JPH07132619A - Color ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a color ink jet recording apparatus and to improve color reproducibility by arranging a plurality of nozzles emitting different color inks in the direction different from a main scanning direction in adjacent relation and arranging a plurality of nozzles emitting same color inks different in density in the main scanning direction in adjacent relation. CONSTITUTION:Nozzles of yellow ink (Y), first magenta ink (M1) and first cyan ink (C1) are arranged to a first head 101A from above. Nozzles of second magenta ink (M2), second cya ink (C2) and black ink (BK) are arranged to a second head 101B from above and the number of black nozzles is made more than the number of other color nozzles. First magenta ink nozzles 200M1 and second magenta ink nozzles 200M2 are arranged so that the first nozzles of them coincide each other on the A-A line in a main scanning direction. Magenta inks M1, M2 are variable density inks changed in density but the dyes of them may be made different.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color ink jet recording apparatus for obtaining a full color image on a recording material, using a plurality of integrated heads having nozzle groups having a plurality of color inks formed on the same substrate. By using the required minimum number of heads, a small and inexpensive color recording apparatus is proposed. Furthermore, a high-quality multi-valued color image can be formed by using dark and light ink.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus supplies ink to a recording head and drives an ink droplet ejecting means such as a piezo element or an electrothermal converter provided on the recording head based on image data. An image is formed on the recording medium such as an ink dot pattern.

In the case of color printing, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks are ejected by heads having the respective inks.

In the scanning type recording apparatus, these recording heads are mounted on a carriage which reciprocates along a recording medium in a predetermined direction.

In general, one head has one kind of ink and a plurality of heads are arranged in the main scanning direction.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned structure, when multi-value color recording is attempted, the number of heads increases, resulting in an increase in the cost of the head unit, and further, the recording apparatus becomes large in size. There was a problem of being lost.

FIG. 9 shows a head group of a conventional ink jet color recording apparatus using dark and light inks, which is black (BK), first magenta (M1), second magenta (M2), and first cyan. (C1), the second cyan (C
2), and the yellow ink heads are arranged in parallel. Since the nozzles adjacent to each other are matched in position accuracy in micron order, the manufacturing process is complicated and the head unit becomes large.

As described above, in the conventional high-quality color printer, there is a problem in that each head is provided for each ink color, so that the cost of the head is high and the size of the head unit itself cannot be reduced. Therefore, there is a problem that the recording apparatus itself becomes large and the recording apparatus itself becomes expensive.

Further, the complexity of the manufacturing process and the adjusting means for adjusting the accuracy of the adjacent nozzle positions are troublesome.

Further, since the plurality of heads are separated from each other, it is necessary to prepare a suction or pressure recovery means for removing air bubbles in the nozzles and recovering thickening of the ink after being left for a long time. There was also the problem of not being able to.

Therefore, as one example for solving such a problem, multi-value printing is performed by arranging a plurality of ink jet heads integrally formed on the same substrate in parallel in the main scanning direction for printing. Can be considered.

However, a problem here is that four color inks in the main scanning direction, that is, yellow, magenta,
Cyan and black have their respective dark and light inks, which means that four color X2 heads, that is, eight color inks are required.

For example, for yellow and black images, the color tone of printing can be sufficiently expressed by the printing density and the like, and there is little need for shading of ink, while the color image using magenta and cyan inks has It has been found that it has a great influence on color viewing. For this reason, it is preferable that the multi-valued color recording apparatus further uses the required minimum number of inks.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have used one type of each of yellow and black inks and two types of magenta and cyan inks, respectively.
The case where the types were provided was examined. That is, although the inks for six colors are used, it has been found that the following problems occur when the two heads are arranged in the main scanning direction for printing.

As shown in FIG. 10, each color ink is arranged on the head. The head 101A has a nozzle group for yellow, a first magenta ink, and a first cyan ink.
1B includes black, second magenta, and second cyan inks. Further, in the case where the ink density is changed, when the secondary color is formed by mixing with other inks, there is an influence of the dot driving order and the time difference. Do you get it.
However, when two heads are arranged in parallel as shown in FIG. 10, the yellow and black ink nozzle groups are adjacent to each other, and the two colors must be printed at the same time.

At this time, it became clear that the two kinds of ink interfere with each other on the recording material and bleed to the boundary of the image, so-called bleeding occurs and the quality is degraded. In particular, there are cases in which it is easy to see between yellow and black, which have a large color difference.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized color ink jet recording apparatus excellent in color reproducibility.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a color ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink onto a recording medium for recording while moving a plurality of nozzle groups ejecting different inks in the main scanning direction. A plurality of nozzle groups for ejecting ink of different colors are arranged in a direction different from the main scanning direction, and a plurality of nozzle groups for ejecting inks of the same color having different densities are adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction. And a nozzle group for ejecting at least two different inks is arranged not adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a color ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium while moving a plurality of nozzle groups for ejecting ink of different colors in the main scanning direction. A plurality of nozzle group rows composed of a plurality of nozzle groups arranged in a direction different from the direction are arranged adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction, and the nozzles of the adjacent nozzle groups are substantially different from each other in the main scanning direction. There is provided a color ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that the color ink jet recording apparatus is arranged so as to be displaced by ½ of the nozzle pitch.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of nozzle group rows each composed of a plurality of nozzle groups arranged in a direction different from the main scanning direction are arranged adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction, and Since the nozzle group row of 1 has the nozzle groups that are not adjacent to each other, the number of heads can be minimized, the head unit and the printer main body can be downsized, and the cost can be further reduced.

Further, by using the dark and light ink, high quality multi-value color recording is possible.

Further, the nozzles of the adjacent nozzle groups are arranged so as to be displaced from each other in the direction different from the main scanning direction by a distance substantially ½ of the nozzle pitch, so that the resolution is 2
A color image having gradation can be formed by doubling.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an entire color ink jet recording apparatus embodying the present invention.

In the figure, 100 is a recording device, 101A, 10
Reference numeral 1B is a color inkjet head, and 102 is a carriage on which the inkjet recording heads 101A and 101B are mounted. Each of the recording heads 101A and 101B has a plurality of ejection openings having different colors of ink, and is formed on the same substrate.

The head 101A has three types of ink, and a nozzle 2 (not shown) capable of ejecting yellow (Y), first magenta (M1), and first cyan (C1) inks.
I have 00Y-200C1. Also, the head 101
Similarly, B also has three types of ink and has nozzles 200BK to 200C2 (not shown) capable of ejecting black (BK), second magenta (M2), and second cyan (C2) inks.

The head structure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 and will not be described here. As the first and second inks of magenta and cyan, dark and light inks or dyes of different types can be used.

The heads 101A and 101B have heads of the same structure arranged side by side, but different types of heads, for example,
It may be one having a different discharge port diameter.

Color ink tank units 110A and 110B are filled with three kinds of ink corresponding to the heads 101A and 101B, respectively. When the two ink tanks are pushed into the insertion openings provided separately in the cartridge 103, the ink tanks 110
A rubber seal portion (not shown) provided below each of A and 110B is connected to a stainless pipe provided on the recording head. By doing so, the ink can be supplied from the ink tanks 110A and 110B to the nozzles corresponding to the respective inks.

Next, when a print signal is received from a host computer (not shown), the paper as the recording material is fed by the paper feed roller 108 and the paper feed roller 107 and set at the print position. After that, the recording head 101A,
In B, the carriage 102, which is released from a cap (not shown) and has a recording head, reciprocates along guide shafts 104 and 105 to perform printing.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the construction of the ink jet recording head used in the present invention, in which two ejection ports having a plurality of colors of ink are arranged in a line on the same substrate and printed in parallel. The ink is arranged with a step in a direction different from the main scanning direction in which the various inks are arranged as described above. The step amount is an amount in which only the width of the nozzle group for one color and the partition interval provided between the nozzles are shifted in a direction different from the main scanning direction in which printing is performed.

The first head 101A has a yellow ink nozzle 200Y and a first magenta ink nozzle 200.
It has an M1 and a first cyan ink nozzle 200C1. Similarly, the second head 101B has a second magenta nozzle 200M2, a second cyan nozzle 200C2, and a black nozzle 200BK.

Reference numeral 201 denotes an aluminum base plate on which a nozzle base on which the nozzles are formed is attached by an adhesive or the like. Reference numeral 202 denotes a print board (PCB) connected to a connector of the main body for receiving head ejection drive power supply, receiving a print signal and the like.

Explaining the nozzles concretely, 32 nozzles are provided for each color, and the nozzle groups are arranged with a space equal to or larger than the nozzle pitch.

An ink passage (not shown) for supplying each ink is provided in each of these ejection ports, and electric thermal energy for ejecting ink droplets is applied to the ink nozzle corresponding to each ejection port. It has a converter. Ink is foamed by heating the electrothermal energy converter according to the input of a print signal from a print signal generator (not shown), and the foaming force controls the ejection of ink droplets from each ejection port. ing. The ink ejection volume is
Each color is designed to discharge about 40 ng (here, 1 ng = 10 ⁻⁹ g).

Next, an example of the composition of the ink used in the present invention will be described. For the head 101A, <yellow ink (Y)><first magenta ink (M1)> yellow dye 2 parts magenta dye 3 parts urea 7 Part Urea 7 parts Diethylene glycol 7 parts Diethylene glycol 7 parts Thiodiglycol 7 parts Thiodiglycol 7 parts Isopropyl alcohol 1 part Isopropyl alcohol 1 part Surfactant trace amount surfactant Trace amount water remaining water balance <No. Cyan ink 1 (C1)> Cyan dye 3 parts Urea 7 parts Diethylene glycol 7 parts Thiodiglycol 7 parts Isopropyl alcohol 1 part Surfactant trace water balance The <101 black ink><head 2 magenta ink (M2)> Black dye 4 parts Magenta dye 1 part Urea 7 parts Urea 7 parts Diethylene glycol 7 parts Diethylene glycol 7 parts Thiodiglycol 7 parts Thiodiglycol 7 parts Isopropyl alcohol 1 part Isopropyl alcohol 1 part Surfactant trace amount surfactant Trace amount residual water remaining part <2nd Cyan dye (C2)> Cyan dye 1 part Urea 7 parts Diethylene glycol 7 parts Thiodiglycol 7 parts Isopropyl alcohol 1 part Surfactant Trace water The balance was used, but it is not limited to this and is an oil-based ink An ink using a pigment or pigment may be used.

Here, two heads are arranged and one type of each of yellow and black inks and two types of each of magenta and cyan inks are provided, so that sufficient gradation is obtained for the following reason.

First, for yellow and black, it is well known that the gradation is further improved by providing dark and light inks. However, when each ink is used alone, the density can be changed depending on the print shot density. it can. However, in cyan and magenta inks, it was found that the saturation due to the color tones greatly changed and the actual appearance was different. That is, it is possible to obtain a high gradation by using light and shade for the ink that greatly affects the color tone of color printing as in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the head. As described above, the two heads are all filled with different inks. In the nozzle group of the heads, the nozzles adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction are arranged so that the positions AA in the drawing, that is, the first nozzles 200M1 and 200M2 of the two heads are aligned.

FIG. 4 is for explaining a single head. In the above-described embodiment, the case where the head and the ink tank are separable has been described, but a disposable type in which the head and the ink tank are integrally formed may be used.

In the present invention, a plurality of heads shown in FIG. 4 are arranged, and different inks are filled in the nozzles adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction, so that a color image having gradation can be easily obtained. is there.

The number of nozzles is L1 = L2 = L3 = 32, and the nozzle interval is L4 = L5, which is set larger than the nozzle pitch.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of an image printed by the recording apparatus devised by the present invention, in which pixels are formed by a combination of dark and light inks so that various constructs can be expressed. Has become. The printing example is the first
Although an example of a single color using magenta and a second magenta is given, the combination of inks is free. For example, for red (R), R1 = Y + M1, R2 = Y +
M2 R3 = Y + M1 + M2 Green (G) is G1 = Y + C1, G2 = Y +
C2 G3 = Y + C1 + C2 Blue (B), B1 = C1 + M1, B2 = C1
+ M2 B3 = C1 + M1 + M2 B4 = C2 + M1, B5 = C2 + M2 B6 = C1 + C2 + M1 B7 = C1 + C2 + M2 B8 = C1 + C2 + M1 + M2 color reproduction is possible.

However, when three or more ink colors are overlaid,
It is desirable to limit the ink ejection amount or change the print impact density.

The print pattern structure is not limited to this, and multivalued color printing can be performed by utilizing the dither method, MD method, ED method and the like.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform grayscale multi-value color recording with the minimum number of heads required.

Further, it is possible to simplify the manufacturing process for adjusting the positional accuracy of adjacent nozzles.

Further, the number of recovery units for recovering ink ejection can be reduced and the size can be reduced.

According to this embodiment, the positions of the yellow and black nozzles can be separated from each other at the uppermost end and the lowermost end, and when printing is performed, there is a time difference between the printing of the two colors. Even if the images are adjacent to each other, no bleeding occurs at the boundary and good quality can be obtained.

Moreover, since the first and second magenta inks and the first and second cyan inks, that is, the dark ink and light ink nozzle groups having different densities, are adjacent to each other,
The secondary colors formed by mixing with other inks such as red, green, and blue can be made to have the same printing order and printing time difference, and good color reproducibility can be achieved.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment, as viewed from the front of the head. A plurality of nozzles having inks of a plurality of colors are integrally formed on the same substrate, and a plurality of integrated heads are arranged with a step in a sub-scanning direction different from the main-scanning direction in which printing is performed. The head has nozzle groups of different inks arranged in the nozzles adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction for printing, and the adjacent nozzles are filled with dark and light inks of the same color ink.

The first head 101A has three types of ink and nozzles of yellow ink (Y), first magenta ink (M1), and first cyan ink (C1) are arranged from above. . Next, for the second head 101B,
Nozzles that have three types of ink and that include the second magenta ink (M2), the second cyan ink (C2), and the black ink (BK) are arranged from above, and the black nozzle is more than the other color nozzles. Is increasing. Specifically, the number of nozzles is 32 for all color inks and 64 for black only. The first magenta ink nozzle 200M1 and the second magenta nozzle 200M
Reference numeral 2 is a line AA in the main scanning direction, and the respective first nozzles are aligned with each other.

The magenta inks M1 and M2 are dark and light inks having different ink densities, but different dyes may be used in some cases. In addition, cyan inks C1 and C2
Is also the same. The reason for increasing the number of black nozzles is to improve the printing speed, that is, the printing throughput, when writing mainly in monochrome text, not in the color image center. In general, 64 nozzles are set in the present invention because it is generally desired to be determined corresponding to the "character font" that constitutes printing, but the present invention is not limited to this. The black ink used had the following composition, which was different from that shown in the above-mentioned Examples.

<Black ink> Black dye 3 parts Urea 5 parts Diethylene glycol 5 parts Thiodiglycol 5 parts Isopropyl alcohol 4 parts Water balance

As the other color inks, the inks used in the first embodiment were used. The discharge amount of the black nozzle was set to about 80 ng in consideration of print quality, density and the like.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 7 shows still another embodiment, as viewed from the front of the head. A step of ½ pitch (Lp) of nozzles is provided in the sub-scanning direction different from the main-scanning direction in which an integrated head in which nozzle groups having a plurality of color inks are integrally formed on the same substrate is used for printing. A plurality of them are arranged.

The head has nozzle groups of different inks arranged in adjacent nozzles in the main scanning direction for printing.
The head 101A has three types of ink and nozzles of yellow ink (Y), magenta ink (M), and cyan ink (C) are arranged from above. Next, in the second head 101B, nozzles having four types of ink and provided with red ink (R), green ink (G), blue ink (BL), and black ink (BK) are arranged from above. However, there are more black nozzles than other color nozzles.

Specifically, the number of nozzles is 32 for all color inks and 64 for black only.
The ink ejection amount is about 35 for each color ink head.
In ng, the head for black ink is about 80 ng (1 ng = 1 × 10 ⁻⁹ g). Printing is carried out while feeding the recording material in the sub-scanning direction through 32 nozzles corresponding to the number of nozzles. The feature of this embodiment is that the nozzle arrangement is 1 /
By shifting by two pitches, the resolution is doubled, and the secondary colors have gradation. The resolution of the head used in this embodiment is 360 dpi (dot / inch).
I used the one.

When printing the text using the usual secondary colors (R, G, BL), the above-mentioned yellow, magenta, and cyan are used, and printing is performed at the original resolution of 360 dpi. Next, when printing images that require high resolution such as natural images, red, green, and
An image equivalent to 720 dpi can be formed by further adding blue ink.

When performing monochrome text printing using only black ink, all nozzles are used.
Print feed for nozzles. This makes it possible to speed up printing.

FIG. 8 shows printing in this embodiment.

A red image will be described as a printing example. In the print pixels of 360 dpi, a first red 300R1 in which yellow (Y) and magenta (M) ink dots are superposed is formed by the head of 101A in order to form red (R) dots. Since the dots of red R1 are superposed in two colors, the dot diameter on the recording material becomes large. Next, the second red 300, which is another ink that is ejected to improve the image gradation,
R2 is printed between the head 101B and the first red, that is, in a state of being displaced by half the pitch. The image is equivalent to 720 dpi and the resolution is improved.

Here, a color image is formed by using the ink of the nozzle arranged in the head 101A that has a light density, or by changing the color tone of printing by changing the kind of dye. By doing so, it is possible to obtain more gradation and color balance. Further, even if printing is performed by superposing pixels by correcting the feeding of the recording material for the step of the 1/2 pitch during printing, it is sufficient because the size of the printing dot and the color tone of the ink itself are different. Color reproducibility can be obtained.

The present invention brings excellent effects particularly in an ink jet type recording head and a recording apparatus which form flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy among the ink jet recording systems.

With regard to its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
At least one drive signal corresponding to recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling is applied to the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored. As a result, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, film boiling is generated on the heat acting surface of the recording head, and as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal one-to-one can be formed. So effective. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be immediately and appropriately grown and contracted, so that liquid (ink) ejection with excellent responsiveness can be achieved.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the straight liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, A configuration using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 or US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which the heat acting portion is arranged in the bending region, may be used.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a pressure wave of thermal energy is absorbed. It is also possible to adopt a configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which the opening corresponds to the ejection portion.

In addition, by being mounted on the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by a replaceable chip type recording head or the recording head itself. Alternatively, a cartridge type recording head provided with an ink tank may be used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If you list these specifically,
Capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means for the recording head, preheating means by an electrothermal converter or another heating element or a combination thereof, and a preheating for discharging other than recording Ejecting mode is also effective for stable recording.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens at room temperature, or is a liquid, or the above-mentioned. In the inkjet method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. It may be in a liquid form.

In addition, the temperature rise due to the thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink is solidified in a standing state for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink. In some cases, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to a recording signal and ejected as a liquid ink, or one that has already started to solidify when it reaches a recording medium. The use of an ink having a property of being liquefied only by heat energy is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-5684.
No. 7 or JP-A No. 60-71260, so as to face the electrothermal converter in the state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet. It may be in any form. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition to the above, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, other than the one provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a word processor and a computer as described above, It may be in the form of a copying machine combined with a reader or the like, or a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention, the number of heads can be minimized, the head unit and the printer main body can be downsized, and the cost can be further reduced.

Further, by using the dark and light inks, high quality multi-value color recording is possible.

Further, the nozzles of the adjacent nozzle groups are arranged in a direction different from the main scanning direction so as to be displaced from each other by a distance substantially ½ of the nozzle pitch so that the resolution is 2
A color image having gradation can be formed by doubling.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire color recording apparatus used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a head group according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the head group of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the head alone.

FIG. 5: Example of printing

FIG. 6 is a front view of a head group according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a head group according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 8: Example of further printing

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a head group showing a general conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a head group showing a conventional example of an integrated head.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 Color Inkjet Recording Device 101A, B Color Inkjet Recording Head 102 Carriage 103 Cartridge 104 Guide Axis 1 105 Guide Axis 2 106 Recording Paper 107 Paper Feed Roller 108 Paper Feed Roller 109 Paper Press Plate 110A, B Color Ink Tank Unit 200Y Yellow Ink Head nozzle group 200M1 First magenta ink nozzle group 200M2 Second magenta ink nozzle group 200C1 First cyan ink nozzle group 200C2 Second cyan ink nozzle group 200BK Black ink nozzle group 200R Red ink head・ Nozzle group 200G Green ink ・ Nozzle group 200BL Blue ink ・ Nozzle group 201 Aluminum base plate 202 Print board (PCB) 300 1 first magenta ink print dots 300M2 printing dots of printing dot 300R2 Red ink Red ink which is composed of printing dots 300R1 Y + M of the second magenta ink

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Nao Yaegashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A color inkjet recording apparatus for performing recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium while moving a plurality of nozzle groups ejecting different inks in a main scanning direction, wherein a plurality of ink ejecting inks of different colors are ejected. Nozzle groups are arranged in a direction different from the main scanning direction, a plurality of nozzle groups for ejecting inks of the same color having different densities are arranged adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction, and at least two different inks are ejected. A color inkjet recording apparatus, wherein nozzle groups are arranged not adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction. 2. An inkjet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium while moving a plurality of nozzle groups for ejecting ink of different colors in the main scanning direction, the direction being different from the main scanning direction. A plurality of nozzle groups arranged in the main scanning direction are arranged adjacent to each other, and the plurality of nozzle group rows have nozzle groups that are not adjacent to each other. . 3. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the adjacent nozzle groups eject dark ink and light ink with inks of similar colors. 4. The color inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjacent nozzle groups have different ink ejection amounts. 5. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a nozzle group in which other nozzle groups are not arranged adjacent to each other ejects black ink. 6. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the number of nozzles of the nozzle group that ejects the black ink is larger than the number of nozzles of the nozzle group that ejects other color inks. 7. The nozzle groups for ejecting magenta dark ink and light ink are adjacent to each other, the nozzle groups for ejecting cyan dark ink and light ink are adjacent to each other, and the nozzle groups for ejecting yellow and black are not adjacent to each other. 7. The color inkjet recording device according to claim 1, wherein 8. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a nozzle group row including the plurality of nozzle groups is formed on the same substrate. 9. A color inkjet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium while moving a plurality of nozzle groups for ejecting ink of different colors in the main scanning direction, the color inkjet recording apparatus being different from the main scanning direction. A plurality of nozzle groups arranged in a plurality of nozzle groups are arranged adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction, and the nozzles of the adjacent nozzle groups have a nozzle pitch substantially in a direction different from the main scanning direction. 1 /
A color ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the color ink jet recording apparatus is arranged so as to be displaced by a distance of 2. 10. One of the adjacent nozzle group rows has a nozzle group that ejects yellow, magenta, and cyan ink, and the other of the nozzle group rows has red and green colors.
The color inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a nozzle group that ejects blue and black inks. 11. A secondary color formed by using the yellow, magenta, and cyan inks, red, green, and
11. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the print density is different from that of the similar color of blue. 12. A secondary color formed using the yellow, magenta, and cyan inks, and red, green,
11. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the print dot diameter of the same color as blue is different on the recording medium. 13. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle causes a state change in the ink by thermal energy applied to the ink by a thermal energy converter, and ejects the ink based on the state change. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims.