Lexmark International, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Randall David Mayo

Michael Anthony Marra, Iii

Barry Baxter Stout

John Philip Bolash

Mark Walter Fagan

George Keith Parish

David Golman King

Patrick Laurence Kroger

Frank Edward Anderson

John Thomas Writt

Thomas Jon Eade

John Booth Bates

Herman Anthony Smith

Paul Harrington, Iii

Kenneth W Linville

Adam Jude Ahne

Lucas David Barkley

Edmund Hulin James, Iii

Scott Michael Heydinger

Donald Norman Spitz

Richard Lee Reel

Marc Alan Herwald

Douglas Laurence Robertson

Walter Kevin Cousins

Jerry Wesley Raider

Frederick Charles Griesemer

Christopher Alan Adkins

Kevin Dean Schoedinger

Sean Terrance Weaver

Mark Joseph Edwards

Bruce David Gibson

Timothy John Rademacher

Kristi Maggard Rowe

Michael Clark Campbell

Bruce Anthony DeBoard

Cyrus Bradford Clarke

Donald K Rex

Brian Jones

Brian Andrew Naro

Tommy Otis Lowe

David Brian Langer

John Douglas Anderson

Donald Fred Croley

Jay William Vessels

Alexander Lloyd Chapman

Curt Paul Breswick

Tuyen Van Pham

Jeffrey H Paterra

David Craig Stevenson

David Keith Lane

Gregory John Sherwood

Michael Kelley Webb

Paul Albert Cook

Stephen Andrew Budelsky

Darrel Lee Henry

Monty L Francis

Bohong Zhang

Mohsen Marefat

David Steven Waldrop

Robert A Bailey

Richard G Zumbach

Katherine A Profitt

Paul Harrington Iii

Method and devices for reducing printing artifacts. In one embodiment, a method includes directing ink onto a medium, the medium having a trailing edge; tracking the position of the medium in relation to a nip roller; adjusting the direction of ink onto the medium a first time when the trailing edge of the medium is in close proximity to the nip roller; and adjusting the direction of ink onto the medium a second time.

Method and system for avoiding bottom of page printing artifacts

Printheads configured to operate in accordance with a plurality of print modes. For example, one of the plurality of print modes can be selected in accordance with a bit of address data received by the printhead. In an exemplary embodiment, the selection of print mode can be accomplished by switching one or more actuator (e.g., heater) circuit addresses on the printhead.

Printhead having a plurality of print modes

A method for generating a reference signal for use in an imaging apparatus having an encoder system that supplies an original encoder signal includes selecting one of a plurality of encoder signal conditioning algorithms corresponding to a plurality of desired functions, each encoder signal conditioning algorithm of the plurality of encoder signal conditioning algorithms being directed to facilitating a specific predefined function of the plurality of desired functions relating to a modification of the original encoder signal; reading values into the selected encoder signal conditioning algorithm to generate at least one programming parameter; and programming a hardware reference unit using the at least one programming parameter to generate a synthesized encoder signal representing the modification of the original encoder signal.

Method for generating a reference signal for use in an imaging apparatus

A method for decreasing sensitivity to errors in an imaging apparatus includes, defining an ideal pattern of dot locations as a rectilinear grid formed by an intersection of a plurality of rasters and a plurality of vertical columns; for each raster of the plurality of rasters defining a plurality of groups of dot locations; and for each raster of the plurality of rasters, vertically shifting some groups of the plurality of groups of dot locations while not vertically shifting a remainder of groups of the plurality of groups of dot locations so as to define a non-ideal vertically shifted pattern of dot locations.

Method for decreasing sensitivity to errors in an imaging apparatus

An improved method of edge-to-edge printing on media in a printer having a printhead disposed above an ink trough, the ink trough has a plurality of sections formed by a plurality of trough support ribs within the ink trough, comprises indexing a leading edge of media to a first position over a first trough section, selectively operating printhead jets which are positioned above the media to inhibit ink contamination of exposed support ribs, indexing the media leading edge to one of a second position within the first trough section or a position within a second trough section.

Trough support ribs and method of use

A method of operating an ink jet apparatus to print a print job on print media with a printhead having a supply of ink and an initial printhead operating frequency is disclosed. The method comprises receiving the print job for printing on the media, determining the volume of the supply of ink, comparing the volume of the supply of ink to a predetermined level, calculating a revised printhead operating frequency in response to the comparison, and operating the printhead at the revised printhead operating frequency to print the print job.

Method for maintaining printhead performance

A method for reducing banding during printing with an imaging apparatus includes establishing a current original move length; determining a current original absolute position; calculating a current adjusted absolute position based on the current original absolute position; determining a current difference between the current original absolute position and the current adjusted absolute position; determining a current move-to-move adjustment amount by subtracting the current difference from a previous difference between a previous original absolute position and a previous adjusted absolute position; and generating an adjusted move length for a next move by adding the current move-to-move adjustment amount to the current original move length.

Method for reducing banding in an imaging apparatus

Methods and systems for calibrating media indexing errors in a printing device are provided. In one embodiment, the method comprises feeding a calibration media through a printing device, sensing the position of the media as it moves through the printing device, sensing positions of a media indexing component as the media moves through the printing device, determining media indexing position errors based upon the sensed positions, and calculating a compensation factor to be applied based upon the errors. In some embodiments, parameters of a line and/or other function are determined from the error data and the parameters are utilized to calculate a compensation factor. Moreover, in some embodiments, it is determined what range the data fits within, and a predetermined compensation factor is determined based upon the range.

Methods and systems to calibrate media indexing errors in a printing device

A method for performing drop placement by an imaging apparatus includes the steps of defining a matrix that identifies all possible drop locations at an output resolution; defining primary drop locations in the matrix for each color of interest based on predefined criteria; defining secondary drop locations in the matrix for the each color of interest; and establishing rules to assign input data received at an input resolution to particular locations of the primary drop locations and the secondary drop locations in the matrix.

High resolution printing method

A printer () in which a first sheet () to be imaged by printhead () is followed by a trailing media sheet. The first sheet is stopped intermittently so that the printhead can traverse the first sheet to print a partial image. The trailing media sheet is stopped behind the first sheet and is moved intermittently until it reaches or is near nip rollers (). Exit rollersandmove the first sheet out of the printer. When the exit rollers and the nip roller move forward and backward together the first sheet may be exited before the nip rollers are reversed to align the second sheet. Alternatively, the first sheet may be moved backward during alignment. The intermittent movement of the sheets may be at different times and with the trailing sheet moved less times and longer amounts than the first sheet is moved.

Media pre-feed in intermittent printer

A method of printing on a print medium includes using a first quantity of nozzles of a printhead to print a first set of scan lines of a plurality of scan lines at an edge of the print medium; using a second quantity of nozzles of the printhead to print a second set of scan lines of the plurality of scan lines in an interior region of the print medium; using a third quantity of nozzles to print a third set of scan lines of the plurality of scan lines to transition between the edge and the interior region, the third quantity of nozzles being greater in number than the first quantity of nozzles and less in number than the second quantity of nozzles; and printing each scan line of the plurality of scan lines forming the image with a same number of multiple passes of the printhead, regardless of the number of nozzles used for printing during a particular pass of the printhead.

Method for performing edge-to-edge transition during printing with an imaging apparatus

A method for performing drop placement by an imaging apparatus utilizing diluted color inks and full strength color inks includes defining a matrix that identifies all possible drop locations at an output resolution; defining primary drop locations in the matrix for at least one color based on predefined criteria, the at least one color including a diluted color; defining secondary drop locations in the matrix for the at least one color; and establishing rules to assign input data received at an input resolution to particular locations of the primary drop locations and the secondary drop locations in the matrix.

Dot management for an imaging apparatus

The invention provides an apparatus and method for printing an image using the printhead of an ink jet printer. The printhead ejects ink drops on a print medium in a series of scanning passes, and different addressing patterns are selected in each scanning pass to address ink drop locations for different portions of the raster lines addressed by each scanning pass. Addressing patterns having various interlacing percentages are selected in order to produce overlapping boundary regions between passes. The overlapping boundary regions minimize the banding effects that occur with inexact ink drop placement.

Apparatus and method for ink jet printing using variable interlacing

A micro-miniature fluid ejecting device. The fluid ejecting device includes a semiconductor substrate having fluid ejectors formed on a surface of the substrate. A flexible circuit is fixedly attached to the semiconductor substrate. The flexible circuit has power contacts for providing power to the fluid ejectors. At least one drive circuit is connected to the fluid ejectors. The drive circuit is disposed on one of the semiconductor substrate and the flexible circuit. A fluid sequencer is connected to the drive circuit for selectively activating the fluid ejectors. The fluid sequencer is also disposed on one of the semiconductor substrate and the flexible circuit. The semiconductor substrate is attached to a housing. A fluid source is provided for supplying fluid to the semiconductor substrate for ejection by the fluid ejectors. The fluid ejecting device provides low cost construction for application specific miniature fluid jetting devices.

Micro-miniature fluid jetting device

A method of printing using an ink jet printer includes the steps of: defining at least one scan line with a plurality of pixel locations spaced apart at a predetermined print resolution; scanning a printhead across the scan line at a first velocity; printing on the scan line at selected pixel locations at the first scan velocity; scanning the printhead across the scan line at a second scan velocity which is different from the first scan velocity; and printing on the scan line at selected pixel locations at the second scan velocity.

Method of altering an effective print resolution of an ink jet printer

Growing community of inventors

Georgetown, KY, United States of America

Randall David Mayo