Printer, image forming method and program

Abstract

To effectively utilize by means of test pattern print a continuous sheet being accelerated / decelerated in a printer for forming an image while conveying the continuous sheet.SOLUTION: A printer includes: printing means configured to perform printing on a continuous sheet; conveying means configured to convey the continuous sheet; and control means configured to cause the printing means to print a test pattern for inspection related to the printing, on the continuous sheet that is being accelerated or decelerated in the conveyance; wherein based on conveyance accuracy of the conveying means and a priority of each of inspection items, the control means determines a test pattern to be printed by the printing means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a printing apparatus that forms an image on a continuous sheet. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a printing device that transports roll paper at a constant speed to continuously form images. Roll paper, which can be continuously printed for a long time with one set, is generally used when productivity is required more than cut paper, which requires multiple sets, and printing is performed while transporting the roll paper at a high speed of, for example, several tens to several hundreds of meters per minute. Here, it takes time from the start of transport until the desired speed is reached or from a state of transport at a constant speed until it stops, and the paper transported during acceleration and deceleration is wasted. Therefore, proposals have been made to print a test pattern on the paper transported during acceleration and deceleration, read the result, and check for printing defects and the like based on the read result (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-98547 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-171721 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, during acceleration and deceleration, the conveying accuracy tends to be worse than when the conveying speed is constant, and errors are likely to occur when printing the test pattern and when reading the print result. Also, when the required conveying speed is low, the time required to reach that conveying speed is short, and it may not be possible to obtain a paper length sufficient to finish printing the test pattern.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to more effectively utilize a continuous sheet during acceleration / deceleration for printing a test pattern in a printing device that forms an image while transporting the continuous sheet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The printing device of the present disclosure comprises a printing means for printing on a continuous sheet, a transport means for transporting the continuous sheet, and a control means for causing the printing means to print a test pattern for inspection of the printing on the continuous sheet while it is accelerating or decelerating in the transport, and is characterized in that the control means determines the test pattern to be printed by the printing means based on the transport accuracy by the transport means and the priority of each inspection item. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, in a printing device that forms an image while transporting a continuous sheet, it is possible to more effectively utilize the continuous sheet during acceleration / deceleration for test pattern printing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of an inkjet printing device. [Diagram 2] 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of print control of a test pattern. [Diagram 3] 1A is a diagram showing an example of a table used to specify the amount of roll paper transported during acceleration, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of a table used to derive transport accuracy during acceleration. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a table to be referred to when determining the arrangement of test patterns. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a determined test pattern layout. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a table to be referred to when determining the priority of each test item. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiment does not limit the technology of the present disclosure, and all configurations described in the following embodiment are not necessarily essential for solving the problem. In this specification, a printing device is described as an example in which a continuous sheet is transported at a constant speed in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the recording elements, using a recording head (line head) for each ink color in which a plurality of recording elements are arranged in an amount corresponding to the width of the continuous sheet, to form an image. In addition, roll paper is described as an example of the continuous sheet, but materials other than paper, such as roll film, may also be used.

[0010] [Embodiment 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of an inkjet printing device according to this embodiment. A control unit 110 has a CPU and a memory, and executes a predetermined program to control the printing device in an overall manner. Head drivers 111k, 111c, 111m, and 111y drive recording heads 101k, 101c, 101m, and 101y based on instructions from the control unit 110. Motor drivers 112a and 112b drive the delivery motor 105 and the winding motors 106a and 106b based on instructions from the control unit 110.

[0011] The delivery motor 105 is a motor for delivering the roll paper 100. As the roll paper 100 delivered by the delivery motor 105 passes under the recording heads 101k, 101c, 101m, and 101y, an image is formed on the roll paper by ink ejected from each recording head. After the image has been formed on the roll paper 100, it is taken up by the take-up motor 106a.

[0012] The recording heads 101k, 101c, 101m, and 101y of this embodiment employ an inkjet method using water-based ink, but other methods may be used. Water-based ink contains a large amount of volatile components such as water, and if most of these volatile components have not evaporated, the ink will adhere to parts that come into contact with the surface (image forming surface) of the roll paper in a later process. In the configuration example of FIG. 1(a), the roll paper 100 is wound up in a later process, and at that time, the ink comes into contact with the back surface of the roll paper 100. In order to perform printing and winding at high speed, the printing device is provided with a drying mechanism 102 that promotes the evaporation of volatile components by blowing hot air toward the roll paper 100. If the roll paper 100 becomes above a certain temperature at this time, the color of the roll paper 100 will change or shrink. Therefore, the temperature and wind speed of the hot air from the drying mechanism 102, as well as the transport speed of the roll paper 100, are adjusted so that the temperature is below a certain temperature and so that the color is not transferred to the back surface when winding. The printed roll paper 100 is wound by a winding motor 106a with the image-formed surface facing outward.

[0013] A scanner 104 is installed behind the drying mechanism 102 to read the inspection test pattern printed on the roll paper. If a narrow-focus scanner is used, the distance between the roll paper 100 and the scanner 104 must be constant. In this case, it is simpler to bring the roll paper 100 close to the scanner 104, but the operating conditions of the drying mechanism 102 and the transport speed of the roll paper 100 must be determined so that ink does not adhere to the surface of the scanner 104. In addition, a cooling mechanism 103 is installed behind the drying mechanism 102 to cool the roll paper 100 so that the heat of the heated roll paper 100 does not cause noise in the operation of the scanner 104. If the cooling mechanism 103 is not installed, the only option is to wait for the roll paper 100 to cool naturally, making it difficult to reduce the size of the printing device.

[0014] The scanner 104 scans the inspection test pattern formed on the roll paper 100. Then, based on the analysis results of the obtained scanned image, the operating conditions of the print head are changed and adjusted. For example, the operation timing is adjusted to align the ink dot formation positions between CMYK, and shading correction is performed to reduce the variation between print elements. Furthermore, an abnormality in a print element is detected, and the print elements surrounding the print element determined to be abnormal are substituted for the formation of ink dots, that is, a so-called non-ejection complement is performed. In addition, if the number of print elements determined to be abnormal is large, a recovery mechanism (not shown) may be provided to recover the print heads 101k, 101c, 101m, and 101y. If the number of abnormal print elements does not decrease below a certain number even with this recovery mechanism, image formation by that print head may be stopped, and a user may be notified to replace the print head.

[0015] After the user has finished setting the roll paper 100, the user registers information about the set roll paper, specifically, information such as the manufacturer name, paper type, paper size, and paper thickness (hereafter referred to as "paper information"). Here, paper type is information such as plain paper, glossy paper, matte paper, etc., and paper size is information such as the width of the roll paper (e.g., 1000 mm) and roll length (e.g., 30 m). Then, based on the registered paper information, a target transport speed suitable for the set roll paper (hereafter referred to as "target transport speed"), as well as operating parameters for the drying mechanism 102, cooling mechanism 103, etc. are determined.

[0016] The printing device performs printing processing based on a print job submitted by a user. The submitted print job may include, in addition to image data to be printed, instructions regarding the operation parameters of the printing device. The control unit 110 converts the image data included in the submitted print job into data for forming an image by each of the recording heads 101k, 101c, 101m, and 101y ejecting ink of the corresponding color. Then, based on the converted data, the control unit 110 starts printing on the roll paper 100 when the transport speed reaches the target transport speed.

[0017] Here, while the roll paper 100 is accelerating toward the target transport speed, there are many cases where the transport speed does not match between the position where the transport speed is measured (roller encoder, etc.) and the position of each recording head. For this reason, the start of printing according to the image data related to the print job must wait until the roll paper 100 reaches the target transport speed and stabilizes. Also, when the roll paper 100 is stopped from a state in which it is being transported at the target transport speed, the roll paper 100 is transported a certain amount before it comes to a complete stop. Therefore, in this embodiment, a test pattern is efficiently printed to check for printing defects, etc., using paper transported during the time until the roll paper 100 stabilizes at the target transport speed or during the time from the transporting state to the time it stops.

[0018] <Test pattern printing control> Next, the control of the printing of test patterns by the control unit 110 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 2. Here, the explanation will be given taking as an example the printing of test patterns performed at the start of printing, that is, during the acceleration period from when transport of the roll paper 100 begins until the transport speed stabilizes. Note that in the following explanation, the symbol "S" stands for step.

[0019] In S201, paper information and main body information for the roll paper 100 used for printing are read from memory and acquired. Assume now that the acquired paper information indicates that roll paper made by company C has been loaded. The main body information is information that indicates the state and condition of the printing device main body, such as the date and time when parts such as the recording head that affect print quality were replaced and their lifespan, and the date and time when the roll paper was replaced. Assume now that the main body information includes information indicating that the recording head was replaced immediately before printing began.

[0020] In S202, the target transport speed is set based on the acquired paper information. Specifically, a table (not shown) is prepared in advance that associates each roll paper identified by, for example, manufacturer name or paper type with a target transport speed, and the target transport speed is set according to the paper characteristics of the roll paper being used by referring to the table. It is assumed that "20 ips (inch / sec)" is set as the target transport speed based on the paper information. Note that if the user has registered the target transport speed as part of the paper information, the target transport speed may be set based on the paper information.

[0021] In S203, the amount of roll paper transported during acceleration is determined based on the target transport speed set in S202. For example, a table shown in FIG. 3(a) is used for this determination. In the case of the table in FIG. 3(a), the length of roll paper transported during acceleration is associated with multiple stages of "target transport speed." By referring to such a table created in advance, the amount of roll paper transported during acceleration according to the set target transport speed is determined. Since the target transport speed is now 20ips, "1000mm" is determined as the amount of roll paper transported during acceleration. Information on the determined amount of roll paper is stored in the memory of the control unit 110. Note that, instead of referring to a table such as that shown in FIG. 3(a), the amount of roll paper transported may be determined by calculating each time from information such as the acceleration predicted during transport at the set target transport speed.

[0022] In S204, the conveying accuracy during acceleration is derived based on the paper information acquired in S201 and the target conveying speed set in S202. For example, a table shown in FIG. 3(b) is used for this derivation. In the case of the table in FIG. 3(b), the conveying accuracy for each target conveying speed is specified in three levels, "high, medium, and low," linked to the manufacturer name. Here, the ease of stretching and thickness of the paper are given as paper characteristics that have a large effect on the conveying accuracy. For example, in the case of paper that is easy to stretch or thin paper, the fluctuation in tension applied when conveying the paper increases, and the conveying accuracy decreases. The user creates and saves a table such as that shown in FIG. 3(b) in advance based on empirical rules. Note that the printing device improves the conveying accuracy by performing motor control so that the tension fluctuation is constant. In the example table in FIG. 3(b), the conveying accuracy is specified for each manufacturer name, but more detailed items such as paper type may be provided, or the conveying accuracy level may be divided into more detailed levels than three. The conveying accuracy during acceleration is derived by referring to such a table created in advance. Now, a roll of paper made by company C is set, and the target conveying speed is 20 ips, so the conveying accuracy derived from the table in Figure 3(b) is "high." The conveying accuracy information derived in this way is stored in the memory in the control unit 110.

[0023] In S205, a priority is determined for each inspection item based on the paper information and main body information acquired in S201. How the priority for each inspection item is specifically determined will be described later. Assume that the following has been determined in descending order of priority: "dot formation timing (between different colors)", "shading correction", "dot formation timing (between the same color)", and "non-ejection of recording element". Information on the determined priority for each inspection item is stored in a memory in the control unit 110.

[0024] In S206, it is determined which test pattern for which inspection item is to be printed on the roll paper and in what arrangement, based on the amount of roll paper specified in S203, the transport accuracy derived in S204, and the priority of each inspection item determined in S206. FIG. 4 is an example of a table to be referenced when determining the arrangement of the test pattern. In the example table in FIG. 4, the paper length required to print the corresponding test pattern and the required transport accuracy are specified for each inspection item. For example, in the case of the inspection item "non-ejection of a recording element", it is understood that the paper length required to print the detection test pattern is "120 mm", and the level of transport accuracy required is "medium". The arrangement of the test pattern is such that the higher the priority, the later it is printed. This is because, in general, during the period in which the roll paper is accelerated until it reaches the target transport speed, the transport accuracy tends to be worse immediately after the start of acceleration. Currently, the priority of each inspection item is determined in the order of "dot formation timing (between different colors)", "shading correction", "dot formation timing (between the same colors)", and "non-ejection of a recording element". The amount of roll paper specified in S203 is "1000 mm", and the transport accuracy derived in S204 is "high". First, it is determined that the test pattern of "dot formation timing (between different colors)", which has the highest priority, is printed last within the range of the specified amount of roll paper. Then, it is determined that the test pattern of "shading correction", which has the next highest priority, is printed before the test pattern of "dot formation timing (between different colors)". Then, it is determined that the test pattern of "dot formation timing (between the same color)", which has the next highest priority, is printed before the test pattern of "shading correction". At this point, the total length of the test patterns to be formed is "700 mm + 120 mm + 120 mm = 940 mm". Now, the amount of roll paper available for printing the test patterns is "1000 mm", so it is not possible to further form a test pattern with a required paper length of 120 mm. Therefore, it is determined that the test pattern of "non-ejection of recording element", which has the lowest priority, is not printed.Figure 5 shows the test pattern arrangement thus determined, and shows that within the range of "1000 mm" of the roll paper volume transported during acceleration, a "dot formation timing test pattern (between the same color)" is formed first, followed by a shading correction test pattern, and finally a "dot formation timing test pattern (between different colors)." Note that the required paper length for "recording timing (between the same color)" is not necessarily longer than that for "recording timing (between different colors)," but if the device has many multiple nozzle rows of the same color or a large number of colors, the required paper length for "recording timing (between the same color)" will be longer accordingly.

[0025] The above is the overall flow of print control of the test pattern at the start of printing. If the user visually checks the printed test pattern, the test pattern to be arranged may be determined by, for example, multiplying the required paper length for each inspection item in the table of Fig. 4 by 2 to 10 times. When arranging the test pattern, it may be formed at the beginning of acceleration so that it can be judged at a transport speed that is easy to see.

[0026] <Details of priority determination> First, the basic concept of priority determination will be explained. As described above, while the roll paper is accelerating, the position where the transport speed is measured (roller encoder, etc.) often does not match the transport speed of the recording head or scanner. For this reason, it is considered that the distance accuracy in the transport direction of the image obtained by the scanner is not very good. Here, it is possible to improve the distance accuracy by suppressing the acceleration during acceleration, but doing so will increase the amount of roll paper transported before the target transport speed is reached, leading to increased running costs. Therefore, it is important to determine the priority of the test patterns corresponding to each inspection item while taking into account the distance accuracy in the transport direction.

[0027] Based on the above basic concept, in this embodiment, the priority of each inspection item is determined using, for example, a table shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, the cumulative value (overall evaluation value) of the evaluation value of the necessity of each inspection item in various device states based on the paper information and the main body information is calculated using the table in FIG. 6, and the inspection item with a smaller overall evaluation value is determined to have a higher priority. In the table in FIG. 6, evaluation values ​​indicating the importance of each inspection item are assigned to each device state of "roll paper with a lot of paper dust," "new head," "head nearing the end of its life," and "after roll paper replacement." In the case of the table in FIG. 6, the smaller the value, the higher the importance. For example, for "new head," the inspection item "non-ejection of recording element" has a value of "11," which is low in importance, but the inspection items "dot formation timing" and "shading correction" have values ​​of "1 to 3," which are high in importance. The device state is identified based on the paper information and the main body information, and if it is applicable, the evaluation value assigned to it is added to calculate the overall evaluation value for each inspection item. Then, a higher priority is assigned to an inspection item with a smaller calculated overall evaluation value, and the priority of each inspection item is determined. Note that the above-mentioned method of calculating the overall evaluation value is an example, and is not limited to this. For example, an inspection item with a higher necessity may be assigned a higher evaluation value, and in this case, the higher the overall evaluation value, the higher the priority. Also, instead of determining which equipment state corresponds to a single option, a weighted average of each equipment state may be taken. Alternatively, AI may be used to grasp the equipment state.

[0028] When a user visually checks the printed test pattern, the priority is set to be higher for "non-ejection of a recording element" than for "dot formation timing." Also, within the "dot formation timing," the priority is set to be higher for different colors than for same colors.

[0029] <Modification> In the flow of FIG. 2 described above, the test patterns of the inspection items with the highest priority are arranged within the range of the specified roll paper amount in order, and if the test pattern does not fit within the range, the control is performed not to form the test pattern, but this is not limited to this. For example, if the priority of the inspection item corresponding to the test pattern that does not fit is at a certain level or higher, the test pattern may be arranged beyond the specified roll paper amount. In this case, the acceleration during transport is slowed down, etc., so that the length of the test pattern is secured so that it can fit. Also, it is possible to divide the inspection items that you do not want to cut off from the beginning into those that you do not mind cutting off, and to arrange the inspection items that you do not want to cut off preferentially.

[0030] Furthermore, it is desirable to incorporate the priority determination as a design item of the printing device in advance, but it is also possible to allow the user to edit, for example, individual evaluation values.

[0031] For example, if the replacement timing of the print head differs for each color, the priority of "dot formation timing" or "non-ejection of printing elements" may be changed depending on the color.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the case where the test pattern is printed while the roll paper is accelerating at the start of printing has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The technique according to the present disclosure can also be applied to the case where the test pattern is printed while the roll paper is decelerating at the end of printing. That is, after the printing process according to the input print job is completed, the printing device decelerates the roll paper being transported and stops the transport. At this time, the same idea as above can be applied to the case where the test pattern is printed before the roll paper that has been transported at a constant speed completely stops. However, when decelerating, it is not certain that all of the printed test pattern will reach the position of the scanner 104, so some ingenuity is required, such as adding a margin to the amount of roll paper specified in S203.

[0033] [Other embodiments] The present disclosure can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

[0034] The present disclosure also includes the following configurations and methods.

[0035] [Configuration 1] A printing means for printing on a continuous sheet; A conveying means for conveying the continuous sheet; a control unit that causes the printing unit to print a test pattern for inspection of the printing on the continuous sheet during acceleration or deceleration in the conveyance; having the control means determines a test pattern to be printed by the printing means based on the conveying accuracy of the conveying means and the priority of each inspection item. A printing device comprising:

[0036] [Configuration 2] The control means Identifying a length of the continuous sheet conveyed by the conveying means while accelerating or decelerating based on a set target conveying speed; determining a test pattern to be printed by the printing means within the range of the specified length; 2. The printing device according to configuration 1.

[0037] [Configuration 3] 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means derives the conveying accuracy based on characteristics of the continuous sheet.

[0038] [Configuration 4] The characteristic is the ease of stretching the continuous sheet, The printing apparatus according to configuration 3, wherein the control unit performs the derivation such that the conveying accuracy is lower for a continuous sheet that is more likely to stretch.

[0039] [Configuration 5] the characteristic is a thickness of the continuous sheet, The printing apparatus according to configuration 3, wherein the control means performs the derivation such that the conveying accuracy becomes lower for a thinner continuous sheet.

[0040] [Configuration 6] 6. The printing apparatus according to any one of configurations 3 to 5, wherein the control means further derives the transport accuracy based on the target transport speed.

[0041] [Configuration 7] The required transport accuracy is linked to each inspection item. the control means determines, as the test pattern to be printed by the printing means, a test pattern having a desired conveying accuracy that satisfies the derived conveying accuracy, in descending order of the determined priority. 7. The printing device according to any one of configurations 3 to 6.

[0042] [Configuration 8] 8. The printing device according to any one of configurations 1 to 7, wherein the control means determines the priority of each of the inspection items based on information representing a state of the printing device.

[0043] [Configuration 9] 9. The printing device according to configuration 8, wherein the information indicating the state of the printing device is information on a date and time when a part that affects print quality was replaced.

[0044] [Configuration 10] 9. The printing device according to configuration 8, wherein the information indicating the state of the printing device is information regarding the lifespan of a part that affects print quality.

[0045] [Configuration 11] 9. The printing device according to configuration 8, wherein the information indicating the state of the printing device is information on a date and time when the continuous sheet was replaced.

[0046] [Configuration 12] A printing device as described in any one of configurations 1 to 11, characterized in that the control means determines a priority for each inspection item based on a comprehensive evaluation of the necessity of each inspection item in each device status indicated by the information representing the status of the printing device.

[0047] [Configuration 13] 13. The printing device according to any one of configurations 1 to 12, wherein the control means determines the test pattern to be printed by the printing means such that a test item with a higher priority is printed later.

[0048] [Method 1] A printing means for printing on a continuous sheet; A conveying means for conveying the continuous sheet; A method for controlling a printing device comprising: When a test pattern for inspection related to the printing is printed by the printing means on the continuous sheet being accelerated or decelerated by the conveying means, the test pattern to be printed by the printing means is determined based on the conveying accuracy by the conveying means and the priority of each inspection item. A control method comprising:

[0049] [Configuration 15] A program for causing a computer to function as the printing device according to any one of configurations 1 to 13.

Claims

1. A printing means for printing on a continuous sheet; A conveying means for conveying the continuous sheet; a control unit that causes the printing unit to print a test pattern for inspection of the printing on the continuous sheet during acceleration or deceleration in the conveyance; having the control means determines a test pattern to be printed by the printing means based on the conveying accuracy of the conveying means and the priority of each inspection item. A printing device comprising:

2. The control means Identifying a length of the continuous sheet conveyed by the conveying means while accelerating or decelerating based on a set target conveying speed; determining a test pattern to be printed by the printing means within the range of the specified length; 2. The printing device according to claim 1.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the control means derives the conveying accuracy based on characteristics of the continuous sheet.

4. The characteristic is the ease of stretching the continuous sheet, The printing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit performs the derivation such that the conveying accuracy is lower for a continuous sheet that is more likely to stretch.

5. the characteristic is a thickness of the continuous sheet, 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control means performs the derivation so that the conveying accuracy becomes lower as the continuous sheet becomes thinner.

6. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control means further derives the transport accuracy based on the target transport speed.

7. The required transport accuracy is linked to each inspection item. the control means determines, as the test pattern to be printed by the printing means, a test pattern having a desired conveying accuracy that satisfies the derived conveying accuracy, in descending order of the determined priority.

4. The printing device according to claim 3.

8. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the control means determines the priority of each of the inspection items based on information indicating a state of the printing device.

9. 9. The printing device according to claim 8, wherein the information indicating the state of the printing device is information on a date and time when a part that affects print quality was replaced.

10. 9. The printing device according to claim 8, wherein the information indicating the state of the printing device is information regarding the lifespan of a part that affects print quality.

11. 9. The printing device according to claim 8, wherein the information indicating the state of the printing device is information on a date and time when the continuous sheet was replaced.

12. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the control means determines a priority for each of the inspection items based on a comprehensive evaluation of the necessity of each inspection item in each device status indicated by the information representing the status of the printing device.

13. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the control means determines the test pattern to be printed by the printing means such that the test items with higher priorities are printed later.

14. A printing means for printing on a continuous sheet; A conveying means for conveying the continuous sheet; A method for controlling a printing device comprising: When a test pattern for inspection related to the printing is printed by the printing means on the continuous sheet being accelerated or decelerated by the conveying means, the test pattern to be printed by the printing means is determined based on the conveying accuracy by the conveying means and the priority of each inspection item. A control method comprising:

15. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 14.

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