JPH09174823A - Ink jet recorder and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to record an image with excellent preservability and closely packed high quality level by providing a discharge control means for discharging only treated liquid by using a head for the liquid in a predetermined region out of the region for recording by a recording head on a recording medium. SOLUTION: A carriage 2 which mounts a head 111 is engaged so as to be slidable with a pair of guide rails 3 extended parallel to the recording surface 7A of a recording sheet 7. Thus, the head 111 can be moved in a main scanning direction of the moving direction of the carriage 2 moving along the rails 3 to discharge ink and treated liquid at a predetermined timing upon moving, thereby recording. After a line is recorded by the head 111, the surface 7A is conveyed at a predetermined amount in the sub-scanning direction, and then again recorded. Such an operation is repeated to execute the sequential recording on the surface 7A.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly, to the original recording on a recording medium before or after ink is ejected from a recording head to form recording dots on the recording medium. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus and an image forming method in which a treatment liquid for insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in ink is ejected at a position different from an area.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when recording on a recording medium such as plain paper by an ink jet recording system, the image quality of a recorded image may deteriorate due to the influence of ink bleeding. Further, since the recorded image has insufficient water resistance, there is room for improvement in storage stability.

As a solution to these problems, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.
JP-A-8-128862 discloses a treatment liquid by ejecting a treatment liquid having an effect of favorably fixing the recording ink on a recording medium before or after forming the recording dots by ejecting the recording ink. A technique of forming dots and superimposing ink dots is disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-63185 discloses a technique in which a compound for insolubilizing a dye in ink is attached to a recording medium, and then recording ink is ejected to form recording dots. Furthermore, JP-A-5-202328
In the publication, prior to the operation of forming recording dots, a method of ejecting a treatment liquid for adhering the recording ink favorably to have water resistance by an inkjet method and adhering it to a recording medium, and applying the treatment liquid by roller coating. A method for recording on a recording medium and a method for improving the water resistance and fixing property of the recording ink by mixing the recording ink and the treatment liquid during the flight from the ejector and then adhering them to the recording medium are disclosed.

Further, in each of the above-mentioned conventional examples, the treatment liquid is attached to all of the ink dot formation positions on the recording medium, and is not attached to the area unrelated to recording.

By carrying out recording using such a treatment liquid, an ink jet recording apparatus is provided which is excellent in storability and is capable of recording an image having a high density and a high quality.

[0006]

However, as the ink-jet recording apparatus described above can be made finer and higher in quality, documents / records for which copying is prohibited due to legal or confidential reasons. Copying of documents such as confidential documents in government offices and companies, banknotes, titles, securities, etc.
There is always the possibility of counterfeiting. The forgery of banknotes and securities has the power to overturn the fundamentals in the modern capitalist economic society, and if it is easily done by improving the performance of the recording device, there is a fear of causing economic and social confusion. Can be said. On the other hand, the function of the recording device is to faithfully reproduce the printed data based on the recorded print data created by the user, and if the user himself creates the print data maliciously, it is normally prevented. The current situation is that we cannot do it.

Therefore, it is a major premise to provide a recording apparatus capable of printing a high quality image to the user, but it is desirable to have a function of preventing the recording apparatus from being abused.

Further, it has been considered extremely difficult to identify what kind of recording device was used to record the recorded document or the like.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an ink jet recording apparatus and an image capable of specifying an ink jet recording apparatus used for recording based on a recorded matter. An object is to provide a forming method.

The present invention which achieves the above-mentioned object, is a recording head for ejecting ink onto a recording medium, and a colorless treatment containing a component having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in the ink when brought into contact with the ink. In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a treatment liquid head that ejects a liquid onto the recording medium, the treatment liquid head is provided in a predetermined region on the recording medium outside a region where the recording head performs recording. The inkjet recording apparatus is provided with a control unit that controls and ejects only the processing liquid.

Further, according to the present invention, a component having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating the coloring material in the ink when brought into contact with the ink is provided in a predetermined area outside the area where recording is performed using the ink on the recording medium. An image forming method is provided, which includes a step of forming an image by discharging only a colorless processing liquid containing the liquid based on predetermined discharge data.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the treatment liquid, which is originally used for improving the fixing property and water resistance of the recording ink, is recorded on the recording medium only for the treatment liquid, apart from the original purpose. It is separately discharged and attached to a portion outside the region. At this time, for example, a serial number unique to the printing apparatus, a serial number unique to each treatment liquid ejecting head, and the like are provided to specify the serial number, and the serial number is provided separately from the printing based on the print data of the printing ink. By recording the information such as, the recording device or the head is specified for all the recorded matter. Further, since the above air treatment liquid is colorless and transparent and adheres to the recording medium when it is printed alone, and the appearance is the same as when nothing is printed, no trouble occurs on the recorded matter. When a problem such as duplication / counterfeiting occurs, the serial number printed in advance with the treatment liquid can be decoded to identify the inkjet recording device used for recording.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a color inkjet printer to which the present invention is applied. First, a normal recording operation will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 111 is a head for ejecting ink or treatment liquid, and the recording head 1 will be described later.
01, 102, 103, 104 and the processing liquid head 105
Is provided. Each of the heads 101 to 105 has a surface facing a recording paper 7 as a recording medium.
The recording sheet 7 has, for example, 64 discharge ports arranged in the transport direction. In addition, those heads 101 to 10
In FIG. 5, an ink flow path or a processing liquid flow path communicating with each of 64 discharge ports is provided inside, and the heads 101 to 105 are configured so as to correspond to the respective flow paths. An electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy for ejecting ink or treatment liquid is formed on the substrate. The electrothermal converter generates heat by an electric pulse applied according to the recording data, thereby causing film boiling in the ink or the processing liquid, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port as bubbles are generated by the film boiling. Alternatively, the treatment liquid is discharged. In each of the heads 101 to 105, a common liquid chamber that communicates with them in common is provided in each flow path, and the ink or processing liquid stored therein is discharged in accordance with the discharge operation from each discharge port. It is supplied to each flow path.

The head 111 is mounted on the carriage 2,
The carriage 2 slidably engages with a pair of guide rails 3 extending parallel to the recording surface 7A of the recording paper 7. As a result, the head 111 can move in the moving direction of the carriage 2 moving along the guide rail 3, that is, the moving direction of the carriage 2 moving in the main scanning direction, that is, the main scanning direction, and with this movement. Then, recording is performed by ejecting ink or treatment liquid at the timing described later. After recording the line by the head 111, the recording paper 7 is conveyed by a predetermined amount in the sub-scanning direction indicated by an arrow in the figure,
The recording operation is performed again. By repeating such an operation, recording is sequentially performed on the recording paper 7.

The recording paper 7 is conveyed by rotating a pair of conveying rollers 4 and 5 arranged above and below the recording surface 7A. On the back side of the recording surface 7A of the recording paper 7, a platen 6 for maintaining the flatness of the recording surface 7A is provided.

The carriage 2 can be moved by, for example, driving a belt (not shown) attached to the carriage 2 by a carriage motor (not shown), and the rotation of the conveying rollers 4 and 5 is similarly shown. It becomes possible by transmitting the rotational force of the motor of these to these.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system in the printer shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, the CPU 100 executes control processing, data processing, etc. for operating each part of the apparatus, including processing for forming processing liquid dots as described later. The processing procedure and the like are stored in the ROM 100A, and the RAM 100B is used as a work area for executing the processing.

For the ejection of ink or treatment liquid from the head 111, the CPU 100 outputs drive data and drive control signals for the electrothermal converter based on the print data.
It is performed by supplying to A. Further CPU 10
Reference numeral 0 designates a carriage motor 20 for moving the carriage 2 and a paper feed (PF) motor for rotating the conveying rollers 4, 5 as motor drivers 20A and 50A, respectively.
Control via A.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the head 111, 101 is a recording head for ejecting cyan ink (C), and similarly, 102 is ejecting magenta ink (M). Is a recording head that ejects yellow (Y) ink, and 104 is a recording head that ejects black (K) ink. Also,
A treatment liquid head 105 discharges a treatment liquid for insolubilizing or aggregating a dye or a pigment as a coloring material in the ink. The composition of the ink and the processing liquid will be described later. In the case of a monochrome printer instead of a color printer, for example, a recording head 104 for ejecting black ink and a treatment liquid head 105 may be provided.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the facing relationship between the head 111 and the recording paper 7. FIG. 4B shows FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state when the state shown in FIG. 7A is viewed from below, in which ink of each color and the treatment liquid are ejected from the head 111 in which ejection directions of the ink and the treatment liquid are drawn by arrows. Is main-scanned in the direction of arrow A and the recording paper 7 is fed in the direction of arrow B to record an image on the recording surface 7A of the recording paper 7. In this example, the processing liquid head 105 is located on the right side in the main scanning direction, and after the processing liquid is ejected from the head 105, the recording head 10 is ejected.
Ink of each color is ejected from 1, 102, 103, and 104. That is, after the treatment liquid is deposited on the recording surface 7A to form treatment liquid dots, the inks of the respective colors are ejected and the two are superposed on the recording paper to form dots, thereby recording an image. Note that, conversely, it is also possible to form the recording dots and then eject the treatment liquid to superpose the two to form the dots.

Next, the ejection operation of ink and treatment liquid in a normal recording operation will be described.

Now, assume that there is recorded data as shown in FIG. This data is the logical sum of the print data corresponding to each of the C, M, Y, and K color inks, and the total ejection position of the corresponding ink, that is, the position of the print dot to be formed by those inks. Is represented by a white circle. Let each white circle be D1. The numbers 1 to 8 in FIG. 5 represent recording positions in the main scanning direction A, and a to
f represents the recording position in the paper feed direction B.

FIG. 6 corresponds to the recording data of FIG.
It is a figure for demonstrating the method of setting the determination area | regions shown in medium 11-22. In this case, the judgment area is 2
If there is at least one recording dot formation data in each small area, the processing liquid dot (denoted as D2) is recorded at one position among the white circles. After forming on the surface 7A, a recording dot corresponding to D1 is formed. For example, regarding the area 16, when the recording dot formation data exists at the coordinate (3, c) in FIG. 5, a white circle exists at the corresponding position of the determination area 16 in FIG.
The treatment liquid is discharged to the position of the white circle corresponding to c) to form the treatment liquid dot D2. That is, in this example, about 25% of the processing liquid is ejected with respect to the logical sum of the print data corresponding to the inks of the colors C, M, Y, and K of the print image, and the print dots are printed later. It is configured to discharge based on. In this example, the processing liquid ejection head 1
No. 05 uses the same heads as the other recording heads 101 to 104, and the ejection amount of each nozzle is also the same.

The setting of the judgment area is not limited to the equivalent of 2 dots × 2 dots, but may be arbitrarily set according to the ejection amount of the processing liquid head and the composition of the processing liquid within the range in which the effect of one processing liquid dot D2 is achieved. Can be set.

Next, the treatment liquid for insolubilizing the dye as the coloring material in the ink can be obtained as follows, for example.

That is, after mixing and dissolving the following components,
Furthermore, after heating and filtering with a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.22 μm (trade name: Fluoropore filter, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.), the pH can be adjusted to 4.8 with NaOH to obtain a colorless treatment liquid A1. .

Component A1 Low molecular weight component of cationic compound Stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride 2.0 parts by weight (trade name: Electrostopper QE, manufactured by Kao Corporation) High molecular component of cationic compound Polyamine sulfone (average molecular weight: 5000) 3 0.0 parts by weight (trade name: PAS-92, manufactured by Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd.) thiodiglycol 10 parts by weight water balance The following are preferred production examples of the ink which is insolubilized by mixing with the colorless treatment liquid. You can

That is, the following components are mixed, and the mixture is heated and filtered with a membrane filter (trade name: Fluoropore filter, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Co., Ltd.) having a pore size of 0.22 μm, and then yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks Y are obtained.
1, M1, C1, K1 can be obtained.

Component of Y1 C. 1. Direct Yellow 142 2.0 parts by weight Thioglycol 10 parts by weight Acetylenol EH (manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.) 0.05 parts by weight Water balance M1 component The dye is C.I. I. Acid Red-289 with the same composition as Y1 except that it was changed to 2.5 parts by weight. I. Same composition as Y1 except that it was changed to 2.5 parts by weight of Acid Blue-9. I. Same composition as Y1 except for 3 parts by weight of Acid Black-2

In the above-described mixing of the colorless treatment liquid and the ink, in this example, as a result of mixing the above-mentioned colorless liquid and the ink on the recording medium or at the position where the ink has penetrated, the first step of the reaction is performed. Among the cationic substances contained in the colorless treatment liquid, the low-molecular weight component and the water-soluble dye having an anionic group used in the ink associate with each other due to ionic interaction, and the solution is momentarily dissolved. Cause separation from the phases.

Next, as the second step of the reaction, the above-mentioned dye-low molecular weight cationic substance associate is adsorbed by the high-molecular component contained in the colorless treatment liquid, so that the dye produced by the association The size of the agglomerates of the recording medium becomes even larger, making it difficult to enter into the gaps between the fibers of the recording medium, and as a result, only the liquid portion that has undergone solid-liquid separation permeates into the recording medium, thus achieving both print quality and fixability. To be achieved. At the same time, the aggregate formed with the cationic substance generated by the mechanism as described above has a large viscosity and does not move with the movement of the liquid medium, so that adjacent ink dots are not formed as in the case of full-color image formation. Even if they are formed of different color inks, they do not mix with each other and bleeding does not occur. Also, the agglomerates are essentially water-insoluble and the formed images have perfect water resistance. Further, it also has the effect of improving the light fastness of an image formed by the shielding effect of the polymer.

Next, a characteristic part of the present invention, that is, an example of an operation of ejecting only the treatment liquid onto a portion other than the recording area of the recording medium to record information such as a serial number peculiar to the recording apparatus will be described in detail. To do.

(First Embodiment) In the following example,
In order to identify the recording device used after recording on the recording medium, the processing liquid described above is used to print a serial number unique to the recording device on the recording material.

FIG. 7 shows a recording medium used in this embodiment. Reference numeral 701 denotes a recording range of print data as an original recording device, and a portion represented by 702 is outside the printing range of the recording ink, that is, a blank portion. FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of the circled portion of FIG. 7A.

In the printable area 701, the ejection point varies depending on the method of controlling the ejection point of the processing liquid, but the ejection point is determined depending on the print data in order to achieve the original purpose of the processing liquid. . Therefore, there are 7 areas where data unique to the recording device is recorded using only the processing liquid.
The printable area of 01 is not appropriate. Therefore, if the ink for recording information such as serial number is ejected outside the original print range of the print data, only the treatment liquid adheres regardless of the data of the recording ink, and the image formed by the treatment liquid is applied. Can be formed.

Reference numeral 703 in FIG. 7B shows an example of an image when a serial number peculiar to the recording apparatus is recorded in the area 702 outside the printing range of the recording ink by the treatment liquid. However, since the treatment liquid is transparent, it is not actually visible. Reference numeral 704 denotes a state in which the printable area 701 is printed with the recording ink.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the ejection data processing means in this embodiment. The print data is converted into each ejection data of K, C, M, Y and the treatment liquid, and then stored in the ejection data memory 801 to 805. Here, 802 to 805 are ink ejection data memories, and 801 is a treatment liquid ejection data memory. Although the data storage amount varies depending on the specifications of the recording apparatus, it may be one page or one line.
The ejection data stored in each memory is read out from each memory by the number of a plurality of ejection openings of each head by a control signal from the data control unit 830, and then 831 to 831
After the read data is selected by the selector 35, the corresponding ejection buffer 811
~ 815.

Next, in accordance with the signal from the data controller 830, the head 8
The respective ejection data are transferred to 21 to 825, and the treatment liquid and the inks of the respective colors are ejected from the respective heads 821 to 825. Here, 821 is a processing liquid ejection head,
2 to 825 are ink ejection heads.

In the present embodiment, the serial number unique to each recording device is recorded only with the processing liquid. Therefore, it has a memory 840 for storing the printer serial number. Then, the data control unit 8
In accordance with a signal from 30, the serial number data is transferred to the treatment liquid ejection buffer 811 through the selector 831, and similarly from the ejection data memories of other recording inks through the selector circuits 832 to 835.
The data is transferred to the ejection buffers 2 to 815. In this way, the ejection data regarding the serial number is transferred. When the capacity of the ejection data memory is one page, the serial number data may be transferred to the ejection buffer before the first print data is transferred. When only one line of data is stored in the ejection data memory, the serial number data is stored in the first one scan (one main scan) of the head each time the printing page is changed from the ejection buffer. You only need to read it.

FIG. 10 schematically shows the data transferred to the ink jet head after being transferred to the ejection buffers 811 to 815 and each ejection buffer.
FIG. 10A shows a case where the data transferred in the first scan of the page is obtained by using a head of 64 nozzles, and (A) to (E) show the treatment liquids, Bk, C, and
It is an example of M and Y buffers and data. At this time, 6 nozzles from the top are used for serial numbers, and 7 to 64 nozzles are for print data. With respect to the 6 nozzles from the top, as shown in FIG. 10A, ejection points exist only in the ejection data of the processing liquid. FIG.
In the ejection data of the recording inks of (a), (B) to (E), there are no ejection points of the serial number area (for 6 nozzles from the top). In addition, since the print data is transferred to the nozzles after 7 nozzles, normal print data exists. Further, since it is not necessary to print the serial number after the second scan, the print data of the recording ink and the treatment liquid may be transferred to all the 1 to 64 nozzles. 10 (b) (A) to (E) show treatment liquids K, C,
The M and Y buffers and print data are shown.

In this way, the printed serial number is printed on the portion other than the original recording area of the recording medium by the treatment liquid alone, so that the printing result is colorless and transparent, so that it is apparently serial to the user. There is no difference from the recorded matter without the number printed.

Next, a method of confirming the serial number of the printed matter in case of emergency will be described. As a matter of course, the serial number printed with the treatment liquid is colorless and transparent and cannot be read as it is. Therefore, since it is known in advance that the serial number is printed on the printed matter in question, the portion is soaked in the colored anionic ink for several seconds in the present embodiment. Then, in the portion where the serial number is printed with the treatment liquid in advance, the cationic treatment liquid reacts with the anionic recording ink according to the principle described above. In other words, the colored ink reacts with the portion where the serial number is printed, causing condensation and water resistance. After that, by washing the printed matter with water, only the portion of the serial number where condensation has occurred adheres strongly to the recording paper, and the ink that has not reacted is washed away, so that the serial number can be read with the naked eye. In this way, the printer or inkjet head that has printed the problematic print can be identified.

FIG. 9A is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the treatment liquid is printed on the recording medium, and dots 901 to 905 represent the treatment liquid. Naturally, the serial number cannot be decoded in this state. The printed matter is dipped in a colored anionic ink for a few seconds. Then, the treatment liquid and the ink react by the above mechanism. After that, by washing with water, the colored ink strongly adheres to the chemical reaction only to the reacted portion, and although some color adheres to the portion where the treatment liquid is not ejected onto the recording medium, The portion where the treatment liquid is ejected is excellent in water resistance, but the portion where the treatment liquid is not adhered has no water resistance, so that the colored ink flows down and a distinct difference can be made. Therefore, the data printed with the treatment liquid can be read with the naked eye. FIG. 9B schematically shows this state, in which the colored ink reacts with the treatment liquid dots 901 to 905 shown in FIG. 9A and strongly adheres to the recording medium. Shown in FIG.
In FIG. 9A, the ink does not adhere to the portion where the treatment liquid dots are not adhered because the ink flows down by washing with water, as shown in FIG. 9B.

As a result, the treatment liquid is used to previously attach the information peculiar to the ink jet recording apparatus or the ink jet head to the recording medium.
The printed inkjet printer device can be specified.

Further, in the present invention, since the purpose is to specify the recording device on which the printed matter is printed, it goes without saying that the information printed by the treatment liquid is not limited to the serial number, but the printer device or the head can be specified. A symbol that you can
It may be a character, a pattern, or the like.

Further, in the present embodiment, the serial number is printed before the ejection of the print data for each page, but the serial number may be printed after the printing for one page is completed. In any case, the same effect can be obtained by controlling only the treatment liquid to be ejected outside the printing range of the recording ink as shown in FIG.

(Second Embodiment) In the present embodiment, normal printing is performed after each recording device is given a unique serial number. Regarding the recording position of the treatment liquid, as described in the first embodiment, the recording position is outside the printing range of the recording ink.

First, the recording medium is fed to a predetermined position, that is, to a position where the serial number can be printed by the processing liquid. At that time, the print data is transferred from the printer serial number storage memory 840 of FIG. 8 to the print buffers 811 to 815 of each color through the selectors 831 to 835 based on the signal from the data control unit 830. Here, in the first embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (A), the recording ink data is sent to the remaining buffer portion, but in the present embodiment, only the serial number data is sent to the processing liquid buffer. Therefore, data to be printed on only a part of the processing liquid buffer is not sent.

After sending the serial number data in this manner, the data in the print buffer is transferred to the heads 821 to 825 at the timing of printing and printing is performed.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the transferred data.
In FIG. 11, (A) is a processing liquid buffer, (B),
(C), (D), and (E) show B, C, M, and Y buffers, respectively. In this case, the print data is present only for the processing liquid buffer (A).
In No. 1, only 6 nozzles from the top of the head are used for serial data printing.

After printing the treatment liquid in this manner, the paper is fed by the number of nozzles of the head used for printing the treatment liquid, and thereafter, the print data of each color and the treatment liquid, which is used by a normal printer, is printed. Transfer to each print buffer and perform normal printing.

Further, as in the first embodiment, when the printing for one page is completed and the next sheet is fed, the above operation is repeated to print the serial numbers on all the printed materials. be able to.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 12 is a block diagram of this embodiment. In the present embodiment, in the recording apparatus that does not have the ejection data memory dedicated to the treatment liquid,
The serial number is printed only with the treatment liquid.

After the print data is converted into the ejection data of each color of C, M, Y and K, the ejection data memory 12 of each color is obtained.
01 to 1204 are stored. The data stored in each memory is switched by the signal from the data control unit 1216 to the transfer destination of the ejection data read from the ejection data memory through the circuit switching units 1221 to 1224, and thereby the ejection data is processed liquid. To the data creation unit 1213 or the corresponding ink ejection buffers 1205-1208, the data switching unit 1251
~ 1254. Discharge data memory 120
The ejection data of each color read first from 1 to 1204 is sent to the processing liquid data creation unit 1213 by the respective switching circuits 1221 to 1224, and the logical sum of these data is taken, whereby the processing liquid ejection is performed. Data is created. Then, the created processing liquid ejection data is stored in the processing liquid ejection buffer 1217 via the data switching unit 1255.

Next, in accordance with a control signal from the data control unit 1216, the ejection data memories 1204 to 1204 for the respective colors
Similarly, ejection data corresponding to the number of ejections is read from 1204 and stored in the ink ejection buffers 1205 to 1208 by the switching circuits 1221 to 1224, respectively.

By the way, regarding the operation of printing the ejection data such as the serial number by the treatment liquid, the data control unit 12 is moved from the memory 1241 for storing the printer serial number by the same method as in the second embodiment.
After reading the data based on the 16 signals, the data switching units 1251-1255 are connected to the data control unit 1.
After switching by the signal from 216, it is sent to buffers 1205-1208 and 1217, respectively.

Subsequent operations are performed in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

As for the printing location, as in the second embodiment, the normal printing data may be printed after the serial number is printed before the first scan of one page.

In the above embodiment, when the formed image of the serial number or the like is discriminated, the ink not adhered is washed off after the ink is adhered to the corresponding portion, but the invention is not limited to this. Instead, it is possible to make a distinction by another method without washing away the ink that has not adhered. For example, when a thin penetrating ink is applied in a mist form to the area where the treatment liquid is attached on the recording medium, that is, a predetermined area outside the original recording area of the ink, the treatment liquid on the recording medium is attached. Since the penetrating area has different ink permeability compared to other areas, there is a difference in the optical density of the adhered ink, and the density is high in the area where the treatment liquid adheres. It is possible to make a distinction by observing with a microscope or by using a microscope, or by detecting a difference in optical reflection density using an optical sensor such as a charge-coupled device.

In the present embodiment, the ink jet head is of the bubble jet type in which the ink on the heater causes film boiling to generate bubbles, and the volume expansion of the bubbles causes the ink to be ejected from the ejection port. Although an inkjet head is used, the present invention is not limited to this, and an inkjet head using a piezo element may be used.

It should be noted that the present invention is provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly in the ink jet recording system, and Although the printing apparatus of the type that causes a change in the state of ink by energy has been described, high density and high definition recording can be achieved by such a method.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the film boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path in which Since thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer and film boiling occurs on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed. It is valid. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable.

Suitable pulse-shaped drive signals are those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262. In addition,
US Patent No. 4 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface
If the conditions described in Japanese Patent No. 313124 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting surface is arranged in a bent region, is also included in the present invention. In addition, for multiple electrothermal transducers,
JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which a common slot is used as a discharge part of an electrothermal transducer, and JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy corresponds to a discharge part. A configuration based on 138461 may be adopted.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is determined by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. This may be either a configuration satisfying the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally.

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.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the print head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as components of the printing apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. . If these are specifically mentioned, capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and printing Performing a preliminary ejection mode for performing another ejection is also effective for performing stable printing.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above,
Although the ink is described as a liquid, an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower, or one that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used, or in the inkjet method, the ink itself may have a temperature of 30 ° to 70 ° C. Since the temperature is generally adjusted within the range to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range, it is sufficient that the ink is in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy from being used as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state,
Alternatively, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink, an ink which solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. 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 such a case, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, the ink is held in a liquid state or a solid state in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It is good also as a form which opposes an electrothermal transducer. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0072]

As described above, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention unconditionally ejects the treatment liquid for improving the fixability and water resistance of the recording ink independently on the recording medium, By recording information such as the serial number unique to the inkjet head, even if the recording device is misused for duplication / counterfeiting, it is possible to quickly determine that the printed matter is duplicated / counterfeited. At the same time, the inkjet recording device used for printing can be specified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of a color inkjet printer.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a control system in the printer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a head.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a facing relationship between a head and recording paper.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of recorded data.

6A and 6B are views for explaining a method of setting a determination area for the print data of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a recording medium when the present invention is implemented.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a discharge data processing configuration.

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which a treatment liquid is printed on a recording medium.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing an example of data transferred to an inkjet head.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing another example of data transferred to an inkjet head.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing another example of a processing configuration of ejection data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1A head driver 100 CPU 100A ROM 100B RAM 101, 102, 103, 104 recording head 105 processing liquid head 111 head 830 data control unit 840 printer serial number storage memory

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

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A recording head for ejecting ink onto a recording medium, and a substantially colorless treatment liquid containing a component having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in the ink when contacting with the ink. In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using a treatment liquid head that ejects onto a medium, a treatment liquid is formed on the recording medium in a predetermined region outside the region where recording is performed by the recording head, using the treatment liquid head. An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: an ejection control unit that ejects only the ink. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejection control unit causes only the treatment liquid to be ejected from the treatment liquid head based on data unique to the ink jet recording apparatus. 3. The ink jet recording according to claim 1, wherein the ejection control unit ejects the treatment liquid from the treatment liquid head for each recording medium based on the data unique to the ink jet recording apparatus. apparatus. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink contains an anionic dye, and the treatment liquid contains a low molecular component and a high molecular component of a cationic substance. . 5. The ink contains at least a water-soluble dye containing an anionic group, and the treatment liquid has a molecular weight of 15
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, comprising a low molecular weight of 00 or less and a high molecular weight cationic substance of 10,000 or more. 6. The treatment liquid contains a cationic substance of a low molecular component and a high molecular component, and the ink contains at least a dye of an anionic compound. The inkjet recording device according to item 1. 7. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head includes a thermal energy generator that generates thermal energy for ejecting ink. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the treatment liquid head includes a thermal energy generator that generates thermal energy for ejecting the treatment liquid. 9. A substantially colorless material containing a component having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in the ink when the ink is brought into contact with a predetermined area outside the area where recording is performed using the ink on the recording medium. An image forming method comprising the step of forming an image by ejecting only the treatment liquid according to the predetermined ejection data. 10. The image forming method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of performing recording using at least ink in the recording area before or after the image forming step using only the treatment liquid. . 11. The image forming method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of bringing ink into contact with at least a portion of the predetermined region to which the treatment liquid is attached. 12. The image forming method according to claim 11, further comprising a step of washing away ink that has not adhered to the predetermined area.