Image recording apparatus and method, and method of determining density correction coefficients

Abstract

An image recording apparatus includes: a recording head which has a plurality of recording elements; a characteristics information acquisition device which acquires information that indicates recording characteristics of the plurality of recording elements; a correction object determination device which selects from the plurality of recording elements a correction object recording element to be corrected; a correction range setting device which selects from the plurality of recording elements N correction recording elements to be used for correcting an output density, N being an integer not less than 2; a virtual dot setting device which sets a virtual dot to be arranged between dots recorded by the selected correction recording elements; a correction coefficient determination device which determines density correction coefficients for the N correction recording elements in accordance with correction conditions that reduce a low-frequency component of a power spectrum representing spatial frequency characteristics of the density non-uniformity; a correction processing device which performs calculation for correcting the output density by using the density correction coefficients; and a drive control device which controls the plurality of recording elements in accordance with the corrected output density.