JPH10323975A - Method and device for ink jet printing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device for ink jet printing capable of achieving low running cost and excellent water resistance with respect to a plain paper and of obtaining an image having a high density and a high coloring property without blurring among colors. SOLUTION: There is provided a print head wherein a third nozzle group 1S for ejecting a liquid in order to improve a printing property of first and second inks is disposed between a first nozzle group 1K1 and a second nozzle group 1K2. An image is formed by ejecting the first ink on a paper from the first nozzle group 1K1 in accordance with image data and the liquid is ejected to the image on the paper from the third nozzle group 1S in another process of the image forming one, then the second ink is ejected on the paper from the second nozzle group 1K2, thereby forming the image. At that time, a penetration property of the liquid for improving the printing performance with respect to the paper is set to be higher than that of each ink.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink-jet printing method and a printing apparatus capable of obtaining a high-quality image on a printing material, and more particularly to a method for insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in ink. The present invention relates to an inkjet printing method and a printing apparatus for discharging a liquid.

[0002] The present invention can be applied to all devices using recording media such as paper, cloth, nonwoven fabric, OHP paper, etc., and specific devices include office equipment such as printers, copiers and facsimile machines, and mass production equipment. Can be.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, paper, cloth, plastic sheet, O
An ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording on a print-receiving material such as an HP sheet (hereinafter, also simply referred to as recording paper) includes:
Since a high-density and high-speed recording operation is possible, the output means of the information processing system, for example, a copying machine, a facsimile, an electronic typewriter, a word processor, a printer as an output terminal such as a workstation, or a personal computer, a host computer, It is used as a handy or portable printer included in an optical disk device, a video device, and the like, and is commercialized.

[0004] In this case, the ink jet recording apparatus has a configuration corresponding to the functions, usage patterns and the like unique to these apparatuses. In general, an ink jet recording apparatus includes a carriage on which a recording unit (print head) and an ink tank are mounted, a conveying unit for conveying recording paper, and a control unit for controlling these. Then, the print head for ejecting ink droplets from the plurality of ejection openings is serially scanned in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the recording paper conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction), while the recording paper is printed at a non-recording width. Intermittently. According to this method, recording is performed by discharging ink onto recording paper in accordance with a recording signal, and is widely used as a quiet printing method with low running cost. Further, by using a print head in which a number of nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in a straight line in the sub-scanning direction, the print head scans on the recording paper to record a width corresponding to the number of nozzles. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a high-speed recording operation.

[0005] Further, in recent years, apparatuses equipped with such printheads of three or four colors and capable of forming images in full color have been put to practical use. This apparatus is to be equipped with four types of print heads and ink tanks corresponding to three primary colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) or four colors including black (K) among these three primary colors. Can be.

[0006]

However, in the conventional ink-jet printing method and apparatus, the prevention of ink bleeding between black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M) and cyan (C) colors and black Higher density of images and prevention of feathering are conflicting issues, and if one problem is improved, the other problem may worsen, so that the print quality of color recording will meet the needs of the user sufficiently It is difficult to reach the level. The reason will be described below.

Usually, when a color image is obtained on plain paper by an ink jet printing method, a quick-drying ink having a high penetration rate into plain paper is used. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink from bleeding in the boundary region of each color constituting the image. However, when a quick-drying ink is used, the density of the black image portion is low, while the color image portions other than black have low coloring properties. Furthermore, when a line drawing represented by characters or the like is recorded, the ink bleeds along the paper fibers,
So-called feathering occurs. In particular, characters printed with black ink are more conspicuous in feathering than those in other colors, and are so-called unclear characters lacking sharpness. As a result, the quality of the recorded image is significantly reduced as a whole.

In general, in order to obtain a high-quality image in which the density of a black image portion is high and feathering does not occur, it is necessary to eject ink having a relatively low penetration rate into plain paper to some extent. However, in this case, the bleeding of the black ink and the color ink occurs at the adjacent boundary portion between the black image portion and the color image portion, and the quality of the recorded image is significantly impaired.

In order to solve these problems, a method has been put to practical use in which a heater is provided in the recording apparatus to promote drying of the ink to obtain a color image with high color development and no bleeding between colors. However, in this method, an increase in the size of the apparatus and an increase in cost are inevitable.

As described above, prevention of ink bleeding between black and each color, and increase in density of a black image and prevention of feathering are contradictory problems, and it has been difficult to achieve them at the same time.

Therefore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 3-146355 proposes a method of not recording an area along the boundary between black and color. However, in this method, recorded data changes.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-15849 discloses a multi-color head for character recording and a head for character recording, and switches between the multi-color head and the head for character recording based on a recorded image. A way to do that has been proposed. In this method, when a black image recorded by a color recording head and a black image recorded by a character recording head are mixed, a sense of incongruity occurs due to a difference in quality between the two.

Further, a method has been considered in which a black area along a boundary area between black and color is formed by overprinting color ink to prevent bleeding in the boundary area between black and color. In principle, black can also be obtained by superimposing (mixing) three colors of Y, M, and C. However, a black image formed by mixing color inks in this manner is different from a normal black ink. Poor coloring.

On the other hand, JP-A-56-84792 and JP-A-64-63185 disclose techniques using a liquid for insolubilizing a dye in ink.

JP-A-56-49992 discloses a method of coating a recording paper with a material for fixing a dye in advance. However, in this method, it is necessary to use a specific recording paper, and in order to apply a material for fixing the dye in advance, an increase in the size and cost of the apparatus is unavoidable, and furthermore, the recording medium is stably printed. There is a problem to be solved such that it is difficult to apply the material with a predetermined film thickness.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-63185 discloses a technique in which a colorless ink for insolubilizing a dye is deposited on recording paper by an ink jet print head. According to the method, since the dot diameter of the colorless ink is larger than the dot diameter of the image ink, desired characteristics can be satisfied even when the landing positions of the image ink and the colorless ink are shifted. And In this method, since the amount of colorless ink applied to the portion corresponding to the image position is larger than usual, there is a problem to be solved such that not only the drying time of the ink is prolonged, but also a very unclear image may result. .

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-195823 states that by applying a colorless precursor to the surface of a recording medium prior to ink jet recording, it is possible to perform color printing, particularly in one pass.

On the other hand, in the prior art for forming an image by using a colorless liquid for insolubilizing the colorant in the ink and an ink containing the colorant, the ink containing the colorless liquid and the colorant is used. Does not disclose or suggest how to control the permeability to the print medium in order to obtain a high-quality image.

According to the present invention, by using a liquid containing a substance that insolubilizes or aggregates a coloring material in an ink, it is possible to obtain a high-density image while exhibiting better water resistance even on plain paper than before. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printing method and an ink jet printing apparatus capable of obtaining a highly colored image without bleeding between colors when applied to color recording.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet printing method and an ink-jet printing method in which an ink and the above-mentioned liquid are used in combination, and when both of them are applied onto a printing medium, the fixability is excellent and a high image quality can be obtained. It is intended to provide a device.

[0021]

According to the present invention to achieve the above object, a first group of nozzles for discharging a first ink having a first color and a same color as the first color are provided. A second nozzle group for discharging the second ink, and the permeability to the print material is higher than the permeability of the ink;
And a third nozzle group for discharging a printability improving liquid for improving the printability of the first ink and the second ink, wherein the first to third nozzle groups are printed. The third nozzle group is arranged in the direction of relative movement with respect to the material, and the first nozzle group and the second
After preparing an ink jet printing apparatus for forming an image using a print head arranged between the first nozzle group and the nozzle group, the first ink is ejected from the first nozzle group onto a printing material based on image data. A first step of forming an image by performing the third step based on the image data.
A second step of discharging the printability improving liquid from the nozzle group to the image formed in the first step on the print-receiving material, and the second step based on the image data.
A third group of nozzles that ejects the second ink from the nozzle group to the image formed in the second step on the printing material.
Is an inkjet printing method for performing the step of

Further, according to the present invention, a first nozzle group for discharging the first ink having the first color and a second nozzle group for discharging the second ink having the same color as the first color are provided. A second nozzle group, and a printability improving liquid for improving the printability of the first ink and the second ink, wherein the printability improving liquid has a higher permeability to the print material than the permeability of the ink; And a third nozzle group for arranging the first to third nozzle groups in the direction of relative movement with respect to the printing material, and the third nozzle group is a first nozzle group. An ink jet printing apparatus for forming an image using a print head disposed between a first nozzle group and a second nozzle group, wherein the first nozzle group applies the first ink to a printing material based on image data. To form an image The third nozzle group discharges the printability improving liquid based on the image data on an image formed on the print material using the first nozzle group, and A nozzle group discharges the second ink based on the image data onto an image formed using the first nozzle group and the third nozzle group on a printing material to form an image. So first
In addition, the present invention provides an inkjet printing apparatus including a control unit that controls a discharge operation of a third nozzle group.

Here, the compositions of the first ink and the second ink may be the same or different.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printing method for performing printing by discharging an ink containing a coloring material onto a print medium, comprising the steps of: discharging the ink to the print medium based on image data; Based on the data, a substance having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in the ink with respect to a portion of the print medium on which the ink is ejected includes a material having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating the color material in the print medium. Surface tension γ
A step of discharging a liquid whose (unit: dyn / cm) satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 40, and a step of discharging ink to a portion of the printing medium on which the liquid has been discharged based on image data. An inkjet printing method is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printing apparatus for performing printing by discharging an ink containing a coloring material onto a print medium, comprising: an ink discharge section for discharging the ink to the print medium; A material having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating a material, wherein the permeability to the print medium is higher than the permeability of the ink, and the surface tension γ (unit: dyn / cm) is 30 ≦ γ ≦ 40. A liquid ejecting unit that ejects liquid, and ink that is ejected from the ink ejecting unit to the print medium based on image data, and the liquid ejecting unit ejects the ink onto a portion of the print medium that ejects the ink based on image data And ejecting ink from the ink ejecting unit to a portion of the printing medium on which the liquid has been ejected based on image data. A discharge control unit for performing control for causing
There is provided an ink jet printing apparatus comprising:

In the present specification, the printability improving liquid includes a form containing a substance that insolubilizes or aggregates the coloring material contained in the ink.

Here, the improvement of printability means improvement of image quality such as density, saturation, sharpness degree of edge portion, dot diameter, etc., improvement of ink fixability, water resistance, light resistance and the like. It also includes the meaning of improving the weather resistance, that is, the image storability.

In the present specification, the term "insolubilization" means that the anionic group contained in the dye in the ink and the cationic group contained in the cationic substance contained in the printability improving liquid ionically interact with each other to form an ionic bond. Occurs, and the color material (dye) uniformly dissolved in the ink is separated from the solution. In the present invention, even if not all the dyes in the ink are insolubilized, at least a part of the dyes is insolubilized, whereby effects such as improvement of density, improvement of character quality, and improvement of fixability can be obtained.

In the present specification, aggregation is used in the same meaning as insolubilization when the coloring material used in the ink is, for example, a water-soluble dye having an anionic group. Also,
When the coloring material used in the ink is a pigment, the aggregation is caused by the ionic interaction between the pigment dispersing material or the cationic group of the cationic substance contained in the pigment surface and the printability improving liquid, and the pigment is dispersed. This includes destruction and an increase in pigment particle size. Usually, the viscosity of the ink increases with the aggregation. In the present invention, even if not all the pigments or dispersants in the ink are insolubilized, at least a part of the ink is insolubilized only to improve the density, improve the character quality, and improve the fixability as described in the present invention. The effect is obtained.

[0030]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The inventors of the present invention have included a liquid and a coloring material for insolubilizing the coloring material in the ink for the purpose of obtaining a high quality image with excellent fixability of the ink to a printing material. As a result of intensive studies on the relationship between the permeability of each ink to be printed and the order in which the liquid and the ink are applied to the print medium, the following findings were obtained.

First, in order to reduce feathering on a print medium and obtain a high-quality image, a so-called additional ink, which has low permeability to the print medium, is usually used. However, when a liquid that insolubilizes a coloring material in the ink (hereinafter referred to as a printability improving liquid) is used together with the ink, if a liquid having low permeability to the print medium is used as the printability improving liquid, There is a problem that the above fixability is poor. In addition, when the ink and the printability improving liquid are applied onto the print medium, minute mist composed of a mixture of the ink and the printability improvement liquid is likely to be generated. This may affect the ejection direction of the printability improving liquid or cause a non-ejection, thereby lowering the reliability.

Therefore, when ink having a low permeability to a medium to be printed is used as the ink and a liquid having a high permeability is used as the printability improving liquid, the ink is applied to the same place after the printability improving liquid is discharged. In addition, since the printability improving liquid applied earlier tends to bleed, the ink applied later moves along with the flow of the printability improving liquid, causing feathering, thereby deteriorating the image quality.

On the other hand, when ink having a high permeability to a print medium is used as the ink and a liquid having a low permeability is used as the printability improving liquid, feathering is apt to occur and the image quality is deteriorated.

As another combination, when ink having a high permeability to a printing medium is used as an ink and a liquid having a high permeability is used as a printability improving liquid, feathering is also likely to occur and the image quality deteriorates. .

However, an ink having a low permeability to the print medium is used as the ink, and a liquid having a high permeability is used as the printability improving liquid. First, the ink is applied to the print medium, and then the printability improving liquid is applied to the same place. When ink was applied again to the same location,
It has been found that the fixability is good and the feathering is small, so that the image quality is high, and it is difficult to generate a fine mist composed of a mixture of ink and a printability improving liquid. The reason for this is that, first, a state in which feathering is unlikely to occur by applying ink having low permeability to the print medium is formed on the print medium, and then a highly permeable printability improving liquid is applied to the same location. Even when the ink having low permeability is applied first, the ink hardly bleeds. On the other hand, since the printability improving liquid has permeability, good fixability in a short time can be obtained. Further ink with low permeability is applied to the same spot with moderately controlled permeability, so that the color material in the ink hardly sinks into the print medium and exists on the surface side, resulting in a high density image. Is considered to be obtained. In this way, the ink having the high permeability is applied to the same portion of the print medium in the order of interposing the ink having the low permeability to the ink, so that the ink is affected by the permeability of the printability improving liquid. It is considered that a high-quality image that is difficult to obtain and has little feathering can be obtained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet printer (hereinafter also referred to as a printer) as an example of an ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

In this printer, a carriage 2 having a print head 1s for ejecting a printability improving liquid and print heads 1k1 and 1k2 for ejecting black ink, and an electric signal sent from the printer body to the print head. Cable unit 3, a cap unit 4 having a recovery unit, a paper feed tray 8 for feeding a print material 7, and the like. The print head 1s is arranged so as to be located between the print heads 1k1 and 1k2. Further, the cap unit 4 includes cap members 5s, 5k1, and 5k2 corresponding to the print heads 1s, 1k1, and 1k2, and a wiper blade 6 made of a member such as rubber and corresponding to the print head 1s.
and a wiper blade 6a corresponding to the print heads 1k1 and 1k2. In the printer having such a configuration, the print heads 1s, 1k1, and 1k2 are moved in a direction (main scanning direction) B orthogonal to the transport direction A of the printing medium.
In this case, printing is performed in a width corresponding to the number of nozzles by performing a serial scan, while the printing material is intermittently conveyed by a feed amount equal to the printing width during non-printing.

Each of the print heads 1s, 1k1, and 1k2 has 64 nozzles, and about 40 ng of a printability improving liquid or ink is discharged from each nozzle.

FIG. 2 is an electric control block diagram of the above-described ink jet printer.

Reference numeral 301 denotes a system controller for controlling the entire apparatus, which includes a microprocessor, a storage element (ROM) containing a control program, and a microprocessor used when the microprocessor performs processing. A storage element (RAM) and the like are arranged.
Reference numeral 302 denotes a driver for driving the print head in the main scanning direction, and similarly, reference numeral 303 denotes a driver for moving the printing material in the sub-scanning direction. Reference numerals 304 and 305 indicate drivers 302 and 30.
3 and operates by receiving information such as speed and moving distance from a driver.

Reference numeral 306 denotes a host computer for transferring information to be printed to the printing apparatus of the present invention. Reference numeral 307 is a reception buffer for temporarily storing data from the host computer 306, and stores data until data is read from the system controller 301. Reference numeral 308 denotes a frame memory for expanding data to be printed into image data, and has a memory size necessary for printing. In the present embodiment, a frame memory capable of storing one print sheet will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the size of the frame memory. Reference numeral 309 denotes a storage element for temporarily storing data to be printed. The storage element includes a print buffer 309K for black ink and a print buffer 309S for a printability improving liquid. The storage capacity depends on the number of nozzles of the print head. Change. Reference numeral 310 denotes a print control unit for appropriately controlling the print head in accordance with a command from the system controller, and for controlling a print speed, the number of print data, and the like, and further ejects a printability improving liquid. The data for this is also created. Reference numeral 311 denotes a driver for driving the print head 1s for discharging the printability improving liquid and the print heads 1k1 and 1k2 for discharging the black ink, and is controlled by a signal from the print control unit 310. You.

First, image data is transferred from the host computer 306 to the reception buffer 307 and is temporarily stored. Next, the stored image data is read out by the system controller 301 and stored in the buffer 3.
09 is expanded. The print control unit 310
Data for discharging the printability improving liquid is created based on the data developed in 9. Then, the operation of the print head is controlled based on the image data and the printability improving liquid data in each buffer.

In the present embodiment, the following inks and printability improving liquids were used.

The surface tension, which is an index indicating the permeability to the print medium, was about 48 dyn / cm for the ink and 35 dyn / cm for the printability improving liquid.

(Ink) Glycerin 5 parts by weight Thiodiglycol 5 parts by weight Urea 5 parts by weight Isopropyl alcohol 4 parts by weight I Direct Black 154 3 parts by weight Water 78 parts by weight (Printability improving liquid) Polyallylamine hydrochloride 1 part by weight Tributylamine chloride 1 part by weight Thiodiglycol 10 parts by weight Acetylenol EH 0.5 part by weight Water 87.5 parts by weight

In this embodiment, the same image data is sent to the print heads 1s and 1k1 and 1k2, and the printability improving liquid and ink are ejected. Since the ejection amount of each print head is about 40 ng, the ratio of the printability improving liquid to the black ink is 40 / (40 + 40) = 0.
5 (50%).

FIGS. 3A to 3D are schematic plan views illustrating an example of a process of discharging black ink and a printability improving liquid to each recording pixel. FIG. 3A shows a result of discharging black ink from the print heads 1k1 and 1k2 to 2 × 2 pixels and discharging the printability improving liquid from the print head 1s, for example. Therefore, in order to obtain the image of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3B, black ink is ejected from the print head 1k1. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3C, printability improving liquid is ejected from the print head 1s to the same pixel. Black ink is ejected from the print head 1k2 to the same pixels as those shown in (b) and (c). Through the above steps, the image formation using the black ink and the printability improving liquid shown in FIG.

The black image obtained in the present embodiment was a sharp image with high density and little feathering, and it was confirmed that the black image had sufficient water resistance.

In this embodiment, it goes without saying that the same high-quality image can be obtained in both the forward scan and the sub-scan of the print head.

<Embodiment 2> This embodiment is different from the ink jet printing apparatus used in Embodiment 1 in that the ejection amounts of the print heads 1k1 and 1k2 are different from each other. Is larger than the ejection amount of the print head 1k2. This is to shorten the fixing time after image formation, and when the printability improving liquid is applied, it reacts with the black ink that has been previously struck and thickens, and then the drying time of the applied black ink This is to prevent the length from becoming longer. At this time, it is preferable to slightly increase the ejection amount of the print head 1k1 so that the finally obtained recording density does not decrease.

As a specific means for varying the discharge amount, there is a method of varying the driving conditions applied to the heater of the print head.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are waveform diagrams showing pulse waveforms applied to the heater of the print head. FIG. 4A shows a single pulse of 4 μsec.
FIG. 4B shows a double pulse composed of a pre-pulse of 1.5 μsec and a main pulse of 2.5 μsec after an off-time of 2.0 μsec.
The ejection amount in a single pulse is about 38 ng, and the ejection amount in a double pulse is about 42 ng. Under the pulse conditions shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the same energization time is used, but the discharge amount of ink or the like can be changed by changing the application method.

In this embodiment, the print head 1k1
Was applied with a double pulse and the print head 1k2 was applied with a single pulse to form an image. As in the first embodiment, a high-density and sharp black image could be obtained. Further, the fixing time at this time was shorter than that of the first embodiment.

According to the present invention, the pulse condition applied to the print head 1k1 and the pulse condition applied to the print head 1k2 are simply changed between the forward scan and the sub-scan of the print head. In any case of the backward scanning, the discharge amount of black ink to be applied first can always be set larger than the discharge amount of black ink to be applied after the printability improving liquid is applied, so bidirectional printing is possible. Becomes

As another means for varying the discharge amount, it can be realized by the structure of the print head. That is, the discharge amount can be controlled by making the printhead heaters, sizes, and nozzle structures different between the printheads 1k1 and 1k2. For example, if the size of the heater is increased, the discharge amount is increased, and the discharge amount can also be increased by increasing the area of the discharge port. These structures are not particularly limited to the heater and the discharge port, and may be a combination of some elements. However, when the ejection amount is made different by this method, the printing is limited to either forward scanning or backward scanning, so that the advantage of speeding up by bidirectional printing cannot be obtained.

<Embodiment 3> This embodiment is different from the ink jet printing apparatus used in Embodiment 1 in that the ink ejection speed from the print head 1k1 is different from that of the print head 1k2. The ejection speed of the print head 1k2 is
Discharge speed. This is to improve the reliability when the ink and the printability improving liquid are used, and will be described in detail below.

According to the present inventors, if the ink and the printability improving liquid come into contact with each other at the discharge port surface (also referred to as a face surface) of each print head to cause a reaction, sticking occurs at the discharge port surface, and as a result, It has been found that the ejected ink droplets are distorted to cause image deterioration, and that ejection is clogged to cause ejection failure, which greatly affects reliability.

One of the factors is a rebound from the paper surface, which is generated when the ink or the printability improving liquid is discharged onto the printing material. Hereinafter, FIG.
This will be described in detail with reference to schematic diagrams of the rebound shown in (a) to (c).

FIG. 5 (a) shows a state of rebound generated when ink or printability improving liquid 51 is applied to a print material 50, and small droplets 52 generated by the rebound are printed. It is flying in the opposite direction to the material 50, that is, toward the ejection port surface (not shown) of the print head. In the present invention, since the liquid applied first is ink, the rebounding small droplets are black ink.

FIG. 5 (b) shows a state of rebound which occurs when the printability improving liquid is applied after the ink is applied on the printing material 50. In this case, the printability improving liquid 54 is applied to the previously applied ink layer 53, and at this time, the small droplets 55 due to the rebound are applied similarly to FIG. In the opposite direction, that is, toward the discharge port surface (not shown) of the print head.

FIG. 5C shows that the printability improving liquid is applied after the application of the ink onto the print-receiving material 50.
Further, a state of rebound generated when applying ink is shown. Also in this case, the ink 57 is applied to the liquid layer 56 in which the previously applied ink and the printability improving liquid are mixed, and the small droplets 58 due to rebound are printed as in FIG. 5B. It flies in the direction opposite to 50, that is, toward the ejection port surface (not shown) of the print head.

As described above, the small droplet 52 due to the rebound in FIG.
Small droplet 5 due to rebound in (b) and (c)
5, 58 are not necessarily a single liquid.
It has been clarified by the inventor's research that the components at this time depend on the properties of the ink to be used and the printability improving liquid, and which one is applied first.

For example, when the ink and the printability improving liquid in the first embodiment are used, the small droplet 55 is mainly the printability improving liquid in the case of FIG. 5B.
As a result, print head (1s for printability improving liquid)
Since only the printability improving liquid adheres to the discharge port surface, the problem of sticking at the discharge port surface hardly occurs.

On the other hand, in the case of FIG.
Includes those in which the printability improving liquid and the ink have reacted. As a result, a mixture of the ink and the printability improving liquid adheres to the discharge port surface of the print head (1k2 for ink), causing sticking and clogging at the discharge port surface.

However, the present inventor has found that even in the case of FIG. 5C, the generation of small droplets due to rebound can be suppressed as much as possible by lowering the ejection speed of the ink applied last. Experimentally confirmed. The present embodiment utilizes this characteristic.

In order to make the discharge speed different, the same method as used in the second embodiment in which the discharge amount is made different may be used.
For example, the pulse condition applied to the heater of the print head is set to double pulse for the print head 1k1,
What is necessary is just to set the print head 1k2 to a single pulse. Further, as described above, the ejection speed may be varied by varying the structure of the print head. In the former method, bidirectional printing is possible by switching pulse conditions, as in the second embodiment.
The latter method can cope with only one of the forward scan and the backward scan.

The print head discharges after printing under the condition that the discharge speed of the ink discharged from the print head 1k1 is 16 m / s and the discharge speed of the ink discharged from the print head 1k2 is 12 m / s. Observation of the exit surface confirmed that the amount of deposits was smaller than in the case of the first embodiment.

<Embodiment 4> In Embodiment 1 described above,
The data for ejecting the printability improving liquid is the same as the black image data, but may be modified data obtained by thinning out the black image data.

For example, for the black image data as shown in FIG. 6A, in the first to third embodiments, the data for ejecting the printability improving liquid is the same as the black image data, that is, Although the printability improving liquid was ejected in the same pattern as in FIG. 6A, in the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (b) or (c), the printability improving liquid may be ejected in a pattern in which black image data is thinned out. At this time, the thinning method may be a pattern having randomness instead of a fixed pattern as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C. Further, the thinning rate may be as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C. It is not limited to 50%.

The setting of the thinning rate is appropriately set in accordance with the combination of the image quality to be obtained, image characteristics such as water resistance, and the ink to be used and the printability improving liquid.

For example, if the content of polyacrylamine-hydrochloride contained in the printability improving liquid is increased, the reactivity with the ink tends to increase. Therefore, the thinning rate is increased and the printability improving liquid is applied. The amount can be reduced.
Further, the thinning rate can be increased by using a dye having a certain degree of water resistance as a coloring material of the ink.

<Embodiment 5> As described in Embodiment 3 above, a small droplet adheres to the ejection opening surface of the head due to the rebound generated when the ink or the printability improving liquid is applied. Reduce the reliability of In the case of FIG. 5C, when the black ink is applied last, the previously applied black ink and the printability improving liquid penetrate to some extent into the material 50 to be printed, and the thickness of the liquid layer 56 is increased. If the thickness is small, it is possible to reduce the generation of small droplets due to the rebound.

For this reason, in this embodiment, 1% by weight of acetylenol EH is added to the printability improving liquid in order to increase the permeability of the printability improving liquid used in the first embodiment to the material to be printed. did. As a result, the surface tension of the printability improving liquid was 30 dyn / cm. Observation of the discharge port surface of the print head after printing under these conditions confirmed that the amount of deposits was smaller than in the case of the first embodiment.

Embodiment 6 FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a color ink jet printer as an ink jet printing apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. The configuration is substantially the same as that of the printer of the first embodiment except that a plurality of print heads and a configuration corresponding to the plurality of print heads are used.

Reference numeral 1y is a print head for yellow ink, 1m is a print head for magenta ink, 1c is a print head for cyan ink,
1k1 and 1k2 are black ink printheads, 1s is a printability improving liquid printhead,
2 is a carriage on which a print head is mounted, 3 is a flexible cable for sending an electric signal from the printer body to the print head, 4 is a cap unit having recovery means, 5y, 5m, 5c, 5k2, 5s and 5k1. Are print heads 1y, 1m, 1c, 1k
A cap member corresponding to 2, 1s and 1k1,
Reference numeral 6 denotes a wiper blade made of a member such as rubber.

Print heads 1y, 1m, 1c, 1k
Each of 2, 1s and 1k1 has 64 nozzles, and about 40 ng of ink or printability improving liquid is discharged from each nozzle.

In this embodiment, the following inks were used.
The surface tension of each ink is 42 dyn / cm for yellow, 42 dyn / cm for magenta, and 42 dyn / c for cyan.
m and black were 44 dyn / cm. The same printability improving liquid as that of the first embodiment was used.

(Ink) Yellow triethylene glycol 7 parts by weight Hexanetriol 7 parts by weight Isopropyl alcohol 2.5 parts by weight Acetylenol EH 0.02 parts by weight C.I. I. Direct Yellow 86 1.5 parts by weight Water 81.98 parts by weight 2. Magenta triethylene glycol 7 parts by weight hexanetriol 7 parts by weight isopropyl alcohol 1.5 parts by weight acetylenol EH 0.01 parts by weight C.I. I. Acid Red 289 1.5 parts by weight Water 82.99 parts by weight C. Cyan triethylene glycol 7 parts by weight Hexanetriol 7 parts by weight Isopropyl alcohol 1.5 parts by weight Acetylenol EH 0.01 parts by weight I. Direct Blue 199 2.5 parts by weight Water 81.99 parts by weight 4. C. Black triethylene glycol 6 parts by weight Hexanetriol 6 parts by weight butyl alcohol 2 parts by weight acetate acetate 0.01 parts by weight I. Direct Black 154 2.5 parts by weight Water 83.49 parts by weight

FIG. 8 is an electric control block diagram of the color ink jet printer shown in FIG.
The same reference numerals are given to the parts common to. The electrical control in this embodiment is substantially the same as that in the above embodiment, and the description is omitted.

In the color ink jet printer of this embodiment, the amount of ink applied per unit area is about 50%.
% Of the printability improving liquid. As a method of applying the printability improving liquid, the print head 1k1 for black ink is used for the black image portion in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
After printing a black image, the printability improving liquid is applied with the same data as the black image data, and the black image is printed with the print head 1k2 for black ink. For the color image portion, the image data of yellow, magenta, and cyan are respectively reduced by 50% according to the pattern shown in FIG.
The data obtained by calculating the logical sum of these data is used as the data for discharging the printability improving liquid, and the printability improving liquid is applied prior to the color image formation.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are schematic views for explaining the application of the printability improving liquid to the black image and the color image. FIG. 9A shows an example in which there is a black image and a yellow image as a color image. FIG. 9B
Indicates a printability improving liquid pattern applied to the image of FIG. 9A based on the above-described conditions. Further, FIG. 9 (c) shows an image finally obtained, showing which pixels are provided with the printability improving liquid, the black ink and the yellow ink.

In the present embodiment, the pattern shown in FIG. 6B is used as the pattern for applying the printability improving liquid to the color image. However, the thinning method is changed for each of yellow, magenta and cyan. You may.

According to this embodiment, the black image has a high density and a sharp image as in the first embodiment, and the ink bleeds at the boundary between the black image and the color image (bleed). And a clear color image free of defects can be obtained. Further, water-resistant images can be obtained for both black and color images.

In this embodiment, the printability improving liquid contains a cationic substance comprising a low molecular component and a high molecular component, and the ink contains an anionic dye or at least contains an anionic compound and a pigment. Things are used.

The printability improving liquid for insolubilizing the ink dye used in the present invention can be obtained, for example, as follows.

That is, after mixing and dissolving the following components,
Further, after filtration under pressure through a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.22 μm (trade name: fluoropore filter, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.), the pH is adjusted to 4.8 with NaOH to obtain a printability improving liquid. Can be.

[Components of Printability Improving Liquid] Low molecular weight component of cationic compound Stearyl trimethyl ammonium salt 2.0 parts by weight (trade name: Electrostripper QE, manufactured by Kao Corporation) or stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (trade name; (Coatamine 86P, manufactured by Kao Corporation) Polymer component of cationic compound Copolymer of diallylamine hydrochloride and sulfur dioxide 3.0 parts by weight (average molecular weight: 5000) (trade name: Polyamine sulfone PAS-92, Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd.) 10 parts by weight thiodiglycol water balance

Preferred examples of the ink which is mixed with the printability improving liquid and made insoluble include the following.

That is, the following components were mixed, and a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.22 μm (trade name: fluoropore filter, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.)
To obtain yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks Y1, M1, C1, and K1.

Y1 C.I. I. Direct Yellow 142 2 parts Thiodiglycol 10 parts Acetylenol EH 0.05 parts Water balance M1 I. Acid Red 289; the same composition as Y1 except that 2.5 parts were used. I. Acid Blue 9: Same as Y1 except that 2.5 parts were used. I. Food Black 2: the same composition as Y1 except that 3 parts were used

In the above-described mixing of the printability improving liquid and the ink, in the present invention, the above-described printability improving liquid and the ink are mixed on the print material or at a position where the ink permeates the print material, resulting in a reaction. As a first step, among the cationic substances contained in the treatment liquid, a low molecular weight component and a water-soluble dye having an anionic group used in the ink are associated with each other by ionic interaction,
Momentarily separates from the solution phase.

Next, in the second stage of the reaction, since the above-mentioned aggregate of the dye and the low molecular weight cationic substance is adsorbed by the polymer component contained in the processing solution, the dye formed by the association is coagulated. The size of the aggregate becomes even larger, making it harder to enter the gaps between the fibers of the print material, and as a result, only the liquid portion that has been separated into solid and liquid penetrates into the recording paper, achieving both print quality and fixability. Is done.
At the same time, the aggregate formed by the low molecular weight component of the cationic substance or the cationic oligomer and the anionic dye formed by the mechanism described above increases in viscosity and does not move with the movement of the liquid medium, so that a full-color image is obtained. Even when adjacent ink dots are formed of different color inks as in the case of formation, 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 an effect of improving the light fastness of an image formed by the shielding effect of the polymer.

As used herein, the term “insolubilized” or “aggregation” refers to a phenomenon that occurs only in the first step or a phenomenon that includes both the first step and the second step.

Further, in practicing the present invention, it is not necessary to use a cationic polymer substance having a high molecular weight or a polyvalent metal salt as in the prior art, or even if it is necessary to use a cationic polymer substance having a high molecular weight, the present invention may be applied. Since it is only necessary to use it supplementarily to further improve the effect, the amount of use can be minimized. As a result, another problem of the present invention is that the decrease in the coloring property of the dye, which has been a problem in the case of using a conventional cationic polymer substance or a polyvalent metal salt to obtain a water resistance effect, is eliminated. This can be mentioned as an effect.

The material to be printed used in carrying out the present invention is not particularly limited, and so-called plain paper such as copy paper and bond paper conventionally used can be suitably used. Of course, a coated paper or a transparent film for OHP specially prepared for inkjet printing can be suitably used, and general high-quality paper or glossy paper can also be suitably used.

<Embodiment 7> A printability improving liquid was prepared by changing the printability improving liquid of Example 1 to the following formulation.

1. Glycerin 7.00 parts by weight 2. 2. 5.00 parts by weight of diethylene glycol 24.00 parts by weight of polyallylamine (15% aqueous solution) Acetic acid (10% aqueous solution) 3.51 parts by weight 5. benzalkonium chloride (51% aqueous solution) 1.92 parts by weight 6. 0.95 parts by weight of triethylene glycol monobutyl ether 57.62 parts by weight of pure water The surface tension of this printability improving liquid is 34.0 dyn / c.
m.

<Embodiment 8> A printability improving liquid was prepared by changing the printability improving liquid of Example 1 to the following formulation.

1. 1. Fluorinated surfactant (perfluoroalkyltrimethylammonium salt) 0.001 part by weight Trade name: Surflon S-121 (manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.) 2.40 parts by weight of polyallylamine hydrochloride Brand name: PAA-HCl-1L (manufactured by Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd.) 3. 20 parts by weight of diethylene glycol Water Remaining The surface tension of this printability improving liquid was 28 dyn / cm.

<Embodiment 9> A printability improving liquid was prepared by changing the printability improving liquid of Embodiment 1 to the following formulation.

1. 1. Acetylenol EH 0.05 parts by weight 2. Polyallylamine hydrochloride 4.0 parts by weight Trade name: PAA-HCl-1L (manufactured by Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd.) 3. 20 parts by weight of diethylene glycol Water Remaining The surface tension of this printability improving liquid was 41 dyn / cm.

In addition, a printability improving liquid having a surface tension of 30, 32, and 40 was prepared, and used together with the black ink obtained in Embodiment 1 including the printability improvement liquid in the above-described embodiment. When various printings were performed by the ink jet printing apparatus used in the first embodiment, when the surface tension is represented by γ (unit: dyn / cm), the printability improving liquid satisfies 40 ≧ γ in terms of fixability. On the other hand, in terms of image quality, it is preferable that γ ≧ 30. In order to improve both the fixing property and the image quality, 3
It became clear that it was better to satisfy 0 ≦ γ ≦ 40.

In consideration of the fixing property, more preferably, 30 ≦ γ ≦ 38, and still more preferably, 30 ≦ γ ≦ 3.
It has been found that a value of 6 is preferable.

The fixability was evaluated by printing the recording paper with the printing surface facing up, and then printing on the paper with a lens cleaning paper (Silbon C, trade name: Silbon C, manufactured by Kojin Co., Ltd.). 5) Put 5 sheets on top and load 40g /
The test was performed by visually checking the degree of rubbing of the printed surface when pulling the silbon paper at 15 cm / sec with a weight of 3.5 cm × 3.5 cm on a bottom surface of 3.5 cm × ² cm.

The image quality was evaluated by using a Macbeth densitometer to measure the optical reflection density (optical density).
ty) was measured, and the degree of feathering was visually determined.

The measurement of the surface tension γ in this specification uses a Kyowa CBVP surface tensiometer A-1 (manufactured by Kyowa Kagaku Co., Ltd.), and uses an ink or printability improving liquid of about 5-6.
ml was placed in a Petri dish and measured at a set temperature of 25 ± 0.2 ° C.

In each of the above embodiments, “acetylenol EH” is a trademark of Kawaken Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., and the chemical substance name is ethylene oxide-2,4,7,9.
-Tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol.

The present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection, particularly in an ink jet printing system. The present invention provides an excellent effect in a print head and a printing apparatus of a type in which a change in the state of ink is caused by energy. This is because such a method can achieve higher density and higher definition of the print.

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 is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. Applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the printing information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, causing the electrothermal transducer to generate thermal energy, causing film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the printhead. This is effective because bubbles can be formed in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. 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 a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. 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 U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent printing can be performed.

As the configuration of the print head, in addition to the combination configuration (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) of the discharge port, liquid path, and electrothermal converter 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 portion is arranged in a bending 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 slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal transducer and JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of heat energy corresponds to a discharge portion. The effect of the present invention is effective even in a configuration based on JP-A-138461. That is, according to the present invention, printing can be performed reliably and efficiently regardless of the form of the print head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type print head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a print medium that can be printed by a printing apparatus. As such a print head, a configuration that satisfies the length by combining a plurality of print heads,
Any one of the structures as a single print head integrally formed may be used.

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

It is preferable to add recovery means for the print head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as a configuration of the printing apparatus in the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. . If these are specifically mentioned, capping means for the print head, cleaning means, pressurization or suction means, preheating means by an electrothermal converter or another heating element or a combination thereof, It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing, in order to perform stable printing.

The type and number of print heads to be mounted are, for example, one for one color ink.
In addition to those provided with only a plurality of inks, a plurality of inks may be provided corresponding to a plurality of inks having different print colors and densities. That is, for example, the print mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to the print mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be any of a print head integrally formed or a combination of a plurality of print heads. The present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet system In general, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Anything can be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy can be positively prevented by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or ink that solidifies in a standing state to prevent evaporation of the ink can be used. In any case, thermal ink is liquefied by application of heat energy according to a print signal, and a liquid ink is ejected, or a thermal ink such as an ink that starts solidifying when it reaches a print medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink that liquefies for the first time by energy is used. In such a case, an ink described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260 is used.
It may be configured such that it is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or 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 a form of a printing apparatus provided with a printing mechanism using the liquid jet print head of the present invention, in addition to one used as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a computer, a combination with a reader or the like is provided. It may be a copier, or a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration when the printing apparatus of the present invention is applied to an information processing apparatus having functions as a word processor, a personal computer, a facsimile apparatus, and a copying apparatus.

In the figure, reference numeral 1801 denotes a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus, such as a CPU such as a microprocessor and various I / Os.
Ports are provided to output control signals, data signals, and the like to each unit, and to control by inputting control signals and data signals from each unit. A display unit 1802 displays various menus, document information, image data read by the image reader 1807, and the like on the display screen. Reference numeral 1803 denotes a transparent pressure-sensitive touch panel provided on the display unit 1802. By pressing the surface of the touch panel with a finger or the like, it is possible to input items, coordinate positions, and the like on the display unit 1802.

Reference numeral 1804 denotes FM (Frequency M).
music information created by a music editor or the like in the memory unit 1810 or the external storage device 18.
Digital data is stored in the memory 12 and read out from the memory or the like to perform FM modulation. FM
The electric signal from the sound source unit 1804 is converted into an audible sound by the speaker unit 1805. The printer unit 1806 is an output terminal of a word processor, a personal computer, a facsimile machine, or a copying machine to which the printing apparatus of the present invention is applied.

Reference numeral 1807 denotes an image reader unit for reading and inputting original data photoelectrically, which is provided in the middle of the original transport path and reads various originals such as facsimile originals and copy originals. 1808 is the image reader unit 18
A facsimile transmission / reception unit for facsimile transmission of original data read in step 07 and reception / decoding of the transmitted facsimile signal, and has an external interface function. Reference numeral 1809 denotes a telephone unit having various telephone functions such as a normal telephone function and an answering machine function.

A ROM 1810 stores a system program, a manager program, other application programs, a character font, a dictionary, and the like.
A memory unit including an application program and document information loaded from the external storage device 1812 and a video RAM.

Reference numeral 1811 denotes a keyboard for inputting document information, various commands, and the like.

An external storage device using a floppy disk or a hard disk as a storage medium.
Reference numeral 12 stores document information, music or audio information, user application programs, and the like.

FIG. 11 is a schematic external view of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1901 denotes a flat panel display using a liquid crystal or the like, which displays various menus, graphic information, document information and the like. By pressing the surface of the touch panel 1803 on the display 1901 with a finger or the like, coordinate input and item designation input can be performed.
1902 is a handset used when the device functions as a telephone. The keyboard 1903 is detachably connected to the main body via a cord, and can input various document information and various data. The keyboard 1903 is provided with various function keys 1904 and the like. Reference numeral 1905 denotes a slot for inserting a floppy disk into the external storage device 1812.

[0127] Reference numeral 1906 denotes a paper placing portion on which a document read by the image reader portion 1807 is placed, and the read document is discharged from the rear portion of the apparatus. In the case of facsimile reception or the like, printing is performed by the inkjet printer 1907.

Note that the display unit 1802 is C
Although RT may be used, a flat panel such as a liquid crystal display using a ferroelectric liquid crystal is desirable. This is because the weight can be reduced in addition to the reduction in size and thickness.

When the information processing apparatus functions as a personal computer or a word processor, various information input from the keyboard unit 1811 is processed by the control unit 1801 according to a predetermined program, and
The image is output to an image 806.

When functioning as a receiver of a facsimile apparatus, facsimile information input from a facsimile transmission / reception unit 1808 via a communication line is received and processed by a control unit 1801 according to a predetermined program.
Is output as a received image.

When functioning as a copier, a document is read by the image reader 1807 and the read document data is sent to the printer 18 via the controller 1801.
06 is output as a copy image. When functioning as a facsimile receiver, the image reader unit 1
The original data read by 807 is transmitted to control unit 180.
After transmission processing according to a predetermined program by 1
The data is transmitted to the communication line via the facsimile transmission / reception unit 1808.

The information processing apparatus described above may be of an integrated type having a built-in ink jet printer as shown in FIG. 12, in which case the portability can be further improved. In the figure, parts having the same functions as those in FIG. 11 are denoted by the corresponding reference numerals.

By applying the printing apparatus of the present invention to the multifunctional information processing apparatus described above, a high-quality print image can be obtained at high speed and with low noise.
The function of the information processing apparatus can be further improved.

[0134]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When an image is formed on a print medium by using both ink and a printability improving liquid, an ink jet printing method and an ink jet printing apparatus which are excellent in fixability and can obtain high image quality can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a printer as a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an electric control block diagram of the printer shown in FIG.

FIGS. 3A to 3D are schematic plan views illustrating an example of a process of ejecting ink and a printability improving liquid to a recording pixel.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are waveform diagrams showing pulse waveforms applied to a heater of a print head.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are schematic cross-sectional views showing a state of rebound generated when an ink or a printability improving liquid lands on a printing material.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are schematic plan views showing modified data obtained by thinning out image data to be printed and black image data.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a color printer as a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

8 is an electrical control block diagram of the color printer shown in FIG.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are schematic plan views showing modified data obtained by thinning out image data to be printed and black image data.

FIG. 10 shows a printing apparatus according to the present invention as a word processor;
1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration when applied to an information processing apparatus having functions as a personal computer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine.

11 is a schematic external view of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a schematic external view illustrating an example of a case where the printing apparatus of the present invention is applied to an information processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1y, 1m, 1c, 1k2, 1s, 1k1 Inkjet print head 2 Carriage 3 Flexible cable 4 Cap unit 5y, 5m, 5c, 5k2, 5s, 5k1 Cap member 6 Wiper blade 7, 50 Printed material 51 Ink or printability improvement Liquid 52 Small droplet 53 Ink layer 54 Printability improving liquid 55 Small droplet 56 Liquid layer 57 Ink

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinori Nakajima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kentaro Yano 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within (72) Inventor Daigoro Kanematsu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hidehiko Kanda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Tetsuro Inoue 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc.

Claims (41)

[Claims] 1. A first nozzle group for discharging a first ink having a first color, and a second nozzle for discharging a second ink having the same color as the first color. And a group for discharging a printability improving liquid for improving the printability of the first ink and the second ink, wherein the permeability to the print material is higher than the permeability of the ink. A third nozzle group, the first to third nozzle groups are arranged in the direction of relative movement with respect to the printing medium, and the third nozzle group is formed of a first nozzle group and a second nozzle group. After preparing an ink jet printing apparatus for forming an image using a print head disposed between the nozzle group and the nozzle group, the first ink group is discharged from the first nozzle group onto a printing material based on image data. Let the second form the image A second step of discharging the printability improving liquid from the third nozzle group based on the image data to the image formed in the first step on the printing material. Performing a third step of discharging the second ink from the second nozzle group to the image formed in the second step on a printing material based on the image data. Characteristic inkjet printing method. 2. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the printability improving liquid contains a substance that insolubilizes or aggregates a coloring material contained in the ink. 3. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein said first ink and said second ink have the same composition. 4. The ink jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein data for discharging the printability improving liquid is the same as the image data. 5. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the data for discharging the printability improving liquid is decoration data obtained by thinning out a predetermined pattern from the image data. 6. The method according to claim 6, wherein an amount of the first ink ejected from the first nozzle group in the first step is changed to a second ink ejected from the second nozzle group in the third step. Under the condition that the discharge amount is larger than
2. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the steps are sequentially performed. 7. The ejection amount of the first ink ejected from the first nozzle group can be reduced by changing the driving conditions of the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group. 7. The ink jet printing method according to claim 6, wherein the ejection amount of the second ink ejected from the nozzle group is larger than the ejection amount of the second ink. 8. The discharge amount of the first ink discharged from the first nozzle group can be reduced by changing the structure of the first nozzle group and the structure of the second nozzle group. 7. The inkjet printing method according to claim 6, wherein the ejection amount of the second ink ejected from the group is larger than the ejection amount of the second ink. 9. The method according to claim 9, wherein the discharging speed of the first ink discharged from the first nozzle group in the first step is changed to the second ink discharged from the second nozzle group in the third step. 2. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third steps are sequentially performed under the condition that the ejection speed is higher than the ejection speed. 10. The driving speed of the first ink jet from the first nozzle group is changed by changing the driving conditions of the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group. 10. The inkjet printing method according to claim 9, wherein the ejection speed of the second ink ejected from the nozzle group is higher than the ejection speed of the second ink. 11. The ejection speed of the first ink ejected from the first nozzle is reduced by changing the structure of the first nozzle group and the structure of the second nozzle group.
10. The inkjet printing method according to claim 9, wherein the ejection speed of the second ink ejected from the nozzle group is set higher than the ejection speed of the second ink. 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first, second, and third nozzle groups each include a thermal energy generator that generates thermal energy for discharging the ink or the printability improving liquid. Item 7. The inkjet printing method according to Item 1. 13. The printing property improving liquid contains a cationic substance composed of a low molecular component and a high molecular component,
The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the dye contained in the ink comprises an anionic substance. 14. The printing property improving liquid contains a cationic substance composed of a low molecular component and a high molecular component,
The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the ink contains at least an anionic compound and a pigment. 15. The printability improving liquid contains a substance having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in the ink,
The permeability to the print medium is higher than the permeability of the ink, and the surface tension γ (unit: dyn / cm) is 3
2. The ink jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein 0 ≦ γ ≦ 40. 16. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the surface tension satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 38. 17. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the surface tension satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 36. 18. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 1, wherein the ink contains a black coloring material. 19. A first nozzle group for ejecting a first ink exhibiting a first color, and a second nozzle for ejecting a second ink exhibiting the same color as the first color. A group and a second ink for discharging a printability improving liquid for improving the printability of the first ink and the second ink, the permeability of the ink being higher than the permeability of the ink, and the permeability of the ink. The first to third nozzle groups are arranged in the direction of relative movement with respect to the printing medium using the third nozzle group, and the third nozzle group is arranged in the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group. An ink jet printing apparatus for forming an image using a print head disposed between a nozzle group and a nozzle group, wherein the first nozzle group discharges the first ink onto a printing material based on image data. Forming an image; The chirp group discharges the printability improving liquid based on the image data on an image formed on the print material using the first nozzle group, and the second nozzle group includes The first to third inks are ejected based on image data to form an image by ejecting the second ink onto an image formed using the first nozzle group and the third nozzle group on a printing material. An inkjet printing apparatus, comprising: a control unit that controls a discharge operation of a third nozzle group. 20. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the printability improving liquid contains a substance that insolubilizes or aggregates a coloring material contained in the ink. 21. The first, second, and third nozzle groups include a thermal energy generator that generates thermal energy for discharging the ink or the printability improving liquid. Item 20. An ink jet printing apparatus according to item 19. 22. The printability improving liquid contains a cationic substance comprising a low molecular component and a high molecular component,
20. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the dye contained in the ink comprises an anionic substance. 23. The printability improving liquid contains a cationic substance composed of a low molecular component and a high molecular component,
20. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the ink contains at least an anionic compound and a pigment. 24. The printability improving liquid contains a substance having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in the ink,
The permeability to the print medium is higher than the permeability of the ink, and the surface tension γ (unit: dyn / cm) is 3
20. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein 0 ≦ γ ≦ 40. 25. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the surface tension satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 38. 26. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the surface tension satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 36. 27. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the ink contains a black color material. 28. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, which is used as recording means of a facsimile machine. 29. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, which is used as a recording unit of a copying machine. 30. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 19, which is used as recording means of a word processor. 31. An ink jet printing method for performing printing by discharging ink containing a color material onto a print medium, comprising the steps of: discharging ink onto the print medium based on image data; For a portion of the print medium on which the ink is ejected, a substance having an action of insolubilizing or aggregating a coloring material in the ink is included, and the permeability to the print medium is higher than the permeability of the ink. Discharging a liquid having a surface tension γ (unit: dyn / cm) of 30 ≦ γ ≦ 40, and discharging ink to a portion of the printing medium on which the liquid has been discharged based on image data. And an ink jet printing method. 32. The ink jet printing method according to claim 31, wherein the surface tension satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 38. 33. The inkjet printing method according to claim 31, wherein the surface tension satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 36. 34. The ink-jet printing method according to claim 31, wherein the ink contains a black coloring material. 35. An ink jet printing apparatus for performing printing by discharging ink containing a color material onto a print medium, comprising: an ink discharge section for discharging the ink onto the print medium; and an insolubilizing or dissolving color material in the ink. A substance having an action of aggregating, the permeability to the print medium is higher than the permeability of the ink, and the surface tension γ (unit: dyn /
a liquid ejecting unit for ejecting a liquid having a density of 30 ≦ γ ≦ 40, and ejecting ink from the ink ejecting unit to a print medium based on image data, and the ink on the print medium based on the image data. The liquid ejecting unit controls the liquid ejecting unit to eject the liquid to the portion where the liquid is ejected, and ejects the ink from the ink ejecting unit to the portion where the liquid is ejected on the print medium based on image data. And a control unit. 36. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the surface tension satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 38. 37. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the surface tension satisfies 30 ≦ γ ≦ 36. 38. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the ink contains a black color material. 39. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 35, which is used as recording means of a facsimile machine. 40. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 35, which is used as recording means of a copying machine. 41. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 35, which is used as recording means of a word processor.