JPH07237346A - Ink jet recording method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a recording result of high image quality without requiring a wasteful waiting time. CONSTITUTION:The recording of cyan is performed in first scanning by a color recording head and, at the same time, recording only of about 50% of the total number of dots among data for recording black is performed by a black recording head. In second scanning, recording of magenta and the remaining 50% of black is performed in the region where the recording of cyan and 50% of black is performed in the first scanning and, in third scanning, the recording of yellow is performed. By this constitution, the respective colors of cyan, magenta and yellow and 100% black are recorded by three times of scanning and full-color recording can be performed. In the case of the recording only of black, recording is performed by one scanning without performing division.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method and an ink jet recording apparatus for recording with a plurality of recording colors in a recording system for forming an image with dots.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus has been developed for performing color recording using a plurality of color inks. When recording with multiple colors of ink at the same time when performing color recording, it causes color mixing with ink of other colors in adjacent dots or causes blurring before the ink is absorbed by the recording medium. There is a problem that becomes.
Therefore, for example, as in the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-4523, a scan for recording with each color is repeatedly performed for the number of colors used, and printing is performed with a time difference between the colors. There is. However, such a printing method in which scanning is performed for each color causes a decrease in printing time.

By using a quick-drying ink as the ink to be used, it is possible to perform recording without providing a time difference such as scanning for each color.
In this case, deterioration of image quality such as color mixing and bleeding does not have to occur, but for example, when a black ink is used, the density of the ink is difficult to appear due to physical properties, and the ink is considerably inferior to the slow-drying ink. Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-41
As described in Japanese Patent No. 171, etc., it is considered that a slow-drying ink is used as the black ink and a quick-drying ink is used as the other color inks in order to improve the density thereof. However, even in this case, in order to prevent color mixture and bleeding of the slow-drying ink and the fast-drying ink,
It is necessary to perform recording with a time lag provided between the recording of the slow-drying ink and the recording of the fast-drying ink, which similarly leads to a decrease in the printing time.

In the previously proposed Japanese Patent Application No. 5-248178, "Color Image Processing Method and Apparatus therefor", a part of the portion to be recorded with the slow-drying ink is recorded with the quick-drying ink, or the slow-drying ink is used. By recording the fast-drying ink on the same dot, color mixture and bleeding of the slow-drying ink and the fast-drying ink are solved.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an ink jet recording method and a recording method capable of obtaining a high quality recording result without needing an unnecessary wait time by a method and a structure different from the above-mentioned application. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inkjet recording device.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet recording method for recording with a slow drying ink and a fast drying ink according to recording information, the recording with the slow drying ink is 1 The feature is that the recording for the scan is divided into a plurality of scans and is performed together with the recording with the quick-drying ink.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in the ink jet recording method for recording with the slow-drying ink and the quick-drying ink according to the recording information, the recording information is recorded by using both the slow-drying ink and the quick-drying ink. If it is determined whether or not to print by using both of them, the slow-drying ink is printed by dividing one scan into a plurality of scans together with the fast-drying ink, and using only one of them. In the case of performing the recording by performing the recording by one scan, the recording for one scan is performed.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium according to recording information, a first head for ejecting slow-drying ink, and A second head provided in parallel with the first head for ejecting quick-drying ink, and printing for printing by a plurality of scans from printing information for one scan for printing by the first head. It is characterized by further comprising control means for generating information and controlling recording by the first head so as to be performed simultaneously with recording by the second head by a plurality of scans.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium according to recording information, a first head for ejecting slow-drying ink, and A second head provided in parallel with the first head for ejecting quick-drying ink, and whether or not recording information is recorded using both slow-drying ink and quick-drying ink, and recording is performed using both. In the case of performing the printing, the print information for printing is generated by a plurality of scans from the print information for one scan for printing by the first head, and the print by the first head is performed a plurality of scans. When the control is performed so as to be performed at the same time as the recording by the second head and the recording is performed using only one, the recording for one scan is performed by one scan. It is characterized in that it has a control means for controlling the.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the recording with the slow drying ink is
Recording for one scan is divided into a plurality of scans. Since it takes time for the slow-drying ink to be absorbed by the recording medium, adjacent dots are connected in the meantime, and the recording density becomes non-uniform and the image quality deteriorates. By recording the recording with the slow-drying ink in a plurality of times so as not to record the adjacent dots as much as possible, it is possible to prevent the dots from being connected and to improve the image quality by keeping the recording density constant. At this time, the dots of the slow-drying ink and the dots of the fast-drying ink that are printed by the same scan may be connected, but since the printing with the slow-drying ink is divided into multiple times, the slow-drying ink and the fast-drying ink are printed. Is unlikely to occur continuously at the boundary of, and it is possible to reduce image deterioration such as color mixture and bleeding at the color boundary. For example, black can be used as the slow-drying ink, and each color of cyan, magenta, and yellow can be used as the fast-drying ink.

Further, in the invention described in claim 2 or 4, when recording is performed only with the slow-drying ink, there is no possibility of color mixing with other colors or bleeding, and therefore the recording information for one scan is recorded. High-speed recording can be performed by recording by one scan without division.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a carriage drive motor, 2 is a timing belt, 3 is a recording head, 4 is a carriage, 5 is an ink tank, 6 is a carriage guide, 7 is a cable, 8 is recording paper, 9 is a paper feed motor, and 10 is It is a feed roll. The carriage 4 is
The recording head 3 is mounted, and the carriage guide 6 slides to reciprocate in the main scanning direction indicated by arrow H. The carriage 4 is moved by the timing belt 2 driven by the carriage drive motor 1. In this embodiment, two recording heads 3 are arranged in the main scanning direction. One is for recording black,
The other one is for recording each color of cyan, magenta and yellow. Black uses slow-drying ink. For cyan, magenta, and yellow, quick-drying ink is used. A cable 7 is introduced into the recording head 3 to supply power to the heater and transmit signals to the drive circuit. Further, an ink tank 5 is attached to each recording head 3 to supply ink of each color. A plurality of nozzles are arranged in each recording head 3, and the supplied ink is ejected from the nozzles to perform recording. The recording paper 8 is driven in the direction of arrow P in the drawing by a feed roll 10 which is rotationally driven by a paper feed motor 9, and sub-scanning is performed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system in an embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 21 is a CPU, 22 is an I / F driver, and 23 is R.
OM, 24 is RAM, 25 and 26 are motor drivers,
27 is a print timing generation circuit, 28 is a sensor section, 29
Is a control panel, 30 is a head driver, 31
Is a host device, 32 is a carriage motor, 33 is a paper feed motor, and 34 is a head. CPU21 is ROM2
3, each unit of the printing apparatus is controlled using the RAM 24 in accordance with the control procedure and data stored in No. 3, data detected by the sensor unit 28 such as a paper detection sensor, and the like. The CPU 21 is connected to a host device 31 such as a computer via an I / F driver 22,
The recording data sent from the host device 31 is stored in the RAM 2
4 and controls the recording operation while decoding the command signal such as the command from the host device 31 and the recording information signal. The RAM 24 has a work area for the CPU 21, and also has an area corresponding to a band-shaped area for one scan in which data to be printed is dot-expanded and stored. The motor drivers 25 and 26 and the head driver 30 are C
According to the instruction of PU21, carriage motor 3
2. Control the paper feed motor 33 and the head 34. The print timing generation circuit 27 generates a timing signal for ejecting ink from the head 34 based on an instruction from the CPU 21, and supplies the timing signal to the head driver 30. The sensor unit 28 detects the temperature, the amount of ink, the presence / absence of paper, and the like, and notifies each unit of the device to the CPU 21. On the control panel 29, the state of the device is displayed and an instruction from the user is input.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of the vicinity of the carriage. In the figure, 11 is an encoder film. As described with reference to FIG. 1, the carriage 4 includes the ink tank 5
Is mounted on the carriage guide 6 (FIG. 1). In the movement path of the carriage,
The encoder film 11 is provided, and the carriage 4 moves so as to contact the encoder film 11.
White and black areas are alternately provided on the encoder film 11. On the carriage 4, a detector (not shown) for detecting black and white of the encoder film 11 is installed. With the movement of the carriage 4, this detector detects black and white on the encoder film 11, and detects and counts the edge thereof, so that the accurate movement amount of the carriage 4 can be detected. A print timing signal is generated by the print timing generation circuit 27 based on the timing of the black and white edges.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of the recording head. In the figure, 12 is a nozzle, 13 is a black recording head, and 14 is a color recording head. FIG. 4 (A) shows
1 illustrates an example of a black recording head using a slow-drying ink. For example, 128 nozzles 12 are formed in the black recording head 13. Figure 4
(B) shows an example of a color recording head using a quick-drying ink. In FIG. 4B, the nozzles 12 that eject three color inks of cyan, magenta, and yellow are integrally arranged in series. For example, 42 nozzles 12 for each color are arranged on the color recording head 14. The color recording head 14 shown in FIG. 4B has a structure in which a head having 128 nozzles is divided into 42 nozzles and can be used similarly to the black recording head 13. be able to. The remaining two nozzles are shown in FIG.
Although they are arranged at both ends, for example, they may be arranged between the respective colors to prevent color mixture on the head surface. The order of arrangement of each color can be changed appropriately. Further, the number of nozzles of each head can be changed arbitrarily. Figure 4
The two heads shown in (A) and (B) are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. In the figure, BK indicates black, C indicates cyan, M indicates magenta, and Y indicates yellow. The same applies to the following description.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of an example of the recording operation in one embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 5 (A) shows the colors recorded on the paper during each scan, and FIG. 5 (B) shows the colors recorded each time the scans are superimposed on a recording area of the paper. In the following example, a case where black recording is divided into two scans of 50% and recorded is shown.

In FIG. 5A, the paper is fed from bottom to top. At this time, the recording head as shown in FIG. 4 is used. In this example, since the color recording head is divided into 42 nozzles for each color, the paper is also fed by 42 dots. The order of the respective colors arranged on the color recording head is as shown in FIG.
For example, the order is cyan, magenta, and yellow.

First, in the first scan, cyan recording is performed from the color recording head. At the same time, the black recording head records only about 50% of the total number of dots in the data for recording black. Then, the paper feed for 42 dots is performed.

In the second scan, magenta and the remaining 50% of black are printed in the areas where 50% of the cyan and black have been printed in the first scan.
At the same time, 50% of cyan and black are printed in the area adjacent to the area printed in the first scan.

In the third scan, 50% of cyan and black are recorded in the first scan, and yellow is recorded in the area in which the remaining 50% of magenta and black is recorded in the second scan. Done. In the second scan, the remaining 50% of magenta and black are printed in the area where 50% of cyan and black have been printed. Further, 50% of cyan and black are recorded in an area adjacent to the area.

As described above, by three scans, cyan,
Since 100% of each color of magenta and yellow and black are recorded, full color recording can be performed. At this time, the scan for black is not performed, and the speed is increased. In addition, although slow-drying ink is used for black, the ink is recorded by dividing it into two scans, and the ink of the dots of the first scan penetrates the paper to some extent, and after drying, the dots of the second scan are recorded. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the density unevenness caused by the combination of dots and improve the recording quality. Although dots may combine with cyan or magenta, which are recorded at the same time, to mix colors, the color ink uses a quick-drying ink, and dot combination does not occur so much. Moreover, since only 50% of black is recorded, the probability of dot combination with a specific color is reduced, and bleeding can be reduced.

In the above example, black recording is recorded in synchronization with cyan and magenta. Not limited to this, it may be preferable to perform recording in synchronization with a combination of magenta and yellow, cyan and yellow, and the selection may be made according to the characteristics of the ink. At this time, it is desirable to use a combination that does not easily cause color mixing.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example of a black recording method. As a black recording method, for example, FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), there is a method of dividing the nozzle into even and odd nozzles and performing printing in two scans. Also,
As shown in FIGS. 6C and 6D, it is also possible to use a method of dividing dots in a zigzag pattern and recording in two scans.
In FIG. 6, the solid line dots are the dots to be recorded.
For example, the dots shown in FIGS. 6A and 6C are printed in the first scan, and the dots shown in FIGS.
The dots shown in (D) can be recorded. Of course, the reverse is also possible. Comparing these two patterns, there is no adjacent dot in the patterns shown in FIGS. 6C and 6D than in the patterns shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, so that dot connection is less likely to occur. A higher quality image can be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a part of the head driver. In the figure, 13 is a black recording head,
14 is a color recording head, 51 is a 50% filter, 5
Reference numerals 2 and 53 are head controllers. As described with reference to FIG. 5, FIG. 6 shows an example of a circuit in which black recording is divided into two scans of 50% for recording.

The data to be recorded are cyan, magenta,
It is input for each color of yellow and black. At this time, the print data of each color of cyan, magenta, and yellow is the print data of another area adjacent in this order. In the case of the recording method as shown in FIG. 5, black recording data is recording data of two areas in which cyan and magenta are recorded.

The print data of each color of cyan, magenta, and yellow is input to the head controller 53. A print timing signal is further input to the head controller 53, and recording is performed by the color recording head 14 in accordance with the recording data in synchronization with this print timing signal.

The black recording data is input to the 50% filter 51. The 50% filter 51 also includes
The control signal THINH and the control signal EVENH are input. The control signal THINH is a signal that determines whether to operate the 50% filter 51, and for example,
It is possible to control the 50% filter to be operated when it is “H” and to stop it when it is “L”. The control signal EVENH is the operation content of the 50% filter 51,
That is, it is a signal for selecting which dot is recorded and which dot is not controlled to be recorded. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when adopting a method of dividing into even-numbered nozzles and odd-numbered nozzles and recording in two scans, for example, with “H”, odd-numbered nozzles It is possible to control so as to perform recording by using, and to perform recording by using even-numbered nozzles with'L '. In this case, the recording order of the odd-numbered dots and the even-numbered dots is switched in the adjacent recording areas. Of course, the reverse logic may be applied, and two patterns can be selected and filtered even when recording in a staggered arrangement as shown in FIGS. 6C and 6D. For nozzles that record dots corresponding to the first scan, for example, even-numbered nozzles are selected, and for nozzles that record dots corresponding to the second scan, for example, odd-numbered nozzles are selected. You can also apply. In this case, since the pattern to be filtered is constant, the control signal EVENH may be omitted. Alternatively, it may be used as a signal for switching patterns such as odd-numbered even-numbered patterns and zigzag patterns.

The black recording data thinned by the 50% filter 51 is input to the head controller 52. A print timing signal is also input to the head controller 52, and the black recording head 13 performs recording based on the thinned black recording data in synchronization with the print timing signal. The record is
For example, when printing is performed by the printing method as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to use 84 nozzles corresponding to the areas where cyan and magenta are printed.

Since bleeding with other colors does not occur when recording is performed only with black, the speedup of recording is emphasized, the control signal THINH is set to "L", and the 50% filter 51 is not operated. It is possible to print 100% black dots in one scan. In this case, printing can be performed using all the nozzles provided in the black print head 13, and high-speed printing that prints in an area three times or more in one scan becomes possible.
Of course, even in the case of recording only with black, it is possible to operate the 50% filter 51 and perform the recording in two scans. In that case, dot coupling is reduced and high quality recording can be performed. .

8 and 9 are flow charts showing an example of the operation in one embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. In this flowchart, only main parts are shown. When the power of the recording apparatus is turned on, initialization and warm-up operation are performed, and then a recording data reception standby state is set. When the record data is received in S61,
The data is stored in the buffer and the number of data is counted in S62. Receive an instruction to start recording this reception operation,
Alternatively, continue until the buffer is full. When the recording start instruction or the buffer full state is detected in S63, the temperature of the recording head is detected in S64, and
At 65, for example, a reference value such as a scan speed according to the temperature of the recording head is set. In S66, it is determined whether or not the print data is black and the print data of other colors are mixed. If black and the other colors are mixed, in S67, black is printed a plurality of times. Set the flag for recording separately for each scan. Then, in S68, actual recording is performed as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 9, first, in S71, it is determined by referring to a flag whether or not black is divided into a plurality of scans for printing. When printing black in multiple scans, the control signal THINH is set to "H" in S72.
, And the 50% filter 51 of FIG. 7 is made operable. Further, the control signal EVENH is set to "H" in S73, and, for example, an odd number of nozzles is recorded. S7
After feeding the paper by the recording area in step 4, this time S75
The control signal EVENH is set to "L" by, and, for example, even-numbered nozzles are printed, and the paper is fed by the print area in S76. This operation will be repeated.

If the flag is not set in S71, it is the mode for recording only black, so the control signal THINH is set to "L" in S77 and the 50% filter 51 of FIG. 7 is operated. Instead, the recorded data is recorded as it is. Then, in S76, the paper is fed by the black recording width. This operation will be repeated.

By performing such an operation, a recording operation giving priority to image quality can be performed when full-color recording is performed, and a high-speed recording operation can be performed when only black recording is performed. In many cases, the recording data is only black, and it is effective to provide this high-speed recording mode.

FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory view of another example of the recording operation in the embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. Similar to the example of FIG. 5, FIG. 10 (A) shows the colors recorded on the paper at each scan, and FIG. 10 (B) is recorded every time a scan is overlapped on a recording area of the paper. Shows the color. In this example, 1 black record
3/3, that is, about 33% is divided into three scans for recording. Also in this example, a case will be described in which the recording head shown in FIG. 4 is used to feed the sheet from the bottom to the top.

First, in the first scan, cyan recording is performed from the color recording head. At the same time, the black recording head records only about 33% of the total number of dots in the data for recording black. Then, the paper feed for 42 dots is performed.

In the second scan, another 33% of magenta and black are recorded in the area where about 33% of cyan and black are recorded in the first scan. At the same time, for the area adjacent to the area printed in the first scan, about 33
% Recording is done.

In the third scan, about 33% of cyan and black are recorded in the first scan, and another 33% of magenta and black are recorded in the second scan. And the remaining 33% of black
Minutes are recorded. Further, in the area where approximately 33% of cyan and black are recorded in the second scan, another approximately 33% of magenta and black is recorded.
Further, about 33% of cyan and black are recorded in an area adjacent to the area.

In this way, the cyan,
Since 100% of each color of magenta and yellow and black are recorded, full color recording can be performed. At this time, the scan for black is not performed, and the speed is increased. Also, the combination of black recording dots using the slow-drying ink is reduced, and the blurring due to the combination of recording dots with other colors is also reduced, so that a high quality recorded image can be obtained.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the black recording method. As a method of dividing the black recording data into three, for example, the recording data can be divided into patterns as shown in FIGS. 11 (A), (B), and (C). In such a pattern, adjacent dots are not recorded at the same time, and the combination of black dots can be reduced, so that a good quality image can be obtained. Of course, other patterns may be used, and for example, it is also possible to divide the pattern into 3 by the remainder of the number 3 given to the nozzle and to record in 3 times.

In the above description, the heads of cyan, magenta, and yellow are integrally formed in series. However, heads of these colors are provided in parallel, and a head configured in parallel with the black recording head is used. May be. At this time, the four color heads can simultaneously print in the same area, but in order to prevent color mixture and obtain high image quality, as described above, cyan, magenta, and yellow are printed by different scans. Together with black twice or three
It can be divided into times and recorded with other colors.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, deterioration of image quality such as bleeding at a color boundary can be reduced and density unevenness in a black portion can be reduced without reducing throughput. Therefore, there is an effect that a high quality recorded image can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system in an embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of the vicinity of a carriage.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of a recording head.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an example of a recording operation in an embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a black recording method.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a part of a head driver.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation in one embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a recording operation.

FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory diagram of another example of the recording operation in the embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of another example of a black recording method.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 ... Carriage drive motor, 2 ... Timing belt, 3
... recording head, 4 ... carriage, 5 ... ink tank, 6
... Carriage guide, 7 ... Cable, 8 ... Recording paper, 9
... Paper feed motor, 10 ... Feed roll, 11 ... Encoder film, 12 ... Nozzle, 13 ... Black recording head, 14 ... Color recording head, 21 ... CPU, 22
... I / F driver, 23 ... ROM, 24 ... RAM, 2
5, 26 ... Motor driver, 27 ... Print timing generation circuit, 28 ... Sensor section, 29 ... Control panel,
30 ... Head driver, 31 ... Host device, 32 ... Carriage motor, 33 ... Paper feed motor, 34 ... Head,
51 ... 50% filter, 52, 53 ... Head controller.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location B41J 2/13 B41J 3/04 104 D

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In an inkjet recording method for recording with a slow-drying ink and a quick-drying ink according to recording information, the recording with the slow-drying ink is divided into a plurality of scans for one scan, and the recording with the quick-drying ink is performed. An ink jet recording method characterized by performing. 2. An inkjet recording method for recording with a slow-drying ink and a quick-drying ink according to the recording information, and determining whether or not the recording information uses both the slow-drying ink and the quick-drying ink, and In the case of recording by using, the recording with the slow-drying ink is performed by dividing the recording for one scan into a plurality of scans together with the recording by the quick-drying ink, and by using only one, An ink jet recording method, wherein recording for one scan is performed by one scan. 3. In an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium according to recording information, a first head for ejecting a slow-drying ink and a first head are provided in parallel with each other. The second head for ejecting the fast-drying ink and the print information for one scan for printing by the first head to generate print information for printing by a plurality of scans. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls recording by a head so as to be performed together with recording by the second head by scanning a plurality of times. 4. An ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium according to recording information, and a first head for ejecting slow-drying ink, and the first head provided in parallel with the first head. A second head for ejecting fast-drying ink, and whether or not the recording information is recorded using both slow-drying ink and quick-drying ink, and when recording is performed using both, the first head is used. Print information for printing by a plurality of scans is generated from print information for one scan for printing by the head, and printing by the first head is performed by printing by the first head And a control means for controlling to perform recording for one scan by one scan when recording is performed using only one of them. An inkjet recording device characterized by the above.