JP2011136501A - Printing system, program, and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce memory capacity for storing a parameter used to generate printing data. <P>SOLUTION: In the printing system, when a first image formed by a partial nozzle group of a nozzle train in which nozzles to eject ink are arranged in a predetermined direction, and a second image formed by another partial nozzle group are superposed and printed on a medium, information showing a range of the nozzle that forms the first image in certain image forming operation is stored in a first table, deviation in a predetermined direction of another partial nozzle group that forms the second image relative to the partial nozzle group that forms the first image is added to the range stored in the first table, and the range of the nozzle that forms the second image in certain image forming operation is calculated, information showing the range is stored in a second table, then printing data is generated based on the information stored in the first and second tables. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system, a program, and a printing apparatus.

  As one printing apparatus, an image forming operation for forming an image by ejecting ink from nozzles while moving a nozzle row in which nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in a predetermined direction in a moving direction intersecting the predetermined direction, and a predetermined direction Inkjet printers (hereinafter referred to as printers) that repeat a transport operation for transporting a medium in the transport direction are known.

  The printer performs printing based on the print data created by the printer driver. In creating print data, the printer driver performs processing (nozzle assignment processing) for rearranging matrix-like image data composed of a plurality of pixel data in the order of assignment to each nozzle. Therefore, for each image forming operation, a process of associating the nozzle with the position of the raster line (dot row along the moving direction) to be formed by the nozzle is performed.

JP 2006-264054 A

  When printing two types of images, for example, a main image and a background image, the printer may assign main image data and background image data to one nozzle row. In this case, it is necessary to know the range of nozzles to which each image data is assigned. However, if the printing system stores parameters for determining the range of nozzles used for each nozzle group for printing each image, the memory capacity increases.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the memory capacity for storing parameters used for creating print data.

A main invention for solving the above problems is (A) a printing system including a printing control apparatus and a printing apparatus, and (B) the printing control apparatus changes an arrangement order of a plurality of pixel data constituting image data. And (C) the printing apparatus sets a relative position between the nozzle row and the medium in the predetermined direction based on the nozzle row in which nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in a predetermined direction and the print data. An image forming operation for ejecting ink from the nozzles while relatively moving in a moving direction intersecting with the nozzle, and a moving operation for relatively moving the relative position of the nozzle row and the medium in one direction of the predetermined direction are repeatedly executed. And a first image formed by a part of the nozzle group of the nozzle row and a second image formed by another part of the nozzle row and printed on the medium. When the method is set, the other direction side of the predetermined direction than the nozzle group located on the one direction side of the predetermined direction among the one part nozzle group and the other part nozzle group A control unit that discharges ink to a predetermined region of the medium before the nozzle group located at (D), and (D) at least one of the print control device and the printing device is the first (E) the printing control device comprises: storing a shift amount in the predetermined direction of the another partial nozzle group that forms the second image with respect to the partial nozzle group that forms an image; In a certain image forming operation, information for defining a position in the predetermined direction on the medium on which dots are formed by each nozzle that prints an image and a range of the nozzle that forms the first image are shown. Information stored in the first table The shift amount is added to the range stored in the first table, and in the certain image forming operation, the range of the nozzle that forms the second image is calculated, and information indicating the range is obtained. The pixel data used in the certain image forming operation is extracted from the image data based on the information stored in the second table and stored in the first table and the second table. And (F) generating the print data for performing the certain image forming operation.
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of the overall configuration of the printer, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the printer. It is a figure which shows the arrangement | sequence of the nozzle provided in the lower surface of a head. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of interlaced printing. It is explanatory drawing of upper end printing and lower end printing. FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E are diagrams for explaining the scheduling table creation processing for pass 1 of top-end printing. FIGS. 6A to 6C are explanatory diagrams of scheduling table creation processing for normal printing passes 4 to 6. 7A to 7C are conceptual diagrams for explaining the dummy scheduling table. 8A to 8C are diagrams for explaining a scheduling table for bottom-end printing. It is a figure explaining the printing mode which a printer has. It is a figure explaining the printing method of surface printing mode. It is a figure explaining the printing method of surface printing mode. 12A and 12B are reference examples for printing the upper end of the medium. It is a figure which shows the flow of a nozzle allocation process, It is a figure which shows the nozzle area | region with respect to the printing method of surface printing mode. 15A to 15D are diagrams showing parameters used in the nozzle assignment process. It is a figure which shows the head table and nozzle table in pass 10 of normal printing. It is a figure which shows the head table and nozzle table in pass 6 of upper end printing. It is a figure which shows the head table and nozzle table in the following pass 7 of upper end printing. It is a figure which shows the head table and nozzle table in pass 22 of lower end printing. It is a figure which shows the head table and nozzle table in the last pass 28 of lower end printing. It is a figure which shows the rearrangement and extraction process of image data.

=== Summary of disclosure ===
At least the following will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

That is, (A) a printing system including a printing control device and a printing device, (B) the printing control device changes print order of a plurality of pixel data constituting image data, creates print data, C) The printing apparatus relatively moves a relative position between the nozzle row and the medium in a moving direction intersecting the predetermined direction based on the nozzle row in which nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in a predetermined direction and the print data. A controller that repeatedly executes an image forming operation for ejecting ink from the nozzles, and a moving operation for relatively moving the relative position of the nozzle row and the medium in one direction of the predetermined direction; When a printing method is set in which a first image formed by a part of the nozzle group and a second image formed by another part of the nozzle array are overlapped and printed on the medium, The nozzle group located on the other direction side of the predetermined direction before the nozzle group located on the one direction side of the predetermined direction, among the nozzle group of the part and the another partial nozzle group, And (D) at least one of the printing control device and the printing device that forms the first image, the control unit that ejects ink to a predetermined region of the medium. And (E) the printing control device prints an image in a certain image forming operation, storing a shift amount of the another partial nozzle group that forms the second image with respect to the predetermined direction. Information for defining the position in the predetermined direction on the medium on which dots are formed by the nozzles and information indicating the range of the nozzles forming the first image are stored in the first table. And store it in the first table Adding the shift amount to the range, calculating the range of the nozzle that forms the second image in the certain image forming operation, and storing information indicating the range in a second table, Based on the information stored in the first table and the second table, the pixel data used in the certain image forming operation is extracted from the image data, and the certain image forming operation is performed. The printing system is characterized in that the printing data for execution is created (F).
According to such a printing system, it is possible to reduce the memory capacity for storing the parameters used for creating the print data.

In this printing system, at least one of the printing control device and the printing device stores information for defining a range of the nozzles that form the first image in the certain image forming operation. thing.
According to such a printing system, the range of nozzles that form the first image can be defined.

In this printing system, the print control device uses the pixel data to be used in the certain image forming operation based on the information stored in the first table as the image data of the first image. Extracting the pixel data used in the certain image forming operation from the image data of the second image based on the information extracted from the second table and stored in the second table; Ink is ejected from the nozzles forming the first image by the pixel data extracted from the image data of the first image, and the pixels extracted from the image data of the second image The arrangement order of the pixel data is changed so that ink is ejected from the nozzles forming the second image by data.
According to such a printing system, different types of image data can be assigned to one nozzle row.

In this printing system, the print control device arranges the pixel data in order from the pixel data assigned to the nozzles located on the one direction side of the predetermined direction in the nozzle row, and In a print mode in which the second image is printed before one image, the print control apparatus refers to the first table before the second table, and the image data of the first image The pixel data extracted from the image data of the second image is arranged after the pixel data extracted from the image, and the first image is arranged before the second image with respect to a predetermined area of the medium. In the print mode for printing, the print control device refers to the second table before the first table, and extracts the image extracted from the image data of the second image. After the data, arranging the pixel data extracted from the image data of the first image.
According to such a printing system, different types of image data can be assigned to one nozzle row.

In this printing system, the print control device may be configured to set the first image as a range of the nozzles in the certain image forming operation in the predetermined direction among the nozzles that form the first image. A first nozzle that is the nozzle located closest to the one direction, and a second nozzle that is the nozzle located closest to the other direction in the predetermined direction among the nozzles forming the first image. Are stored in the first table, and the nozzle in which the shift amount is added to the first nozzle as the range of the nozzle that forms the second image in the certain image forming operation; Storing the nozzle obtained by adding the shift amount to two nozzles in the second table.
According to such a printing system, the process of calculating the range of nozzles that form the second image can be facilitated.

In this printing system, the print control device sets the type of each nozzle that forms the first image as the range of the nozzle that forms the first image in the certain image forming operation. The range of the nozzles that form the second image in the certain image forming operation is stored in the first table in the one direction side in the predetermined direction among the nozzles that form the first image. The nozzle obtained by adding the shift amount to the nozzle that is positioned, and the nozzle that is positioned closest to the other direction in the predetermined direction among the nozzles that form the first image. Storing the nozzles in the second table.
According to such a printing system, the process of creating the second table can be facilitated, and the memory capacity can be reduced.

In this printing system, the first image and the second image are the same image.
According to such a printing system, an image can be printed darkly while suppressing bleeding.

An image forming operation for discharging ink from the nozzle while relatively moving a relative position between a nozzle row in which nozzles for discharging ink are arranged in a predetermined direction and a medium in a moving direction intersecting the predetermined direction; and the nozzle row; A printing apparatus that repeats a moving operation of relatively moving the relative position of the medium in one direction of the predetermined direction is a first image formed by a part of the nozzle group of the nozzle row and another one of the nozzle row. When a printing method is set in which a second image formed by a group of nozzle groups is overlaid and printed on the medium, among the part of the nozzle group and the part of the other nozzle group, the predetermined direction Print data for ejecting ink to a predetermined area of the medium is created in a computer prior to a nozzle group located on the other direction side of the predetermined direction than a nozzle group located on one direction side. Information for defining a position in the predetermined direction on the medium on which dots are formed by each nozzle that prints an image in a certain image forming operation, and the first image. Information indicating a range of the nozzle to be formed is stored in a first table, and the partial nozzle group that forms the first image is stored in the range stored in the first table. A shift amount in the predetermined direction of the another part of the nozzle group that forms the second image is added, and in the certain image forming operation, a range of the nozzle that forms the second image is calculated, and the range Is stored in the second table, and pixel data used in the certain image forming operation is stored based on the information stored in the first table and the second table. Extracting from the image data, a program for executing the method comprising: creating the print data for implementing the given image forming operation, to the computer.
According to such a program, the memory capacity for storing parameters used for creating print data can be reduced.

  Further, based on the print data and the nozzle row in which the nozzles that eject ink are arranged in a predetermined direction, the ink is ejected from the nozzle while relatively moving the relative position of the nozzle row and the medium in the moving direction intersecting the predetermined direction. A control unit that repeatedly executes an image forming operation to be ejected and a moving operation for relatively moving the relative position of the nozzle row and the medium in one direction of the predetermined direction, and a part of the nozzles in the nozzle row When a printing method is set in which a first image formed by a group and a second image formed by another partial nozzle group of the nozzle row are overlaid and printed on the medium, the partial nozzle group and the Among other partial nozzle groups, prior to a nozzle group located on the other direction side of the predetermined direction than a nozzle group located on the one direction side of the predetermined direction, a predetermined region of the medium T A controller that discharges ink, and the controller controls a position in the predetermined direction on the medium where dots are formed by each nozzle that prints an image in a certain image forming operation. And information indicating the range of the nozzle that forms the first image are stored in a first table, and the first image is formed in the range stored in the first table. The shift amount in the predetermined direction of the other partial nozzle group that forms the second image with respect to the partial nozzle group is added, and the nozzle that forms the second image in the certain image forming operation is added. Pixels that calculate a range, store information indicating the range in a second table, and that are used in the certain image forming operation based on the information stored in the first table and the second table Drawing data Extracted from the data to create the print data for implementing the given image forming operation, it is a printing apparatus according to claim.

  According to such a printing apparatus, it is possible to reduce a memory capacity for storing parameters used for creating print data.

=== About the printing system ===
FIG. 1A is an overall configuration block diagram of the printer 1, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the printer 1. Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described by taking a printing system in which an inkjet printer (printer 1) and a computer 60 are connected as an example. The computer 60 is communicably connected to the printer 1 and outputs print data for causing the printer 1 to print an image to the printer 1.

  The controller 10 (control unit) is a control unit for controlling the printer 1. The interface unit 11 is for transmitting and receiving data between the computer 60 and the printer 1. The CPU 12 is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire printer 1. The memory 13 is for securing an area for storing a program of the CPU 12, a work area, and the like. The CPU 12 controls each unit by the unit control circuit 14. The detector group 50 monitors the situation in the printer 1, and the controller 10 controls each unit based on the detection result.

The transport unit 20 feeds the medium S to a printable position, and transports the medium S by a predetermined transport amount in the transport direction (predetermined direction) during printing.
The carriage unit 30 is for moving the head 41 in a movement direction that intersects the conveyance direction, and includes a carriage 31.

  The head unit 40 is for ejecting ink onto the medium S and has a head 41. The head 41 is moved in the movement direction by the carriage 31. A plurality of nozzles, which are ink discharge portions, are provided on the lower surface of the head 41, and each nozzle is provided with a pressure chamber containing ink. The ink discharge method from the nozzle may be a piezo method in which ink is discharged by applying a voltage to the drive element (piezo element) to expand and contract the pressure chamber, or bubbles are generated in the nozzle using a heating element. A thermal method in which ink is generated and ink is ejected by the bubbles may be used.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of nozzles provided on the lower surface of the head 41. In addition, the figure is the figure which looked at the nozzle virtually from the upper surface of the head 41. FIG. On the lower surface of the head 41, five nozzle rows in which 180 nozzles are arranged at a predetermined interval (nozzle pitch d) in the transport direction are formed. As shown in the drawing, black nozzle row K for discharging black ink, cyan nozzle row C for discharging cyan ink, magenta nozzle row M for discharging magenta ink, yellow nozzle row Y for discharging yellow ink, and white ink are discharged. White nozzle rows W are arranged in the movement direction. Note that the 180 nozzles in each nozzle row are numbered sequentially from the nozzle on the downstream side (corresponding to one direction) in the transport direction (# 1 to # 180).

  In such a printer 1, dot formation processing in which ink droplets are intermittently ejected from the head 41 moving in the movement direction to form dots on the medium, and the medium is conveyed with respect to the head 41 in the conveyance direction. The conveyance process is repeated. By doing so, dots can be formed by subsequent dot formation processing at a position on the medium different from the position of the dots formed by the previous dot formation processing, and a two-dimensional image is printed on the medium can do. The operation in which the head 41 moves once in the movement direction while ejecting ink droplets (one dot formation process) is referred to as “pass”.

<About the printer driver>
The computer 60 is installed with a program (printer driver) for converting image data output from the application program into print data and outputting the print data to the printer 1. The printer driver is recorded on a recording medium (computer-readable recording medium) such as a CD-ROM or can be downloaded to a computer via the Internet. Note that the printer driver executes the following processing using the hardware resources of the computer 60 according to the program stored in the memory.

  The print data creation flow will be described below. First, the printer driver performs resolution conversion processing. The resolution conversion process is a process for converting image data output from an application program into a resolution for printing on a medium. Note that the image data after the resolution conversion process is multi-gradation (for example, 256 gradations) RGB data represented by an RGB color space. The image data is composed of pixel data relating to the pixels constituting the print image.

  Next, the printer driver performs a color conversion process. The color conversion process is a process of converting RGB data into CMYK data represented by a CMYK color space in accordance with the color of ink that the printer 1 has so that the printer 1 can perform printing. Thereafter, the printer driver performs halftone processing. The halftone process is a process for converting high gradation number data into gradation number data that can be formed by a printer. For example, data indicating 256 gradations is converted into 2-bit data indicating 4 gradations by halftone processing. The pixel data after halftone processing is data relating to dots formed in an area on the medium corresponding to the pixel. For example, in the case of pixel data of four gradations, “large dot formation”, “medium dot formation”, “small dot formation”, or “no dot” is indicated. In addition to image data output from the application program, for example, when a background image is printed with white ink, data for the background image (4 gradation W data) is created by the printer driver.

  Finally, the printer driver performs nozzle allocation processing. The nozzle allocation process is a process of rearranging image data composed of pixel data arranged in a matrix in order of data to be transferred to the printer (details will be described later). The printer driver transmits the print data created through these processes to the printer 1. The printer 1 performs printing based on the received print data.

=== Reference Embodiment ===
<Printing method>
Before describing this embodiment, a reference embodiment will be described. In the reference embodiment, one type of image is printed on the medium by interlaced printing using four color nozzle rows (YMCK) without using the white nozzle row W. Further, the ranges of nozzles (used nozzles) used by the four color nozzle arrays for printing an image are the same.

  3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of interlaced printing. 3A shows how dots are formed in pass 1 to pass 5, and FIG. 3B shows how dots are formed in pass 1 to pass 6. One nozzle row of the four color nozzle rows (YMCK) is shown as a representative, and the number of nozzles belonging to the nozzle row is also reduced. The nozzles indicated by black circles in the figure are nozzles that can eject ink (used nozzles), and the nozzles indicated by white circles are nozzles that cannot eject ink (unused nozzles). For the sake of explanation, the head is moved to the upstream side in the transport direction, and the figure is shown. A black dot is a dot formed in the last pass, and a white dot is a dot formed in the previous pass.

  “Interlaced printing” is a printing method in which raster lines that are not recorded in one pass are sandwiched between raster lines (dot rows along the moving direction) recorded in one pass. In interlace printing, each time the medium is transported in the transport direction by a constant transport amount F, each nozzle records a raster line immediately above the raster line recorded in the immediately preceding pass. In order to perform recording with a constant transport amount in this way, (1) the number of nozzles N (integer) that can eject ink is relatively prime to k of the nozzle pitch k · D (k is 2). (2) The transport amount F is set to N · D. In FIG. 3, since the nozzle pitch is 3 · D and k is 3, five of the six nozzles (# 1 to # 5) are used in order that N and k satisfy the prime relationship. Further, since five nozzles are used, the paper is transported with a transport amount of 5 · D.

  As a result, as shown in the figure, the first raster line is formed by the nozzle # 1 of pass 1, the second raster line is formed by the nozzle # 2 of pass 1, and the third raster line is formed by the nozzle # 2 of pass 2. 1 is formed, and the fourth raster line is formed by the nozzle # 3 of pass 1. A raster line is formed continuously in the transport direction from the fifth and subsequent raster lines. Thus, the first to fourth raster lines are not formed continuously in the transport direction. Similarly, some raster lines may not be continuously formed even at the end of interlaced printing. Therefore, the printer 1 forms a raster line continuous in the transport direction by performing upper end printing and lower end printing.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of upper end printing and lower end printing. Pass 1 to pass 3 are upper end printing, pass 4 to pass 9 are normal printing, and pass 10 to pass 12 are lower end printing. In the upper end printing and the lower end printing, the medium transport amount is set to D. As shown in the figure, by performing upper end printing and lower end printing, it is possible to form a raster line continuous in the transport direction from the first raster line to the last raster line.

  By the way, in normal printing, although nozzles # 1 to # 5 are used nozzles, nozzle # 5 in pass 1 of upper end printing is an unused nozzle. If the thirteenth raster line is formed by ejecting ink from the nozzle # 5 in pass 1, the nozzle # 1 in pass 5 forms the same raster line, so the thirteenth raster line is formed twice. , It will be formed darker than other raster lines. Here, nozzle # 1 in pass 5 of normal printing is given priority, and nozzle # 5 in pass 1 is set as an unused nozzle. In this way, by giving priority to the nozzles in the pass for performing normal printing over the nozzles in the pass for performing upper end printing, the raster lines formed by the normal printing are increased, and the image quality of the printed image is improved. Also in the lower end printing, nozzles # 1 to # 3 in pass 11 and nozzle # 1 in pass 12 are set as unused nozzles. Thus, when upper end printing or lower end printing is performed, nozzles (unused nozzles) that should not eject ink appear. For this reason, the printer driver needs to determine unused nozzles when creating print data.

<Nozzle assignment processing>
In this reference embodiment, the printer driver creates a scheduling table during the nozzle assignment process. The scheduling table is a table in which the position (number) of the raster line is associated with the nozzle for creating the raster line. The printer driver creates which scheduling table determines which nozzles are used nozzles and which nozzles are unused nozzles. When the printer driver associates each nozzle of a pass with the position of the raster line that each nozzle should form, the position of the raster line to which each nozzle corresponds in that pass and each nozzle in another pass Is compared with the position of the corresponding raster line (virtual printing is performed), and a scheduling table is created.

  FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E are diagrams for explaining a scheduling table creation process for the upper-end printing pass 1. Below each figure, the state of the scheduling table being created is shown, and above each figure, a conceptual diagram of the processing when creating the scheduling table is shown. Note that the printer driver creates a scheduling table by using virtual upper end printing parameters and virtual normal printing parameters (nozzle pitch, transport amount, start position, etc.).

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the printer driver first determines the positions of nozzles # 1 to # 5 in the corresponding pass m (pass 1 in the figure) on the medium of the corresponding raster line according to the virtual upper end printing parameter. Position). Next, the printer driver calculates the positions of the nozzles # 1 to # 5 in the next pass (pass 2 in the figure). The printer driver deletes the scheduling data at position l when each position l of nozzles # 1 to # 5 in the next pass is registered in the scheduling table. This is repeated until the range of the positions of the nozzles # 1 to # 5 in pass 1 and the positions of the nozzles in pass 1 and thereafter no longer overlap each other. That is, in the upper end printing, the position of the nozzle in pass m is compared with the positions of the nozzles after pass m, and if there is a match, the scheduling data at that position is deleted.

  FIG. 5B shows how the nozzle positions in pass 2 are compared with the scheduling table in pass 1. As a result of the comparison, there is no match in position, so the scheduling table is not changed from that in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5C shows a state in which the nozzle position of pass 3 is compared with the scheduling table up to the time when the comparison of pass 2 is completed. As a result of the comparison, there is no match in position, so the scheduling table is not changed from that in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5D shows a state in which the nozzle positions in pass 4 are compared with the scheduling table up to when the comparison in pass 3 is completed. Since pass 4 belongs to normal printing, the position of each nozzle in pass 4 is calculated from virtual normal printing parameters. As a result of the comparison, there is no match in position, so the scheduling table is not changed from that in FIG. 5A.

  FIG. 5E shows a state in which the nozzle position in pass 5 is compared with the scheduling table up to when the comparison in pass 4 is completed. Nozzle # 1 in pass 5 is at the position of the 13th raster line, and since the scheduling data of “position: 13” has already been registered in the scheduling table, the printer driver erases this scheduling data. In this way, a scheduling table for each pass of the top end printing is created.

  6A to 6C are explanatory diagrams of scheduling table creation processing for normal printing passes 4 to 6. Below each figure, the scheduling tables of pass 4 to pass 6 are shown, and above each figure, a conceptual diagram of processing contents when creating the scheduling table is shown.

  The printer driver calculates the position 1 of each nozzle # 1 to # 5 in each pass m (passes 4 to 6 in the figure) of normal printing. The position 1 of each nozzle #i is calculated based on virtual normal printing parameters. Then, the printer driver associates the position l with the nozzle #i and registers them in the scheduling table. In this reference embodiment, since the raster line for normal printing is given priority over the raster line formed by upper-end / lower-end printing, the positions of the nozzles in the corresponding pass and the positions of the nozzles in other passes are set as in upper-end printing. Do not compare.

  7A to 7C are conceptual diagrams for explaining the dummy scheduling table. In the case of bottom edge printing, unlike the case of top edge printing or normal printing described above, a dummy scheduling table is created before creating a scheduling table for each pass, and a scheduling table for each pass is created based on this dummy scheduling table. To do. The dummy scheduling table indicates the position of the raster line formed by the subsequent pass on the assumption that the normal print was performed after the last pass of the normal print (pass 9 in the figure). For this reason, virtual normal printing parameters are used in the dummy scheduling table creation process. The position of the dummy scheduling table is the position of the raster line formed when normal printing is performed, and is the position of the raster line to be formed by the lower end printing. Therefore, the dummy scheduling table shows only the position without associating the nozzle number with the position. The dummy scheduling table is created until the position registered in the dummy scheduling table reaches a position outside the printing area.

  8A to 8C are diagrams for explaining a scheduling table for bottom-end printing. The printer driver compares the nozzle position of each pass of bottom edge printing with the position registered in the dummy scheduling table, registers only the data at the position registered in the dummy scheduling table, and deletes the other data. To do.

  First, the printer driver calculates the position l of each nozzle #i in the corresponding pass m of the lower end printing based on the virtual lower end printing parameters (nozzle pitch, transport amount, start position, etc.). Next, the printer driver compares the calculated position l of each nozzle #i for bottom-end printing with the position of the dummy scheduling table, and whether the calculated position l matches the position registered in the dummy scheduling table. Compare whether or not. When the position l exists in the dummy scheduling table, the printer driver registers the position l and the nozzle #i in association with each other in the scheduling table for the pass m in order to form a raster line at the position l in the lower end printing. Then, the printer driver deletes the registration of the position l from the dummy scheduling table. On the other hand, when the position l does not exist in the dummy scheduling table, it is not necessary to form a raster line at the position l in the lower end printing, and therefore the printer driver does not perform the scheduling table registration process.

  In FIG. 8, the registration contents (position l) of the dummy scheduling table are indicated by circles, black circles indicate registered positions, and white circles indicate positions that have been deleted because the nozzles to be formed are registered. As shown in FIG. 8A, the positions of nozzle # 1 to nozzle # 5 in pass 10 are registered in the dummy scheduling table. Therefore, information for five nozzles as shown in FIG. 8A is stored in the scheduling table of pass 10. Then, the five positions of the dummy scheduling table whose positions coincide in pass 10 are deleted (changed to white circles). As a result of comparing the position of each nozzle in pass 11 and the dummy scheduling table, two pieces of information are stored in the pass 11 scheduling table, and four pieces of information are stored in the pass 12 scheduling table. In this way, a scheduling table for bottom edge printing is created.

  In other words, in the reference embodiment, during the nozzle allocation process, the printer driver creates a scheduling table for each of the upper and lower end printing and normal printing passes, and uses the nozzles that form raster lines in each pass (use Nozzle) is associated with the position of the raster line to be formed by each used nozzle. As a result, the pixel data used in each pass can be extracted from the matrix image data, and the extracted pixel data can be rearranged in the order of allocation to the used nozzles in each pass.

=== This Embodiment ===
<Print mode>
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a print mode included in the printer 1 of the present embodiment. When the printing method for overlapping the main image to be printed with the four colors of ink (YMCK) and the background image is set, the printer 1 can display either the “front printing mode” or the “back printing mode” shown in the figure. Set the mode. The front printing mode is a mode for printing so that the main image is viewed from the printing surface side. In this case, the background image is printed before the main image for a predetermined area of the medium. On the other hand, the reverse printing mode is a mode that is implemented when a transparent medium is used, and prints the main image so as to be viewed from the side opposite to the printing surface. In this case, the main image is printed before the background image with respect to the predetermined area of the medium.

  In the present embodiment, at least one of four color inks (YMCK) is mixed with white ink, and a background image (hereinafter also referred to as a toned background image) in which the white color is adjusted is printed. In this way, by printing the toned background image and the main image in an overlapping manner, an image with good color development can be printed. In addition, when the medium is transparent, it is possible to prevent the opposite side of the printed matter from being seen through by printing the main image and the background image in an overlapping manner.

<Printing method>
10 and 11 are diagrams for explaining a printing method in the front printing mode in which the main image and the toned background image are overlaid and printed. FIG. 10 shows a state of “upper end printing” for printing the upper end portion, which is an end portion on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the medium, and “normal printing” for printing the central portion other than the end portion of the medium. FIG. 11 shows a state of normal printing and “bottom edge printing” in which a lower end portion that is an end portion on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the medium is printed. In the drawing, the number of nozzles belonging to the nozzle row is drawn to be reduced to 24, and the nozzle rows that discharge four-color ink (YMCK) are collectively referred to as “color nozzle row Co”.

  Hereinafter, the printing method in the front printing mode (left figure in FIG. 9) will be described as an example. In the front printing mode, the toned background image is printed on the medium before the main image. Therefore, the use nozzle that prints the toned background image is the nozzle on the upstream side in the transport direction relative to the use nozzle that prints the main image. The head 41 in the left diagram of FIG. 10 is a diagram showing nozzles used during normal printing. The nozzle group (# 16 to # 24) on the upstream side of the white nozzle row W and the nozzle group (# 16 to # 24) on the upstream side of the color nozzle row Co are used nozzles (○) for the toned background image And On the other hand, the nozzle groups (# 1 to # 9) on the downstream side of the color nozzle row Co are used nozzles (▲) for main images. In this way, by setting the use nozzle for the toned background image to the nozzle upstream of the use nozzle for the main image in the transport direction, the toned background image is ahead of the main image with respect to a predetermined area of the medium. Can be printed. Further, the pass for printing the toned background image and the pass for printing the main image can be made different, and blurring of the image can be suppressed.

  Specific printing is shown in the right diagram of FIG. The right diagram in FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the positional relationship of the nozzles in each pass. In actual printing, the medium is transported downstream in the transport direction with respect to the head. However, for the sake of explanation, the head is shifted upstream in the transport direction in the figure. In the drawing, the nozzles used for the toned background image (◯) and the nozzles used for the main image (▲) are shown as one nozzle row. An interval (hereinafter, “inter-nozzle pitch”) in which raster lines (dot rows along the moving direction) are arranged in the transport direction is a length “1 · d” equal to the nozzle pitch. Therefore, the number of raster lines formed in the nozzle pitch d (hereinafter referred to as “number of nozzle pitches”) is “1”.

  In normal printing, the medium transport amount per time is set to “3d”, which is three times the nozzle pitch d. That is, in normal printing, an image forming operation in which the toned background image is printed by the upstream nozzle group (◯) and the main image is printed by the downstream nozzle group (▲) while moving the head 41 in the moving direction. And a transport operation for transporting the medium by the transport amount 3d are repeatedly performed. As a result, in normal printing, an image region surrounded by a thick frame in the drawing is completed for each pass. Since the medium transport amount per time is three times the nozzle pitch and the number of nozzle pitches is 1, three raster lines are completed for each pass. This can also be seen from the fact that three nozzles are arranged in the transport direction within the thick frame. That is, in normal printing, the upstream (or downstream) end of the image formed in a certain pass and the upstream (or downstream) end of the image formed in the next pass The amount of deviation is the length of three raster lines.

  Also, in the thick frame in the figure, three toned background image use nozzles (○) and three main image use nozzles (▲) are arranged in order from the left side in the moving direction. Therefore, one raster line composing the toned background image is printed in three passes (three nozzles), and one raster line composing the main image is printed in three passes (three nozzles). You can see that In this way, when one raster line is printed with a plurality of nozzles (so-called overlap printing is performed), it is possible to suppress deterioration of a printed image even if defective nozzles are generated.

  Further, in this embodiment, “drying nozzles (×, # 9) that do not eject ink between the main image use nozzles (# 1 to # 9) and the background image use nozzles (# 16 to # 24)”. 10 to # 15) ”. By doing so, the predetermined area of the medium faces the use nozzle for the toned background image, then faces the drying nozzle, and then faces the use nozzle for the main image. Therefore, the drying time of the background image can be ensured only for the time when the predetermined area of the medium faces the drying nozzle, and blurring of the image can be suppressed. The length in the transport direction of the area to which the drying nozzle belongs (6d in FIG. 10) is preferably an integral multiple (2 times) of the medium transport amount (3d) during normal printing. By doing so, the number of passes in which the medium faces the drying nozzle, that is, the drying time can be made constant, and uneven density of the image can be suppressed.

  Next, upper end printing will be described. As shown in FIG. 10, the medium transport amount d for upper end printing is made shorter than the medium transport amount 3d for normal printing. Note that when the medium transport amount of at least one of the passes before and after a certain pass is shorter than the medium transport amount 3d during normal printing, the pass is the top-end printing. Therefore, in FIG. 10, pass 1 to pass 8 are set as top-end printing.

  By the way, in the normal printing, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 10, the nozzle group (# 1 to # 9) on the downstream side in the transport direction of the color nozzle row Co is used as the main image use nozzles, and the white nozzle row W and the color are used. The nozzle group (# 16 to # 24) on the upstream side in the transport direction of the nozzle row Co is used as a to-be-used background image nozzle. However, at the time of upper end printing, the toned background image is printed using the nozzles on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the used nozzles (# 16 to # 24) for the toned background image during normal printing. For example, in pass 1 of FIG. 10, the toned background image is printed using nozzles # 8 to # 10.

  12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating a printing method of a reference example for printing the upper end portion of a medium. In FIG. 12A, the medium transport amount (d) is shorter than the medium transport amount (3d) during normal printing, as in the upper end printing of the present embodiment. However, in the upper end printing in FIG. 12A, the used nozzles for the toned background image are made the same as those in the normal printing. That is, the used nozzle for the toned background image is fixed to the upstream nozzles (# 16 to # 24), and the used nozzle for the main image is fixed to the downstream nozzles (# 1 to # 9). At the start of printing in the front printing mode, the upper end portion of the medium and the use nozzle for the toned background image face each other. For this reason, even when printing at the upper end, if the use nozzle for the toned background image is set as the upstream nozzle, the printing start position of the medium with respect to the head 41 becomes relatively upstream. In FIG. 12A, the position of nozzle # 18 is the print start position. As a result, the amount of protrusion of the medium from the head 41 increases or the amount of blank space on the medium increases.

  In the reference example of FIG. 12B, the medium transport amount during normal printing is set to 3d without shortening the medium transport amount even when the upper end portion of the medium is printed. That is, normal printing is performed from the start of printing, and ink is ejected from nozzles located upstream from the printable area. Therefore, when printing the upper end of the medium as in FIG. 12A, the nozzles used for the toned background image (# 16 to # 24) during normal printing, that is, the upstream nozzle group is used. Become. Therefore, the printing start position of the medium with respect to the head 41 is relatively upstream. In FIG. 12B, the position of nozzle # 22 is the print start position, and the print start position is further upstream in the transport direction than the reference example in FIG. 12A.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when printing the upper end portion of the medium, the toning is performed using the nozzles on the downstream side in the transport direction from the used nozzles (# 16 to # 24) for the toned background image during normal printing. A background image is printed, and the carry amount (d) is made shorter than the medium carry amount (3d) during normal printing. By doing so, the printing start position of the medium with respect to the head 41 can be made relatively downstream, and the amount of medium protruding from the head 41 and the amount of medium margin can be reduced.

  By the way, it is preferable that the time interval from the printing of the background image to the printing of the main image, that is, the drying time is made constant throughout the image. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven density in the image. Therefore, the dot generation method is made the same in the upper end printing and the normal printing (the dot recording method is made the same). The same dot generation method means that, in upper end printing and normal printing, an upstream end in the transport direction of an image formed in a certain pass and an upstream end in the transport direction of an image formed in the next pass The amount of deviation in the conveyance direction with respect to the section is made constant.

  In the normal printing in FIG. 10, since the medium conveyance amount is three times the nozzle pitch and the nozzle pitch number is 1, the deviation amount of the upstream end of each image formed in the previous and subsequent passes is three rasters. The length of the line. Therefore, also in the upper end printing, the shift amount of the upstream end portion of each image formed in the previous and subsequent passes is set to the length of three raster lines. However, the medium conveyance amount is shorter in the upper end printing than in the normal printing. Therefore, in top-end printing, as shown in FIG. 10, the number of toned background image use nozzles (◯) is increased for each pass, and the position of the toned background image use nozzles is set upstream in the transport direction. Shift.

  Since the medium conveyance amount at the upper end printing is one time the nozzle pitch d, the position of the nozzle used for the toned background image (the position of the nozzle used on the most upstream side) is shifted upstream by two nozzles. . For example, in pass 1 of FIG. 10, the toned background image is printed from nozzle # 8 to “# 10”, in to pass 2, the toned background image is printed from nozzle # 7 to “# 12”, and in pass 3, nozzle # 6 to “# 14”, the toned background image is printed. By doing so, even in the upper end printing, the shift amount of the upstream end portion of each image formed in the previous and subsequent passes can be made the length of three raster lines. That is, the total amount of the medium transport amount d at the upper end printing and the amount 2d for shifting the position of the used nozzle (the position of the most upstream side used nozzle) upstream for each pass at the upper end printing is the medium amount at the time of normal printing. It is set equal to the carry amount 3d.

  Similarly, also in the lower end printing (FIG. 11), the medium transport amount d is made shorter than the medium transport amount 3d during normal printing. At the end of printing, the medium faces the main image use nozzle (▲). Therefore, if the main image is printed by the nozzles (# 1 to # 9) on the downstream side in the transport direction in the lower end printing as in the normal printing, the print end position is relatively downstream. Therefore, in the lower end printing (FIG. 11) of the present embodiment, the main image is printed using the nozzles on the upstream side in the transport direction from the main image use nozzles (# 1 to # 9) during normal printing. By doing so, the printing end position of the medium with respect to the head 41 can be relatively upstream.

  Also in the lower end printing, the same dot generation method as in normal printing is used (the same dot recording method is used). The same dot generation method means that, in lower-end printing and normal printing, an end on the downstream side in the transport direction of an image formed in a certain pass and an end on the downstream side in the transport direction of an image formed in the next pass The amount of deviation in the conveyance direction with respect to the section is made constant. For example, in the normal printing of FIG. 11, the amount of deviation of the downstream end of the image formed by the front and rear passes corresponds to the length of three raster lines. However, the medium conveyance amount is shorter in the lower end printing than in the normal printing. Therefore, in the lower end printing, as shown in FIG. 11, the number of used nozzles for main image (▲) is reduced for each pass, and the position of the used nozzle for main image is shifted upstream in the transport direction.

  Specifically, since the medium transport amount at the lower end printing is one time the nozzle pitch d, the position of the nozzle used for the main image (the position of the nozzle used on the most downstream side) is upstream by two nozzles. Shift to the side. For example, in pass 23 of FIG. 11, the main image is printed with nozzles “# 11” to # 19, the main image is printed with nozzles “# 13” to # 18 in pass 24, and the nozzle “# 15” is printed with pass 25. In step # 17, the main image is printed. By doing so, similarly to the normal printing in the lower end printing, the shift amount of the downstream end portion of the image formed by the front and rear passes can be made the length of three raster lines. That is, the total amount of the medium transport amount d at the lower end printing and the amount 2d for shifting the position of the used nozzle (the position of the used nozzle on the most downstream side) upstream for each pass at the lower end printing is the medium amount at the time of normal printing. It is set equal to the carry amount 3d.

  Heretofore, the printing method in the front printing mode (left in FIG. 9) is taken as an example. In the reverse printing mode (right side in FIG. 9), the position of the nozzles is only reversed from that in the front printing mode, and thus the description thereof is omitted. For example, in the reverse printing mode, the used nozzles for the background image at the time of normal printing are the nozzle group on the downstream side in the transport direction (nozzles # 1 to # 9 in FIG. 10), and the used nozzles for the main image are on the upstream side in the transport direction. It becomes a nozzle group (# 16 to # 24).

<Nozzle assignment processing>
The printing method of the present embodiment (FIGS. 10 and 11) adjusts the white color by adding at least one of the four color inks to the main image using four color inks (YMCK) and the white ink (W). The toned background image is printed on a medium in a superimposed manner. Then, among the nozzle group that prints the main image and the nozzle group that prints the toned background image, the nozzle group located upstream in the transport direction prints an image first on a predetermined area of the medium. Further, the medium transport amount is made different between the upper / lower end printing and the normal printing. Then, the dot generation method is made the same in the upper / lower end printing and the normal printing. Also, the dot generation method of the main image is the same as the dot generation method of the toned background image (the printing resolution, the number of nozzles used during normal printing, the number of overlaps, etc. are the same). Hereinafter, the nozzle assignment processing when such a printing method is set will be described.

  In the nozzle allocation process, the printer driver extracts pixel data to be used for each pass from image data in which pixel data is arranged in a matrix, and rearranges the extracted pixel data in the order in which the data is allocated to each nozzle in the nozzle row. . Therefore, for each pass, the printer driver determines whether each nozzle belonging to the nozzle row is a used nozzle or a non-used nozzle used for forming an image. It is necessary to associate the position of the raster line to be formed by the nozzle used. The position of the raster line is a position in the transport direction on the medium on which the raster line is formed. Here, numbers are assigned in order from the raster line position L on the downstream side in the transport direction (upper end side of the medium). Note that the position of the raster line on the most downstream side of the raster lines in the printable area is 0 (L0) and is called the 0th raster line. Also, the position of the raster line downstream of the 0th raster line is a negative value.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a flow of processing performed by the printer driver in the nozzle assignment processing, and FIG. 14 is a nozzle area set for the printing method in the front printing mode in which the main image is superimposed on the toned background image. 15A to 15D are diagrams illustrating parameters used in the nozzle assignment process. Hereinafter, a printing method in the surface printing mode in which the main image is superimposed on the toned background image will be described as an example. In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, nozzle areas 1 to 9 are set for each nozzle row (KCMYW). The nozzle area shown in FIG. 14 is a nozzle area during normal printing, and will be described by reducing the number of nozzles belonging to one nozzle row (# 1 to # 26).

  Of the nozzles that print the main image, the black nozzle is set to “nozzle area 1”, the cyan nozzle is set to “nozzle area 3”, the magenta nozzle is set to “nozzle area 5”, and the yellow nozzle is set to “nozzle area 7”. The Among the nozzles that print the toned background image, the black nozzle is “nozzle region 4”, the cyan nozzle is “nozzle region 4”, the magenta nozzle is “nozzle region 6”, and the yellow nozzle is “nozzle region 8”. ", The white nozzle is set to" nozzle area 9 ". During normal printing, the nozzles belonging to the nozzle areas 1, 3, 5, and 7 for printing the main image are nozzles # 1 to # 12, and the main image is printed by the nozzles # 1 to # 12 of the four-color nozzle row (KCMY). The nozzles belonging to the nozzle areas 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9 for printing the toned background image are nozzles # 15 to # 26, and the toned background is created by the nozzles # 15 to # 26 of the five-color nozzle row (KCMYW). The image is printed. Note that since the main image is not printed in the white nozzle row W, only one nozzle region is set.

  A “reference nozzle area” is set from these nozzle areas 1 to 9. Here, it is assumed that among the nozzle regions 1 to 9, the nozzle region on the most downstream side in the transport direction is set as the reference nozzle region. In the head 41 (FIG. 2) of this embodiment, since the positions of all the nozzle rows (KCMYW) in the transport direction are equal, the nozzle region 1 of the black nozzle row K is set as the reference nozzle region.

  The table shown in FIG. 15A stores the type of data assigned to each nozzle area and the “shift amount” of the other nozzle areas 2 to 9 with respect to the reference nozzle area 1. The “shift amount” is a shift amount in the transport direction of the used nozzles in the other nozzle regions 2 to 9 with respect to the used nozzles (# 1 to # 12) in the reference nozzle region 1 in normal printing. For example, the shift amount of the used nozzles (# 1 to # 12) in the reference nozzle area 1 and the used nozzles (# 1 to # 12) in the nozzle area 3 for printing the same main image is “0”. On the other hand, the used nozzles (# 15 to # 26) of the nozzle area 4 for printing the background image are shifted to the upstream side in the transport direction by 14 nozzles with respect to the used nozzles of the reference nozzle area 1, and therefore the shift amount Is “14”. That is, the shift amount is the number of the start nozzle among the used nozzles in the reference nozzle area during normal printing from the number of the start nozzle (or the number of the end nozzle) among the used nozzles in a certain nozzle area during normal printing. This is a value obtained by subtracting (or the number of the end nozzle). For example, the shift amount of the nozzle region 3 is calculated as “0” by “nozzle # 1−nozzle # 1”, and the shift amount of the nozzle region 4 is calculated as “14” by “nozzle # 15-nozzle # 1”. The

  15A to 15D may be stored in the memory 13 of the printer 1, for example, or may be stored in the memory of the computer 60 when the printer driver is installed in the computer 60. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, ink is ejected between the nozzles used for the main image (# 1 to # 12) and the nozzles used for the toned background image (# 15 to # 26). Two drying nozzles (# 13 to # 14) are provided. However, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, it is assumed here that the drying nozzle does not belong to any nozzle region, and the nozzle region is not constituted by the drying nozzle.

  The printer driver performs nozzle allocation processing for each pass in the printing order after halftone processing. In the present embodiment, before the nozzle allocation process for all passes is completed, the print data for the pass for which the nozzle allocation process has been completed is transmitted to the printer 1. By doing so, printing can be started quickly, and since it is not necessary to store print data for every pass of all passes, the memory capacity of the computer 60 can be reduced. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the print data may be collectively transmitted to the printer 1 after the nozzle allocation processing for all passes is completed. Hereinafter, the nozzle allocation processing for upper and lower end printing and normal printing will be described in detail. Originally, the printer driver performs nozzle allocation processing in order from the top-end printing pass. Here, for ease of explanation, the normal printing processing will be described first.

<< Normal printing >>
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a head table (corresponding to a first table) and a nozzle table (corresponding to a second table) in pass 10 of normal printing. The left diagram in FIG. 16 shows a state in which the black nozzle row K having the nozzle regions 1 and 2 transitions upstream in the transport direction for each pass. Upper end printing is from pass 1 to pass 9, and normal printing starts from pass 10. For the nozzle allocation process in pass 10, the printer driver first creates a head table related to the reference nozzle area (nozzle area 1) (S001 in FIG. 13).

  As shown in the figure, the head table stores a head position, a horizontal position, a nozzle type, a start nozzle, and an end nozzle. First, the printer driver calculates the head position of the corresponding path and stores (stores) it in the head table. The head position is a raster line position L (number) corresponding to the first nozzle (# 1) of the nozzle row (black nozzle row) to which the reference nozzle region belongs in the corresponding pass (pass 10 in the figure). Here, the position of the raster line at which printing is started is “position 0”. Note that in the nozzle row transition diagram of FIG. 16, the numbers on the nozzle rows in each pass correspond to the head positions in each pass.

  FIG. 15C is a parameter table for creating a head table for normal printing. The “start head position” in the parameter table indicates the head position of the first pass (here, pass 10) of normal printing. Since FIG. 16 shows the head table of pass 10, the printer driver stores the start head position “3” as the head position in the head table as it is. The head position after the first pass of normal printing is calculated by the start head position (3), the medium transport amount (3d), and the pitch between nozzles (1d). The inter-nozzle pitch is an interval in the transport direction in which raster lines are formed, and is a length corresponding to the print resolution in the transport direction. Specifically, the head position of a certain pass X in normal printing is calculated by “start head position + (medium transport amount / nozzle pitch) × (pass X−pass 10)”. For example, the head position of the next pass 11 is calculated as “6 (= 3 + (3d / 1d) × (11−10))”.

  Next, the printer driver stores the “horizontal position” of the corresponding path in the head table. In the printing method shown in FIG. 16, the use nozzle (shaded portion) passes through a predetermined position in the transport direction four times. This indicates that one raster line constituting each image is formed by four nozzles (the number of overlaps is 4). Therefore, the horizontal position is set so that the nozzles forming the same raster line do not form dots in the same pixel. The horizontal position is information indicating the type (position) of pixel data assigned to the nozzles of the corresponding pass in raster data (pixel data group arranged in a direction corresponding to the moving direction on the image data) for forming a raster line. is there. Here, since the number of overlaps is 4, as shown in the parameter table of FIG. 15C, the information indicating the horizontal position is also 1 to 4. The printer driver determines the horizontal position of the corresponding pass based on the cycle of “2, 3, 4, 1” in order from the first pass 10 of normal printing based on the cycle of “2, 3, 4, 1”, and stores it in the head table. Remember. The head table of pass 10 in FIG. 11 stores the horizontal position as 2.

  Next, the printer driver stores “nozzle type (nozzle type)” in the head table. The nozzle type indicates whether nozzles # 1 to # 12 belonging to the reference nozzle region are “used nozzles” or “unused nozzles”. For this purpose, the printer driver refers to the “start nozzle number” and “end nozzle number” in the parameter table of FIG. 15C and stores in the head table whether or not each nozzle # 1 to # 12 in the reference nozzle region is a used nozzle. Let In FIG. 15C, since the start nozzle number is nozzle # 1 and the end nozzle number is nozzle # 12, all the nozzles # 1 to # 12 are stored as “used nozzles” in the head table of FIG.

  Here, all nozzles # 1 to # 12 belonging to the reference nozzle region are used nozzles, but this is not a limitation. Depending on the printer and the printing method, the end nozzles of the nozzle row may not be used, and the end nozzles may be stored in the head table as unused nozzles. Also, here, all raster lines are printed with a plurality of nozzles, but not limited to this, only a part of raster lines is printed with a plurality of nozzles, and another part of raster lines is printed with a single nozzle. In some cases, a printing method (so-called partial overlap printing) is performed. In this case, since the positions at which dots are formed differ depending on the nozzle, in the nozzle type of the head table, for example, a nozzle that forms a raster line with a plurality of nozzles is stored as an “overlap nozzle”, and a raster line is formed with one nozzle. By storing the nozzles forming the “normal nozzles”, the types of nozzles can be distinguished. Further, a drying nozzle (# 13, # 14 in FIG. 14) positioned between the background image use nozzle and the main image use nozzle may be included in the reference nozzle region. ˜ # 12 may be stored as used nozzles, and nozzles # 13 and # 14 may be stored as drying nozzles (unused nozzles).

  Finally, the printer driver stores “start nozzle and end nozzle” in the head table. The printer driver refers to the nozzle type, stores the most downstream use nozzle (nozzle # 1 in FIG. 16) among the nozzles # 1 to # 12 belonging to the reference nozzle region as the “start nozzle” in the head table, Of the nozzles # 1 to # 12, the most upstream nozzle (nozzle # 12 in FIG. 16) is stored in the head table as an “end nozzle”.

  With the head table created in this way, the printer driver can associate each used nozzle in the reference nozzle region with the position (number) of the raster line to be formed by each used nozzle. That is, pixel data to be printed in the corresponding pass (pass 10 in the figure) is extracted from the black main image data, and the pixel data can be assigned to the nozzles of the black nozzle row K to which the reference nozzle region belongs (rearrangement is possible. it can).

  Next, the printer driver creates a “nozzle table” for the other nozzle regions 2 to 9 based on the head table created for the reference nozzle region (S002 in FIG. 13). FIG. 16 shows the nozzle table of the nozzle region 2 belonging to the same black nozzle row K as the reference nozzle region. First, the printer driver stores the same head position (3 in FIG. 16) and horizontal position (2 in FIG. 16) as the head table in the nozzle table.

  Next, the printer driver stores “start nozzle and end nozzle” of the nozzle region 2 in the head table. Therefore, the printer driver refers to “start nozzle and end nozzle” in the head table and “shift amount” in the parameter table in FIG. 15A. The shift amount is a shift amount to the upstream side in the transport direction of the used nozzles of the other nozzle regions with respect to the used nozzles of the reference nozzle region. Therefore, the printer driver calculates the nozzle obtained by adding the shift amount to the “start nozzle” stored in the head table as the “start nozzle” in the nozzle area 2, and shifts the nozzle to the “end nozzle” stored in the head table. Is added as the “end nozzle” of the nozzle region 2. For example, according to the parameter table (FIG. 15A), the shift amount of the nozzle region 2 is “14 (14 nozzles)”. In pass 10 of FIG. 16, the start nozzle stored in the head table is “# 1” and the end nozzle is “# 12”. Therefore, in the nozzle table of the nozzle region 2, the start nozzle is stored as “nozzle # 15 (= # 1 + 14)”, and the end nozzle is stored as “nozzle # 26 (= # 12 + 14)”.

  Finally, the printer driver stores “address to nozzle type” in the nozzle table. The address to the nozzle type is the nozzle number of the reference nozzle area corresponding to the most downstream nozzle of the used nozzles in the nozzle area 2, that is, the start nozzle (nozzle # 15 in FIG. 16) (nozzle # 1 in FIG. 16). ). Note that the N-th nozzle from the downstream side among the nozzles belonging to the reference nozzle area during normal printing and the N-th nozzle from the downstream side among nozzles belonging to another nozzle area during normal printing correspond to each other. It is in. In the subsequent processing, when assigning print data to the nozzles in the nozzle area 2, the printer driver determines the type of the nozzle in the head table based on the “start nozzle” and “address to the nozzle type” of the nozzle table for the nozzle area 2. , The type of nozzle belonging to the nozzle region 2 can be determined. For example, in FIG. 16, the start nozzle of the nozzle region 2 is nozzle # 15, and the address to the nozzle type is nozzle # 1. Therefore, as a result of referring to the information related to the nozzle # 1 of the “nozzle type” in the head table, the printer driver is stored as “used nozzle”, so that the nozzle # 15 in the nozzle area 2 can also be determined as “used nozzle”. . The printer driver sequentially refers to the information regarding the nozzle # 2 of the nozzle type of the head table for the nozzle # 16 of the nozzle region 2. As described above, by storing “address to nozzle type” in the nozzle table, it is possible to determine the type of nozzle belonging to the nozzle region 2 without storing the “nozzle type” related to the nozzle belonging to the nozzle region 2.

  After the nozzle table related to the nozzle area 2 is created in this way, the printer driver also creates nozzle tables related to the other nozzle areas 3 to 9. As shown in FIG. 15A, since the shift amount of the nozzle region 3 of the cyan nozzle row C is “0”, the start nozzle and the end nozzle are the same in the nozzle region 3 and the reference nozzle region. In addition, since the shift amount of the nozzle region 9 of the white nozzle row W is “14”, the nozzle region 9 and the nozzle region 2 have the same start nozzle and end nozzle. With the nozzle table thus created, the printer driver can associate each used nozzle in each nozzle region with the position (number) of the raster line to be formed by each used nozzle.

  After the creation of the nozzle table related to the head table and the nozzle areas 2 to 9 in the corresponding pass, the printer driver extracts pixel data used for printing in the corresponding pass from the image data, and extracts them in the order assigned to the nozzles. The rearranged pixel data is rearranged (S003 in FIG. 13, details will be described later), and the rearranged print data is transmitted to the printer 1. Thereafter, the printer driver creates a head table and a nozzle table for the next pass. The head table and nozzle table creation processing in normal printing is performed until the normal printing pass is completed. The “end head position (30)” for normal printing is stored in the parameter table of FIG. 15C. The end head position is the head position in the last pass of normal printing. Therefore, when the head position reaches the end head position, the printer driver performs the lower end printing process from the next pass.

  To summarize the above, in the printing method of the present embodiment (FIGS. 10 and 11), two types of images (main image and background image) are printed in an overlapping manner, and in order to ensure a drying time, a predetermined medium is used. Two types of images are printed in different passes for the area. For this reason, the nozzle of the image to be printed first with respect to the predetermined area of the medium is set to be a nozzle positioned on the upstream side in the transport direction from the nozzle of the image to be printed later. That is, the range of nozzles used (range of nozzles for forming an image) differs depending on the nozzle row (KCMY) for printing the main image and the nozzle row (mainly W) for printing the background image. That is, the range of nozzles used varies depending on the nozzle row. Therefore, if an attempt is made to create a head table that stores the range of nozzles used (nozzle type / start nozzle and end nozzle) for each nozzle row (KCMYW), a parameter table for creating the head table (example: FIG. 15C) increases the memory capacity.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, “shift” is an amount in which the used nozzle ranges of other nozzle rows are shifted in the transport direction with respect to the used nozzle ranges of the reference nozzle row (the nozzle row to which the reference nozzle region belongs). “Amount” is stored in the memory of the printing system (printer 1 or computer). By doing so, it is possible to add the shift amount to the used nozzle range of the reference nozzle row without storing the used nozzle range of the other nozzle row in the printing system. A range can be calculated. As a result, it is possible to reduce the memory capacity of the parameter table for storing the range of nozzles used (for example, the start nozzle number / end nozzle number in FIG. 15C), that is, the parameter table for creating the head table.

  In the printing method of this embodiment, two types of image data are allocated to one nozzle row. In the reference embodiment described above, there is only one type of image data assigned to one nozzle row (since it is only main image data), and therefore the processing of the reference embodiment is applied as it is to the nozzle assignment processing of this embodiment. I can't.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, a nozzle that prints the other image (eg, the toned background image) with respect to the range of nozzles used in the nozzle area (reference nozzle region) that prints one image (eg, the main image). A “shift amount”, which is an amount by which the range of nozzles used in the region is shifted in the transport direction, is stored in the memory of the printing system. By doing so, one of the image data can be assigned to the used nozzle in the reference nozzle area without storing the used nozzle range in the other nozzle area that is not the reference nozzle area in the printing system. The other image data can be assigned to the used nozzles in the other nozzle region obtained by adding the shift amount to the nozzle range. As a result, it is possible to reduce the memory capacity of the parameter table for storing the range of nozzles used, that is, the parameter table for creating the head table, while allocating two types of image data to one nozzle row.

  Further, the head table of the present embodiment uses “nozzle” for each nozzle (# 1 to # 12) belonging to the reference nozzle region as information indicating the range of nozzles used (corresponding to information indicating the range of nozzles forming an image). “Type (for example, used nozzle / unused nozzle)” is stored. However, the nozzle table related to the other nozzle regions 2 to 9 outside the reference nozzle region does not store the “nozzle type” for each nozzle belonging to the nozzle region, and “start nozzle and end nozzle” among the used nozzles. Just remember. In FIG. 16, the number of nozzles belonging to the nozzle area is reduced, but the actual number of nozzles is large, and the process of storing the nozzle type in the head table for each nozzle belonging to the nozzle area is complicated, and the memory capacity of the head table is growing. In other words, by not storing the nozzle type in the nozzle tables related to the nozzle areas 2 to 9 other than the reference nozzle area, the nozzle table creation process becomes easier than the head table, and the memory capacity of the nozzle table is reduced. be able to. However, since the “nozzle type address” is stored in the nozzle tables of the nozzle regions 2 to 9 other than the reference nozzle region, the printer driver refers to the nozzle type of the corresponding nozzle in the reference nozzle region, The nozzle types of the other nozzle regions 2 to 9 can be known.

  In addition to the “nozzle type” stored for each nozzle, the head table of the present embodiment also stores “start nozzle and end nozzle” among the used nozzles as information indicating the range of nozzles used. By doing so, the printer driver refers to the “nozzle type” of the head table when calculating the “start nozzle and end nozzle” in the nozzle table of the nozzle regions 2 to 9 other than the reference nozzle region. It is not necessary to extract the most downstream nozzle (start nozzle) and the most upstream nozzle (end nozzle) of the nozzles. If only the nozzle type is stored in the head table, the start nozzle and the end nozzle are extracted from the “nozzle type” of the head table every time a nozzle table of a plurality of nozzle areas 2 to 9 is created. End up. That is, by storing the “start nozzle and end nozzle” of the used nozzles in the head table, the printer driver simply adds the shift amount to the “start nozzle and end nozzle” of the head table, and “ The “start nozzle and end nozzle” can be calculated. As a result, the nozzle table creation process can be facilitated.

<< Top edge printing >>
By the way, the printing method of the above-described reference embodiment (FIG. 4) is a printing method in which dots that cannot be filled by normal printing are recorded by upper-end / lower-end printing. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, in normal printing, the amount of deviation of the edge (upstream side or downstream side) of the image formed in the previous and subsequent passes is constant. However, for example, in the upper end printing of FIG. 4, the upstream end of the image formed in pass 1 is positioned upstream of the upstream end of the image formed in pass 2, and in the lower end printing, The downstream end of the image formed in pass 11 is positioned upstream of the downstream end of the image formed in pass 12, and in the reference embodiment, in upper end / lower end printing and normal printing, The way dots are generated is different. Therefore, the nozzle allocation process of the reference embodiment cannot be directly applied to the nozzle allocation process of the present embodiment. If the nozzle allocation process of the reference embodiment is applied, for example, ink may be ejected from the nozzles after nozzle # 11 in pass 1 in FIG. It becomes impossible to make the dot generation method the same.

  Further, in the printing method of the present embodiment, although the dot generation method is the same in the upper end / lower end printing and the normal printing, the upper end / lower end is set in order to make the print start position with respect to the head 41 as downstream as possible in the transport direction. The medium conveyance amount for printing is made shorter than the medium conveyance amount for normal printing. Therefore, unlike FIG. 12B in which normal printing is performed from the start of printing, in FIG. 10, FIG. 11, and FIG. 12A, there are unused nozzles even in the nozzles located in the printable area. Therefore, the printer driver needs to determine whether each nozzle is a used nozzle or an unused nozzle in the nozzle allocation process.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, “virtual printing”, which assumes that normal printing is also performed when printing the upper end and lower end of the medium, and upper and lower ends when printing the upper end and lower end of the medium. Based on both the “actual printing” and the printing that is assumed to be performed at the lower end, the range of nozzles (the range of used nozzles) that forms an image by the upper and lower end printing is determined. That is, the nozzle for forming an image by virtual printing is replaced with the nozzle of the actual printing head. Note that, in order to make the upper and lower end printing and the normal printing dot generation the same, it is necessary to position the actual printing nozzles at the position in the transport direction where the nozzles are positioned in the virtual printing. That is, it is necessary to form the raster line by positioning the actual printing nozzle at the position of the raster line formed by virtual printing. For this reason, the difference between the normal printing conveyance amount (3d) and the upper and lower end printing conveyance amounts (1d) may be set to a length that is an integral multiple of the nozzle pitch (d).

First, the head table and nozzle table creation process during upper end printing will be described.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the head table and the nozzle table in pass 6 of upper end printing. The left diagram in FIG. 17 shows a transition diagram of the black nozzle row K to which the nozzle region 1 (reference nozzle region) and the nozzle region 2 belong. Here, the position of the black nozzle row K indicated by the solid line in the drawing is the position of the black nozzle row K in the actual upper end printing, and the position of the black nozzle row K indicated by the dotted line in the drawing is the position in the virtual printing. This is the position of the black nozzle row K. In actual upper end printing, the black nozzle row K is shifted from the last pass of upper end printing by the actual print transport amount (1d). For example, in FIG. 17, the head position in the last pass 9 of the upper end printing is “0”. In the present embodiment, since the medium conveyance amount of the upper end printing is equal to the nozzle pitch (interval in the raster line conveyance direction) (both are 1d), the head position of the actual upper end printing pass 8 is “−1”. On the other hand, in the virtual printing, the black nozzle row K is shifted from the last pass of the upper end printing by the transport amount (3d) of the normal printing. Therefore, the head position of pass 8 of the virtual printing is “−3”.

  In other words, in the virtual printing, the upper end portion of the medium is printed by normal printing, and the position in the transport direction of the head 41 in the first pass of normal printing (or the last pass of upper end printing) is reached to a predetermined position. In printing, the upper end of the medium is printed by upper end printing, and the position in the transport direction of the head 41 in the first pass of normal printing (or the last pass of upper end printing) is made to reach the same predetermined position.

  Further, in the above-described normal printing, the nozzle regions 1 to 9 (FIG. 14) set for each nozzle row and each image data to be allocated do not vary, and the nozzles belonging to each nozzle region are constant. On the other hand, in the upper end printing of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the background image is also printed using the nozzles on the downstream side in the transport direction, and the nozzle for printing the background image is gradually shifted to the upstream side. Go. Therefore, in actual upper end printing, the nozzles belonging to the nozzle region for printing the background image vary. On the other hand, in the virtual printing, the nozzles belonging to the nozzle region for printing the background image do not change, and the nozzles (# 15 to # 26) on the upstream side in the transport direction in the virtual printing head are used nozzles for the background image.

  First, the printer driver creates a head table related to a reference nozzle region (nozzle group for printing the main image of the black nozzle row K) in the virtual printing head (S001 in FIG. 13). First, the printer driver calculates the head position in virtual printing and the head position in actual printing in the corresponding pass (pass 6 in FIG. 17). As described above, the head position is a raster line position corresponding to the first nozzle # 1 of the nozzle row to which the reference nozzle region belongs. The printer driver performs virtual printing based on the start head position (−24), the transport amount (3 · d), and the pitch between nozzles (1 · d) stored in the upper-end virtual printing parameter table (FIG. 15B). The head position is calculated. The start head position (−24) is the head position in the first pass 1 of the upper end virtual printing. Therefore, the head position of pass X with virtual printing is calculated as “start head position + (medium transport amount / nozzle pitch) × (pass X−1)”. Since the example of FIG. 17 is pass 6, the head position is calculated as “−9 (= −24 + (3d / 1d) × (6-1))”.

  Similarly, the printer driver sets the start head position (−8), the transport amount (1 · d), and the inter-nozzle pitch (1 · d) stored in the actual upper end printing parameter table (FIG. 15B). Based on this, the actual print head position is calculated. Since the example of FIG. 17 is path 6, the head position is calculated as “−3 (= −8 + (1d / 1d) × (6-1))”. The printer driver stores both the virtual printing head position (−9) and the actual printing head position (−3) in the head table.

  Next, the printer driver refers to the upper end virtual printing parameter table in FIG. 15B and stores the horizontal position and the type of nozzle in the head table. This process is the same as normal printing. In the example of pass 6 in FIG. 17, the horizontal position is 2, and nozzles # 1 to # 12 are stored as the used nozzles in the nozzle type. This indicates that nozzles # 1 to # 12 in the virtual printing head are used nozzles.

  Thereafter, the printer driver calculates the difference between the head position in virtual printing and the head position in actual printing, and stores the difference in the head table. In pass 6 of FIG. 17, the difference between the head positions of the virtual printing and the actual printing is “−6 (= −9 − (− 3))”. Finally, based on the nozzle type, the printer driver sets the most downstream nozzle among the used nozzles as the start nozzle (nozzle # 1 in the figure), and the most upstream nozzle among the used nozzles as the end nozzle (in the figure). Nozzle # 12) is stored in the head table. Thus, the creation of the head table for the reference nozzle area for virtual printing is completed.

  Next, the printer driver creates a nozzle table related to the reference nozzle area and the other nozzle areas 2 to 9 in actual printing. Hereinafter, creation of a nozzle table for a reference nozzle region (nozzles for printing a main image in a black nozzle row) in actual printing will be described. First, the printer driver refers to the head table, and stores the actual print head position “−3” and horizontal position “2” in the nozzle table.

  Thereafter, the printer driver calculates the start nozzle and the end nozzle of the reference nozzle region in actual printing. As stored in the head table, the head position difference between the virtual printing and the actual printing is “−6”, and the actual printing nozzles correspond to the six raster lines with respect to the virtual printing nozzles. It is located on the upstream side in the transport direction by the length of. Therefore, the start nozzle “# 1” in virtual printing stored in the head table is replaced with the start nozzle in actual printing based on the head position difference (−6) and the nozzle pitch number (1). The actual printing start nozzle is calculated by “virtual printing start nozzle + (head position difference / number of nozzle pitches)”. In the example of FIG. 17, the start nozzle of the reference nozzle region is calculated as “# -5 (= # 1 + (− 6) / 1)”. Similarly, the end nozzle “# 12” stored in the head table is calculated as “# 6 (= # 12 + (− 6) / 1)” in the actual print end nozzle.

  In other words, in order to achieve the same dot generation method as in normal printing in top-end printing, it is only necessary to record dots using the nozzles used in the reference nozzle area in virtual printing. Replace with In the example of FIG. 17, the used nozzles “# 1 to # 12” in the reference nozzle area in virtual printing are replaced with the used nozzles “# -5 to # 6” in actual printing. However, in the actual head, there is no negative value nozzle, and the first nozzle is present, so the first nozzle and the subsequent nozzles are used, and the nozzles located in the printable area are used. In the present embodiment, the raster line for starting printing is “0”.

  Therefore, the printer driver calculates the nozzle number located in the printable area based on the head position. In FIG. 17, it can be seen that the head position in actual printing is “−3”, and nozzle # 1 corresponds to the third raster line (outside the printing area). The raster line in the printable area is the raster line after the 0th raster line (the raster line upstream from the 0th raster line). Therefore, the most downstream use nozzle in the printable area can be calculated by “(raster line of printing start−head position) / nozzle pitch number + 1”. In the example of FIG. 17, nozzle # 4 (= {0 − (− 3)} / 1 + 1) is located within the printable area. Therefore, the printer driver can calculate that the start nozzle is nozzle # 4 and the end nozzle is nozzle # 6 among the nozzles used in the reference nozzle area in actual printing, and this information is stored in the nozzle table. Let Note that the lower left of FIG. 17 shows a diagram in which the nozzles in virtual printing, the nozzles in actual printing, and the raster line position (L) are associated with each other with respect to the reference nozzle region. Also from this figure, it can be seen that the nozzles used in the printable area are nozzles # 4 to # 6.

  Finally, the printer driver calculates “address to nozzle type” and stores it in the nozzle table of the reference nozzle area. In the example of the reference nozzle region in FIG. 17, the number of nozzles used is reduced when replacing virtual printing with actual printing, and the start nozzle is nozzle # 4. For this reason, as the address for the nozzle type, the actual printing start nozzle # 4 is the nozzle corresponding to the virtual printing head. Therefore, the printer driver can calculate the address to the nozzle type by “start nozzle number in printable area−start nozzle number + 1”. In FIG. 17, if the print start position is not considered, as described above, nozzle # -5 is the start nozzle. Therefore, the address to the nozzle type is calculated as “nozzle # 10 (= # 4 − (# − 5) +1)”. Thereby, the printer driver, for example, is the nozzle type of nozzle # 10 (used nozzle) in which the nozzle type of start nozzle # 4 is stored in the head table, and the nozzle type in which the nozzle type of nozzle # 5 is stored in the head table It can be determined that the nozzle type is # 11.

  Thus, after the nozzle table related to the reference nozzle area in actual printing is created, the printer driver creates nozzle tables for other nozzle areas 2 to 9 in actual printing. FIG. 17 shows a nozzle table for the nozzle region 2 in actual printing. First, the printer driver stores the actual print head position (−3) and horizontal position (2) stored in the head table in the nozzle table related to the nozzle region 2.

  Next, the printer driver calculates a start nozzle and an end nozzle for the nozzle region 2. The start nozzle and end nozzle stored in the head table indicate the range of nozzles used in the reference nozzle area in virtual printing. As shown in the parameter table of FIG. 15A, the used nozzles in the nozzle area 2 are shifted by “14 (length of 14 raster lines)” to the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the used nozzles in the reference nozzle area. Shift. Therefore, the printer driver sets the start nozzle of the nozzle area 2 in the virtual printing to “nozzle # 15 (==) based on the start nozzle (# 1) of the head table, the shift amount (14), and the nozzle pitch number (1). # 1 + (14/1)) ”. Similarly, the printer driver determines the end nozzle of the nozzle region 2 in the virtual printing based on the end nozzle (# 12) of the head table (12), the shift amount (14), and the number of inter-nozzle pitches (1). = # 12 + (14/1)) ".

  The start nozzle (# 15) and the end nozzle (# 26) of the nozzle area 2 in the virtual printing calculated in this way are replaced with actual printing nozzles. As stored in the head table, the difference in head position between virtual printing and actual printing is “−6 (length of six raster lines)”, and the number of pitches between nozzles is “1”. . Therefore, the printer driver can calculate the start nozzle and the end nozzle in actual printing by “actual printing used nozzle = virtual printing used nozzle + (head position difference / number of pitches between nozzles)”. In the example of the nozzle region 2 in FIG. 17, since the virtual printing start nozzle is “nozzle # 15”, the actual printing start nozzle is “nozzle # 9 (= # 15 + {(− 6) / 1})”. Since the end nozzle for virtual printing is “nozzle # 26”, the actual end nozzle for printing is “nozzle # 20 (= # 26 + {(− 6) / 1})”.

  In the nozzle area 2, since the actual used nozzles (# 9 to # 26) for actual printing are all located in the printable area, the printer driver sets the address for the nozzle type among the used nozzles in the head table. The most downstream nozzle “# 1” is assumed. Thereby, for example, the printer driver is the nozzle type of nozzle # 1 in which the nozzle type of start nozzle # 9 is stored in the head table, and the nozzle type of nozzle # 2 in which the nozzle type of nozzle # 10 is stored in the head table. It can be determined that the type. In this way, the printer driver finishes creating the nozzle table for the nozzle region 2.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the head table and the nozzle table in the next pass 7 of the upper end printing. Similar to the above-described pass, the printer driver first creates a head table for the reference nozzle area for virtual printing. The virtual printing head position in pass 7 is calculated as “−6 (= −24 + (3d / 1d) × (7-1))”, and the actual printing head position is “−2 (= −8 + (1d / 1d) × (7-1)) ”. Therefore, the difference between the virtual print head position and the actual print head position in pass 7 is −4 (= (− 6) − (− 2)).

  Then, the start nozzle (# 1) and end nozzle (# 12) in virtual printing of the reference nozzle region are replaced with nozzles in actual printing. Since the virtual printing start nozzle is “# 1”, the head position difference is “−4”, and the nozzle pitch number is “1”, the actual printing start nozzle is “# -3” (= # 1 + (− 4/1)) ”. Similarly, the actual printing end nozzle is calculated as “# 8 (= # 12 + (− 4/1))”. However, the nozzles # 1 and later and the nozzles in the printable area must be used. Therefore, the start nozzle is calculated as “# 3 (= (starting raster line−head position) + 1 = (0 − (− 2) +1))”. Thus, the start nozzle # 3 and the end nozzle # 8 in the reference nozzle area of pass 7 are calculated. The address to the nozzle type is calculated as “nozzle # 7 (= start nozzle number in printable area−start nozzle number + 1 = # 3 − (# − 3) +1)”.

  As described above, although the medium conveyance amount is different between the upper end printing and the normal printing, the dot generation method is the same between the upper end printing and the normal printing. Therefore, for virtual printing assuming that the upper end portion of the medium is also printed by normal printing, first, a head table of a reference nozzle region is created (the range of nozzles used (nozzle type and start nozzle and end nozzle) are determined). Then, based on the difference between the virtual printing head position and the actual printing head position, the range of nozzles used in virtual printing is replaced with the range of nozzles used in actual printing. However, since a nozzle located outside the printable area may be calculated as a use nozzle, a nozzle located within the printable area is used as the use nozzle.

  Further, in order to create a head table for the reference nozzle region in virtual printing (to determine the range of nozzles used), a nozzle region for printing an image different from the reference nozzle region (here, nozzle regions 2, 4, 4 in FIG. 14). 6, 8, 9), the shift amount (14) from the reference nozzle area during normal printing is added to the range of nozzles used in the reference nozzle area during virtual printing. By doing so, the dot generation method can be made the same in the upper end printing and the normal printing.

<< Bottom edge printing >>
Next, a process for creating a head table and a nozzle table during lower end printing will be described. In the lower end printing, as in the upper end printing, “virtual printing”, which assumes that normal printing is performed when the lower end portion of the medium is printed, and lower end printing is performed when the lower end portion of the medium is printed. Based on both “actual printing” and “printing”, the range of nozzles (the range of used nozzles) for forming an image by lower-end printing is determined. That is, the nozzle for forming an image by virtual printing is replaced with the nozzle of the actual printing head.

  Further, in the above-described normal printing, the nozzle regions 1 to 9 (FIG. 14) set for each nozzle row and each image data to be allocated do not vary, and the nozzles belonging to each nozzle region are constant. On the other hand, in the lower end printing, as shown in FIG. 11, the main image is also printed using the upstream nozzle in the transport direction, and the nozzle for printing the main image is gradually shifted to the upstream side. Therefore, in actual lower end printing, the nozzles belonging to the nozzle region for printing the main image vary. On the other hand, in the virtual printing, the nozzles belonging to the nozzle region for printing the main image do not change, and the nozzles (# 1 to # 12) on the downstream side in the transport direction in the virtual printing head are the used nozzles for the main image.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the head table and the nozzle table in the lower end printing pass 22. The left diagram of FIG. 19 is a transition diagram of the black nozzle row K to which the nozzle region 1 (reference nozzle region) and the nozzle region 2 belong. In the figure, the position of the black nozzle row K indicated by the solid line is the position of the black nozzle row K in the actual lower end printing, and the position of the black nozzle row K indicated by the dotted line is the position of the black nozzle row K in the virtual printing. is there. Since the medium conveyance amount of the lower end printing is 1d and the pitch between nozzles is 1d, the position of the black nozzle row in actual printing (solid line) is shifted to the upstream side in the conveyance direction by one raster line. On the other hand, virtual printing is printing in which normal printing is continued without performing bottom edge printing even after normal printing is completed. Further, since the medium transport amount for normal printing is 3 · d and the inter-nozzle pitch is 1d, the position of the black nozzle row for virtual printing (dotted line) is the transport direction for three raster lines as shown in the figure. It is shifted upstream.

  First, the printer driver creates a head table for a reference nozzle region (nozzle group for printing the main image of the black nozzle row K) in virtual printing. Then, based on the head table, each nozzle table relating to the reference nozzle region in actual printing and the other nozzle regions 2 to 9 in actual printing is created.

  First, the printer driver refers to the parameter table in FIG. 15D and calculates the head position in virtual printing of the corresponding pass and the head position of actual printing. The printer driver calculates the head position of a certain pass X by “start head position + (medium transport amount / nozzle pitch) × (pass X−pass 20)”. Since the example of FIG. 19 is pass 22, the head position for virtual printing is calculated as “39 (= 33 + (3d / 1d) × (22-20))”. Similarly, the actual print head position is calculated as “35 (= 33 + (1d / 1d) × (22−20))”. Then, the printer driver refers to the parameter table in FIG. 15D and stores the horizontal position of the head (2 in FIG. 19) and the nozzle type (nozzles # 1 to # 12 in FIG. 19 are used nozzles) in the head table. .

  Thereafter, the printer driver calculates the difference between the head position in virtual printing and the head position in actual printing, and stores the difference in the head table. For example, in pass 22 of FIG. 19, the difference between the head positions of virtual printing and actual printing is “4 (= 39−35)”. Finally, the printer driver sets the most downstream nozzle among the used nozzles in the virtual printing as the start nozzle (nozzle # 1 in FIG. 19) based on the nozzle type, and sets the most upstream nozzle among the used nozzles in the virtual printing. The nozzle is stored in the head table as an end nozzle (nozzle # 12 in FIG. 19).

  Next, the printer driver creates a nozzle table related to the reference nozzle region in actual printing. The head position (35) and the horizontal position (2) are the same information as the head table. Then, the printer driver replaces the start nozzle and end nozzle in virtual printing with the start nozzle and end nozzle in actual printing. As stored in the head table, the difference in head position between virtual printing and actual printing is “4 (length of four raster lines)”, and the number of pitches between nozzles is “1”. Therefore, the start nozzle in actual printing can be calculated by “virtual printing start nozzle + (head position difference / number of nozzle pitches)”, and the actual printing end nozzle is “virtual printing end nozzle” + (Head position difference / number of nozzle pitches) ". In the example of FIG. 19, the start nozzle in actual printing is calculated as “# 5 (= # 1 + (4/1))”, and the end nozzle in actual printing is “# 16 (= # 12 + (4/1)”. ) ".

  Since all the used nozzles (# 5 to # 16) in the reference nozzle area replaced with actual printing are located in the printable area, the printer driver sets the start nozzle as nozzle # 5 and the end nozzle as nozzle # 16. And stored in the nozzle table. In the lower end printing, since the start nozzle always corresponds to the start nozzle (the most downstream nozzle # 1) in the reference nozzle area in the virtual printing, the address to the nozzle type is nozzle # 1. In this way, a nozzle table for the reference nozzle region in actual printing is created.

  Similarly, the printer driver creates a nozzle table for the other nozzle regions 2 to 9 in actual printing. FIG. 19 illustrates a nozzle table in the nozzle region 2. The printer driver first stores the head position (35) and the horizontal position (2) stored in the head table in the nozzle table. Next, the printer driver calculates the start nozzle and the end nozzle of the nozzle region 2. The start nozzle and the end nozzle stored in the head table are the start nozzle and the end nozzle in the virtual printing of the reference nozzle region. Therefore, the printer driver refers to the parameter table in FIG. 15A and sets the start nozzle of nozzle region 2 in the virtual printing to “nozzle # 15 (==) based on the start nozzle (# 1) and the shift amount (14) of the head table. # 1 + (14/1)) ”. Similarly, based on the end nozzle (# 12) and the shift amount (14) of the head table, the end nozzle of the nozzle area 2 in the virtual printing is calculated as “nozzle # 26 (= # 12 + (14/1))”. .

  Thereafter, the printer driver determines the start nozzle (# 15) and the end nozzle (#) of the nozzle area 2 in the virtual printing based on the difference between the head position “4” of the virtual printing and the actual printing and the nozzle pitch number “1”. 26) is replaced with an actual printing nozzle. The printer driver calculates the actual printing start nozzle as “nozzle # 19 (= # 15 + (4/1))”, and sets the actual printing end nozzle as “nozzle # 30 (= # 26 + (4/1)). ) ". However, since the number of nozzles belonging to the nozzle row is 26 (# 1 to # 26), the nozzles after nozzle # 27 do not exist and do not fall within the range of the used nozzles. Further, the nozzles located outside the printing area do not need to be used nozzles. Therefore, the printer driver refers to the raster line number (58) at the end of printing in the parameter table of FIG. 15D, and determines that the nozzles associated with the 59th and subsequent raster lines are unused nozzles. The lower left of FIG. 19 shows the correspondence between the nozzles for virtual printing, the actual printing nozzles, and the raster line number (L) for the nozzle region 2 (shift amount 14).

  Since the head position corresponds to the raster line number corresponding to nozzle # 1, the printer driver determines the last nozzle located in the printable area by “(printing end raster line−head position) / nozzle pitch number + 1”. Can be calculated. In the example of the nozzle area 2 in FIG. 19, since the raster line for the end of printing is No. 58, the head position is 35, and the number of pitches between nozzles is 1, the last nozzle located in the printable area is “# 24 (= (58−35) / 1 + 1) ”. Then, the printer driver stores the start nozzle as nozzle # 19, the end nozzle as nozzle # 24, and the address for the nozzle type as nozzle # 1 in the nozzle table of the nozzle area 2. Thus, the nozzle table of the nozzle area 2 in actual printing is created.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the head table and the nozzle table in the final pass 28 of the lower end printing. Similar to the above example, the printer driver first creates a head table for the reference nozzle region in virtual printing. The virtual print head position in pass 28 is calculated as “57 (= 33 + (3d / 1d) × (28−20))”, and the actual print head position is “41 (= 33 + (1d / 1d) × ( 28-20)) ". Therefore, the difference between the virtual print and actual print head positions in pass 28 is 16 (= 57−41). The start nozzle of the reference nozzle region in virtual printing is nozzle # 1, and the end nozzle is nozzle # 12.

  In this case, regarding the reference nozzle region in actual printing, the start nozzle is calculated as nozzle # 17 (= # 1 + 16/1), and the end nozzle is calculated as nozzle # 28 (= # 12 + 16/1). No nozzle # 26 or later exists, and the raster line number at the end of printing is 58. 20, the last nozzle located in the printable area is calculated as “# 18 (= (58−41) / 1 + 1.” Therefore, in the nozzle table of the reference nozzle area in actual printing, the start nozzle is The nozzle # 17 is stored and the end nozzle is stored as the nozzle # 18 Note that, in the lower left of FIG.20, with respect to the reference nozzle region, the positions of the virtual printing nozzle, the actual printing nozzle, and the raster line (L). The correspondence relationship is shown.

  Further, even in the use nozzles in the reference nozzle area in actual printing, there are nozzles located outside the print area, and therefore, for the nozzle area 2 in which the use nozzle is shifted upstream in the transport direction from the reference nozzle area, the use nozzle Does not exist. In this case, as shown in FIG. 20, the start nozzle and end nozzle of the nozzle region 2 are nozzle # 0, and the address to the nozzle type is nozzle # 0.

  Thus, although the medium conveyance amount is different between the lower end printing and the normal printing, the dot generation method is made the same between the lower end printing and the normal printing. Therefore, for virtual printing assuming that the lower end portion of the medium is also printed by normal printing, first, a head table of a reference nozzle region is created (the range of nozzles used (nozzle type and start nozzle and end nozzle) are determined). Then, based on the difference between the virtual printing head position and the actual printing head position, the range of nozzles used in virtual printing is replaced with the range of nozzles used in actual printing. However, since a nozzle located outside the printable area may be calculated as a use nozzle, a nozzle located within the printable area is used as the use nozzle.

  Also, in order to create a head table for the reference nozzle area in virtual printing (to determine the range of nozzles used), the nozzle area that prints an image different from the reference nozzle area is shifted from the reference nozzle area during normal printing. The amount (14) is added to the range of used nozzles in the reference nozzle area in the virtual printing. By doing so, the dot generation method can be made the same in the lower end printing and the normal printing.

  By the way, in the above-described reference embodiment, a dummy scheduling table is created as shown in FIG. 7 in order to determine the nozzles that eject ink (used nozzles) and the nozzles that do not (unused nozzles) in the lower end printing. ing. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, a nozzle that passes through the raster line position (position registered in the dummy scheduling table) formed when the lower end of the medium is printed by normal printing is used. It is said. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to calculate the position of the raster line formed when the lower end portion of the medium is printed by normal printing, that is, it is necessary to create a dummy scheduling table (FIG. 7). Absent. Therefore, in this embodiment, compared with the reference embodiment, the time required for the nozzle assignment process can be shortened and the memory capacity required for the process can be reduced as much as the dummy scheduling table is not created.

<< Extraction and rearrangement process >>
FIG. 21A is a diagram showing matrix image data (image data after halftone processing). Squares in the figure indicate pixels constituting the image, and numbers written in the pixels correspond to pixel data. One raster line is printed by pixel data arranged in the moving direction. A group of pixel data arranged in the moving direction is called raster data. Then, as shown in the figure, numbers are assigned in order from raster data located downstream in the transport direction. Among the image data, the raster data located on the most downstream side is set as the 0th raster data, and the data forming the 0th raster line (the raster line at the print start position).

  Then, based on the head table and nozzle table created for each pass, the printer driver extracts pixel data used in the corresponding pass from the matrix-like image data, and rearranges them in the order of assignment to the nozzles (FIG. 13). S003). In this embodiment, two types of image data (main image data / background image data) are created because two types of images (main image / background image) are printed on the medium in an overlapping manner. Each image data is created for each color.

  FIG. 21B to FIG. 21F are diagrams showing how the print data of pass 6 (FIG. 17) for top-end printing is assigned to the black nozzle row K. FIG. The computer 60 is provided with a storage area (buffer) for storing print data (pixel data) of each nozzle (# 1 to # 26) of the black nozzle row K, and the printer driver extracts the extracted pixels in this storage area. Store data. The printer driver refers to the nozzle table (FIG. 17) related to the reference nozzle area in pass 6. Since the start nozzle is from nozzle # 4 as shown in FIG. 17, the printer driver determines that nozzles # 1 to # 3 are unused nozzles, and stores them in the storage areas corresponding to nozzles # 1 to # 3. “NULL data” is stored (FIG. 21B).

  Next, since the start nozzle is # 4 and the address to the nozzle type is nozzle # 10, the printer driver refers to the nozzle type of nozzle # 10 in the head table, and nozzle # 4 is the used nozzle to decide. Therefore, the printer driver refers to the parameter table of FIG. 15A and determines that the data assigned to the reference nozzle area (nozzle area 1) is black main image data. Further, the printer driver determines that the raster data to be assigned to the nozzle # 4 is No. 0 based on the head position “−3” stored in the nozzle table. Then, the printer driver extracts the 0th raster data from the black main image data, and stores the extracted data in the storage area corresponding to the nozzle # 4. In the printing method of this embodiment, since one raster line is formed by a plurality of nozzles, the printer driver extracts only pixel data corresponding to the horizontal position (2 in FIG. 17) stored in the nozzle table. The printer driver repeats this process until the end nozzle # 6 (FIG. 21C). The printer driver refers to the nozzle type of nozzle # 11 of the head table, determines that nozzle # 5 is the used nozzle, refers to the nozzle type of nozzle # 12 of the head table, and nozzle # 6 is the used nozzle. It is judged that.

  In the printing method of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, two drying nozzles (nozzles # 13 and # 14 in FIG. 14) are provided between the nozzle that prints the main image and the nozzle that prints the background image. Therefore, the printer driver stores NULL data in the storage area of the nozzles (# 4 to # 6) for printing the main image and the two nozzles (# 7, # 8) arranged upstream in the transport direction (FIG. 21D). .

  Next, the printer driver refers to the nozzle table related to the nozzle area 2 in pass 6. In the example of FIG. 17, the nozzle is the start nozzle from nozzle # 9, and the address to the nozzle type indicates nozzle # 1. Therefore, the printer driver refers to the nozzle type of nozzle # 9 of the head table and determines that nozzle # 9 is a working nozzle. At this time, the printer driver refers to the parameter table of FIG. 15A and determines that the data to be allocated to the nozzle region 2 is the black toned background image data. Further, the printer driver determines that the raster data to be assigned to the nozzle # 9 is No. 5 based on the head position “−3” stored in the nozzle table. Then, the printer driver extracts the fifth raster data from the toned background image data and stores it in the storage area of the nozzle # 9. The printer driver repeats these processes until the end nozzle # 20 (FIG. 21E).

  Then, the printer driver stores NULL data in the storage area of the nozzles (# 21 to # 26) upstream in the transport direction from the end nozzle (nozzle # 20 in FIG. 17) of the nozzle area 2 (FIG. 21F). . In this way, the printer driver ends the rearrangement of print data (nozzle assignment processing) assigned to the black nozzle row K in pass 6 of upper end printing. The print data assigned to the black nozzle row K in pass 6 is transmitted to the printer 1 by the printer driver, and the printer 1 ejects ink from the black nozzle row K in pass 6 based on the received print data.

  In this way, even when two types of image data are assigned to one nozzle row (black nozzle row K), the printer driver refers to the parameter table in FIG. Main image data can be assigned to the used nozzle for printing the main image, and toned background image data can be assigned to the used nozzle for printing the toned background image. Further, not only referring to the parameter table of FIG. 15A, for example, if the data is arranged in order from the data assigned to the nozzles on the downstream side in the transport direction, in the front printing mode, the printer driver is ahead of the background image table. The main image table may be referred to, the main image data may be assigned to the used nozzles of the previously referenced table, and the background image data may be assigned to the used nozzles of the later referenced table. Conversely, in the reverse printing mode, the printer driver refers to the background image table before the main image table, assigns the background image data to the used nozzles of the previously referenced table, and refers to the later referenced table. It may be determined that main image data is assigned to the used nozzles. In this way, two types of image data can be assigned to one nozzle row. If the data are arranged in order from the nozzles assigned to the upstream side in the transport direction, the data is assigned in reverse order by referring to the reverse table first.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the printer driver performs the nozzle assignment process, the computer in which the printer driver is installed corresponds to the print control apparatus, and the printer corresponds to the printing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the processing of the printer driver may be performed by the controller 10 in the printer 1. In this case, the controller 10 of the printer 1 corresponds to the control unit, and the printer 1 alone corresponds to the printing apparatus.

=== Modification ===
In the above-described embodiment, information for associating the used nozzle and the position of the raster line printed by the used nozzle (information for defining the position in the transport direction on the medium on which dots are formed by each nozzle forming an image) ), The head position (the position of the raster line to which nozzle # 1 of the nozzle row to which the reference nozzle region belongs) is stored in the head table, but is not limited thereto. For example, the position of the raster line to which the nozzles other than the nozzle # 1 correspond may be stored in the head table, or the position of the end portion of the head may be stored in the head table.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, since the positions in the transport direction of all the nozzle rows (KCMYW) are equal, the rasters assigned to the corresponding nozzles (nozzles #i having the same numbers) between different nozzle rows. Line positions (raster data positions) are equal. Therefore, also in another nozzle row (CMYW) that is not the black nozzle row K to which the reference nozzle region belongs, the positions of the nozzles and the raster line are determined based on the position (head position) of the black nozzle row K stored in the head table. Can be associated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each nozzle row may be shifted in the transport direction. In this case, the shift amount (for example, how many raster lines are shifted) of the corresponding nozzle #i (nozzle of the same number) of the other nozzle row with respect to the nozzle #i having the black nozzle row to which the reference nozzle region belongs is determined. Remember. Then, in consideration of this deviation amount, the nozzles and the raster line positions may be associated with each other.

In the above-described embodiment, the head position and the horizontal position are stored in both the head table and the nozzle table, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the head position and the horizontal position may be stored only in the head table.
In the above-described embodiment, the nozzle group on the downstream side in the transport direction is set as the reference nozzle region. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the nozzle group on the upstream side in the transport direction (for example, nozzle region 2 in FIG. 14) is set as the reference nozzle region. May be set.

  In the above-described embodiment, two types of images (background image / main image) are overlaid and printed on the medium, but this is not a limitation. For example, an image that is visually recognized from both sides may be printed by printing a main image on a medium of a transparent film, printing a background image thereon, and printing the main image again. Alternatively, a background image may be printed on a medium, a main image may be printed thereon, and coding may be applied. That is, three or more types of images may be printed on the medium in an overlapping manner. In such a case, the nozzle row (one or a plurality of nozzle rows) is divided into nozzle regions corresponding to the number of images to be overlapped, a reference nozzle region is set from among them, and each of the other nozzle regions with respect to the reference nozzle region is set. It is good to memorize the amount of displacement.

  In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the recording methods of the upper and lower end printing and the normal printing are made the same, and the medium transport amount is different between the upper and lower end printing and the normal printing. In addition, without fixing the nozzles for printing the background image and the main image, the upper end printing uses the nozzle on the downstream side in the transport direction to print the previous image (the background image in FIG. 10), and the lower end printing for the upstream in the transport direction. The later image (FIG. 11 is the main image) is printed using the nozzle on the side. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the nozzle for printing the background image and the main image may be fixed as shown in FIG. 12A. In this case, the amount of deviation between the virtual printing head position and the actual printing head position may be reduced as compared with the above-described embodiment. Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, only normal printing may be performed without performing upper and lower end printing. In this case, the nozzle to which the raster line in the print area is assigned may be set as the use nozzle. Therefore, in the case of the printing in FIG. 12B, as described in the above-described embodiment, the deviation amount of the head position between the virtual printing and the actual printing is added to the range of the nozzles used in the virtual printing, and the upper end / lower end printing is performed. It is not necessary to calculate the range of the used nozzles (there is no need to replace the nozzles used in virtual printing with the actual printing nozzles).

  In the above-described embodiment, two different types of image data (main image data and toned background image data) are allocated to one nozzle row, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in black-and-white printing, there is a case where the same image is divided into two passes and printed in order to increase the black density without blurring the image. In this case, the image data assigned to the downstream nozzle group in the transport direction and the upstream nozzle group in the transport direction of the black nozzle array is the same, but the nozzles used in the downstream nozzle group in the transport direction and the upstream nozzle group in the transport direction are the same. The range is different. Accordingly, it is preferable to set the downstream nozzle group in the transport direction as a reference nozzle region and store the shift amount of the transport direction upstream nozzle group with respect to the transport direction downstream nozzle group in the transport direction. By doing so, a head table is created for the downstream nozzle group in the transport direction (calculating the range of nozzles used), and a nozzle table for the upstream nozzle group in the transport direction is created based on the head table and the shift amount. (The range of nozzles used can be calculated). As a result, the memory capacity of the parameter table for creating the head table can be reduced.

=== Other Embodiments ===
Each of the above embodiments has been described mainly for a printing system having an ink jet printer, but includes disclosure of nozzle allocation processing and the like. The above-described embodiments are for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In particular, the embodiments described below are also included in the present invention.

<About background images>
In the above-described embodiment, the background image is printed with the white ink. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the background image may be printed with a color ink other than white (for example, metallic ink). Further, the main image may be printed by adding white ink to four-color ink (YMCK).

<About the printer>
In the above-described embodiment, a printer that repeats the operation of forming an image on a cut sheet while moving the head in the movement direction and the operation of conveying the cut sheet to the conveyance direction intersecting the movement direction with respect to the head. Although it is given as an example, it is not limited to this. For example, an image is formed by repeating an operation of forming an image while moving the head unit in the medium conveyance direction and an operation of moving the head unit in the paper width direction on continuous paper conveyed to the printing area, Thereafter, the printer may be a printer that conveys a medium portion that has not yet been printed to the printing area.

1 Printer, 10 Controller, 11 Interface section,
12 CPU, 13 memory, 14 unit control circuit, 20 transport unit, 30 carriage unit, 31 carriage, 40 head unit, 41 head, 50 detector group, 60 computer

Claims (9)

(A) A printing system including a printing control device and a printing device,
(B) The print control device changes the arrangement order of a plurality of pixel data constituting the image data, creates print data,
(C) The printing apparatus includes:
A nozzle row in which nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in a predetermined direction;
Based on the print data, an image forming operation for ejecting ink from the nozzles while relatively moving the relative position between the nozzle row and the medium in a moving direction intersecting the predetermined direction, and the relative relationship between the nozzle row and the medium. A control unit that repeatedly executes a movement operation that relatively moves the position in one direction of the predetermined direction;
When a printing method is set in which a first image formed by a part of the nozzle row of the nozzle row and a second image formed by another part of the nozzle row are printed on the medium, Among the one part nozzle group and the other part nozzle group, the nozzle group located on the other direction side of the predetermined direction before the nozzle group located on the one direction side of the predetermined direction. A control unit that ejects ink to a predetermined area of the medium,
(D) At least one of the print control device and the printing device is configured to select the predetermined part of the other partial nozzle group that forms the second image with respect to the partial nozzle group that forms the first image. Memorize the amount of direction shift,
Have
(E) The printing control device
In a certain image forming operation, information for defining a position in the predetermined direction on the medium on which dots are formed by each nozzle that prints an image and a range of the nozzle that forms the first image are shown. Information is stored in the first table,
The shift amount is added to the range stored in the first table, and in the certain image forming operation, the range of the nozzle that forms the second image is calculated, and information indicating the range is second Memorize it in the table
Based on the information stored in the first table and the second table, the pixel data used in the certain image forming operation is extracted from the image data, and the certain image forming operation is performed. Creating the print data for performing
(F) A printing system characterized by that. The printing system according to claim 1,
At least one of the printing control device and the printing device stores information for defining a range of the nozzles for forming the first image in the certain image forming operation;
Printing system. The printing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The print control device includes:
Based on the information stored in the first table, the pixel data used in the certain image forming operation is extracted from the image data of the first image, and is stored in the second table. Based on the stored information, the pixel data used in the certain image forming operation is extracted from the image data of the second image,
Ink is ejected from the nozzles forming the first image with the pixel data extracted from the image data of the first image, and the ink extracted from the image data of the second image Changing the order of the pixel data so that ink is ejected from the nozzles forming the second image with pixel data;
Printing system. The printing system according to claim 3,
The print control device arranges the pixel data in order from the pixel data assigned to the nozzles located on the one direction side of the predetermined direction in the nozzle row,
In a print mode in which the second image is printed prior to the first image with respect to a predetermined area of the medium, the print control apparatus refers to the first table before the second table. Then, after the pixel data extracted from the image data of the first image, the pixel data extracted from the image data of the second image are arranged,
In a print mode in which the first image is printed before the second image with respect to a predetermined area of the medium, the print control device refers to the second table before the first table. The pixel data extracted from the image data of the first image is arranged after the pixel data extracted from the image data of the second image.
Printing system. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
The print control device includes:
The nozzle that is positioned closest to the one direction in the predetermined direction among the nozzles that form the first image as a range of the nozzle that forms the first image in the certain image forming operation. Storing the first nozzle and the second nozzle, which is the nozzle located closest to the other direction in the predetermined direction among the nozzles forming the first image, in the first table;
As the nozzle range for forming the second image in the certain image forming operation, the nozzle obtained by adding the shift amount to the first nozzle, and the nozzle obtained by adding the shift amount to the second nozzle Is stored in the second table,
Printing system. A printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The print control device includes:
As the range of the nozzles that form the first image in the certain image forming operation, the type of each nozzle that forms the first image is stored in the first table,
As the range of the nozzle that forms the second image in the certain image forming operation, the nozzle that is positioned closest to the one direction in the predetermined direction among the nozzles that form the first image The nozzle added with a shift amount and the nozzle added with the shift amount to the nozzle located on the most other direction side in the predetermined direction among the nozzles forming the first image. Memorize it in table 2
Printing system. A printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The first image and the second image are the same image,
Printing system. An image forming operation for discharging ink from the nozzle while relatively moving a relative position between a nozzle row and a medium in which nozzles for discharging ink are arranged in a predetermined direction in a moving direction intersecting the predetermined direction, and the nozzle row and the medium And a moving operation that relatively moves the relative position of the nozzle in a predetermined direction, a first image formed by a part of the nozzle group of the nozzle row and another part of the nozzle row. In a case where a printing method is set in which a second image formed by the nozzle group is overlaid and printed on the medium, the first nozzle in the predetermined direction is selected from the partial nozzle group and the partial nozzle group. Prior to the nozzle group positioned on the other side of the predetermined direction than the nozzle group positioned on the direction side, the computer generates print data for ejecting ink to the predetermined area of the medium. A program for,
In a certain image forming operation, information for defining a position in the predetermined direction on the medium on which dots are formed by each nozzle that prints an image and a range of the nozzle that forms the first image are shown. Storing the information in a first table;
In the range stored in the first table, a shift amount in the predetermined direction of the other partial nozzle group forming the second image with respect to the partial nozzle group forming the first image is set. Adding, in the certain image forming operation, calculating a range of the nozzle that forms the second image, and storing information indicating the range in the second table;
Based on the information stored in the first table and the second table, pixel data used in the certain image forming operation is extracted from the image data, and the certain image forming operation is performed. Creating the print data for
For causing the computer to execute. A nozzle row in which nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in a predetermined direction;
An image forming operation for ejecting ink from the nozzles while relatively moving the relative position between the nozzle row and the medium in a moving direction crossing the predetermined direction based on print data; and the relative position between the nozzle row and the medium A control unit that repeatedly executes a moving operation of relatively moving in one direction of the predetermined direction,
When a printing method is set in which a first image formed by a part of the nozzle row of the nozzle row and a second image formed by another part of the nozzle row are printed on the medium, Among the one part nozzle group and the other part nozzle group, the nozzle group located on the other direction side of the predetermined direction before the nozzle group located on the one direction side of the predetermined direction. A control unit that ejects ink to a predetermined area of the medium,
The controller is
In a certain image forming operation, information for defining a position in the predetermined direction on the medium on which dots are formed by each nozzle that prints an image and a range of the nozzle that forms the first image are shown. Information is stored in the first table,
In the range stored in the first table, a shift amount in the predetermined direction of the other partial nozzle group forming the second image with respect to the partial nozzle group forming the first image is set. Adding, in the certain image forming operation, calculating a range of the nozzle for forming the second image, and storing information indicating the range in the second table,
Based on the information stored in the first table and the second table, pixel data used in the certain image forming operation is extracted from the image data, and the certain image forming operation is performed. Creating the print data for
A printing apparatus characterized by that.

Images