JP4900517B2 - Printing apparatus and printing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that represents a multi-tone image by dot distribution and performs printing on a predetermined printing medium.

  Some recent printing apparatuses have a function of performing printing by ejecting ink directly on a label surface of an optical disk such as a CD or a DVD as well as a normal printing paper (see Patent Document 1 below).

  Since the ink receiving layer formed on the label surface of the optical disk is formed of a non-fibrous material, the ink receiving layer is generally inferior in water absorption compared to normal printing paper. For this reason, the ink ejected on the label surface is blurred, and there is a possibility that unintended color mixing occurs and the color becomes cloudy. In addition, in a conventional printing apparatus, when printing on a label surface, the number of ink droplets discharged per unit area is limited to 40 to 50% of that during normal printing, so that the inks overlap each other. There was also a thing that suppressed. However, in such a case, the saturation of the printed image may be reduced.

JP 2003-16699 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to suppress turbidity of color and decrease in saturation and improve the printing quality in printing on a printing medium having a non-fibrous printing surface.

In view of the above problems, the printing apparatus of the present invention is configured as follows. That is,
While ejecting ink by the print head, a printing apparatus that performs printing by conveying a printing medium in the conveyance direction,
Determining means for determining the type of the print medium;
Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data to be printed;
When the determination unit determines that the print medium is a medium having a non-fibrous print surface, a plurality of print data is generated based on a predetermined algorithm from the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit Print data generation means for
Printing means for carrying out the conveyance in the conveyance direction of the print medium over the entire print surface a plurality of times according to the number of the print data, and performing printing on the print medium for each print data;
Setting means for setting the number of print data generated by the print data generation means in response to a predetermined instruction by a user,
The printing means prints to the user at the end of each conveyance when the number of conveyances in the conveyance direction of the print medium over the entire printing surface does not reach the set number. The gist is to inquire whether or not to continue .

  In the printing apparatus of the present invention, if the print medium to be printed is a medium having a non-fibrous print surface, a plurality of print data is generated from the image data and printed on the print medium for each print data. I do. For example, when two print data are generated, after the printing of the first print data is completed, the transport position of the print medium in the sub-scanning direction is returned to the initial position, and then the second print data is generated. Print data. According to the printing apparatus having such a configuration, even when the amount of dots formed per unit area is limited, printing is performed on the non-fibrous printing surface multiple times. Therefore, printing with higher saturation can be performed. In addition, if printing is performed in a plurality of times, the previously printed dots can be dried, so even if the density of dots per unit area is increased as a whole by the second and subsequent printings, Can be suppressed.

  In addition, the said printing means shall carry out multiple times of conveyance by reciprocating a printing medium in a conveyance direction. If the printing medium is reciprocated as described above, the printing cost can be printed a plurality of times by using the printing mechanism of the conventional printing apparatus, so that the development cost can be reduced. When the printing medium is transported a plurality of times, printing may be performed on the forward path and the return path, or printing may be performed only on the forward path without printing on the return path.

In the printing apparatus having the above configuration,
The print data generation means may include means for generating a plurality of print data having the same content from the image data.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to simplify the process of generating a plurality of print data, so that the process can be speeded up.

In the printing apparatus having the above configuration,
The print data generation unit may include a unit that generates a plurality of print data having different dot arrangements by performing different halftone processing on the image data.

  According to such a configuration, since the arrangement of dots formed on the print medium is different for each printing process, the graininess of the dots can be reduced and the print quality can be improved.

As a method of applying different halftone processing,
For example, the halftone process is a halftone process based on an error diffusion method,
The print data generation unit may generate the plurality of print data by performing the halftone process using different error diffusion matrices.

Further, the halftone process is a halftone process based on a dither method,
The print data generation unit may generate the plurality of print data by performing the halftone process using different dither matrices. Note that if one dither matrix is rotated or inverted, or the matrix is shifted and applied, a different dither matrix can be generated from one dither matrix and applied to halftone processing. In this case, the storage area of the dither matrix can be saved.

  In addition, for example, the first halftone process may be performed by the dither method, and the second halftone process may be performed by the error diffusion method. Of course, the reverse order is also possible. Note that the average error minimum method may be used as another aspect of the halftone process.

In the printing apparatus having the above configuration,
The print data generation unit may generate the plurality of print data by performing different color conversion processes on the image data.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to change the occurrence rate of dots formed on the printing medium for each printing process. For example, color conversion processing is performed so that the dot generation amount is about 60% of the original dot generation amount at the first printing, and color conversion processing is performed so that the dot generation amount is about 40% at the second printing. It is possible to make adjustments such as

In the printing apparatus having the above configuration,
Furthermore, it may be provided with means for adjusting the number of print data generated by the print data generation means in accordance with a predetermined instruction from the user.

  According to such a configuration, printing can be terminated at the number of times of printing that has reached image quality according to the user's preference. As a method for adjusting the number of print data, for example, at the end of each printing, the user is inquired whether or not to perform further printing, and determines whether or not to generate further print data according to the answer. it can. According to such a method, the number of printings can be adjusted while observing the printing state of the image printed on the printing medium.

In the printing apparatus having the above configuration,
The print data generation unit may include a unit that divides intermediate data obtained as a result of performing a halftone process on the image data based on a predetermined pattern to generate the plurality of print data. . For example, the predetermined pattern may be a staggered pattern.

  With such a configuration, printing can be performed a plurality of times while avoiding overlapping of dots, so that occurrence of color blur can be reduced.

  The present invention can be configured as a printing method or a computer program in addition to the configuration as the printing apparatus described above. The computer program may be recorded on a recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, or a memory card.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a printing system as a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a printer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm of a printing process in the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the setting screen displayed on the display. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printing result of the first time, and the printing result of the 2nd time. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a printing continuation confirmation screen. It is a flowchart which shows the algorithm of the printing process in 2nd Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a 1st dither matrix and a 2nd dither matrix. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm of a printing process in a third embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the division | segmentation method of intermediate data.

Hereinafter, in order to further clarify the operations and effects of the present invention described above, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples in the following order.
A. First embodiment:
(A1) Configuration of printing system:
(A2) Printer configuration:
(A3) Printing process:
B. Second embodiment:
C. Third embodiment:
D. Variations:

A. First embodiment:
(A1) Configuration of printing system:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system 10 as a first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the printing system 10 of this embodiment prints on a label surface (hereinafter simply referred to as “label surface LB”) of a computer 100 and an optical disk such as a CD or DVD having a non-fibrous printing surface. And a possible printer 200. As described above, the printing system constituted by the computer 100 and the printer 200 can be called a “printing apparatus” in a broad sense. The printing system 10 has a function of generating a plurality of print data from one image data based on a predetermined algorithm and improving the print quality by repeatedly performing printing based on each print data on the label surface LB.

  The computer 100 includes a CPU 110, a memory 120, a hard disk 130, a graphic controller 140, a PS / 2 interface 150, a USB interface 160, and the like. These are connected by a predetermined bus (not shown). A display 300 is connected to the graphic controller 140, and input devices such as a keyboard 400 and a mouse 500 are connected to the PS / 2 interface. Also, the printer 200 is connected to the USB interface 160.

  The CPU 110 loads and executes programs such as the application program 121, the printer driver 122, the display driver 123, and the input device driver 124 on the memory 120. These programs may be loaded from the hard disk 130 or may be loaded from various recording media such as a flexible disk and a CD-ROM.

  The application program 121 is a program for reading image data 131 stored in the hard disk 130 or the like and editing or printing the image data 131. The printer driver 122 is a program for controlling the printer 200 in accordance with a print instruction from the application program 121 and printing designated image data 131. The display driver 123 is a program for performing display control on the display 300 via the graphic controller 140. The input device driver 124 is a program for transmitting input operations with the keyboard 400 and the mouse 500 to various programs.

  The printer driver 122 includes an image data acquisition module 122a, a color conversion module 122b, a halftone processing module 122c, and a print data generation module 122d.

  The image data acquisition module 122a is a module for acquiring image data 131 to be printed from the application program 121 that has received a print instruction.

  The color conversion module 122 a converts the color of each pixel of the image data 131 expressed in the RGB format into a color in the CMYKLcLm format suitable for printing by the printer 200 based on the color conversion table 132 stored in the hard disk 130. Module. The color conversion table 132 includes colors composed of combinations of R, G, and B, C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), K (black), Lc (light cyan), and Lm (light magenta). ) Are stored in association with each other.

  The halftone processing module 122c binarizes the gradation value of each color obtained as a result of color conversion by the color conversion module 122a by a known dither method or error diffusion method, and represents a multi-gradation image by dot distribution. It is a module.

  The print data generation module 122e is a module for adjusting the intermediate data generated by the halftone processing module 122c to data in a format that can be interpreted by the printer 200.

(A2) Printer configuration:
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the printer 200. As shown in the figure, the printer 200 has a carriage 210 with an ink cartridge 212 as a mechanism for printing on the label surface LB, a carriage motor 220 for driving the carriage 210 in the main scanning direction, and a tray TR on which a CD or DVD is set. Are provided with a paper feed motor 230 and the like.

  The carriage 210 includes a total of six ink heads 211 for each color of C, M, Y, K, Lc, and Lm. An ink cartridge 212 containing these inks is mounted on the carriage 210, and the ink supplied from the ink cartridge 212 to the ink head 211 adjusts the voltage applied to a piezo element (not shown) to adjust the label surface. Discharged to LB.

  The carriage 210 is movably held by a sliding shaft 280 installed in parallel with the axial direction of the platen 270. The carriage motor 220 reciprocates the carriage 210 in a direction parallel to the axial direction of the platen 270, that is, in the main scanning direction, by rotating the drive belt 260 in accordance with a command from the control circuit 250.

  The paper feed motor 230 rotates the platen 270 to convey the tray TR in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the platen 270. That is, the tray TR is conveyed by a predetermined amount in the sub-scanning direction according to the rotation angle of the platen 270.

  The printer 200 further includes a control circuit 250 for controlling the printing mechanism described above. Connected to the control circuit 250 are a USB interface 240 for connection to the computer 100, a liquid crystal display 241, an operation panel 242, a memory card slot 243, and the like.

  The control circuit 250 includes a CPU 251, a ROM 252, and a memory 253. The ROM 252 stores a control program for controlling the operation of the printer 200. The CPU 251 develops the control program in the memory 253 and executes it, thereby controlling the ink head 211, the carriage motor 220, and the paper feed motor 230 based on the print data received from the computer 100 via the USB interface 240. Then, color printing is performed on the label surface LB.

  The printer 200 of this embodiment is capable of printing on the label surface of a CD or DVD mounted on the tray TR. However, normal printing can be performed by setting ordinary printing paper instead of the tray TR. Of course, printing can also be performed on paper.

(A3) Printing process:
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the algorithm of the printing process in the first embodiment. Such a printing process is a process executed when the printer driver 122 is called when a user performs a printing operation in the application program 121 executed on the computer 100.

  When this printing process is executed, the CPU 110 of the computer 100 displays the setting screen of the printer driver 122 on the display 300, and accepts the print setting by the user (step S100).

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen displayed on the display 300. As shown in the figure, the items to be set include, for example, paper type and color / monochrome designation. In step S100, if the print setting has already been made, the setting information stored in the memory 120 or the hard disk 130 may be acquired without displaying the setting screen. In the following description, it is assumed that color printing is performed.

  When receiving the print setting, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the paper type selected on the setting screen is the label surface LB (step S110). When it is determined that the label surface LB has been selected (step S110: Yes), the number of times of printing N (hereinafter referred to as “repetition number N”) is set to 2 times, and the current number of times of printing M is set to 1 time. Set to. On the other hand, when it is determined that a sheet other than the label surface LB has been selected (step S110: No), the number of repetitions N is set to 1 and the current number of printings M is set to 1 (step S130). . Here, when the number of repetitions N is 2, printing is performed once while the printing paper (including the label surface LB) is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction, and the printing paper is initially conveyed again. Returning to the position, the same print area is overprinted. In the present embodiment, when the paper type is the label surface LB, the number of repetitions N is set to 2 times, but can be set to 3 times or more.

  Next, the CPU 110 acquires image data 131 to be printed from the application program 121 (step S140), and acquires the color conversion table 132 from the hard disk 130 (step S150).

  When the image data 131 and the color conversion table 132 are acquired, the CPU 110 performs a process of correcting the color conversion table according to the number of repetitions N set in step S120 or step S130 (step S160). Specifically, the color conversion table 132 is corrected so that the gradation value of each color of CMYKLcLm obtained in the color conversion process described later becomes a gradation value of 1 / N. In this way, for example, when the number of repetitions N is two, an image having a density of 50% is printed by the first printing, and the remaining image having a density of 50% is printed by the second printing. Will be. In step S100, if the paper type is set to other than the label surface LB, the number of repetitions N is set to 1 in step S130. Therefore, the color conversion table is substantially used. 132 will not be converted.

  When the color conversion table 132 is corrected in this way, the CPU 110 performs color conversion processing based on the corrected color conversion table 132 (step S170). By this color conversion process, the gradation value of the color expressed in the RGB format in the image data 131 is converted into the gradation value expressed in the CMYKLcLm format. If the printer 200 does not have light cyan and light magenta inks, the printer 200 may convert the color into CMYK format.

  When the color conversion processing is completed, the CPU 110 performs halftone processing using a known dither method, error diffusion method, or average error minimum method (step S180). Which method is used to perform halftone processing can be set by the user using the setting screen in step S100.

  When the halftone process ends, the CPU 110 generates print data from the intermediate data obtained by the halftone process. Then, the print data is transferred to the printer 200 to perform printing (step S190). Upon receiving the print data transfer, the printer 200 controls the carriage motor 220, the paper feed motor 230, and the ink head 211 based on the print data, and performs color printing on the print paper and the label surface LB. However, after the printing is finished, the paper and the tray TR are not discharged, and the apparatus waits for an instruction from the computer 100.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the first printing result and the second printing result. Here, the case where a star-shaped figure filled with black is printed on the label surface LB is shown. If printing is performed for the first time in step S190, a figure with a light color is printed as shown on the left side of the figure.

  When the transfer of the first print data is completed in step S190, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the current print count M has reached the repeat count N (step S200). As a result of this determination, if the number of times of printing M has reached the number of times of repetition N (step S200: Yes), a predetermined instruction is transmitted to the printer 200 to discharge the tray TR or printing paper (step S210). . If a sheet other than the label surface LB is selected in step S100, the printing process is completed by the above process.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S200 that the number of times of printing M has not reached the number of times of repetition N (step S200: No), the CPU 110 determines whether or not to continue printing to the user. A print continuation confirmation screen for making an inquiry is displayed on the display 300 (step S220).

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a print continuation confirmation screen. As shown in the figure, this print continuation confirmation screen displays a message asking whether or not to perform repeated printing, and is provided with buttons for selecting “Yes” and “No”. The user confirms the current print result (for example, see the left side of FIG. 5) by looking at the label surface LB on the tray TR conveyed from the printer 200, and clicks a “Yes” button to perform repeated printing. To do. If it is determined that repeated printing is not necessary, the “No” button is clicked.

  If the user clicks the “No” button on this print continuation confirmation screen (step S230: No), the process proceeds to step S210, the tray TR is ejected, and the series of printing processes is terminated. On the other hand, when the “Yes” button is clicked (step S230: Yes), the CPU 110 adds “1” to the number of times of printing M (step S240), and controls the printer 200 to change the tray TR to the initial sub TR. It is conveyed to the scanning position (step S250).

  When the tray TR is returned to the initial position, the CPU 110 returns the process to step S160 and corrects the color conversion table 132 again. When the number of repetitions N is 2, as described above, the color conversion table is corrected so that the gradation value of CMYKLcLm is 50%. Then, the second printing is performed by repeating the processes of steps S170 to S200 again. Then, as shown on the right side of FIG. 5, the original color figure is printed. When the number of times of printing M has reached the number of times of repetition N, the tray TR is ejected in step S210, and the printing process ends.

  In the first embodiment described above, when printing on the label surface LB, a plurality of print data in which the color density is equally divided according to the number of repetitions N is generated. Then, printing based on these print data is performed independently by reciprocating the conveyance of the tray TR. According to the first embodiment, since the number of ink droplets ejected at each printing is reduced, a gap between dots can be secured and ink drying can be promoted. As a result, the occurrence of color bleeding is suppressed, and the print quality can be improved. In addition, at the end of each printing, the user is inquired whether or not to continue the printing repeatedly, so that the user who does not place importance on the print quality can reduce ink consumption.

  In the above-described printing process, the color conversion table 132 is corrected according to the number of repetitions N in step S160. However, the correction process can be omitted. In this case, printing is performed each time with the gradation value normally obtained by the color conversion process. The color conversion table 132 used when printing on the label surface LB may be set so that the number of ink droplets ejected per unit area is smaller than when printing on normal printing paper. Thus, if printing is repeated a plurality of times with normal gradation values, printing with increased saturation can be performed.

  In step S160 of the printing process described above, the color conversion table 132 is corrected so that the gradation value of each ink color becomes 1 / N according to the number of repetitions N. However, the color conversion table 132 is corrected. The correction method is not limited to this. For example, when the number of repetitions N is 2, the color conversion table 132 prints an image with a density of 40% by the first printing and prints the remaining image with a density of 60% by the second printing. It is good also as what correct | amends. Thus, if the density at the time of the previous printing is lowered, the ink is dried faster by the lower density, and the occurrence of bleeding can be further suppressed.

  On the other hand, as the number of times of printing increases, it is also possible to correct so that the density assigned per printing becomes lower. According to such a correction method, it is possible to print the approximate density in the first printing, and only the user who prefers the printing with a higher density can select the second and subsequent printings.

  In the above-described printing process, at the end of each printing, the user is confirmed as to whether or not to continue the printing repeatedly. However, this confirmation process may be omitted. In this case, the processing of step S220 and step S230 can be omitted. Further, it may be possible to set whether or not to confirm as an option setting at the time of print setting in step S100.

  In step S160 of the printing process described above, the color conversion table 132 used for each printing is corrected each time. However, the hard disk 130 stores the color conversion tables for the maximum number of repetitions N. A color conversion table corresponding to the number of times of printing M may be sequentially read and used.

B. Second embodiment:
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, a plurality of print data is generated by correcting the color conversion table 132 for each printing count M. On the other hand, in this embodiment, a plurality of types of print data are generated by performing different halftone processes for each printing count M.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the algorithm of the printing process in the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, the printing process of this embodiment performs the same process in many parts as the printing process of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the detailed description about the overlapping part is omitted.

  When this printing process is executed, the CPU 110 accepts print settings from the user (step S300), as in the first embodiment (step S300), and sets the number of repetitions N and the number of prints M according to the paper type (step S300). Steps S310 to S330). Then, the image data 131 and the color conversion table 132 are acquired (steps S340 and S350), and color conversion processing is performed (step S360).

  Next, the CPU 110 performs halftone processing according to the number of times of printing M (step S370). Specifically, halftone processing is performed using a first dither matrix based on a well-known dither method during the first halftone processing, and a second different from the first dither matrix is performed during the second halftone processing. Halftone processing is performed using a dither matrix. These dither matrices may be individually stored in the hard disk 130, or another dither matrix may be generated by reconfiguring one dither matrix by rotating, inverting, or shifting the matrix. It may be a thing.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the first dither matrix and the second dither matrix. FIG. 8A shows the first dither matrix and the result of halftone processing performed for 50% gradation values based on this dither matrix. Similarly, FIG. 8B shows a second dither matrix and the result of halftone processing performed on a gradation value of 50% based on this dither matrix. As shown in the figure, according to each dither matrix shown here, the arrangement of dots formed as a result of the halftone process for the gradation value of 50% has a complementary relationship with each other.

  When the intermediate data is generated by the halftone process in step S370, the CPU 110 generates print data according to the intermediate data and transfers it to the printer 200 (step S380). Upon receiving the print data, the printer 200 controls the carriage motor 220, the paper feed motor 230, and the ink head 211 based on the print data, and performs color printing on the print paper and the label surface LB.

  The CPU 110 repeatedly executes the process described above N times. At the end of each printing, the user is inquired whether or not to continue printing, as in the first embodiment (steps S390 to S440).

  In the second embodiment described above, a plurality of print data with different dot arrangements are generated from the same image data 131 according to the number of times of printing M and printed. Accordingly, the probability of overlapping dots is reduced, and the occurrence of bleeding can be further suppressed. In addition, the graininess of dots formed on the label surface LB is reduced, and the print quality is improved.

  In the printing process described above, halftone processing is performed based on the dither method using a plurality of dither matrices separately. However, halftone processing is performed based on the error diffusion method using a plurality of different error diffusion matrices. Also good. Alternatively, the first halftone process may be performed by a dither method, and the second halftone process may be performed by an error diffusion method. Also by these methods, dots having different arrangements are formed on the label surface LB in accordance with the number of times of printing M. Therefore, the probability of dot overlap is reduced, and the occurrence of bleeding can be further suppressed. As a halftone processing method, not only a dither method and an error diffusion method but also a minimum average error method can be used.

C. Third embodiment:
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the intermediate data obtained as a result of the halftone process is divided into a plurality of groups, and printing is performed on the label surface LB for each group.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the algorithm of the printing process in the third embodiment. When this print processing is executed, the CPU 110 accepts print settings from the user (step S500), as in the first and second embodiments, and the number of repetitions N and the number of prints according to the paper type. M is set (steps S510 to S530). Then, after obtaining the image data 131 and the color conversion table 132 (steps S540 and S550), color conversion processing and halftone processing are performed (steps S560 and S570).

  After executing the halftone process, the CPU 110 performs a process of dividing the intermediate data subjected to the halftone process into a predetermined pattern according to the number of repetitions N (step S580).

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for dividing the intermediate data. As shown in the figure, here, the intermediate data is divided into a group 1 and a group 2 by a staggered pattern.

  When the division of the intermediate data is thus completed, the CPU 110 generates print data of the Mth group, transfers it to the printer, and performs printing (step S590). Upon receiving the print data, the printer 200 controls the carriage motor 220, the paper feed motor 230, and the ink head 211 based on the print data, and performs color printing on the print paper and the label surface LB.

  Next, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the number of times of printing M has reached the number of times of repetition N (step S600), and if it has reached, causes the printer 200 to discharge the tray TR and printing paper and end a series of printing processes. To do. On the other hand, if it has not reached, the printing number M is incremented by 1 (step S620), and the tray TR is conveyed to the initial position with respect to the printer 200 (step S630). Then, the process returns to step S590 to print the next group.

  According to the third embodiment described above, the intermediate data obtained as a result of the halftone process is divided into a staggered pattern, and printing is performed independently for each group while reciprocating the tray TR. If printing is performed by such a method, it is possible to suppress the formation of overlapping dots, and thus it is possible to suppress the occurrence of bleeding. In addition, since the ink printed for the first time is dried to some extent at the time of the second printing, even if the dots are adjacent to each other, it is possible to suppress the color mixing and the occurrence of color turbidity. In addition, if the printing is performed twice in a staggered pattern as in this embodiment, the density of dots generated per unit area can be increased, so that highly saturated printing can be performed. become. In the halftone processing in this embodiment, it is preferable to set a dither matrix and an error diffusion matrix so that the amount of dots generated in each group generated when dividing the intermediate data is uniform.

D. Variations:
Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and it goes without saying that various configurations can be adopted without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, the printer driver 122 and the color conversion table 132 shown in FIG. 1 may be stored in the memory 253 of the printer 200 shown in FIG. 2, and the CPU 251 of the printer 200 may execute the various printing processes described above. . In this case, the printer 200 can accept the print settings through the operation panel 242 by displaying a screen for performing print settings on the liquid crystal display 241. Further, the image data 131 can be input from the memory card inserted into the memory card slot 243. According to such a configuration, printing on the label surface LB can be performed by the printer 200 alone without using the computer 100.

  In the above-described embodiment, the type of paper is determined by receiving print settings from the user. On the other hand, for example, the printer 200 is provided with means for irradiating the printing paper with light and a sensor for measuring the reflectance of the reflected light from the printing paper, and the type of the printing paper is automatically selected according to the reflectance. It is good also as what discriminate | determines.

  In the above-described embodiments, the case where printing is performed on the label surface LB such as a CD or DVD has been described. However, for printing on other print media having a non-fibrous surface such as an OHP sheet or a film. However, the present invention can be applied. In this case, when determining the paper type of the printing process, not only the label surface LB but also the OHP sheet or film is selected as the printing paper, the same process as the printing process for the label surface LB is performed. It should be.

  In the above-described embodiment, binarization is performed using a dither method or an error diffusion method at the time of halftone processing. However, ternarization is performed according to the magnitude of the gradation value after color conversion processing. The above multi-value processing may be performed. In this case, the ink head 211 of the printer 200 adjusts the size of the ink droplets to be ejected on the print medium according to the multivalued result, and a plurality of different sizes such as large dots, medium dots, and small dots. Form different types of dots. With such a configuration, the size of the dots formed on the print medium can be changed according to the gradation value, and the image quality can be improved.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the color conversion processing, halftone processing, and division into groups are performed according to the number of times of printing, and printing is performed multiple times in the same print area. Alternatively, for example, printing may be repeated independently for each color of CMYKLcLm. If the printing time is not taken into consideration, printing is performed at a certain time each time the main scanning is performed on the printing medium without performing repeated printing, thereby ensuring drying time and suppressing bleeding. It is also possible to do this.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing system 100 ... Computer 110 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 120 ... Memory 121 ... Application program 122 ... Printer driver 122a ... Image data acquisition module 122b ... Color conversion module 122c ... Halftone processing module 122d ... Print data generation module 123 ... Display driver 124 ... Input device driver 130 ... Hard disk 131 ... Image data 132 ... Color conversion table 133 ... Occurrence rate table 140 ... Graphic controller 150 ... PS / 2 interface 160 ... USB interface 200 ... Printer 210 ... Carriage 211 ... Ink head 212 ... Ink cartridge 220 ... Carriage motor 230 ... Paper feed motor 240 ... USB Interface 241 ... Liquid crystal display 242 ... Operation panel 243 ... Memory card slot 250 ... Control circuit 251 ... CPU
252 ... ROM
253 ... Memory 260 ... Drive belt 270 ... Platen 280 ... Sliding shaft 300 ... Display 400 ... Keyboard 500 ... Mouse

Claims (11)

While ejecting ink by the print head, a printing apparatus that performs printing by conveying a printing medium in the conveyance direction,
Determining means for determining the type of the print medium;
Image data acquisition means for acquiring image data to be printed;
When the determination unit determines that the print medium is a medium having a non-fibrous print surface, a plurality of print data is generated based on a predetermined algorithm from the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit Print data generation means for
Printing means for carrying out the conveyance in the conveyance direction of the print medium over the entire print surface a plurality of times according to the number of the print data, and performing printing on the print medium for each print data;
Setting means for setting the number of print data generated by the print data generation means in response to a predetermined instruction by a user,
The printing means prints to the user at the end of each conveyance when the number of conveyances in the conveyance direction of the print medium over the entire printing surface does not reach the set number. A printer that inquires whether to continue . The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing apparatus, wherein the print data generation means includes means for generating a plurality of print data having the same content from the image data. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing apparatus includes a printing unit that generates a plurality of print data having different dot arrangements by performing different halftone processes on the image data. The printing apparatus according to claim 3,
The halftone process is a halftone process based on an error diffusion method,
The printing apparatus, wherein the print data generation unit generates the plurality of print data by performing the halftone process using different error diffusion matrices. The printing apparatus according to claim 3,
The halftone process is a halftone process based on a dither method,
The printing apparatus, wherein the print data generation unit generates the plurality of print data by performing the halftone process using different dither matrices. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing apparatus, wherein the print data generation unit generates the plurality of print data by performing different color conversion processes on the image data. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing apparatus includes: a printing apparatus configured to generate the plurality of print data by dividing intermediate data obtained as a result of performing a halftone process on the image data based on a predetermined pattern. The printing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
The predetermined apparatus is a staggered pattern printing apparatus. While ejecting ink by the print head, a printing method for printing in conveying the printing medium in the conveyance direction,
A determination step of determining the type of the print medium;
An image data acquisition process for acquiring image data to be printed;
When it is determined that the print medium is a medium having a non-fibrous print surface, a print data generation step of generating a plurality of print data based on a predetermined algorithm from the acquired image data;
A printing step in which the printing medium is conveyed in the conveying direction over the entire printing surface a plurality of times according to the number of the printing data, and printing is performed on the printing medium for each printing data ;
A setting step for setting the number of print data generated by the print data generation unit in response to a predetermined instruction by a user,
In the printing step, when the number of conveyances in the conveyance direction of the print medium over the entire printing surface does not reach the set number, printing is performed for the user at the end of each conveyance. A printing method that inquires whether or not to continue . While ejecting ink by the print head, a computer program for performing printing by transporting the printing medium in the conveyance direction,
A discrimination function for discriminating the type of the print medium;
An image data acquisition function for acquiring image data to be printed;
When it is determined that the print medium is a medium having a non-fibrous print surface, a function of generating a plurality of print data from the acquired image data based on a predetermined algorithm;
A printing function for carrying out the conveyance in the conveyance direction of the print medium over the entire print surface a plurality of times according to the number of the print data, and performing printing on the print medium for each print data;
A computer program for causing a computer to implement a setting function for setting the number of print data generated by the print data generation unit in response to a predetermined instruction by a user ;
The printing function prints to the user at the end of each conveyance when the number of conveyances in the conveyance direction of the print medium over the entire printing surface does not reach the set number. Ask if you want to continue
Computer program. The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the computer program of Claim 10 .

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