Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Alex Andrea

Angel Martinez

Joan Jorba

Sergio Puigardeu

Jordi Sender

Silvia Miramanda

Ramon Vega

David Gaston

Marti Rius

Alejandro Campillo

Angel Martinez Barambio

Marcos Casaldaliga

Pascal Ruiz

Jean Frederic Plante

Joan Campderros

Luis Garcia

Paul C Ray

Marc Bautista

Pasqual Batalla

Toni Gracia

Angel Alvarez

Joan Joroa

A method is described in which a printed image which has been printed by a printer based on a printing template is repaired. A damaged area of the printed image is identified and a reprinting segment on the printed image is determined such as to overlap the identified damaged area. With the printer a layer of printing fluid is printed over the damaged image and a correction printing template is printed. The correction printing template includes a segment of the printing template that corresponds to the reprinting segment of the printed image.

Repairing a printed image

Among various embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods for diagnosing printhead status are shown. The printhead status can be diagnosed by detecting which of a number of nozzles in a first printhead fire ink; and printing with visible ink a diagnostic plot using a second printhead that maps which nozzles fire ink in the first printhead. The number of nozzles in the first printhead which fire ink is determined by visually identifying the nozzles that fire ink in the second printhead as indicated by the placement of the visible ink on the diagnostic plot.

Printhead diagnostic plot

A page wide array printer comprises a print head bar which carries an array of print nozzles, and which is static during a printing operation. A carriage has print head service elements. The print head bar is movable perpendicularly to the plane of the print medium beneath the print head, between a lowered print position and a raised service position. The carriage is moveable along the print head to perform a service operation when the print head is in the raised position.

Print head servicing for a page wide array printer

The invention relates to a calibration method for a printer having a mechanism for advancing a medium in a direction of media advance comprising the following steps: (a) providing a printhead, the printhead having a swath height in the direction of media advance; (b) providing an estimate of either the swath height or the characteristic of the mechanism; (c) printing a base pattern on a medium using the printhead; (d) printing an overlay pattern on the medium using the printhead to form an interference pattern; (e) advance the medium of a predetermined distance using the mechanism at a time between the printing of the base pattern and the printing of the overlay pattern; (f) analyze an optical evaluation of the interference pattern; (g) evaluate as either: (i) the swath height if the characteristic of the mechanism is known or estimated; or (ii) the characteristic of the mechanism if the swath height is known or estimated.

Calibration method for a printer

A method of printing comprising: determining the position of ink marks on a medium resulting from the breakaway of secondary ink drops from primary ink drops; and positioning the primary ink drops on the medium using said determination.

Method of printing and printing system

A method of printing an image on a substrate using a page-wide-array printer and a page wide array printer is provided. The method includes printing a first portion of the image as relative movement occurs between the substrate and the print heads, and printing a second portion of the image as relative movement occurs between the substrate and the print heads, such that there exists an area of overlap between the first portion of the image and the second portion of the image. The substrate may be moved in a first direction relative to the print heads whilst the first portion of the image is printed, moved in a second direction opposite to the first direction; and moved in the first direction again whilst the second portion of the image is printed. The substrate may be printed whilst the substrate is moved in the second direction.

Method and printer for multi-pass page-wide array printing

Printing is performed at a full resolution using a first set of nozzles and a second set of nozzles arranged on a printhead. Printing is performed at less than the full resolution using the first set of nozzles less any nozzles in the first set of nozzles that have been determined to be defective. The second set of nozzles is not used for printing at less than the full resolution except for a subset of nozzles in the second set of nozzles that are used to replace nozzles from the first set of nozzles that have been determined to be defective.

Defective nozzle replacement in a printer

A method of printing on a substrate and a printer are provided. The method uses a printer comprising a print head and a mask having a hole therethrough, the mask being disposed between the print head and the substrate, and comprises aligning the hole with the print head; printing on the substrate through the hole; and misaligning the hole with the print head so that the print head is covered by the mask. The method may allow the servicing of a print head in the array while the printer is printing on the substrate using at least one of the remainder of the print heads in the array.

Printers and printhead cleaning primarily in page-wide array printers

The invention relates to a calibration method for a printer having a mechanism for advancing a medium in a direction of media advance comprising the following steps:

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Barcelona, Spain

Alex Andrea