Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Kazuhisa Kuruma

Hitoshi Nishikori

Masao Maeda

Takayuki Murata

Yuichiro Suzuki

Hideki Nakanishi

Yasutaka Mitani

A discharge failure nozzle, which cannot print, can be complemented by a printable discharge nozzle according to a simple, low-cost method capable of a high-speed process. A printing apparatus, which prints by using an inkjet head having nozzle arrays formed by arraying a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink while scanning the inkjet head on a printing medium, includes a storage unit which stores the position of an abnormal nozzle that abnormally discharges ink among the plurality of nozzles arrayed in the nozzle arrays, an assignment unit which assigns data subjected to discharge by the abnormal nozzle to a plurality of normal nozzles positioned near the abnormal nozzle in a nozzle array including the abnormal nozzle in accordance with predetermined priorities, and a control unit which controls to perform assignment of data subjected to discharge by the abnormal nozzle every time column data along the scanning direction are created by a predetermined number of columns.

Printing apparatus, printing method and data processing method for compensating for abnormal nozzles in accordance with priorities

Printing apparatus for assigning data subjected to discharge by an abnormal nozzle in accordance with predetermined priorities

A recording apparatus includes a conveying unit for conveying a recording medium, a conveying motor for driving the conveying unit, an encoder for outputting a signal in accordance with the operating amount of the conveying unit, and a generating unit for generating an interruption signal when the conveying motor is stopped. The operating amount of the conveying unit is counted during a predesignated period beginning with the output of the interruption signal, and in accordance with the obtained count value, nozzles used for recording are selected and image recording is performed. With the above configuration, the recording apparatus removes problems, such as when a conveying unit conveys a recording medium, the halted position is shifted and the quality of an image formed on the recording medium is degraded, or when the conveying unit is operated to correct the position shifting, throughput is reduced.

Recording apparatus

Disclosed are a printing apparatus and printing method which suppress degradation of the image quality caused by discharge failure complement. In the printing apparatus, virtual data are generated for predetermined dots in a scanning direction on the basis of printing data of a plurality of dots in the scanning direction of an inkjet printhead that are printed by an ink discharge failure nozzle among a plurality of nozzles. The priorities of dots subjected to complementary printing among a plurality of dots within a predetermined adjacent area where the printing data and virtual data are printed are decided on the basis of the printing data and virtual data. A position subjected to complementary printing is decided on the basis of the priorities, printing data, and virtual data. Printing data and virtual data which actually cause ink discharge are so moved as to print at the position. Corrected printing data to be actually printed is generated on the basis of the moved data. Printing is performed by driving the inkjet printhead on the basis of the corrected printing data.

Printing apparatus and method capable of complementary printing for an ink discharge failure nozzle

A printing apparatus and printing method can realize high-quality printing without degrading the quality of a printed image even when a nozzle restriction function is adopted in addition to a discharge failure complement function. In a printing apparatus using an inkjet printhead having a plurality of nozzles, whether the position of an ink discharge failure nozzle exists at or near the end of a nozzle area which is still usable regardless of the use restriction on the nozzles is detected. The use of a nozzle for complementary printing executed with a nozzle positioned near the ink discharge failure nozzle is controlled in accordance with the detection result.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Kazuhisa Kuruma