Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Naoki Nakano

Takayuki Ito

Takashi Kimura

Masakazu Yoshida

Masanori Hirano

Shigetoshi Hosaka

Yoshihisa Ohta

Toshihito Kamei

Yoshiaki Hoshino

Shigetaka Sakakibara

Shinichi Hatanaka

Taku Satoh

Takahiro Ike

An image forming apparatus includes: a recording head having a first nozzle row and a second nozzle row that are adjacent to each other in a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of a recording medium, a plurality of nozzles being arrayed in the conveying direction in each of the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row, each of the nozzles ejecting one of p types of droplets including a predetermined specific type of droplets, the p being an integer equal to or greater than three; a moving unit that relatively reciprocates the recording medium and the recording head in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction; and a control unit that controls ejection of the p types of droplets from the nozzles, wherein the nozzles in each of the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row are divided into (p&#x2212;1) nozzle groups in the conveying direction, first nozzles of the nozzles in a k-th nozzle group (1&#x2266;k&#x2266;p&#x2212;1) in the conveying direction and in one of the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row ejects the specific type of droplets, and second nozzles of the nozzles in the k-th nozzle group in the conveying direction and in other one of the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row ejects one of the p types of droplets other than the specific type of droplets, nozzles of each of the (p&#x2212;1) nozzle groups that do not eject the specific type of droplets ejects different one of the p types of droplets other than the specific type of droplets, nozzles of one of the (p&#x2212;1) nozzle groups ejecting the specific type of droplets at first in the conveying direction and nozzles of other one of the nozzle groups (p&#x2212;1) ejecting the specific type of droplets at second in the conveying direction belong to different nozzle rows, and the control unit controls to eject, in one of directions of the reciprocal movement, the p types of droplets other than the specific type of droplets from the nozzles of the each of the (p&#x2212;1) nozzle groups that do not eject the specific type of droplets and to eject the specific type of droplets from the nozzles of the one of the (p&#x2212;1) nozzle groups ejecting the specific type of droplets at first in the conveying direction and from the nozzles of the other one of the (p&#x2212;1) nozzle groups ejecting the specific type of droplets at second in the conveying direction, and controls to eject, in other one of the directions of the reciprocal movement, the p types of droplets other than the specific type of droplets from the nozzles of the each of the (p&#x2212;1) nozzle groups that do not eject the specific type of droplets.

Image forming apparatus and control method

An image forming apparatus includes: a recording head having a first nozzle row and a second nozzle row. One nozzles of the nozzles in a k-th nozzle group (1&#x2266;k&#x2266;p&#x2212;1; p is the number of types of droplets) in the conveying direction and of the first nozzle row and second nozzle row ejects the specific type of droplets, and the other nozzles in a k-th nozzle group ejects droplets other than the specific types of droplets. The control unit controls to eject, in one of directions of the reciprocal movement, droplets other than the specific types of droplets from nozzle groups that do not eject the specific type of droplets and the specific type of droplets from the first and second nozzle groups that eject the specific type of droplets and in other one of the directions of the reciprocal movement, droplets other than the specific types of droplets from nozzle groups that do not eject the specific type of droplets.

A disclosed image processing apparatus performs an image processing operation to execute double-side printing on both sides of an image forming medium. The image processing apparatus forms a dot font including a dot pattern of a character in a character image that has undergone a halftone process using a predetermined coefficient for mitigating show-through when the double-side printing is performed; forms a correction dot for making a correction to reduce step-like irregularities along an outline portion of the character in the character image, which correction dot is formed based on an arrangement position, a color, and a dot size of the correction dot for reproducing a gradation that has undergone the halftone process using said predetermined coefficient; and combines the dot font and the correction dot.

Image processing apparatus to correct an image during double-sided printing

An image processing apparatus for converting input image data into output image data for an image forming apparatus configured to output an image with the use of coloring material, which includes a unit configured to perform a coloring-material usage amount reduction process of converting the input image data into the output image data such that an amount of the coloring material used for color-printing the input image data becomes a target coloring-material usage amount defined based on a monochrome-printing coloring-material usage amount required for monochrome-printing the input image data.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, program, recording medium, printing system, image forming apparatus

An imaging apparatus is disclosed that includes plural heads that are arranged in a main scanning direction, the heads including plural nozzle arrays that are arranged in the main scanning direction and configured to discharge droplets of recording liquids in at least three different colors including a yellow recording liquid. At least two of the nozzle arrays that are configured to discharge the yellow recording liquid are separately arranged in at least two of the heads. At least two of the nozzle arrays that are configured to discharge a first recording liquid of the recording liquids in a first color other than yellow are arranged together in one of the heads. At least two of the nozzle arrays that are configured to discharge a second recording liquid of the recording liquids in a second color other than yellow are arranged together in one of the heads.

Color imaging apparatus having yellow nozzle array and magenta nozzle array on same head and shifted relative to each other by a half-pitch

A disclosed inkjet recording apparatus for performing recording by jetting a recording liquid onto a recording medium includes an image processing unit configured to obtain an output halftone level by performing halftone processing on input image data, to select a dot arrangement order according to the obtained output halftone level, and thereby to generate dot data where dots are arranged in a grid-like pattern. The disclosed inkjet recording apparatus is configured to use a pigmented ink as the recording liquid when the recording medium is a commercial printing paper, and to record the dots in a staggered arrangement where positions of the dots in odd/even-numbered columns or odd/even-numbered rows in the dot data are shifted in a sub-scanning direction or in a main-scanning direction.

Inkjet recording apparatus, image processing method, storage medium, pigmented ink, and recorded matter

An image processing method for an image forming apparatus which is capable of performing double face printing is provided, wherein color space transformation processes that differ between single face printing and double face printing are performed. In addition, an image processing method for an image forming apparatus which is capable of performing double face printing is provided, wherein input tone transformation processes and adhering recording liquid quantity limiting processes that differ between double face printing and single face printing are performed.

Image processing method, program product, image processing device, image forming apparatus and image forming system for limiting ink quality when printing on both sides of a print medium

Color imaging apparatus configured to reduce bidirectional color difference

A magnetic head slider for eliminating the fluctuations of contact forces between a magnetic head and a recording disk due to changes in atmospheric pressure or shocks includes a plurality of fluid force generating faces positioned at a plurality of different height levels. The magnetic head slider includes a positive pressure generation area and a contact pad provided on a top level along the air flow direction due to rotation of the magnetic disk. The contact pad supports the magnetic head. A squeeze pad area is provided at a middle height level between the top level and the low level of the surfaces to traverse the low level of the surfaces for suppressing fluctuations of contact forces between the magnetic head and the magnetic disk medium.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Naoki Nakano