JP4915252B2 - Recording medium, printing control apparatus, and printing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording medium, a printing control apparatus, and a printing system.

  In recent years, with the increase in the speed and quality of printing apparatuses, the density of print heads and the increase in the number of printing elements have been advanced. In particular, there have been proposed a number of printing apparatuses that have a print head having a print width that is greater than the width of the recording area of the recording medium and that can print the entire page width. In some cases, the number of print elements such as droplet discharge elements mounted on the print head is several thousand.

  In such a conventional printing apparatus, many methods have been proposed in which malfunctioning printing elements are identified and image quality degradation is minimized by image processing. For this reason, it is extremely important to identify a malfunctioning printing element.

For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a test pattern printing technique that can easily identify defective nozzles in a print head in which a large number of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets are arranged at high density.
JP 2005-246649 A

  However, in the above conventional technique, in order to identify a defective nozzle, it is necessary to count the position of the defective portion displayed in the test pattern from a predetermined separation area, which may cause an error in identifying the defective nozzle. There was a problem of high.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a recording medium, a printing control apparatus, and a printing system that can easily identify a malfunctioning printing element.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of the recording medium according to claim 1 is a test image for performing an operation test of a plurality of printing elements arranged in a print head, and has a number of printing elements equal to or less than the number of printing elements to be identified. A plurality of test images that can be identified are drawn in the arrangement direction of the printing elements, and more than one error determination code is associated with each test image and drawn.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the test images are separated by an equal distance from each other, the start point and the end point are arranged on a straight line, and a predetermined number of lines are drawn in parallel in a predetermined direction. It includes a set of straight lines.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of straight line groups are formed by drawing a plurality of the straight line sets in the predetermined direction, and the number of sets included in each straight line group is different from each other and each straight line is formed. The number of sets included in the group is a combination of numbers having no common divisor other than one.

  The invention of the printing control apparatus according to claim 4 is a test image for performing an operation test of a plurality of printing elements arranged in a print head on a recording medium, and can identify printing elements equal to or less than the number of printing elements to be identified. A plurality of test images are drawn in the arrangement direction of the printing elements, and drawing control means for drawing more than one code in association with each test image is provided.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system in which a plurality of printing elements for printing image data on a recording medium are arranged, and a test image for confirming the operating state of the printing elements by each of the printing elements. A drawing control means for drawing the image on the recording medium, defect information receiving means for receiving defect information relating to a malfunctioning printing element confirmed based on the test image, and identifying a malfunctioning printing element based on the defect information The drawing control means draws a plurality of test images that can identify printing elements equal to or less than the number of printing elements to be identified on the recording medium in the arrangement direction of the printing elements. The test image is formed by drawing more than one error determination code in association with each other.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 5, wherein the defect information receiving means receives a plurality of error determination codes as the defect information, and each test image includes one or more error determination codes. Are associated with each other.

  According to the first to third aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a recording medium that can easily identify a malfunctioning printing element.

  According to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to provide a print control apparatus capable of drawing a recording medium that can easily identify a malfunctioning printing element.

  According to the invention of claim 5 or claim 6, it is possible to provide a printing system capable of drawing a recording medium capable of easily specifying a malfunctioning printing element.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a printing system according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the printing system includes a printing control device 10 and a printing device 12. The print control apparatus 10 converts the image data to be printed acquired from the application 14 into data in a format that can be processed by the printing apparatus 12 and outputs the data to the printing apparatus 12. The printing device 12 prints out the converted image data received from the print control device 10. The application 14 is general software having a function of outputting image data to be printed to the print control apparatus 10 together with a print instruction.

  The print control apparatus 10 includes a drawing control unit 100, an operation receiving unit 102, a correction unit 104, an output unit 106, a display control unit 108, and a storage unit 110.

  The drawing control unit 100 is realized by including a central processing unit (CPU) and a program for controlling the processing operation of the CPU, and converts image data acquired from the application 14 into print data that can be processed by the printing apparatus 12. In addition, test image data is also generated in order to draw a test image for confirming an operation state of a plurality of printing elements arranged on a print head of the printing apparatus 12 described later on a recording medium. The test image data may be generated using data stored in advance in the storage unit 110 or externally via an appropriate communication interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port or a network port. Data obtained from may be used.

  The operation receiving unit 102 is realized including a CPU and a program for controlling processing operations of the CPU, and receives an input from the operation unit 16. This input includes, for example, defect information relating to a print element in which a malfunction has occurred among a plurality of print elements arranged on the print head 122 provided in the printing apparatus 12. The defect information is information such as the number of a printing element in which an operation failure has occurred, an identification code, an error determination code, which will be described later. In addition, the malfunction of the printing element includes the inability to print or the defective ejection direction of the droplet when the droplet ejection element is used as the printing element.

  The correction unit 104 is realized by including a CPU and a program for controlling the processing operation of the CPU, and generates correction information for correcting the printing operation of the print head 122 based on the defect information. For example, in the resolution conversion, the correction information performs a process of reducing the resolution around the malfunctioning printing element. In the color conversion, correction is performed so that the density around the defective printing element is increased. Further, in the halftone process, correction is performed so that larger ink droplets are ejected to the printing elements around the defective printing element (in the case of a droplet discharge type printing element). These corrections may be performed all at the same time or only one. When generating the correction information, the correction unit 104 also performs a process of specifying a malfunctioning printing element. The correction unit 104 in this case corresponds to the specifying unit of the present invention. The identification of malfunctioning printing elements will be described later.

  The output unit 106 is realized including a CPU and a program for controlling the processing operation of the CPU, and outputs print data, test image data, and the like generated by the drawing control unit 100 to the printing apparatus 12 via the communication unit 18.

  The display control unit 108 is realized including a CPU and a program for controlling the processing operation of the CPU, and controls an operation for displaying an image or the like for requesting the user to input defect information on the display unit 20.

  The storage unit 110 is realized by a random access memory (RAM) used as a working memory of the CPU, a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk device or other computer-readable storage device, and a program for controlling the processing operation of the CPU, Test image data and the like are stored.

  Note that the operation unit 16 is realized by a data input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel, and is used by a user to input defect information regarding a malfunctioning printing element. The communication unit 18 is realized by an appropriate communication interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port or a network port, and exchanges data between the output unit 106 and the printing apparatus 12. The display unit 20 is realized by a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays various images based on the control of the display control unit 108.

  The printing apparatus 12 includes a head driving unit 120, a print head 122, and a medium transport unit 124.

  The head drive unit 120 controls the operation of the print head 122 based on print data, test image data, and the like received from the print control apparatus 10.

  The print head 122 is configured by arranging a plurality of printing elements such as ink droplet ejection nozzles, and prints an image on a recording medium such as printing paper.

  The medium transport unit 124 transports a recording medium on which an image is printed by the print head 122 in synchronization with the print timing of the print head 122. As described above, when the recording medium passes through the region facing the print head 122, droplets are ejected from the print head 122 according to the print data, and an image is formed on the recording medium.

  2A, 2 </ b> B, and 2 </ b> C are explanatory diagrams of a test image printed out by the printing apparatus 12 based on the test image data generated by the drawing control unit 100. 2A is a schematic diagram of the print head 122, FIG. 2B is an example of a test image, and FIG. 2C is a print element (No. 2) that cannot be printed on the print head 122. It is an example of the test image in case there exists.

  In FIG. 2A, the print head 122 has n print elements arranged therein. The printing element is indicated by a white circle. The number of the printing element starts from 0 to n−1 (n). Note that the arrow S direction is the paper feed direction, and the print elements are arranged in the print head 122 in a direction intersecting (for example, orthogonal to) the paper feed direction.

  Further, in FIG. 2B, a test image is transferred to a predetermined direction (paper feeding direction) of the recording medium on n printing elements arranged in the print head 122 based on the test image data generated by the drawing control unit 100. A set of straight lines having a length equal to S) is drawn. Since the printing elements are arranged at equal intervals on the print head 122, the straight lines drawn as test images are also separated from each other by the same distance. Further, the start point and end point of each straight line are arranged on a straight line that intersects the paper feed direction S, but the straight line on which the start point and end point are arranged does not have to be orthogonal to the paper feed direction S. It may be tilted.

  Here, more than one error determination code (A, B, C, D...) Is drawn on the test image. Accordingly, in order to cause the correction unit 104 to identify a malfunctioning printing element, the correction unit 104 determines that there is an error in the defect information even if the printing element number is wrong when inputting the defect information from the operation unit 16. can do.

  FIG. 2B is an example of a test image that can identify the same number of print elements as the number of print elements that are desired to be identified. However, a test image that can identify fewer print elements than the number of print elements that are desired to be identified is shown in FIG. A plurality of images may be drawn in the arrangement direction. According to this test image, since one straight line corresponds to each printing element, when a malfunction described later occurs in the printing element, the printing is performed due to the disappearance of the straight line of the test image, the position shift, etc. The element can be identified.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 2C, the second printing element cannot be printed, and a straight line to be drawn by this printing element is not drawn. The position where the straight line is not drawn is called the disappearance position. In this example, it is possible to detect an inability to print (a state in which drawing is impossible) by the user confirming the disappearance position.

  Note that in the case of a printing element that draws ink by discharging ink droplets, there is also an operation failure such as defective ejection directionality that is not impossible to print and cannot eject droplets in an appropriate direction. In this case, the position of the straight line drawn by the printing element is shifted, and the distance between the straight lines in the portion is widened. When the user confirms the position where the interval between the straight lines is wide (referred to as a shift position), it is possible to detect a printing element having a defective ejection direction. In addition, it is considered that it is easier for the user to confirm the disappearance position and the shift position when the straight line on which the start point and the end point are arranged is drawn on the recording medium, but it is not necessarily drawn.

  The user inputs the number of the malfunctioning printing element confirmed in this way from the operation unit 16 as defect information. At that time, an error determination code closest to the straight line drawn by the printing element is also input. The correction unit 104 can check whether there is any contradiction between the input printing element number and the error determination code, and can check whether there is an input error. In the example of FIG. 2C, since the straight line by the second printing element is not drawn, “2” is input as defect information, and “A” is the error determination code closest to the straight line drawn by the printing element. If you enter, there is no contradiction. However, when the error determination code “A” is input and the print element number is erroneously input “12”, the error determination code closest to the straight line drawn by the 12th print element is “C”. Therefore, an input error can be detected.

  It should be noted that if the number of codes is one, a contradiction with defect information cannot be determined, so the number is greater than 1 (2 or more in the case of FIGS. In addition, when multiple test images that can identify fewer print elements than the number of print elements that are desired to be identified are drawn side by side in the direction in which the print elements are arranged, more than one error determination code is supported for each test image. Then draw. Here, “more than one” may be a real number whose average value obtained by dividing the number of error determination codes by the number of each test image is greater than 1, and need not be an integer of 2 or more. .

  3A and 3B show other examples of test images. This example is a test image drawn by the print head 122 in which 70 print elements are arranged.

  In FIG. 3A, the drawing control unit 100 divides a plurality of (70) arrayed print elements on the print head 122 into 35 pieces (0-34 and 35-69). 35 printing elements are further divided into a plurality of partial arrays arranged in succession, and the number of printing elements to which the printing elements belong is a number that does not have a common divisor other than 1 (5 and 7). A plurality of types (two types in this example) are set so as to be a combination of the above, and for each type of partial array, a predetermined direction of the recording medium (paper feed direction S) is set on each print element at a position corresponding to each other in the partial array. ), Test image data is generated so that straight lines are drawn sequentially, and is drawn on the printing device 12. As a result, a plurality (two) of test images that can identify a smaller number (35) of print elements than the 70 print elements arranged on the print head 122 are drawn side by side in the print element arrangement direction.

  Further, in each test image, a plurality of sets of straight lines drawn by the printing elements Nos. 0 to 34 and 35 to 69 are drawn in the paper feeding direction S. In addition, it is preferable that the lengths of the straight lines in each set are approximately equal distances.

  In addition, as in FIGS. 2B and 2C, more than one error determination code is drawn in association with the test image. In the example of FIG. 3A, three error determination codes A, B, and C (1.5 for each test image) are drawn. The error determination code A represents the 0th to 22nd printing elements, and is drawn at a position where a straight line drawn by the 11th printing element at the center is moved in parallel in the paper feed direction S. That is, the error determination code A is defect information that is input by the user from the operation unit 16 when a malfunction such as inability to print occurs in the printing elements 0 to 22. Similarly, the error determination code B represents the printing elements Nos. 23 to 45 (the central printing element is No. 34), and the error determination code C represents the printing elements Nos. 46 to 69 (the central printing element is No. 57). )is doing. Note that a scale may be drawn to facilitate understanding of the relationship between the error determination code and the printing element represented by the error determination code.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the arrangement of print elements Nos. 0 to 34 (35) in the print head 122. In this case, seven partial arrays (a to g) having five printing elements can be set, and each of the partial arrays a to g includes 0 to 4, 5 to 9 and 10. No. 14 to No. 15, No. 15 to No. 19, No. 20 to No. 24, No. 25 to No. 29, and No. 30 to No. 34 are included. The printing elements at positions corresponding to each other in these partial arrays, that is, I: (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) number, II: (1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 26) 31), III: (2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27, 32), IV: (3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28, 33), V: (4, 9, 14) , 19, 24, 29, 34), the straight lines are drawn in parallel with the paper feed direction in the order of the parentheses (I to V), thereby being composed of seven parallel lines that are separated by an equal distance from each other. A five-stage image in which five sets of straight lines are formed is drawn. Here, the parallel straight lines constituting each set of straight lines are preferably equal in length, but may be different from each other as long as the visibility is not lowered. FIG. 3A shows an example in which the printing elements in the parentheses simultaneously draw lines, but the start and end points of each line included in the same set are on a predetermined straight line. You may make each printing element perform drawing at the timing arrange | positioned. As a result, a test image shifted obliquely in the paper feed direction can be formed. In FIG. 3A, parallel lines are drawn on the printing elements described in the parentheses in the order of the parentheses. However, the order of the parentheses is not limited to this, and other orders may be used. Good. In the example of FIG. 3A, straight line pairs are drawn in the order of the parentheses (I to V), so that each adjacent pair is directed to the print head 122 in a direction perpendicular to the paper feed direction S. The positions are shifted by the distance between the arranged printing elements.

  Similarly, since five partial arrays having seven printing elements are set, a seven-stage image in which seven sets of five lines composed of five parallel lines that are separated from each other by an equal distance are drawn. Is done.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3A, since 70 print elements are arranged on the print head 122, two test images formed by the 35 print elements are arranged in the arrangement direction of the print elements. It will be drawn side by side. In this way, in FIG. 3A, a test image is formed in which two straight line groups constituted by the five-stage image and the seven-stage image are arranged in the arrangement direction of the printing elements. In this case, the number of sets included in each straight line group is 5 and 7, which is equal to the number of printing elements included in each partial array, and has no common divisor other than 1 (this relationship Hereinafter, it is a combination of numbers. When there is a prime relationship between the number of sets included in each line group, a test image that specifies the number of printing elements equal to the product of these numbers (5 × 7 = 35 in FIG. 3A) It can be. Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, a plurality of test images are arranged in the arrangement direction of the printing elements and drawn to thereby print a plurality of printing elements arranged while suppressing the length in the paper feeding direction S. A test image for confirming the operating state of the head can be realized.

  The test image is preferably configured to be drawn by a single scan of the print head 122 under the control of the head drive unit 120. Note that an identification code for identifying a printing element may be drawn on the test image. This identification code is a number starting from 0 assigned to the above-mentioned group. Numbers 0 to 4 are assigned to the 5-stage image, and numbers 0 to 6 are assigned to the 7-stage image. This identification code represents the order of parentheses (I to V in the case of a five-stage image) representing the printing elements used when drawing the set of lines, but as described above, this order is I, II, It need not be III, IV, or V. When this order is changed, the order of the corresponding identification codes in FIG. 3A is also changed. For example, when the drawing order of the printing elements belonging to the brackets I and II is switched, the corresponding identification codes are also changed from 0 → 1 to 1 → 0.

  FIG. 3B shows an example of a test image when an operation failure that cannot be printed occurs in a part of the printing elements arranged in the printing head 122. In this example, an erasure position where a straight line is not drawn is generated in each of the five-step image and the seven-step image due to a print element that cannot be printed.

  In the test image according to the present embodiment, based on this disappearance position, the correction unit 104 identifies a printing element that cannot be printed as follows. If there is a printing element that is not incapable of printing but has poor ejection directionality, the straight line drawing position shifts up and down in the figure, and there is a position (shift position) where the straight line interval is wide. Based on this misalignment position, it is possible to detect a printing element having a defective ejection directionality.

  Assuming that the number of printing elements starts from 0 and the number of printing elements that cannot be printed is X, a shift position appears at the position of an identification code corresponding to the remainder of X ÷ 5 in a 5-stage image, and in a 7-stage image. Shows a shift position at the position of the identification code corresponding to the remainder of X ÷ 7. In addition, the number of sets included in each straight line group, that is, the number of stages, has a prime relationship, and these combinations and X have a one-to-one relationship. For this reason, it becomes the maximum value of X with which the product of the number of stages can be specified. In the example of FIGS. 3A and 3B, two test images for identifying 5 × 7 = 35 printing elements are arranged in the arrangement direction of the printing elements, so that 70 printing elements are identified. can do.

In the example of FIG. 3B, the disappearance positions are the position of the identification code 0 of the 5-stage image and the position of the identification code 3 of the 7-stage image. The user inputs the numerical values of these identification codes as defect information from the operation unit 16, and the operation reception unit 102 passes the input numerical values of the identification codes to the correction unit 104. Here, when the relationship between the number X of the printing element that cannot be printed and the disappearance position input by the user is expressed by a congruent formula,
(1) X≡0 (mod 5). This means that when the number X is divided by 5, the remainder is 0.
(2) X-3≡0 (mod 7). This means that when the number X minus 3 is divided by 7, the remainder is 0.

From (1) above, X is a multiple of 5, so X = 5k is substituted into the congruence formula in (2).
(3) 5k-3≡0 (mod 7). Therefore, 5k≡3 (mod 7). Further deformed, 7k-2k≡3 (mod 7).

Here, 7k is divisible by 7 (the remainder is 0).
(4) -2k≡3 (mod 7). Therefore, 2k≡-3 (mod 7). Therefore, 2k≡4 (mod 7) and k≡2 (mod 7).

Therefore, k is a remainder of 2 when divided by 7, and can be written as k = 71 + 2. Here, l is an integer. If X is represented by l,
(5) X = 5k = 5 (7l + 2) = 35l + 10.

  Here, the user inputs the error determination code described above in addition to the identification code as defect information. For example, in the example of FIG. 3B, when the error determination code A is input, the error determination code A represents the printing elements 0 to 22 (0 ≦ X ≦ 22). X = 10, and it can be seen that the number of printing elements that cannot be printed is 10.

  Further, when the user inputs the identification code as the defect information, the correction code 104 should be input as the identification code 3 of the seven-stage image. X = 30 is calculated by the step (5). However, if the error determination code A is input, it can be determined that there is an error in the input of the identification code, and processing such as requesting the user to input again is possible.

  In addition, when a malfunction occurs in the printing elements after No. 35, an erasure position is generated on the lower side of the test image arranged in the arrangement direction of the printing elements, but the identification code and the error determination code are combined. Thus, it is possible to appropriately specify the printing element.

  As described above, according to the test image according to the present embodiment, a printing element that cannot be printed can be specified using a mathematical expression called a congruence formula. In addition, there is also a method of obtaining a printing element that cannot be printed by calculating by a sequential substitution method. For example, in the example of FIG. 3B, assuming that X = 5a, candidates satisfying the range of 0 ≦ X ≦ 22 are tabulated (0, 5, 10, 15, 20), and among these, X = 7b + 3 is satisfied. It is determined by subtracting 3 and determining whether or not it is divisible by 7, and the value (10 in this case) is specified as the number of the printing element that cannot be printed.

  Further, a predetermined table may be used for specifying a printing element that cannot be printed.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B show examples of tables used for specifying printing elements that cannot be printed. FIGS. 5A and 5B are tables for specifying 35 print elements in the print head 122 in which 70 print elements are arranged.

  In FIG. 5A, the disappearance positions that occur in each of the five-step image and the seven-step image when printing failure occurs in each of the print elements are arranged for each print element number. As can be seen from FIG. 5A, it can be seen that the identification code of each disappearance position is a remainder value obtained by dividing the printing element number by the number of stages (5 and 7).

  FIG. 5B is a table in which FIG. 5A is arranged at the disappearance position in the 5-step image. As can be seen from FIG. 5B, it can be seen that the disappearance position in the five-step image and the disappearance position in the seven-step image are the only combination for 35 printing elements.

  Based on the identification code input from the operation unit 16 by the user, the correction unit 104 can identify a printing element that cannot be printed with reference to FIG. 5A or 5B. For example, in the case of FIG. 3B described above, the erasure position of the 5-stage image is the identification code 0, and the erasure position of the 7-stage image is the identification code 3. Therefore, from FIG. 5A or FIG. The number of printing elements that cannot be printed can be specified as number 10.

  In the embodiment described above, it is not necessary to count the number of non-printable printing elements on the test image, and it is only necessary to confirm the position of the set to which the erasure position belongs. And it can be done accurately.

  3A and 3B, two test images for specifying 5 × 7 = 35 printing elements are arranged in the arrangement direction of the printing elements so that 70 printing elements are specified. It is configured. However, the arrangement of the printing elements is not necessarily a product of prime numbers such as 35. In this case, what is necessary is just to respond | correspond by making the number of straight lines in some groups among the groups of the straight lines which comprise a test image into a different number from other groups. For example, in the case of an array of 34 printing elements, there is one straight line set with one fewer straight line.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which the printing elements are arranged in a line. However, the arrangement of the printing elements is not limited to this, and printing in a direction orthogonal to the relative movement direction of the print head and the recording medium during printing is performed. It suffices that the elements are equally spaced. For example, when the printing elements are arranged in a staggered manner, the printing elements may be arranged two-dimensionally.

  FIG. 6 shows still another example of the test image. FIG. 6 is an example of a test image drawn by the print head 122 in which 420 print elements are arranged. This test image is a test image in which a 5-stage image, a 6-stage image, and a 7-stage image are combined. Since 5 and 6 and 7 are combinations of prime numbers, 5 × 6 × 7 = 210 printing elements can be identified. In FIG. 6, the five-stage image, the six-stage image, and the seven-stage image are drawn side by side in the arrangement direction of the printing elements, and 420 printing elements can be identified.

  A, B, C, and D are error determination codes, and a total of four are drawn on each test image. Here, the error determination code A represents the 000th to 104th printing elements, the 052th printing element is arranged as the central printing element, and the error determination code B represents the 105th to 209th printing elements. No. print element is arranged as a central print element, error determination code C is representative of 210-314 print elements, No. 262 print element is arranged as a central print element, and error determination code D is 315 The 367th printing element is arranged as a central printing element, representing ˜419 printing elements.

  In the test image of FIG. 6, the disappearance position of the 5-stage image is the identification code 4, the disappearance position of the 6-stage image is the identification code 5, and the disappearance position of the 7-stage image is the identification code 6. Thus, it can be seen that the 210th printing element cannot be printed.

  Next, it is necessary to determine whether the 210th printing element is a printing element (No. 209) drawn on the upper side of the test image or a printing element (No. 419) drawn on the lower side of the test image. is there. At this time, it is assumed that the user uses the error determination code input from the operation unit 16 but erroneously inputs C where B should be input. As described above, since the error determination code C represents the 210th to 314th printing elements, neither the 209th printing element nor the 419th printing element is included, and the correction unit 104 can determine that there is an error. In such a case, it is considered that the error determination code B or D adjacent to the error determination code C is input incorrectly, so that the correction unit 104 identifies an unprintable printing element by the following process.

That is, the number of the central printing element in the printing element represented by the error judgment code C and the error judgment code representing the unprintable printing element to be specified are the error judgment codes B or D adjacent to the error judgment code C. The distance with the number of the printing element specified when it is assumed to be present is compared, and the closer error determination code is adopted. If the error determination code B is assumed, the specified printing element number is 209, and if the error determination code D is assumed, the specified printing element number is 419.
(1) | Printing element number 209 | = | 53 | = 53 when assuming the central printing element number 262 of the code C−the error determination code B,
(2) | Printing element number 419 | = | −157 | = 157 assuming that the center printing element number 262 of the code C−the error determination code D Here, || represents an absolute value.

  From the above result, since the distance from the error determination code B is short, it is determined that the error determination code B is erroneously determined. Therefore, it can be specified that it is the 209th printing element in the case of the error determination code B.

  FIG. 7 shows still another example of the test image. FIG. 7 is a test image for specifying a malfunctioning printing element when 200 printing elements are arranged on the print head 122.

  In FIG. 7, the test image is drawn in a staircase pattern, with one horizontal line (straight line drawn in the horizontal direction in the figure) corresponding to one print element arranged in the print head 122. The test image drawn in a staircase pattern is configured so that one line identifies 100 printing elements, and two lines are drawn side by side in the printing element arrangement direction to identify 200 printing elements. Has been. If there is a printing element that cannot be printed, the horizontal line that is to be drawn by the printing element is not drawn and is recognized as an erasure position. In the case of FIG. 7, an example in which an operation failure that cannot be printed occurs in the 99th printing element is shown.

  In the example of FIG. 7, four error determination codes A, B, C, and D are drawn, and two error determination codes are associated with one test image.

  When the test image of FIG. 7 is used, the user refers to the test image, reads the printing element number at the disappearance position, and inputs it from the operation unit 16 as defect information. At that time, an error determination code drawn at a position closest to the erasure position in the vertical direction (printing element arrangement direction) in the figure is also input as defect information. Based on the defect information, the correction unit 104 can determine the correctness of the input print element number from the error determination code.

  FIG. 8 shows a flow of an operation example of the print control apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 8, the drawing control unit 100 generates test image data, and draws a test image on each printing element arranged on the print head 122 of the printing apparatus 12 (S101). This test image is drawn on a recording medium such as printing paper. When the printing apparatus 12 has a color printing function, a test image is drawn for each color of K (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow).

  Next, the user refers to the recording medium on which the test image is drawn, and confirms whether there is no disappearance position. If there is an erasure position, an identification code and an error determination code indicating the position are input via the operation unit 16. The operation receiving unit 102 receives the input identification code and error determination code as defect information. (S102). The operation receiving unit 102 in this case functions as defect information receiving means of the present invention.

  The operation reception unit 102 passes the received defect information to the correction unit 104, and the correction unit 104 performs the above-described FIGS. 2 (a), (b), (c), FIGS. 3 (a), (b), and FIG. In accordance with the procedure described in the above, a printing element having a malfunction such as incapability of printing is specified (S103). It is preferable to store information regarding the specified malfunctioning printing element in the storage unit 110.

  Next, the correction unit 104 generates correction information for correcting the printing operation of the printing elements arranged in the printing head 122 in order to reduce the influence of the printing elements having the specified malfunction (S104).

  FIG. 9 shows a flow of an operation example for specifying a malfunctioning printing element in S103. In FIG. 9, the correction unit 104 calculates the number of the malfunctioning printing element based on the defect information received in S102 (S201).

  Next, the correction unit 104 determines whether the printing element number calculated in S201 matches the error determination code (does not contradict each other) (S202).

  If the number of the printing element matches the error determination code in S202, the printing element with the number is identified as a malfunctioning printing element (S203).

  On the other hand, if the print element number and the error determination code do not match in S202, the number of the central print element in the print element represented by the input error determination code is specified as described in FIG. Compare the distance with the number of the print element specified when assuming that the error determination code representing the unprintable printing element to be printed is the error determination code adjacent to the input error determination code. The error determination code is adopted. Next, the number of the printing element is determined based on the adopted error determination code (S204). Thereafter, the process proceeds to S203, and the printing element with the number is specified as a malfunctioning printing element.

  Note that the program for executing the steps of FIGS. 8 and 9 may be provided by communication means or stored in a storage medium such as a CDROM.

  FIG. 10 shows still another example of the test image. FIG. 10 is an example of a test image drawn by the print head 122 in which 420 print elements are arranged. Similar to FIG. 6, this test image is a test image in which a 5-stage image, a 6-stage image, and a 7-stage image are combined, but there are two error determination codes (A, B). Here, the error determination code A represents the 000th to 209th printing elements, the 104th printing element is arranged as the central printing element, and the error determination code B represents the 210th to 419th printing elements. A number printing element is arranged as a central printing element.

  In the present embodiment, one or two error determination codes are input from the operation unit 16 together with the erasure position identification code. That is, for example, when the closest error determination code is A, as in the case where the erasure position is in the upper quarter region of the test image, A is input as defect information. Further, when the nearest error determination code is clearly B as in the case where the erasure position is in the lower quarter region of the test image, B is input as defect information.

  On the other hand, when the erasure position is in the region between the upper 1/4 and the lower 1/4 of the test image, it may be difficult to determine whether the closest error determination code is A or B. In this case, error determination codes A and B are input as defect information. At this time, the correction unit 104 specifies a printing element having a number that does not cause a contradiction between the printing element number calculated by the identification code and the printing element number represented by the error determination code.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the erasure position of the 5-stage image is the identification code 4, the erasure position of the 6-stage image is the identification code 5, the erasure position of the 7-stage image is the identification code 6, and the error determination code A and When B is input, first, the number of the printing element that cannot be printed is calculated as the number 209 or 419 from the identification code.

  Next, it is determined from the input error determination code that the erasure position is between the central printing element of the error determination code A and the central printing element of the error determination code B (between Nos. 104 and 314). The print element of the number is specified.

It is a functional block diagram in one Embodiment of the printing system concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing of a test image. It is a figure which shows the other example of a test image. It is a figure which shows the example of an arrangement | sequence of the printing element in a print head. It is a figure which shows the example of the table for specifying a printing element. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a test image. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a test image. It is a flowchart of the operation example of the printing control apparatus concerning this invention. It is a flowchart of the operation example which identifies the printing element of a malfunctioning. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a test image.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Print control apparatus, 12 Printing apparatus, 14 Application, 16 Operation part, 18 Communication part, 20 Display part, 100 Drawing control part, 102 Operation reception part, 104 Correction part, 106 Output part, 108 Display control part, 110 Storage part , 120 head drive unit, 122 print head, 124 medium transport unit.

Claims (7)

A test image for performing an operation test of a plurality arrayed printing elements in the print head, and distinguishable test image printing element of the following number of printing elements to be identified, the identifier for the identification is drawn,
A plurality of the test images are drawn side by side in the arrangement direction of the printing elements,
Aside from the identifier , adjacent to each test image , more than one code is associated with each test image and is drawn so as to be aligned along the alignment direction. A recording medium.   2. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the test image includes a set of a predetermined number of straight lines that are separated from each other by an equal distance, the start point and the end point are arranged on a straight line, and are drawn in parallel in a predetermined direction. A characteristic recording medium.   3. The recording medium according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of straight line groups are formed by drawing a plurality of straight line sets in the predetermined direction, the number of sets included in each straight line group is different from each other, and the number of sets included in each straight line group. Is a combination of numbers that do not have a common divisor other than 1. A test image for performing an operation test of a plurality of printing elements arranged in a print head on a recording medium, the test image capable of identifying printing elements equal to or less than the number of printing elements to be identified, an identifier for the identification, and the test image is drawn in parallel a plurality dance to the direction of arrangement of printing elements,
Apart from the identifier, a drawing control means for drawing adjacent to each test image and associating more than one code with each test image so that the codes are arranged along the arrangement direction. A printing control apparatus comprising: A print head in which a plurality of printing elements for printing image data on a recording medium are arranged;
Drawing control means for drawing a test image on the recording medium for confirming the operating state of the printing element by each of the printing elements;
Failure information receiving means for receiving failure information related to a malfunctioning printing element confirmed based on the test image;
Identifying means for identifying a malfunctioning printing element based on the defect information;
With
Said drawing control means, the recording medium, and test images can identify the print elements of the following number of printing elements to be identified, and an identifier for the identification, multiple parallel dance in the arrangement direction of the test image is printed element It draws on,
Separately from the identifier , adjacent to each test image , the test image is associated with more than one code and drawn so that the code is aligned along the alignment direction ,
The defect information receiving means receives the identifier and the code as the defect information,
The specifying unit corrects an error in the received identifier based on the code, and specifies a malfunctioning printing element . 6. The printing system according to claim 5, wherein the specifying means includes a set of constant intervals each including a same number of print elements having an array number of a fixed number of intervals in a print head in which a plurality of the print elements are arranged. As represented by the identifier, a plurality of printing elements arranged in the print head are divided into continuous sets including a plurality of printing elements having consecutive array numbers, and each continuous set is represented by the code as a malfunction. From the correspondence between the identifier representing the set of constant intervals including the designated printing element and the code representing the continuous group including the printing element designated as malfunctioning, the malfunctioning printing element A printing system characterized by specifying . The printing system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the defect information accepting unit accepts a plurality of the code as the defect information, the each of the test images, one or more of the codes are associated A printing system characterized by that.

Images