JP6514440B2 - Ink jet apparatus, ink jet printing method and print processing program - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention, printing and the circuit pattern of the printed circuit board, an ink jet apparatus for performing printing on such industrial products, to Lee inkjet printing method and the printing process program.

  When printing on a non-absorbing medium such as a glass plate with an ink jet device, the ink is applied and then dried, but in the drying step, the ink stain solidifies on the edge of the ink coated surface due to the coffee stain phenomenon at the time of ink evaporation. A large amount of matter is deposited, and a small amount of in-ink solid matter is deposited at the central portion of the coated surface. Therefore, in the state after drying, a phenomenon occurs in which the film thickness of the ink is not uniform.

  Also, in order to increase the film thickness of the ink coated surface, it is necessary to increase the amount of ink, but if the amount of ink is increased and dried, the thickness of the edge portion of the ink coated surface becomes thicker as well as the central portion. Cracking tends to occur during drying. In addition, when the amount of ink increases, the drying time becomes longer, the ink fluidity on a substrate such as a glass plate increases, and it is difficult to make the film thickness uniform after drying unless the substrate surface is kept horizontal. Become. For this reason, it is necessary to make level control of the substrate surface more severe.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a method of manufacturing an electronic device in which a multilayer printed circuit board is manufactured using an ink jet head.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2003-309369

Problems that the Invention is to solve is after the non-absorbing recording medium ink is applied and dried, the ink-jet device coating of the ink was set to be substantially uniform at the edge portion and the central portion, Lee inkjet A printing method and a printing processing program are provided.

The ink jet apparatus according to the embodiment has the ink-jet head for applying ink to a recording medium, and a printing unit for drying the coating film configured on the recording medium by the ink, the first layer of coating of the recording medium when configuring the coated film in multiple layers using the ink jet head above a plurality of times and controls the print unit to perform the coating and drying of the ink, the coating with the amount of ink of the underlying coating And a control unit configured to divide the ink into a plurality of layers so that the peripheral portions do not contact each other with a smaller amount of ink.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The block diagram which shows the whole structure of the inkjet apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electric control unit of the inkjet apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state of ink discharge in one embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printing process of the ink of 1st layer in one Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the application | coating / drying state of the ink of 1st layer in one Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the application * drying state of the ink of the 2nd layer (1st time) in one Embodiment. The other explanatory view showing the application and the drying state of the ink of the 2nd layer (the 1st). Explanatory drawing which shows the application * drying state of the ink of the 2nd layer (2nd time) in one Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the printing process to the inclined recording medium in one Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the other example of application | coating of the 2nd-layer ink in one Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the dry condition of the ink of 2nd layer in one Embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing print processing operation on a recording medium according to an embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the image pattern printed on the recording medium in one Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the same parts in the respective drawings.

First Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an ink jet apparatus according to an embodiment. The inkjet apparatus 100 is configured of a printing unit 10, an electric control unit 30, and an information processing apparatus 50 such as a personal computer (PC). In FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 10 and part of the electric control unit 30 are shown.

  In FIG. 1, the printing unit 10 includes a stage 11 for placing a recording medium, an X stage 13 for movably supporting the stage 11 on the bottom plate 12 in the X and Y directions, and a Y stage 14. Further, a Z stage 16 is provided which supports the ink jet head 15 so as to be movable in the Z direction. Further, a stage heater 17 is incorporated in the stage 11.

  Further, the X drive circuit 34, the Y drive circuit 35 and the Z drive circuit 36 of the electric control unit 30 (FIG. 2) are connected to the printing unit 10, and the X drive circuit 34 and the Y drive circuit 35 14 is controlled to control the movement of the stage 11 in the X direction and the movement in the Y direction. In addition, the Z drive circuit 36 controls the Z stage 16 to control the movement of the inkjet head 15 in the Z direction. Further, a stage heater 17 and a temperature sensor 18 (FIG. 2) are incorporated in the stage 11.

  Further, the ink is supplied to the ink jet head 15 from the ink supply path 19 through the ink tube, and the image transfer circuit 44 supplies the image data for printing through the image transfer cable.

  Motors for driving the stage 11 left and right (X direction), the stage 11 back and forth (Y direction), and the ink jet head 15 up and down (Z direction) on the X stage 13, Y stage 14 and Z stage 16; A linear scale is built in to convey the current X coordinate position and Y coordinate position of the stage 11 to the control unit 20 and to convey the Z coordinate position of the inkjet head 15, but the motor and linear scale are not shown in FIG. ing.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the ink jet head 15 is moved vertically and the stage 11 is moved back and forth, horizontally, but the stage 11 is installed at a fixed position, and the ink jet head 15 is It may be configured to move in the vertical direction, in the front and back direction, and in the horizontal direction. Alternatively, the inkjet head 15 may be installed at a fixed position, and the stage 11 may be configured to move in the vertical direction as well as in the longitudinal and lateral directions.

  A recording medium is placed on the stage 11, the ink jet head 15 is lowered to eject ink, and the stage 11 is moved back and forth, to the left and right, whereby an arbitrary image pattern can be printed on the recording medium. When printing a wiring pattern on a printed circuit board, the ink uses conductive ink. The recording medium is not limited to the printing substrate.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main part of the electric control unit 30 of the ink jet apparatus according to one embodiment. The electric control unit 30 includes a CPU 31, ROM 32, RAM 33, X drive circuit 34, Y drive circuit 35, Z drive circuit 36, X coordinate position detection circuit 37, Y coordinate position detection circuit 38, Z coordinate position detection circuit 39, stage temperature The control circuit 40 includes a stage temperature detection circuit 41, an interface (I / F) 42, an image memory 43, and an image transfer circuit 44. The units in the electric control unit 30 are connected to one another via a bus line 301.

  The CPU 31 constitutes a control unit of the inkjet apparatus 100, and the ROM 32 stores a print processing program executed by the CPU 31, information indicating fixed data, and the like. The fixed data stored in the ROM 32 includes, for example, information on the application performance of the ink such as the distance in the Z direction which can maintain the recording quality when the ink is applied from the inkjet head 15 and recording is performed, Characteristic information indicating characteristics of the inkjet head 15 such as the recordable width of the inkjet head 15 is stored. The RAM 33 has a work area and the like used when the CPU 31 executes a program stored in the ROM 32. The CPU 31, the ROM 32, and the RAM 33 are computers constituting the center of the electric control unit 30.

  The X drive circuit 34 drives the X-axis motor 21 for moving the stage 11 in the lateral direction, and the Y drive circuit 35 drives the Y-axis motor 22 for moving the stage 11 in the front-rear direction . The Z drive circuit 36 also drives a Z-axis motor 23 for moving the ink jet head 15 in the vertical direction.

  An X-axis linear scale 24, a Y-axis linear scale 25, and a Z-axis linear scale 26 are connected to the X-coordinate position detection circuit 37, the Y-coordinate position detection circuit 38, and the Z-coordinate position detection circuit 39, respectively.

  The X-coordinate position detection circuit 37 detects the X-coordinate of the stage 11 by counting pulse signals output from the X-axis linear scale 24 and moves the stage 11 along the X-stage 13 in the horizontal direction. To detect The Y-coordinate position detection circuit 38 detects the Y-coordinate of the stage 11 by counting pulse signals output from the Y-axis linear scale 25 and moves the stage 11 along the Y stage 14 in the front-back direction. To detect The Z coordinate position detection circuit 39 detects the Z coordinate of the inkjet head 15 by counting pulse signals output from the Z axis linear scale 26, and moves the inkjet head 15 along the Z axis in the vertical direction. Detect the position.

  The stage temperature control circuit 40 controls the temperature of the stage heater 17. The temperature sensor 18 is connected to the stage temperature detection circuit 41, and the stage temperature control circuit 40 controls the temperature of the stage heater 17 based on the temperature detection result of the stage temperature detection circuit 41.

  An interface (I / F) 42 communicates with an external information terminal 50 (for example, a PC), and receives image data to be recorded on a recording medium from the PC 50 under the control of the CPU 31. The image data is output to the image memory 43. The image memory 43 temporarily stores the image data output by the interface 42. Then, the image data temporarily stored under the control of the CPU 31 is output to the image transfer circuit 44. The image transfer circuit 44 transfers the image data and the recording control information added to the image data to the inkjet head 15.

  The ink jet head 15 moves together with the vertical movement along the Z stage 16 and, based on the image data output from the image transfer circuit 44 and the recording control information added to the image data, Apply ink to the recording surface. At this time, the recording medium mounted on the stage 11 forms an image while moving integrally with the movement of the stage 11 in the lateral direction along the X stage 13 and the movement in the longitudinal direction along the Y stage 14 .

  Further, the CPU 31 calculates the temperature based on the information of the temperature sensor 18 of the stage 11, controls the stage heater 17 to control the temperature, and controls the drying condition of the ink applied on the recording medium.

  Although the ink jet apparatus shown in FIG. 2 includes an ink supply path to the ink jet head 15 and a maintenance device for cleaning the nozzle surface of the ink jet head 15 in addition to the above, these descriptions will be omitted.

  Hereinafter, an example of the printing process (that is, the process of applying the ink and drying the ink) by the inkjet head 15 will be specifically described.

  The inkjet apparatus 100 receives the image data from the PC 50, ejects the ink from the inkjet head 15, and applies the ink to the recording medium. The inkjet head 15 is provided with a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink and piezoelectric elements corresponding to the plurality of nozzles, and the drive voltage signal to the piezoelectric elements is controlled according to the image data to eject ink from the plurality of nozzles It is possible to adjust the amount and the number of times of ink droplet ejection, and to control which nozzle the ink is ejected.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which ink is ejected from a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head 15 and the ink 61 is applied on the recording medium 60, and (a) shows an example where the application amount of the ink 61 is large, (b) Shows an example in which the amount of application of the ink 61 is small.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the ink is applied from a plurality of nozzles, and the ink is applied and dried in multiple rows. FIG. 4 (a) shows a plan view of a state in which the surface of the recording medium 60 is kept horizontal, and FIG. 4 (b) shows a cross-sectional view. FIG. 4C shows a plan view of the recording medium 60 with its surface inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, and FIG. 4D shows a sectional view.

  FIG. 4 shows the state of the coated film 62 after drying, and a coffee stain phenomenon occurs in the drying step, the edge portion of the coated film 62 becomes thicker, and the central portion becomes thinner, the thickness of the coated film 62 becomes It may be uneven. A portion (hereinafter referred to as a coffee ring) in which the thickness of the coating film is increased by the coffee stain phenomenon is indicated by reference numeral 63.

  In addition, if a large amount of ink is applied and dried at one time, the influence of the horizontal condition of the recording medium 60 becomes large, and when the recording medium 60 is inclined, the liquid pool shape becomes uneven, as shown in FIG. The film thickness 62 after drying as in (d) and (d) also becomes uneven in the coated surface.

  FIG. 5 shows the state of the ink when forming the coating film of the first layer on the recording medium 60, when applying the first layer (A), immediately after applying the first layer (B), and one layer. It divides into three states (C) after dryness of eyes, and is shown with a top view (a) and a sectional view (b).

  As shown in FIG. 5A, when the first layer of ink is applied in multiple rows from the plurality of nozzles in the Y direction with a predetermined amount of ink, the recording medium 60 is applied for non-absorbing medium immediately after application. The ink spreads on the recording medium 60, and as shown in FIG. 5B, the inks come in contact with each other and become heaped on the recording medium 60. The CPU 31 controls the stage heater 17 to dry the ink on the recording medium 60 before or during the application of the ink and after the application is completed.

  During the drying, a coffee stain phenomenon occurs, and as shown in FIG. 5C, solid matter gathers around the ink immediately after coating, and in the central portion, the coated ink dries with little solid matter, A coffee ring 63 is formed at the edge portion of the coating film, the film thickness becomes thick, and the thickness of the coating film becomes uneven.

  Also, in order to increase the film thickness, it is necessary to increase the amount of ink, but if a large amount of ink is applied and dried at one time, the thickness of the edge becomes higher and the central portion becomes thicker. As a result, many cracks occur in the coating when it is dried.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, the thickness of the coating film is made uniform by performing printing processing in multiple layers and controlling the application position and application amount of the second and third layers of the ink. The The details will be described below. In the printing process of the second layer, the third layer,..., The application and drying of the ink are performed a plurality of times.

  Hereinafter, the case where the second-layer printing process is divided into two steps will be described. First, when the ink of the first layer is applied to the recording medium 60 and dried, as described in FIG. 5, the thickness of the edge portion of the coating film 62 becomes thick, and the coffee ring 63 is formed. Therefore, the second layer of ink is applied, but when the second layer of ink is applied, the amount of application per nozzle may be reduced as shown in FIG. 3 (b) with respect to the first layer of application area. Alternatively, the number of nozzles for ejecting ink is limited, and coating is performed for the first and second times. The reason for reducing the application amount of the second layer ink is to reduce the size of the liquid pool after application and to reduce the frequency of contact between the liquid pools.

  This will be described specifically. FIG. 6 shows the state of the ink when forming the coating film of the second layer (first time) on the recording medium 60, when applying the second layer (A) and immediately after applying the second layer (B) And a second layer after drying (C), the plan view (a) and the cross-sectional view (b) show three states. As shown in FIG. 6A, in the first application of the ink 61 in the second layer, the central portion of the coating film 62 is applied in the Y direction at intervals. The ink 61 spreads on the recording medium 60, and as shown in FIG. 6B, the inks come in contact with each other to form a piled liquid pool 64 on the recording medium 60, but the liquid pools 64 do not contact each other. When the coating film of the second layer (first time) is dried, a coffee ring 65 is formed on the edge of the liquid pool 64 as shown in FIG. 6C.

  In addition, as a method of reducing the application amount of the second layer ink, a small amount of ink may be discharged from many (for example, three) nozzles, or the number of nozzles for discharging the ink may be reduced (for example, reduced to two). The same amount of ink as in the first layer may be ejected.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which ink pools are in contact with each other when forming a coating film of the second layer (first time) on the recording medium 60 at the time of application of the second layer (A), and the second layer Immediately after the application of (B) and after drying of the second layer (C), it is divided into three states, and is shown in a plan view (a) and a sectional view (b).

  If the interval between the inks applied to the second layer is narrow and the inks 61 are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 7A, a large liquid pool 66 is formed as shown in FIG. 7B. For this reason, unlike the setting of the coating position of the second layer and the thickness of the coating film, as shown in FIG. 7C, a large coffee ring 67 is formed, and the thickness of the coating film becomes uneven.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, after the first printing process of the second layer is performed, if the film thickness increase and the film thickness equalization are further performed, the second application is performed.

  FIG. 8 shows the state of the ink when the printing process of the second layer (second time) is performed on the recording medium 60 at the time of the second application (A) and immediately after the second application (B), 2 It is divided into three states (C) after drying for the second time, and is shown in a plan view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b). As shown in FIG. 8A, the second ink application in the second layer is performed in the Y direction between the first applied coatings. The ink spreads on the recording medium 60, and as shown in FIG. 8B, the inks come in contact with each other to form a heap of accumulated liquid pools 68 on the recording medium 60, but the liquid pools 68 do not come in contact with each other. When the coating shown in FIG. 8B is dried, as shown in FIG. 8C, a coffee ring 69 having a uniform shape is formed at the edge of the liquid pool 68.

  As described above, the thickness of the coating film can be made uniform by applying and drying the ink in multiple layers, changing the application position of the ink in each layer, and reducing the application amount to apply.

  FIG. 9 shows the state of the ink when forming a multilayer coating film on the recording medium 60 whose horizontal control is difficult, after drying of the first layer (A) and after drying of the second layer (first time) (FIG. It is divided into three states of B) and (C) after drying of the second layer (second time), and is shown in a plan view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b).

  When the ink is applied to the recording medium 60 inclined as shown in FIG. 9, the liquid pool is inclined as shown in FIG. 9A, and after drying, the right side of the drawing is dried in a thickened state. After the first layer of ink is dried, the second layer (first time) is applied with a smaller amount of ink than that of the first layer application so that the liquid pools 64 of the ink do not contact each other and dried, as shown in FIG. Film thickness and film thickness uniformity can be achieved.

  Furthermore, in the case of applying the second ink for the second layer, the side where the height of the recording medium 60 is high (left side in the figure) as shown in FIG. 7C in consideration of the inclination of the recording medium 60 The ink 68 is applied a second time only in the liquid pool 64 of the ink and dried. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7C, the thickness of the coating on the side where the height of the recording medium 60 is high is increased. On the side where the height of the recording medium 60 is low (right side in the figure), the coating film is originally thickened as shown in FIG. Ru.

  As described above, when the second layer of ink is applied, the amount of ink is reduced rather than applying and drying a large amount of ink at one time, and the ink flowability is suppressed by performing printing processing in a plurality of divided steps and Since the drying time can also be shortened, the thickness of the film can be made more uniform than when a large amount of ink is applied and dried at one time.

  FIG. 10 shows a modified example when applying the second layer of ink. In FIG. 10A, when the ink 70 of the second layer (first time) is applied, the ink 70 is applied at positions away from each other so that the individual inks do not contact. In addition, when applying the ink 71 of the second layer (second time), as shown in FIG. 10B, it is applied so as to fill the space between the first ink 70.

  Further, FIG. 10C shows an example in which the ink 73 of the second layer (first time) is applied to the central portion of the first layer coating film 62 at intervals in the X direction. FIG. 10D shows the state immediately after the second layer ink 73 of FIG. 10C is applied, and a liquid pool 74 of ink is formed in the lateral direction. Also in this example, the lateral ink reservoirs 74 are applied and dried in a form that does not contact each other. Further, in FIG. 10D, when the second ink is applied, it is applied between the ink of the liquid pool 74.

  FIG. 11 is a view for explaining the application amount of the second layer ink. FIG. 11A shows a state in which the ink 64 of the second layer is applied to the central portion of the coating film 62 at intervals. Since the amount of ink applied to the second and subsequent layers is smaller than that of the first layer, the ink is immediately dried under the same drying conditions as the first layer, and as shown in FIG. 11B, the coffee stain phenomenon As a result, the height of the coffee ring 75 generated at the edge portion of the coating film of the second layer is increased. Therefore, the CPU 31 performs control to lower the drying temperature of the second layer ink so as to extend the drying time. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11C, the height of the coffee ring 76 can be relatively lowered.

  In the above description, the printing process of the first layer and the second layer has been described, but the printing process of the third layer, the fourth layer, etc. is performed, and the coating film of the first layer is multilayered. Also in the case of forming the upper layer coating, the application and drying of the ink are performed as in the second layer. In the second layer printing process, an example in which the application and drying of the ink are performed separately for the first and second times has been described, but printing may be performed for three times or the like. In this case, it is important to apply so as to fill the gaps of the previously applied ink coating. In the second printing process, when a coating film having a relatively uniform thickness can be obtained only by the first printing process, the second printing process can be omitted.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the printing process on the recording medium, and FIG. 13 shows an image pattern to be printed on the recording medium. The flowchart of FIG. 12 will be described in association with the image pattern of FIG.

  First, at the preparation stage of the operation A1 of FIG. 12, the operator uses the PC 50 to create image data including the line width and line height of the completed state when the ink is applied to the recording medium 60 and dried. Each pixel included in the data is converted into data converted into the ejection amount of the ink droplet and the like. At this time, the minimum number of print layers is defined as m = 1. FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an image pattern. The line widths are La, Lb and Lc, and the line heights of La, Lb and Lc are Ta, Tb and Tc.

  In operation A2, image data is sliced into a plurality of layers and separated. Here, the total number of layers is n. As shown in FIG. 13B, the image pattern (A) is sliced at a predetermined thickness T1 to create an image pattern of the first layer. The image pattern of the remaining upper surface is similarly sliced. However, the thickness T2 of the second and subsequent layers is thinner than that of the first layer (T1> T2). In FIG. 13C, with the number of layers n = 4, separated image patterns from the first layer to the fourth layer are created. FIG. 13C shows image data corresponding to the separated image pattern.

  In operation A3, the periphery of the image data constituting the image pattern of each of the second to fourth layers is cut. The width to cut increases as it goes to the upper layer. That is, as shown in FIG. 13D, when the ink is printed in multiple layers, the coffee ring 81 is generated at the edge of the lower layer when the ink is applied and dried, and the image data of the upper layer is Cut the periphery by the width.

  In the coffee ring 81, the edge portion of the coating film is raised due to the coffee stain phenomenon. Therefore, the edge width to be cut is calculated in advance from the occurrence of the coffee ring 81 in the lower layer. FIG. 13E shows cut image data in which the peripheral portion is cut. The image data of the upper layer from the first layer to the fourth layer has a larger cut amount. In operation A4, cut image data of each layer is created.

  In the operation A5, when ink is applied and printed a plurality of times after the second layer, cut image data of the second layer or more is divided so that adjacent inks do not contact with each other. FIG. 13F shows an example where the cut image data of the second layer is divided into divided image data 1 and divided image data 2 into two.

  As described above, the operations A1 to A5 are the operations of the PC 50, and the PC 50 notifies the worker that the image data is completed. The operation for printing the second layer ink divided into two times will be described below.

  In operation A6, the operator performs apparatus setting and substrate preparation for printing and drying operations, and operates the PC 50 in operation A7 to start the printing operation. The PC 50 transmits the image data of the first layer to the electric control unit 30, and the CPU 31 of the electric control unit 30 converts the image data sent from the PC 50 into printing data. Specifically, it is calculated which amount of ink is to be ejected from which nozzle for each printing position corresponding to each image data. Further, the CPU 31 controls the stage temperature control circuit 24 to properly set the temperature and the drying time of the stage heater 17 while checking the temperature detection value from the stage temperature sensor 18.

  In operation A8, the electric control unit 30 checks the values of the X axis linear scale 24, the Y axis linear scale 25, and the Z axis linear scale 26 under the control of the CPU 31, while the X axis motor 21, the Y axis motor 22, The Z-axis motor 23 is controlled to output the ink discharge amount for each nozzle to the ink jet head 15, and a predetermined ink amount is discharged to a predetermined position of the recording medium 60 to print the first layer, and the recording medium 60 Do the drying of

  In the operation A9, when the application and drying of the ink of the first layer end under the control of the CPU 31, the electrical control unit 30 notifies the PC 50 that the printing process of the first layer is ended.

  In operation A10, the PC 50 determines whether the printing process for all layers has been completed. In this example, since the total number of layers n = 4, m = n does not hold and the printing process is not completed, so the determination of operation A10 is NO, and the process shifts to operation A11 and the printing process of the upper layer (second layer) Migrate to In the second-layer printing process, m = 1 + 1 = 2 is redefined.

  In the operation A11, the CPU 31 successively receives the divided image data 1 corresponding to the cut image data of the second layer from the PC 50, and performs the first printing process (application and drying of ink) of the second layer. .

  Next, in operation A12, the CPU 31 successively receives divided image data 2 corresponding to the cut image data of the second layer from the PC 50, and performs the second printing process of the second layer (application and drying of ink) I do. After the operation A12, the operation returns to the operation A10, and the PC 50 determines whether the printing process (application and drying of the ink) of all the layers is finished. In this example, since the total number of layers n = 4, m = n does not hold, and the printing process is not completed. Therefore, since the printing process of the third layer is performed, the process is redefined as m = 2 + 1 = 3, and the process shifts to the printing process of the upper layer (third layer) again in the operations A11 and A12. Thus, the operations of operations A10 to A12 are repeated until m = 4, and when the printing process of the fourth layer is completed, the determination of operation A10 is YES and the process proceeds to operation A13.

  In operation A13, the recording medium for which the printing process has been completed is removed from the ink jet apparatus, and the process ends.

  According to the embodiment described above, printing of a substantially uniform thickness on the recording medium is performed by applying the ink with the amount of ink (or the ink applying position) in which the liquid pools after application of the second layer of ink are not in contact with each other. It can be performed. Moreover, in order to increase the thickness of the coating film, cracking in the edge or central portion of the coating film can be reduced by coating and drying in multiple times. Further, even when the recording medium is inclined, the thickness of the coating can be made uniform.

  While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in other various forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof as well as included in the scope and the gist of the invention.

100 ... ink jet apparatus 10 ... printing unit 11 ... stage 15 ... ink jet head 17 ... stage heater 30 ... electric control unit 31 ... CPU
32 ... ROM
33 ... RAM
34 X drive circuit 35 Y drive circuit 36 Z drive circuit 40 stage temperature control circuit

Claims (8)

A printing unit having an ink jet head for applying ink to a recording medium, and drying the coating film formed on the recording medium by the ink;
When the coating film is formed in multiple layers on the first layer coating film of the recording medium using the ink jet head, the printing unit is controlled to perform the application and drying of the ink in plural times. , a small amount of ink than the coat-weight of the ink of the underlying coating film, and a control unit which is divided into a plurality as peripheral portion do not contact each other in each layer constituting a coating film of the ink,
An inkjet apparatus provided. A printing unit having an ink jet head for applying ink to a recording medium, and drying the coating film formed on the recording medium by the ink;
When the coating film is formed in multiple layers on the first layer coating film of the recording medium using the ink jet head, the printing unit is controlled to perform the application and drying of the ink in plural times. A control unit configured to form a coating film of the ink by dividing the layers into a plurality of positions where the peripheral portions do not contact each other;
An inkjet apparatus provided. When configuring the multi-layer to coating on the first layer of the coating film, when the recording medium is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, wherein, the application of the ink to suit the inclination position controlling the ink jet apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thickness of the coating film constituted is made to be uniform by coating and drying of the second layer and subsequent ink. The inkjet apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the control unit lowers the drying temperature of the second and subsequent layers of the coating with respect to the drying temperature when drying the first layer of the coating. Ink is applied to the recording medium using an ink jet head, constitutes the first layer of the coating film by drying the applied ink,
When configuring the coated film in multiple layers by using the ink-jet head over said first layer of coating, was coated with dried ink a plurality of times, with the coating of the ink of the underlying coating An ink jet printing method comprising forming a coating film of an ink by dividing the ink into a plurality of parts so that the peripheral parts do not contact each other for each layer with an amount of ink smaller than the amount. The inkjet printing method according to claim 5, wherein the drying temperature of the second and subsequent layers of the coating is lowered relative to the drying temperature when the first layer of the coating is dried. A printing processing program for controlling a printing unit having an ink jet head for applying ink to a recording medium and drying a coating film formed on the recording medium by the ink, the computer comprising
A first print processing function of forming a first coating film using the inkjet head on the recording medium;
When configuring the coated film in multiple layers by using the ink-jet head over said first layer of coating, was coated with dried ink a plurality of times, with the coating of the ink of the underlying coating A second print processing function of forming a coating film of the ink by dividing the ink into a plurality of parts so that the peripheral parts do not contact each other for each layer with an amount of ink smaller than the amount;
Print processing program to realize. The print processing program according to claim 7, wherein the second print processing function lowers the drying temperature of the second and subsequent layers of the coating with respect to the drying temperature when the first layer of the coating is dried.