JP6801277B2 - Curing device, liquid discharge device, curing control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a curing device, a liquid discharge device, a curing control method and a program.

A liquid ejection type recording apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as an inkjet apparatus) is known in which a liquid, for example, ink is ejected from a liquid ejection head to one of the image forming apparatus to form a desired image on a printable object. .. In this type of recording device, there is a device called a shuttle type in which an inkjet head reciprocates a printing area a plurality of times to form an image. In addition, one of the methods for fixing the ink ejected by the inkjet method to the print target is an image in which ultraviolet curable ink is ejected to form an image and the ink is fixed to the print target by irradiating with ultraviolet rays. Forming devices are known. As a technique for using such an ultraviolet curable ink, for example, the techniques disclosed in JP-A-2012-09647 (Patent Document 1) and JP-A-2006-021479 (Patent Document 2) are known.

In Patent Document 1, when the inkjet head and the object to be printed are relatively moved, irradiation is started in the order in which the ultraviolet irradiation device reaches the area printing area by the irradiation device divided into a plurality of parts, and the ultraviolet irradiation device is applied from the printing area. Disclosed is a technique for stopping irradiation in the order in which they are separated.

Patent Document 2 describes an inkjet recording method in the production of a printed wiring board that can withstand practical use without insufficient ink resistance as compared with conventional screen printing when marking information for mounting parts by inkjet recording. The technology is disclosed.

However, since the technique described in Patent Document 1 only controls irradiation switching in the order of reaching and leaving the print area, light from an adjacent irradiation device, so-called leakage light, is not taken into consideration and the print area is not taken into consideration. It is not possible to irradiate the amount of light evenly. Further, the technique described in Patent Document 2 is a technique for using the coating film resistance of a specific ink for a specific print object, and is difficult to apply to general-purpose image formation.

On the other hand, when an image is formed by a shuttle type inkjet method using the photocurable ink, it is known that the integrated light amount in the print area is small around the print area and large near the center of the print area. Therefore, the amount of light required to cure the ink becomes non-uniform, and the formed image may be uneven, or the characteristics of the formed coating film may be varied.

For this reason, conventionally, a method of irradiating light from outside the print area to keep the integrated light amount in the print area constant has been adopted, but productivity is greatly reduced, and ultraviolet rays and the like are emitted from outside the print area. Due to excessive irradiation, there are problems in safety and yellowing of the printed object.

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to form an image without printing unevenness by equalizing the amount of irradiation light.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is set from a light source that irradiates a medium coated with a photocurable ink with light, an image processing unit into which image data is input , and the image data. It based the center position of the print area to the position of the positional relationship of the light source in the print region that is characterized by having a light irradiating device control unit for controlling the radiation output of the light source.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to form an image without printing unevenness by equalizing the amount of irradiation light. Issues, configurations and effects other than the above will be clarified in the following description of the embodiments.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on Example 1 in Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the print area and the peak illuminance. It is a functional block diagram which shows the control structure of the image forming apparatus 1 in Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure in Example 1. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on Example 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the illuminance measuring apparatus in Example 2. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure in Example 2. FIG.

The present invention is characterized in that the illuminance of the light irradiation device is automatically adjusted according to the position of the print area to equalize the integrated light amount in the print area and form an image without printing unevenness. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a liquid ejection type image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a printed area and peak illuminance. In this embodiment, the lower right corner of the print area of the print object of FIG. 2 is set as the origin O, and the image is formed from this origin O.

In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is a shuttle-type image forming apparatus including a carriage 3 that reciprocates in the outward path direction (arrow A direction) and the return path direction (arrow B direction). The shuttle-type image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus of a type in which the printing apparatus reciprocates a printing area a plurality of times to form an image. The carriage 3 is equipped with at least one head unit 5 which is a liquid discharging means having at least one liquid discharging head and at least one or more ultraviolet irradiation devices 7 which are light irradiating means at both ends of the carriage 3. In the figure, a first ultraviolet irradiation device 7a and a second ultraviolet irradiation device 7b are provided. Further, although the image forming apparatus 1 using the ultraviolet curable ink is illustrated here, the ink curing method is not limited to this.

The head unit 5 includes at least one or more ink ejection heads that eject ink droplets having an ultraviolet curable property. It is also possible to discharge active energy ray-curable liquids having different curing characteristics from a plurality of nozzle rows of one liquid discharge head.

The ultraviolet irradiation device 7 is a means for curing the ejected ink, and irradiates ultraviolet light having a wavelength that cures the ultraviolet curable ink ejected from the head unit 5, and the head unit 5 in the outward path direction A and the return path direction B. It is arranged on the rear side of each. Specifically, the first ultraviolet irradiation device 7a is arranged on the upstream side of the carriage 3 in the outward path direction A, and the second ultraviolet irradiation device 7b is arranged on the upstream side of the return path direction B.

A stage 9 is arranged below the moving area of the carriage 3. The print object 11 is placed on the stage 9. In the image forming apparatus 1, the carriage 3 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction, the stage 9 is moved n in the sub-scanning direction, and droplets of ultraviolet curable ink are ejected from the head unit 5 onto the printing object 11 for printing. A desired image is formed on the object 11.

Here, when an image is formed on the print target 11 with the photocurable ink, the material of the print target 11 is not selected as compared with ordinary water-based ink, and a non-plastic material (polypropylene, polyethylene, etc.) is used. It is also possible to form an image on a penetrating medium. Therefore, in the following description, it is assumed that the print object 11 is a non-penetrating medium.

Generally, the ink droplets imaged on the print area 11a of the print object 11 are irradiated with a constant illuminance from the ultraviolet irradiation device 7 to cure the ink, and the print area of the print object 11 ( An image is formed on the print area R1 in the main scanning direction × the print area R2) 11a in the sub-scanning direction. At this time, as shown by the characteristic curve of reference numeral 13 in FIG. 2, the output is controlled so that the illuminance becomes highest when the ultraviolet irradiation device 7 reaches the print area R1 in the main scanning direction from the origin O. Further, the irradiation output is controlled so as to gradually reduce the illuminance up to the center point C1 in the main scanning direction of the print area R1 (characteristic 13a). After that, the output is controlled stepwise so that the illuminance increases again in the direction from the center point C1 to the outside of the print area R1 (main scanning direction) (characteristic 13b).

Further, as shown by the characteristic curve of reference numeral 15 in FIG. 2, the output is controlled so that the illuminance becomes highest when the ultraviolet irradiation device 7 reaches the print area R2 in the sub-scanning direction from the origin O. Further, the irradiation output is controlled so as to gradually reduce the illuminance up to the center point C2 in the sub-scanning direction of the print area R2 (characteristic 15a). After that, the output is controlled stepwise so that the illuminance increases again in the direction from the center point C2 to the outside of the print area R2 (secondary scanning direction) (characteristic 15b).

A specific configuration of the first embodiment for executing such control will be described below.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a control configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 in the first embodiment. In the figure, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control device 100, a display unit 110, an image data input / output unit 120, a sub-scanning direction control unit 130, a main scanning direction control unit 140, a light source control circuit 150, a light source 160, and a head drive circuit. It includes 170, an inkjet head (ink ejection head) 180, and a memory 190.

The control device 100 includes a stage control unit 101, a carriage control unit 103, a light irradiation device control unit 105, an image processing unit 107, and a discharge control unit 109. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a display unit 110, and the control device 100 controls the display of the display unit 110. The stage control unit 101 instructs the sub-scanning direction control unit 130, which drives and controls the motor that moves the stage 9 in the sub-scanning direction, to control the movement in the sub-scanning direction. The carriage control unit 103 instructs the main scanning direction control unit 140, which drives and controls the motor that moves the carriage 3 in the main scanning direction, to control the movement in the main scanning direction. The main scanning direction control unit 140 controls the position of the carriage 3 in the main scanning direction based on the encoder output of the encoder 141 for detecting the scanning position. The amount of movement in the sub-scanning direction is appropriately set according to the number of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet head 180.

The light irradiation device control unit 105 sets the light source 160 according to the characteristics of the characteristic curves 13 and 15 according to the position of the carriage 3 and the position of the stage 9 with respect to the light source control circuit 150 that controls the light source 160 of the ultraviolet irradiation device 7. Controls the irradiation output of. The image processing unit 107 selects a nozzle for ejecting ink from the inkjet head 180, and also ejects the ink to the head drive circuit 170 that controls the amount of ink ejected from the nozzle via the ejection control unit 109. And the discharge amount from the nozzle is instructed. The image processing unit 107 gives the above instructions based on the image data input from the image data input / output unit 120 provided separately.

In these controls, the control device 100 acquires information necessary for control from the memory 190.

The control device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an HDD (Hard Disc Drive). The CPU processes the data according to the procedure of the program stored in the ROM. RAM is used as a work memory, a buffer, etc. when the CPU processes. The HDD is a large-capacity storage medium that holds a large amount of data readable and writable. A computer is composed of these CPUs, ROMs, RAMs, HDDs, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control procedure in the first embodiment.

In FIG. 4, when the printing operation is started, the carriage 3 reciprocates in the main scanning direction and moves by a predetermined line in the sub-scanning direction. Then, when the carriage 3 reaches the print area 11a (step 101: hereinafter, the step is referred to as S), the ultraviolet irradiation device 7 is preset with respect to the ink ejected from the inkjet head 180 onto the print object 11. Light is irradiated with the illuminance (S102). The arrival of the carriage 3 in the print area 11a means that the CPU prints the print start position and print range in the main scanning direction and the printing in the sub-scanning direction from the image data input from the image data input / output unit 120 to the image processing unit 107. Judge from the start position and print range. The positions of the inkjet head 180 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 7 are determined by the carriage control unit 103 from the output of the encoder 145 for detecting the position in the main scanning direction in the main scanning direction, and the moving distance from the initial position in the sub scanning direction. The stage control unit 101 determines from.

Next, the scanning position of the carriage 3 is determined (S103). In this S103, it is determined whether the carriage 3 is located outside or inside the print area R1 in the main scanning direction. In this determination, if the vehicle is located in the print area R1 (S103: No), the ultraviolet irradiation device 7 starts the ultraviolet irradiation at the ultraviolet irradiation timing, and the carriage 3 moves in the main scanning direction (S104). After that, it is determined whether or not the center point C1 is exceeded in the print area R1 (S105). If the carriage 3 does not exceed the center point C1 (S105: No), the light irradiation device control unit 105 reduces the irradiation output (S107) as in the characteristic 13a, and if it exceeds it (S105: Yes). The irradiation output is increased (S106) as in the characteristic 13b. As for the amount of increase / decrease, a predetermined value may be reduced, or the result of automatic measurement illustrated as Example 2 may be fed back.

When the carriage 3 reaches the outside of the print area in the main scanning direction (S103: Yes), the irradiation is stopped once (S108), and the stage control unit 101 moves the stage 9 in the sub-scanning direction (S109). After that, it is determined whether or not it is within the print area in the sub-scanning direction (S110), and if it is within the print area (S110: No), it is further determined whether or not it exceeds the center point C2 in the sub-scanning direction. It is done (S111). Then, when the center point C2 is not exceeded (S111: No), the light irradiation device control unit 105 reduces the irradiation output (S113) as in the characteristic 15a, and if it exceeds (S111: Yes), the characteristic 15b. Increases the irradiation output (S112). After that, the process returns to the determination of the main scanning direction (S103) again, and the subsequent processing is repeated. Further, when the determination of the sub-scanning direction (S110) determines that the area is outside the print area R2 (S110: Yes), the printing is completed and the printing operation is stopped.

The center point C1 of the print area R1 in the main scanning direction and the center point C2 of the print area R2 in the sub-scanning direction are determined in the center point and the main scanning direction from the image data input from the image data input / output unit 120. This is done using the provided encoder 145. When the image data is transferred to the image forming apparatus 1, the corresponding position is set as the threshold value of the center points C1 and C2, and the determination is switched when the return value from the encoder 145 exceeds the threshold value.

Further, in the control method shown in the figure, the adjustment sequence of the main scan and the sub scan is always performed, but depending on the application, the control may be such that the function in one scan direction is not used due to a signal from the outside or the like.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the light source control circuit 150 is provided with an illuminance detection unit 155 for the control configuration shown in FIG. 3 in the first embodiment, and the control device 100 is provided with a memory 106 for the light irradiation device control unit 105 to refer to the illuminance. Is provided. Since the configurations of the other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an illuminance measuring device 200 as a hardware configuration of the illuminance detecting unit 155 in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the illuminance is measured by the illuminance measuring device 200 installed in the ultraviolet irradiation device 7, and the illuminance adjustment control is automatically performed according to the measured illuminance value. The illuminance measuring device 200 uses an ultraviolet LED (Light Emitted Diode) (hereinafter referred to as UV LED) 202 and a photodiode 204. The UV LED 202 functions as a light emitting element, and the photodiode 204 functions as a light receiving element.

Generally, a light emitting element such as a UV LED 202 is often installed in the vertical direction V of the printing object 11, but here, a photodiode tilted by an angle φ from the vertical direction V and also tilted by an angle φ in the facing direction. A light receiving element such as 204 is provided. This makes it possible to measure the illuminance of the light reflected from the single element of the UV LED 202. By constantly controlling the illuminance measured at the initial stage of device installation, the integrated light amount in the print area 11a can be made uniform. In addition, the control method can be handled by analog or digital control such as changing the value of the variable resistor, adjusting the applied voltage, and correcting the transmission data. Further, if the initial value is not reached even if the maximum correction is used due to deterioration of the element or the like, control such as issuing a warning may be performed.

The illuminance measured at the initial stage of device installation is stored in the memory 106, and is referred to when the light irradiation device control unit 105 outputs a control command to the light source control circuit 150 to control the illuminance of the light source 160. Further, in the ultraviolet irradiation device 7 using the UV LED 202 as a light emitting element, a plurality of light sources 160 are generally mounted on one ultraviolet irradiation device 7, and partial lighting is performed when the correction amount is insufficient with a single light source. It is also possible to supplement from other elements by performing such as.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control procedure in the second embodiment.

In FIG. 7, when the printer moves in the main scanning direction, the printing operation is started, and the print area is reached (S201: No), the ultraviolet irradiation device 7 starts irradiation with ultraviolet rays (S202), and at the same time, the illuminance measuring device 200 The illuminance is measured by (S203). In the process of moving in the main scanning direction (S204), the illuminance is adjusted based on the result of the illuminance measurement (S205, S206). When leaving the print area in the main scanning direction (S201: Yes), the stage 9 moves in the sub-scanning direction (S208) after the light irradiation is stopped (S207), and it is determined whether or not the stage 9 is in the printing area in the sub-scanning direction. Is performed (S209). If it is within the print area (S209: No), the control returns to the main scanning direction (S201), and if it is outside the print area (S209: Yes), the printing operation is stopped.

In the illuminance adjustment, the light irradiation device control unit 105 determines whether or not the received illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit 155 is the same as the initial measured value, and if it is the same as the initial adjusted value, the process returns to S201 and the subsequent processing is performed. repeat. If it is not the same as the initial measured value, the light irradiation device control unit 105 instructs the light source control circuit 150 so that the illuminance becomes the initial measured value as the illuminance moves in the main scanning direction, and the irradiation output of the light source 160 is increased or decreased.

When controlled in this way, the output of the light source 160 is adjusted so that the received illuminance becomes the same as the initial set value based on the illuminance measured by the illuminance measuring device 200 when the carriage 3 is moving in the main scanning direction. Will be done. As a result, the print region 11a on the surface of the print object 11 can be irradiated with ultraviolet rays with uniform illuminance.

If feedback control is performed after measuring the illuminance, if the illuminance is insufficient at the start of printing, printing will be performed due to insufficient illuminance. Therefore, it is preferable to use both feedforward control and feedback control in this control system. Further, in this control, S205 and S206 are controlled so as to always be the initial value at the time of installation, but a target value may be given in advance from the outside and the control may be performed so as to be the value.

As described above, if the present invention corresponds to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. In the following description, each component in the claims and each part of the present embodiment correspond to each other, and when the terms of the two are different, the latter is shown in parentheses and the corresponding reference code is attached. The correspondence between the two was clarified.

(1) A light source 160 that irradiates a medium (printable object 11) coated with a photocurable ink with light, an acquisition unit (CPU of a control device 100) that acquires the position of the light source 160, and the acquisition. According to the curing device according to the present embodiment, which includes a control unit (light irradiation device control unit 105) that controls the illuminance of the light source based on the position of the light source with respect to the medium acquired by the unit, the medium. Based on the position of the light source in, the illuminance of the light source can be controlled to equalize the amount of irradiation light. As a result, an image without printing unevenness can be formed.

(2) The position of the light source 160 with respect to the medium (printing object 11) is the print area 11a of the input image data, the main scanning direction position obtained by the carriage control unit 103, and the sub-position obtained by the stage control unit 101. According to the present embodiment obtained from the scanning direction position, the position of the light source can be acquired by soft processing in the control device 100.

(3) An encoder 145 for detecting the position in the main scanning direction is provided, the carriage control unit 103 obtains the position in the main scanning direction from the output of the encoder 145, and the control unit (light irradiation device control unit 105) obtains the position in the main scanning direction. Based on the input image data and the position in the main scanning direction, the irradiation output of the light source 160 is gradually weakened until the light source 160 exceeds the center point C1 on the main scanning direction side, and the center point C1 is set. According to the present embodiment in which the irradiation output of the light source 160 is gradually increased after exceeding the limit, the integrated value of the irradiation light amount in the main scanning direction in the print area 11a can be made uniform. At that time, the integrated light amount can be made uniform in consideration of the leaked light.

(4) The control unit (light irradiation device control unit 105) has the light source 160 in the sub-scanning direction based on the input image data and the position in the sub-scanning direction obtained from the scanning instruction output of the stage control unit 101. According to the present embodiment, the irradiation output of the light source 160 is gradually weakened until the center point C2 on the side is exceeded, and the irradiation output of the light source 160 is gradually increased after the center point C2 is exceeded. The integrated value of the irradiation light amount in the sub-scanning direction in 11a can be made uniform. At that time, the integrated light amount can be made uniform in consideration of the leaked light.

(5) An illuminance measuring device 200 for measuring the illuminance of the light emitted from the light source 160 is provided, and the control unit (light illuminance device control unit 105) makes the measured illuminance a preset illuminance. Controlling the irradiation output According to the present embodiment, by controlling the irradiation output so that the illuminance is always constant, for example, the illuminance of the initial value measured in advance, the integration is performed in consideration of the leakage light. The amount of light can be made uniform.

(6) According to the present embodiment, the illuminance measuring device 200 includes at least one or more light emitting elements (UV LED202) and a light receiving element (photodiode 204) paired with the light emitting element, and has a simple configuration. The illuminance can be detected, and the irradiation output of the light source 160 can be easily controlled based on the detected illuminance.

(7) According to the liquid discharge device according to the present embodiment provided with the curing device according to any one of (1) to (6) above, the liquid discharge device having the effect described in (1) to (6) above is achieved. Equipment can be provided.

(8) The liquid ejection device (image forming apparatus 1) ejects the liquid (photocurable liquid) to the medium (printing object 11) and the ejection means (inkjet head 180) in the main scanning direction. According to the present embodiment provided with the moving means (carriage 3) for shuttle movement and the light sources 160 provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the moving direction of the discharging means, the photocuring discharged from the inkjet head 180 is provided. The mold liquid can be uniformly cured on the medium (printing object 11) by irradiating the mold liquid with ultraviolet rays from the light source 160.

(9) A step of irradiating a medium (printable object 11) coated with a photocurable ink with light from a light source 160 (S102), a step of acquiring the position of the light source (S103, S110), and the above. Curing control according to the present embodiment including steps (S106, S107, S112.S113) for controlling the illuminance of the light source based on the position of the light source with respect to the medium acquired in the acquisition step (S105, S111). According to the method, the same effect as that described in (1) above can be obtained.

(10) The procedure (S102) of causing the computer (CPU of the control device 100) to irradiate the medium (printable object 11) coated with the photocurable ink with light from the light source 160, and the position of the light source 160. The procedure for controlling the illuminance of the light source 160 (S106, S107, S112.S113) based on the acquisition procedure (S103, S110) and the position of the light source 160 with respect to the medium acquired in the acquisition procedure (S105, S111). ), And by installing a program for executing the above procedure and causing the computer to execute the above procedure, the same effect as that described in the above (1) can be obtained.

The program may be stored in a storage medium. In that case, the program can be installed on the computer using this storage medium. The storage medium may be a non-transient storage medium. The non-transient storage medium is not particularly limited, but a storage medium such as a CD-ROM can be used.

In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 for forming an image by ejecting a photocurable liquid onto a print object 11 which is a medium has been described, but a clear photocurable type is described on the medium (print object 11). It can also be applied to an image forming apparatus in which ink is applied and then cured.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention, and all the technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are all. It is the subject of the present invention. Although the above-described embodiment shows a suitable example, those skilled in the art can realize various alternative examples, modifications, modifications or improvements from the contents disclosed in the present specification. These are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

1 Image forming device (liquid discharge device)
3 Carriage 7 Ultraviolet irradiation device 11 Printable object (medium)
11a Printing area 100 Control device 101 Stage control unit 103 Carriage control unit 105 Light irradiation device control unit 145 Encoder 160 Light source 180 Inkjet head (ejection means)
200 Illuminance measuring device 202 UV LED (light emitting element)
204 Photodiode (light receiving element)
C1 Center point in the main scanning direction C2 Center point in the sub-scanning direction R1 Printing area in the main scanning direction R2 Printing area in the sub-scanning direction

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-096407 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-021479

Claims (9)

A light source that irradiates a medium coated with photocurable ink with light,
The image processing unit where image data is input and
Based on the positional relationship between the position of the light source in the printing area and the center position of the printing region set from the image data, a light irradiation device control unit for controlling the radiation output of the light source,
A curing device characterized by having . The curing device according to claim 1.
Position before Symbol light source curing device, wherein the main scanning direction position acquired in key Yarijji control unit, to be determined from the sub-scanning direction position acquired in the stage control unit. The curing apparatus according to claim 2.
Equipped with an encoder for detecting the position in the main scanning direction.
The carriage control unit obtains a position in the main scanning direction from the output of the encoder, and obtains a position in the main scanning direction.
Based on the input image data and the position in the main scanning direction, the light irradiation device control unit gradually weakens the irradiation output of the light source until the light source crosses the center point on the main scanning direction side. A curing device characterized in that the irradiation output of the light source is gradually increased after the center point is exceeded. The curing apparatus according to claim 2.
The light irradiation device control unit is based on the input image data and the position in the sub-scanning direction obtained from the scanning instruction output of the stage control unit, until the light source crosses the center point on the sub-scanning direction side. A curing device characterized in that the irradiation output of the light source is gradually reduced, and after the center point is exceeded, the irradiation output of the light source is gradually increased. The curing device according to claim 1.
An illuminance measuring device for measuring the illuminance of light emitted from the light source is provided.
The light irradiation device control unit is a curing device characterized in that the irradiation output is controlled so that the measured illuminance becomes a pre-measured initial value illuminance. The curing apparatus according to claim 5.
A curing device in which the illuminance measuring device includes at least one light emitting element and a light receiving element paired with the light emitting element. A liquid discharge device including the curing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The process of irradiating a medium coated with photocurable ink with light from a light source,
The process of inputting image data and
Based on the positional relationship between the position of the light source in the printing area and the center position of the printing region set from the image data, and controlling the radiation output of the light source,
A curing control method characterized by having . On the computer
The procedure for irradiating a medium coated with photocurable ink with light from a light source,
The procedure for acquiring the position of the light source and
The procedure for inputting image data and
A step of the center position of the printing area set by the image data and on the basis of the positional relationship between the position of the light source in the printing area, Ru is controlling the irradiation output of the light source,
A program characterized by executing.