Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Joseph H Bauman

Brian L Helterline

Claude W Nichols, Iii

Jefferson Patrick Ward

Stephen D Panshin

Majid Azmoon

Donald G Harris

David M Wetchler

Nicholas Nicoloff, Jr

John M Skene

John C Santon

Ronald R Paulsen

Mark P Elworthy

Rose Marie Elley

An imaging material supply cartridge uses a partition map to identify access modes and encryption attributes.

Partition map

The present disclosure relates to a replaceable printing component for use in a printing system including print mechanism configured to receive the replaceable printing component. The replaceable printing component includes an electrical storage device responsive to printing system control signals for selectively storing information received from the print mechanism, the electrical storage device includes a storage portion containing data associated with the replaceable printing component, and first and second validation fields configured to store error detection codes relatable to the data contained in the storage portion to determine whether the data is valid. Wherein the electrical storage device is configured, prior to a first transfer of data from the print mechanism to the storage portion, to receive and store in one of the first and second validation fields an error detection code related to the data currently contained in the storage portion, and the electrical storage device is configured to receive and store in the other of the first and second validation fields an error detection code related to the data that will be contained in the storage portion after the first data transfer.

Non-volatile memory data integrity validation

A method of reducing pixel density in pixel array printers, alternatively termed depletion, uses information about a pixel when it is first available instead of having to recalculate that information at a later time. According to embodiments of the present invention, the process of identifying edge pixels for the purpose of depletion is performed during a halftoning process, in which every pixel in a pixel data array is examined. Pixels are classified as one of four possible pixel states: a blank pixel, a left/right edge pixel, a top/bottom edge pixel, or an area-fill pixel. The pixel state information is stored in a modified pixel data area. A predetermined pattern of filled and unfilled smaller pixels is identified with each pixel state. Each element in the modified pixel data array is mapped onto the smaller pixels according to the predetermined pattern and a printer is controlled according to the resulting pattern.

Multi-level pixel density reduction for printers

The present disclosure relates to replaceable printing component for an ink-jet printing system having at least one replaceable printing component. The replaceable printing component includes an electrical storage device responsive to printing system control signals for transferring information between the printing component and the ink-jet printing system. The electrical storage device includes a tag family identifier for selecting a family of tags from a plurality of families of tags. Also included is a plurality of tags associated with replaceable consumable parameters. Each of the plurality of tags have a tag value associated therewith. Wherein the ink-jet printing system reads the tag family identifier from the electrical storage device to select the family of tags. Each tag of the plurality of tags read by the ink-jet printer is identified based on the selected family of tags and is used to identify the associated replaceable consumable parameter.

Method and apparatus for identifying parameters in a replaceable printing component

At least two different pixel densities are used for different printing devices--such as inkjet pens--that operate concurrently, or different printing steps that proceed concurrently, to produce respective image swaths in a single, pixel-based printing machine. The different print devices or steps produce image swaths of respective different swath heights. In one form of the invention, the taller-swath-height printing device operates at lower pixel density, spreading its colorant over a greater area while printing-medium advance keeps pace with operation of the shallower-swath-height printing device. This procedure allows more drying and penetrating time for the colorant applied by the taller-swath device, thereby improving print attributes such as bleed, offset, cockle, curl, overall drying time and throughput. In another form of the invention the taller-swath device operates at higher pixel density, providing physical and temporal separation of colorant application from the two printing devices--to avoid adverse interfering effects between reactive inks.

Mixed-density print masking in a mixed-swath-height printer

An improved print mode and system for alleviating wait-banding is disclosed. In the disclosed print mode, the delay between print scans may be increased or decreased at the full swath boundaries. Within a full swath, the delay between passes is set at a standard default delay. At the full swath boundary, if a low-memory condition is sensed or if there is a need to perform a service routine, the delay is ramped up. If there is currently not a low-memory condition or if there is not a need for a pen service, the delay is ramped down. This print mode provides that the print passes are more uniformly distributed in time, thus alleviating wait-banding. This print mode is particularly advantageous for glossy medium and transparencies.

Print mode and system to alleviate wait-banding

A printer control method and apparatus are provided whereby print media feed and printhead carriage acceleration are overlapped in order to optimize the time which a printer spends preparing to print. The printhead carriage is accelerated at a time which has been determined to provide for concurrent completion of printhead carriage acceleration and media feed. This typically is accomplished by periodically previewing print data stored in memory for use in identifying a duration of time required to accelerate the printhead carriage to printing velocity and a duration of time required to advance the print medium. The difference between these times determines when to begin printhead carriage acceleration.

Method and apparatus for achieving increased printer throughput

A method for eliminating visible color variation, or color banding, in areas of the printout that color and black inks are capable of touching, without significant reduction in color-tint printout throughput, are described. The invented method includes detecting or analyzing areas in a print swath defined by a single horizontal pass of the printhead that contain superposed color and black dots. Upon detection of such a condition, the method further includes subdividing the typically broader black swath, e.g. forty-eight orifices, into a number of narrower swaths, e.g. by selecting only certain closely vertically adjacent ones of the orifices and their corresponding ink jets, that preferably are of equal vertical height to the height of the corresponding color swath, e.g. sixteen orifices. Printing is performed then-black ink during a first carriage pass followed by color ink during a subsequent carriage pass-by time interleaving one or more of the preferably equal height black and color swaths in such manner that the time between horizontally adjacent black and color ink-jet firing, or dot printing, is substantially constant. Preferably, the method avoids black swath down-sizing or other spatial or temporal accommodations when there is no likelihood of visible color-banding, i.e. when it is determined that there is in the present swath no color and black liquid ink interposition that could result in bleeding.

Color variation control method for ink-jet printers

The invented method, device and resulting font structure recognize that different fonts may have shared characters or common bit patterns. For example, if the character '.sub.-- ' is the same in two different fonts, it only needs to be stored in memory once. It can then be referenced by both fonts. Specifically, the invention identifies shared characters or bit patterns, stores one of the shared characters or patterns at one location, and references that location in all fonts needing the character or pattern.

Method and device for accessing shared character patterns, and resulting

The invented blank strip compression method recognizes that different font characters may have strips of blank data. For example, in the character '.sub.-- ' the blank space above the character itself does not need to be stored in memory. The method identifies strips of blank and non-blank bit images that define characters and saves in memory only the bit images that are within the strips that include non-blank bit images resulting in a stored, decompressible font.

Growing community of inventors

Brush Prairie, WA, United States of America

Joseph H Bauman