JPH07246718A - Printing device and printing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a temperature rise from occurring in the printing head of a printing device without deterioration of print-out quality. CONSTITUTION:A recording element-row division part 12 operates to enable the use of discharge orifices of a printing head 14 by dividing the orifices into two groups, if the temperature of the printing head 14 detected by a head temperature detection part 11 exceeds a specified level. That is, a recording control part 13 prints out data using only one of the discharge orifice groups in a forward scan by the printing head 14, and prints out using the other discharge orifice group in a backward scan. In this case, a recording area for one line is formed by two individual areas.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method, and more particularly to a printing apparatus and a printing method for scanning a print head to record an image or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a so-called serial type printing apparatus in which a print head is used to record images and the like while repeating scanning of the print head and paper feeding, high-precision printing is performed as a condition for high-quality image recording. It is important to perform head scanning and paper feeding. However, generally, when the cost of the printing apparatus is reduced or the size thereof is reduced, it becomes impossible to adopt a complicated mechanism for maintaining the above accuracy. Therefore, under such design restrictions, it is necessary to optimize the predetermined condition at the time of recording.

For example, the hardware configuration of the motor and gears and the software control such as ramp up and down in the motor drive are optimized with respect to a predetermined scanning speed of the head at the time of printing to improve accuracy and quietness. There is a need. Further, it is necessary to design the paper feed so that the same optimization is performed.

On the other hand, improvements in the print head have enabled high-speed printing and downsizing, and small-sized high-speed serial printing apparatuses are being provided. In particular, a print head of the ink jet type, in which bubbles are generated in the ink to eject the ink, is effective because the print head can be made extremely small and ink can be ejected at a high frequency.

However, as the housing of the device or the print head itself becomes smaller, the heat radiating portion becomes smaller accordingly, and as a result, the temperature may rise to the extent that the recording characteristics of the print head are adversely affected. In such a case, Images are formed by multiple thinning prints by lowering the drive frequency of the print head.

For example, in an inkjet head, the amount of heat generated per unit time is reduced by limiting the number of ink ejection ports used, printing is performed by giving a predetermined cooling time to the print head, Such measures have been taken from the past.

However, it is known that the following problems occur in the above printing method.

In the method of (1), when the driving frequency of the print head is reduced, the scanning speed of the print head must be optimized accordingly, and if this is not done well, the scanning speed unevenness on the image is uneven. A pattern caused by the above occurs.

In the method of (1), since there are boundaries of printing a plurality of times on the image, when the main scanning of the print head is not properly performed, printing deviation occurs at these boundaries.

In the method of (1), it is necessary to perform the paper feed control optimized in accordance with the position of the ejection port to be used among the ink ejection ports arranged in the paper feeding direction. On the image, a connecting line is generated between the scans.

In the method of (1), if the cooling time is set between the scans, the recording interval of each scan may vary depending on the cooling time. In this case, in the ink jet method, variations occur in how the ink spreads at the boundary,
For this reason, the connecting line becomes noticeable.

The above problems are unavoidable in order to solve the problem of temperature rise of the print head and the like which is a problem in realizing further downsizing and speeding up of the printing apparatus, and it is necessary to solve them. It is said that.

[0013]

However, there are known some printing methods for preventing the temperature rise of the print head as described above, but all of them have a degree of freedom in designing with respect to the accuracy of scanning of the print head and paper feeding. When applied to a small number of downsized printing apparatuses, the image quality may be deteriorated as described above, which is an obstacle to further downsizing of the printing apparatus or realization of low cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, prevents the temperature of the print head from rising, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of recording high-quality images.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus capable of high-quality recording while preventing the temperature rise of the printing head and the like even when the printing head and the printing apparatus are downsized.

[0016]

Therefore, according to the present invention,
In a printing apparatus that uses a print head having a plurality of recording elements and performs printing while scanning the print head with respect to a medium, a head temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the print head, and a head temperature detection unit that detects the temperature. When the temperature to be applied is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the plurality of recording elements of the print head are divided into a plurality of recording element groups each of which is arranged continuously,
A plurality of recording element groups divided by the dividing means, the corresponding image data is made to correspond to each other, and recording control means for sequentially performing recording by different scanning for each recording element group is provided.

In a printing method in which a print head having a plurality of recording elements is used and printing is performed while scanning the print head with respect to a medium, a part of the recording area by one scan of the print head is Printing is performed by the one scan, and the remaining portion of the printing area is
Each step is characterized in that printing is performed by one or more scans of the same area as the one scan.

[0018]

According to the above construction, since the plurality of recording elements of the print head are driven separately, it is possible to suppress the head temperature rise, and it is possible to scan different areas during this driving. It is not necessary to perform highly accurate control such as recording position alignment.

[0019]

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

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the control arrangement of a printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flow chart showing the procedure of print control in the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the print control.

In the print control of this embodiment, when the head density rises above a predetermined temperature, the recording elements of the print head are divided and driven to suppress the temperature rise. Figure 1
In FIG. 3, the head temperature detection unit 11 having a temperature sensor provided inside the print head 14 or in the vicinity of the print head 14 outputs a signal indicating the detected temperature of the print head to the recording element array division unit 12. The print head used in this embodiment is of an ink jet system, and its ejection system is one in which thermal energy is applied to the ink to generate bubbles and the ink is ejected based on the formation of the bubbles. Therefore, it has an ink ejection port as a recording element, and an ejection portion including an electrothermal conversion element that generates thermal energy. When the recording element array division unit 12 determines that the head temperature exceeds a predetermined set temperature based on the detection signal of the head temperature detection unit 12, the ejection port array is divided into upper and lower halves and the divided ejection ports. Is sent to the recording control unit 13.
If the division number information is “2”, the recording control unit 13
The image data input from the host device is distributed to two sets of ejection port groups based on the divided ejection port information, and the image data of the ejection port group corresponding to the first scan is sent to the driver of the print head 14 and divided. Make a record. That is, the forward movement of the carriage (not shown) is performed, ink is ejected according to the image data corresponding to the ejection port group of the first scan during this time, and then the returning operation of the carriage is performed, during which the second scan is performed. Ink is ejected according to the image data corresponding to the ejection port group. Along with this, the recording controller 13
The number of scans based on the number of divisions is notified to the paper feed control means 15. The paper feed control means 15 checks the sent division number information, and when the number of carriage scans at the time of divided recording becomes the same as the division number information, that is, “2”, controls the paper feeding unit 16 to completely eject the print head 14. The recording paper is conveyed by the length of the exit array to prepare for recording the next row. During such control, the carriage repeats constant scanning. The printing element array dividing unit 12, the printing control unit 13, and the paper feed control unit 1 described above are provided.
5 can be constructed by a microcomputer using a CPU or the like which is generally widely used.

An example of divided recording control with the above configuration
This will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In the following example, a case will be described in which printing is performed using a print head having an ejection opening array having a length twice the height of a normally printed image (particularly character characters).

In FIG. 3, 14 is a print head and P is a recording paper. A and b in the print head 14
Shows an ejection port group which is driven by being divided into two by the recording element array division unit 12 and the recording control unit 13.

When printing is started and image data is sent from the host device (step S21 in FIG. 2, the same applies hereinafter), it is determined whether the head temperature is equal to or higher than the set temperature (step S22). When the temperature is equal to or higher than the set temperature, the divided ejection port information and the division number information are supplied from the recording element array division unit 12 to the recording control unit 13 (step S23), and the divided recording operation is performed (step S24). That is, FIG.
As shown in (a), first, the print head 14 is scanned in the right direction on the paper surface of the drawing, and characters are recorded by the ejection port group a. When this is completed, the scan of the print head 14 is reversed as shown in FIG.
Characters are recorded by the discharge port group b by scanning in the left direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the print head 1
Since the number of scans in 4 becomes 2 which is the same as the number of divisions, the recording paper is moved by the paper feed control means 15 and the paper feed means 16.
A length of a + b is sent in the F direction.

When the printing operation for one line shown above is completed, it is judged whether or not there is image data for the next line (step S27). If there is data, the current head temperature is again above the set temperature. It is determined whether or not (step S
22). In this way, each time recording of each line is performed, divided recording is performed or normal recording is determined based on the head temperature, so unnecessary divided recording is not performed and the recording speed is reduced due to divided recording. It can be suppressed as much as possible.

In the above description, when the head temperature is equal to or higher than the set temperature, the divided ejection ports are uniformly divided into halves of the ejection port array, but the temperature distribution along the ejection port array of the print head is It is detected and divided into a discharge port group having a relatively low temperature and a discharge port group having a relatively high temperature. In the first forward scan, recording is performed by the discharge port group having a lower temperature, and the second reverse scanning is performed. In scanning, printing may be performed by the ejection port group having the higher temperature. According to this, it becomes possible to perform more efficient cooling by division recording.

Further, in the above embodiment, the divided recording is performed by the forward and backward scanning of the print head.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that division printing may be performed by scanning in only one direction, which causes a reduction in printing speed.

According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to control the temperature rise without considering the accuracy of the scan of the print head and the paper feed so much, and prevent the deterioration of the recording quality such as the uneven density. it can. That is, the scanning of the print head and the feeding of the paper may be performed in the same manner as the normal recording operation, and the head temperature rise can be prevented.

Further, according to the present embodiment, even if an image (double-width character or the like) which can be recorded in one scan when division printing is not performed, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of streaks due to paper feeding.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control configuration according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 4, when the recording element array division unit 12 determines that the head temperature exceeds the set temperature based on the temperature detection signal from the head temperature detection unit 11, the break detection unit 17 detects a break from the image data. The ejection port array is divided according to the position instruction signal, and the divided ejection port information and the division number information are supplied to the recording control unit 13. Here, the break on the image data means a blank line (break) for one dot line in the scanning direction in the image (break) or a dot line (vertical alignment break) with no dot just below or 45 ° below left or right. means. That is,
In this embodiment, when there is a blank portion continuously in the scanning direction of the print head in the image to be recorded, or when the image is continuous in the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction (for example, a straight line in the vertical direction or a diagonal direction). If there is a blank portion in which no recording is made, it is detected and the ejection port array is divided with the blank portion as a boundary. According to this, even if some printing position deviation occurs due to scanning accuracy or the like in sequential printing using each of the divided ejection port groups, the presence of the blank portion causes the printing quality to deteriorate that much. Absent.

In this embodiment, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, breaks are detected at two places, and the number of divisions is "3".

The recording control unit 13 distributes the image data input from the host device to each ejection port based on the above-mentioned divided ejection port information, and first prints the image data of the ejection port group used in the first forward scan. The driver of the head 14 is made to perform feed division recording. At the same time, the number of scans determined based on the division number information is sent to the paper feed control unit 15, and when the number of scans is equal to the number of carriage scans, the paper feed control unit 15 sends the recording paper by a predetermined amount. The feeding unit 16 is controlled.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are explanatory views showing the divided recording control of this embodiment together with an example of the recorded image.

In FIG. 5, a, b, and c in the print head 14 indicate ejection port groups which are divided and driven by the break detection unit 17, the recording element array division unit 12, and the recording control unit 13 as described above. ing. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, the print head 14 is scanned rightward on the paper surface of FIG. 5 to record characters by the ejection port groups a and c.
Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the scanning of the print head 14 is reversed, and scanning is performed leftward on the paper surface of the figure, and characters are recorded by the ejection port group b.

When the above-described recording for one line is completed, as shown in FIG. 5C, the number of scans of the print head becomes 2 which is the same as the set number of scans.
5. The paper feeding unit 16 feeds the recording paper in the direction of arrow F in the figure, and the next line is printed.

According to the recording method as described above, in addition to the effect similar to that of the first embodiment described above, in the fixed recording element row division as in the first embodiment, there is a joint portion on the image. In contrast to the possibility that a connecting line may be generated, in the present embodiment, it is possible to perform recording without a connecting portion, and it is possible to perform higher quality recording.

[Third Embodiment] FIGS. 6A to 6C are explanatory views for explaining a recording method according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The control configuration and processing procedure of this embodiment are substantially the same as those of the above-described first and second embodiments.

In the division in this embodiment, the number of divisions and the division method can be determined by referring to a table as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 6, a print head having an ejection port array having a width twice the height of an image (especially character characters) normally recorded is used. A, b, c and d in the print head 14
Shows the ejection port group which is divided and driven by the recording element array division unit 12 and the recording control unit 13 (see FIGS. 1 and 4).

As shown in FIG. 6A and the like, since the recording of the first line was performed at a head temperature between 40 ° C. and 60 ° C., the two-division recording was selected from the table shown in FIG. It is printed by the same method as.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, since the head temperature at the start of recording of the next row is in the range of 60 ° C. to 100 ° C., the even division into three is selected by referring to the table of FIG. . As a result, the print head 14 is scanned rightward on the paper surface, and characters are recorded by the ejection port group a. Next, in FIG. 6B, the scan of the print head 14 is reversed, and the print head 14 is scanned leftward to record characters by the ejection port group b. Further, in FIG. 6C, the scanning of the print head is reversed again, and scanning is performed rightward on the paper surface to record characters by the ejection port group c. In this way
Printing is performed while the print element division changes according to the printhead temperature.

According to the recording method as described above, in addition to the effect similar to that of the first embodiment, when the head temperature continues to rise even after the divided recording, the number of divisions is further increased to be effective. In addition, it is possible to suppress the head temperature rise, and it is possible to further reduce the size and speed of the printing apparatus without degrading the image quality.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet printing apparatus IJRA to which the above embodiments are applied.

Here, the carriage HC includes the drive motor 5
The driving force transmission gear 5011 is interlocked with the forward / reverse rotation of 013,
It has a pin (not shown) that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via 5009, and is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b as the lead screw rotates. A head cartridge IJC is adhered to the carriage HC. It should be noted that the illustration of the configuration for this mounting and the electrical signal connection between the print head and the apparatus main body is omitted in FIG. 7, and the details thereof are disclosed, for example, in the rear of Japanese Patent Application No. 1-241081 by the present applicant. There is. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a press plate (paper press plate) for paper, OHP film, and other recording media (hereinafter, also simply referred to as paper), and the paper is moved to the platen 500 in the carriage movement direction.
Press against 0. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote photocouplers, which are home position detecting means for confirming the existence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. 5016 is a cap member 5022 for capping the entire surface of the print head.
The member 5015 for supporting the suction means 5015 is suction means for sucking the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the print head through the opening 5023 in the cap. Reference numeral 5017 is a cleaning blade, and 5019 is a member that allows this blade to move in the front-rear direction, and these are supported by a main body support plate 5018. Needless to say, a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this example instead of this form. Reference numeral 5012 is a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, and a cam 5020 that engages with the carriage.
And the driving force from the drive motor is controlled by known transmission means such as clutch switching.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that the desired processing can be performed at their corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage HC is positioned in the home position side area. Any desired operation can be applied to this example if desired operation is performed at a known timing.

[Other Embodiments] In the present embodiment, the method of detecting the temperature of the head has been described by using the temperature sensor, but the present invention is not limited to this, and prediction / estimation by input energy may be used. In addition, although the present embodiment has been described with respect to both printing, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present method is also effective when performing unidirectional or unidirectional / both switching.

Further, in the present embodiment, the method of independently detecting the break and changing the number of divisions of the recording element array according to the head temperature is explained independently, but a higher effect can be obtained by combining both.

The present invention is basically effective for a print head having an arbitrary number of recording elements, but particularly, the number of recording elements corresponding to at least twice the height of a normal image (character character, block graphic) is used. This is effective when using a print head having the same.

Further, although the present invention describes the case where the head element temperature is lowered and the division of the recording element array is stopped, the change may be made after the recording paper is discharged after the division.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the ink jet type print head has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this application, and may be applied to a thermal transfer type print head. it is obvious.

(Others) The present invention is particularly provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink even in the ink jet recording system. The present invention brings about excellent effects in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type in which the state of ink is changed by the heat energy. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding the typical structure and principle thereof, see, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
It can be applied to any of the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and film boiling is caused on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal in a one-to-one correspondence
It is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening 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. US Pat. No. 4,558,333, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The structure using the specification of No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in JP-A-59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main body of the apparatus, or the electrical connection to the main body of the apparatus or the ink from the main body of the apparatus by being attached to the main body of the apparatus. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add an ejection recovery means of the recording head, a preliminary auxiliary means and the like because the effect of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Examples thereof include a preliminary heating unit for performing the discharge and a preliminary discharge unit for performing discharge different from the recording.

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but it may be either the recording head is integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet system, it is common to control the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Sometimes, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy of the state change of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in the standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying thermal energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying thermal energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent No. 1260, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or the through hole of the porous sheet. 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, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, besides the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function. It may be a form or the like.

[0061]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the plurality of recording elements of the print head are driven separately, so that the head temperature rise can be suppressed, and at the time of this driving, different areas are provided. Since it is possible to scan, it is not necessary to perform highly accurate control such as recording position alignment.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the head from rising and to maintain the recording quality without requiring highly accurate control even in a downsized printing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of recording control according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of recording control in the first embodiment.

3A to 3C are explanatory diagrams for explaining the recording method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of recording control according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams for explaining a recording method according to the second embodiment.

6A to 6C are explanatory views for explaining a recording method according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram conceptually showing a table used for ejection port division in the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view showing an inkjet printing apparatus to which each of the above-described embodiments can be applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Head Detecting Section 12 Recording Element Array Dividing Section 13 Recording Control Section 14 Print Head 15 Paper Feed Control Section 16 Paper Feed Section 17 Break Detecting Section

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical indication location B41J 2/125 2/51 B41J 3/04 104 F 104 K 3/10 101 E (72) Inventor Kiichiro Takahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Daigoro Kanematsu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Shoji Otsuka Tokyo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A head temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of a print head, comprising: a print head having a plurality of recording elements; and a print apparatus for performing printing while scanning the print head with respect to a medium. Dividing means for dividing the plurality of recording elements of the print head into a plurality of recording element groups each of which is arranged continuously when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature; and the dividing means. A printing apparatus comprising: a printing control unit that associates the corresponding image data with a plurality of printing element groups divided by, and sequentially performs printing by different scanning for each printing element group. 2. The recording control means, after finishing the sequential recording of the plurality of recording element groups, repeatedly conveys a medium to record an image, and the dividing means records the image at each completion of the sequential recording. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature detected by the head temperature detecting means is referred to. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sequential recording areas of the plurality of recording element groups are areas different from each other. 4. The printing device further comprises break detection means for detecting a break related to a blank portion in a recorded image from image data, and the dividing means divides the division according to a detection signal from the break detection means. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is performed. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit increases the number of divisions as the temperature detected by the head temperature detecting unit increases. 6. The length of the plurality of recording element arrays in a print head used in the printing apparatus is 2 which is the size of a character or block graphic to be recorded.
The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the printing apparatus is at least twice as long. 7. A print head used in the printing apparatus is to generate bubbles in the ink by utilizing thermal energy, and eject the ink based on the generation of the bubbles, and the recording element is an ink ejection port. 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 8. A printing method, wherein a print head having a plurality of printing elements is used and printing is performed while scanning the print head with respect to a medium, wherein a part of a printing area by one scan of the print head is
A printing method comprising: performing printing by the one-time scanning, and printing the remaining portion of the printing area by performing one or more scanning of the same area as the one-time scanning.