Electronics for Imaging Gmbh

Vutek, Incorporated

Fiery, LLC

Joseph A Lahut

Peter Heath

Dwight Cram

Bryan Ko

Arthur L Cleary

John Peter Duffield

Michael D Mills

Stephen Mills

Adam C Lahut

Paul A Duncanson

Rainer Rall

White-balance is improved when printing on colored media, while minimizing the time and use of costly materials required by present approaches. In an embodiment, the typical solid white fill or background layer is altered by including in the white layer one or more of the other colors already available in the printer to shade this layer. Thus, a small amount of cyan, for example, helps balance a pink-ish (red) media; yellow is used for blue media; and magenta is used for green media; as well as combinations thereof. A combination of transparent process inks and opaque white helps to maintain brightness (luminosity).

Multilayer white printing with white-balance

In a multi-layer printer, the base white layer that is applied during printing is modified using the image to be printed. By altering the white layer to reflect the density of the top image, it is easier to reach saturation (density/gamut) without adding large amounts of ink. Thus, such undesirable side effects, such as gloss-banding are avoided.

Multi-layer printing on non-white backgrounds

Gloss is controlled in UV ink jet printing within a printing system. Controlled pinning energy is used to adjust the amount of ink interaction between drops, substrate, and ink layers, resulting in virtual elimination of gloss banding and control of the finished gloss level from a gloss level of approximately 85 to a gloss level of approximately 5.

Ink jet UV pinning for control of gloss

Improved output quality of a printer used in UV curable ink jet printing is achieved by minimizing or eliminating a print artifact referred to as gloss banding or tire tracking. A same or a similar number of nozzles as used in conventional printers is used to achieve a desired throughput, but the nozzles are arranged so that any given square inch of substrate to which ink is being applied receives a lower amount of ink. A longer effective print head is provided by arranging the print heads into a longer array, where the print heads are butted substantially end-to-end. As a result, the net throughput of the printer is the same as that of a conventional printer because the printer uses the same number of print heads, but the amount of ink that is applied to any given square inch is less on a pass.

Reduced gloss banding through low ink volume deposition per print pass

A printing system that includes a source which emits UV radiation to polymerize a fluid that is deposited onto a substrate by one or more print heads. The source emits low energy UV radiation sufficient to set the fluid to a quasi-fluid, non-hardened state.

Radiation treatment for ink jet fluids

A printing apparatus for printing images on a substrate includes a first set of print heads Shaving at least one print head Parranged to deposit a first ink I, and a second set of print heads Shaving at least two print heads P, Parranged to deposit a second ink I. The at least one print head Pof the first set Sand a first print head Pof the second set Srespectively depositing the first ink Iand the second ink Iin a first order of deposition O, and the at least one print head Pof the first set Iand a second print head Pof the second set Srespectively depositing the first ink Iand the second ink Iin a second order of deposition Oas the printing apparatus traverses across the substrate in one direction D. The order of deposition of the first ink Iand the second ink Ifrom the print heads is reversed as the printing apparatus traverses across the substrate in an opposite direction D.

Multi-speed, multi-resolution print heads

A system for printing images on a substrate includes a multiplicity of print heads mounted in a carriage and positioned a distance from the substrate. A sensor detects the thickness of the substrate as the substrate moves through the system, and a control system receives the substrate thickness information detected by the sensor and transmits signals to a motor coupled to the carriage. These signals instruct the motor to adjust the position of the carriage to maintain a desired gap between the print heads and the substrate.

Printing system for accommodating various substrate thicknesses

An apparatus for setting radiation curable ink deposited onto a substrate. The apparatus includes a series of ink jet print heads which deposit ink onto the substrate, and a radiation source mounted laterally adjacent to the series of ink jet print heads. The amount of energy provided by the radiation source is sufficient to cause the radiation curable ink to set.

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Moultonboro, NH, United States of America

Joseph A Lahut