JPH0687248A - Method and apparatus for recording and recorded matter and processed article - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent lowering in recording density by the method in which recording data prepared from curtailed image data is multi-scanned for an ordinary density while the data is directly multi-scanned for a higher density and the scanning speed of a recording head is increased for the ordinar density as compared with the higher density. CONSTITUTION:In the case of an ordinary duplex scanning printing, an area printed with the ink-jet head of the first printing part 31 is assigned to 701-703 while an area printed with the ink jet head of the second printing part 31' is assigned to 704-706. The extent of one cloth 36 feed is equal to the recording width of the ink-jet head. The combination of the upper half of the ink-jet head of the second printing part 31' and the lower half of the head of the first printing part 31 or that of the lower half of the head of the second printing part 31' and the upper half of the head of the first printing part 31 is adopted in this way. The data recorded with each head is curtailed and the overlapped printing density 707 is obtained. When the printing density is twofold, the scanning speed of a carriage is reduced to half without the data being curtailed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording method and apparatus for scanning a plurality of recording heads and performing recording in a sequential manner, and a recorded product and a processed product thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet printer or the like which records an image using a recording head having a plurality of nozzles, the recording heads each having a plurality of nozzles are scanned so that image data common to the recording heads is printed. Recording is performed on a recording medium to prevent image unevenness due to the characteristics of the nozzles of each recording head. Such a recording method is generally called multi-scan.

[0003]

The conventional multi-scan printing method has the following problems. (1) If the same data is printed a plurality of times in the same place in order to increase the print density, the time required for printing is doubled. (2) It is conceivable to increase the print speed by increasing the scan speed of the recording head at the time of thinning printing. However, if the time required for performing printing by one normal scan is "1", When the speed is doubled and printing is performed by two scans in thinning printing, the required time is about "1.5". Further, in order to further increase the density, if the scanning speed is doubled and printing is performed by four times of scanning, the required time is about "3".

As described above, when the print data is thinned out and printed, if the print density is increased, the print speed is remarkably reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and a recording method and apparatus for preventing a decrease in recording density by changing the scanning speed of the head and the recording method according to the recording density, and its recorded matter. And to provide processed products.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention has the following constitution. That is,
A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium using a plurality of recording heads, in the case of recording in a normal density recording mode, the input image data is thinned to create recording data corresponding to each recording head. Data creating means, a first printing means for printing by N multi-scans using the print data created by the data creating means, and an image input in the case of printing in a high density print mode Second recording means for performing recording by N multi-scans based on data, and recording by the first recording means,
And a control unit for controlling the recording head to scan and record at a speed higher than the scanning speed of the recording head by the second recording unit.

In order to achieve the above object, the recording method of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, it is a recording method for recording on a recording medium using a plurality of recording heads, and in the case of recording in a recording mode of a normal density, the input image data is thinned out and the recording data corresponding to each recording head is recorded. N using the process of creating and the recorded data created
In the step of performing printing by scanning the print head at a first scanning speed by multiple times of multi-scanning, and in the case of printing in a high-density printing mode, based on input image data, Scanning the recording head at a slower speed and performing recording by N multi-scans.

In the present specification, "recording" includes the meaning of "printing", and broadly means applying an image to a recording medium such as cloth or paper.

[0009]

With the above arrangement, in the case of recording in the normal density recording mode, the input image data is thinned out to create the print data corresponding to each print head, and the created print data is used to generate N. 1st time by multi-scan
The recording head is scanned at a scanning speed of 1 to perform recording. Further, in the case of printing in a high density printing mode, the print head is scanned at a speed slower than the first scanning speed based on the input image data, and printing is performed by N multi-scans. To do.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the construction of an ink jet printer as a textile printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an enlarged perspective view of the essential parts thereof. The printing device (printer) of this example is
A cloth feeding section B which sends out a roll-shaped cloth which is roughly divided and which has been subjected to pretreatment for printing, a main body section which precisely feeds the sent cloth and prints with an inkjet head, and a printed cloth And a winding section C for drying and winding. The main body portion A further includes a cloth precision feed portion A-1 including a platen and a print unit A-2.

The pre-processed roll-shaped cloth 36 is sent out to the cloth supply section and sent to the main body section A. A thin endless belt 37, which is precisely step-driven, is wound around a drive roller 47 and a winding roller 49 on the main body. The driving roller 47 is directly step-driven by a high-resolution stepping motor (not shown) to step-feed the belt by the step amount. Cloth 36 sent to you
Is the belt 3 backed up by the winding roller 49
7 is pressed against the surface of 7 by the pressing roller 40,
It can be pasted.

The cloth 36, which has been step-fed by the belt, is positioned by the platen 32 on the back surface of the belt in the first printing section 31 and printed by the ink jet head 10 from the front side. After each line of printing is finished, a predetermined amount of step feed is performed, and then heating is performed by the heating plate 34 from the back surface of the belt, and drying is performed by the hot air from the surface supplied / exhausted by the hot air duct 35. Then, in the second printing unit 31 ', the overprinting is performed in the same manner as the first printing unit.

After the printing, the cloth is peeled off, dried again in the post-drying section 46 consisting of the heating plate and the hot air duct, guided to the guide roll 41 and wound up on the winding roll 48. Then, the wound cloth is removed from the apparatus, and a product is obtained through a post-treatment process after coloring, washing, and drying in a batch process.

In FIG. 2, a cloth 36, which is a recording medium, is supported by a belt 37 and is step-fed upward in FIG. In the lower part of the drawing, the first printing unit 31 at the bottom has Y, M,
In addition to C and Bk, there is a first carriage 44 on which inkjet heads for the special colors S1 to S4 are mounted. The ink jet head (recording head) in this example has a heating element that generates heat energy that causes film boiling in the ink as the energy used to eject the ink, and 400 DPI (dot / dot /
An array of 128 discharge ports with a density of inch) is used.

A drying unit 45 including a heating plate 34 for heating from the back surface of the belt and a warm air duct 35 for drying from the front side is provided on the downstream side of the first printing unit. The heat transfer surface of the heating plate 34 is pressed against the endless belt 37 which is strongly tensioned, and the high temperature and high pressure steam passing through the hollow inside strongly heats the conveyor belt 37 from the back surface. The inside of the heating plate surface is provided with fins 34 'for collecting heat so that the heat can be efficiently concentrated on the back surface of the belt. The side not in contact with the belt is covered with a heat insulating material 43 to prevent heat loss due to heat radiation.

On the front side, by blowing hot dry air from the supply duct 30 on the downstream side, the cloth which is being dried,
The effect is enhanced by applying air with lower humidity. The air flowing in the opposite direction to the cloth conveying direction and containing a sufficient amount of moisture sucks a much larger amount than the blowing amount from the suction duct 33 on the upstream side, whereby evaporated water leaks and the surrounding air is leaked. The mechanism is designed to prevent condensation. The hot air supply source is on the back side in FIG. 2, and suction is performed from the front side, so that the pressure difference between the blowing port 38 and the suction port 39 facing the cloth is uniform over the entire longitudinal direction. It is designed to be. The air blower / sucker is offset downstream with respect to the center of the rear heating plate so that the air hits the fully heated location. As a result, the first printing unit 31 strongly dries a large amount of water in the ink received by the cloth and including the thinning liquid.

The second printing unit 3 is provided downstream (upper) thereof.
1 ', and the second carriage 44' having the same structure as the first carriage forms the second print portion.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the speed at which the carriages 44, 44 'of the first and second printing units 31, 31' of FIG. 2 scan the surface of the cloth 36 for printing.

The scanning speed of these carriages 44 and 44 'starts from the start position and gradually increases (accelerates) to become a uniform speed motion (constant speed area) in the recording area, and when the recording area ends, in the deceleration area. When it decelerates and reaches the position where it reverses, it stops at that position. After that, the carriage starts the movement to return to the start position, but the reversal movement without printing is performed at a speed faster than that in the case of normal printing to reduce the time required for printing and to produce the print. I'm getting better.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 300 represents the movement of the carriage when thinning printing is performed, and reference numeral 301 represents the movement in the mode for increasing the density. If the constant velocity V1 of the carriage is used to increase the density, the constant velocity of the carriage when performing thinning printing is 2V1. A detailed description of these will be given later.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment. The parts common to those in the above-mentioned drawings are designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

In FIG. 4, 101 is a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus, for example, a CPU 11 such as a microprocessor.
1, a ROM 112 that stores the control program 113 of the CPU 111 and various data, and a RAM 113 that is used as a work area of the CPU 111 and that temporarily stores various data. An input unit 102 inputs print data input from an external device such as a host computer and controls communication with the external device. Each of 401 and 402 is a head driver for driving each inkjet head of the first printer unit 31 and the second printer unit 31 ′. Four
Each of 03 to 406 is a motor driver for rotationally driving the corresponding motor. Reference numeral 407 is a carriage motor for driving the carriage 44 '.
Reference numeral 8 is a carriage motor for driving the carriage 44. Reference numeral 409 denotes a winding motor for rotating the winding roll 48 to wind up the recorded cloth 36,
Reference numeral 410 is a transport motor for transporting the belt 37 and rotationally driving various transport rollers and the like.

5 to 7 are block diagrams showing the flow of image data of the image processing system in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

Image data, palette table data, etc. transmitted from a host computer (not shown) are received by the GPIB interface of the input section 102 and the GPIB controller 502, and the DMA controller 50
3, and is stored in the image memory 505 of the RAM 113 via the FM (frame memory) controller 504. The image memory 505 has a memory space of 124 Mbytes, which allows the image data of A1 size to be configured by 8-bit palette data and stored. When a predetermined amount of image data is stored in the image memory 505 in this way, a print start signal from the CPU 111 is received, image data reading from the image memory 505 is started, and printing processing is started.

Since the image data transmitted from the host computer is a raster image, the first and second image data
It is necessary to convert the raster data according to the alignment of the nozzles of the inkjet head in the printer units 31 and 31 '. This is done by the conversion unit (R
OCK). Further, the image data thus converted is enlarged by the enlargement unit (magic) 507. The signal output from the expansion section (magic) 507 is an 8-bit palette signal in this embodiment.

Next, in FIG. 6, a palette conversion device (PAL) 508 is converted into color data by referring to a conversion table (SRAM) corresponding to each device.
In the case of this embodiment, in addition to the four colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K), the special color S
It is color-coded into a total of 6 colors including 1 and S2. (Note that Fig. 2
In the example shown in (1), ink jet heads for a total of eight colors including four special colors (S1 to S4) were mounted, but in this image processing system example, a case of six colors will be described. FIG. 8 shows an example of image data conversion using these palette tables. In the case of the 8-bit palette, there are 256 kinds of inputs from 0 to 255, and an example of these conversions will be described below with reference to FIG. When "0" is input: It becomes light gray. When "1" is input: Solid printing of spot color 1 is performed. When "2" is input: Solid printing of spot color 2 is performed. When "3" is input: A bluish color due to a mixture of cyan and magenta. When "4" is input: Solid black printing is performed. When "5" is input: A mixture of magenta and yellow produces a reddish color. When "6" is input: It becomes more reddish than in the case of 5.

When “254” is input: yellow solid printing is performed, and when “255” is input: Nothing is printed, A specific circuit configuration of the palette conversion table is a so-called lookup table configuration in which an input (palette data) is added to the RAM address and the data stored at the address is used as the conversion value. Further, if the conversion data of this conversion table is fixed, it goes without saying that it may be constituted by ROM instead of RAM. In this way, the palette conversion device (PAL) 5
Reference numeral 08 controls the RAM and functions as an interface with the CPU.

The HS conversion 510 at the next stage is also a table conversion, and corrects variations in print density corresponding to each ejection nozzle of the ink jet head. For example, the nozzles with low density are converted to darker data, the nozzles with higher density are converted to lighter data, and the middle nozzles are flown as they are. 511 is an SRAM for table conversion similar to 509.

In the next γ conversion 512, the overall density is made darker or lighter for each color, and like the palette conversion and HS conversion described above, the table 5 corresponding to each color is used.
Have 13. In this γ conversion 512, when nothing is converted, conversion is performed using a linear characteristic table. That is, "0" input is 0 output "100" input is "100" output "210" input is "210" output "255" input is "255" output.

The MASSE (binarization circuit) in the next stage has a pseudo gradation function. This input is 8-bit gradation data, and the output is a binarized 1-bit pseudo gradation. The gradation data is expressed by the number of ink-jet dots ejected per unit area. Details of these are not explained here, but the density of the images to be printed is connected to the memory (S
It is sequentially stored in the RAM) 515. In this way
Binary data C1, M1, Y1, K1, corresponding to each color
S1 and S2 are generated. Since the binarized signal of each color passes through the same circuit system, C1 will be described below.

In FIG. 7, the binarized C1 signal is
As a result, the data is input to the SMS generator 606, but before that, the data of the test generator pattern generator (PG) 601 and the EPROM 602 of the printer may be used. Therefore, a selector 603 is provided to switch the signal. There is. This EPROM 602 stores PG (pattern generation) data, and its output is 2
The value can be read out under the control of the PG controller 601.

Further, in the case of a piece of cloth or the like, a logo mark of a manufacturer's brand or the like is often put on the end thereof. Data for this purpose is stored in the EPROM 605. Furthermore,
The logo control 604 manages the position and length of recording the logo mark.

Reference numeral 606 denotes an SMS (sequential multi-scan) generator which creates data for printing by performing overprinting with a plurality of ink jet heads. Correct the density unevenness of the inkjet head.

B. Improve the recording density. Especially. In the present embodiment, the former case of overprinting for correcting the density unevenness will be described.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the basic structure of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. This inkjet recording apparatus is configured as a system, and is roughly classified into an image reading apparatus 1 that reads an original image created by a designer or the like and converts the original image into original image data represented by an electric signal, and original image data from the image reading apparatus 1. An image processing unit 2 for taking in, processing and outputting as image data, and an image recording unit 3 for performing recording on a recording medium such as cloth based on the image data created by the image processing unit 2.
It consists of In the image reading device 1, the original image is read by the CCD image sensor. In the image processing unit 2, from the input original image data, magenta (abbreviation M), cyan (abbreviation C), yellow (abbreviation Y), which will be described later,
Data for driving the inkjet recording unit A-2 (FIG. 9) that ejects the four color inks of black (abbreviation Bk) is created. At the time of creating the data, image processing for reproducing the original image with ink dots, color arrangement for determining color tone, modification of layout, processing of pattern size such as enlargement and reduction, and selection are performed. In the image recording unit 3, recording is performed by the inkjet recording unit A-2. The inkjet recording unit A-2 is for recording by ejecting minute ink droplets toward a recording medium and attaching the ink droplets to the recording medium. Figure 10 shows sequential
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining print data printed by multi-scan.

In FIG. 10, each rectangular area surrounded by a dotted line corresponds to one dot (pixel), and the recording density is 40, for example.
In the case of 0 dpi (dots / inch), the area of each rectangle is about (63.5 μm) ² . The part indicated by black circles is the place where dots are printed, and the part without black circles indicates the part where recording is not performed. The inkjet head moves in the arrow F direction, and the ink is ejected from the ink ejection nozzle at a predetermined timing. This sequential multi-scan is performed to correct variations in the size of ink droplets ejected from each nozzle and variations in density between nozzles caused by variations in the ink ejection direction, and the same line (head movement direction) Is recorded with a plurality of nozzles. By thus forming one line with a plurality of nozzles, the randomness of the nozzle characteristics of each inkjet head is utilized to reduce the density unevenness. In other words, sequential scanning with 2 scans
In the case of multi-scan, printing is performed using the upper half of the inkjet head in the first scanning, and printing is performed using the nozzles in the lower half of the inkjet head in the second scanning.

11 and 12 show examples of recording by the sequential multi-scan.

Now, for example, when printing the data shown in FIG. 10, first, as shown in FIG. 11, only the odd-numbered print data of the data generated in the moving direction of the ink jet head is recorded in the upper half of the ink jet head. Record with the nozzle. Next, the inkjet head (carriage) is returned to the home position direction, the cloth 1 is fed by half the width of the inkjet head, and as shown in FIG. 12, this time, the even-numbered dots in the moving direction of the inkjet head are inkjetted. Recording is performed using the nozzle in the lower half of the head. In this way, the data as shown in FIG. 10 is recorded on the cloth 1 by the two scans.

This sequential multi-scan is
As described above, this is a method for preventing the print quality from deteriorating due to the unevenness of ink ejection for each nozzle of the inkjet head. The effect of this is the same as the effect of the HS conversion. In the SMS (sequential multi-scan) generator 606, the data to be printed is connected in a predetermined procedure by the connected memory controls 607, 60.
Allotted to 8. Reference numeral 515 denotes a data storage memory for correcting a physical position deviation of the head interval, which is SM
S (sequential multi-scan) generator 6
The image data input from 06 is temporarily stored, and the contents are read and recorded at a timing corresponding to the physical position of the inkjet head.

Reference numerals 609 and 610 denote circuits (PUFF) for rearranging print data according to the nozzle arrangement of the ink jet head, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

In this way, the binarized cyan data C
1 is assigned to cyan-A and cyan-B, and is sent to the inkjet heads of the first and second printing units via the relay board 611, respectively.

Printing examples in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. It should be noted that here, following the above description, the case of recording by the cyan head will be described, but printing is similarly performed for other colors.

FIG. 13 shows an example of printing in a normal two-time multi-scan. Areas printed by the inkjet heads of the first printing unit 31 are indicated by (lower 1) 701, (lower 2) 702, and (lower 3) 703, and areas printed by the inkjet heads of the second printing unit 31 ′ are ( Shown as 1) 704, (2) 705, and (3) 706, above.
The cloth feeding direction is as shown by the arrow in the figure, and the amount of one step feeding of the cloth 36 corresponds to the recording width of the inkjet head. As is apparent from FIG. 13, the entire recorded area is either the upper half of the inkjet head of the second print unit 31 ′ and the lower half of the inkjet head of the first print unit 31 or the second print unit 31. The recording is performed using the lower half of the inkjet head of '1' and the upper half of the inkjet head of the first printing unit 31. Here, the data recorded by each inkjet head is
It is thinned out as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG.
As a result of overlapping recording with these two inkjet heads, a print density 707 is obtained. At this time, the scanning speed of the inkjet head is 2.V1 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 shows 716 as compared with the case of FIG.
The case where the print density is doubled as shown in FIG. Reference numerals 710 to 712 denote areas printed by the inkjet head of the first printing unit 31, and 713 to 715.
Indicates an area printed by the inkjet head of the second printing unit 31 '. The difference between FIG. 14 and FIG. 13 is that print data is not thinned out in FIG. 14 and the scanning speed of the carriage is halved.
Further, in FIG. 13, the data is distributed by the SMS generator 606, and in FIG. 14, such data is not distributed. In FIG. 14, L indicates the recording width by the inkjet head, and N indicates the number of multi-scans.

Further, in FIG. 15, thinning is eliminated as compared with the case of FIG. 13, and the feed amount of the cloth 36 is 2 compared with the case of FIG.
The distance between the inkjet heads of the first and second printing units 31 and 31 ′ is set to an integral multiple (N × L) of the recording width of the heads. In this case, the area indicated by the lower part 1 is recorded by the ink jet head of the first printing unit 31, and then the cloth 36 is conveyed by the length (2 L) indicated by 720, and then the second part is printed. The area indicated by 1 above is recorded by the inkjet head of the printing unit 31 '. At this time, recording by the first printing unit 31 (shown below by 1) is also performed at the same time.

The characteristics shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 are shown in the table below.

[0048]

[Table 1] Further, the following table shows comparative examples of the effects and characteristics of the methods shown in each of FIGS. 13 to 15.

[0049]

[Table 2] These evaluation values are 1> 2 in descending order of evaluation.
> 3.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the printing process in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment, and the control program for executing this process is stored in the ROM 112.

This processing is started when the image data to be printed is stored in the image memory 505 and the print start is detected by the CPU 111. First, in step S1, recording with normal density (corresponding to FIG. 13) or It is determined whether or not the recording is at a density higher than that (corresponding to FIG. 14). This may be determined by a code or the like included in the data from the host computer, or may be designated by a switch or the like on an operation panel (not shown).

When the density is normal, the process proceeds to step S2 to create thinning data for the ink jet heads of the first and second printing units 31 and 31 '. When the creation of the print data is completed in this way, the process proceeds to step S3, and the rotational driving of the carriage motors 407 and 408 is started. When the acceleration of the carriages 44, 44 'is completed and the constant velocity mode is entered, the process proceeds to step S4, and the carriages 44, 44' are set to the velocity V
Move at a constant speed with 1. By printing the print data of each inkjet head in synchronization with the movement of the carriage, printing is performed by the first and second printing units 31 and 31 '. In this case, the first printing unit 3
The area recorded by the upper half nozzles of the first ink jet head is recorded by the lower half nozzles of the ink jet head of the second print section 31 ', and conversely is recorded by the lower half nozzles of the first print section 31'. The formed area is recorded by the upper half nozzles of the second printing unit 31 '.

When the recording of one line is completed in this way, the process proceeds from step S6 to step S7, the carriage is stopped, and the winding motor 409 and the conveyance motor 410 are rotationally driven in step S8, and the cloth 36 is recorded. Width L
Only carry. This process is repeated until the recording process for one page is completed.

On the other hand, when printing with a high density, the process proceeds to step S10 to create print data for the upper and lower heads. This recording data is not the data thinned out as in step S2. Next, step S11 and step S1
In 2, the carriages 44, 44 'are both accelerated to become a constant velocity at the speed V1, and the print data is output to each of the upper and lower heads in step S13. 1 in step S14
When the printing of the line is completed, the process proceeds to step S15, and the carriage return and the conveyance of the cloth 36 are performed in the same manner as in step S7 and step S8 described above.
Although the flow chart of the printing process in the mode shown in FIG. 15 is not shown here, the carrying amount of the cloth 36 carried for each printing of each line is only 2 L, and the printing of high density is performed thereafter. It can be realized in substantially the same manner as the case.

[0055]

[Other Embodiments] FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a printing method of another embodiment of the present invention.

Describing this operation, reference numerals 801 to 803 denote areas printed by the ink jet head of the first printing unit 31 in two scans, respectively.
Reference numerals 806 denote areas that are printed by scanning twice by the head of the second printing unit 31 ′. Here, the data printed in each printing scan is thinned data, and depending on the thinning method of this data, for example, data for one scan is printed by the lower 1 and the lower 2, and the upper 1 and the upper 2 are printed.
Thus, the areas recorded by the lower 1 and the lower 2 may be overlapped and recorded, or, for example, the data for one scan may be recorded by the lower 1 and the upper 1, and similarly, the lower 2 and the upper 2 may be recorded. Thus, the areas to be recorded by the lower 1 and the upper 1 may be overlapped and recorded.

As a result, it is possible to record with the same density as in the case of FIG. 14, but in this case the number of scans is doubled as in the case described above, so the printing amount per time is reduced. However, the SMS circuit 606 of FIG. 7 eliminates the need to set the thinning-on / off mode and the switching of the carriage scanning speed, which has the advantage of simplifying the circuit design.

The present invention brings excellent effects particularly in an ink jet type recording head and a recording apparatus for recording by forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy among the ink jet recording systems.

With regard to its typical structure and principle, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740 are applicable.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, which corresponds to the recorded information and gives a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling. Since the electrothermal converter is caused to generate heat energy to cause film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to the drive signal in a one-to-one relationship can be formed. It is valid. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal in a pulse shape, because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. A configuration using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 or US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which the heat-acting surface is arranged in a bending region, may be used. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 5-5 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-123670 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 5 (1993) -58
A configuration based on Japanese Patent Publication No. 9-138461 may also be used.

Further, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length can be increased by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either of the structure satisfying the requirement or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used.

In addition, by being mounted on the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by a replaceable chip type recording head or the recording head itself. Alternatively, a cartridge type recording head provided with an ink tank may be used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effect of the present invention can be further stabilized. . Specific examples thereof include capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means for the recording head, preheating means using an electrothermal converter or another heating element or a combination thereof, and recording. It is also effective to perform a stable recording by performing a preliminary discharge mode in which another discharge is performed.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. Alternatively, the device may be provided with at least one of full-color mixed colors.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and softens at room temperature, or is a liquid, or the above-mentioned. In the inkjet method, it is common to control the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C to 70 ° C to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. It is sufficient that the ink is liquid.

In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink is solidified in a standing state for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink. In some cases, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to a recording signal and ejected as a liquid ink, or one that has already started to solidify when it reaches a recording medium. The use of an ink having a property of being liquefied only by heat energy is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-5684.
No. 7 or JP-A-60-71260, a mode in which the porous sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in the state of being held as a liquid or solid in the recess or through hole of the porous sheet. May be In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

As the recording medium, cloth, wallpaper, paper, OH
A sheet for P and the like can be mentioned. The present invention is particularly suitable for recording media having low water absorption, such as cloth and wallpaper.
In addition, in the present invention, the cloth includes any woven fabric, non-woven fabric and other fabrics regardless of the material, the weaving method and the knitting method. In addition, in the present specification, the wallpaper includes a patch for walls made of paper, cloth, or a synthetic resin sheet such as polyvinyl chloride.

In addition, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, the recording apparatus according to the present invention is integrally or separately provided as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a word processor or a computer, or is combined with a reader or the like. It may be in the form of a copying machine or a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

Next, for the ink-jet printing cloth, (1) the ink should be capable of developing a sufficient density of color. (2) The dyeing rate of the ink is high. (3) The ink dries quickly on the cloth. (4) The occurrence of irregular ink bleeding on the cloth is small. (5) Excellent transportability in the device.

Performances such as are required. In order to satisfy these required performances, the cloth may be pretreated in advance in the above-mentioned examples, if necessary. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-53492 discloses fabrics having an ink receiving layer, and JP-B-3-465.
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 89, a fabric containing a reduction inhibitor and an alkaline substance is proposed. Examples of such pretreatment include an alkaline substance, a water-soluble polymer,
The treatment may include treatment with a substance selected from synthetic polymers, water-soluble metal salts, urea and thiourea.

Examples of the alkaline substance include alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide,
Examples thereof include amines such as mono-, di- and triethanolamine, and carbonic acid or alkali metal bicarbonates such as sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Furthermore, there are organic acid metal salts such as calcium acetate and barium acetate, and ammonia and ammonia compounds. In addition, sodium trichloroacetate which becomes an alkaline substance under steaming and drying may be used. Particularly preferred alkaline substances are sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate used for dyeing reactive dyes.

As the water-soluble polymer, starch substances such as corn and wheat, cellulosic substances such as carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium alginate, gum arabic,
Locust bean gum, tragacanth gum, guar gum,
Examples thereof include polysaccharides such as tamarind seeds, protein substances such as gelatin and casein, and natural water-soluble polymers such as tannin-based substances and lignin-based substances.

Examples of the water-soluble metal salt include compounds such as halides of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals, which produce typical ionic crystals and have a pH of 4 to 10. As a typical example of such a compound, for example, in the case of an alkali metal, NaCl, Na ₂ S
O ₄ , KCl, CH ₃ COONa and the like can be mentioned, and as the alkaline earth metal, CaCl ₂ and MgC.
1 _{2 and the} like. Of these, salts of Na, K and Ca are preferable.

The method of incorporating the above substances and the like into the cloth in the pretreatment is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include a dipping method, a pad method, a coating method and a spraying method which are usually carried out.

Further, the printing ink applied to the ink-jet printing cloth merely adheres to the cloth when it is applied to the cloth. Therefore, the reaction fixing step (dyeing step) of the dye to the fiber is subsequently performed. Is preferred. Such a reaction fixing step may be a conventionally known method, for example, a steaming method, an HT steaming method, a thermofix method, an alkali pad steam method, an alkali blotch steam method when a cloth which has been previously alkali-treated is not used. , Alkaline shock method, alkaline cold-fick method and the like.

Further, the unreacted dye and the substances used for the pretreatment can be removed by washing after the above reaction fixing step according to a conventionally known method. In addition, it is preferable to use a conventional fixing process together with this cleaning.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program for implementing the present invention to a system or an apparatus.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, (1) the low density print mode and the high density print mode are provided, and the low density print mode thins out print data and multi-scans. (Twice) is performed, and in the high density print mode, multi-scan (twice) is performed without thinning out print data. At this time, the scanning speed of the head in the low density print mode is twice the speed in the high density print mode. (2) Depending on whether the print image has no unevenness or the print image with unevenness, the print data is thinned or not thinned, and the feed amount of the printing material is changed and the scanning speed of the head is changed. Switch. That is, in the case of a print image with unevenness, the print data is thinned out to reduce the feed amount of the printing object and increase the scanning speed of the inkjet head. On the other hand, in the case of a printed image without unevenness, the feed amount of the printing material is increased without thinning the print data, and the scanning speed of the inkjet head is reduced.

As a result, in a normal case, printing is performed using the print mode shown in FIG. 13, and for a dark design, printing is performed in the mode shown in FIG. For a design in which unevenness is less noticeable, printing is performed using the print mode shown in FIG. In this way, productivity can be increased and printing costs can be reduced. In this way, the print mode can be selected according to the case.

For reference, the effects of this embodiment are added to the above-mentioned operation mode table as follows.

Assuming that the time required for printing is 1 when printing is completed by one normal scan, the required time is about "1" when performing printing by two scans in the thinning printing shown in FIG. It becomes .5 ". Further, in the case of FIG. 14, the required time is about “2”. Further, in the case of the four scans shown in the other embodiment, the required time is about "3".

The recorded matter which has been subjected to the post-processing steps described above is then cut into a desired size, and the cut pieces are sewn, glued, welded, etc. to obtain a final processed product. The process is applied to clothes such as dresses, dresses, ties, swimwear, and futon covers, sofa covers, handkerchiefs,
A curtain etc. can be obtained. A lot of known methods such as "Latest Knit Sewing Manual": Published by Senyi Journal Co., Ltd. and monthly magazine "Sosou": Published by Bunka Publishing Bureau, etc. are used to process cloth by sewing etc. into clothing and other daily necessities. Has been done.

[0084]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a recording method and apparatus in which the reduction of the recording density is prevented by changing the scanning speed of the head and the recording method according to the recording density. With the goal.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the recording head shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining carriage driving in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the flow of image signals in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the flow of image signals in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the flow of image signals in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the basic configuration of the ink recording apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a pallet conversion table in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a recording example in the textile printing apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a thinning process in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a thinning process in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a recording operation at a normal density in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a recording operation at high density in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a high speed recording operation in the textile printing apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a recording operation in the textile printing apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an example of printing by four multi-scans according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

31 first print unit 31 'second print unit 36 recording medium (cloth) 44, 44' carriage 101 control unit 111 CPU 112 ROM 407, 408 carriage motor 505 image memory 508 pallet conversion PAL (program logic program)
Array) 510 HS conversion PAL 606 SMS generator circuit

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium using a plurality of recording heads, which corresponds to each recording head by thinning out input image data in the case of recording in a recording mode of a normal density. In the case of recording in a high density recording mode, a data creating unit that creates the recorded data, a first recording unit that performs printing by N multi-scans using the print data created by the data creating unit, A second recording means for performing recording by N multi-scans based on the input image data; and a recording speed of the recording head by the second recording means during recording by the first recording means. A recording unit that controls the recording head to scan and record at a high speed. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is an inkjet recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink. 3. A recording method for recording on a recording medium using a plurality of recording heads, wherein in the case of recording in a recording mode of a normal density, the input image data is thinned to correspond to each recording head. And a step of performing printing by scanning the print head at the first scanning speed by N times of multi-scans using the created print data, and In the case of recording, a step of scanning the recording head at a speed slower than the first scanning speed based on the input image data to perform recording by N multi-scans, Method. 4. The recording method according to claim 3, wherein the recording head is an inkjet recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink. 5. The recording head is a recording head which ejects ink by utilizing thermal energy, and is provided with a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. The recording method according to Item 4. 6. The recording method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of fixing the ink on the recording medium after applying the ink to the recording medium to perform recording. 7. The recording method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of washing the recorded recording medium after the step of fixing the ink. 8. The method according to claim 4, further comprising a pretreatment step of adding a pretreatment agent to the recording medium before recording by ejecting ink from the recording head. Recording method described in. 9. The recording method according to claim 4, wherein the recording medium is a cloth. 10. The recording method according to claim 4, wherein the recording medium is a wallpaper. 11. A recorded matter obtained by carrying out the recording method according to claim 4. 12. A processed product obtained by further processing the recorded matter according to claim 11. 13. The processed product is obtained by cutting the recorded matter into a desired size and subjecting the cut pieces to a process for obtaining a final processed product. The processed product according to claim 12.