Printing apparatus, printing system, and printing method for printing apparatus

Abstract

Provided are a printing device, a printing system, and a printing method of a printing device, which are capable of performing high-quality printing with banding inhibited. A printing device (11) includes an adhesive belt (17) as one example of a conveyance belt, a support portion (17a) that supports a medium (M), and conveys the medium (M) by moving the support portion (17a); a liquid ejection portion (20) that ejects a liquid toward the medium (M) supported by the support portion (17a); and a dyeing portion (50) that dyes the medium (M) by immersing the medium (M) in a dyeing liquid (DL). The dyeing in the dyeing portion (50) and the ejection in the liquid ejection portion (20) are combined, and the medium (M) is printed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing system, and a printing method of the printing apparatus, which includes a liquid jetting section for printing on a medium by jetting liquid. Background Technology

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an inkjet recording apparatus for recording on media such as fabric, as an example of such a printing device. This inkjet recording apparatus includes: a conveying unit for conveying fabric; a recording unit for recording by spraying ink onto the fabric using an inkjet method; and a cleaning unit for cleaning the fabric. The inkjet recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a background image is printed on the media by spraying liquid from a scanning head.

[0003] Existing technical documents

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-218419.

[0006] However, when printing a background image on a medium by ejecting liquid from the scanning head of an inkjet recording device, a problem arises where streaking occurs due to the printer's transport accuracy. Furthermore, streaking refers to lines (stripes) that appear as stripes along the scanning direction on the image. Stranding can include: white stripes extending along the scanning direction that create tiny gaps between scan lines where no ink adheres, and dark stripes extending along the scanning direction due to repeated ink adhesion on adjacent scan lines. Summary of the Invention

[0007] A printing apparatus for solving the above-mentioned problems includes: a conveyor belt; a support portion having a medium for supporting the medium, wherein the medium is conveyed by moving the support portion; a liquid jetting portion for jetting liquid onto the medium supported by the support portion; and a dyeing portion for dyeing the medium by immersing it in a dyeing solution, and combining the dyeing in the dyeing portion with the jetting in the liquid jetting portion to print the medium.

[0008] The printing system that solves the above problems includes: the printing apparatus described above; and a drying mechanism that dries both the medium printed by the liquid jetting section and the medium dyed by the dyeing section.

[0009] The printing system that solves the above problems is a printing system having the above-mentioned printing apparatus, wherein the cleaning liquid storage unit is capable of storing the cleaning liquid or the dyeing liquid, and the printing system includes a holding tank connected to the cleaning liquid storage unit, which is capable of holding the cleaning liquid or the dyeing liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit.

[0010] A printing apparatus that solves the above problem includes a conveyance belt having a support portion that supports a medium, which conveys the medium by moving the support portion; a liquid ejection portion that ejects a liquid toward the medium supported by the support portion; and a dyeing portion that dyes the medium by dropping a dyeing liquid, wherein printing is performed on the medium by combining dyeing in the dyeing portion and ejection in the liquid ejection portion.

[0011] A printing system that solves the above problem is a printing system having the above printing apparatus, wherein the printing system includes a drying mechanism that dries both the medium printed by the liquid ejection portion and the medium dyed by the dyeing portion.

[0012] A printing system that solves the above problem is a printing system having the above printing apparatus, wherein the printing apparatus includes a cleaning portion that performs a cleaning operation on the conveyance belt using a cleaning liquid, and a cleaning liquid storage portion that stores the cleaning liquid, wherein a pre-treatment agent is stored in the cleaning liquid storage portion in the case where ejection of ink is performed from the liquid ejection portion, and pre-treatment is performed by immersing the medium in the pre-treatment agent stored in the cleaning liquid storage portion.

[0013] In a printing method of a printing apparatus that solves the above problem, the printing apparatus includes a conveyance belt having a support portion that supports a medium, which conveys the medium by moving the support portion; a liquid ejection portion that ejects a liquid toward the medium supported by the support portion; a cleaning portion that performs a cleaning operation on the conveyance belt using a cleaning liquid; a cleaning liquid storage portion that stores the cleaning liquid; and a dyeing portion that dyes the medium by immersing the medium in a dyeing liquid, the printing method of the printing apparatus includes a step of ejecting a liquid from the liquid ejection portion; a step of storing the dyeing liquid in the cleaning liquid storage portion; and a step of dyeing the medium with the dyeing liquid. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a front view showing a printing system in a first embodiment.

[0015] Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of the printing system.

[0016] Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing a printing system including a dyeing portion.

[0017] Figure 4 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing a cleaning unit.

[0018] Figure 5 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing a dyeing portion.

[0019] Figure 6 is a perspective view showing a cleaning unit.

[0020] Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the dyeing section.

[0021] Figure 8 is a circuit diagram showing a liquid supply system of the liquid ejection section and the dyeing section in the printing device.

[0022] Figure 9 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a conveyance path for explaining printing and dyeing.

[0023] Figure 10 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a printing process.

[0024] Figure 11 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a dyeing process.

[0025] Figure 12 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of dyeing a medium before discharge.

[0026] Figure 13 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of discharge.

[0027] Figure 14 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of printing after discharge.

[0028] Figure 15 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of printing a resist.

[0029] Figure 16 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of dyeing a medium after resist treatment.

[0030] Figure 17 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of printing after resist.

[0031] Figure 18 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of pre-treatment.

[0032] Figure 19 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of printing a medium after pre-treatment.

[0033] Figure 20 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of printing a medium before post-treatment.

[0034] Figure 21 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the printing device showing a process of post-treatment after printing.

[0035] Figure 22 is a flowchart showing a first printing method in which the process of the liquid ejection section is performed before the process of the dyeing section.

[0036] Figure 23 is a flowchart showing a second printing method in which the process of the liquid ejection section is performed after the process of the dyeing section.

[0037] Figure 24 is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the printing system in the second embodiment.

[0038] Figure 25 is a schematic side sectional view showing a printing apparatus provided with a liquid ejection section and a dripping unit.

[0039] Figure 26 is a schematic front view showing a printing apparatus provided with a dripping unit.

[0040] Figure 27 is a circuit diagram showing a liquid supply system of the liquid ejection section and the dyeing section in the printing apparatus.

[0041] Figure 28 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of dyeing a medium before the discharge.

[0042] Figure 29 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of performing the discharge.

[0043] Figure 30 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of performing printing after the discharge.

[0044] Figure 31 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of printing the resist.

[0045] Figure 32 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of dyeing a medium after the resist process.

[0046] Figure 33 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of performing printing after the resist.

[0047] Figure 34 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of performing the pre-treatment.

[0048] Figure 35 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of printing a medium after the pre-treatment.

[0049] Figure 36 is a schematic side sectional view showing the printing apparatus in a process of printing a medium before the post-treatment.

[0050] Figure 37 Fig. 6 is a schematic side sectional view of a printing apparatus showing a process after printing and before post-treatment.

[0051] Symbol Explanation

[0052] 10, printing system; 11, printing apparatus; 12, frame; 12a, bottom frame; 12b, column frame; 12c, upper frame; 14, cover; 16, conveyance section; 16a, drive roller; 16b, driven roller; 17, adhesive tape as one example of a conveyance belt; 17a, support section; 18, surface; 18a, upper surface section as one example of a support section; 18b, curved surface section; 18c, lower surface section; 18d, curved surface section; 19, inner frame; 20, liquid ejection section; 21, liquid ejection head; 21a, nozzle face; 21N, nozzle; 22, carriage; 26, control section; 30, cleaning unit; 32, cleaning liquid storage section; 34, storage tank; 35, bottom wall; 36a, front wall; 36b, rear wall; 36c, side wall; 37, cleaning brush as one example of a cleaning section; 37a, shaft section; 37b, brush section; 38, doctor blade; 40, liquid storage section; 40A, ink storage section; 40B, pre-treatment agent storage section; 40C, post-treatment agent storage section; 45, operation section; 46, display section; 41, supply flow path; 50, dyeing section; 51, conveyance mechanism; 52, first conveyance roller pair; 53, second conveyance roller pair; 54, pinch roller; 55, first holding tank as one example of a holding tank; 56, second holding tank; 57, third holding tank as one example of a holding tank; 58, fourth holding tank; 60, maintenance section; 61, cap; 62, waste liquid discharge flow path; 63, waste liquid discharge pump; 65, drying section; 70, dyeing liquid supply section; 70A, dyeing liquid supply flow path; 72, on-off valve; 74, pipe; 75, on-off valve; 76, liquid amount sensor; 77, color adjustment storage section; 78, supply flow path; 79, pump; 80, cleaning liquid storage section; 90, drop unit as one example of a dyeing section; 90a, nozzle; 100, drying mechanism; M, medium; CL, cleaning liquid; DL, dyeing liquid; Ll, pre-treatment agent; L2, post-treatment agent; L3, pre-treatment agent; L4, post-treatment agent; L, liquid; IL, ink; X, scanning direction (width direction); Y, conveyance direction; Z, vertical direction (gravity direction). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] First Embodiment

[0054] Next, a first embodiment of a printing apparatus provided with a liquid ejection section and a dyeing section, a printing system including the printing apparatus, and a printing method will be described with reference to the drawings. The printing system includes, for example, an inkjet printer that supports a medium such as cloth or paper by a conveyance belt and performs printing by ejecting ink as an example of a liquid to the medium.

[0055] In the drawings, the printing apparatus 11 is placed on a horizontal plane, the direction of gravity is represented by the Z-axis, and the directions along the horizontal plane are represented by the X-axis and the Y-axis. The X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis are orthogonal to each other. In the following description, the direction along the X-axis will be referred to as the width direction X, the direction along the Y-axis will be referred to as the depth direction Y, and the direction along the Z-axis will be referred to as the gravity direction Z. At this time, in the apparatus width direction, in the case of distinguishing left and right, the left will be referred to as the +X direction, and the right will be referred to as the -X direction. In the apparatus depth direction, in the case of distinguishing the front side and the back side, the front side will be referred to as the +Y direction, and the back side will be referred to as the -Y direction. In the apparatus height direction, in the case of distinguishing up and down, up will be referred to as the +Z direction, and down will be referred to as the -Z direction.

[0056] Configuration of the printing system

[0057] As shown in Figure 1 , Figure 2 , the printing system 10 is provided with the printing apparatus 11 that performs printing on a medium M, and a drying mechanism 100 that dries the medium M on which printing has been performed by the printing apparatus 11 (see Figure 2 ). The printing apparatus 11 is provided with a conveyance section 16 having a sticky belt 17 as an example of a conveyance belt, the sticky belt 17 having a support section 17a that supports the medium M and conveys the medium M by moving the support section 17a. The printing apparatus 11 is provided with a liquid ejection section 20 that performs a printing operation by ejecting a liquid to the medium M supported by the sticky belt 17, a cleaning unit 30 that cleans the sticky belt 17 with a cleaning liquid, a liquid storage section 40 that can supply the liquid ejection section 20 with a liquid, and a dyeing section 50 that performs dyeing by immersing the medium M in a dyeing liquid. The printing apparatus 11 combines dyeing in the dyeing section 50 and ejection of the liquid in the liquid ejection section 20 to perform printing on the medium M. The printing here can take as the printing the operation each indicated by the ejection of the liquid in the liquid ejection section 20 and the dyeing performed by immersing the medium M in the dyeing liquid, or can take as the printing both the ejection and the dyeing.

[0058] The liquid storage section 40 is, for example, a cartridge or a liquid tank that stores a liquid. The liquid storage section 40 stores a liquid that is the same as the liquid ejected by the liquid ejection section 20. The liquid is, for example, ink, but can be a liquid other than ink. As the liquid other than ink, for example, a pre-treatment agent or a post-treatment agent can be listed. As the liquid, for example, Figure 1As shown, the liquid storage unit 40 may include: an ink storage unit 40A for storing ink, an example of a liquid; a pretreatment agent storage unit 40B for storing a pretreatment agent, an example of a liquid; and a posttreatment agent storage unit 40C for storing a posttreatment agent. The ink storage unit 40A may include multiple ink storage units 40A for storing multiple colors of ink. When the liquid jetting unit 20 is configured to jet multiple colors of ink for color printing, the multiple ink storage units 40A respectively store inks of the colors used for color printing by the liquid jetting unit 20. For example, when the liquid jetting unit 20 is configured to perform color printing with N colors of ink, the liquid storage unit 40 includes N ink storage units 40A for storing N colors of ink. N colors may be, for example, four colors or eight colors. For example, in the case of four-color color printing, four ink storage units 40A are provided for storing cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks respectively. Furthermore, in the case of color printing with eight colors, there are eight ink storage sections 40A that store a total of eight inks, including the four colors mentioned above plus red, blue, gray and orange.

[0059] like Figure 1 As shown, the printing apparatus 11 includes a frame 12 with a column-beam structure and a cover 14. The column-beam structure supports the transport section 16, the liquid jet section 20, the cleaning unit 30, and the dyeing section 50. The cover 14 covers the scanning area, which is the area where the liquid jet section 20 moves in the scanning direction X during printing. Furthermore, the printing apparatus 11 includes an operation unit 45 operated by a user. The operation unit 45 includes, for example, a display unit 46 with a touch panel-type screen and operation buttons.

[0060] The cleaning unit 30 and the dyeing unit 50 are located inside the column-beam structure of the frame 12, and in the area below the adhesive tape 17. The cleaning unit 30 cleans the lower surface of the adhesive tape 17. The dyeing unit 50 is positioned below the conveying unit 16 and dyes the medium M.

[0061] In addition, such as Figure 1 As shown, the printing apparatus 11 includes a liquid storage section 40 capable of supplying liquid to the liquid jetting section 20.

[0062] Furthermore, the liquid spraying unit 20 is capable of spraying at least one of a dyeing agent that removes the color of the medium M and a resist agent that prevents coloring caused by dyeing. Therefore, a resist agent, as an example of a pretreatment agent, is stored in the pretreatment agent storage unit 40B. Furthermore, a dyeing agent, as an example of a posttreatment agent, is stored in the posttreatment agent storage unit 40C. The pretreatment agent storage unit 40B and the posttreatment agent storage unit 40C, like the ink storage unit 40A, are constructed of a box or can.

[0063] A cleaning unit 30 that performs a cleaning operation on the adhesive belt 17, which is an example of a conveyor belt, using a cleaning liquid, and a cleaning liquid storage portion 32 that stores the cleaning liquid. When dyeing is performed by the dyeing portion 50, the dyeing liquid is stored in the storage tank 34.

[0064] Figure 2 A printing device 11 is shown when the liquid ejection portion 20 performs printing on the medium M. As shown in Figure 2 As described above, the printing device 11 is provided with: a conveying portion 16 that conveys the medium M by the adhesive belt 17; a liquid ejection portion 20 that performs printing by ejecting ink on the medium M; a cleaning unit 30 that cleans the adhesive belt 17; and a drying portion 65 that dries the remaining cleaning liquid adhering to the adhesive belt 17 after cleaning. In addition, the printing device 11 is provided with a control portion 26 that controls the conveying portion 16, the liquid ejection portion 20, and the cleaning unit 30. The conveying portion 16, the liquid ejection portion 20, and the cleaning unit 30 are supported by the frame 12 of the post-and-beam structure and are disposed at predetermined height positions, respectively. The frame 12 has a post-and-beam structure including a bottom frame 12a, a post frame 12b, and an upper frame 12c. In addition, in the printing device, the cover 14 is an exterior member that covers each portion of the printing device 11.

[0065] As shown in Figure 2 The conveying portion 16 is provided at an upper portion of the frame 12 and includes a drive roller 16a, a driven roller 16b, the adhesive belt 17, and a supply roller that is not shown. The conveying portion 16 is capable of conveying the medium M in the +Y direction in association with movement of the adhesive belt 17 based on rotation of the drive roller 16a. In the +Y direction, the drive roller 16a is disposed at a downstream position, and the driven roller 16b is disposed at an upstream position. In addition, the drive roller 16a and the driven roller 16b each have a rotation axis along the X direction. The conveying portion 16 is controlled by the control portion 26 described later.

[0066] The adhesive belt 17 is configured as a ring-shaped belt that is obtained by joining both ends of a flat plate having elasticity. The adhesive belt 17 is wound around an outer peripheral surface of the drive roller 16a and an outer peripheral surface of the driven roller 16b. In other words, the adhesive belt 17 is provided at the frame 12 and is capable of conveying the medium M by rotational movement.

[0067] The surface 18 of the adhesive belt 17 has, for example, tackiness and is capable of supporting and adsorbing the medium M. Tackiness refers to a characteristic that is capable of temporarily adhering to other members and is capable of peeling from the adhered state.

[0068] In surface 18, the direction intersecting the +Y direction, which is the moving direction of the adhesive strip 17, is the X direction. The portion of surface 18 located closer to the center of the drive roller 16a in the +Z direction and along the XY plane is designated as the upper surface portion 18a. The upper surface portion 18a supports the medium M. That is, the upper surface portion 18a constitutes an example of a support portion for supporting the medium M. Furthermore, the portion of surface 18 wound around the drive roller 16a is designated as the curved portion 18b. Furthermore, the portion of surface 18 located closer to the center of the drive roller 16a in the -Z direction and along the XY plane is designated as the lower surface portion 18c. Furthermore, the portion wound around the driven roller 16b is designated as the curved portion 18d. Additionally, a pressure roller 16c is provided at a position upstream of the liquid jet section 20 in the conveying direction Y, opposite to the upper surface portion 18a, to apply pressure for adhering the medium M to the upper surface portion 18a.

[0069] The conveying unit 16 can change the conveying speed of the medium M by adjusting the rotational speed of the drive roller 16a per unit time. The medium M is wound by a winding roller (not shown), causing it to peel off from the curved section 18b. The medium M peeled off from the curved section 18b is dried by the drying mechanism 100 midway to the winding roller. The drying mechanism 100 is used to wind the medium M onto the winding roller (not shown). Alternatively, the drying mechanism 100 can also be configured as part of a winding device equipped with a winding roller.

[0070] like Figure 2 As shown, the liquid jetting unit 20 is disposed above the transport unit 16. The liquid jetting unit 20 is configured to record on a medium M transported in the +Y direction. The liquid jetting unit 20 includes a liquid jetting head 21 and a carriage 22, which supports the liquid jetting head 21 so that it can move back and forth in the X direction. The liquid jetting head 21 is positioned in the +Z direction relative to the medium M, and records on the medium M by jetting ink, an example of a liquid, onto the recording surface of the medium M. The liquid jetting unit 20 is controlled by a control unit 26.

[0071] like Figure 2 As shown, the cleaning unit 30 includes: a cleaning fluid reservoir 32 for storing cleaning fluid; a cleaning brush 37 as an example of using cleaning fluid to clean the cleaning section of the sticky tape 17; and a scraper 38. In this example, the cleaning unit 30 includes multiple (e.g., three) cleaning brushes 37 and multiple (e.g., four) scrapers 38. The scrapers 38 are rubber scrapers that scrape cleaning fluid from the surface of the sticky tape 17.

[0072] like Figure 2As shown, the cleaning unit 30 cleans the adhesive belt 17 at the time of printing in which the liquid ejection section 20 ejects liquid to print the medium M. The cleaning unit 30 has a cleaning liquid storage section 32 that stores a cleaning liquid (cleaning solution). The cleaning liquid storage section 32 has a storage tank 34 that is constituted by a tank that is open upward. The storage tank 34 is not used at the time of printing in which the liquid ejection section 20 does not eject liquid. In the present embodiment, the cleaning unit 30 and the dyeing section 50 share the storage tank 34 as a part of components thereof.

[0073] Along with recording by the liquid ejection section 20 on the medium M, liquid sometimes adheres to the surface 18 of the adhesive belt 17. For example, in the case where the medium M is cloth, liquid such as ink that has penetrated through is sometimes adhered to the surface 18. Further, in peeling the medium M from the surface 18, cloth scraps sometimes remain on the surface 18. Liquid such as ink that adheres to the surface 18 becomes a cause of contamination of the medium M, and the scraps that remain on the surface 18 become a cause of reduction in the adhesion of the medium M to the surface 18. In the cleaning liquid storage section 32, in order to remove liquid that adheres to the surface 18 and scraps that are generated from the medium base material, the surface 18 of the adhesive belt 17 is cleaned by the cleaning brush 37.

[0074] Figure 3 The printing device 11 is shown at the time of dyeing of the medium M by the dyeing section 50. As shown, Figure 3 As shown, the dyeing section 50 stores a dyeing liquid DL in the cleaning liquid storage section 32 at the time when the liquid ejection section 20 does not perform printing and the cleaning unit 30 does not use the cleaning liquid storage section 32, and performs dyeing. Further, the dyeing section 50 performs dyeing of the medium M by immersing the medium M in the dyeing liquid DL that is stored in the storage tank 34 instead of the cleaning liquid CL.

[0075] Therefore, as shown, Figure 2 The cleaning brush 37 and the doctor blade 38 are installed so as to be detachable with respect to the storage tank 34. Further, in the case where the cleaning liquid storage section 32 is used as the dyeing section 50, as shown, Figure 3 As shown, the cleaning brush 37 and the doctor blade 38 are removed. As shown, Figure 3 A brush support section 34a that supports the cleaning brush 37 so as to be rotatable is provided to an inner side surface of the storage tank 34. Further, the dyeing section 50 uses the cleaning brush 37 for stirring of the dyeing liquid DL during preparation of the dyeing liquid DL in the storage tank 34.

[0076] The dyeing unit 50 uses the liquid stored in the liquid storage unit 40 as at least a portion of the dyeing solution DL. During maintenance operations of the maintenance unit 60, the liquid (waste liquid) discharged from the liquid spraying unit 20 is temporarily accumulated according to liquid type (e.g., by color), and the dyeing solution DL of the color required for dyeing is stored in the storage tank 34. Furthermore, in the storage tank 34, if the waste liquid used as dyeing solution DL is insufficient, the ink stored in the ink storage unit 40A is supplied to the storage tank 34 as dyeing solution DL. For example, at the initial stage of use of the printing apparatus 11, since there is no waste liquid generated by maintenance operations, only the ink supplied from the ink storage unit 40A is used as dyeing solution DL. That is, all dyeing solution DL is supplied from the ink storage unit 40A. If, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of use of the printing apparatus 11, waste liquid classified by color due to rinsing and cleaning accumulates in the color-classified dyeing solution storage unit 71, then this waste liquid is supplied to the cleaning liquid storage unit 32 as at least a portion of the dyeing solution DL.

[0077] like Figure 2 As shown, during printing by the liquid jetting unit 20, the drying mechanism 100 is positioned between the conveying unit 16 and the winding device (not shown) to dry the printed medium M. Furthermore, as... Figure 3 As shown, when the dyeing section 50 dyes the medium M, the drying mechanism 100 is positioned downstream of the dyeing section 50 in the conveying direction Y to dry the dyed medium M. In this embodiment, the drying mechanism 100 dries both the medium M printed by the liquid spraying section 20 and the medium M dyed by the dyeing section 50.

[0078] Composition of the cleaning department

[0079] Next, refer to Figure 4 The composition of the cleaning unit 30 will be described in detail. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the cleaning unit 30 includes multiple (e.g., three) cleaning brushes 37 and multiple (e.g., four) scrapers 38. Furthermore, the cleaning unit 30 includes a lifting mechanism 31 that supports the storage tank 34 of the cleaning fluid storage section 32 in a height-adjustable manner. The storage tank 34 can be positioned relative to the adhesive strip 17 as follows... Figure 4 The hollow arrow indicates the vertical movement in the Z direction. Adjust the height position of the storage tank 34 in the Z direction so that the brush support portion 34a (see reference) provided on the inner side of the storage tank 34 can be adjusted. Figure 3 The rotatably supported cleaning brush 37 is positioned at a height that allows it to contact the surface 18 of the adhesive tape 17. The lifting mechanism 31 includes one or more lifting actuators 31A that have a movable part fixed to the bottom wall 35 of the storage tank 34. The lifting actuators 31A are, for example, composed of a cylinder, a linear motor, a hydraulic cylinder, or a ball screw mechanism.

[0080] like Figure 4As shown, the cleaning liquid CL is stored in the storage tank 34 while the liquid ejection section 20 is printing. The cleaning liquid CL is stored in the storage tank 34 to a liquid level that immerses the lower portion of the cleaning brush 37. The amount of the cleaning liquid CL stored in the storage tank 34 can be arbitrarily set as long as a portion of the cleaning brush 37 is immersed.

[0081] The storage tank 34 is disposed below the drive roller 16a and the adhesive belt 17. Further, the storage tank 34 has a bottom wall 35, a front wall 36a, a rear wall 36b, and a pair of side walls 36c. The bottom wall 35 is formed as a plate-shaped quadrangle having a prescribed thickness in the Z direction and is disposed along the XY plane. The front wall 36a is erected in the +Z direction at the end of the bottom wall 35 in the +Y direction. The rear wall 36b is erected in the +Z direction at the end of the bottom wall 35 in the -Y direction. The pair of side walls 36c are each disposed at one of the ends of the bottom wall 35 in the +X direction and the -X direction and are each erected in the +Z direction from the bottom wall 35. That is, the storage tank 34 has a box shape that is open at the top. Inside the box shape, that is, in the space surrounded by the bottom wall 35, the front wall 36a, the rear wall 36b, and the pair of side walls 36c, the cleaning liquid CL for cleaning the surface 18 is stored. That is, the storage tank 34 stores the cleaning liquid CL that is supplied to the cleaning brush 37 during the cleaning operation inside the box shape that is open at the top.

[0082] The cleaning brush 37 has a shaft portion 37a that is cylindrical and a brush portion 37b that extends radially from the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 37a. The shaft portion 37a extends in the X direction and is supported so as to be rotatable relative to brush support portions 34a that are provided to the inner surfaces of the pair of side walls 36c. The cleaning brush 37 is attached so as to be detachable relative to the brush support portions 34a.

[0083] The brush portion 37b is configured so as to be contactable with the lower surface portion 18c in a state in which the cleaning liquid storage portion 32 is raised in the +Z direction. Further, the cleaning brush 37 is rotated by the motor 30M (see FIG. 1) and thereby removes the liquid adhering to the lower surface portion 18c and the debris generated by the media substrate using the cleaning liquid CL stored in the storage tank 34. That is, the cleaning brush 37 performs the cleaning operation of the adhesive belt 17 using the cleaning liquid CL stored in the storage tank 34. The liquid and the debris generated by the media substrate that are removed from the adhesive belt 17 by the cleaning brush 37 are mixed into the cleaning liquid CL in the storage tank 34 and are thereby recovered. Figure 6 Figure 7 ) and thereby removes the liquid adhering to the lower surface portion 18c and the debris generated by the media substrate using the cleaning liquid CL stored in the storage tank 34. That is, the cleaning brush 37 performs the cleaning operation of the adhesive belt 17 using the cleaning liquid CL stored in the storage tank 34. The liquid and the debris generated by the media substrate that are removed from the adhesive belt 17 by the cleaning brush 37 are mixed into the cleaning liquid CL in the storage tank 34 and are thereby recovered.

[0084] ​The scraper 38 is mounted at an angle relative to the lower surface portion 18c, extending from near the rear wall 36b in the storage tank 34 in a plate-like form. The scraper 38 scrapes away cleaning fluid CL and other residues remaining on the lower surface portion 18c after cleaning by the cleaning brush 37. Furthermore, an inner frame 19 is provided inside the portion of the adhesive tape 17 that is in contact with the tip of the scraper 38. The inner frame 19 is mounted in the frame 12 in the X direction and supports the adhesive tape 17 from the inside. Thus, the adhesive tape 17 can resist pressure from the scraper 38. In addition, the cleaning unit 30 includes a volume sensor 39 that detects the amount of liquid stored in the cleaning fluid storage section 32. If the volume sensor 39 detects that the cleaning fluid CL is below a lower limit, the control unit 26 replenishes the cleaning fluid CL or notifies the user that the cleaning fluid is insufficient.

[0085] Composition of the stained part

[0086] Next, refer to Figure 5 The staining section 50 is described in detail. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the dyeing unit 50 includes: a cleaning liquid storage unit 32, which stores dyeing liquid DL instead of cleaning liquid CL; a lifting mechanism 31, which raises and lowers the storage tank 34 of the cleaning liquid storage unit 32; and a conveying mechanism 51, which conveys the medium M in a path that allows the medium M to be immersed in the dyeing liquid DL stored in the cleaning liquid storage unit 32.

[0087] The cleaning fluid storage unit 32 is height-adjusted to a first position and a second position via a lifting mechanism 31. The first position is the height position configured during cleaning when the cleaning brush 37 is installed, and the second position is the height position during dyeing when the conveying mechanism 51 is installed, which is lower than the first height position. If the lifting actuator 31A of the lifting mechanism 31 is retracted, the cleaning fluid storage unit 32 is positioned as follows: Figure 5 The second position is shown. By positioning the cleaning fluid reservoir 32 in the second position, a transport path for conveying the medium M along the lower surface portion 18c can be ensured below the adhesive tape 17, and a path for immersing the medium M into the staining solution DL within the cleaning fluid reservoir 32 can be obtained.

[0088] The conveying mechanism 51 includes a pair of conveying rollers 52 and 53, which are arranged on both sides of the portion of the dyeing liquid DL immersed in the cleaning liquid reservoir 32 of the medium M in the conveying direction Y. Specifically, the conveying mechanism 51 includes: a first conveying roller pair 52, arranged upstream of the cleaning liquid reservoir 32 in the conveying direction Y; and a second conveying roller pair 53, arranged downstream of the medium M in the conveying direction Y. The first conveying roller pair 52 conveys the medium M by clamping the upstream portion of the dyeing liquid DL immersed in the cleaning liquid reservoir 32 in the conveying direction Y. The second conveying roller pair 53 conveys the medium M by clamping the downstream portion of the dyeing liquid DL immersed in the cleaning liquid reservoir 32 in the conveying direction Y.

[0089] Furthermore, the conveying mechanism 51 is equipped with a squeeze roller 54 located slightly upstream of the second conveying roller pair 53. The squeeze roller 54 clamps a portion of the medium M from the cleaning liquid storage section 32, removing excess dyeing liquid DL from the medium M. The dyeing liquid DL removed from the medium M by the squeeze roller 54 is returned to the storage tank 34 for reuse.

[0090] The control unit 26 maintains a state in which the portion of the medium M held by the pair of conveyor rollers 52 and 53 constituting the conveying mechanism 51, hanging between the two conveyor roller pairs 52 and 53, is immersed in the dyeing solution DL, and drives the pair of conveyor roller pairs 52 and 53 at the same speed. Furthermore, the control unit 26 drives the squeeze roller 54 constituting the conveying mechanism 51 at the same conveying speed as the pair of conveyor roller pairs 52 and 53. Additionally, if the liquid level sensor 39 detects that the liquid level of the dyeing solution DL in the cleaning liquid storage unit 32 is less than the lower limit, the control unit 26 replenishes the dyeing solution DL or notifies the user of insufficient dyeing solution.

[0091] like Figure 6 As shown, the cleaning unit 30 is supported on its upper side by the lifting mechanism 31 relative to the trolley 30A having multiple wheels 30B, enabling it to be raised and lowered. Multiple cleaning brushes 37 arranged in the conveying direction Y have a width dimension close to the width dimension between the inner walls of the storage tank 34 opposite each other in the width direction X. The cleaning brushes 37 are capable of cleaning the lower surface portion 18c of the sticky tape 17 (see reference). Figure 2 , Figure 4 The storage tank 34 covers the entire width of the area. A motor 30M, which serves as the drive source for the cleaning brush 37, is disposed on the side of the storage tank 34. Furthermore, a plurality of scrapers 38 arranged in the conveying direction Y have a width dimension close to the width dimension between the inner walls of the storage tank 34 opposite each other in the width direction X. The plurality of scrapers 38 press the surface 18 of the adhesive strip 17 (see reference) with the blades 38a at their front ends. Figure 2 , Figure 4The cleaning liquid CL remaining on the surface 18 of the adhesive tape 17 can be wiped off in the entire width region of the width of the storage tank 34. In addition, a pipe 82 (supply flow path) and a plurality of pipes 74 (supply flow paths) are connected near the center of the width in the front wall 36a of the storage tank 34. The pipe 82 is a cleaning liquid supply pipe for supplying the cleaning liquid CL to the storage tank 34.

[0092] As shown in Figure 7 , the dyeing section 50 is supported so as to be able to be raised and lowered on the upper side of the cart 30A via the lifting mechanism 31. The pair of transport roller pairs 52, 53 disposed on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction Y with respect to the storage tank 34 have width dimensions close to the width dimension of the width direction X of the storage tank 34, and are able to grip and transport a medium M of a maximum width assumed in the entire width region. In addition, the squeeze roller 54 has a width dimension approximately equal to that of each of the transport roller pairs 52, 53, and is able to grip and remove excess dyeing liquid from a medium M of a maximum width assumed in the entire width region. In addition, each of the dyeing liquids DL can be supplied from the plurality of pipes 74 connected near the center of the width in the front wall 36a of the storage tank 34 to the storage tank 34. In detail, the plurality of pipes 74 include dyeing liquid supply pipes for supplying the dyeing liquids DL to the storage tank 34. The plurality of pipes 74 include N number of pipes 74 equal to the number of ink colors as the number of the plurality of ink storage sections 40A, the same number of pipes 74 as the number of the pre-treatment agent storage section 40B, and the same number of pipes 74 as the number of the post-treatment agent storage section 40C. Not only the dyeing liquids DL but also the pre-treatment agent and the post-treatment agent can be supplied to the cleaning liquid storage section 32 through the plurality of pipes 74.

[0093] Next, the liquid supply system of the liquid ejecting section 20 and the dyeing liquid supply system of the dyeing section 50 will be described with reference to Figure 8 . In addition, in Figure 8 , the liquid supply system and the dyeing liquid supply system are shown for only one of the plurality of liquids including the N number of inks, the pre-treatment agent, and the post-treatment agent.

[0094] As shown in Figure 8 , the printing device 11 includes a pressurizing mechanism 42 that pressurizes and sends the liquid stored in the liquid storage section 40. The pressurizing mechanism 42 includes a pressurizing pump 43 that pressurizes the liquid in the liquid storage section 40. The liquid in the liquid storage section 40 is pressurized by driving the pressurizing pump 43, and the liquid is supplied to the liquid ejecting section 20. The liquid ejecting head 21 has a plurality of nozzles 21N that open in a nozzle face 21a that is a face opposite to the transport path of the medium M. The liquid ejecting section 20 prints the medium M by ejecting the liquid from the nozzles 21N of the liquid ejecting head 21.

[0095] As shown in Figure 8As shown, the printing device 11 has the maintenance section 60 that performs maintenance of the liquid ejection head 21. In order to prevent or eliminate ejection failure that is caused by clogging of the nozzles 21N of the liquid ejection head 21, or attachment of foreign matter, or the like, the maintenance section 60 performs maintenance actions such as capping, purging, cleaning, and the like. The maintenance section 60 is controlled by the control section 26.

[0096] The maintenance section 60 has a cap 61 that is one example of a liquid container that contains liquid that is discharged from the liquid ejection head 21 as waste liquid by the maintenance actions. At the time of purging, liquid that is waste liquid is ejected from the nozzles 21N of the liquid ejection section 20 toward the cap 61. At the time of cleaning, liquid that is waste liquid is discharged from the nozzles 21N of the liquid ejection section 20 toward the cap 61. In addition, a purging-only purging box that contains liquid that is ejected by purging of the liquid ejection section 20 can also be provided. Thus, the liquid container can be configured only by the cap 61, or can be configured by the cap 61 and the purging box.

[0097] The maintenance section 60 performs maintenance of the nozzles 21N of the liquid ejection section 20. As one of the maintenance, the liquid ejection section 20 performs purging that ejects liquid from the nozzles 21N as waste liquid. Further, as one of the maintenance, cleaning that discharges liquid within the liquid ejection head 21 as waste liquid through the nozzles 21N is performed.

[0098] Here, capping refers to an action in which the cap 61 is brought into contact with the liquid ejection head 21 in a manner that surrounds the openings of the nozzles 21N when the liquid ejection head 21 does not perform ejection of liquid. Thus, a substantially closed space is formed between the nozzle opening face of the liquid ejection head 21, at which the nozzles 21N open, and the cap. By capping, the viscosity of liquid within the nozzles 21N is suppressed, and thus occurrence of ejection failure can be prevented.

[0099] Purging refers to an ejection action that discharges droplets that are not related to recording as waste liquid from the nozzles 21N. By purging, liquid that has become viscous, bubbles, or foreign matter that are causes of ejection failure are discharged from the nozzles 21N, and thus clogging of the nozzles 21N is prevented. The liquid ejection head 21 performs purging, for example, by ejecting droplets as waste liquid from the nozzles 21N into the cap 61.

[0100] The maintenance section 60 has a waste liquid delivery flow path 62 that is a flow path that connects between the cap 61 and the dye solution supply flow path 70A, and a waste liquid delivery pump 63 that is provided midway through the waste liquid delivery flow path 62. The waste liquid delivery pump 63 delivers waste liquid from the cap 61 to the dye solution storage section 71 through the waste liquid delivery flow path 62. Further, in the case of a configuration in which a purging box is provided, the waste liquid delivery pump 63 delivers waste liquid from the purging box to the dye solution storage section 71. In addition, the waste liquid delivery pump 63 that is connected to the cap 61 and the waste liquid delivery pump 63 that is connected to the purging box can be a common pump, or can be different pumps.

[0101] Cleaning refers to an operation of forcibly discharging liquid as waste liquid from the nozzle 21N of the liquid ejecting head 21. The cap 61 is raised between a capped position in which the cap 61 is in abutment with the nozzle face 21a, which is open to the nozzle 21N, and a retracted position in which the cap 61 is away from the nozzle face 21a. At the time of cleaning, the cap 61 is in the capped state in which the cap 61 is in abutment with the nozzle face 21a, and in this state, negative pressure is generated in the closed space by driving the waste liquid delivery pump 63, and suction cleaning is performed in which liquid in the liquid ejecting head 21 is discharged as waste liquid through the nozzle 21N. Alternatively, instead of the suction cleaning, pressurization cleaning can be performed. The pressurization cleaning forcibly discharges liquid as waste liquid from the nozzle 21N of the liquid ejecting head 21 by applying pressurization from the upstream of the nozzle 21N. This pressurization cleaning can also forcibly discharge liquid from the nozzle 21N of the liquid ejecting portion 20 by pressurizing the liquid storage portion 40 by the pressurization pump 43 using the pressurization mechanism 42.

[0102] As shown in FIG. 1, the printing device 11 includes a maintenance portion 60 that performs maintenance of the liquid ejecting head 21. The maintenance portion 60 includes a cap 61 that is raised and lowered between a capped position in which the cap 61 is in abutment with a nozzle face 21a, which is open to a nozzle 21N of the liquid ejecting head 21, and a retracted position in which the cap 61 is away from the nozzle face 21a. The cap 61 is raised and lowered by a cap raising / lowering mechanism 62. The cap 61 is raised and lowered by the cap raising / lowering mechanism 62 in accordance with a maintenance operation performed by the maintenance portion 60. The cap 61 is raised and lowered by the cap raising / lowering mechanism 62 in accordance with a printing operation performed by the printing device 11. Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1, the printing device 11 includes a maintenance portion 60 that performs maintenance of the liquid ejecting head 21. The maintenance portion 60 includes a cap 61 that is raised and lowered between a capped position in which the cap 61 is in abutment with a nozzle face 21a, which is open to a nozzle 21N of the liquid ejecting head 21, and a retracted position in which the cap 61 is away from the nozzle face 21a. The cap 61 is raised and lowered by a cap raising / lowering mechanism 62. The cap 61 is raised and lowered by the cap raising / lowering mechanism 62 in accordance with a maintenance operation performed by the maintenance portion 60. The cap 61 is raised and lowered by the cap raising / lowering mechanism 62 in accordance with a printing operation performed by the printing device 11.

[0103] The liquid of the plurality of colors is used as at least a part of the dyeing liquid by mixing. The plurality (N) of dyeing liquid storage portions 71, which is the same number as the number of colors, is connected to the storage tank 34 through the plurality (N) of pipes 74. The opening / closing valve 75, which can individually open and close the pipes 74, is provided midway through the plurality (N) of pipes 74. The dyeing liquid stored in the dyeing liquid storage portion 71 by each color is supplied to the storage tank 34 by opening the valve of the opening / closing valve 75. In the case where the dyeing liquid DL of the plurality of colors is supplied to the storage tank 34, the dyeing liquid DL of the plurality of colors is color-matched in the storage tank 34. In this example, the liquid of the plurality of colors, which is ejected or discharged as waste liquid from the liquid ejecting head 21 by the maintenance operation performed by the maintenance portion 60, is mixed in the storage tank 34, and the mixed liquid is used as at least a part of the dyeing liquid DL. In the case where the dyeing liquid is insufficient if only the liquid of the plurality of colors, which is ejected or discharged from the liquid ejecting head 21 in the maintenance operation, is used, the liquid from the liquid storage portion 40 is supplemented.

[0104] The supply flow path 41, which extends from the liquid storage portion 40, is branched midway into a supply flow path 41A, which is connected to the liquid ejecting portion 20, and a dyeing liquid supply flow path 70A, which is connected to the dyeing liquid storage portion 71.

[0105] The dyeing liquid stored in the dyeing liquid storage section 71 is supplied to the storage tank 34 at the time of dyeing.

[0106] The waste liquid delivery flow path 62 extending from the maintenance section 60 merges with the dyeing liquid supply flow path 70A. The cap 61 of the maintenance section 60 supplies the ink as waste liquid accommodated to the dyeing liquid storage section 71 through the waste liquid delivery flow path 62 and the dyeing liquid supply flow path 70A.

[0107] The liquid ejection section 20 uses the liquid discharged by the maintenance operation as at least a part of the dyeing liquid. When the dyeing liquid in the dyeing liquid storage section 71 is insufficient, the liquid from the liquid storage section 40 can be supplemented as the dyeing liquid. Between the liquid storage section 40 and the dyeing liquid storage section 71, an on-off valve 72 and a check valve 73 are provided midway through the dyeing liquid supply flow path 70A branched from the supply flow path 41. The check valve 73 allows the flow of the liquid from the liquid storage section 40 to the dyeing liquid storage section 71 and prevents the flow of the liquid in the opposite direction.

[0108] The dyeing section 50 is provided with a liquid amount sensor 76 that detects the amount of the dyeing liquid DL stored in the dyeing liquid storage section 71. The liquid amount sensor 76 detects the insufficiency of the dyeing liquid. The on-off valve 72 is opened when the amount of the liquid detected by the liquid amount sensor 76 is less than a predetermined lower limit value of the amount of the liquid and is closed when a predetermined upper limit value of the amount of the liquid is reached. Thus, the dyeing liquid storage section 71 stores the necessary amount of the dyeing liquid DL by color. In addition, the printing device 11 can be provided with a dyeing liquid supply source (dyeing liquid supply tank) dedicated to the dyeing liquid in a manner separate from the liquid storage section that stores the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejection section 20. That is, a color adjustment storage section that stores and adjusts the dyeing liquid DL of at least a part of the colors selected from among the dyeing liquids DL of the plurality of colors stored in the plurality of dyeing liquid storage sections 71 can be provided. Also, a configuration can be employed in which the dyeing liquid is supplied from the dyeing liquid supply source in the case where the amount of the dyeing liquid in the dyeing liquid storage section 71 is insufficient even with the waste liquid. Further, in the case where the dyeing liquid supply source is also insufficient, the ink can be supplied from the ink storage section 40A.

[0109] Configuration of the dyeing section

[0110] As shown in Figure 8 The dyeing section 50 is provided with the storage tank 34 shared with the cleaning unit 30, the dyeing liquid supply section 70 that supplies the dyeing liquid DL to the storage tank 34, and the conveyance mechanism 51 that conveys the medium M in order to perform dyeing. The conveyance mechanism 51 is provided with the pair of conveyance roller pairs 52, 53 and the pinch roller 54.

[0111] Further, a first holding tank 55 that discharges and holds the stored cleaning liquid CL is connected to the storage tank 34. The first holding tank 55 is a tank for holding the cleaning liquid CL temporarily discharged from the storage tank 34 when the liquid stored in the storage tank 34 is switched from the cleaning liquid CL to the dyeing liquid DL.

[0112] When dyeing is performed in the dyeing section 50, the dyeing liquid DL is stored in the storage tank 34 in place of the cleaning liquid CL. A liquid discharge flow path 55A for discharging the cleaning liquid CL is connected to the storage tank 34. A liquid discharge valve 55B is provided midway in the liquid discharge flow path 55A, and by opening the liquid discharge valve 55B, the cleaning liquid CL in the storage tank 34 is discharged to the first holding tank 55 through the liquid discharge flow path 55A. In Figure 8 In the example of FIG. 6, the discharge port of the liquid discharge flow path 55A is connected to the first holding tank 55. Alternatively, the configuration can be such that the cleaning liquid CL is discharged to a tank prepared for the operator without the first holding tank 55.

[0113] Further, a second holding tank 56 that discharges and holds the stored dyeing liquid DL is connected to the storage tank 34. The second holding tank 56 is a tank for holding the dyeing liquid DL temporarily discharged from the storage tank 34 when the liquid stored in the storage tank 34 is switched from the dyeing liquid DL to another liquid such as the cleaning liquid CL. A liquid discharge flow path 56A for discharging the dyeing liquid DL is connected to the storage tank 34. A liquid discharge valve 56B is provided midway in the liquid discharge flow path 56A, and by opening the liquid discharge valve 56B, the dyeing liquid DL in the storage tank 34 is discharged to the second holding tank 56 through the liquid discharge flow path 56A. In Figure 8 In the example of FIG. 6, the discharge port of the liquid discharge flow path 56A is connected to the second holding tank 56.

[0114] Further, the dyeing section 50 performs a process of causing a component of the liquid stored in the storage tank 34 to adhere to the medium M by immersing the medium M in the liquid. Further, the dyeing section 50 performs a dyeing process of causing a dye as a component of the dyeing liquid DL stored in the storage tank 34 to adhere to the medium M by immersing the medium M in the dyeing liquid DL.

[0115] Furthermore, the dyeing section 50 is not limited to the dyeing liquid DL; a pretreatment agent L1 and a posttreatment agent L2 can also be used as the liquid used to impregnate the medium M. The pretreatment agent L1 is a treatment liquid used to pre-impregnate the medium M before printing in the liquid jetting section 20, thus pre-treating the medium M. For example, the pretreatment agent L1 can be an anti-bleeding agent. In this case, to prevent the ink sprayed by the liquid jetting section 20 onto the medium M during printing, the pretreatment agent L1 is applied to the surface of the medium M before printing. During pretreatment, the dyeing section 50 impregnates the medium M with the pretreatment agent L1 stored in the storage tank 34. By applying the pretreatment agent L1 to the surface of the medium M before printing, anti-bleeding treatment is performed on the surface of the medium M. Furthermore, the pretreatment agent L1 is not limited to an anti-bleeding agent; any treatment liquid applied to the medium M before printing is acceptable.

[0116] Furthermore, to prevent the ink layer (hereinafter also referred to as "ink layer") printed on the medium M by the liquid jetting section 20 from peeling off due to external forces such as friction after drying, a post-treatment agent L2 is applied to the surface of the printed medium M. During post-treatment, the dyeing section 50 immerses the medium M in the post-treatment agent L2 stored in the storage tank 34. The post-treatment agent L2 can be, for example, a coating agent. By immersing the medium M in the coating agent, the ink layer of the printed medium M is protected by a coating. However, the post-treatment agent L2 is not limited to a coating agent; any treatment liquid applied to the medium M after printing is acceptable.

[0117] like Figure 8 As shown, the dyeing unit 50 may also include a third holding tank 57 for temporarily storing the pretreatment agent L1 stored in the storage tank 34 after it has been discharged from the storage tank 34. By discharging the pretreatment agent L1 stored in the storage tank 34 and temporarily storing it in the third holding tank 57, the pretreatment agent L1 does not need to be discarded when storing the cleaning solution CL and other liquids to be stored in the storage tank 34. A drain flow path 57A for discharging the pretreatment agent L1 is connected to the storage tank 34. A drain valve 57B is provided in the middle of the drain flow path 57A. By opening the drain valve 57B, the pretreatment agent L1 in the storage tank 34 is discharged into the third holding tank 57 through the drain flow path 57A.

[0118] In addition, such as Figure 8As shown, the dyeing unit 50 may also include a fourth holding tank 58 for temporarily storing the post-treatment agent L2 stored in the storage tank 34 after it has been discharged from the storage tank 34. By discharging the post-treatment agent L2 stored in the storage tank 34 and temporarily storing it in the fourth holding tank 58, the post-treatment agent L2 does not need to be discarded when storing the cleaning liquid CL and other liquids to be stored in the storage tank 34. A drain flow path 58A for discharging the post-treatment agent L2 is connected to the storage tank 34. A drain valve 58B is provided in the middle of the drain flow path 58A. By opening the drain valve 58B, the post-treatment agent L2 in the storage tank 34 is discharged into the fourth holding tank 58 through the drain flow path 58A.

[0119] The printing apparatus 11 may also include a liquid level sensor 39 for detecting the liquid level of liquids such as cleaning solution CL or dyeing solution DL in the storage tank 34. For example, if the liquid level sensor 39 detects that the liquid level in the storage tank 34 has dropped to a predetermined position due to the evaporation of water contained in the cleaning solution CL, then it may also be possible to... Figure 1 The display unit 46 shown displays a message urging the replenishment of cleaning fluid CL into the storage tank 34.

[0120] like Figure 8 As shown, the cleaning unit 30 includes a cleaning fluid storage section 80 for storing cleaning fluid. The cleaning fluid storage section 80 includes a cleaning fluid tank 81. The cleaning fluid tank 81 and the cleaning fluid storage section 32 are connected via a pipeline 82 for supplying cleaning fluid CL. An on / off valve 83 is provided midway through the pipeline 82; by opening the on / off valve 83, the cleaning fluid CL in the cleaning fluid tank 81 is supplied to the cleaning fluid storage section 32 through the pipeline 82. Alternatively, a pump may be included to supply the cleaning fluid CL in the cleaning fluid tank 81 to the storage tank 34.

[0121] The control unit 26 comprises a CPU (not shown) and a memory. The CPU is an arithmetic processing unit. The memory is a storage device that stores the CPU's program or operating area, and includes storage elements and storage devices such as RAM and EEPROM. The CPU controls the operation of each part of the printing apparatus 11 according to the program stored in the memory. The control unit 26 communicates with the control unit (not shown) of the drying mechanism 100 via wired or wireless means, and they share information.

[0122] The control unit 26 controls the transport unit 16, the liquid jetting unit 20, the cleaning unit 30, and the dyeing unit 50 based on printing data. The printing data includes instructions and printed image data. The instructions include scanning instructions for driving the carriage 22, and transport instructions for controlling the adhesive tape 17. The control unit 26 drives the carriage 22 based on the scanning instructions and controls the transport of the adhesive tape 17, etc., based on the transport instructions.

[0123] The print image data is dot data that specifies a gradation. In this example, for example, it is dot data of four gradations. The print image data is constituted by a plurality of plate data that are expressed by dot data of each ink color. The liquid ejection head 21 is able to distinguish the liquid droplets in terms of the presence or absence of ejection of the liquid droplets, the dot size of three gradations such as a large dot, a medium dot, and a small dot as the droplet size at the time of ejection. In addition, the gradation of the print image data can be two gradations of only the presence or absence of ejection or three gradations that are able to distinguish a large dot and a small dot. The control section 26 controls the duty ratio value that determines the magnitude of the power supplied to the ejection driving element of each nozzle built into the liquid ejection head 21. That is, the control section 26 performs duty ratio control of the ejection driving element of each nozzle of the liquid ejection head 21 based on the pixel value of the print image data, thereby performing liquid ejection control of ejecting liquid droplets from the nozzle.

[0124] Further, the control section 26 accepts color information of the dyeing liquid from the operation section 45 operated by the user. The control section 26 has a nonvolatile memory (omitted from the drawing) in which color mixing table data is stored. The control section 26 refers to the color mixing table data (omitted from the drawing) based on the color information of the dyeing liquid accepted from the operation section 45, and calculates the ink supply amount of each color that should be supplied from the plurality of dyeing liquid storage sections 71 to the storage tank 34. Further, the control section 26 supplies the ink of the ink supply amount calculated for each color to the storage tank 34 by performing open / close control of the open / close valves 75 distinguished for each color. Thereby, the dyeing liquid DL of the necessary color is supplied from each dyeing liquid storage section 71 to the storage tank 34 in the necessary ratio. As a result, the dyeing liquid DL in the storage tank 34 is color-mixed to the color specified by the user's operation of the operation section 45. Thereby, the user is able to omit the color mixing operation by manual work.

[0125] The N number of pipes 74 that supply the dyeing liquid DL of N colors are connected to the front wall 36a of the storage tank 34 and communicate with the storage tank 34 (refer to Figure 7 ). The necessary color of the dyeing liquid DL is supplied from the N number of dyeing liquid storage sections 71 that is the same number as the number N of the ink colors to the storage tank 34 by performing open / close control of the N number of open / close valves 75. Further, the one pipe 82 is connected to the front wall 36a of the storage tank 34 and communicates with the storage tank 34 (refer to Figure 6 ). In addition, the one pipe 82 and the N number of pipes 74 can be connected to any surface of the storage tank 34, can be connected to the rear wall 36b, or can be connected to a plurality of surfaces.

[0126] Next, digital printing and analog printing in the printing device 11 are described with reference to Figures 9-11 .

[0127] As described above, the printing device 11 is able to perform digital printing and analog printing. The digital printing is printing in which the color mixing table data is used to calculate the ink supply amount of each color that should be supplied from the plurality of dyeing liquid storage sections 71 to the storage tank 34, and the calculated ink supply amount of each color is supplied to the storage tank 34 by performing open / close control of the open / close valves 75 distinguished for each color. The analog printing is printing in which the dyeing liquid DL of the necessary color is supplied from the dyeing liquid storage section 71 to the storage tank 34 by performing open / close control of the open / close valve 75. Figure 9As shown, the transport path of the medium M in the printing device 11 has a first transport path Tl through which the medium M is transported by the adhesive belt 17 when the liquid L is ejected by the liquid ejection section 20, and a second transport path T2 through which the medium M is transported in a path passing through inside the cleaning liquid reservoir 32 and under the adhesive belt 17.

[0128] As shown, the medium M is transported by the adhesive belt 17 when digital printing in which the liquid L is ejected by the liquid ejection section 20 is performed. At this time, the cleaning liquid CL stored in the cleaning liquid reservoir 32 is used to clean the adhesive belt 17 by the cleaning brush 37. Figure 10

[0129] As shown, the medium M is transported by the transport mechanism 51 in a path passing under the adhesive belt 17 when analog printing in which the medium M is dipped into the dyeing liquid DL stored in the cleaning liquid reservoir 32 by the dyeing section 50 is performed. At this time, the dyeing section 50 dyes the medium M by continuously dipping the medium M being transported into the dyeing liquid DL stored in the cleaning liquid reservoir 32. Figure 11

[0130] Thus, the printing device 11 can perform digital printing and analog printing on the medium M by one device. Further, which of digital printing and analog printing is performed first on the medium M can be appropriately selected.

[0131] Next, the operation of the printing device 11 will be described.

[0132] The printing system 10 and the printing device 11 of the present embodiment perform printing (digital printing) performed by the inkjet-type liquid ejection section 20, and dyeing (analog printing) performed on the medium M by the dyeing section 50. Here, digital printing refers to digital processing in which at least a portion of the medium M is printed by controlling at least the position (dot position) of the position (dot position) and the dot size of the liquid such as ink based on print image data (digital data) by ejection, and the dot size. On the other hand, analog printing refers to analog processing in which the medium M is dipped into a dyeing liquid to be dyed.

[0133] The printing device 11 can perform ejection of a liquid and a plurality of (four in this example) types of printing.

[0134] (1) Printing accompanied by a discharge process in which a discharge agent L2 is ejected as a post-treatment agent.

[0135] (2) Printing accompanied by a resist process in which a resist agent Ll is ejected as a pre-treatment agent.

[0136] (3) Printing accompanied by a pre-treatment process in which a bleeding prevention agent L3 is dipped as a pre-treatment agent.

[0137] ​​(4) printing and dyeing accompanied by a post-treatment process of immersion in a coating agent as a post-treatment agent L4.

[0138] In addition, printing and dyeing combining the above (1) or (2) and the above (3) or (4) can also be performed.

[0139] The printing and dyeing methods of the above (1) to (4) will be described in order below.

[0140] The printing and dyeing method in the present embodiment mainly has Figure 22 a first printing and dyeing processing method shown in the flowchart and Figure 23 a second printing and dyeing processing method shown in the flowchart. These two methods differ in the order of analog printing and digital printing for the medium M. That is, Figure 22 the first printing and dyeing processing method shown in the flowchart is a processing method in which digital printing is performed before analog printing. Further, Figure 23 the second printing and dyeing processing method shown in the flowchart is a processing method in which analog printing is performed before digital printing. The printing and dyeing processing of the above (1) to (4) will be described below.

[0141] Printing and dyeing accompanied by a post-treatment process

[0142] First, with reference to Figures 12-14 , the printing and dyeing processing accompanied by a post-treatment process will be described. In the following figures, the cleaning liquid storage section 32 for cleaning the adhesive tape 17 when printing is performed by the liquid ejection section 20 is omitted.

[0143] As shown in Figure 12 , first, the medium M is immersed in the dyeing liquid DL to perform dyeing. At this time, the user inputs the color for dyeing through the operation of the operation section 45. The control section 26 calculates the dyeing liquids necessary for the color and their mixing ratio based on the input color information and with reference to the color table data. The control section 26 opens the on-off valve 75 corresponding to the calculated color among the plurality of on-off valves 75( Figure 8 ) and supplies the dyeing liquid in an amount corresponding to the calculated mixing ratio from the corresponding dyeing liquid storage section 71 to the storage tank 34. Thus, the dyeing liquid DL of the color corresponding to the color information input by the user through the operation section 45 is color-matched. The supply of the dyeing liquid to the storage tank 34 is performed in a state in which the cleaning brush 37 is installed.

[0144] And, after the dyeing liquid is supplied to the storage tank 34, the control section 26 drives the motor 30M to rotate the cleaning brush 37. The dyeing liquid stored in the storage tank 34 is supplied to the liquid surface that immerses a portion including the lower portion of the cleaning brush 37. Therefore, by the rotation of the cleaning brush 37 for a certain time, the dyeing liquid DL stored in the storage tank 34 is agitated. As a result, the dyeing liquid DL in the storage tank 34 is toned to a uniform color. After this toning is finished, the user sets the medium M pulled out from the supply spool (omitted from the drawing) disposed on the upstream side of the conveyance direction Y to a state of being gripped by a pair of conveyance rollers 52, 53 that constitute a conveyance mechanism 51 and of having a portion that hangs between the pair of conveyance rollers 52, 53 immersed in the dyeing liquid DL.

[0145] Thereafter, as shown in Figure 12 , the medium M is continuously immersed in the dyeing liquid DL by driving the pair of conveyance rollers 52, 53, whereby the medium M is dyed to a prescribed color designated by the user. That is, the medium M is subjected to analog printing and dyeing. In this dyeing, analog printing and dyeing, for example, a background is dyed. In the case where this background is printed by digital printing based on an inkjet recording system, for example, banding is likely to occur. In contrast to this, if it is analog printing and dyeing, banding does not occur. The medium M after dyeing is discharged from the storage tank 34 and is dried by a drying mechanism 100 (refer to Figure 3 ). The medium M after dyeing is wound into a roll shape by a winding device (omitted from the drawing). Then, the spool after dyeing is set as a supply spool.

[0146] And, as shown in Figure 13 , the medium M is conveyed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects a discharge agent as a post-treatment agent L2 to the medium M. This ejection of the post-treatment agent L2 is performed by digital printing. The portion on which the discharge agent lands is removed of the dyeing liquid. As a result, a fine line or pattern, for example, is discharged from the medium M after dyeing. Further, the user sets the spool after discharge as a supply spool. At this time, a conveyance mechanism for conveying the spool after discharge can be additionally provided.

[0147] As shown in Figure 14 , the medium M is conveyed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects ink IL to the medium M. This ink IL is printed on the portion discharged in the medium M. As a result, color is applied to the pattern or the like of the portion after discharge, for example, and a colored pattern, for example, is printed. This print is suppressed from having a stripe caused by banding because the portion of the background is dyed.

[0148] Printing and dyeing with discharge process

[0149] Next, a description will be given of the printing and dyeing process with discharge with reference to Figures 15-17 .

[0150] As shown in Figure 15As shown, first, the medium M is conveyed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects the pre-treatment agent LI toward the medium M. The pre-treatment agent LI is, for example, a resist agent. The resist agent is pre-ejected to a portion of the medium M that is not desired to be dyed. For example, a pattern is applied to the medium M by the resist agent. The medium M after the resist is dried by the drying mechanism 100 (refer to Figure 2 ). Thereby, the medium M after the resist is wound into a roll shape by a winding device (omitted from the drawing). Next, the roll after the resist is wound is set as the supply roll.

[0151] Next, as shown in Figure 16 , the medium M is continuously dipped in the dyeing liquid DL by driving the pair of conveyance roller pairs 52, 53. The medium M is dyed to a prescribed color designated by the user. That is, the medium M is subjected to analog printing and dyeing. By this dyeing, a pattern and the like of the portion to which the resist agent is applied first is not dyed. Also, in the case where the background other than the pattern is printed, for example, by digital printing based on an inkjet recording method, banding is likely to occur. In contrast to this, the background other than the pattern is printed by analog printing and dyeing, and thus banding does not occur. Thereby, the medium M that is sent out from the storage tank 34 after the dyeing is dried by the drying mechanism 100 (refer to Figure 3 ) halfway through winding into a roll shape by a winding device. Thereafter, after the resist agent is removed from the medium M, the roll after the dyeing is wound is set as the supply roll.

[0152] As shown in Figure 17 , the medium M after the dyeing is conveyed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects the ink IL toward the medium M. The ink IL is ejected to the portion that is not dyed due to the resist agent, and, for example, a colored pattern is printed. The medium M on which the pattern and the like is printed by digital printing is dried by the drying mechanism 100 (refer to Figure 24 ) after which it is wound into a roll shape by a winding device (omitted from the drawing).

[0153] Printing and dyeing with a pre-treatment process

[0154] Next, the printing and dyeing process with a pre-treatment will be described with reference to Figure 18 , Figure 19 .

[0155] In the case where printing is performed by ejecting the ink IL from the liquid ejection section 20, the pre-treatment agent L3 is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32 before printing. The pre-treatment is performed by immersing the medium M in the pre-treatment agent L3 stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32. That is, before the medium M is printed by ejecting the ink IL from the liquid ejection section 20, the pre-treatment is performed by immersing the medium M in the pre-treatment agent L3 stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32.

[0156] First, as shown in Figure 18As shown, the pre-treatment agent L3 is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32. The medium M is set in the state of being immersed in the pre-treatment agent L3 in the conveyance mechanism 51. By driving the pair of conveyance roller pairs 52, 53, the medium M is continuously immersed in the pre-treatment agent L3. The pre-treatment agent L3 is, for example, a bleeding prevention agent. If the medium M is not pre-treated and ink IL is ejected, the ink IL sometimes bleeds. Therefore, before printing, by immersing the medium M in the pre-treatment agent L3 (bleeding prevention agent), the medium M is subjected to bleeding prevention treatment. A roll to which the medium M is wound while the pre-treatment agent L3 is dried is provided on the supply side.

[0157] Next, as shown in Figure 19 , the medium M subjected to the bleeding prevention treatment is conveyed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects ink IL to the medium M subjected to the bleeding prevention treatment. The ink IL is printed on the medium M without bleeding. The printed medium M is wound in a roll while being dried.

[0158] Printing with post-treatment

[0159] Next, with reference to Figure 20 , Figure 21 , the printing treatment with post-treatment is described.

[0160] In the case of printing by ejecting ink IL from the liquid ejection section 20, post-treatment is performed by immersing the medium M in the post-treatment agent L4 stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32 after printing.

[0161] First, as shown in Figure 20 , the medium M is conveyed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects ink IL to the medium M to perform printing. A roll to which the medium M is wound while the ink IL is dried is provided on the supply side.

[0162] Next, as shown in Figure 21 , the post-treatment agent L4 is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32 instead of the cleaning liquid CL. The medium M is set in the state of being immersed in the post-treatment agent L4 in the conveyance mechanism 51. By driving the pair of conveyance roller pairs 52, 53, the medium M is continuously immersed in the post-treatment agent L4. The post-treatment agent L4 stored in the storage tank 34 is, for example, a coating agent. The medium M is wound while the coating agent is dried. The ink layer of the dried medium M is protected by the coating layer. Therefore, even if the medium M is subjected to external force such as friction, the ink layer is not easily peeled off.

[0163] Printing method

[0164] Next, with reference to Figure 22 and Figure 23 , the printing method in the printing apparatus is described. In addition, Figure 22 A first printing method in which the medium M is dyed by a dyeing liquid after the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection section 20 is shown.Figure 23 This illustrates a second printing method in which the liquid jetting unit 20 jets liquid after the medium M has been dyed with a dyeing solution. First, the first printing method will be described.

[0165] Control Department 26 Execution Figure 22 The first printing method shown in the flowchart is as follows: In step S11, the control unit 26 sprays liquid from the liquid jetting unit onto the medium. Specifically, the control unit 26 drives the roller 16a to rotate by driving a motor (not shown), and conveys the medium M at a predetermined conveying speed via the adhesive belt 17. The liquid jetting unit 20 performs printing on the medium M by spraying liquid onto the medium M conveyed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid is, for example, a pretreatment agent L1. This pretreatment agent L1 is, for example, a resist agent. In this case, the medium M is resisted by inkjet recording.

[0166] In step S12, the control unit 26 stores dyeing liquid in the cleaning liquid storage unit. After the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning liquid storage unit 32, the user operates the operation unit 45 and inputs the color information of the dyeing liquid. Based on the color information received from the operation unit 45, the control unit 26, referring to the color matching table data, calculates the amount of ink to be supplied from the multiple dyeing liquid storage units 71 to the storage tank 34 according to the color. Furthermore, the control unit 26 supplies the ink of the calculated ink supply amount to the storage tank 34 by controlling the opening and closing of the color-separated on / off valves 75. Additionally, the dyeing liquid DL is stored in the storage tank 34 in the cleaning liquid storage unit 32 at the necessary ratio. The control unit 26 agitates the various colors of dyeing liquid DL supplied to the storage tank 34 by rotating the cleaning brush 37 during the predetermined time required for color matching. As a result of this agitation, the dyeing liquid DL of the specified color is stored in the storage tank 34.

[0167] In step S13, the control unit 26 dyes the medium M using the dyeing solution DL. After storing the dyeing solution DL, the user pulls the medium M from the reel (not shown) of the supply device located upstream of the conveying direction Y, and sets it in the following state: it is held by a pair of conveying rollers 52, 53 constituting the conveying mechanism 51, and the portion hanging between the pair of conveying rollers 52, 53 is immersed in the dyeing solution DL. The user operates the operation unit 45 to start driving the dyeing unit 50. The control unit 26 drives the pair of conveying rollers 52, 53 at a predetermined drive speed via the drive motor 30M, so that the medium M is continuously immersed in the dyeing solution DL. As a result, the medium M is dyed to the predetermined color specified by the user.

[0168] Further, the process of step Sll can be a process in which the liquid ejecting section 20 ejects ink IL as an example of a liquid. That is, the medium M is printed by the ink IL ejected by the liquid ejecting section 20. In this case, the processes of steps S12 and S13 can use a post-treatment agent L4 instead of the dyeing liquid. The post-treatment agent L4 can be, for example, a coating agent.

[0169] Next, the second printing method will be described. The control section 26 executes the process of the second printing method shown in the flowchart. The second printing method includes a printing method in which the medium M is immersed in a dyeing liquid DL (step S21), and a printing method in which the medium M is immersed in a pre-treatment agent L3 (e.g., a bleeding prevention agent) (step S22). Figure 23 Figures 12-14 Figure 18 Figure 19

[0170] In step S21, the control section 26 stores the dyeing liquid in the cleaning liquid storage section. In detail, after the cleaning liquid CL is discharged from the cleaning liquid storage section 32, the user operates the operation section 45 to input color information of the dyeing liquid DL. The control section 26 refers to the color table data based on the color information received from the operation section 45 to calculate, by color, the ink supply amount that should be supplied from the plurality of dyeing liquid storage sections 71 to the storage tank 34. Further, the control section 26 supplies the ink of the ink supply amount calculated by color to the storage tank 34 by opening and closing control of the opening and closing valves 75 distinguished by color. Further, the dyeing liquid DL is stored in the storage tank 34 in the necessary proportion in the cleaning liquid storage section 32. The control section 26 stirs the dyeing liquid DL of the plurality of colors supplied to the storage tank 34 by rotating the cleaning brush 37 for a prescribed time required for color mixing. As a result of this stirring, the dyeing liquid DL of the color mixed to the specified color is stored in the storage tank 34.

[0171] In step S22, the control section 26 dyes the medium with the dyeing liquid. After the dyeing liquid DL is stored, the user sets the medium M pulled out from a roll (not shown) provided in the supply device arranged on the upstream side in the conveyance direction Y to a state in which the medium M is sandwiched by a pair of conveyance rollers 52, 53 constituting the conveyance mechanism 51 and the portion hanging between the pair of conveyance rollers 52, 53 is immersed in the dyeing liquid DL. The user operates the operation section 45 to start the drive of the dyeing section 50. The control section 26 drives the pair of conveyance rollers 52, 53 at a prescribed drive speed by driving the motor 30M to continuously immerse the medium M in the dyeing liquid DL. As a result, the medium M is dyed to the prescribed color specified by the user.

[0172] ​​​​In step S23, the control section 26 causes the liquid ejection section 20 to eject a liquid toward the medium M. In detail, the control section 26 rotationally drives the roller 16a by driving a motor not shown, and conveys the medium M at a predetermined conveyance speed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 applies a treatment to the medium M by ejecting a liquid toward the medium M conveyed by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects a post-treatment agent L2, which is an example of a liquid, toward the medium M. In addition, in steps S21 and S22, a bleeding-preventing agent, which is an example of a pre-treatment agent L3, can be used instead of the dyeing liquid. In this case, in step S23, the liquid ejection section 20 can eject ink IL.

[0173] The printing device 11 according to the present embodiment can suppress a banding that can occur when a background image or the like is printed by the inkjet-type liquid ejection section 20, because the dyeing of the medium M dipped in the dyeing liquid DL and the ejection of the liquid based on the liquid ejection section 20 are combined.

[0174] According to the first embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

[0175] (1-1) The printing device 11 includes the adhesive belt 17, which is an example of a conveyance belt, has a support section 17a that supports the medium M, and conveys the medium M by moving by the support section 17a; the liquid ejection section 20 that ejects a liquid toward the medium M supported by the support section 17a; and the dyeing section 50 that dyes the medium M by dipping the medium M in a dyeing liquid DL. The dyeing in the dyeing section 50 and the ejection in the liquid ejection section 20 are combined, and the medium M is printed. According to this configuration, a banding does not occur in a portion of the medium M that is dyed (for example, a background or the like). Thus, high-quality printing that is suppressed in banding can be performed.

[0176] (1-2) The liquid ejection section 20 can eject at least one of a bleeding agent that removes a color of the medium M or a dyeing-preventing agent that prevents coloring caused by dyeing. According to this configuration, because the bleeding agent or the dyeing-preventing agent can be ejected from the liquid ejection section 20, a fine image or gradation can be made on the medium M.

[0177] (1-3) The printing device 11 includes the cleaning brush 37, which is an example of a cleaning section, that performs a cleaning operation on the adhesive belt 17 using a cleaning liquid CL; and the cleaning liquid storage section 32 that stores the cleaning liquid CL. The dyeing liquid DL is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32 when dyeing is performed by the dyeing section 50. According to this configuration, normally, when printing is performed by the liquid ejection section 20, printing is performed and cleaning of the adhesive belt 17 is performed using the cleaning liquid CL stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32. When dyeing is performed by the dyeing section 50, the cleaning liquid CL is drawn from the cleaning liquid storage section 32, and the dyeing liquid DL is stored in place of this. Thus, it is not necessary to provide a dyeing storage tank for storing the dyeing liquid DL.

[0178] (1-4) The printing device 11 is provided with a liquid storage portion 40 (ink storage portion 40A) that can supply a liquid to the liquid ejection portion 20. The liquid stored in the liquid storage portion 40 is used as at least a part of the dyeing liquid DL. According to this configuration, the liquid (ink) obtained from the liquid storage portion 40 is used as a part of the dyeing liquid DL. Thereby, printing can be performed without newly preparing the dyeing liquid DL. Further, in a case where the dyeing liquid DL is insufficient in the middle of printing, labor for the re-preparation is also saved.

[0179] (1-5) The liquid storage portion 40 stores liquids of a plurality of colors. At least a part of the dyeing liquid DL is used by mixing liquids of a plurality of colors. According to this configuration, by mixing inks of a plurality of colors stored in the liquid storage portion 40, a dyeing liquid DL of a specific color can be generated.

[0180] (1-6) The liquid ejected as a maintenance operation by the liquid ejection portion 20 is used as at least a part of the dyeing liquid DL. According to this configuration, since the liquid ejected in the maintenance operation, which is discarded in the conventional configuration, is used as the dyeing liquid DL, it is possible to reduce the environmental load.

[0181] (1-7) The printing system 10 is provided with: the printing device 11; and a drying mechanism 100 that dries both the medium M printed by the liquid ejection portion 20 and the medium M dyed by the dyeing portion 50. According to this configuration, since drying after ejection in the liquid ejection portion 20 and drying after dyeing in the dyeing portion 50 can be performed by one mechanism, it is possible to perform drying without making the device large.

[0182] (1-8) The printing device 11 is provided with: a cleaning brush 37 that performs a cleaning operation on the adhesive tape 17 using a cleaning liquid CL; and a cleaning liquid storage portion 32 that stores the cleaning liquid CL. In a case where ejection of ink is performed from the liquid ejection portion 20, a pretreatment agent is stored in the cleaning liquid storage portion 32 before the ejection. By immersing the medium M in the pretreatment agent stored in the cleaning liquid storage portion 32, a pretreatment is performed. According to this configuration, by storing the pretreatment agent in the cleaning liquid storage portion 32, it is not necessary to newly provide a place to store the pretreatment agent, and it is possible to make the device small.

[0183] (1-9) In the printing system 10 having the printing device 11, the cleaning liquid storage portion 32 can store the cleaning liquid CL or the dyeing liquid DL, and a holding tank that is connected to the cleaning liquid storage portion 32 and can hold the cleaning liquid CL or the dyeing liquid DL stored in the cleaning liquid storage portion 32 is provided. According to this configuration, since the holding tank that temporarily holds the liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage portion 32 is provided, the liquid previously stored is not wasted when the liquid is replaced.

[0184] (1-10) The printing system 10 with the printing device 11 is provided with a cleaning brush 37 that performs a cleaning operation on the adhesive belt 17 using a cleaning liquid CL, and a cleaning liquid storage section 32 that stores the cleaning liquid CL. In the case where printing is performed by ejecting ink from the liquid ejecting section 20, a pre-treatment agent is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32, and pre-treatment is performed by immersing the medium M in the pre-treatment agent stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32. According to this configuration, by adding the pre-treatment agent to the cleaning liquid storage section 32, it is not necessary to newly provide a place to store the pre-treatment agent, and the printing system can be downsized.

[0185] (1-11) The cleaning liquid storage section 32 can store the cleaning liquid CL or the pre-treatment agent, and the printing system 10 is provided with the printing device 11, a holding tank 55 that is connected to the cleaning liquid storage section 32 and can hold the cleaning liquid CL discharged from the cleaning liquid storage section 32, and a third holding tank 57 that can hold the pre-treatment agent L1 discharged from the cleaning liquid storage section 32. According to this configuration, since the cleaning liquid CL or the pre-treatment agent L1 stored in the cleaning liquid storage section 32 can be temporarily held in the holding tanks 55, 57, the previously stored liquid is not wasted when the liquid is replaced.

[0186] (1-12) The printing device 11 is provided with the adhesive belt 17 that has a support section 17a that supports the medium M and transports the medium M by moving the support section 17a, the liquid ejecting section 20 that ejects a liquid toward the medium M supported by the support section 17a, the cleaning brush 37 that performs a cleaning operation on the adhesive belt 17 using a cleaning liquid CL, the cleaning liquid storage section 32 that stores the cleaning liquid CL, and the dyeing section 50 that performs dyeing by immersing the medium M in a dyeing liquid DL. The printing method of the printing device 11 is provided with the following steps. That is, the printing method of the printing device 11 is provided with a step of ejecting a liquid from the liquid ejecting section 20, a step of storing a dyeing liquid DL in the cleaning liquid storage section 32, and a step of dyeing the medium M with the dyeing liquid DL. In addition, the order of the steps of the printing method is different. According to this method, since dyeing and printing other than dyeing can be performed by one printing device 11, a band can not be generated in a portion of the medium M that is not dyed (for example, a background or the like). Thus, high-quality printing that suppresses a band can be performed. Furthermore, since dyeing and printing other than dyeing can be performed by one printing device 11, space-saving printing can be performed.

[0187] Second Embodiment

[0188] Next, the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the dyeing section is different from that of the first embodiment. That is, in the first embodiment, the configuration is such that the media M are dyed by being immersed in the dyeing liquid DL stored in the storage tank 34 of the cleaning unit 30, but the printing apparatus 11 of this second embodiment is provided with a dripping unit 90 as one example of a dyeing section that dyes the media M by dripping the dyeing liquid DL onto the media M supported by the support section 17a. In addition, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for the configuration of the dyeing section, so only the different configuration will be described in particular.

[0189] Configuration of printing system

[0190] As Figure 24 shown, as in the first embodiment, in this embodiment, the printing system 10 is also provided with the printing apparatus 11 and the drying mechanism 100. The printing apparatus 11 is provided with the adhesive belt 17 as one example of a conveyance belt that supports and conveys the media M, the liquid ejection section 20 that performs a printing operation by ejecting a liquid onto the media M supported by the adhesive belt 17, and the dripping unit 90 as one example of a dyeing section that dyes the media M by dripping the dyeing liquid DL. The printing apparatus 11 combines dyeing in the dripping unit 90 and ejection in the liquid ejection section 20 to print the media M. The dripping here refers to ejection of ink droplets that are larger than the ink droplets ejected by the liquid ejection section 20. The drying mechanism 100 dries both the media M printed by the liquid ejection section 20 and the media M dyed by the dripping unit 90.

[0191] As Figure 24 shown, the dripping unit 90 is disposed at a position on the upstream side or a position on the downstream side of the liquid ejection section 20 in the conveyance direction Y. In Figure 24 the example shown, the dripping unit 90 is disposed at a position on the upstream side of the liquid ejection section 20 in the conveyance direction Y. The installation position of the dripping unit 90 can be switched between a position on the upstream side and a position on the downstream side of the liquid ejection section 20 in the conveyance direction Y.

[0192] In a case where dyeing based on the dripping unit 90 is required to be performed before ejection based on the liquid ejection section 20, the user disposes the dripping unit 90 at a position on the upstream side of the liquid ejection section 20. On the other hand, in a case where dyeing based on the dripping unit 90 is required to be performed after ejection based on the liquid ejection section 20, the dripping unit 90 is disposed at a position on the downstream side of the liquid ejection section 20 in the conveyance direction Y. In addition, it is also possible to dispose the dripping unit 90 at both the position on the upstream side and the position on the downstream side of the liquid ejection section 20 in the conveyance direction Y.

[0193] As Figure 25As shown, the liquid injection unit 20 is capable of injecting liquid from the liquid storage unit 40 (see reference 40) into the medium M. Figure 1 , Figure 27 The liquid L supplied is used as an example. For instance, the liquid jetting unit 20 can jet ink, such as the liquid L supplied from the ink storage unit 40A, onto the medium M. Furthermore, the liquid jetting unit 20 can jet at least one of a dyeing agent that removes the color of the medium M or a resist agent that prevents coloring caused by dyeing.

[0194] The dripping unit 90 can drip dyeing solution DL onto the medium M. The dripping unit 90 dyes the medium M by dripping the dyeing solution DL onto it. The dripping unit 90 can perform dyeing according to printing data and can drip the dyeing solution DL according to the location where the liquid is sprayed by the liquid jetting unit 20. Specifically, the control unit 26 (see...) Figure 24 Based on the printing data, the jetting of the liquid jetting unit 20 is controlled, and the dripping of the dripping unit 90 is controlled. For example... Figure 25 As shown, dyeing can be performed at different positions in the conveying direction Y, including dyeing by dripping dye solution DL onto the medium M conveyed by the adhesive belt 17 via the dripping unit 90, and spraying liquid L via the liquid spraying unit 20. Furthermore, if drying of the medium M is required between the two processes of dyeing by dripping dye solution DL via the dripping unit 90 and spraying liquid L via the liquid spraying unit 20, the medium M can be conveyed separately in each process. Additionally, the dripping unit 90 can also drip liquids such as pretreatment agents or posttreatment agents.

[0195] Composition of the drip unit

[0196] like Figure 26 As shown, the dripping unit 90 has nozzles 90a for dripping dyeing solution DL, and multiple nozzles 90a are arranged in the width direction of the medium M. The dripping unit 90 has multiple nozzles 90a capable of dyeing the entire area of ​​the medium M with a maximum designed width in the width direction X. Multiple nozzles 90a are arranged at certain intervals in the width direction X of the dripping unit 90. The width of the dripping unit 90 does not need to be the same as the maximum designed width of the medium, and can be shorter than the maximum designed width of the medium M. The interval between a pair of nozzles 90a located at both ends in the width direction X can be shorter than the width of the medium M with the maximum designed width. The nozzles 90a at both ends are positioned so that they can dye the side ends of the medium M even if the position of the medium M in the width direction X is offset within an allowable range. The dyeing solution DL dripped from the nozzles 90a penetrates the fibers of the medium M and diffuses after landing, so the nozzles 90a at both ends only need to be located at positions where the dripped dyeing solution DL can diffuse to the side ends of the medium M in the width direction X.

[0197] The dripping unit 90 may have a solenoid valve (not shown) shared by all nozzles 90a, or it may have a valve for each group of multiple nozzles 90a, or it may have a valve corresponding to each nozzle 90a. The control unit 26 adjusts the amount of liquid dripping from the nozzles 90a by controlling the opening and closing of the valves in the dripping unit 90 and the degree of valve opening. Furthermore, in the case of a configuration with multiple valves, the control unit 26 can adjust the amount of liquid dripping from each nozzle 90a for each nozzle group or each nozzle 90a by selecting the valve to open and the degree of valve opening.

[0198] In this embodiment, the dripping unit 90 is an example of a dyeing section, where the medium M is dyed by the dyeing solution DL dripped from the dripping unit 90. The configuration of the dyeing solution supply section 70, which supplies the dyeing solution DL to the dripping unit 90, is basically the same as in the first embodiment.

[0199] like Figure 27 As shown, the printing apparatus 11 includes a dyeing solution supply unit 70 that supplies dyeing solution DL used by the dripping unit 90. The printing apparatus 11 also includes a dyeing solution storage unit 71 that temporarily stores the dyeing solution before it is supplied to the storage tank 34. The dyeing solution supply unit 70 collects waste liquid (ink) from the nozzle 21N of the liquid jet head 21 during maintenance operations of the maintenance unit 60, collected in the recovery cap 61 for each color, and stores the ink recovered for each color as dyeing solution in the dyeing solution storage unit 71, which is separate for each color. The liquid discharged by the liquid jet head 20 during maintenance operations is used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution DL.

[0200] It is used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution by mixing with liquids of multiple colors. Multiple (N) dyeing solution storage units 71, the same number as the number of colors, are connected to a storage tank 34 via multiple (N) pipes 74. An on / off valve 75, capable of individually opening and closing each pipe 74, is provided midway through each of the multiple (N) pipes 74. Dyeing solutions of each color stored in the dyeing solution storage unit 71 are supplied to the storage tank 34 by opening the on / off valve 75. When multiple colors of dyeing solutions DL are supplied to the storage tank 34, the multiple colors of dyeing solutions DL are mixed in the storage tank 34. Alternatively, a color-mixing storage unit may be provided, which stores at least a portion of the selected colors of dyeing solutions DL from the multiple dyeing solution storage units 71 and mixes them, then supplies the color-mixed dyeing solutions DL to the storage tank 34.

[0201] The printing device 11 has a liquid storage portion 40 that supplies liquid to the liquid ejection portion 20. The liquid stored in the liquid storage portion 40 is used as at least a part of the dyeing liquid. The liquid storage portion 40 stores liquids of a plurality of colors. That is, the liquid storage portion 40 has a plurality of ink storage portions 40A that store inks of a plurality of colors, respectively (see FIG. 6). Figure 1 The supply flow path 41 extending from the liquid storage portion 40 is branched at an intermediate portion thereof, and the branched dyeing liquid supply flow path 70A is connected to the dyeing liquid storage portion 71.

[0202] The dyeing liquid stored in the dyeing liquid storage portion 71 before being supplied to the storage tank 34.

[0203] Further, the waste liquid delivery flow path 62 extending from the maintenance portion 60 merges with the dyeing liquid supply flow path 70A. The cap 61 of the maintenance portion 60 supplies the ink as the waste liquid accommodated therein to the dyeing liquid storage portion 71 through the waste liquid delivery flow path 62 and the dyeing liquid supply flow path 70A.

[0204] The liquid discharged from the liquid ejection portion 20 as the maintenance operation is used as at least a part of the dyeing liquid. When the dyeing liquid in the dyeing liquid storage portion 71 is insufficient, the liquid from the liquid storage portion 40 can also be supplied as the dyeing liquid. Between the liquid storage portion 40 and the dyeing liquid storage portion 71, an opening and closing valve 72 and a check valve 73 are provided at an intermediate portion of the dyeing liquid supply flow path 70A branched from the supply flow path 41. The check valve 73 allows the flow of liquid from the liquid storage portion 40 to the dyeing liquid storage portion 71 and prevents the flow of liquid in the opposite direction.

[0205] The dyeing liquid supply portion 70 has a liquid amount sensor 76 that detects the amount of the dyeing liquid stored in the dyeing liquid storage portion 71. The liquid amount sensor 76 detects the insufficiency of the dyeing liquid. The opening and closing valve 72 is opened when the amount of the liquid detected by the liquid amount sensor 76 is less than a predetermined lower limit value of the amount of the liquid and is closed when a predetermined upper limit value of the amount of the liquid is reached. Thus, the dyeing liquid storage portion 71 stores the necessary amount of the dyeing liquid. In addition, the printing device 11 can have a dyeing liquid supply source (dyeing liquid supply tank) dedicated to the dyeing liquid separately from the liquid storage portion that stores the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejection portion 20. Further, in the case where the amount of the liquid in the dyeing liquid storage portion 71 is insufficient, the dyeing liquid can be supplied from the dyeing liquid supply source instead of from the liquid storage portion 40.

[0206] The drop unit 90, which is one example of the dyeing section of the present embodiment, is positioned above the support section 17a, and is positioned higher than the dyeing liquid storage section 71. Therefore, the dyeing liquid DL is supplied from the dyeing liquid storage section 71 to the drop unit 90 against gravity by the pump 79. The dyeing liquid storage section 71 is in communication with the storage tank 34 via a dyeing liquid supply flow path. The color adjustment storage section 77 is connected to the drop unit 90 via a supply flow path 78, and the pump 79 is provided midway through the supply flow path 78. The dyeing liquid DL is supplied from the color adjustment storage section 77 to the drop unit 90 by driving the pump 79.

[0207] As shown in Figure 27 , the printing device 11, like the first embodiment, is provided with a pressurizing mechanism 42 having a pressurizing pump 43. The liquid is supplied to the liquid ejection section 20 by pressurizing the liquid storage section 40 by the pressurizing mechanism 42.

[0208] The printing device 11 is provided with the liquid storage section 40 shown in Figure 1 , which is capable of supplying a liquid to the liquid ejection section 20. The printing device 11 is provided with the ink storage section 40A shown in Figure 1 , which is capable of supplying ink, which is one example of a liquid, to the liquid ejection section 20. The printing device 11 uses the ink stored in the ink storage section 40A as at least a portion of the dyeing liquid. In the present embodiment, like the first embodiment, the liquid (waste liquid) discharged from the maintenance operation of the liquid ejection section 20 is used as at least a portion of the dyeing liquid DL. In the case where the liquid discharged during the maintenance operation is used as the dyeing liquid, when the dyeing liquid DL is insufficient, ink is replenished from the ink storage section 40A as at least a portion of the dyeing liquid DL.

[0209] Next, the operation of the printing device 11 will be described.

[0210] The printing system 10 and the printing device 11 of the present embodiment are capable of performing printing (digital dyeing) based on the inkjet-type liquid ejection section 20 and dyeing based on the dyeing section 50 on the medium M.

[0211] The printing device 11 is capable of performing a plurality of (four in the present example) dyeing processes on the medium M.

[0212] (1) Dyeing accompanied by a discharge process in which a discharge agent, which is a post-treatment agent L2, is ejected.

[0213] (2) Dyeing accompanied by a resist process in which a resist agent, which is a pre-treatment agent L1, is ejected.

[0214] (3) Dyeing accompanied by a pre-treatment process in which a pre-treatment agent L3 is immersed.

[0215] (4) Dyeing accompanied by a post-treatment process in which a coating agent, which is a post-treatment agent L4, is immersed.

[0216] Alternatively, a combination of (1) or (2) above with (3) or (4) above can be used for printing and dyeing.

[0217] The dyeing methods described in (1) to (4) above will be explained in turn below.

[0218] Dyeing and printing processes accompanying the dyeing process

[0219] First, refer to Figures 28-30 The dyeing and printing treatments that accompany the staining process are explained. Additionally, in... Figures 28-37 The cleaning fluid storage section 32, which cleans the sticky tape 17 during printing by the liquid jetting section 20, is omitted.

[0220] like Figure 28 As shown, firstly, dyeing solution DL is dripped from the dripping unit 90 onto the medium M conveyed by the viscous belt 17 to dye the medium M. At this time, the user inputs the dyeing color information through the operation unit 45. Based on the color information input from the operation unit 45 and referring to the color mixing table data, the control unit 26 calculates the required color dyeing solution and their mixing ratio. The control unit 26 opens multiple on / off valves 75 (…). Figure 27 The on / off valve 75 corresponding to the calculated color supplies the amount of dyeing liquid corresponding to the calculated mixing ratio from the corresponding dyeing liquid storage unit 71 to the color mixing storage unit 77. The color mixing storage unit 77 is connected to multiple dyeing liquid storage units 71 via multiple pipelines 74. Multiple on / off valves 75 are provided in the middle of the multiple pipelines 74. One or more on / off valves 75 selected according to the color information are opened. As a result, the dyeing liquid DL corresponding to the color information input by the user through the operation unit 45 is mixed in the color mixing storage unit 77. During this color mixing, the dyeing liquid DL in the color mixing storage unit 77 is stirred by a stirrer (not shown). As a result, the dyeing liquid DL in the color mixing storage unit 77 is mixed to a uniform color. After this color mixing is completed, the user pulls the medium M from the supply spool (not shown) located on the upstream side of the conveying direction Y and places it on the viscous belt 17.

[0221] After that, Figure 28 As shown, the medium M is conveyed via a driving adhesive tape 17. The dripping unit 90 drips a dyeing solution DL of a user-specified color onto the medium M. That is, the medium M is dyed by the dyeing solution DL dripping from the dripping unit 90. For example, in the case of printing in digital printing based on inkjet recording, streaking is easily produced. In contrast, since the dyeing is based on analog printing, streaking does not occur. The dyed medium M is then dried by the drying mechanism 100 (see reference). Figure 24 The dyed medium M is dried. The dyed medium M is then wound into a roll using a winding device (not shown). Next, the dyed and wound roll is set as a supply roll.

[0222] And, as Figure 29 shown, the medium M is transported by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects a resist agent as a post-treatment agent L2 to the medium M. This ejection of the post-treatment agent L2 is performed by digital printing. The portion on which the resist agent landed is removed from dyeing. As a result, for example, a fine line or a pattern is resist dyed in the medium M after dyeing. Further, the user sets the roll after resist dyeing as the supply roll.

[0223] As Figure 30 shown, the medium M is transported by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects an ink IL to the medium M. This ink IL is printed on the portion that is resist dyed in the medium M. As a result, for example, color is applied to the pattern or the like of the portion that is resist dyed. That is, a colored pattern is printed on the medium M. This print is dyed by the portion of the background, so that the streak caused by the banding is suppressed.

[0224] Printing with dyeing process

[0225] Next, with reference to Figures 31-33 , the printing process with dyeing is described.

[0226] As Figure 31 shown, first, the medium M is transported by the adhesive belt 17. The liquid ejection section 20 ejects a pre-treatment agent LI to the medium M. The pre-treatment agent LI is, for example, a resist agent. The resist agent is pre-ejected to the portion of the medium M on which dyeing is not desired. For example, a pattern or the like is applied to the medium M by the resist agent. The medium M after resist is dried by the drying mechanism 100 (refer to Figure 24 ). The medium M after resist is thereby wound into a roll shape by the winding device (omitted from the drawing). Next, the roll after resist dyeing is set as the supply roll.

[0227] Next, as Figure 32 shown, the medium M is transported by driving the adhesive belt 17. The drop unit 90 drops a dyeing liquid DL that is colored in a prescribed color designated by the user to the medium M. That is, the medium M is dyed by the dyeing liquid DL dropped from the drop unit 90. For example, in the case where printing is performed based on the inkjet recording method, banding is likely to occur. In contrast to this, since dyeing is based on analog printing, banding does not occur. The medium M after dyeing is dried by the drying mechanism 100 (refer to Figure 24 ). The medium M after dyeing is thereby wound into a roll shape by the winding device (omitted from the drawing). Next, the roll after dyeing is set as the supply roll. In addition, in the case where the pre-treatment agent LI such as a resist agent can be sufficiently dried, or in the case where the pre-treatment agent LI does not need to be sufficiently dried, this dyeing can be performed together with resist dyeing. That is, as Figure 31As shown by the double-dotted line, the dripping unit 90 can be positioned downstream of the liquid jetting section 20 in the conveying direction Y. Figure 31 (The middle is on the left), the pretreatment agent L1 is sprayed and the dyeing solution DL is dripped onto the medium M which is in the same transport process.

[0228] like Figure 33 As shown, the dyed medium M is conveyed via the adhesive belt 17. The liquid jetting unit 20 sprays ink IL onto the medium M. Ink IL is sprayed onto the areas not dyed due to the resist agent, for example, to print a colored pattern. The medium M, with the pattern printed on it via digital printing, passes through the drying unit 100 (see reference). Figure 24 After being dried, it is wound into a roll using a winding device (illustration omitted).

[0229] Dyeing accompanied by pretreatment process

[0230] Next, refer to Figure 34 , Figure 35 The accompanying post-processing of printing and dyeing is explained.

[0231] First, such as Figure 34 As shown, the medium M is conveyed via the adhesive belt 17. When printing with ink IL sprayed from the liquid jetting unit 20, before printing, the dripping unit 90 drips a pretreatment agent L3 composed of an anti-bleeding agent to pretreat the medium M (anti-bleeding treatment). A roll wound while drying the pretreatment agent L3 is provided on the supply side.

[0232] Next, as Figure 35 As shown, a medium M treated with an anti-bleeding process is conveyed via an adhesive belt 17. A liquid jetting unit 20 sprays ink IL onto the medium M, which has undergone this anti-bleeding treatment. The ink IL is printed onto the medium M without bleeding. After printing, the medium M passes through a drying unit 100 (see reference). Figure 24 After being dried, it is wound into a roll using a winding device (illustration omitted).

[0233] Dyeing and printing processes accompanying post-processing

[0234] Next, refer to Figure 36 , Figure 37 The accompanying post-processing of printing and dyeing is explained.

[0235] In the case of printing by ejecting ink IL from the liquid jetting unit 20, after printing, the dripping unit 90 ejects post-treatment agent L4 onto the medium M for post-treatment. First, as... Figure 36 As shown, medium M is conveyed via adhesive belt 17. Liquid jetting unit 20 sprays ink IL onto medium M for printing. A roll that is wound while drying ink IL is positioned on the supply side.

[0236] Next, as Figure 37 As shown, medium M is conveyed via adhesive tape 17. A post-treatment agent L4 is dripped onto medium M by the dripping unit 90. The post-treatment agent L4 is, for example, a coating agent. The printing surface of medium M is covered by the coating agent. While the post-treatment agent L4 is drying, medium M is wound into a roll. After the coating agent dries, the ink layer of medium M is protected by the coating. Therefore, even if medium M is subjected to external forces such as friction, the ink layer is not easily peeled off.

[0237] Furthermore, in the case where the dyeing solution is dripped from the dripping unit 90 after the liquid is sprayed from the liquid spraying unit 20 to dye the medium M, by... Figure 22 Printing is performed using the first printing method shown. Furthermore, in the case where the dyeing solution is dripped from the dripping unit 90 to dye the medium M, and then the liquid jetting unit 20 sprays liquid, printing is performed using... Figure 23 The second printing method shown is used for printing.

[0238] According to the second embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

[0239] (2-1) The printing apparatus 11 includes: an adhesive tape 17, a support portion 17a for supporting a medium M, and the medium M being transported by moving the support portion 17a; a liquid jetting portion 20 for jetting liquid onto the medium M supported by the support portion 17a; and a dripping unit 90, as an example of a dyeing portion, for dyeing the medium M by dripping dyeing liquid DL. The dyeing in the dripping unit 90 and the jetting in the liquid jetting portion 20 are combined to print on the medium M. According to this configuration, streaks are not generated on the dyed portions of the medium M (e.g., the background). Therefore, high-quality printing with streaks suppressed is possible.

[0240] (2-2) The dripping unit 90 has nozzles 90a for dripping dye solution DL, and multiple nozzles 90a are arranged in the width direction of the medium M. According to this configuration, the medium is dyed by dripping dye solution from the multiple nozzles arranged in the width direction of the medium. Since the entire width direction of the medium can be dyed, streaks that are easily generated in the liquid jet section of the scanning mode can be suppressed.

[0241] (2-3) The dripping unit 90 can perform dyeing according to printing data, and can drip dyeing liquid DL onto the area where liquid has been sprayed by the liquid jetting unit 20. With this configuration, the dripping unit 90 drips dyeing liquid DL according to printing data, thus providing high-quality printed materials. The dripping unit 90 can avoid the pattern printed by the liquid jetting unit 20 or the pattern to be printed during dyeing. Furthermore, when dyeing agent or resist agent is sprayed from the liquid jetting unit 20, the dyeing liquid can be sprayed in a manner that overlaps with the area where the dyeing agent or resist agent is applied.

[0242] (2-4) The liquid jetting unit 20 is capable of jetting at least one of a dyeing agent that removes the color of the medium M or a resist agent that prevents coloring caused by dyeing. According to this configuration, since the dyeing agent or the resist agent can be jetted from the liquid jetting unit 20, fine images or layers can be created on the medium M.

[0243] (2-5) The printing apparatus 11 includes a liquid storage section 40 capable of supplying liquid to the liquid jetting section 20. The liquid stored in the liquid storage section 40 is used as at least a portion of the dyeing liquid DL. According to this configuration, ink obtained from the liquid storage section 40 (ink storage section 40A) is used as part of the dyeing liquid DL. As a result, printing can be performed without re-preparing the dyeing liquid DL. Furthermore, if the dyeing liquid DL is insufficient during printing, the effort of re-preparing it is also saved.

[0244] (2-6) The liquid storage section 40 stores liquids of various colors. It is used as at least a part of the dyeing solution DL by mixing the liquids of various colors. According to this configuration, by mixing the inks of various colors stored in the liquid storage section 40, a dyeing solution DL of a specific color can be generated.

[0245] (2-7) The liquid discharged by the liquid jetting section 20 during maintenance is used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution DL. According to this configuration, since the liquid discharged during maintenance operations that were previously discarded is used as the dyeing solution DL, the environmental impact can be reduced.

[0246] (2-8) In the printing system 10 having the printing apparatus 11, a drying mechanism 100 is provided, which dries both the medium M sprayed with ink from the liquid jetting section 20 and the medium M dyed by the dripping unit 90. According to this configuration, since drying after spraying in the liquid jetting section 20 and drying after dyeing in the dripping unit 90 can be performed by a single mechanism, drying can be performed without increasing the size of the apparatus.

[0247] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can also be modified as described in the following variations. Additionally, a suitable combination of the above-described embodiments and the following variations can be considered as a further variation, as can a suitable combination of the following variations with each other.

[0248] • Dyeing can be performed first using the dyeing section, and then the liquid jetting section 20 can jet liquid onto the medium M for printing. For example, the medium M can be dyed with white dye solution by the dyeing section, and then the liquid jetting section 20 can jet liquid (ink) onto the medium M for printing. Here, the dyeing section can be the dyeing section 50 of the first embodiment, or the dripping unit 90 of the second embodiment.

[0249] • In each of the embodiments described, only the purifying agent or only the resist agent may be sprayed. Alternatively, both can be sprayed by changing the purifying agent and the resist agent.

[0250] The liquid jetting unit 20 may include, in addition to the nozzle 21N for jetting N-color ink, a nozzle 21N for jetting a dye remover and a nozzle 21N for jetting a resist agent. Furthermore, by switching the liquid supply source from the ink storage unit 40A, the pretreatment agent storage unit 40B, and the posttreatment agent storage unit 40C to the nozzle 21N, it can be switched to allow at least one of the dye remover and the resist agent to be jetted from the nozzle 21N.

[0251] • In the second embodiment, roller printing or screen printing can also be used instead of the dripping unit 90.

[0252] • It can also be equipped with a liquid spray head 21 capable of spraying a repellent and a liquid spray head 21 capable of spraying a repellent.

[0253] • In each of the embodiments, a portion of the dyeing solution DL is provided by ink from the ink storage unit 40A, but all of the dyeing solution DL may also be provided by ink from the ink storage unit 40A.

[0254] • In each of the embodiments, the drying mechanism 100 may dry only the medium M printed by the liquid jetting section 20, or it may dry only the medium M printed by the dyeing section 50 or the dripping unit 90, which is an example of a dyeing section.

[0255] • When the printing apparatus 11 is in operation, either the cleaning solution CL or the dyeing solution DL can be stored in the cleaning solution storage section 32. Alternatively, when the printing apparatus 11 is in operation, either the cleaning solution CL, the dyeing solution DL, or the pretreatment agent can be stored in the cleaning solution storage section 32. Furthermore, when the printing apparatus 11 is in operation, either the cleaning solution CL, the dyeing solution DL, the pretreatment agent, or the posttreatment agent can be stored in the cleaning solution storage section 32.

[0256] • The holding tank may consist of only a holding tank 55 for holding the cleaning solution CL, a holding tank 56 for holding the staining solution DL, and a holding tank 57 for holding the pretreatment agent L1, or it may consist of four or more of these three. Alternatively, it may consist of only holding tanks 55 and 56.

[0257] It can also be equipped with a pump for moving liquid toward the holding tank.

[0258] • The liquid (waste liquid) sprayed or discharged from the liquid spraying unit 20 during the maintenance operation of the maintenance unit 60 can be used as dyeing liquid DL, but all of the dyeing liquid DL can also be used as liquid supplied from the liquid storage unit 40.

[0259] • Color adjustment can also be performed by manually opening the valve to 75 degrees.

[0260] • Alternatively, a color-mixing liquid tank can be provided, where the dyeing liquid from the dyeing liquid storage unit 71 is sent to the color-mixing liquid tank. After the dyeing liquid is stirred in the color-mixing liquid tank for color mixing, the color-mixed dyeing liquid DL is supplied from the color-mixing liquid tank to the storage tank 34 of the cleaning liquid storage unit 32.

[0261] • The conveyor section 16 can also be a roller conveyor instead of a belt conveyor.

[0262] • The printing apparatus 11 is not limited to a dyeing and printing apparatus for printing on cloth, but can also be a printing apparatus for printing on media such as paper.

[0263] The printing apparatus 11 is not limited to a serial printer in which the liquid jetting unit 20 moves back and forth in the scanning direction X, but can also be a horizontal printer in which the liquid jetting unit 20 can move in both the scanning direction (main scanning direction) and the transport direction Y (sub-scanning direction).

[0264] • The medium M is not limited to cloth; it can be paper, flexible plastic film, non-woven fabric, or laminate. Furthermore, dyeing involves impregnating non-fibrous plastic films or laminates with the medium M to adhere liquids such as ink to the surface, creating a surface layer such as an ink layer. Depending on the type of liquid, this surface layer may include coatings or surface treatment layers. Surface treatment layers include anti-bleeding treatment layers, etc.

[0265] The following describes the technical concepts and effects learned from the described embodiments and variations.

[0266] The printing apparatus includes: a conveyor belt with a support portion for supporting the medium, the medium being transported by moving the support portion; a liquid jetting portion for jetting liquid onto the medium supported by the support portion; and a dyeing portion for printing the medium by immersing it in a dyeing solution. Note that "immersion" differs from printing by jetting liquid; this refers to immersing the medium in a liquid for dyeing.

[0267] Based on this configuration, dyeing and other printing can be performed using a single device, thus preventing streaking on the dyed areas of the medium (e.g., the background). This enables high-quality printing with streaking suppressed.

[0268] In the above-mentioned printing apparatus, the liquid jetting unit may be capable of spraying at least one of a dyeing agent that bleeds the color of the medium or a resist agent that prevents coloring caused by dyeing.

[0269] According to this configuration, since it is possible to spray the desiccant or anti-dyeing agent from the head, it is possible to create fine images or layers on the medium.

[0270] The printing apparatus described above may include: a cleaning section for cleaning the conveyor belt with a cleaning fluid; and a cleaning fluid storage section for storing the cleaning fluid, and storing the dyeing fluid in the cleaning fluid storage section when the belt is dyed by the dyeing section.

[0271] According to this configuration, when liquid is sprayed in the liquid spraying section, cleaning fluid stored in the cleaning fluid reservoir is used to clean the conveyor belt. When dyeing is performed in the dyeing section, dyeing solution is stored in the cleaning fluid reservoir for dyeing. At this time, cleaning fluid is drawn from the cleaning fluid reservoir and replaced by dyeing solution. Therefore, there is no need to install a dyeing tank.

[0272] In the above-described printing apparatus, a liquid storage unit may be provided that can supply liquid to the liquid jetting unit, and the liquid stored in the liquid storage unit may be used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution.

[0273] According to this configuration, the liquid obtained from the liquid storage unit is used as part of the dyeing solution. Therefore, printing can be performed without re-preparing the dyeing solution. Furthermore, if the dyeing solution runs out midway through printing, the labor required for re-preparation is also eliminated.

[0274] In the above-described printing apparatus, the liquid storage section may store liquids of various colors, which are then used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution in combination with the liquids of various colors.

[0275] Based on this configuration, a dyeing solution of a specific color can be generated by mixing inks of various colors stored in the liquid storage section.

[0276] In the above-described printing apparatus, the liquid discharged by the liquid jetting section as a maintenance operation can be used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution.

[0277] According to this configuration, since the liquid discharged during maintenance operations that were previously discarded in conventional configurations is used as a dyeing solution, the environmental impact can be reduced.

[0278] The printing system includes: the printing apparatus described above; and a drying mechanism that dries both the medium printed by the liquid jet section and the medium dyed by the dyeing section.

[0279] According to this configuration, since drying after spraying in the liquid spraying section and drying after dyeing in the dyeing section can be performed by a single mechanism, drying can be carried out without increasing the size of the device.

[0280] The printing apparatus described above may include: a cleaning unit that uses a cleaning fluid to clean the conveyor belt; and a cleaning fluid storage unit that stores the cleaning fluid. In the case of ink being sprayed from the liquid spraying unit, a pretreatment agent is stored in the cleaning fluid storage unit before the spraying, and pretreatment is performed by immersing the medium in the pretreatment agent stored in the cleaning fluid storage unit.

[0281] According to this configuration, by storing the pretreatment agent in the cleaning fluid storage section, there is no need to set up a new place to store the pretreatment agent, which enables the device to be miniaturized.

[0282] The printing system is a printing system with printing devices. The cleaning liquid storage section is capable of storing the cleaning liquid or the dyeing liquid. It has a holding tank connected to the cleaning liquid storage section and is capable of holding the cleaning liquid or the dyeing liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage section.

[0283] According to this configuration, since it has a tank that temporarily holds the liquid stored in the cleaning fluid storage section, the previously stored liquid will not be wasted when the liquid is replaced.

[0284] The printing apparatus includes: a conveyor belt; a support portion having a medium for supporting the medium, the medium being conveyed by moving the support portion; a liquid jetting portion for jetting liquid onto the medium supported by the support portion; and a dyeing portion for dyeing the medium by dripping dyeing liquid, the dyeing in the dyeing portion and the jetting in the liquid jetting portion being combined to print on the medium.

[0285] According to this configuration, since dyeing and other printing can be performed using a single device, streaking is not generated on the dyed parts of the medium (e.g., the background). Therefore, high-quality printing with streaking suppressed is possible.

[0286] In the above-described printing apparatus, the dyeing section may have nozzles that drip the dyeing liquid, and a plurality of such nozzles may be arranged in the width direction of the medium.

[0287] According to this configuration, the medium is stained by dripping dye solution from multiple nozzles arranged in the width direction of the medium. Since the entire width direction of the medium can be stained, streaks that are prone to occur in the liquid jet section of the scanning mode can be suppressed.

[0288] In the above-described printing apparatus, the dyeing section may be able to perform dyeing according to printing data, and the dyeing liquid may drip from the location where the liquid is sprayed by the liquid spraying section.

[0289] According to this configuration, the dyeing section drips dyeing liquid according to the printing data, thus enabling the provision of high-quality printed materials.

[0290] In the above-mentioned printing apparatus, the liquid jetting unit may be capable of spraying at least one of a dyeing agent that bleeds the color of the medium or a resist agent that prevents coloring caused by dyeing.

[0291] According to this configuration, since it is possible to spray the desiccant or anti-dyeing agent from the head, it is possible to create fine images or layers on the medium.

[0292] In the above-described printing apparatus, a liquid storage unit may be provided that can supply liquid to the liquid jetting unit, and the liquid stored in the liquid storage unit may be used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution.

[0293] According to this configuration, a liquid (e.g., ink) obtained from the liquid storage unit is used as part of the dyeing solution. This allows printing to proceed without needing to prepare the dyeing solution again. Furthermore, it eliminates the need for re-preparation if the dyeing solution runs out midway through printing.

[0294] In the above-described printing apparatus, the liquid storage section may store liquids of various colors, which are then used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution in combination with the liquids of various colors.

[0295] Based on this configuration, a dyeing solution of a specific color can be generated by mixing inks of various colors stored in the liquid storage section.

[0296] In the above-described printing apparatus, the liquid discharged by the liquid jetting section as a maintenance operation can be used as at least a portion of the dyeing solution.

[0297] According to this configuration, since the liquid discharged during maintenance operations that were previously discarded in conventional configurations is used as a dyeing solution, the environmental impact can be reduced.

[0298] In a printing system having the above-described printing apparatus, a drying mechanism is provided that dries both the medium from which ink has been sprayed from the liquid jet section and the medium dyed by the dyeing section.

[0299] According to this configuration, since drying after spraying in the liquid spraying section and drying after dyeing in the dyeing section can be performed by a single mechanism, drying can be carried out without increasing the size of the device.

[0300] In a printing system having the above-described printing apparatus, the printing apparatus may include: a cleaning unit that uses a cleaning fluid to clean the conveyor belt; and a cleaning fluid storage unit that stores the cleaning fluid. When ink is ejected from the liquid jetting unit, a pretreatment agent is stored in the cleaning fluid storage unit, and pretreatment is performed by immersing the medium in the pretreatment agent stored in the cleaning fluid storage unit.

[0301] According to this configuration, by adding the pretreatment agent to the cleaning liquid storage unit, there is no need to set up a new place to store the pretreatment agent, which enables the printing system to be miniaturized.

[0302] In the above printing system, the cleaning fluid storage unit is capable of storing the cleaning fluid or the pretreatment agent, and includes a holding tank connected to the cleaning fluid storage unit, which is capable of holding the cleaning fluid or the pretreatment agent discharged from the cleaning fluid storage unit.

[0303] According to this configuration, since the cleaning fluid or pretreatment agent stored in the cleaning fluid storage section can be temporarily retained, the previously stored fluid will not be wasted when the fluid is replaced.

[0304] In a printing method of a printing apparatus, the printing apparatus includes: a conveyor belt having a support portion for supporting a medium, wherein the medium is conveyed by moving the support portion; a liquid jetting portion for jetting liquid onto the medium supported by the support portion; a cleaning portion for cleaning the conveyor belt using a cleaning fluid; a cleaning fluid storage portion for storing the cleaning fluid; and a dyeing portion for dyeing the medium by immersing it in a dyeing solution. The printing method of the printing apparatus includes: a step of jetting liquid from the liquid jetting portion; a step of storing the dyeing solution in the cleaning fluid storage portion; and a step of dyeing the medium with the dyeing solution.

[0305] According to this method, since dyeing and other printing can be performed using a single printing device, streaking is not generated on the dyed parts of the medium (e.g., the background). Therefore, high-quality printing with streaking suppressed is possible.

Claims

1. A printing device characterized by comprising: Possessing: a conveyance belt having a support section that supports a medium, and conveys the medium by moving the support section; a liquid injection section that injects a liquid toward the medium supported by the support section; a dyeing section that dyes the medium by immersing the medium in a dyeing liquid; a cleaning section that performs a cleaning operation on the conveyance belt using a cleaning liquid; and a cleaning liquid storage section that can store the cleaning liquid, the printing device combines dyeing in the dyeing section and injection in the liquid injection section to print the medium, when dyeing is performed by the dyeing section, the cleaning liquid storage section is used as the dyeing section by storing the dyeing liquid in the cleaning liquid storage section.

2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid injection section can inject at least one of a strike-off agent that strikes off a color of the medium or a resist agent that prevents coloring caused by dyeing.

3. The printing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a liquid storage section that can supply a liquid to the liquid injection section, the printing device uses the liquid stored in the liquid storage section as at least a part of the dyeing liquid.

4. The printing device according to claim 3, wherein the liquid storage section stores a plurality of colors of liquid, at least a part of the dyeing liquid is used by combining the plurality of colors of liquid.

5. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein liquid discharged as a maintenance operation from the liquid injection section is used as at least a part of the dyeing liquid.

6. A printing system characterized by, Possessing: the printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; and a drying mechanism that dries the medium printed by the liquid injection section and the medium dyed by the dyeing section.

7. A printing system, comprising: in the printing device according to claim 1, a cleaning section that performs a cleaning operation on the conveyance belt using a cleaning liquid; and a cleaning liquid storage section that stores the cleaning liquid, a pre-treatment agent is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section before the injection, a pre-treatment is performed by immersing the medium in the pre-treatment agent stored in the cleaning liquid storage section.

8. The printing system according to claim 7, wherein the cleaning liquid storage section can store the cleaning liquid or the dyeing liquid, the printing system comprises a holding tank that is connected to the cleaning liquid storage section and can hold the cleaning liquid or the dyeing liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage section.

9. A printing system characterized by, the printing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cleaning liquid storage section can store the cleaning liquid or the dyeing liquid, the printing system comprises a holding tank that is connected to the cleaning liquid storage section and can hold the cleaning liquid or the dyeing liquid stored in the cleaning liquid storage section.

10. A printing device characterized by comprising: Possessing: a conveyance belt having a support section that supports a medium, and conveys the medium by moving the support section; a liquid injection section that injects a liquid toward the medium supported by the support section; a dyeing section that dyes the medium by dripping a dyeing liquid; a cleaning section that performs a cleaning operation on the conveyance belt using a cleaning liquid; and a cleaning liquid storage section that can store the cleaning liquid, The printing device combines the dyeing in the dyeing section and the ejection in the liquid ejection section to print the medium, The cleaning liquid is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section when cleaning is performed by the cleaning section, and the dyeing liquid is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section when dyeing is performed by the dyeing section.

11. The printing device according to claim 10, wherein The dyeing section has a plurality of nozzles that drop the dyeing liquid, and the nozzles are arranged in a width direction of the medium.

12. The printing device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein The dyeing section is capable of dyeing according to print data and capable of dropping the dyeing liquid according to a position where the liquid is ejected by the liquid ejection section.

13. The printing device according to claim 10, wherein The liquid ejection section is capable of ejecting at least one of a strike-off agent that strikes off a color of the medium or a resist agent that prevents coloring caused by dyeing.

14. The printing device according to claim 10, wherein The printing device further has a liquid storage section that supplies the liquid to the liquid ejection section, The printing device uses the liquid stored in the liquid storage section as at least a part of the dyeing liquid.

15. The printing device according to claim 14, wherein The liquid storage section stores a plurality of colors of liquid, At least a part of the dyeing liquid is used by mixing the plurality of colors of liquid.

16. The printing device according to claim 10, wherein A liquid that is discharged from the liquid ejection section as a maintenance operation is used as at least a part of the dyeing liquid.

17. A printing system characterized by, The printing device according to any one of claims 10 to 16, The printing system has a drying mechanism that dries the medium on which the ink is ejected from the liquid ejection section and the medium that is dyed by the dyeing section.

18. A printing system characterized by, The printing system according to claim 1, A cleaning section that performs a cleaning operation on the conveyance belt using a cleaning liquid; and A cleaning liquid storage section that stores the cleaning liquid, The cleaning liquid storage section is capable of storing a pre-treatment agent, A pre-treatment is performed by immersing the medium in the pre-treatment agent stored in the cleaning liquid storage section.

19. The printing system according to claim 18, wherein The cleaning liquid storage section is capable of storing the cleaning liquid or the pre-treatment agent, The printing system has a holding tank that is connected to the cleaning liquid storage section and is capable of holding the cleaning liquid or the pre-treatment agent that is discharged from the cleaning liquid storage section.

20. A printing method of a printing apparatus, characterized by, The printing device has a conveyance belt that has a support section that supports a medium and conveys the medium by moving the support section, a liquid ejection section that ejects a liquid to the medium supported by the support section, a cleaning section that performs a cleaning operation on the conveyance belt using a cleaning liquid, a cleaning liquid storage section that stores the cleaning liquid, and a dyeing section that stores a dyeing liquid in the cleaning liquid storage section and performs dyeing by immersing the medium in the stored dyeing liquid, and a printing method of the printing device has a step of ejecting a liquid from the liquid ejection section; a step of performing a cleaning operation on the conveyance belt by the cleaning section using the cleaning liquid; a step of storing the dyeing liquid in the cleaning liquid storage section; and a step of dyeing a medium by the dyeing liquid, the cleaning liquid is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section when cleaning is performed by the cleaning section, and the dyeing liquid is stored in the cleaning liquid storage section when dyeing is performed by the dyeing section.

Images