Printing device, printing control method, and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a printing device, a printing control method, and a program, which can suppress the degradation of printing quality. According to the printing device (1), it includes: a print head (41) having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink and performing printing on a printing object; a print control unit (313) that controls the ejection operation of the print head (41) based on ejection specification data that specifies the ejection of ink. Regarding the application of the ejection specification data, it has at least a "first mode" and a "second mode", and the print control unit (313) switches between the "first mode" and the "second mode" based on the set printing density.

Description

[0001] [Cross - reference to related applications]

[0002] This application claims the priority and benefits of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021 - 207978, filed on December 22, 2021, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2022 - 099974, filed on June 22, 2022. The entire specifications, claims, and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021 - 207978 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2022 - 099974 are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a printing device, a printing control method, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0004] Conventionally, a printing device (nail printer) for printing nail designs on fingernails or the like has been known (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid - Open No. 2003 - 534083).

[0005] In such a printing device, for example, when printing on a fingernail, in order to prevent the finished product from being affected by the color of the nail, a base ink such as white is sometimes applied to the nail before printing the nail design to form a base layer.

[0006] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] In the case of forming the base layer, in order to ensure concealment, the application of the base ink is repeated multiple times.

[0008] However, depending on the method of applying the ink, there are problems such as insufficient concealment or obvious burrs, resulting in a decrease in printing quality. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above - mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a printing device, a printing control method, and a program capable of suppressing a decrease in printing quality.

[0010] Means for Solving the Technical Problems

[0011] To solve the above - mentioned technical problems, the printing device of the present disclosure includes:

[0012] A print head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid agent, which performs printing on a printing object; and

[0013] A control unit that controls the ejection operation of the print head based on ejection specification data that defines the ejection of the liquid agent.

[0014] Regarding the application of the ejection specification data, it has at least a first mode and a second mode.

[0015] The control unit switches between the first mode and the second mode based on the set printing density.

[0016]

Effects of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, a reduction in printing quality can be suppressed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the schematic structure of the printing apparatus in the present embodiment.

[0019] Figure 2 It is a main part block diagram showing the control structure of the printing apparatus in the present embodiment and a terminal apparatus cooperating therewith.

[0020] Figure 3 It shows Figure 1 the flowchart of the printing process in the printing apparatus.

[0021] Figure 4 It is a flowchart showing the process of switching the mask mode.

[0022] Figures 5A to 5D It is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the printing process based on the common mask mode.

[0023] Figures 6A to 6D It is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the printing process based on the individual mask mode.

[0024] Figure 7 It is a flowchart showing the ejection control based on the common mask mode.

[0025] Figure 8 It is a flowchart showing the ejection control in the common mask mode.

[0026] Figures 9A to 9C It is an explanatory diagram showing the ejection control in the case of using a common mask pattern, Figure 9A showing the case of head A, Figure 9B showing the case of head B, Figure 9C showing the case of head C.

[0027] Figure 10 It is an explanatory diagram explaining the case of printing with a printing density of 100% in the common mask mode.

[0028] Figure 11 It is an explanatory diagram explaining the case of printing with a printing density of 200% in the common mask mode.

[0029] Figure 12It is an explanatory diagram for the case of printing at a printing concentration of 300% in a common mask mode.

[0030] Figure 13 It is a flowchart showing ejection control based on a single mask mode.

[0031] Figure 14 It is a flowchart showing ejection control in a single mask mode.

[0032] Figure 15 It is an explanatory diagram showing ejection control in the case of using a single mask pattern, taking the case of head A as an example.

[0033] Figure 16 It is an explanatory diagram for the case of printing at a printing concentration of 100% in a single mask mode.

[0034] Figure 17 It is an explanatory diagram for the case of printing at a printing concentration of 200% in a single mask mode.

[0035] Figure 18 It is an explanatory diagram for the case of printing at a printing concentration of 300% in a single mask mode.

[0036] Figure 19 It is a flowchart showing the transparency level setting process.

[0037] Figure 20 It is a flowchart showing the automatic setting process of the transparency level.

[0038] Figure 21 It is a flowchart showing the automatic setting process of the transparency level.

[0039] Figure 22 It is a flowchart showing the nail color concentration setting process.

[0040] Figure 23 It is a diagram showing an example of a transparency table.

[0041] Figure 24 It is a diagram showing an example of a design correspondence table.

[0042] Figure 25 It is a diagram showing an example of a scene correspondence table.

[0043] Figure 26 It is a diagram showing an example of a nail color concentration determination table. Detailed implementation mode

[0044] Refer to Figures 1 to 26 , and an implementation mode of the printing device, printing control method, and program related to the present disclosure will be described.

[0045] In addition, various limitations which are technically preferable for carrying out the present disclosure are given in the embodiments described below, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.

[0046] The printing device of this embodiment performs printing by ejecting ink to a printing target area. For example, the printing target is a fingernail, and nail printing is performed with a predetermined area corresponding to the nail design of the fingernail as the printing target area.

[0047] In addition, the printing device in the present disclosure can also print parts other than those shown here, such as toenails of toes, etc. In addition, nail pieces, the surfaces of various accessories, parts similar to human nails other than human nails, various pieces or stickers, etc. can also be printed.

[0048] Figure 1 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance structure of the main parts of the printing device involved in the present disclosure. Figure 2 This is a main block diagram showing a main control structure of the printing apparatus in this embodiment.

[0049] In the following embodiments, up and down, left and right, and front and back refer to Figure 1 In addition, the X direction and the Y direction refer to Figure 1 The X direction is the main scanning direction, and the Y direction is the sub-scanning direction.

[0050] In addition, if Figure 2 As shown, the printing device 1 of this embodiment is configured to communicate with an external terminal device ( Figure 2 The terminal device 7 in the middle is able to communicate and cooperate with each other.

[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, the printing device 1 has a housing 2 which is substantially formed in a box shape.

[0052] The housing 2 is on the front side (front side of the printing device 1, Figure 1 The lower side portion of the printing device 1 is the front side, and has a shape extending in the left and right directions (lateral direction, Figure 1 The housing 2 has an opening 21 formed on the substantially entire surface (in the left-right direction, the X direction). In addition, a notch 22 is continuously formed above the opening 21 at a substantially central portion in the left-right direction of the housing 2. The notch 22 functions as an entrance and exit when a print head 41 described later is mounted and removed from the device.

[0053] On the upper surface (top plate) of the housing 2, there is provided an operation unit 12 of the printing device 1. The operation unit 12 is, for example, an operation button (power switch button) for turning on / off the power supply of the printing device 1. When the operation unit 12 is operated, an operation signal is output to the control device 30, and the control device 30 performs control corresponding to the operation signal to cause each part of the printing device 1 to operate. For example, when the operation unit 12 is a power switch button, the power supply of the printing device 1 is turned on / off according to the button operation.

[0054] Alternatively, instead of or together with the operation unit 12, each part of the printing device 1 may be caused to operate based on an operation signal input from an operation unit 71 of a terminal device 7 described later.

[0055] The external structure of the printing device 1, the shapes of the respective parts of the housing 2, the arrangement of the respective parts, etc. are not limited to the illustrated examples and can be appropriately set. For example, the operation unit 12 may be provided on the side surface, the back surface, etc. of the housing 2 instead of on the upper surface of the housing 2. In addition, various other operation buttons may be provided as the operation unit 12 on the housing 2, and various display units, indicators, etc. may also be provided.

[0056] The device main body 10 is accommodated inside the housing 2.

[0057] The device main body 10 includes a base 11, a finger holding part 6 mounted on the base 11, a printing part 40, etc.

[0058] The finger holding part 6 is disposed at a substantially central portion in the left - right direction (X direction) on the front side of the base 11 of the device, and holds a finger (both not shown) having a nail to be printed in the present embodiment at a position suitable for printing.

[0059] As Figure 1 shown, the finger holding part 6 has an opening 61 on the front side of the device. In addition, inside the finger holding part 6, there is provided a finger placing member 62. The finger placing member 62 pushes up and supports a finger inserted from the opening 61 from below, and includes, for example, a resin having flexibility.

[0060] On the upper surface on the inner side (rear side of the device) of the finger holding part 6, a window part (not shown) is formed to expose the nail part of the finger inserted from the opening 61 and held by the finger placing member 62. In addition, inside the finger holding part 6, there is provided a nail mounting part (not shown) for mounting the front end part of the nail. In addition, on the upper surface of the finger holding part 6 closer to the front side (front side of the device) than the window part 63, there is a finger pressing member (not shown) for defining the upper surface position of the finger.

[0061] The finger inserted into the finger holding part 6 has its nail tip mounted on the nail mounting part, and the upper surface of the finger is defined by the finger pressing member, so that it is held in a state of being disposed at an appropriate position suitable for printing by the print head 41.

[0062] Based on the print data generated in the print data generation unit 814 (refer to the control unit 81 of the terminal device 7 described later, Figure 2 ), the printing unit 40 performs printing on the printing target area (nail).

[0063] The printing unit 40 includes a print head 41 (refer to Figure 1 ) that is held by a holder 42 and performs a printing operation, and a head moving mechanism 49 (refer to Figure 2 ) for moving the print head 41 and the holder 42 that holds the print head 41, etc.

[0064] The print head 41 has a plurality of nozzles (for example, Figures 9A to 9C Six nozzles, nozzle n1 to nozzle n6, are illustrated for convenience in etc.) that eject a liquid agent (ink in the following embodiments), and perform printing on the nail as the printing target held in the finger holding part 6.

[0065] In the present embodiment, a base head 41a and a design head 41b are mounted as the print head 41. Hereinafter, when only "print head 41" is mentioned, it is assumed to include both the base head 41a and the design head 41b. In addition, the arrangement etc. of the base head 41a and the design head 41b are not limited to the illustrated example.

[0066] Before printing the design, the base head 41a prints a liquid agent as a base (hereinafter referred to as "base ink") in the printing target area of the print design (in the present embodiment, the inner area of the boundary line detected as the nail contour). The base ink printed by the base head 41a is preferably a liquid agent of white or a color close to white so that the color development of the ink is better when performing the printing of the design.

[0067] After the base printing by the base head 41a, the design head 41b prints a design in the printing target area where the base has been printed. For example, it can eject various color inks such as cyan (C: CYAN), magenta (M: MAGENTA), and yellow (Y: YELLOW) (hereinafter referred to as "color ink"). In addition, the types of color ink that the design head 41b can eject are not limited to this, and other color inks can also be ejected.

[0068] In the present embodiment, both the base head 41a and the design head 41b are inkjet heads of the inkjet method, that is, the surface facing the nail surface has a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink (for example, Figure 9AThe ink ejection surfaces (not shown) of the nozzles 1 to 6 etc. atomize the ink, and the ink droplets are directly sprayed onto the nail surface of the printing object (nail) as the surface to be printed from the ink ejection surface to perform printing.

[0069] In the present embodiment, an example of having a plurality of heads for substrates ( Figures 5A to 5C etc., are set as head A, head B, and head C.) is shown.

[0070] Here, the so-called plurality means that a plurality of Figure 1 independent heads such as the "substrate head 41a" shown in the figure can be provided, or for example Figure 1 a plurality of head functional parts (ejection functional parts having nozzles) can be provided in one head as a cartridge (cartridge) set as the "substrate head 41a".

[0071] By adopting a multi-head method in which a plurality of heads (for example, head A, head B, and head C) eject (spray) ink simultaneously, for example, the number of scans in the case of repeatedly coating the substrate ink can be reduced, and the printing time can be shortened.

[0072] The head moving mechanism 49 moves the print head 41, and includes an unillustrated X-direction moving mechanism for moving the print head 41 in the main scanning direction, that is, the left-right direction (X direction) of the apparatus, and an unillustrated Y-direction moving mechanism for moving the print head 41 in the sub-scanning direction, that is, the front-back direction (Y direction) of the apparatus.

[0073] The X-direction moving mechanism includes an X-direction moving motor 46, and the print head 41 is moved in the left-right direction (X direction) of the apparatus by driving the X-direction moving motor 46. In addition, the Y-direction moving mechanism includes a Y-direction moving motor 48, and the print head 41 is moved in the front-back direction (Y direction) of the apparatus by driving the Y-direction moving motor 48.

[0074] The operations of the X-direction moving motor 46 and Y-direction moving motor 48 of the head moving mechanism 49 and the print head 41 etc. are controlled by the print control unit 313 of the control device 30 (refer to Figure 2 ).

[0075] In addition, a photographing unit 50 is provided inside the upper surface (top plate) of the housing 2 and above the window portion of the finger holding portion 6. The photographing unit 50 photographs the nail (including the finger of the nail) exposed from the window portion, and acquires an image of the nail (including an image of the finger of the nail, hereinafter referred to as "nail image").

[0076] The photographing unit 50 includes, for example: a camera 51, a light source 52 including white LEDs etc. for illuminating the nail as the photographing object (refer to Figure 2 ).

[0077] The photographing unit 50 is connected to a photographing control unit 312 (refer to Figure 2 ) of the control device 30 described later and is controlled by the photographing control unit 312.

[0078] The nail image photographed by the camera 51 is acquired by the photographing control unit 312 and appropriately sent to the terminal device 7 that collaborates.

[0079] In addition, the image data of the image photographed by the photographing unit 50 may also be stored in a storage unit 32 described later.

[0080] In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the camera 51 and the light source 52 are fixedly arranged inside the top surface of the housing 2 and can be opposed to the nail (the surface of the nail) of the finger placed on the finger holding unit 6. However, the photographing unit 50 may be provided at a position where it can photograph the nail of the finger placed on the finger holding unit 6, and the specific configuration is not particularly limited.

[0081] For example, the photographing unit 50 may be configured to be movable in the XY direction by a head moving mechanism 49 that moves the print head 41.

[0082] The control device 30 mounted on the printing device 1 is a computer including a control unit 31 (refer to Figure 2 ) including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) not shown, and a storage unit 32 (refer to Figure 2 ) including a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) etc. (both not shown).

[0083] The storage unit 32 has a program storage area 321 that stores various programs and the like for operating the printing device 1. Various programs such as a printing program for performing printing processing are stored in the program storage area 321. The control unit 31 expands these programs in a work area of the RAM, for example, and the programs are executed in the control unit 31 to comprehensively control each part of the printing device 1.

[0084] Functionally observed, the control unit 31 includes a communication control unit 311, a photographing control unit 312, a printing control unit 313, etc. The functions of these communication control unit 311, photographing control unit 312, printing control unit 313, etc. are realized through the cooperation of the control unit 31 and the programs stored in the program storage area 321 of the storage unit 32.

[0085] The communication control unit 311 controls the operation of the communication unit 13.

[0086] The communication unit 13 includes a wireless communication module or the like capable of communicating with the communication unit 73 of the terminal device 7. The communication control unit 311 controls the operation of the communication unit 13 when transmitting and receiving various data between the printing device 1 and the terminal device 7.

[0087] The printing device 1 of the present embodiment cooperates with the terminal device 7 described later to perform nail design (hereinafter simply referred to as "design"). For example, design data for nail printing is stored on the terminal device 7 side. The communication control unit 311 appropriately controls communication based on the communication unit 13 and acquires the design data from the terminal device 7 side via the communication unit 13.

[0088] In addition, as will be described later, the image acquired by the imaging unit 50 of the printing device 1 is appropriately transmitted to the terminal device 7. The control unit 81 (nail information detection unit 813 described later) of the terminal device 7 detects various nail information based on the captured image. Further, in the control unit 81 (printing data generation unit 814 described later) of the terminal device 7, printing data is generated based on the nail information. Various information detected on the terminal device 7 side, generated printing data, etc. are sent from the terminal device 7 to the printing device 1 via the communication units 13 and 73.

[0089] Communication between the printing device 1 and the terminal device 7 can be communication using a network line such as the Internet, or wireless communication based on a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi. When communicating via a network, the network used in the communication can be a network using any line. In addition, the communication between the printing device 1 and the terminal device 7 is not limited to wireless, and can also be configured to be able to transmit and receive various data between the two through a wired connection.

[0090] In addition, the communication unit 13 only needs to be able to communicate with the terminal device 7, and a standard consistent with the communication standard of the communication unit 73 of the terminal device 7 can be applied.

[0091] The shooting control unit 312 controls the camera 51 and the light source 52 of the shooting unit 50, and the camera 51 shoots an image of the finger (nail image) including the nail of the finger placed on the finger holding unit 6.

[0092] The image (nail image) of the nail acquired by the imaging unit 50 is sent to the imaging control unit 312, and the imaging control unit 312 acquires the data of the nail image. In addition, the imaging control unit 312 may store the nail image in the storage unit 32.

[0093] The printing control unit 313 controls the printing unit 40 based on the printing data generated by the printing data generation unit 814 described later, so as to perform printing on the printing target area (such as the inner area of the nail contour) of the nail to be printed.

[0094] Specifically, the printing control unit 313 controls by outputting a control signal to the printing unit 40 based on the printing data, so that the print head 41 is moved by the X-direction movement motor 46 and the Y-direction movement motor 48, and ink is ejected from any of the multiple nozzles (nozzles n1 to n6 in the illustrated example) of the print head 41 to each position of the printing target area corresponding to the nail to be printed, thereby performing printing on the printing target area.

[0095] In particular, the printing control unit 313 of the present embodiment controls the ejection operation of the print head 41 that has multiple nozzles for ejecting a liquid agent (ink) and performs printing on the nail to be printed based on the "ejection specification data" that specifies the ejection of the liquid agent (ink). In addition, in the present embodiment, regarding the application of the "ejection specification data", at least the "first mode" and the "second mode" are prepared, and the printing control unit 313 switches between the "first mode" and the "second mode" based on the "set ejection amount". In addition, the details of the head ejection control performed by the printing control unit 313 will be described later.

[0096] In addition, as described above, the printing device 1 of the present embodiment cooperates with the terminal device 7 to perform printing on the nail.

[0097] The terminal device 7 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a mobile phone. In addition, the terminal device 7 is not limited to a mobile phone. For example, it may also be a tablet personal computer (hereinafter referred to as "PC"), a notebook PC, a fixed PC, a game terminal device, etc.

[0098] As Figure 2 shown, the terminal device 7 includes an operation unit 71, a display unit 72, a communication unit 73, a control device 80, etc.

[0099] The operation unit 71 can perform various inputs / settings, etc. according to the user's operations. For example, it is a touch panel integrally provided on the surface of the display unit 72. When the operation unit 71 is operated, an input signal corresponding to the operation is sent to the control unit 81.

[0100] In the touch panel configured as the display unit 72, various operation screens are displayed based on the control of the display control unit 812 described later, and the user can perform various input / setting operations by touching the touch panel.

[0101] In addition, the operation unit 71 for performing various operations such as input / settings is not limited to the case of a touch panel. For example, various operation buttons, keyboards, pointing devices, etc. can also be set as the operation unit 71.

[0102] In the present embodiment, the user operates the operation unit 71 to output various instructions such as a print start from the terminal device 7 to the printing device 1, and the terminal device 7 also functions as an operation unit of the printing device 1.

[0103] In addition, by operating the operation unit 71, the user can select a nail design (pattern), etc. for nail printing.

[0104] The display unit 72 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display), an organic electroluminescent display, other flat panel displays, etc.

[0105] In addition, as described above, a touch panel for performing various inputs can also be integrally formed on the surface of the display unit 72. In this case, the touch panel functions as the operation unit 71.

[0106] In the present embodiment, the display unit 72 can display a nail design input / selected by the user from the operation unit 71, various guidance screens, warning display screens, etc.

[0107] The communication unit 73 is configured to be able to communicate with the communication unit 13 of the printing device 1.

[0108] The communication between the printing device 1 and the terminal device 7 can be either a wireless connection method or a wired connection method as described above, and the specific method is not limited. It is only necessary that the communication unit 73 can communicate with the printing device 1, and a standard consistent with the communication standard of the communication unit 13 of the printing device 1 can be applied.

[0109] The communication unit 73 is connected to a communication control unit 811 (refer to Figure 2 ) of a control device 80 described later, and is controlled by the communication control unit 811.

[0110] As Figure 2 shown, the control device 80 of the terminal device 7 in the present embodiment is a computer, and this computer includes: a control unit 81 including at least one processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) not shown, and a storage unit 82 as at least one memory including a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) not shown.

[0111] The storage unit 82 stores various programs, various data, etc. for operating each part of the terminal device 7.

[0112] Specifically, in the ROM etc. of the present embodiment, in addition to storing the operation program 821a for comprehensively controlling each part of the terminal device 7, various programs such as a nail printing application program 821b (hereinafter referred to as "nail printing AP") for performing nail printing using the printing device 1 are also stored. The control unit 81 expands these programs in the working area of the RAM, for example, and the programs are executed in the control unit 81 to comprehensively control each part of the terminal device 7.

[0113] In addition, in the storage unit 82 of the present embodiment, there are provided a design storage area 822 for storing nail design (design) data, a nail information storage area 823, etc. The nail information storage area 823 stores various information related to the nails detected by the nail information detection unit 813 described later.

[0114] In addition, the nail design (design) stored in the design storage area 822 may be an existing design prepared in advance or a design created by the user himself / herself. Further, when the terminal device 7 can be connected to various networks, it is also possible to take in a nail design (design) stored in an unillustrated server device etc. that can be network-connected.

[0115] When the control unit 81 of the terminal device 7 is observed functionally, it includes a communication control unit 811, a display control unit 812, a nail information detection unit 813, a print data generation unit 814, etc. The functions of these communication control unit 811, display control unit 812, nail information detection unit 813, print data generation unit 814, etc. are realized by the cooperation of the CPU of the control unit 81 and the programs stored in the ROM of the storage unit 82. In addition, the functions of the control unit 81 of the terminal device 7 are not limited to this, and it may also include various other functional units.

[0116] The communication control unit 811 controls the operation of the communication unit 73.

[0117] In addition, the display control unit 812 controls the display unit 72 to cause the display unit 72 to display various display screens.

[0118] The nail information detection unit 813 detects nail information related to the nails based on the images of the nails (nail images) acquired by the imaging control unit 312 of the printing device 1. In the present embodiment, the nail information detection unit 813 detects the nail contour information (nail contour) of the area of the nails that delineates the nails as nail information. The inner area of the nail contour detected by the nail information detection unit 813 becomes the printing target area to be printed by the printing device 1.

[0119] In addition, the nail information detected by the nail information detection unit 813 is not limited to this.

[0120] The nail information detected by the nail information detection unit 813 may include, for example, the inclination angle of the surface of the nail with respect to the XY plane (nail inclination angle, nail curvature), etc. In addition, when the height of the nail (the position in the vertical direction of the nail) can be obtained from an image captured by the imaging device 51 or the like, the height of the nail may also be included in the nail information.

[0121] Various information detected by the nail information detection unit 813 is stored in the nail information storage area 823. In addition, in the present embodiment, various information detected by the nail information detection unit 813 may also be sent to the printing device 1. Further, various processes based on the nail information may be performed on the printing device 1 side.

[0122] The print data generation unit 814 generates print data by combining a desired design with the nail area detected by the nail information detection unit 813.

[0123] For example, the print data generation unit 814 cuts out the image data of the nail design (design) selected by the user, performs appropriate enlargement / reduction, adjustment of configuration, etc., and matches it to the nail area detected from the nail image to generate print data for the design. When the nail information detected by the nail information detection unit 813 includes the nail inclination angle, nail curvature, etc., surface correction or the like may be appropriately performed according to this information.

[0124] Next, the operation of the printing device 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

[0125] Figure 3 It is a flowchart showing the flow of the printing process executed by the printing device 1. Figure 3 The printing process shown is executed, for example, when the power of the printing device 1 is turned on, through Figure 2 the cooperation of the control unit 31 shown and the program stored in the program storage area 321 of the storage unit 32.

[0126] First, the control unit 31 causes the user to select a nail design to be printed on the nail to be printed through the terminal device 7 (step S1).

[0127] For example, the control unit 31 gives an instruction to the terminal device 7 via the communication unit 13 through the communication control unit 311 to display a selection screen for nail designs. If the terminal device 7 receives an instruction for selecting a nail design from the printing device 1 through the communication unit 73, the display control unit 812 causes the display unit 72 to display a selection screen for nail designs stored in the design storage area 822. If a user selects a nail design by operating the operation unit 71, the image data of the selected nail design is read from the design storage area 822 into the RAM.

[0128] Next, the control unit 31 places the finger corresponding to the nail to be printed on the finger holding unit 6, and the imaging control unit 312 causes the imaging unit 50 to perform imaging to obtain a nail image (step S2).

[0129] For example, the control unit 31 gives an instruction to the terminal device 7 via the communication unit 13 through the communication control unit 311 to display a notification screen that prompts the placement of the finger corresponding to the nail to be printed on the finger holding unit 6. If the terminal device 7 receives an instruction from the printing device 1 through the communication unit 73, the display control unit 812 causes the display unit 72 to display a notification screen that prompts the placement of the finger corresponding to the nail to be printed on the finger holding unit 6 and instructs the start of printing. If the start of printing is instructed through the operation unit 71, the communication control unit 811 of the control unit 81 sends a printing start instruction to the printing device 1 through the communication unit 73.

[0130] In the printing device 1, if a finger is placed on the finger holding unit 6 and a printing start instruction is received through the communication unit 13, the control unit 31 causes the imaging unit 50 to perform imaging through the imaging control unit 312 to obtain a nail image.

[0131] Next, the control unit 31 sends the image data of the nail image obtained by the imaging unit 50 to the terminal device 7 via the communication unit 13 through the communication control unit 311, causing the terminal device 7 to obtain nail information from the nail image (step S3), and instructs the generation of printing data (step S4).

[0132] If the terminal device 7 receives a nail image from the printing device 1 through the communication unit 73, the nail information detection unit 813 of the control unit 81 detects the contour shape (nail contour) of the nail from the nail image, and takes the inner area of the nail contour as the nail area. Then, based on the obtained nail information (such as the nail contour), the printing data generation unit 814 generates printing data.

[0133] Specifically, the print data generation unit 814 generates print data for design, which is print data as follows: the image data of the nail design is cut to match the contour shape of the nail to be printed, appropriately enlarged or reduced, etc., the print object area corresponding to the nail to be printed is determined, and the color to be ejected at each position (each pixel position) of the print object area is indicated. In addition, the nail design may also be to print the entire nail. In this case, the print object area is equal to the inner area of the nail contour. Furthermore, it is also possible to print a part of the nail like a French manicure. In this case, the print object area is the nail design area that matches the nail. In addition, the print data generation unit 814 generates print data for the base, which indicates printing of the base ink for the entire print object area.

[0134] The print data generated by the print data generation unit 814 is sent to the printing device 1 via the communication unit 73 by the communication control unit 811.

[0135] In the printing device 1, if the print data is received by the communication unit 13, the control unit 31 controls the X-direction movement motor 46, the Y-direction movement motor 48, and the base head 41a based on the print data for the base, and performs base printing on the print object area of the nail to be printed placed on the finger holding unit 6 (step S5).

[0136] Next, the control unit 31 controls the X-direction movement motor 46, the Y-direction movement motor 48, and the design head 41b based on the print data for design, and performs printing of the nail design on the print object area of the nail to be printed placed on the finger holding unit 6 (step S6), and ends the printing process.

[0137] Here, in the base printing in step S5, in order to ensure the concealment (shielding property) of the base, it is preferable to repeatedly apply the base ink so that the printing density is thick. In addition, the printing density is defined by the ejection amount (coating amount) of the liquid agent (ink) from the print head 41 (base head 41a). Depending on the device and the type of liquid agent, there is a limit to the amount of ink that can be repeatedly applied (that can be received on the nail surface). For example, when the printing density in the state where one-time printing for the entire printing area is completed is set to 100%, this embodiment shows an example where the upper limit of the printing density is 300%.

[0138] In addition, in the present embodiment, the ejection amount when the ink having a whiteness within a reference range is ejected once over the entire printing target area is defined as the ejection amount at a printing density of 100%. Thus, a printing density of 300% means the density achieved by ejecting the ink three times over the entire printing target area. In addition, the "whiteness within the reference range" means the degree of the concentration of white in the case where the white component contained in the ink is in a stable dispersed state.

[0139] In the present embodiment, in order to reduce the number of scans for repeated coating, as described above, a plurality of heads (in the embodiment, three heads, head A, head B, and head C) are prepared as the base head 41a, and base printing is performed in a multi-head manner.

[0140] Figure 4 shows an overview of the process of base printing in the present embodiment.

[0141] First, the density to be achieved during printing (printing density) is set (step S11). The printing density, that is, the density required for the base, varies depending on the relationship with the state of the finished product when color printing (i.e., printing based on the design of the design head 41b) is performed. In addition, when setting the printing density, the color of the nail (surface nail, bottom nail) to which the base is applied can also be considered. If the type (mode) of printing such as "base printing" is selected for the printing density, it can be automatically set to a default value. In addition, the user can also set a preferred density by inputting it.

[0142] In general, the hiding power of base inks such as white ink is low. When the base ink is applied by an inkjet method, sufficient hiding power may not be obtained even when 100% full-surface printing is performed. Therefore, in order to ensure the color development property of the color ink, repeated coating is sometimes performed to perform printing at a high density such as 200% or 300%. For example, when designing a color pattern to be printed, when printing the base at a sufficiently high density to improve the hiding power, the color development of the color ink becomes better, and a clear finished product design can be printed. In addition, when the hiding power is high, it is not affected by the color of the surface nail or the like. On the other hand, in the case of a base where the surface nail is slightly visible through, a natural and transparent finished product is obtained, and there are also cases where a base with a lighter density is preferred depending on the design.

[0143] Therefore, the printing density can be set corresponding to each design. When the printing density is determined corresponding to each design, if a design is selected, the printing density is also automatically set. In addition, in this case, the user can arbitrarily change the set value according to their preferences or the like.

[0144] Next, the control unit 31 sets "the density for each head" based on "the set value of the printing density" (step S12).

[0145] In the present embodiment, as an example, a case where the "set value of the printing density" required to form the base of the desired shading is evenly shared among three heads (heads A, B, and C in the embodiment) will be described.

[0146] In particular, in the case where a single head has multiple head functional parts (spray functional parts having nozzles) as an ink cartridge, if there is a deviation in the remaining ink amount among the head functional parts, etc., when the remaining ink amount in a part of the head functional parts decreases, the entire ink cartridge needs to be replaced, and the cost performance deteriorates. Regarding this point, when the required printing density is evenly distributed to each head (heads A, B, and C), in addition to no deviation in the remaining ink amount for each head, there is also no deviation in the deterioration of each head used, and it is excellent in terms of maintainability, etc., so it is preferred.

[0147] The "set value of the density for each head" is a value obtained by dividing the set value of the printing density by the number of heads. For example, when the "set value of the printing density" is "270%", the "density for each head" is "90%", which is obtained by dividing 270% by 3.

[0148] In addition, in the present embodiment, a threshold value related to "the set ejection amount" (the "threshold value of the pre-set density"), that is, the "mask mode switching value", is stored in the storage unit 32 or the like. The control unit 31 reads out this "mask mode switching value" (the threshold value of "the set ejection amount", the "threshold value of the pre-set density") and compares it with the "set value of the density for each head" (step S13).

[0149] The control of the ejection operation of the print head 41 in the present embodiment is based on "ejection specification data" (shingling data for dispersing the nozzles that eject ink for printing, also hereinafter referred to as "mask pattern") that defines whether a liquid agent (ink) is ejected from the print head 41 at each position of the printing object area (the area inside the nail contour, etc.) of the nail as the printing object. However, regarding the application of the "ejection specification data" during base printing, the present embodiment has at least a "first mode" and a "second mode".

[0150] Among them, the "first mode" is to perform ejection control by applying a common "mask pattern" ("ejection specification data") to all heads (heads A, B, and C) that share the printing of the base. Hereinafter, the "first mode" will also be referred to as the "common mask mode" (see Figure 4etc.). In contrast, in the "second mode", different (separate) "mask patterns" ("ejected specified data") are applied to the heads (head A, head B, head C) that share the substrate for ejection control. Hereinafter, the "second mode" will also be referred to as the "separate mask mode" (see Figure 4 etc.).

[0151] As will be described in detail later, the "first mode" ("common mask mode") is an effective mode when the printing concentration (concentration per head) is relatively low, and the "second mode" ("separate mask mode") is an effective mode when the printing concentration (concentration per head) is relatively high.

[0152] The "mask mode switching value" (threshold of the "set ejection amount", "predetermined concentration threshold") is a threshold for determining which mode (mask mode) among the "first mode" and the "second mode" is used for printing.

[0153] The "mask mode switching value" can be appropriately set to a certain degree. For example, it is set to about "40%", and the mask mode for applying the "mask pattern" ("ejected specified data") is switched as follows: when the "set value of the concentration per head" is lower than "40%", the "mask pattern" ("ejected specified data") is applied in the "first mode" ("common mask mode"); for example, when the "set value of the concentration per head" is higher than "40%", the "mask pattern" ("ejected specified data") is applied in the "second mode" ("separate mask mode").

[0154] In addition, in Figure 4 etc., in the switching determination of the application mode of the "mask pattern" ("ejected specified data"), an example is given where the "mask mode switching value" (threshold of the "set ejection amount", "predetermined concentration threshold") is compared with the "set value of the concentration per head". However, what can also be compared with the "mask mode switching value" (threshold of the "set ejection amount", "predetermined concentration threshold") is the "set value of the printing concentration" set in step S12. In this case, the "mask mode switching value" (threshold of the "set ejection amount", "predetermined concentration threshold") to be compared is also changed to the value before dividing by the number of heads (in the above example, it is "120%") for use.

[0155] Figures 5A to 5D is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the case of applying the "mask pattern" ("ejected specified data") in the "first mode" ("common mask mode"). Figures 6A to 6D2 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a case where the “mask pattern” (“specified ejection data”) is applied in the “second mode” (“single mask mode”).

[0156] in addition, Figure 5A as well as Figure 6A , for the sake of explanation, shows a simplified example of a mask pattern of 3 pixels x 3 pixels (overlap mask). In addition, the numerical value in the mask pattern indicates the position of the pixel corresponding to the position, and is used as a threshold value for determining which pixel is to eject ink or not eject ink.

[0157] The "mask pattern" (overlap mask) is originally used to reduce band noise, etc. All thresholds (1 to 9 in the example) are evenly arranged. For example, Figure 5A as well as Figure 6A As shown in the example, if it is a case of a 3 pixel × 3 pixel mask, the numbers from 1 to 9 (referred to as "mask thresholds") are arranged in the mask pattern without omission or duplication. In addition, it is preferable that the same numerical values ​​("mask thresholds") are arranged discontinuously at adjacent positions. Thus, when the "mask pattern" is applied for ejection control, control can be performed so that the ink ejection is dispersed, and a printing result with fewer burrs can be obtained.

[0158] The type of mask is not particularly limited, but for example, a dither mask used in halftone processing based on a dither method (a mask using a dither matrix such as a blue noise mask or a green noise mask) can be used as a "mask pattern" (overlay mask).

[0159] Figures 5A to 5D as well as Figures 6A to 6D In the example shown, head A is responsible for pixels with mask thresholds 1, 4, and 7 (i.e., the base pixels originally scheduled to be responsible for are pixels with mask thresholds 1, 4, and 7), head B is responsible for pixels with mask thresholds 2, 5, and 8 (i.e., the base pixels originally scheduled to be responsible for are pixels with mask thresholds 2, 5, and 8), and head C is responsible for pixels with mask thresholds 3, 6, and 9 (i.e., the base pixels originally scheduled to be responsible for are pixels with mask thresholds 3, 6, and 9). In addition, Figure 5B as well as Figure 6B Indicates the printing density from 0 to 100%. Figure 5C as well as Figure 6C Indicates the case of a printing density of 200%. Figure 5D as well as Figure 6D This shows the case where the printing density is 300%.

[0160] For example, if the "mask pattern" ("specified ejection data") is applied in the "first mode" ("common mask mode"), when the printing density is 0 to 100%, Figure 5BAs shown, ink is ejected from the head A at pixels 1, 4, and 7, from the head B at pixels 2, 5, and 8, and from the head C at pixels 3, 6, and 9. Each head performs ejection control to print at the reference pixels that it is originally scheduled to handle. As a result, a state is achieved in which the three heads (head A, head B, and head C) eject ink evenly once for all pixels from 1 to 9.

[0161] In addition, when the printing density is up to 200%, as Figure 5C shown, each head performs ejection control so that: in addition to the ejection positions (positions corresponding to the reference pixels of each head) where ink is ejected when the printing density is 0 to 100%, ink is also ejected from the head A at pixels 3, 6, and 9, from the head B at pixels 1, 4, and 7, and from the head C at pixels 2, 5, and 8. As a result, a state is achieved in which the three heads (head A, head B, and head C) eject ink evenly twice for all pixels from 1 to 9.

[0162] Furthermore, when the printing density is up to 300%, each head performs ejection control so that: in addition to the ejection positions (positions corresponding to the reference pixels of each head) where ink is ejected when the printing density is 0 to 100% and the ejection positions where ink is ejected when the printing density is up to 200%, ink is also ejected from the head A at pixels 2, 5, and 8, from the head B at pixels 3, 6, and 9, and from the head C at pixels 1, 4, and 7. As a result, a state is achieved in which the three heads (head A, head B, and head C) eject ink evenly three times for all pixels from 1 to 9.

[0163] In this way, in the case of the "first mode" ("common mask mode"), since all the heads (head A, head B, and head C) sharing the printing perform ejection control based on the same mask pattern, even in the case of low-density printing with a printing density of 0 to 100% where printing is performed only once as a whole, a printing result without any missed printing positions and without burrs is obtained.

[0164] Among them, in the case of high-density printing where each head is at 100% and the whole is 300%, for example Figure 5DAs in the part indicated by the hollow arrow "1" in the middle, ink is continuously ejected from all the heads (head A, head B, head C) at the same pixel. Heads A, B, and C are arranged and configured in the X direction with little space in between. Therefore, if ink is continuously ejected from each head at the same pixel, for example, ink ejected from head A adheres to the nail to be printed. However, during the period when the ink is not yet stable, ink is successively ejected from the subsequent heads B and C and adheres to the same position. As a result, it is easy to generate agglutination where the inks adhere to each other. In addition, there are problems such as the previously adhered ink being pulled by the subsequently adhered ink and deviating from the position where it should be fixed, and there is a possibility that the printing is disrupted and a high-quality printing result cannot be obtained.

[0165] In contrast, as Figures 6B to 6D shown, if the "mask pattern" ("ejection specified data") is applied in the "second mode" ("single mask mode"), ejection control is performed so that: in head A, mask A is applied to eject ink at the pixels of mask thresholds 1, 4, and 7 (reference pixels of head A), in head B, mask B is applied to eject ink at the pixels of mask thresholds 2, 5, and 8 (reference pixels of head B), and in head C, mask C is applied to eject ink at the pixels of mask thresholds 3, 6, and 9 (reference pixels of head C). In this way, similar to the Figures 5B to 5D case, even when ejection control based on the mask pattern is performed, since the mask patterns applied to each head (head A, head B, head C) are different, ink is repeatedly ejected from each head (head A, head B, head C) at the same pixel, or conversely, there are pixels (non-adhesion pixels) from which no ink is ejected.

[0166] This is particularly significant in the case of low concentrations where the printing concentration is 0 to 100%, but even in the case where the printing concentration reaches 200%, the printing of all pixels is still not uniform.

[0167] In addition, in actual printing, the "mask pattern" ("overlay mask") is used by being attached over a relatively large range of about 256 pixels × 256 pixels, and the numbers 1 to 9 ("mask thresholds") that make up the "mask pattern" are also well dispersed over the entire printing object area. Therefore, the possibility of generating extremely repetitive and continuous non-adhesion pixels as shown in the figure example is low, but particularly for low concentrations, there is a risk of a spiky printing result.

[0168] Among them, in the case of the "second mode" ("single mask mode"), when performing high-concentration printing where each of all the heads is 100% and the overall is 300%, for example Figure 6DAs shown by the part indicated by the hollow arrow "2" in the middle, ink is ejected from three heads (head A, head B, and head C) at different timings, which can avoid printing defects such as ink aggregation. In addition, regarding the details of the staggered ejection timings of the ink attached at the same position in the case of the "second mode" ("single mask mode"), it will be described later using Figure 18 and so on.

[0169] In this way, the "first mode" ("common mask mode") is an effective mode for printing at a low concentration where the printing concentration (concentration of each head) is relatively low, and the "second mode" ("single mask mode") is an effective mode for printing at a high concentration where the printing concentration (concentration of each head) is relatively high.

[0170] Therefore, in the present embodiment, according to the set value of the concentration required for printing (printing concentration, concentration of each head derived from the printing concentration), the control unit 31 switches the mask mode so that: if the set value is a low concentration compared to the "mask mode switching value" (threshold of the "set ejection amount", threshold of the "predetermined concentration"), the "first mode" ("common mask mode") is applied, and if the set value is a high concentration compared to the "mask mode switching value" (threshold of the "set ejection amount", threshold of the "predetermined concentration"), the "second mode" ("single mask mode") is applied.

[0171] In addition, for the processing in the case where the "set value of the printing concentration", the "set value of the concentration of each head" and the "mask mode switching value" (threshold of the "set ejection amount", threshold of the "predetermined concentration") are exactly the same, either the "first mode" ("common mask mode") or the "second mode" ("single mask mode") can be applied.

[0172] First, with reference to Figures 7 to 12 and so on, the case where the "first mode" ("common mask mode") is applied to the ejection control of the print heads 41 ( Figures 5A to 5D and Figures 6A to 6D etc. are head A, head B, and head C) will be described.

[0173] As Figure 7 shown, in this case, a common mask pattern is set for each print head 41 responsible for printing (head A, head B, and head C in the embodiment) (step S21).

[0174] For example Figures 9A to 9C schematically shows the case where four 3-pixel × 3-pixel mask patterns are tiled and printed in a 6-pixel × 6-pixel printing object area (range of the image to be printed) by three heads (head A, head B, and head C). In addition, in Figures 9A to 9CIn the example shown in etc., it is illustrated that each head has 6 nozzles (nozzles n1 to n6), performs main scanning in the X direction, and performs printing.

[0175] And, a "mask threshold" for each pixel is obtained from a mask pattern (overlay mask) tiled within the range of the image to be printed (step S22).

[0176] In addition, Figures 9A to 9C In etc., the values "1" to "9" assigned in the mask pattern represent the so-called "mask threshold" here.

[0177] In addition, in each head, which value part of the printing is made effective varies according to the printing density setting value.

[0178] The control unit 31 first determines whether the printing density setting value is greater than 200% (step S23). When the printing density setting value is greater than 200% (step S23: Yes), the result obtained by adding "2" to the mask threshold for each pixel is set as the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel (step S24).

[0179] Then, using this ejection presence / absence determination value, the presence / absence of ejection for each of the 3 heads (head A, head B, head C) is set (step S25).

[0180] After the settings of step S24 and step S25 are performed, and when the printing density setting value is not greater than 200% (step S23: No), the control unit 31 further determines whether the printing density setting value is greater than 100% (step S26). When the printing density setting value is greater than 100% (step S26: Yes), the result obtained by adding "1" to the mask threshold for each pixel is set as the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel (step S27).

[0181] Then, using this ejection presence / absence determination value, the presence / absence of ejection for each of the 3 heads (head A, head B, head C) is set (step S28).

[0182] After the settings of step S27 and step S28 are performed, and when the printing density setting value is not greater than 100% (step S26: No), the setting of mask threshold for each pixel = ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel is performed (step S29).

[0183] Then, using this ejection presence / absence determination value, the presence / absence of ejection for each of the 3 heads (head A, head B, head C) is set (step S30).

[0184] That is to say, in the example of this embodiment, when the printing concentration set value is greater than 200%, in steps S24, S27, and S29, the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel is set, and the results obtained by adding "2" to the mask threshold, adding "1" to the mask threshold, and adding nothing to the mask threshold are all set as the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel.

[0185] In addition, when the printing concentration set value is greater than 100%, in step S24, the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel is not set, and in steps S27 and S29, the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel is set, and the results obtained by adding "1" to the mask threshold and adding nothing to the mask threshold are set as the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel.

[0186] Furthermore, when the printing concentration set value is not greater than 100%, in steps S24 and S27, the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel is not set, and in step S29, the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel is set, and the result of adding nothing to the mask threshold is set as the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel.

[0187] In addition, in the determination of step S23, when the printing concentration set value is exactly 200%, and in the determination of step S26, when the printing concentration set value is exactly 100%, the processing can be performed as a case greater than 200% and 100%, or can be performed as a case less than 200% and 100%.

[0188] In addition, Figure 7 The ejection presence / absence setting for each head shown in steps S25, S28, and S30 in

[0189] First, as shown in Figure 8 , the control unit 31 divides the ejection presence / absence determination value by the number of printing heads 41 (heads A, B, and C in the embodiment) responsible for printing, which is 3, obtains the remainder, and determines whether the remainder is "1" (step S41).

[0190] Then, when the remainder is "1" (step S41: yes), head A is set to have ejection (step S42).

[0191] On the other hand, when the remainder is not "1" (step S41: no), the control unit 31 further determines whether the remainder is "2" (step S43).

[0192] Then, when the remainder is "2" (step S43: yes), head B is set to have ejection (step S44).

[0193] Furthermore, when the remainder is neither “2” nor “1” (step S43: No), the control unit 31 determines that the remainder is “0” (step S45). In this case, the head C is set to have ejection (step S46).

[0194] As described above, for example, when the printing density set value exceeds 200%, the results obtained by adding “2” to the mask thresholds 1 to 9, the results obtained by adding “1” to the mask thresholds 1 to 9, and the results obtained by adding nothing to the mask thresholds 1 to 9 are all set as the ejection determination values for each pixel (refer to Figure 7 steps S24, S27, and S29 in

[0195] For example, first, in Figure 7 step S29 of

[0196] Therefore, in the ejection determination for each head corresponding to step S30 in Figure 7 when the ejection determination values are 1, 4, 7 (mask thresholds 1, 4, 7), the determination is “Yes” (refer to Figure 8 step S41 in Figure 8 When the printing density set value is not greater than 100%, ejection control is performed so that printing by head A is effective at positions (pixels) corresponding to the portions of the tiled mask pattern equivalent to the mask thresholds 1, 4, 7.

[0197] In contrast, in Figure 7 step S27 of

[0198] Therefore, in the ejection determination for each head corresponding to step S28 in Figure 7 when the ejection determination values are 2, 5, 8 (mask thresholds 1, 4, 7), the determination of “Yes” is Figure 8 step S43 in Figure 8 When the printing density set value is greater than 100%, ejection control is performed so that printing by head B is effective at positions (pixels) corresponding to the portions of the tiled mask pattern equivalent to the mask thresholds 1, 4, 7.

[0199] In addition, in Figure 7 step S24 of

[0200] Therefore, in the ejection determination for each head corresponding to step S25 in Figure 7 when corresponding to Figure 8During the setting of ink ejection for each head, when the ink ejection presence / absence setting values are 3, 6, 9 (mask thresholds 1, 4, 7), the judgment is "Yes". Figure 8 In step S45, when the printing density setting value is greater than 200%, ink ejection control is performed so that printing based on head C is effective for positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts equivalent to mask thresholds 1, 4, 7 in the tiled mask pattern.

[0201] When the printing density setting value is greater than 200%, the results obtained by adding "2" to the mask threshold, the results obtained by adding "1" to the mask threshold, and the results obtained by adding nothing to the mask threshold are all set as the ink ejection presence / absence determination values for each pixel. Therefore, in Figure 8 the setting of ink ejection presence / absence for each head as shown, it is set that ink is ejected from all heads (head A, head B, head C) at positions corresponding to mask thresholds 1, 4, 7.

[0202] Similarly, regarding mask thresholds 2, 5, 8, in the setting of ink ejection presence / absence for each head corresponding to the case in Figure 7 step S30, when the judgment in step S43 is "Yes" and the printing density setting value is not greater than 100%, printing based on head B is effective for positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts equivalent to mask thresholds 2, 5, 8. In the setting of ink ejection presence / absence for each head corresponding to the case in Figure 8 step S28, when the judgment in step S45 is "Yes" and the printing density setting value is greater than 100%, printing based on head C is effective for positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts equivalent to mask thresholds 2, 5, 8. In the setting of ink ejection presence / absence for each head corresponding to the case in Figure 7 step S25, when the judgment in step S41 is "Yes" and the printing density setting value is greater than 200%, printing based on head A is effective for positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts equivalent to mask thresholds 2, 5, 8. Figure 8 Therefore, when the printing density setting value is greater than 200%, for positions corresponding to mask thresholds 2, 5, 8, ink is also ejected from all heads (head A, head B, head C). Figure 7 Regarding mask thresholds 3, 6, 9, when the printing density setting value is not greater than 100%, Figure 8 the judgment in step S45 is "Yes", and printing based on head C is effective for positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts equivalent to mask thresholds 3, 6, 9. When the printing density setting value is greater than 100%,

[0203] In step S45, when the judgment is "Yes", printing based on head C is effective for positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts equivalent to mask thresholds 3, 6, 9.

[0204] When the printing density setting value is greater than 100%, Figure 8 in step S45, when the judgment is "Yes", printing based on head C is effective for positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts equivalent to mask thresholds 3, 6, 9. Figure 8If the determination in step S41 is "Yes", printing based on head A is effective for the positions (pixels) corresponding to the mask thresholds 3, 6, and 9. When the printing density setting value is greater than 200%, Figure 8 If the determination in step S43 is "Yes", printing based on head B is effective for the positions (pixels) corresponding to the mask thresholds 3, 6, and 9.

[0205] Therefore, when the printing density setting value is greater than 200%, for the positions corresponding to the mask thresholds 3, 6, and 9, it is also set to eject ink from all the heads (head A, head B, and head C).

[0206] In this way, according to Figure 7 and Figure 8 the presence or absence of ejection for each head is set. When the printing density setting value is greater than 200%, at the positions corresponding to the mask thresholds 1 to 9, ink is ejected once from all the heads (head A, head B, and head C), and as a result, a printing density of 300% is achieved.

[0207] In this way, by allocating the heads for which printing is effective according to the pixels, it is possible for the 3 heads (head A, head B, and head C) to evenly and without repetition undertake the ink ejection for each pixel.

[0208] In addition, the method of evenly performing the ink ejection based on each head (head A, head B, and head C) is not limited to the method exemplified here, which is to make a determination based on the remainder when the ejection presence or absence determination value is divided by the number of heads.

[0209] Furthermore, the ejection presence or absence determination value is determined according to the printing density setting value as described above. That is, when the printing density setting value exceeds 200% ( Figure 7 in step S23: Yes case), the result obtained by adding "2" to the mask threshold becomes the ejection presence or absence determination value. When the printing density setting value exceeds 100% ( Figure 7 in step S26: Yes case), the result obtained by adding "1" to the mask threshold becomes the ejection presence or absence determination value. When the printing density setting value is less than 100% ( Figure 7 in step S26: No case), the mask threshold = ejection presence or absence determination value. Therefore, it is configured such that the remainder when divided by the number of heads also changes according to the printing density, and there is no repetition of pixels for which ink is not ejected among the heads (head A, head B, and head C) and among the concentrations.

[0210] In addition, when the printing density setting value is less than 100% (for example, 90% case), it is also possible to add the condition of ejecting ink for pixels below the mask threshold × 90% for correspondence.

[0211] In addition, for example, when the printing density is set to 90%, in the case where printing is performed by three heads (head A, head B, and head C), 30% of the printing can be allocated to each head.

[0212] In addition, for example, as in the case where the printing density is set to 270%, when the printing density set is not a multiple of 100% by the number of heads, the printing density is equally shared by each head. For example, if the printing density of 270% is shared by three heads (head A, head B, and head C), in order to achieve a printing density of 90% for each head, for example, it is handled by appropriately and intermittently removing the shared mask threshold, etc.

[0213] For example Figure 9A illustrates the structure of nozzles n1 to n6 of head A, the mask pattern applied to the ejection control of head A, and the result of printing based on head A using the mask pattern.

[0214] In addition, Figure 9B illustrates the structure of nozzles n1 to n6 of head B, the mask pattern applied to the ejection control of head B, and the result of printing based on head B using the mask pattern.

[0215] Furthermore, Figure 9C illustrates the structure of nozzles n1 to n6 of head C, the mask pattern applied to the ejection control of head C, and the result of printing based on head C using the mask pattern.

[0216] In Figures 9A to 9C etc., an example of prescribing the mask threshold representing the pixels (taking these as reference pixels) borne by each head in the case of achieving a printing density of 100% using all heads (head A, head B, and head C) is shown as follows.

[0217] That is, as Figure 9A shown, among the range of the 6 - pixel × 6 - pixel image to be printed where the mask pattern is tiled, the pixels with mask thresholds of "1", "4", and "7" are the reference pixels for which ink ejection from head A should be responsible (the pixels for which ink ejection from head A is made effective). Figure 9A In, as shown at the right end of the figure, the pixels for which ejection from head A is effective are represented by light shading.

[0218] Similarly, the reference pixels for which ink ejection from head B should be responsible (the pixels for which ink ejection from head B is made effective) are, as Figure 9B shown, the pixels with mask thresholds of "2", "5", and "8" among the range of the 6 - pixel × 6 - pixel image to be printed, and in Figure 9B as shown at the right end of the figure, the pixels for which ejection from head B is effective are represented by light shading.

[0219] In addition, the head C should serve as the reference pixel for ink ejection (the pixel where ink ejection from the head C is set to be valid). As Figure 9C shown, among the ranges of the 6-pixel × 6-pixel image to be printed, the pixels with "3", "6", and "9" set as the mask threshold are the pixels where ink ejection from the head C is valid. In Figure 9C it, as shown at the right end of the figure, the pixels where ink ejection based on the head C is valid are represented by light shading.

[0220] Figures 10 to 12 It is an explanatory diagram showing how each of the heads (head A, head B, head C) shown in Figures 9A to 9C specifically performs printing.

[0221] Figure 10 It is the case of printing at a printing concentration of 100%, Figure 11 and it is the case of printing at a printing concentration of 200%. In addition, Figure 12 represents the case of printing at a printing concentration of 300%. Also, in Figure 10 and Figure 11 it is assumed that each of the heads (head A, head B, head C) moves along the X direction from the left side to the right side of the figure.

[0222] In the case of printing at a printing concentration of 100%, as Figure 10 shown, first the head A passes through the printing object area (the area corresponding to the range where the mask pattern is tiled), and the positions (pixels) corresponding to "1", "4", and "7" of the mask pattern are valid, and ink is ejected from the nozzles n1 to n6 of the head A.

[0223] Next, when the head B passes through the printing object area, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "2", "5", and "8" of the mask pattern are valid, and ink is ejected from the nozzles n1 to n6 of the head B.

[0224] Finally, when the head C passes through the printing object area, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "3", "6", and "9" of the mask pattern are valid, and ink is ejected from the nozzles n1 to n6 of the head C.

[0225] Thus, as shown in the lower part of Figure 10 all the positions (pixels) corresponding to the mask thresholds 1 to 9 within the area where the mask pattern is set are made valid by the 3 heads (head A, head B, head C), and ink is ejected from each head at different positions based on the mask pattern, enabling 100% printing without omission or duplication.

[0226] In addition, in the case of printing at a printing concentration of 200%, as Figure 11As shown, first, head A passes through the printing object area. At this time, in addition to the positions (pixels) corresponding to "1", "4", and "7" of the mask pattern, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "3", "6", and "9" are also effective, and ink is ejected from nozzles n1 to n6 of head A.

[0227] Next, when head B passes through the printing object area, in addition to the positions (pixels) corresponding to "2", "5", and "8" of the mask pattern, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "1", "4", and "7" are also effective, and ink is ejected from nozzles n1 to n6 of head B.

[0228] Finally, when head C passes through the printing object area, in addition to the positions (pixels) corresponding to "3", "6", and "9" of the mask pattern, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "2", "5", and "8" are also effective, and ink is ejected from nozzles n1 to n6 of head C.

[0229] Thus, as Figure 11 shown in the lower part, through three heads (head A, head B, and head C), ink is ejected twice equally at all positions (pixels) corresponding to mask thresholds 1 to 9 within the area where the mask pattern is set, enabling neat 200% printing without repetition.

[0230] In addition, regarding the case of printing at a printing concentration of 300%, Figure 12 the following situation is exemplified: The 6-pixel × 6-pixel printing object area is divided into two parts in the Y direction (sub-scanning direction). First, for the printing of the amount of three rows on the upstream side in the Y direction ( Figure 12 the upper side in ), after printing by nozzles n4, n5, and n6 of heads A, B, and C, the print head 41 is moved downstream ( Figure 12 the lower side in ) by the amount of three nozzles to print the remaining amount of three rows on the downstream side. Additionally, in the example shown in Figure 12 , a rule is set: Among nozzles n1 to n6 of each head (head A, head B, and head C), nozzles n4, n5, and n6 eject ink only at the positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts where the mask threshold is an odd number, and nozzles n1, n2, and n3 eject ink only at the positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts where the mask threshold is an even number. By repeating the three paths of "from left to right", "from right to left", and "from left to right" in the X direction, the overlapping action in the case of printing the entire 6-pixel × 6-pixel printing object area is represented.

[0231] In this case, first, as shown in the first paragraph of the figure, when the heads A, B, and C are moved "from left to right" in the X direction and printing is performed (this is referred to as the "first path"), the printing density is 300%. Therefore, in head A, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "1", "4", and "7" of the mask pattern originally become reference pixels. However, in addition, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "2", "5", and "8" and the positions (pixels) corresponding to "3", "6", and "9" are also effective. However, since the nozzles responsible for printing in the "first path" are nozzles n4, n5, and n6, ink is ejected only at the positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts where the mask threshold is an odd number. Thus, as Figure 12 shown, ink is ejected at "1", "3", "5", "7", and "9". Similarly, in head B, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "2", "5", and "8" of the mask pattern originally become reference pixels. However, in addition, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "3", "6", "9" and "1", "4", and "7" are also effective. And ink is ejected from nozzles n4, n5, and n6 at "1", "3", "5", "7", and "9" where the mask threshold is an odd number. The same applies to head C. Therefore, at the time when even head C has completed the "first path", ink is ejected from the three heads at the pixels corresponding to the mask thresholds "1", "3", "5", "7", and "9", and only this part becomes a state of 300%.

[0232] Next, as shown in the second paragraph of the figure, the heads C, B, and A are moved "from right to left" in the X direction and printing is performed (this is referred to as the "second path"). In the "second path", the print head 41 is moved downstream by the amount of 3 nozzles from the end time point of the "first path".

[0233] In this case, each head is originally effective for all parts of the mask threshold. However, in the "second path", the nozzles responsible for printing the amount of 3 rows on the upstream side in the Y direction are nozzles n1, n2, and n3. Therefore, ink is ejected only at the positions (pixels) corresponding to the parts where the mask threshold is an even number. Thus, at the end time point of the "second path", ink is ejected from the three heads at "2", "4", "6", and "8" that were not printed in the "first path", and this part becomes a state of 300%. Therefore, at the end time point of the "second path", the entire area of the amount of 3 rows on the upstream side in the Y direction becomes a printing density of 300%.

[0234] In addition, in the "second path", the nozzles n4, n5, and n6 of heads A, B, and C are used to print the amount of 3 rows on the downstream side in the Y direction. For this part, similar to the case of the "first path", ink is ejected from the three heads at "1", "3", "5", "7", and "9", and only this part becomes a state of 300%.

[0235] Next, as shown in the third paragraph of the figure, move the heads C, B, and A in the "left to right" direction in the X direction and perform printing (referred to as the "third path"). In the "third path", the print head 41 is moved downstream by the amount of 3 nozzles from the end time point of the "second path". Thus, the nozzles n1, n2, and n3 of the heads A, B, and C perform printing for the amount of 3 rows on the downstream side in the Y direction.

[0236] Thus, at the end time point of the "third path", ink is ejected from the 3 heads for the areas of "2", "4", "6", and "8" that were not printed in the "second path", and this part becomes a 300% state. Therefore, at the end time point of the "third path", the areas for the amount of 3 rows on the upstream side and the amount of 3 rows on the downstream side in the Y direction all become a printing density of 300%.

[0237] For example, in the case of performing such high-density printing with a printing density of 300%, ink is ejected at 100% from all the heads (heads A, B, and C). In this case, if printing is performed using a common mask pattern (overlay mask) for all the heads, then as Figure 12 shown, after ink is ejected from head A, ink is continuously ejected from heads B and C with little interval. Therefore, agglomeration of ink is likely to occur, and there is a possibility that the quality of the printed finished product will be reduced.

[0238] Next, with reference to Figures 13 to 18 etc., the case where the "second mode" ("separate mask mode") is applied to the ejection control of the print head 41 (heads A, B, and C) will be described.

[0239] As Figure 13 shown, in this case, separate mask patterns ( Figure 15 etc., mask A, mask B, mask C) are respectively set for each print head 41 (heads A, B, and C in the embodiment) responsible for printing (step S51). In addition, the respective mask patterns (mask A, mask B, mask C) applied to each head (heads A, B, and C) can be generated in a randomly arranged manner, or one pattern can be inverted 180 degrees vertically and horizontally, or rotated 90 degrees, and thus used as other mask patterns. In this way, by changing the orientation of the basic pattern to form multiple types of mask patterns, the amount of data stored in the storage unit 32 etc. can be reduced.

[0240] For example, Figure 15 schematically shows the case where 4 tiled 3-pixel × 3-pixel mask patterns are printed by 3 heads (heads A, B, and C) in a 6-pixel × 6-pixel printing target area (the range of the image to be printed). In addition, in Figure 15In the example shown, it is illustrated that each head has 6 nozzles (nozzles n1 to n6) and performs main scanning in the X direction and printing.

[0241] And, mask thresholds for each pixel are obtained from each mask pattern (mask A, mask B, mask C) tiled within the range of the image to be printed (mask threshold of mask A, mask threshold of mask B, mask threshold of mask C) (step S52).

[0242] In addition, similar to Figures 9A to 9C In the same way, in Figure 15 etc., the values "1" to "9" assigned in the mask pattern represent the so-called "mask threshold" here.

[0243] Next, the control unit 31 determines whether the printing density setting value is greater than 200% (step S53). When the printing density setting value is greater than 200% (step S53: Yes), the result obtained by adding "2" to the mask threshold for each pixel of each mask (mask A, mask B, mask C) is set as the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel related to each mask (mask A, mask B, mask C) (step S54).

[0244] Then, using this ejection presence / absence determination value, the presence / absence of ejection for each head (head A, head B, head C) is set (step S55).

[0245] After the settings of step S54 and step S55 are performed, and when the printing density setting value is not greater than 200% (step S53: No), the control unit 31 further determines whether the printing density setting value is greater than 100% (step S56). When the printing density setting value is greater than 100% (step S56: Yes), the result obtained by adding "1" to the mask threshold for each pixel of each mask (mask A, mask B, mask C) is set as the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel related to each mask (mask A, mask B, mask C) (step S57).

[0246] Then, using this ejection presence / absence determination value, the presence / absence of ejection for each head (head A, head B, head C) is set (step S58).

[0247] After the settings of step S57 and step S58 are performed, and when the printing density setting value is not greater than 100% (step S56: No), it is set that the mask threshold for each pixel of each mask (mask A, mask B, mask C) = the ejection presence / absence determination value for each pixel related to each mask (mask A, mask B, mask C) (step S59).

[0248] Then, the presence / absence determination value for ejection is used to set the presence / absence of ejection for each head (head A, head B, head C) (step S60).

[0249] That is, in the example of the present embodiment, similar to the case of the "first mode" ("common mask mode"), when the printing density setting value is greater than 200%, the results obtained by adding "2" to the mask threshold, adding "1" to the mask threshold, and adding nothing to the mask threshold are all set as the presence / absence determination value for ejection of each pixel. In addition, when the printing density setting value is greater than 100%, the results obtained by adding "1" to the mask threshold and adding nothing to the mask threshold are set as the presence / absence determination value for ejection of each pixel. Furthermore, when the printing density setting value is not greater than 100%, the result of adding nothing to the mask threshold is set as the presence / absence determination value for ejection of each pixel.

[0250] In addition, in the determination of step S53, when the printing density setting value is exactly 200%, and in the determination of step S56, when the printing density setting value is exactly 100%, the processing can be performed either as a case greater than 200% and 100% or as a case less than 200% and 100%.

[0251] In addition, Figure 13 The presence / absence setting of ejection for each head shown in step S55, step S58, and step S60 in

[0252] That is to say, first, as shown in Figure 14 the control unit 31 divides the presence / absence determination value for ejection of each mask (mask A, mask B, mask C) by the number of printing heads 41 responsible for printing (heads A, B, and C in the embodiment), which is 3, obtains the remainder, and determines whether the remainder is "0" (step S71).

[0253] Then, when the remainder is "0" (step S71: Yes), heads A, B, and C are set to have ejection (step S72).

[0254] On the other hand, when the remainder is not "0" (step S71: No), it is set that there is no ejection for each head (heads A, B, and C) (step S73).

[0255] In addition, in the case of the "first mode" ("common mask mode"), in the presence / absence setting of ejection for each head, as shown in Figure 8As shown, the remaining value determined for each head is changed to avoid pixel overlap. However, in the case of applying the "second mode" ("separate mask mode"), since the "mask patterns" ("overlay masks") used in each head are different, even if the remaining value obtained by dividing the ejection presence / absence determination value by the number of heads 3 is not changed, pixel overlap can be avoided.

[0256] Therefore, as Figure 14 shown, the ejection presence / absence setting can be performed according to a single value such as when the remaining value is "0". That is, in this case, for example, pixels with mask thresholds 3, 6, and 9 where the remainder is "0" when the ejection presence / absence determination value at a printing density of 100% is divided by 3 are used as the reference pixels for ink ejection to be performed by each head (head A, head B, and head C).

[0257] For example Figure 15 illustrates the structure of nozzles n1 to n6 of head A, the mask pattern (mask A) applied in the ejection control of head A, and the result of printing based on the mask pattern using head A.

[0258] As Figure 15 shown, among the range of the 6-pixel × 6-pixel image to be printed where the mask pattern is tiled, pixels with mask thresholds "3", "6", and "9" are the reference pixels (pixels for which ink ejection is made effective) that head A should originally be responsible for ink ejection. Figure 15 As shown at the right end of the figure, pixels for which ejection from head A is effective are indicated by light shading.

[0259] In addition, although omitted in the illustration, nozzles n1 to n6 are also provided for head B and head C in the same way, and printing is performed using mask B in the ejection control of head B and mask C in the ejection control of head C. For head B and head C, the reference pixels (pixels for which ink ejection is made effective) that should originally be responsible for ink ejection are also pixels with mask thresholds "3", "6", and "9" among the range of the 6-pixel × 6-pixel image to be printed where the mask pattern is tiled.

[0260] Figures 16 to 18 is an explanatory diagram showing how printing is specifically performed by each head (head A, head B, and head C).

[0261] Figure 16 is the case of printing at a printing density of 100%, Figure 17 is the case of printing at a printing density of 200%. In addition, Figure 18 represents the case of printing at a printing density of 300%. In addition, Figure 16 and Figure 17 assume that each head (head A, head B, and head C) moves from the left side to the right side in the figure.

[0262] When printing at 100% printing density, as Figure 16 shown, first, printhead A passes through the printing target area (the area corresponding to the range where the mask pattern is tiled), and the positions (pixels) corresponding to "3", "6", and "9" of the mask pattern are effective, and ink is ejected from nozzles n1 to n6 of printhead A.

[0263] Next, when printhead B passes through the printing target area, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "3", "6", and "9" of the mask pattern are also effective, and ink is ejected from nozzles n1 to n6 of printhead B.

[0264] Finally, when printhead C passes through the printing target area, the positions (pixels) corresponding to "3", "6", and "9" of the mask pattern are effective, and ink is ejected from nozzles n1 to n6 of printhead C.

[0265] In this way, the positions (pixels) corresponding to the same mask threshold are effective in all printheads. However, in the case of the "second mode" ("separate mask mode"), since the mask patterns applied in each printhead are different, the positions where ink is ejected are scattered.

[0266] However, in this case, the positions (pixels) where ink ejection is effective in each printhead are assigned according to different mask patterns, so there are pixels where no ink is ejected by any printhead, and conversely, pixels where ink is ejected repeatedly. Even if each printhead performs 100% printing, it may not be possible to fill all pixels. Therefore, the printing result has burrs and a high-quality finished product cannot be obtained.

[0267] This is the same in the case of a printing density of 200% as shown in, for example, Figure 17 shown.

[0268] In contrast, in the case of a high density of 300% printing density as shown in Figure 18 for example, when achieving a 300% printing density with 3 reciprocations of "first path" to "third path" in the same way as shown in Figure 12 if according to the "second mode" ("separate mask mode"), there may be a deviation in the timing of ink ejection at the same position (pixel) for each printhead.

[0269] For example, applying the same as Figure 12For the same rules as the situation shown, among the nozzles n1 to n6 of each head (head A, head B, head C), nozzles n4, n5, and n6 eject ink only at positions (pixels) corresponding to the positions where the mask threshold is an odd-numbered part, and nozzles n1, n2, and n3 eject ink only at positions (pixels) corresponding to the positions where the mask threshold is an even-numbered part. In this case, it becomes a path where the timing of ejecting ink at the same position (pixel) varies depending on the head, and it is possible to avoid the situation where ink is continuously ejected from all heads at the same position (pixel).

[0270] Specifically, for example Figure 18 the mask threshold corresponding to the pixel at the upper left end in is "1" (odd) in mask A applied to head A. Therefore, ink is ejected from the nozzles in the "first path" of the nozzles n4, n5, and n6 responsible for odd numbers through the printing object area. In contrast, in mask B applied to head B, the mask threshold corresponding to the same pixel at the upper left end is "8" (even), and in mask C applied to head C, the mask threshold corresponding to this pixel is "2" (even). Therefore, no ink is ejected in the "first path", and ink is ejected from the nozzles in the "second path" of the nozzles n1, n2, and n3 responsible for even numbers through the printing object area.

[0271] In this way, since the timing of ejecting ink deviates by the amount of one path, it is difficult to cause ink aggregation even in the case of high printing density, and the printing is not disturbed. Therefore, a high-quality printing result can be obtained.

[0272] In this way, when a common mask pattern is applied to all heads and when a separate mask pattern is applied to each head, there are differences in the quality of the printing result depending on the printing density. Regarding this point, by switching which one to apply for printing processing, it is possible to perform printing using a mask pattern suitable for the printing density.

[0273] In addition, in the case of obtaining the ejection presence / absence determination value in the "first mode" ("common mask mode") where a common mask pattern is applied to each head (refer to Figure 7 ), and in the case of obtaining the ejection presence / absence determination value in the "second mode" ("separate mask mode") where a separate mask pattern is applied to each head (refer to Figure 13 ), both are cases where the printing density setting value is greater than 200% (that is, Figure 7 in step S23 in : Yes; Figure 13 in step S53 in : Yes). Of course, it can be said that the printing density setting value is greater than 100%.

[0274] Therefore, it is possible to omit the judgment process of whether the printing density setting value is greater than 100% (that is, Figure 7 step S26 in, Figure 13In step S56), only perform the setting of the ejection determination value for each pixel when the printing concentration setting value is greater than 100% (i.e., Figure 7 In step S27, Figure 13 In step S57) and the setting of ejection presence or absence for each head (i.e., Figure 7 In step S28, Figure 13 In step S58), and the setting of the ejection determination value for each pixel when the printing concentration setting value is not greater than 100% (i.e., Figure 7 In step S29, Figure 13 In step S59) and the setting of ejection presence or absence for each head (i.e., Figure 7 In step S30, Figure 13 In step S60).

[0275] Here, with reference to Figures 19 to 26 , a specific description will be given of the setting process of the substrate concentration when the print head 41 can print the substrate before the designed printing and the control unit 31 sets the printing concentration of the substrate for nail printing. In addition, the substrate concentration (printing concentration of the substrate) varies according to the coating amount of the substrate ink. A higher substrate concentration means a larger coating amount of the substrate ink and higher concealment.

[0276] In this case, first, as Figure 19 shown, if the user selects / inputs the design to be printed on the nail from the operation unit 12 or the like, the control unit 31 accepts the input operation to set the design (step S101). Next, the control unit 31 determines whether the user has selected / input the transparency level to be set by himself / herself (step S102). "Transparency" is the transparency of the design during printing, which affects the appearance of the bottom nail during design printing. If the transparency level is set higher, the finished product will have an impression of transparency. In addition, if the transparency level is set lower, the finished product will be a highly concealed one with a solid coating of substrate ink such as white. When the user wants to set the transparency level by himself / herself (step S102: Yes), the control unit 31 accepts the setting of the transparency level input by the user (step S103). For example, when the transparency level corresponding to the design selected by the user is level 3 and the user makes an adjustment such as setting the transparency level to level 5 for a more transparent finished product, the control unit 31 accepts this input. On the other hand, when the user does not set the transparency level by himself / herself (entrusts the device side) (step S102: No), the control unit 31 automatically sets the transparency level (step S104).

[0277] In the storage unit 32 of the present embodiment and the like, a corresponding table (LUT: Look Up Table, refer to Figure 23) When the transparency level is set manually by the user or automatically by the control unit 31, the control unit 31 refers to this LUT (hereinafter referred to as the "transparency table") and sets the printing density of the base corresponding to the set transparency level (step S105).

[0278] In addition, it is also possible to directly set the printing density of the base without setting the transparency level. However, as a value set by the user, the case based on the transparency level is more directly related to the completed impression of the design than the printing density value of the base, so it is easier to understand and is preferred.

[0279] Figure 23 It is a diagram showing an example of the transparency table.

[0280] For example, in the illustrated example, the transparency level is divided into levels 1 to 7, and the transparency level of level 7 is the highest. Specifically, for example, it is a level where the base ink is not applied at all and the bottom nail is completely visible directly, and the corresponding base printing density is 0%. In contrast, the transparency level of level 1 is the lowest, which is a level without transparency where the bottom nail cannot be seen at all. In this case, the corresponding base printing density is, for example, 300%. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the printing density in the state where the printing of the entire printing area is completed once is set to 100%, 300% is set as the upper limit of the printing density, and the transparency level 1 means printing the base to the upper limit of the printing density.

[0281] In addition, Figure 23 In the figure, the transparency level is corresponded through the LUT at a 50% amplitude of the printing density, but the correspondence between the transparency level and the printing density is not limited to the illustrated example. The relationship between the printing density (base coating amount) of the base and "transparency" is also affected by the type of base ink. Therefore, it is also possible to have a transparency table for each type of base ink. In addition, it is preferable that the printing density (base coating amount) is determined such that the transparency level is linear. For example, the printing density (coating amount) at which the bottom nail cannot be seen at all can be set as the transparency level 0, and the coating amount of 0% of the base ink (base printing density 0%) can be set as the transparency level 100, and the coating amount of the intermediate levels 1 to 99 can be obtained through calculation.

[0282] Figures 20 to 22 It is a flowchart showing the process in the case where the transparency level is automatically set.

[0283] For example Figure 20 In the figure, it shows the case where the transparency level is automatically set according to the design selected and set by the user (refer to Figure 19 step S101).

[0284] For example, a design correspondence table (hereinafter referred to as "design LUT") in which a design and a transparency level suitable for the design are associated is stored in the storage unit 32 or the like. Refer to Figure 24 ).

[0285] In the design LUT, in particular, design groups that can only be beautiful finished products with a low transparency level are set as group A, and other designs are set as group B. The designs belonging to group A can be determined by default, or the user can arbitrarily register designs that they particularly want to print on a substrate with excellent shielding properties. In addition, the designs pre-registered in group A by default can be excluded from group A afterwards, or designs that did not originally belong to group A can be re-registered in group A, etc., and can be appropriately changed according to the user's preferences.

[0286] For example, designs such as characters (in animations or comics, etc.) and national flag designs generally show colors beautifully when printed on a substrate with excellent shielding properties and become distinct and ideal finished products. Therefore, in Figure 24 the example shown, designs such as characters and national flags are put into group A, and in the case of other designs, they are set as group B.

[0287] As Figure 20 shown, the control unit 31 refers to the design LUT shown in Figure 24 and determines whether the design set as the design to be printed (refer to step S101 in Figure 19 ) belongs to group A (step S111).

[0288] Then, when the design belongs to group A (is registered) (step S111: yes), the transparency level is set to be relatively low (for example, level 2, etc.) (step S112). On the other hand, when the design does not belong to group A (in the case of group B, step S111: no), the transparency level is set to be relatively high (for example, level 4, etc.) (step S113).

[0289] In addition, the determination of whether the set design belongs to group A can be made, for example, based on the design image, or the design can be provided with contour data, and the control unit 31 can read information indicating that the design belongs to group A or information on the transparency level.

[0290] If the transparency level corresponding to the design is set, the control unit 31 further performs a concentration setting based on the nail color (step S114).

[0291] Figure 22 It is a flowchart for explaining the nail color concentration setting process.

[0292] As Figure 22As shown, in the nail color density setting process, first, the average density of the nail is obtained (measured) (step S131). The method for obtaining the average density is not particularly limited. For example, the nail is photographed by the camera 51 to obtain an image of the nail, and the RGB values (the values of R = Red, G = Green, and B = Blue) are obtained from this image. The RGB values in this case can be average values, or the value obtained by adding all of them can be used.

[0293] Then, it is determined whether the obtained average density of the nail is within the reference density range (step S132). The method by which the control unit 31 determines whether it is within the reference density range is not particularly limited. For example, regarding the RGB values, a table (hereinafter referred to as the "nail color density determination table") that separately specifies the reference density range is stored in the storage unit 32 or the like in advance, and the control unit 31 refers to this nail color density determination table to determine whether the average density of the nail is within the reference density range.

[0294] Figure 26 is a diagram showing an example of the nail color density determination table.

[0295] Figure 26 In the example shown, it represents the case where the reference density range of R is 150 to 170, and the reference density ranges of G and B are 100 to 120. In addition, the value to which the reference range is set can be appropriately set.

[0296] When the average density of the nail is within the reference density range (step S132: Yes), the set transparency level based on elements (such as design, etc.) is directly set. For example, Figure 20 if the transparency level corresponding to the design is set to level 4, no correction considering the nail color is performed, and "transparency level 4" is set (step S133).

[0297] In contrast, even when one of the RGB values of the average density of the nail is not within the reference density range (step S132: No), the control unit 31 further determines whether the average density of the nail is denser than the reference density range (step S134). The reference density is expressed by the RGB value, and the smaller the numerical value, the denser the density can be said to be. Therefore, for example, when the value of R of the nail color is 130 or the like, it is determined that the average density of the nail is denser than the reference density range (step S134: Yes). In this case, the level that is one level lower than the set transparency level based on elements (such as design, etc.) is set as the transparency level (step S135). For example, as in the above example, when the transparency level corresponding to the design is set to level 4, the control unit 31 sets it to "transparency level 3" considering the nail color.

[0298] On the other hand, when it is determined that the average concentration of the nail is lighter than the reference concentration range (step S134: No), the transparency level that is one level higher than the transparency level based on the element set is set as the transparency level (step S136). For example, when the transparency level corresponding to the design is set to level 4, the control unit 31 sets it to "transparency level 5" considering the nail color.

[0299] In addition, for example, when obtaining RGB values from an image of the nail captured by the camera 51, since the obtained values vary depending on conditions such as the camera 51 and the light source 52, it is preferable to determine the values for the reference concentration range for each device as well.

[0300] When the color of the nail is dark (deep), if the printing concentration of the base is not made thick, it is impossible to perform printing of a design that suppresses the influence of the bottom nail. Regarding this point, if the transparency level is corrected according to the nail color concentration, appropriate printing corresponding to the color of the nail can be performed.

[0301] In addition, it is not necessary to perform the nail color concentration setting process, and it is also possible to perform setting of the printing concentration corresponding to the transparency level set in Figure 20 steps S112 and S113.

[0302] Furthermore, the automatic setting of the transparency level is not limited to the case based on the design. For what kind of impression of the nail one wants to create (whether one wants to create a nail with a transparent feeling, or a nail with a distinct pattern, etc.), it varies according to various situations such as when and with whom one is going out, where one is going, Time, Place, Occasion, etc.

[0303] Therefore, for example, the user can automatically set the transparency level according to the scene (place) where one goes out after selecting the design for printing.

[0304] Figure 21 It is a flowchart showing an example of the process in the case of automatically setting the transparency level according to the scene where one goes out.

[0305] In this case, for example, a scene correspondence table (hereinafter referred to as "scene LUT", refer to Figure 25 ) that associates the scene (place) where one goes out with the transparency level suitable for that scene (place) is stored in the storage unit 32 or the like.

[0306] Scene LUT. The scene with a particularly low transparency level preference is set as Scene A, and the other scenes are set as Scene B. The scene entering Scene A can be determined by default or registered by the user as the scene they want to go to after printing nails with a particularly low transparency level. In addition, the scene pre-registered by default in Scene A can be excluded from Scene A afterwards, or a scene that was not initially entered can be re-registered in Scene A, etc., and can be appropriately changed according to the user's preferences.

[0307] For example, in scenes such as watching a baseball game or an anime event, there is a general preference for nail prints with designs vividly printed on a substrate with excellent shielding properties. Therefore, in Figure 25 the example shown, scenes such as sports events and anime events enter Scene A, and in the case of other scenes, it is Scene B

[0308] In this case, as Figure 21 shown, the control unit 31 first obtains information (scene information) about which scene to go to after printing nails and the scene related to the destination (step S121). There is no particular limitation on the method of obtaining the scene information. For example, the user can be allowed to input an outing plan, destination, etc. in advance from the operation unit 12, etc., and the control unit 31 obtains the scene information from the input information.

[0309] If the information about the scene to go to is obtained, the control unit 31 refers to the Figure 25 shown scene LUT and determines whether the scene to go to belongs to Scene A (step S122).

[0310] When the scene (place) the user wants to go to enters (is registered in) Scene A (step S122: Yes), the transparency level is set to be lower (for example, level 2, etc.) (step S123). On the other hand, when the scene (place) does not enter Scene A (in the case of Scene B, step S122: No), the transparency level is set to be higher (for example, level 4, etc.) (step S124).

[0311] And, in this case, nail color density setting can also be performed (step S125, refer to Figure 22 ), and the transparency level is corrected according to the nail color.

[0312] In addition, when automatically setting the transparency level, various elements can also be combined to determine the transparency level. In this case, priorities or weights can be appropriately assigned to each element and item to set the transparency level.

[0313] The priority or weighting assigned to each element or item can be determined by the user or can be a default setting. In addition, in the case of a default setting, the user can also make arbitrary changes to it. Further, when increasing or decreasing the transparency level, the existing transparency level used as a reference can be corrected up or down in advance. For example, when the default transparency level is level 3 and the user generally likes the finished product with a sense of transparency, the default transparency level can be changed to level 4.

[0314] In addition, here it is illustrated that when the control unit 31 automatically sets the transparency level, it considers the tendency of the printed design (whether it is group A with a preferably lower transparency level or others), the tendency of the nail design for which printing is performed to the destination where one goes out (the scenario / place is preferably scenario A with a lower transparency level or others), and the case of the nail color density. However, the elements considered when automatically setting the transparency level are not limited to this. For example, the user's age, gender of male or female, adult or child (for example, junior high school students or younger) can be considered. Priority or weighting can be assigned to all or part of these elements, and multiple elements can be considered comprehensively. It is also possible to have the user input information such as the atmosphere of being happy, lonely, or cheerful, and propose a corresponding transparency level (for example, in the case of being happy, it becomes a lower transparency level such as a printed pattern with distinctness).

[0315] In addition, here it is illustrated that the design LUT and the scenario LUT are classified into a group with a preferably lower transparency level (group A, scenario A) and others (group B, scenario B), but the structure corresponding to the LUT is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to register a group with a particularly preferably higher transparency level and perform classification with other groups. In addition, it can also be classified into three groups: a group with a preferably lower transparency level, a group with a preferably higher transparency level, and other groups, and the printing density can be set.

[0316] As described above, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes: a print head 41 having a plurality of nozzles n1 to n6 that eject ink as a liquid agent, and performing printing on a nail as a printing object; a print control unit 313 that controls the ejection operation of the print head 41 based on a "mask pattern" that is "ejection specification data" for specifying the ejection of the ink. Regarding the application of the "ejection specification data", it has at least a "first mode" and a "second mode", and the print control unit 313 switches between the "first mode" and the "second mode" based on a "mask mode switching value" that is a threshold value of the "set ejection amount" (a threshold value of a pre-set concentration).

[0317] Thus, in the case where the obtained printing density is high or low, a method of applying a "mask pattern" suitable for each can be adopted, and high-quality printing results can be obtained regardless of the printing density.

[0318] In addition, in the present embodiment, a plurality of print heads 41 are provided. When printing is performed at a low density compared to a threshold value of "set ejection amount" (a threshold value of "predetermined density"), the print control unit 313 controls the ejection operation by using a "first mode" in which common ejection specification data is applied to all the print heads 41. When printing is performed at a high density compared to the threshold value of "set ejection amount", the ejection operation is controlled by using a "second mode" in which individual ejection specification data is applied to each print head 41.

[0319] In low-density printing, it is preferable to apply a common mask pattern to the plurality of print heads 41 to avoid the generation of non-attached pixels and duplicate pixels. On the other hand, if a common mask pattern is applied to the plurality of print heads 41, there is a possibility that ink will aggregate when ink is continuously ejected from the plurality of print heads 41 during high-density printing.

[0320] Regarding this point, according to the obtained printing density, different patterns (mask application modes) are selectively used for the application of the "mask pattern", so that a decrease in printing quality can be suppressed in any case of low-density printing and high-density printing.

[0321] In addition, in the present embodiment, the "ejection specification data" is a "mask pattern" that specifies whether to eject ink from each print head 41 to each position of the printing target area of the nail as the printing target, and the print control unit 313 controls the ejection operation of the print head 41 based on the "mask pattern".

[0322] Thus, control can be performed to accurately disperse the ink ejection from the print head 41, and burrs caused by the coexistence of non-ejected ink parts and repeatedly ejected ink parts can be suppressed.

[0323] In addition, in the present embodiment, as the "ejection specification data", that is, the "mask pattern", for example, a dither mask or the like having a structure in which ink is evenly ejected from each nozzle of the print head 41 is used.

[0324] Therefore, the positions where the ink is ejected can be dispersed, and a structure can be formed that is difficult to cause the concentration of non-printed pixels in a certain column or a certain range, or the continuity of repeatedly printed pixels. As a result, ink coating residues, repeated printing, etc. can be suppressed, and a printing result without burrs or the like can be obtained.

[0325] In addition, in the present embodiment, the liquid agent is an ink for a substrate that is printed on the substrate formed before printing a nail design or the like, and the printing control unit 313 controls the ejection operation of the print head 41 so as to repeatedly perform printing a plurality of times on the printing target area of the nail that is the printing target.

[0326] The hiding power of white ink or the like used as the ink for the substrate is relatively low, and sometimes such a concentration that can make the nail design clearly appear cannot be obtained in a single printing.

[0327] Even for printing with such an ink having low hiding power, sufficient concentration can be obtained by applying it repeatedly a plurality of times, the hiding power can be improved, and thus the reproducibility of the ink color at the time of printing the nail design can be enhanced. Thereby, a distinct nail design can be printed on the formed substrate.

[0328] In addition, the print head 41 can print the substrate before printing the design, the control unit 31 sets the printing concentration of the printed substrate, and the print head 41 prints the substrate at the printing concentration of the substrate set by the control unit 31.

[0329] Therefore, nail printing can be performed with a transparency level suitable for printing the design.

[0330] In addition, the transparency level suitable for printing (based on the degree of hiding power of the ink for the substrate) varies depending on the type and tendency of the design, and there are cases where it is opaque (higher printing concentration and higher hiding power) and more elegant, and cases where it has a sense of transparency (translucency) and is more elegant.

[0331] Regarding this point, in the present embodiment, the control unit 31 sets the printing concentration of the substrate based on the design.

[0332] Therefore, nail printing can be performed with a transparency level suitable for printing the design that shows the design.

[0333] In addition, the printing concentration is defined by the ejection amount of the liquid agent from the print head 41.

[0334] Therefore, by controlling the printing operation of the print head 41, the desired printing concentration can be achieved.

[0335] In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to this embodiment, and of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof.

[0336] For example, the present embodiment shows the following example: in the case of substrate printing, regarding the application of "ejection specification data", there are at least "Mode 1" and "Mode 2", and the printing control unit 313 switches between "Mode 1" and "Mode 2" based on the "mask mode switching value" of the threshold value of "the set ejection amount" (the threshold value of "the preset concentration"), but the mode switching for the application of "ejection specification data" is not limited to the case of substrate printing.

[0337] For example, in the case of printing a nail design, mode switching can also be performed for the application of "ejection specification data". Even in the case of bottomless color printing by design printing, there are various requirements such as the case where printing is desired to be denser and the case where printing with a lighter concentration with a transparent feeling is desired, and mode switching can be appropriately performed according to the user's preference, etc.

[0338] In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where printing is performed by three print heads 41 (head A, head B, head C) has been described as an example, and when equally sharing the printing, a value obtained by dividing by the number of heads 3 is also used, etc., but the print heads 41 responsible for printing are not limited to these three. Printing can also be shared by a larger number.

[0339] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the substrate head 41a and the design head 41b are configured as an integral body as the print head 41, are held on the same holder 42, and are provided in one printing device, but the structure of the print head 41 is not limited to this.

[0340] For example, it may also be that the substrate head and the design head are independent individuals and are held on independent holders 42.

[0341] Furthermore, it may also be in the following manner: a printing device that only has a substrate head and performs substrate printing, and a printing device that only has a design head and prints a design exist separately, and the substrate and the design are printed by different printing devices respectively.

[0342] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the printing device 1 cooperates with the terminal device 7 to perform printing, but it may also be configured such that only the printing device 1 completes all the operations.

[0343] In this case, it may also be that a display unit capable of confirming the image of the nail and the design is provided in the printing device 1.

[0344] In addition, for example, a design storage area for storing nail designs may also be provided in the storage unit 32 of the printing device 1, and the designs stored here are presented (displayed) to the user and the user is allowed to select any design.

[0345] In addition, when the printing device 1 can be connected to various networks, it is also possible to incorporate nail designs (designs) stored in a service device (not shown) that can be network-connected. In this way, when the designs obtained from the outside can be presented to the user as candidates for selectable nail designs, a wide variety of nail designs can be printed on the nails.

[0346] In addition, in the present embodiment, a case where processing such as detection of nail information and generation of print data is performed in the control unit 81 on the terminal device 7 side has been illustrated. However, it is not necessary for all of these processes to be performed on the terminal device side. Some or all of them may also be performed in the control unit 31 of the printing device 1.

[0347] In this way, when configured to share various processes between the printing device 1 side and the terminal device 7 side, the burden on the control devices 30 and 80 (the burden in terms of the processing capabilities of the control units 31 and 81, and the burden in terms of the memory capacity of the storage units 32 and 82) is also dispersed, and the burden on each part can be reduced.

[0348] As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

Claims

1. A printing device, comprising: A print head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid agent, which performs printing on a printing object; and A control unit that controls the ejection operation of the print head based on ejection specification data that specifies the ejection of the liquid agent. Regarding the application of the ejection specification data, there are at least a first mode and a second mode. The control unit switches between the first mode and the second mode based on the set printing density. In the case where there are a plurality of the print heads, The control unit controls the ejection operation in the first mode in which common ejection specification data is applied to all the print heads when printing is performed at a low density compared to a threshold value of the set printing density, and controls the ejection operation in the second mode in which individual ejection specification data is applied to each print head when printing is performed at a high density compared to the threshold value of the set printing density.

2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein, The ejection specification data is a mask pattern that specifies whether to eject the liquid agent from the print head to each position of the printing object area of the printing object, The control unit controls the ejection operation of the print head based on the mask pattern.

3. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein, The liquid agent is a base ink for printing on a substrate, The control unit controls the ejection operation of the print head so as to perform printing multiple times in the printing object area of the printing object.

4. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein, The print head can print on a substrate before the designed printing, The printing device comprises: a substrate density setting unit that sets the printing density of the substrate to be printed, The print head prints the substrate at the printing density of the substrate set by the substrate density setting unit.

5. The printing device according to claim 4, wherein, The substrate density setting unit sets the printing density of the substrate based on the design.

6. A printing device, comprising: A print head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid agent, which can print a substrate on a printing object before the designed printing; A control unit that controls the ejection operation of the print head based on ejection specification data that specifies the ejection of the liquid agent; and A substrate density setting unit that sets the printing density of the substrate to be printed based on the design, Regarding the application of the ejection specification data, there are at least a first mode and a second mode. The control unit switches between the first mode and the second mode based on the set printing density of the substrate.

7. A printing control method, When controlling the ejection operation of a print head that has a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid agent and performs printing on a printing object based on ejection specification data that specifies the ejection of the liquid agent, Regarding the application of the ejection specification data, there are at least a first mode and a second mode. The printing control method includes: a switching step of switching between the first mode and the second mode based on the set printing density. When printing is performed at a low concentration compared to the threshold value of the set printing concentration, the ejection operation is controlled by the first mode in which common ejection specification data is applied to all the print heads. When printing is performed at a high concentration compared to the threshold value of the set printing concentration, the ejection operation is controlled by the second mode in which individual ejection specification data is applied to each print head.

8. A printing control method A print head has a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid agent, and is capable of printing a substrate on a printing object before the designed printing. When the ejection operation of the print head is controlled based on ejection specification data that specifies the ejection of the liquid agent, Regarding the application of the ejection specification data, there are at least a first mode and a second mode. The printing control method includes: A substrate concentration setting step of setting the printing concentration of the substrate to be printed based on the design; and A switching step of switching between the first mode and the second mode based on the set printing concentration of the substrate.

9. A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium storing a program When the ejection operation of a print head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid agent and performing printing on a printing object is controlled based on ejection specification data that specifies the ejection of the liquid agent, Regarding the application of the ejection specification data, there are at least a first mode and a second mode. The program causes a computer to implement the following functions: a switching function that switches between the first mode and the second mode based on the set printing concentration. When printing is performed at a low concentration compared to the threshold value of the set printing concentration, the ejection operation is controlled by the first mode in which common ejection specification data is applied to all the print heads. When printing is performed at a high concentration compared to the threshold value of the set printing concentration, the ejection operation is controlled by the second mode in which individual ejection specification data is applied to each print head.

10. A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium storing a program A print head has a plurality of nozzles for ejecting a liquid agent, and is capable of printing a substrate on a printing object before the designed printing. When the ejection operation of the print head is controlled based on ejection specification data that specifies the ejection of the liquid agent, Regarding the application of the ejection specification data, there are at least a first mode and a second mode. The program causes a computer to implement the following functions: A substrate concentration setting function of setting the printing concentration of the substrate to be printed based on the design; and A switching function that switches between the first mode and the second mode based on the set printing concentration of the substrate. ​

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