JPH1170701A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording apparatus capable of simply and accurately adjusting density. SOLUTION: A plurality of recordings in density D6 corresponding to a certain gradation value are performed and the drive condition corresponding to the density D6 is selected from a plurality of the recordings. Next, reference patterns (a), (b), (c), (d) for adjusting other densities D5, D4, D3, D2, D1 are recorded under the selected condition. The recording results of other densities D5, D4, D3, D2, D1 are compared with these reference patterns (a), (b), (C), (d).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for performing multi-tone printing of an image, and more particularly to a printing apparatus capable of easily adjusting the density.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some printing apparatuses, such as an ink jet printer, for forming a print image by a dot matrix form a gradation image by changing the density of dots to be printed. In such an apparatus, as a method of forming a plurality of dots having different densities, for example, there is the following method. One is a method of controlling the size of the dot by changing the driving conditions of the recording element that forms the dot, and changing the density of a unit area including the dot, and one is a method of changing a plurality of coloring materials constituting the dot. There is a method of changing the density of the dots themselves by selectively using them.

By selectively using dots having a plurality of density values formed as described above, it is possible to record a gradation image. When recording a gradation image,
It is prescribed that one of a plurality of dots having a plurality of densities corresponding to the tone values of the pixels of the recording image or a combination thereof is selected, and the tone image is recorded by obtaining a desired density for each pixel. Was.

[0004] In order to print the contrast of a printed gradation image in a desired state, it is necessary to obtain a dot density specified for a gradation value. However, dots having the same density cannot be formed under the same driving conditions for the same printing element due to variations in the driving characteristics of the printing elements, changes over time in the properties, and the like. In order to prevent this, for each type of dot defined in advance, the driving condition of the recording element for the dot is adjusted so as to obtain a predetermined density at the dot.

As a method of adjusting driving conditions, for example, printing is performed on a recording medium at a dot density to be adjusted, then the density of the printing result is measured with a reflection densitometer or the like, and the measured value is compared with the desired density. A method of determining a difference from the value and determining an adjustment amount from the difference, a method of comparing a separately prepared reference density image with a print result, and repeating the adjustment until the density difference disappears have been adopted.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional density adjusting method, when a density value is measured, a reflection densitometer or a similar measuring device is required. Requires mastery of Also, in the method of adjusting by comparing the reference density image and the recording image, it is necessary to try the test recording of the image, comparison with the reference image, and changing the driving condition of the recording element a plurality of times,
Time and recording media will be wasted.

This means that the number of types of dots having different density values that can be printed by the printing apparatus is increased in order to increase the expression tone of the print image and increase the reproducibility of the image density. If so, it becomes a bigger problem.

If the life of the recording element itself is shorter than the life of the apparatus, and if it is necessary to replace the recording element before the end of the life of the apparatus, a complicated operation of adjusting the dot density is required on the user side. This is a factor that hinders the maintainability and operability of the device.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus for performing gradation recording with a plurality of densities constituted by basic printing elements, wherein the recording apparatus comprises at least one of the plurality of densities. Selecting means for selecting one of a plurality of basic printing element generation conditions in terms of density; and generating means for generating a density reference pattern based on the generation conditions selected by the selecting means. .

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the generation condition of the basic printing elementary point in at least one of a plurality of densities is selected by the selection means. This generation condition is, for example, the size of the diameter of the basic printing element, and the size of this diameter is set by the selection unit. Then, the generation unit generates a reference pattern for adjusting another density based on the generation conditions set by the selection unit. In this case, the generation unit may generate the reference pattern by changing the area ratio of the basic printing elementary points in the unit area. This makes it easy to select a plurality of densities.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the drawings are assigned the same reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a serial inkjet printer will be described as a recording device.

In FIG. 1, a control unit 1 controls the entire apparatus, and a microprocessor unit (MPU) 1
It is composed of a sequence circuit including a. MPU1a
Is operated by a control program stored in the ROM 3, and controls each block described later connected to the control unit 1. The control unit 1 has a RAM 2, a ROM 3, an EEPROM,
4, an interface control unit 5, a head control unit 6, a motor control unit 7, and a port control unit 8 are connected to each other.

The RAM 2 is used for storing print data and control data, and for storing internal information data for operating the apparatus. The ROM 3 stores the control program as described above. The EEPROM 4 is a writable non-volatile memory, and stores drive condition setting values and the like to be described later. The interface control unit 5 performs protocol control for data communication with the external device 9, and controls data reception from the external device 9 and data transmission to the external device 9.

The head control unit 6 has a timing generation circuit 6a for generating a print head drive timing signal corresponding to the gradation value of the input print data. A print head drive timing signal is output to the head drive circuit 10 in synchronization with the movement of the print head. The recording head drive timing signal is a signal that controls the voltage for driving the recording element of the recording head 11 with a pulse width, and has a plurality of outputs corresponding to the plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head 11. The timing generation circuit 6a includes a gradation-pulse width conversion table 6b corresponding to a plurality of print head drive timing signals on a one-to-one basis.

The tone-pulse width conversion table 6b receives a tone value of one dot of print data and outputs information of a pulse width previously assigned to the tone value. A printhead drive timing signal is generated based on the information. The pulse width information of the gradation-pulse width conversion table 6b is configured to be changeable by the MPU 1a, and the information values of the plurality of gradation-pulse width conversion tables 6a are individually changed, so that the recording head 11 It is possible to change the drive voltage for the gradation value for each recording element.

The head drive circuit 10 performs pulse width-voltage conversion on a head drive voltage signal controlled according to the pulse width of the drive timing signal, and supplies a voltage to the recording element of the recording head 11.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing a recording head according to the embodiment. In FIG. 2, the recording head 11 is connected to a substrate 13 by a connection cable 12. The head control unit 6 and the head drive circuit 10 are mounted on the substrate 13. The recording head 11 includes a cover 11a, an intermediate portion 11b made of PZT (solid solution of lead zirconate and lead titanate),
It also includes a main body 11c made of PZT and an orifice plate 11e having an orifice 11d. An ink supply port 11f is formed at the top of the cover 11a.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway perspective view showing a main part of the recording head 11. In FIG. 3, a plurality of ink chambers 12 are formed by a plurality of projections 11cc of the main body 11c and a plurality of intermediate portions 11b. Projection 11c
An individual electrode 13 is disposed between the intermediate portion 11c and the intermediate portion 11b, and a common electrode 14 is disposed between the intermediate portion 11b and the cover 11a. Orifice plate 11e
The orifice 11d formed in the ink chamber 12
And the ink supplied from the ink supply port 11 f enters the ink chamber 12.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing operation signals for operating one ink chamber of the recording head. 4, drive pulses # 1 to # 4 are output based on the values of the pulse width conversion table 6b in the head control unit 6 shown in FIG. The drive pulses # 1, # 2 and # 3, # 4 are input to pulse width-voltage conversion circuits 15, 16, respectively, and are converted into voltage signals. The converted voltage is amplified by a high voltage driver 17 to a high voltage level for driving the recording head 11. The voltage-amplified drive voltages 18a, 1
8b are the individual electrodes 13a, 1
3b, and controls the amount of distortion of the intermediate portion 11b as a piezoelectric element and the protrusion 11cc of the main body 11c.

Here, the driving operation of the recording head will be further described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the operation of the recording head, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state change of the ink chamber. In FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, printing is performed by applying voltages + Vh and + Vl (Vh> Vl) having different potentials to the individual electrodes 13a and 13b, respectively. When no printing is performed, the ink chamber 12 is turned off. An intermediate potential + Vn between + Vh and + Vl is applied so that the distortion amount of the intermediate portion 11b and the protrusion 11cc that constitutes the film becomes uniform.

Circuits are configured so that the drive voltages 18a and 18b have voltage changes of opposite phases, respectively, and the ink chamber 12 expands as shown in FIG. 6B during a period DT1 shown in FIG. Supplies ink to the ink chamber 12, and in the subsequent period DT2, the ink chamber 12 contracts as shown in FIG. When the ink chamber 12 contracts, ink in the ink chamber 12 is discharged from the orifice 11d. After the period DT2, the ink chamber 12 returns to the steady state shown in FIG. 6D by returning the driving voltages 18a and 18b to the intermediate voltage Vn, at which time the ink discharged from the orifice 11d
And fly toward the recording medium as ink droplets.

Here, the control of the size of the ink droplet will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the driving voltage waveform. Drive pulses # 1 to # shown in FIG.
4 by changing the pulse width of the drive voltage 18a, 18
The maximum voltage amplitude of b can be changed. For example,
Assuming that the waveform shown in FIG. 7 is for the drive voltage 18a, if the pulse widths of the drive pulses # 1 and # 2 are increased,
The amplitude of the driving voltage 18a is changed from + Vh to + Vl to + Vh 'to
+ Vl '. By increasing the voltage amplitude of the drive voltage, the volume change of the ink chamber 12 can be increased, and the amount of ink to be ejected can be increased. As a result, the size of the ink droplet formed can be increased. To make the ink droplets smaller,
Reduce the voltage amplitude of the drive voltage.

As another control method, drive pulse # 1
The size of the ink droplet may be controlled by changing the application timing of # 4 to # 4. As shown by DT2 'in FIG. 7, by increasing the time during which the drive voltage 18a is + Vl, the time during which the ink chamber 12 contracts is increased, and the timing at which the ink ejected from the orifice 11d breaks. , It is possible to increase the amount of ink to be ejected and increase the size of the ink droplet. When making the ink droplets smaller, the ink droplets can be made smaller by shortening the contraction time of the ink chamber 12.

As described above, the size of the ink droplet can be changed by controlling the pulse width of the drive pulse or the control of the application timing of the drive pulse, and by changing the size of the ink droplet, the recording medium can be changed. It is possible to change the density of the dots recorded on the.

In FIG. 1, a motor control unit 7 drives a space motor 21 for reciprocating a carriage on which a recording head 11 is mounted in a scanning direction and an LF motor 22 for conveying a recording medium in a sub-scanning direction. Control.

The port control unit 8 is provided with input / output control for controlling switch input from the operation panel 23 and output of display data to the display unit provided in the operation panel 23, and sensors provided in each unit of the apparatus. 24
, And notifies the MPU 1a of the control unit 1 of the information.

Next, the operation of the density adjustment according to the present embodiment will be described. The density adjustment is performed in a density adjustment mode different from a normal printing operation. In a state where the recording operation is not being performed, the apparatus enters the density adjustment mode by an operator operating a switch of a density adjustment mode (not shown) on the operation panel 23. Upon entering the density adjustment mode, the apparatus records a test pattern shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a density adjustment test pattern according to the embodiment.

In FIG. 8, D6, D5, D4, D3,
D2 and D1 indicate dot densities corresponding to the respective gradation data. D6 has the highest density and D1 has the lowest density. The density difference among the densities D6, D5, D4, D3, D2, and D1 is formed on the recording medium by changing the magnitude of the driving voltage supplied to the recording head 11 or the supplying time of the driving voltage as described above. It is obtained by changing the size of the dot diameter. Hereinafter, each density D6, D5, D4, D
3, the density difference between D2 and D1 is referred to as a first density difference.

Each density D6, D5, D4, D3, D
At 2, D1, four types of patterns with different density differences indicated by 1, 2, 3, and 4 are recorded. A density difference between 1, 2, 3, and 4 (hereinafter referred to as a second density difference) can also be obtained by changing the size of the dot diameter in the same manner as the first density difference. It is set smaller than the density difference of 1. Each concentration D6, D5, D4, D3, D
The patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 in 2, D1 are target patterns when performing density adjustment, and are 1, 2, 3, and 4 patterns.
The density increases in the order of.

The range of the difference between the driving conditions (the size of the dot diameter) of the patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 is such that the design value (the logically calculated value) of the driving condition is set as the median value. It is set in advance so as to have a sufficient range for correcting manufacturing variations and the like. For convenience, numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 are assigned to these patterns as selection numbers, and the numbers are assigned to the dot densities (D6, D5, D5) by the operator operating the switch on the operation panel 23.
4, D3, D2, or D1) to select the driving condition (the size of the dot diameter) of the recording head 11. In FIG. 8, the framed pattern indicates the currently selected pattern.

Patterns a, b, c, d, and e, which are the reference for density adjustment, are shown next to the patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the densities D5, D4, D3, D2, and D1, respectively. I have. In each of the densities D5, D4, D3, D2, and D1, four reference patterns a, b, c, d, and e are shown, but these four are the same. Reference pattern a
Is the same density as the density D5, and is recorded by changing the dot density in the pattern. The dot diameter of the reference pattern a is the same as any one of the patterns 1 to 4 selected by the density D6. For example, if four patterns are selected at the density D6, they are recorded with the same dot diameter as the four patterns.

The reference pattern a recorded with the same dot diameter as one of the patterns of the density D6 is compared with the patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the density D5.
Is selected by the operator from the patterns of 1, 2, 3, and 4 having the density closest to the density of. The selection is made by operating a switch on the operation panel 23.

The reference pattern b is recorded at the same density as the density D4, and is recorded by changing the dot density in the pattern similarly to the reference pattern a. The dot diameter is selected by the density D6. The dot diameter is the same as any one of the patterns 1 to 4. Then, the reference pattern b is compared with the patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the density D4, and the operator selects the pattern having the density closest to the density of the reference pattern b from the patterns of 1, 2, 3, and 4. Hereinafter, the reference patterns c, d, and e are the same as the reference patterns a and b.

As the density adjustment procedure in the present embodiment, first, a test pattern (patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 at each density D6) is printed once under the driving conditions before adjustment.
In the recorded test pattern, first, the density of the density D6 is set. The density D6 is the other density D5, D4, D
3, D2, and D1.
For, the pattern having the closest density value is selected by measuring the densities of the patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 with a densitometer or by comparing the density value with a reference pattern whose density value is known.

After selecting the pattern having the density D6, the test pattern is recorded again. What is recorded here is the reference patterns a, b, and density D5, D4, D3, D2, and D1.
The target patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 have c, d, and e and the respective densities D5, D4, D3, D2, and D1. Reference pattern a,
b, c, d, e and each concentration D5, D4, D3, D2, D1
Of the target patterns 1, 2, 3, and 4 are selected, and the target pattern having the density closest to the reference patterns a, b, c, d, and e at each of the densities D5, D4, D3, D2, and D1 is selected. It is.

The operation target pattern is the operation panel 2
3, the selected information is sent to the control unit 1, and the MPU 1a of the control unit 1 stores the selected information in the gradation-pulse width conversion table 6b in the head control unit 6 based on this information. Rewrite the pulse width information
The setting of the driving condition (the size of the dot diameter) of the recording head 11 is changed.

All concentrations D6, D5, D4, D3, D
2. When the selection of the target pattern in D1 is completed and the density adjustment mode is ended by operating the switch, a normal printing operation is performed thereafter. However, even in the normal printing operation, each density set in the density adjustment mode is also used. Recording is performed under driving conditions. The set values of the driving conditions are recorded in the EEPROM 4 which is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, so that every time the power is turned off or a hard reset of the apparatus occurs, the setting value of the head control unit 6 is determined based on the stored set values. By setting the pulse width information in the tone-pulse width conversion table 6b, printing can be performed under the same driving conditions until the density adjustment is performed again.

Next, the selected pattern (1,
2, 3, 4) to D5, D4, D3, D
2. A method for generating the reference patterns a, b, c, d, and e of D1 will be described. A description will be given by taking, as an example, a density value of seven gradations shown in Table 1.

[0039]

[Table 1]

In Table 1, for the density D0, the color of the recording medium is assigned as white, and six other densities are set. Assuming that the reflectance of the recording medium is "1" (density 0), six types of density values are defined. Generally, the density is set so as to have a linear characteristic with respect to the gradation value. In this example, the density value is defined so as to obtain a substantially linear density characteristic. The density value Dn and the reflectance Rn are

[0041]

(Equation 1)

Is represented by the following relationship. That is, the density value Dn is represented by the logarithm of the reflectance Rn. Thereby, the density value is defined from the reflectance.

In this embodiment, the reference pattern of another density (density D5, D4,...) Is generated by changing the ratio of the occupied area of the dot per unit area at the density D6. In other words, by setting the area ratio between the area of the density D6 and the area of the density D0 (recording medium color) in the unit pattern to an appropriate value, the other density (density D5, D4,...)
Is expressed.

When the area ratio of the region having the density D6 is r (0 ≦ r ≦
In the case of 1), the reflectance Rn of another density is represented by Rn = r · R6 + (1-r) · R0 (2). In the case of Table 1, the reflectance R6 of the density D6 = 0.
07, the reflectance R0 of the density D0 = 1.0, so the area ratio r of the other density is: r = (1−Rn) / (1−0.07) = 1.0075 (1−Rn) ( 3) Required by. Each concentration D5 obtained by the equation (3) ...
Table 1 shows the area ratio of D1.

Next, the number of dots at the density D6 to be recorded in a unit area is controlled so as to satisfy the area ratio r at the density to be expressed. For example, when the unit area is generated by a dot matrix of 4 dots × 4 dots shown in FIG. 9, the number of dots of D6 is set in a range of 0 to 15 (16 is the density D6 itself), and May be appropriately selected. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a dot matrix pattern.

The calculation of the area ratio when the dot matrix pattern is generated may be simply obtained by the ratio of the number of recording dots to the total number of dots in the matrix. However, since the dots are usually circular, they are shown in FIG. Generally, adjacent dots are partially overlapped and recorded so that the entire matrix can be painted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the area of a white area surrounded by dots is smaller than one dot. In the example shown in FIG. 10, if the dot radius is rd, the area occupied by one dot is:

[0047]

(Equation 4)

The area of a white region surrounded by dots is as follows:

[0049]

(Equation 5)

Is as follows. By determining the dot arrangement of the dot matrix pattern in consideration of the dot shape in this way, a more accurate area ratio can be obtained, and the density can be accurately expressed.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show examples in which a matrix of 4 × 4 dots is determined as described above. FIG. 11 shows a reference pattern of the density D5, and FIG.
3 is a reference pattern. In both figures, a bold frame indicates a 4 × 4 dot matrix, and the surrounding area indicates the state of adjacent dots when the matrix is arranged.

In FIG. 11, the area S1 of the white region is
S1 = 0.9 · r ² d ² and the total area S of the matrix
Is S = 32 · r ² d ² , and the area ratio r is as follows: r = S1 / S = (32−0.9) /32=0.97 (6)

Similarly, in FIG. 12, the area of the white region is S2 = 0.9 · r ² d ² × 7 = 6.3 · r ² d ² and the area ratio r is r = S2 / S = In each of the above examples in which a predetermined area ratio of each density can be obtained, the matrix size is 4 × 4 in order to simplify the description.
Although the explanation is based on dots, when the matrix pattern is small, the selection range of the number of dots is small and the desired area ratio may not be obtained. Is small, the influence of the white area around the pattern cannot be neglected, and accurate density measurement or density comparison may not be performed. Therefore, it is preferable to use a pattern having a certain area as the size. For example, by printing a plurality of the 4 × 4 dot matrix patterns of the above example adjacent to each other, a large-sized pattern can be easily created with a desired area ratio.

The above is a method of adjusting one of a plurality of reference densities and adjusting the density of dots of other densities by a reference pattern generated using the dots of the adjusted densities. This method is applicable not only to adjusting the absolute value of the dot density as described above, but also to adjusting the contrast of each dot. This is because if the contrast between the maximum density and the minimum density of the dots is large and the density difference between the gradations is linear, it is sufficient for applications where gradation images are recorded without emphasizing reproducibility. Is simply adjusted. This will be described as another embodiment with reference to FIG.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a test pattern according to another embodiment. In FIG. 13, the same adjustment as the density adjustment performed on the density D6 in the above embodiment is performed for the density D6 and the density D1. The density adjustment at this time may be determined by measurement with a densitometer or comparison with a reference density. However, the density D6 and the density D1 patterns are compared more easily, and a combination that maximizes the contrast between the two is determined. You may make it select. Further, if the maximum density among the dot densities that can be generated by the apparatus is fixedly used as the density D6 and the minimum density is used as the density D1, the procedure for selecting the density D6 and the density D1 is omitted. In addition, the printing of the patterns of the density D6 and the density D1 can be omitted in the printing of the test pattern.

Next, the determined density D6 and density D1
The other densities D5... D2 are adjusted based on. In the above-described embodiment, the reference pattern at each density is generated using only the dots having the density of 6. However, here, the dots of the density D6 and the density D1 are combined, and the reference pattern is generated from the combination. Further, the density D0 as the recording medium color may be combined with the density D6 and the density D1.

To generate a reference pattern of another density from the combination of the density D6 and the density D1 is to adjust these reference patterns so as to be linear between the density D6 and the density D1. This is effective when the dot density that can be generated by the apparatus is biased toward higher density, and low density (close to white density) cannot be expressed. In such a case, in the method of the above-described embodiment, the area ratio r is calculated from the following equation (3): r = (R0−Rn) / (R0−R1) = {(R0−R1) + (R1−Rn) } / {(R0-R1) + (R1-R6)}, and when the concentration is biased toward a high concentration,

[0058]

(Equation 7)

And

[0060]

(Equation 8)

This makes it difficult to express other densities in the reference pattern. In the present embodiment, this can be prevented.

In the above embodiments, monotone printing has been described as an example. However, the density adjustment according to the present invention is also possible in color printing. In the case of color recording, dots of a predetermined color are usually recorded by mixing colors recorded by recording materials of three primary colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan. By individually executing the density adjustment as described in the embodiment, simple density adjustment can be performed even in color printing.

In each of the above embodiments, the adjustment operation is performed by an operation operation by the operator. The switch input from the operation panel 23 is used to input control data from an external device, and the operation panel 2
The operation of the operation panel 23 may be replaced with the operation of the external device by outputting the display data to the external device 3 as the data output to the external device. By using a computer device for recording data output as an external device, it is possible to make the input operation of the operator and the display to the operator simple.

[0064]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in a recording apparatus for performing gradation recording at a plurality of densities, a reference pattern of another density is generated from at least one of the plurality of densities. Since the other concentrations are adjusted based on this, it is possible to easily adjust various types of concentrations in a short time and realize a reduction in manufacturing cost,
An apparatus having excellent maintainability can be provided.

Further, even when the user is using the apparatus, the density adjustment work required when, for example, replacing the recording head can be performed easily and accurately, so that the performance of the apparatus is prevented from deteriorating due to insufficient adjustment. And high quality recording results can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an inkjet printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an external view illustrating a recording head according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway perspective view showing a main part of the recording head.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing operation signals of an ink chamber.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the operation of the recording head.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state change of the ink chamber.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing a driving voltage waveform.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a density adjustment test pattern according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a dot matrix pattern.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a white area surrounded by dots.

FIG. 11 is a layout diagram showing a reference pattern.

FIG. 12 is a layout diagram showing a reference pattern.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a test pattern according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 control unit 6 head control unit 6b gradation-pulse width conversion table 11 recording head 23 operation panel

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for performing gradation recording with a plurality of densities constituted by basic printing raw points, wherein at least one of the plurality of densities is used to generate one of a plurality of basic printing raw points from conditions for generating the basic printing raw points. A recording apparatus comprising: a selection unit for selecting; and a generation unit for generating a density reference pattern based on a generation condition selected by the selection unit. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation condition is a size of a diameter of a basic printing element. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates the reference pattern by changing an area ratio of a basic printing elementary point in a unit area.