for example, the discharge amount is large for a certain color), it may be taken into consideration.
[0068]
According to the dot count processing as described above, data processing for a small area in the vicinity of the connecting portion (that is, the nozzle end) of one band is sufficient, so the processing load is small and speed is emphasized as in one pass. Therefore, even when the time for the processing is short, the processing can be sufficiently performed.
[0069]
The reason why a 16 dot × 16 dot region straddling the connecting portion is used as a dot count unit region will be described.
[0070]
In this case, the maximum value of the total dot count value is 16 × 16 × 3 (number of colors) = 768. Further, in order to form one band, 180 times at 360 dpi as described above, and 600 dpi, A4 full scan (about 8 inches), 600 (dpi) × 8 (inch) / 16 = 300, 300 times. Will be calculated. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, dot count is sequentially performed for each dot count unit region over the entire length setting range, and calculation is performed for all dot count unit regions, thereby obtaining one band. Can complete the dot count.
[0071]
In this way, by setting the region straddling the joint portion as the dot count unit region, the state of the print dots before and after the joint portion can be grasped. That is, it is possible to determine whether or not the ink is likely to generate a connecting stripe, and it is possible to perform the connecting stripe processing with higher accuracy. When dot counting is performed only within one band, it is possible to assume the amount of ink bleeding that causes a connecting stripe within that area, but the degree of influence on the next band cannot be grasped. The occurrence of the connecting stripe varies depending on the amount of ink in the vicinity of the connecting portion of the next band. For example, if there is a certain amount of ink in the next band, it becomes easy for joint stripes to occur due to mutual ink bleeding, but if there is little ink, ink bleeding in the first band may occur, There is little possibility of connecting stripes.
[0072]
The generation mechanism of the connecting stripe will be described with reference to FIG.
[0073]
The recording of the next band is performed when the fixing is promoted in a state where the ink of the first band is slightly blurred. In view of this, it is considered that the ink newly injected into the next band is attracted to the first band region in the process in which the ink in the next band penetrates into the inside or the surface of the paper. At this time, if no processing is performed on the joint portion, the ink amount in the joint portion between the bands increases as shown in FIG. 5A, and the density of the joint portion increases from the other portions. This is assumed to be the cause of bridging streaks.
[0074]
Therefore, in order to suppress the occurrence of such connecting stripes, it is possible to reduce the amount of ink in one of the bands, that is, to thin out the print data, as shown in FIG. It is valid. Further, either the front or rear band may be used, or the thinning process may be performed for both bands.
[0075]
As described above, the cause of joint streaks is due to the amount of ink in the bands before and after the joint, and the area that spans the joint is defined as the dot count unit area. Thus, it is possible to carry out effective connection processing.
[0076]
In addition, before and after the joint portion, the dot may be weighted with a first band and a second band. For example, if the streak streak generation tends to be caused by the ink amount of the leading band, the dot count value of the leading band is multiplied by 1.2, for example, and control sensitive to the ink amount of the leading band is performed. Is also considered effective.
[0077]
(Color gamut judgment)
A flowchart of color gamut selection is shown in FIG.
[0078]
First, in step S2, the dot count for each color is performed. An example of the dot count value in a certain unit area is shown in FIG. 8, and the classification of the color gamut used in this embodiment is shown in FIG.
[0079]
In the example of FIG. 8, magenta, cyan, and yellow are in descending order of the number of dots. Here, the smallest yellow part among cyan, magenta and yellow is generally called UC (under color), and the second most cyan part minus UC is the secondary color (also expressed as D2). In this example, blue is the primary color (also referred to as D1, magenta), which is the most magenta minus the second most cyan. These D1, D2, and UC are calculated in step S31.
[0080]
By determining which of these D1, D2, and UC takes the largest value, it is determined which color gamut in FIG. 9 is the dot count region (unit region) of interest (step S32). ). In this example, since D1 is the largest of the three, it is determined that the dot count area is in cyan.
[0081]
If there are two or three of the largest D1, D2, and UC, the color gamut is the order of UC, D2, and D1 (if UC and D2 are the same, UC, D1 and D2 are If they are equal, D2 is used, and D1 is never used.)
[0082]
(Thinning rank graph)
FIG. 10 shows an example of a thinning rank graph for determining the thinning rank.
[0083]
Here, in FIG. 10, the vertical axis represents the thinning rank (corresponding to the thinning rate), and the horizontal axis represents the total dot count value. That is, the data thinning rate (count value in terms of SMS) is designated from the total dot count value of the unit area obtained by dot count.
[0084]
In this embodiment, nine stages of 0%, 12.5%, 25%, 37.5%, 50%, 62.5%, 75%, 87.5%, and 100% are set as the thinning rate. The counter value at this time is shown in FIG.
[0085]
In addition, as described above, the thinning rank graph designation method in this embodiment is designated by a combination of three numerical values of the number of start dots, the dot interval, and the MAX rank.
[0086]
FIG. 10 also shows where each of these three parameters corresponds to the thinning rank graph.
[0087]
In the present embodiment, as described above, the thinning rank graph is determined based on the three parameters (start dot number, thinning interval, MAX rank), but it is needless to say that the method is not particularly limited to this method. When the thinning rank graph is determined as in the present embodiment, the relationship between the total dot count number and the thinning rate can only be linear, so the shape of the thinning rank graph itself may be defined.
[0088]
Also, the thinning rate need not be limited to the nine levels listed above, and the thinning rate may be increased or decreased as necessary.
[0089]
An example of the thinning rank graph used in the present embodiment is actually shown in FIG. As described above, an appropriate thinning rank graph is set for each color gamut, and FIG. 12 shows an example in one color gamut (cyan).
[0090]
In this embodiment, the thinning rank is designated for each different ink (cyan, magenta, yellow), and each thinning area is divided into two in the paper discharge direction (sub-scanning direction). A rank graph is set. Therefore, in FIG. 12, six thinning rank graphs (cyan upper, cyan lower, magenta upper, magenta lower, yellow upper, yellow lower) are set in this embodiment.
[0091]
In FIG. 12, only the graph for the color gamut (cyan in this embodiment) determined by the color gamut determination is shown. However, this combination actually exists for magenta, yellow, and UC. To do.
[0092]
By setting a thinning rank graph for each different ink in this way, it is caused by differences in the behavior of ink on the recording medium and differences in the appearance of streaks due to differences in brightness and saturation between different inks. Therefore, it is possible to cope with the difference in the level of the connecting stripe due to the difference in the ink used.
[0093]
In addition, since the thinning rank graph can be set for each color, it is possible to cope with the color change at the end portion caused by the order of driving into the recording medium at the joint portion. Here, as described with reference to FIG. 23, the change in color at the edge portion differs in behavior depending on the time difference of the recording ink applied to the recording medium and the nature of the recording medium. In the case where the time difference is very short, such as a side-by-side recording head, for example, if recording is performed in the order of cyan and magenta at the same position on plain paper, a magenta border that is printed later can be obtained. . When there is such a color change at the edge, by changing the thinning for each recording ink, that is, by raising the magenta thinning higher than cyan in the order of cyan and magenta, The degree of streaks can be made better.
[0094]
(Thinning processing area)
In this embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 5, processing is performed for four rasters on the paper feed side in one band, and an area for 16 dots is designated as a processing area in the main scanning direction. Furthermore, the 4 rasters to be processed are further divided into two areas, 2 rasters on the paper discharge side (also denoted as upper) and 2 rasters on the paper feeding side (also denoted as lower), and the thinning rank can be determined for each of these areas. In addition, different thinning rank graphs are prepared.
[0095]
As can be seen from FIG. 5, the thinning region and the dot count region used in this embodiment are not the same region, and a part of the dot count region is a thinning region. Thus, the thinning area and the dot count area do not need to match.
[0096]
This is not a simple phenomenon in which joint stripes occur only at the joints, but the ink bleeds between the bands and the ink oozes out from the part several rasters away from the joints. It is thought that it is transmitted in a chain according to the situation. For example, the state of the connecting stripe is different between the case where ink is ejected only for 4 rasters at the joint and the case where ink is ejected for 8 rasters from the joint. The latter is a more severe streak. This is because blurring from a portion several rasters away from the joint portion is gradually transmitted, and the amount of ink in the joint portion is relatively large, so that a joint stripe is more likely to occur. Therefore, it is desirable that the dot count area is larger than the thinning area, and it is more preferable that the dot count area is an area in consideration of the chained transmission of the ink blur. In this embodiment, an area twice the thinning area is set as a dot count area.
[0097]
Further, regarding the thinning area, it is necessary to make an area of a certain size a thinning area in order to effectively perform the connecting stripe process. On the other hand, if it is too large, the density reduction due to the thinning may be caused depending on the thinning process, and white stripes, which are harmful to the image, may be induced. An appropriate width of the thinning region is determined from these factors and ink characteristics. In the present embodiment, 4 rasters (width of about 0.17 mm at 600 dpi) are used as the thinning region, but the width is within a range in which there is an effect of suppressing streaking and no white streaking is induced.
[0098]
In this embodiment, four rasters are prepared as the thinning processing area and divided into two. However, for each of the four rasters, it is possible to specify the thinning rank graph by dividing into four. Good.
[0099]
In this way, by further dividing the thinning area and allowing the thinning table to be specified independently for each of the thinning areas, more appropriate thinning rates and thinning areas can be set according to the strength of the connecting stripes. become able to.
[0100]
As described above, the occurrence of the connecting stripe is not a phenomenon of only a simple connecting portion, but is considered to be caused by the fact that the ink oozes from a portion separated by several rasters is transmitted in a chain according to the connection state of the dots. . Therefore, it is considered that it is more effective not to process only the joint portion but to process the vicinity from the viewpoint of ink bleeding. As a matter of course, one or two rasters at the joint are the most probable causes of joint stripes. Further, the degree of influence on the connecting stripe varies depending on the distance from the area one raster away from the area, the area away from the raster 2, the area away from the raster 3, and the distance. In the vicinity of the connecting stripe, a raster in a certain region is a cause of the connecting stripe, but the degree of influence differs for each raster.
[0101]
From this point, it is important to determine a thinning rank separately for each raster or every two rasters in the thinning region and perform a thinning process suitable for the raster. Furthermore, by determining the thinning rank according to the distance from the connecting stripe line, it is possible to further improve the accuracy of the connecting stripe processing and further optimize the thinning amount for each raster. It becomes possible to perform high-accuracy joint streak processing.
[0102]
(SMS thinning process)
The SMS thinning process reads the count value (specific bit, MSB in this case) specified by the counter (register) every time print data exists. If it is 1, the print data is printed and the counter is moved to the right. Move (shift). If the counter value is 0, the print data is thinned and the counter is moved to the right by one. When the counter moves to the right, it returns to the left again. This is a processing method in which thinning dots are determined by repeating this process every time print data comes.
[0103]
The SMS thinning will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. In FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, among the print data, the print data is indicated by ◯, and the place where there is no data to be printed is indicated by ×. The data of interest is shown in bold. As for the counter value, 1 is used for printing, 0 is used for thinning out print data, and the counter value designated by the counter is shown in bold.
[0104]
In FIG. 14A, since the first print data is ◯ and the counter value is 0, the first data is thinned out. For this reason, the first print data after the processing becomes x, and the counter moves one to the right ((b) in the figure). Since the next data is not printed, it is left as it is, and the counter remains in the same position without moving ((c) in the figure). In the third print data, since the counter value is 1, the print data remains as it is, and the counter is moved to the right by one. In this way, the print data is thinned out at a rate of 1 out of 4 ((d) in the figure).
[0105]
In FIG. 15, since the thinning-out processing area is 4 rasters, the area is 8 dots in the main scanning direction and 4 rasters in the paper discharge direction (in this embodiment, the area in which the thinning processing area is halved in the main scanning direction). The data before and after the thinning process are shown for the case where the thinning rank is the discharge side 2 and the paper supply side 4.
[0106]
For the sake of explanation, as shown in FIG. 15A, the first raster, the second raster, the third raster, and the fourth raster are called from the paper discharge side.
[0107]
Here, it is assumed that the SMS thinning process is performed for each raster from the discharge-side raster, and when one raster is processed, the process proceeds to the next raster. At this time, the SMS counter does not return to the initial position even if the thinning level changes. In this embodiment, the SMS counter is not returned to the initial position even if the thinning-out processing area moves to the adjacent area in one band, and the counter position is stored in one band. In addition, when the processing shifts to a different band, the counter position is returned to the initial position.
[0108]
The initial position of the counter in the first processing area of one band is specified at random. As a result, the processing from the first raster to the fourth raster is performed as shown in FIGS. 5B to 5E, and the whole is as shown in FIG.
[0109]
As described above, according to the control method of this embodiment, the color gamut of the region of interest is determined from the number of print data in the vicinity of the connection (the number of dots to be drawn), and for each ink used according to this color gamut. Thinning rank can be set. By performing the thinning process for each ink with the thinning rank set in this way, it is possible to reduce the degree of occurrence of the connecting stripe between bands in one-pass printing.
[0110]
(Second embodiment)
As in the first embodiment, the second embodiment of the present invention relates to a recording system in which a plurality of recording heads print on a recording medium using recording ink to form an image.
[0111]
The configuration of the recording apparatus, the thinning process area, and the SMS thinning process used in this embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment.
[0112]
(Dot count)
The dot count unit area in this embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment.
[0113]
The head configuration used in this example is shown in FIG.
[0114]
In this configuration, the number of black nozzles is set to be more than twice the number of color nozzles, and the black nozzle is fully used for black-only data to increase the printing speed. Also, in order to prevent bleeding between black colors in black color mixed data, the number of black nozzles used is reduced, and at least one scan blank is provided for black and color printing. FIG. 16 (b) shows a schematic diagram when printing only black data with the above configuration, and FIG. 16 (c) shows a state where black and color mixed data is printed.
[0115]
The connection streaks are likely to occur during color printing in which a large amount of ink is ejected onto the recording medium. In this case, black printing is performed prior to color printing in the nozzle configuration as in this embodiment. At the time of color printing, black printing is already completed and fixed on the recording medium. There is little contribution to connecting stripes.
[0116]
As described above, in this embodiment, the dot process for the black ink is not performed, and the joining process is performed using the dot count for only the color inks (cyan, magenta, and yellow).
[0117]
(Color gamut judgment)
FIG. 17 shows the color gamut division in this embodiment.
[0118]
An example of the color gamut selection method at this time will be described.
[0119]
First, a method for selecting the hue direction is shown. Here, the hue direction is a determination of where the hue direction is on the outermost circumference in FIG. 17, that is, a primary color, a secondary color, or an intermediate point.
[0120]
In FIG. 18 (a), the horizontal axis represents the primary color dot count value, and the vertical axis represents the secondary color dot count value. The primary color, secondary color, and the intermediate division method, compare the dot count value of the primary color by 2 and the dot count value of the secondary color, and divide the primary color by 2. If the image is larger, the hue is the primary color.
[0121]
Also, the dot count value of the primary color is compared with the dot count value of the secondary color divided by 2. If the dot count value of the secondary color divided by 2 is larger, the hue is It is assumed that it is in a secondary color and in an intermediate hue in other cases.
[0122]
Next, a determination is made as to the saturation direction, that is, whether it is near the center, the circumference, or the middle in FIG.
[0123]
In FIG. 18 (b), the horizontal axis represents the sum of the primary and secondary color dot count values, and the vertical axis represents the UC dot count values. The division method in the saturation direction compares the UC value with the sum of the primary and secondary dot count values divided by 2, and compares the dot count values of the primary and secondary colors. If the sum divided by 2 is larger, the saturation is closest to the circumference and this area can be determined as the color gamut of the dot count area.
[0124]
Compare the dot count value of the primary color and secondary color divided by 2 with the value of UC. The value of UC is larger and the value of UC is divided by 2. If the sum of the dot count value of the secondary color and the secondary color is compared and the value of UC divided by 2 is larger, the saturation will be closest to the center and this area will be the dot count area. It can be determined as a color gamut, and other areas can be determined as intermediate regions.
[0125]
The hue and saturation determination method can be expressed more simply as follows.
(Hue direction)
If D1 / 2> D2, the primary color area
If D2 / 2> D1, secondary color area
Otherwise, intermediate hue area
(Saturation direction)
If (D1 + D2) / 2> UC, high saturation area (circumferential side)
If UC> (D1 + D2) / 2, low saturation region (center side)
Otherwise, intermediate saturation area
[0126]
As described above, by dividing the color gamut finely, it becomes easy to cope with the difference in the level of the connecting stripe due to the ink, and it becomes easy to cope with the difference in the behavior of the connecting stripe for each color to be used.
[0127]
(Thinning rank graph)
An example of a combination of thinning rank graphs used in this embodiment is shown in FIG.
[0128]
In this embodiment, the thinning rank for each ink to be used is designated for seven areas (cyan, magenta, yellow, blue, green, red, UC) of the color gamut shown in FIG. The intermediate region thinning rank graph is calculated from the graphs of these seven regions. For this reason, it becomes possible to reduce the data amount of a rank graph.
[0129]
As an example of the graph calculation method, the average of the primary and secondary colors is used in the middle area in the hue direction, and the average of the high saturation and low saturation is high in the intermediate area in the saturation direction. Trying to take.
[0130]
The number of thinning rank graphs prepared in this embodiment is 7 (color gamut) × 3 (when considering a thinning rank for each ink (cyan, magenta, yellow) and dividing the thinning area into two. The number of inks) × 2 (the number of thinned-out areas) = 42 is required.
[0131]
Among these, for example, if it is determined that the dot count region of interest in the above color gamut determination is blue, the thinned rank graph for the color gamut out of 42 is actually used. This was taken out and shown in FIG. Similarly, FIG. 20 shows a rank graph for red color gamut.
[0132]
The thinning rank used for the SMS thinning process is determined by the thinning rank graph and the total dot count.
[0133]
In this way, instead of specifying the thinning rank graph for all the divided color gamuts, the basic thing is specified, and the graph is calculated by calculation for the intermediate region. The amount of data can be reduced.
[0134]
After the rank is determined, SMS thinning is performed on the unit area in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the above is performed for one band, and then recording for one scan is performed.
[0135]
Here, the thinning process in gradation that goes from white to blue to UC (mixed color of under color and YMC) described above will be described with reference to FIG.
[0136]
Printing is performed using cyan ink and magenta ink in the direction toward blue. When blue reaches MAX, cyan and magenta are solid print data (maximum duty data), that is, 512 in this example. ing. In this state, the color gamut of the unit area is naturally blue, and referring to FIG. 19, in order to alleviate the connecting stripe, rank 5 for cyan lower ((a) in the figure) and magenta lower In this case, high-rate thinning of rank 6 ((c) in the same figure) is applied.
[0137]
On the other hand, a case of printing a gradation from white to red and then to UC will be described with reference to FIG. You will start using cyan ink for the first time from the red MAX to the UC. The driving amount at this point is the maximum duty data of magenta and yellow, and is 512 equal to the direction from blue to black in the case of the white-blue-black gradation, and the color gamut is naturally red. is there. Therefore, referring to FIG. 20, thinning is performed using a thinning rate of rank 3 (FIG. (A)) for cyan lower and rank 5 (c. (C)) for magenta lower. Become. At this time, cyan dots in which data starts to enter and dots are arranged only in a sparse state are subjected to relatively low thinning of rank 3, so that there is no problem that cyan dot omission is noticeable.
[0138]
In the first and second embodiments, the dot count unit area is 16 dots (main scanning direction) × 16 rasters (sub-scanning direction), but it is not necessary to be particular about this size. It is desirable to determine the size of the unit area based on various factors such as the level of connecting stripes, the load on data processing, and the output resolution.
[0139]
The part where the SMS thinning process is performed is not particularly limited to the lower end portion of the preceding scan, and may be performed in the region across the upper end of the subsequent scan, or both, that is, the connecting portion between the bands.
[0140]
Such a dot count area or SMS thinning process area is desirable so that it can be designated as appropriate at any time depending on the combination of the recording medium to be used and the recording ink. Therefore, it is also desirable to change the dot count area and / or the SMS thinning process area in a timely manner according to the recording medium to be used.
[0141]
Along with this, the number of color gamuts to be divided is shown. In the present invention, two types of patterns are shown, but it is needless to say that the number of color gamuts is not limited to these two.
[0142]
Further, in the present invention, printing in one pass is basically assumed, but this is because the generation of connecting stripes is most remarkable in one pass. However, splicing streaks occur in multi-pass printing, although there are some differences. For this reason, it is also effective to prepare a thinning rank graph corresponding to the number of passes for multipass and perform thinning processing even when multipass printing using the graph.
[0143]
Since the connecting stripes are caused by bleeding of the recording ink on the recording medium, for example, in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, the bleeding state of the recording ink becomes large and the bonding becomes severe (more noticeable). Therefore, it is effective to have a plurality of thinning rank graphs and thresholds for changing the thinning area in accordance with the external environment to be used so that they can be varied.
[0144]
In the configuration of the above embodiment, the recording inks used are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. However, the present proposal can also be used in a system that uses a so-called photo ink obtained by diluting a so-called regular ink.
[0145]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the binary data of Y, M, and C has been described as an example of the data relating to the ink ejection amount, but the present invention is not limited to this. R, B, and G multi-value data may be used as long as the data corresponds to the ink ejection amount. In this case, the ink amount may not be reduced by thinning out data, but a reduction coefficient may be applied to multi-value data.
[0146]
In this embodiment, a plurality of colors of ink are used and the color gamut of each unit area is determined to set an appropriate thinning rate. However, the present invention can also be applied to single color recording. Even when a plurality of colors of ink is used, the color gamut need not be determined for each unit area. In this case, the calculation of the determination process becomes unnecessary.
[0147]
(Other)
The present invention includes means (for example, an electrothermal converter, a laser beam, etc.) that generates thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly in the ink jet recording system, and the ink is generated by the thermal energy. In the recording head and the recording apparatus of the type that causes the state change, excellent effects are brought about. This is because such a system can achieve higher recording density and higher definition.
[0148]
As its typical configuration and principle, for example, those performed using the basic principle disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796 are preferable.
[0149]
This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal that corresponds to the recorded information and gives a rapid temperature rise exceeding the boiling point for writing to the electrothermal transducer, the thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer and recorded. This is effective because film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the head, and as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to the drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed. By the growth and contraction of the bubbles, liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable that the drive signal has a pulse shape, since the bubble growth and contraction is performed immediately and appropriately, and thus it is possible to achieve discharge of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further excellent recording can be performed by employing the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface.
[0150]
As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration (straight liquid channel or right-angle liquid channel) of the discharge port and the liquid path electrothermal transducer as described in each of the above-mentioned specifications, the heat acting part The configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which is disposed in a bending region, are also included in the present invention. In addition, for a plurality of electrothermal transducers, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal transducer or an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy The effect of the present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461 which discloses a configuration corresponding to each part. That is, regardless of the form of the recording head, according to the present invention, recording can be performed reliably and efficiently.
[0151]
In addition, even the serial type as shown in the above example can be connected to the main body of the recording head or attached to the main body of the device so that electrical connection with the main body of the device and ink supply from the main body are possible. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip type recording head or a cartridge type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.
[0152]
In addition, it is preferable to add a recording head ejection recovery means, a preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, preheating is performed by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressurizing or suction unit, an electrothermal converter, a heating element different from this, or a combination thereof. A preliminary discharge means for performing discharge different from the means and recording can be mentioned.
[0153]
Also, regarding the type or number of mounted recording heads, for example, only one corresponding to a single color ink is provided, and a plurality corresponding to a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are provided. May be used. That is, for example, as a recording mode of the recording apparatus, not only a recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be configured integrally or by a plurality of colors, but a plurality of different colors, or The present invention is very effective for an apparatus having at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.
[0154]
In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, ink that is solidified at room temperature or higher and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. In the ink jet method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that it is in the stable discharge range. A liquid material may be used. In addition, it is solidified and heated in an untreated state in order to actively prevent the temperature rise caused by thermal energy from being used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or to prevent the ink from evaporating. You may use the ink which liquefies by. In any case, by applying thermal energy according to the application of thermal energy according to the recording signal, the ink is liquefied and liquid ink is ejected, or when it reaches the recording medium, it already starts to solidify. The present invention can also be applied to the case of using ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time. The ink in such a case is in a state of being held as a liquid or solid in a porous sheet recess or through-hole as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. Alternatively, the electrothermal converter may be opposed to the electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-described inks is to execute the above-described film boiling method.
[0155]
In addition, the ink jet system according to the present invention may be used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader, or a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. Etc.
[0156]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the unit area for counting the ink ejection amount is set to an area extending over both bands, it is possible to appropriately grasp the behavior of the connecting stripe. In addition, since the dot count area and the thinning area are set with different sizes, thinning can be performed appropriately.
[0157]
As described above, the behavior of the connecting stripe can be properly grasped, or the thinning region can be appropriately set, so that the generation of the connecting stripe between the bands can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, with a part thereof broken.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure of a main part of the recording head shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control circuit in the ink jet printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining an area for dot count of print data and an area for thinning out in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a recording head in a first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a color gamut determination procedure according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a dot count value in a certain unit area in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of color gamut division according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an example of a thinning rank graph in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an example of a counter value for SMS processing in the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is an example of a thinning rank graph in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a principle in which bleeding occurs at a connecting portion of a band.
FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining print data processing by SMS processing in the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining print data processing by SMS processing in the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a recording head in a second embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of color gamut division according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of a division method within a color gamut according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is an example of a thinning rank graph in the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 20 is an example of a thinning rank graph in the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram for explaining bands and boundaries in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 22 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a thinning process using a mask in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram for explaining recording ink on a recording medium in an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 1A, 1B, 1C head cartridge
2 Carriage
4 Main scanning motor
8 Recording media
13 Recording head
22 Discharge port
100 controller
101 CPU
103 ROM
105 RAM
110 Host device

Claims (12)

In an inkjet recording apparatus that records on a recording medium by discharging ink while scanning the recording head with respect to the recording medium,
Quantity information indicating the sum of the amounts of ink of the respective colors that are driven into the unit area, for each unit area obtained by dividing the vicinity of the connecting portion between the bands recorded on the recording medium by scanning of the recording head into a plurality of parts, and each color Acquisition means for acquiring relative information indicating the relative relationship between the ink amounts of
Processing means for performing processing for reducing the amount of ink to be ejected into the ink reduction area in the unit area based on the amount information and relative information for each unit area acquired by the acquisition means;
The unit region, Ri region der spanning the subsequent band recorded by a subsequent scanning and preceding band recorded by scanning a preceding,
The ink amount reduction region is an ink jet recording apparatus characterized Rukoto only set preceding band of the unit area. In an inkjet recording method for recording on a recording medium by discharging ink while scanning the recording head with respect to the recording medium,
Quantity information indicating the sum of the amounts of ink of the respective colors that are driven into the unit area, for each unit area obtained by dividing the vicinity of the connecting portion between the bands recorded on the recording medium by scanning of the recording head into a plurality of parts, and each color An acquisition step of acquiring relative information indicating a relative relationship between the ink amounts of the ink ,
A processing step for performing processing for reducing the amount of ink to be ejected into the ink reduction region in the unit region based on the amount information and relative information for each unit region acquired by the acquisition step,
The unit region, Ri region der spanning the subsequent band recorded by a subsequent scanning and preceding band recorded by scanning a preceding,
The ink amount reduction region is an ink jet recording method comprising Rukoto only set preceding band of the unit area. In a data processing apparatus for processing data used for recording on a recording medium by discharging ink while scanning the recording head with respect to the recording medium,
For each unit region obtained by dividing the vicinity of the joint portion between bands recorded on the recording medium by scanning the recording head into a plurality of units , based on the data corresponding to the ink of each color in the unit region, the unit region and acquisition means for acquiring relative information that indicates the relationships between the amount of the amount amount information and color inks shows the sum of the respective colors of ink applied to,
Based on the quantity information and relative information for each unit area acquired by the acquisition means, the ink corresponding to each color in the unit area is reduced in order to reduce the amount of ink to be ejected into the ink reduction area in the unit area. and a processing means for processing the data,
The unit region, Ri region der spanning the subsequent band recorded by a subsequent scanning and preceding band recorded by scanning a preceding,
The ink amount reduction region, the data processing device according to claim Rukoto only set preceding band of the unit area. In an inkjet recording apparatus that records on a recording medium in units of bands by discharging ink while scanning the recording head with respect to the recording medium.
For each unit area obtained by dividing the vicinity of the connecting portion between the preceding band recorded by the preceding scanning and the succeeding band recorded by the following scanning, the number of ink ejection data of each color in the unit area is calculated. Counting means for counting;
Acquisition means for acquiring relative information indicating the relative relationship of the number of ink ejection data of each color in the unit region for each unit region;
A determination unit based on the acquired relative information by the results and the acquisition unit of the count, to determine the discount rate between for thinning the color of the ink ejection data corresponding to the thinning area of the unit area by said counting means,
Based while discount rate determined by the determining means, and a thinning means for thinning Kutame each color of the ink ejection data corresponding to the spacer region,
The unit region, Ri region der spanning the subsequent band and the preceding band,
The spacer region is an ink jet recording apparatus characterized Rukoto only set preceding band of the unit area. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the counting unit counts the number of ink ejection data of each color in the unit area with a weight for each band. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the counting unit counts the number of ink ejection data of each color in the unit area with a weight in a direction in which the recording medium is conveyed. The determining means determines the thinning rate for each divided thinning region obtained by dividing the thinning region into a plurality of regions,
The decimation means, according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the split spacer region based while discount rate determined for each of the respective colors corresponding to the divided spacer region ink ejection data rather thinning the Inkjet recording apparatus. Said determining means, the result of counting by said counting means, the divided spacer region in accordance with the distance from the joint portion of the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the determining the thinning rate. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the thinning region includes a plurality of rasters. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit determines the thinning rate for each color of ink . The determination means includes determination means for determining hue and saturation based on the relative information,
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the thinning rate is determined based on a hue and saturation determined by the determination unit and a total sum of ink discharge data counted by the counting unit . 2. The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines a reduction rate for reducing the amount of ink to be ejected into the ink amount reduction region for each color ink based on the amount information and the relative information. Inkjet recording apparatus .

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