Printing apparatus and method

Abstract

To make it possible in a printing apparatus to suppress liquid density unevenness caused by deviation of landing positions of a liquid discharged from a printing head depending on a type or the like of a medium to which the liquid is to be discharged, while suppressing a decrease of printing speed.SOLUTION: A printing apparatus 1 according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a printing head 11 having a plurality of nozzles capable of discharging a liquid to a medium; a carriage 12; a transport unit 13; and a control unit 10 that performs print control. The control unit 10 performs the print control to satisfy n>m when an image having an ejection amount per unit area equal to or greater than a predetermined amount is formed in a recording target region on a medium, where, n is the number of times of scanning of the carriage 12 with respect to the region to be recorded in when the medium is a swelling medium having a swelling property which is deformed by absorbing the discharged liquid, and is an integer of 2 or more; and m is the number of times of scanning of the carriage 12 with respect to the recorded region in a case where the medium is a non-swelling medium having a smaller deformation amount than the swelling medium, and is a positive integer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a recording apparatus including a changing means capable of changing the distance between a recording head that discharges ink and the recording surface of a recording medium, and a control means that controls the changing means according to the size of the recording medium used for recording and changes the distance according to the size. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, by changing the distance between the recording head and the medium according to the size of the medium, it is possible to suppress the recording head from rubbing against the medium.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, there remains a problem that the landing position of the ink is shifted due to the distance between the recording head, also referred to as the printing head, and the medium changing according to the medium, resulting in a decrease in image quality. Also, in order to solve this problem, it is desirable to avoid reducing the printing speed.

[0005] Therefore, in a printing apparatus, it is desired to develop a technique for suppressing density unevenness caused by the landing position of the liquid discharged from the printing head shifting on the medium according to the type of the medium or the like to be discharged with the liquid, while suppressing a decrease in the printing speed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A printing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a print head having a plurality of nozzles capable of discharging a liquid onto a medium, a carriage on which the print head is mounted and which performs scanning for relatively moving the print head in a first direction with respect to the medium, a conveyance unit that relatively moves the carriage and the medium in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a control unit that performs print control including control of relative movement by the carriage and the conveyance unit and control of discharge of the liquid from the print head based on image data, thereby causing an image indicated by the image data to be formed on the medium. When forming an image having a discharge amount per unit area equal to or greater than a predetermined amount in a recording region on the medium, the control unit sets n as an integer of 2 or more, and when the medium is a swelling medium having a swelling property of absorbing and deforming the discharged liquid, sets the number of scanning times of the carriage with respect to the recording region to n times, and sets m as a positive integer. When the medium is a non-swelling medium having a smaller amount of deformation than the swelling medium, sets the number of scanning times of the carriage with respect to the recording region to m times, and performs print control such that n>m.

[0007] A printing method according to an aspect of the present invention is a printing method in a printing apparatus that includes a print head having a plurality of nozzles capable of discharging a liquid onto a medium, a carriage on which the print head is mounted and which performs scanning for relatively moving the print head in a first direction with respect to the medium, and a conveyance unit that relatively moves the carriage and the medium in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and performs print control including control of relative movement by the carriage and the conveyance unit and control of discharge of the liquid from the print head based on image data, thereby forming an image indicated by the image data on the medium. When forming an image having a discharge amount per unit area equal to or greater than a predetermined amount in a recording region on the medium, the control unit sets n as an integer of 2 or more, and when the medium is a swelling medium having a swelling property of absorbing and deforming the discharged liquid, sets the number of scanning times of the carriage with respect to the recording region to n times, and sets m as a positive integer. When the medium is a non-swelling medium having a smaller amount of deformation than the swelling medium, sets the number of scanning times of the carriage with respect to the recording region to m times, and performs print control such that n>m.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

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Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that each drawing is merely an example for explaining the present embodiment. For example, in drawings such as print results, the ratio, shape, and shading may not be accurate, may not be consistent with each other, or a part may be omitted.

[0010] (Embodiment 1) Using FIGS. 1 to 5, a printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 and a printing method in the printing apparatus will be described. First, an example of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a carriage mounted with a print head in the printing apparatus of FIG. 1 together with a medium.

[0011] The printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a control unit 10, a print head 11, a carriage 12, and a conveyance unit 13. Further, the printing apparatus 1 may include a storage unit 14, a display unit 15, an operation reception unit 16, and a communication unit 17. Although not shown, the printing apparatus 1 may include a group of detectors that monitor the operating status within the printing apparatus 1. In this case, the control unit 10 can control each unit based on the detection results by this group of detectors. Hereinafter, on the premise that the printing apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer that performs printing by an inkjet method, each component will be described.

[0012] The control unit 10 can also be referred to as a controller and performs overall control of the printing apparatus 1. This control includes print control including control of the relative movement between the medium 30 and the print head 11 by the carriage 12 and the conveyance unit 13 and control of liquid ejection from the print head 11. The control unit 10 performs such print control based on the image data to be printed, thereby ejecting liquid onto the medium 30 and executing image formation on the medium 30. The image formed here is the image indicated by the image data. In other words, as print control, the control unit 10 controls the scanning operation of ejecting liquid with the movement of the carriage 12 and the conveyance unit 13 for the image data to be printed, and forms the image indicated by the image data on the medium 30.

[0013] The control unit 10 can be configured to include, for example, an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a working memory, and a storage unit 14 that stores control programs, parameters, and the like. The control unit 10 can also be configured as a SoC (System on a Chip). As can be seen from these examples, the control unit 10 can be configured to store a control program in an executable state. However, the control unit 10 can also be configured to store the control program as a circuit configuration like an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), or configured as a dedicated circuit. The above program can include a program for performing print control as described below.

[0014] The print head 11 ejects a liquid onto the medium 30 by an inkjet method under the control of the control unit 10 to perform image formation, that is, printing. The droplets ejected by the print head 11 are called dots. The liquid is mainly ink, and hereinafter, it will be described on the premise that the liquid is ink, but liquids other than ink may also be ejected. Also, the print head 11 can be referred to as an ink ejection head. Further, the print head 11 is for recording on the medium 30 and can be referred to as a recording head. For the same reason, the printing apparatus 1 can also be referred to as a recording apparatus. Also, the medium 30 is, for example, paper, but any medium that can be printed with ink may be used, and materials other than paper, such as film or fabric, may also be used.

[0015] The print head 11 includes a plurality of nozzles 20 capable of ejecting ink onto the medium 30. For example, on the lower surface of the print head 11, a plurality of nozzle rows are formed in which the nozzles 20 for ejecting ink of one or more colors are arranged at predetermined intervals in the conveyance direction. This predetermined interval is referred to as the nozzle pitch. The nozzles 20 of each color communicate with an ink chamber filled with the corresponding color ink, and the corresponding color ink is supplied from the ink chamber. The ink ejection method from the nozzles 20 can be a piezo method in which a voltage is applied to a piezo element as a driving element to expand and contract the ink chamber, thereby ejecting ink from the nozzles 20. However, as the ink ejection method from the nozzles 20, other methods such as a thermal method in which a voltage is applied to a heating element to generate bubbles in the nozzles 20 and the ink is ejected from the nozzles 20 by the bubbles may be adopted.

[0016] The print head 11 can eject inks of various colors such as cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K), and as illustrated in FIG. 2, includes nozzle rows 11C, 11M, 11Y, and 11K that eject the inks of their respective colors onto the medium 30.

[0017] The carriage 12 mounts the print head 11 and performs a scan that relatively moves the print head 11 in a first direction with respect to the medium 30. This first direction is referred to as the main scanning direction and can be exemplified by the main scanning direction D1 shown in FIG. 2, for example. That is, the carriage 12 can perform a scan that relatively moves the print head 11 in the main scanning direction D1 by reciprocally moving the print head 11 along a predetermined main scanning direction D1 under the control of the control unit 10. Therefore, the movement of the carriage 12 is synonymous with the movement of the print head 11. Further, for this reciprocating movement, the printing apparatus 1 can include a guide rail, a movement mechanism, and a carriage motor (not shown). The guide rail is a rail that functions as a guide for moving the carriage 12 in the main scanning direction D1, and the movement mechanism is a mechanism that moves the carriage 12 in the main scanning direction D1 along the guide rail using the carriage motor as power. Note that the carriage 12 may be referred to as the main scanning unit.

[0018] The main scanning direction D1 can refer to the width direction of the medium 30, that is, the direction in which the print head 11 is moved in the carriage 12. For the sake of convenience, the direction of the main scanning direction D1 shown in FIG. 2 is defined as the forward path, and the reverse direction is defined as the return path. It is assumed that printing is performed in both the forward path and the return path. However, printing may be performed only in one of the forward path or the return path, and the other may be a movement only for returning the position of the carriage 12.

[0019] Hereinafter, the movement from one side to the other side along the main scanning direction D1 is referred to as forward path movement, and the movement from the other side to one side is referred to as return path movement. Further, the ink ejection by the print head 11 accompanying the movement of the print head 11 along the main scanning direction D1 by the carriage 12 can be referred to as "scanning" or "pass". Further, the pass by the forward path movement can be referred to as the forward path pass, and the pass by the return path movement can be referred to as the return path pass. Printing by the forward path pass and the return path pass is bidirectional printing, and printing by only one of the forward path pass and the return path pass is unidirectional printing. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed that the printing apparatus 1 is capable of bidirectional printing.

[0020] The conveyance unit 13 relatively moves the carriage 12 and the medium 30 in a second direction intersecting the first direction. This second direction is referred to as the sub-scanning direction, and can be exemplified by the sub-scanning direction D2 shown in FIG. 2, for example. For example, the conveyance unit 13 conveys the medium 30 to a printable position along a predetermined conveyance path under the control of the control unit 10, and conveys the medium 30 at a predetermined conveyance amount in the sub-scanning direction D2, which is the conveyance direction, during printing. The conveyance unit 13 can include, for example, rollers that rotate to convey the medium 30, a motor as a power source for rotation, and the like. Further, the conveyance unit 13 may be a mechanism that mounts the medium 30 on a drum, belt, or pallet that is moved by a motor and conveys the medium 30. Note that the conveyance unit 13 may be referred to as a sub-scanning unit.

[0021] Further, the medium 30 has a first surface and a second surface located on the back side of the first surface, and the print head 11 is provided for printing on the medium 30. Then, in order to perform printing on both the first surface and the second surface of the medium 30 by the print head 11, the conveyance unit 13 can be provided with a mechanism for inverting the medium 30 from a state where the first surface faces the print head 11 side to a state where the second surface faces. Such inversion of the medium can be executed by the control unit 10 controlling the conveyance unit 13.

[0022] Supplementarily explain the relationship between the print head 11 and the medium 30. FIG. 2 simply shows the relationship between the print head 11 and the medium 30 from a top view. The main scanning direction D1 and the sub-scanning direction D2 intersect. The intersection mentioned here is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular.

[0023] The print head 11 includes a plurality of nozzles 20 capable of discharging ink, and each of the white circles shown in FIG. 2 is an individual nozzle 20. That is, in the example of FIG. 2, in each of the nozzle rows 11C, 11M, 11Y, 11K, a plurality of nozzles 20 with a constant or substantially constant nozzle pitch, which is the interval between the nozzles 20 in the sub-scanning direction D2, are arranged.

[0024] The nozzle row 11C is a nozzle group in which a plurality of nozzles 20 for discharging C ink are arranged. Similarly, the nozzle row 11M is a nozzle group in which a plurality of nozzles 20 for discharging M ink are arranged, the nozzle row 11Y is a nozzle group in which a plurality of nozzles 20 for discharging Y ink are arranged, and the nozzle row 11K is a nozzle group in which a plurality of nozzles 20 for discharging K ink are arranged. The plurality of nozzle rows 11C, 21M, 21Y, 21K are arranged along the main scanning direction D1, and the positions of the nozzles 20 in the sub-scanning direction D2 are the same as each other. In FIG. 2, the nozzle arrangement direction in which a plurality of nozzles 20 constituting the same nozzle row are arranged is parallel to the sub-scanning direction D2, but the nozzle arrangement direction may intersect obliquely with respect to the sub-scanning direction D2. The length of the nozzle row in the sub-scanning direction D2, that is, the length of the nozzle group, can be referred to as the nozzle group length.

[0025] Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the print head 11 is the print head 11 shown in FIG. 2. However, the print head 11 may be any one that can print an image with a desired image quality on a medium. That is, in the print head 11, the number of nozzles for each color, the nozzle pitch, the color of the ink, the number of colors, etc. are not limited to those exemplified. Further, the arrangement of the nozzles 20 in the print head 11 may be such that the nozzles 20 of the same color are arranged at separated positions. Further, for an ink such as black that is frequently used, the print head 11 can also form a plurality of nozzle rows for one color. Further, the ink may be a photocurable ink such as a UV (Ultra Violet) curable ink that cures when irradiated with ultraviolet rays. In that case, the printing apparatus 1 will be provided with an irradiation unit for irradiating ultraviolet rays.

[0026] The carriage 12 mounts the print head 11 as described above and is capable of reciprocating together with the print head 11 in the main scanning direction D1. That is, the carriage 12 can scan relative to the medium 30 in the main scanning direction D1 with the print head 11 mounted thereon. The conveyance unit 13 conveys the medium 30 from the upstream to the downstream in the sub-scanning direction D2 as indicated by the arrow in the sub-scanning direction D2. Hereinafter, the upstream and downstream in the sub-scanning direction D2, that is, the conveyance direction D2 will simply be referred to as the upstream and the downstream. Further, the conveyance of a predetermined distance downstream executed by the conveyance unit 13 between passes can be referred to as "paper feed". The control unit 10 prints a two-dimensional image on the medium 30 by alternately repeating passes and paper feed.

[0027] As described with reference to FIG. 2, a printing method in which the print head 11 executes a pass while moving along the main scanning direction D1 and the medium 30 is fed in the sub-scanning direction D2 between passes is called a serial method. On the other hand, a printing method in which the print head 11 executes a pass while moving along the main scanning direction D1 and moves along the sub-scanning direction D2 instead of paper feeding between passes is called a lateral method. In the lateral method, the print head 11 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction D2 by a predetermined conveyance amount during printing. Therefore, the conveyance unit 13 in the lateral method may include rails, motors, etc. for moving the print head 11 in the sub-scanning direction D2 on or together with the carriage 12. Hereinafter, the description will continue on the premise of the serial method. Naturally, the description may be interpreted by replacing it with the lateral method.

[0028] The storage unit 14 is, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or other memory. A part of the memory included in the control unit 10 may be regarded as the storage unit 14. The storage unit 14 can also be regarded as a part of the control unit 10.

[0029] The display unit 15 is a part for displaying information and is constituted by, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display unit 15 can also have a configuration including a display and a drive circuit for driving the display.

[0030] The operation reception unit 16 is a part for receiving operations and inputs by the user. The operation reception unit 16 can be realized, for example, by either one or both of a physical button and a touch panel mounted on the display unit 15. In a configuration where the operation reception unit 16 includes a touch panel, it can also be referred to as an operation panel of the printing apparatus 1 including the display unit 15 and the touch panel.

[0031] The communication unit 17 can include one or more communication interfaces for the printing apparatus 1 to communicate with one or more external devices by wire or wirelessly in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol including a predetermined communication standard. The external device is, for example, a device having a communication function such as a personal computer (PC), a server, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like. Further, this external device can output print data for causing the printing apparatus 1 to print an image to the printing apparatus 1, and the printing apparatus 1 that has received this print data can perform printing on the medium 30. Further, this external device can perform various settings in the printing apparatus 1. Note that the external device can also be an image reading apparatus that optically reads a medium to be copied. Of course, the printing apparatus 1 may be provided with an image reading apparatus. In that case, the image data to be printed may be image data obtained by optically reading the medium to be copied by the image reading unit.

[0032] Then, the control unit 10 in the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to be capable of performing print control as described below.

[0033] When the control unit 10 forms an image having a discharge amount per unit area equal to or greater than a predetermined amount in a recording area on the medium 30, it performs print control so that n>m. The definitions of n and m will be described below. In the present embodiment, print control such that n>m will be described as swelling characteristic corresponding control.

[0034] Here, n is the number of times the carriage 12 scans the recording area when the medium 30 is a swelling medium, and is an integer of 2 or more. The swelling medium is a medium having a swelling property of absorbing the ejected ink and deforming, and may be referred to as a swelling medium. Also, m is the number of times the carriage 12 scans the recording area when the medium 30 is a non-swelling medium, and is a positive integer. The non-swelling medium is a medium with a smaller amount of deformation than the above-mentioned swelling medium, that is, a medium with a smaller amount of deformation that absorbs ink and deforms than the above-mentioned swelling medium. The non-swelling medium may be referred to as a non-swelling medium. However, many types of media absorb ink to some extent and deform. Therefore, the above-mentioned swelling medium may be referred to as a high-swelling medium or a high-swelling property medium, and the above-mentioned non-swelling medium may be referred to as a low-swelling medium or a low-swelling property medium.

[0035] In this way, when the control unit 10 forms an image with a discharge amount per unit area equal to or more than a predetermined amount on the recording area on the medium 30, it performs control corresponding to the swelling characteristics. This control corresponding to the swelling characteristics, in other words, is a printing control that reduces the number of times the carriage 12 scans the recording area when the medium 30 is a non-swelling medium compared to when it is a swelling medium.

[0036] Note that since the recording area is a unit area that determines the number of times the carriage 12 scans for image formation, for example, it can be determined regardless of the area defined by the width in the sub-scanning direction D2 of the row of nozzles 20 mounted on the print head 11. For the same reason, the recording area can be determined regardless of the area defined by, for example, the band width in the case of adopting a multi-pass method. The area defined by the band width refers to the area defined by the width for forming an image by one scan of the print head 11. However, the recording area can also be defined as an area divided in the main scanning direction D1 in the width in the sub-scanning direction D2 of the row of nozzles 20 mounted on the print head 11 or in the band width. Also, since the recording area is a unit area that determines the number of times the carriage 12 scans for image formation, it may be referred to as a formation area.

[0037] Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of a printing method with swelling characteristic corresponding control in the printing apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the printing method in the printing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1.

[0038] First, the control unit 10 analyzes the image data obtained by receiving from an external device via the communication unit 17 or the like (step S1). This analysis includes the division into each recording target area and the calculation of the discharge amount used for the determination in step S3. Then, the control unit 10 selects the target recording area in the image data (step S2). In step S2, from the image data, for example, the image data corresponding to the first recording target area may be selected starting from the position corresponding to the upper left of the image. When the result in step S8 described later is NO and the selection is made again, the image data corresponding to the next recording target area may be selected in order.

[0039] Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the selected recording target area is an area where the discharge amount per unit area is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount (step S3). That is, in step S3, the control unit 10 determines whether the image indicated by the image data of the selected recording target area is an image where the discharge amount per unit area is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. Also, the case of forming an image with a discharge amount per unit area equal to or greater than a predetermined amount on the recording target area on the medium 30 may refer to the case of forming an image with a discharge duty equal to or greater than a predetermined value, for example, on the target recording area. The predetermined discharge duty can be set in advance, for example, to about 54% in the case of a single color, but is not limited to about 54%. Examples of the predetermined discharge duty will be described later with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0040] When the result in step S3 is YES, that is, when an image with a discharge amount per unit area equal to or greater than a predetermined amount is formed on the recording target area on the medium 30, the control unit 10 performs swelling characteristic corresponding control. As this swelling characteristic corresponding control, first, the control unit 10 determines whether the medium 30 is a swelling medium (step S4).

[0041] The determination of whether the medium 30 is a swelling medium can be performed, for example, according to the specification by the user as to whether it is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium. Therefore, the printing apparatus 1 may be provided with a first reception unit which is a reception unit that receives a user operation for specifying whether the medium 30 for forming an image is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium. The first reception unit can be exemplified by the operation reception unit 16 or the communication unit 17. The user may, for example, determine whether it is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium based on the result of actually performing printing, and then make a specification. The operation reception unit 16 passes information indicating the specification received as a user operation to the control unit 10. The communication unit 17 receives information indicating the specification from an external device such as a PC and passes it to the control unit 10. Then, the control unit 10 determines whether the medium 30 for forming an image is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium based on the user operation received by the first reception unit.

[0042] The swelling medium and the non-swelling medium can be defined, for example, as follows. For example, the swelling medium may refer to a medium that is distributed in the market as a swelling medium, and the non-swelling medium may refer to other media. Alternatively, the swelling medium may refer to a medium having a swelling layer, that is, a receptive layer with swelling properties, and the non-swelling medium may refer to a medium without a swelling layer. The swelling layer is a layer that has been pre-treated so that ink easily penetrates the medium, and can also be referred to as a penetration layer. The penetration layer is generally formed on the medium in order to prevent the ink from dripping even when the medium is tilted immediately after the ink penetrates. Therefore, the swelling medium may refer to a medium that has been pre-treated to promote ink penetration, and the non-swelling medium may refer to a medium that has not been subjected to such pre-treatment. Here, the pre-treatment refers to, for example, a treatment after the drying process by heating, and refers to a treatment before performing calender processing to enhance density and smoothness. Alternatively, the swelling medium may refer to a medium of a specified type such as a polypropylene film, a mat paper such as a Backlit film, etc., and the non-swelling medium may refer to other types of media. Alternatively, the non-swelling medium may refer to a medium of a specified type such as plain paper, glossy paper, etc., and the swelling medium may refer to other types of media.

[0043] If the answer in step S4 is YES, the control unit 10 sets the number of scanning times for the recording area to n times (step S5). If the answer in step S4 is NO, the control unit 10 sets the number of scanning times for the recording area to m times (step S6). As described above, m < n. In this way, when the answer in step S3 is YES, the control unit 10 determines whether to scan the target recording area n times or m times.

[0044] On the other hand, when the answer in step S3 is NO, the control unit 10 sets the number of scanning times for the recording area to d times (step S7) and proceeds to the process of step S6. Here, d is a positive integer and is the default number of scanning times. Of course, even if the control unit 10 does not perform such a setting when the answer in step S3 is NO, it can automatically process the number of scanning times as d times. d may be determined in advance as a value that realizes the required printing speed. d may be the same value as m, or the same value as n, or a value different from both n and m. However, by setting d < n, even when the answer in step S3 is NO, printing can be performed without the scanning speed becoming slower than the printing speed corresponding to n times.

[0045] After any of the processes in steps S5, S6, and S7, the control unit 10 determines whether the setting of all recording areas has been completed (step S8). If the answer in step S8 is NO, the control unit 10 returns to step S2 and continues the process for the next recording area.

[0046] If the answer in step S8 is YES, the control unit 10 performs printing control so as to form the image indicated by the image data on the medium 30 according to the number of scanning times for each recording area set in any of steps S6 to S8 for the target image data analyzed in step S1. The control unit 10 performs this printing control on the carriage 12, the conveyance unit 13, and the print head 11. An example of such printing control with the changed number of scanning times will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0047] The printing apparatus 1 thus performs printing control including control of relative movement by the carriage 12 and the conveyance unit 13 and control of ink ejection from the print head 11 based on the image data, thereby forming an image indicated by the image data on the medium 30.

[0048] In particular, when YES in step S3, the control unit 10 performs swelling characteristic corresponding control such as making the number of scans associated with printing on the recording area when ejecting ink onto the swelling medium larger than the number of scans associated with printing on the same recording area when ejecting ink onto the non-swelling medium. Thereby, when the medium 30 is a swelling medium and when it is a non-swelling medium, the images formed on the medium 30 have different numbers of scans from each other, at least when YES in step S3. Therefore, when YES in step S3, even if the medium 30 is a swelling medium, deterioration of image quality due to deviation of the landing position can be compensated, and the difference in image quality from the case where the medium 30 is a non-swelling medium can be reduced.

[0049] That is, in the printing apparatus 1, when printing on a medium in which image quality deterioration can occur due to swelling, printing is executed with an increased number of scans, that is, the number of passes, so as to suppress the deterioration, and when printing on a medium in which image quality deterioration is unlikely to occur, the printing speed can be ensured by executing printing with fewer passes. In this way, in the printing apparatus 1, density unevenness due to deviation of the landing position of the ink ejected from the print head 11 on the medium 30 according to the type of the medium 30 to which ink is to be ejected can be suppressed while suppressing a decrease in the printing speed.

[0050] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the effects of such a printing apparatus 1 will be supplementarily described. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the result of forming an image on a non-swelling medium in a printing apparatus according to a comparative example. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the result of forming an image on a swelling medium in a printing apparatus according to a comparative example. Of course, both examples of FIGS. 4 and 5 are examples in which an image is formed without swelling characteristic corresponding control as in the present embodiment.

[0051] In the printing apparatus according to the comparative example, for the purpose of achieving both high printing speed and high image quality, two-pass overlapping is performed. In FIG. 4, for a certain image data, ink 41, ink 42, and ink 43 ejected in the first pass, the second pass, and the first pass to another recording area with respect to the non-swellable medium 30A are schematically shown. In FIG. 5, for the same image data, ink 51, ink 52, and ink 53 ejected in the first pass, the second pass, and the first pass to another recording area with respect to the swellable medium 30B are schematically shown. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction (the conveyance direction) are also shown in the same directions as the main scanning direction D1 and the sub-scanning direction D2 in FIG. 2. Also, in FIGS. 4 and 5, for convenience, ink 41 to 43 are shifted in the thickness direction of the non-swellable medium 30A, and ink 51 to 53 are shifted in the thickness direction of the swellable medium 30B and shown.

[0052] When forming an image with the printing apparatus 1 according to the comparative example, even if the amount of ink ejected from the print head 11a is large during image formation, the non-swellable medium 30A does not swell or swells less in the thickness direction of the non-swellable medium 30A perpendicular to the conveyance direction D2. Also, the non-swellable medium 30A does not contract or contracts less in the direction parallel to the conveyance direction D2 during image formation. Therefore, even when an image is formed with the printing apparatus 1 according to the comparative example, for example, in the overlapping portion 40 of ink 41 and ink 42, it is less likely that ink 43 overlaps unintentionally.

[0053] On the other hand, during image formation, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the amount of ink ejected from the print head 11a is large, the swelling medium 30B swells in the thickness direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction D2 and contracts in the direction parallel to the conveyance direction D2. In FIG. 5, such swelling and contraction are indicated by double-headed arrows. Further, the swelling of the swelling medium 30B in the thickness direction may also cause contraction in the direction parallel to the main scanning direction D1. And as the amount of ink increases, the amount of such swelling and contraction tends to increase. Thus, the swelling medium 30B has the property that the greater the discharge amount in one pass during image formation, the greater the swelling in the thickness direction of the swelling medium 30B and the greater the contraction in the main scanning direction D1 and the conveyance direction D2.

[0054] Therefore, when image formation is performed on the swelling medium 30B with the printing apparatus 1 according to the comparative example, as shown by the portion 50, due to contraction, the portion that was scheduled to be ejected twice is ejected three times. As a result, in the portion 50, the density becomes 3 / 2 of the density during image formation in two passes, and a dark line, that is, banding occurs. Further, in order to reduce the influence of such banding, with the printing apparatus according to the comparative example, image formation can also be performed in multiple passes of three passes or more. Thereby, with the printing apparatus according to the comparative example, for example, when image formation is performed in three passes, this density becomes 4 / 3 and the banding becomes less noticeable, but the printing speed becomes 2 / 3.

[0055] In contrast, in the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the recording area is an area for forming an image with a high discharge duty, the number of passes in the case where the medium 30 is a swelling medium is increased compared to the case where the medium 30 is a non-swelling medium. Thereby, in the printing apparatus 1, deformation due to swelling can be suppressed, displacement of the landing position can be suppressed, and as a result, banding, that is, density unevenness can be suppressed. Here, in the printing apparatus 1, when the medium 30 is a non-swelling medium, even when the recording area is an area for forming an image with a high discharge duty, the number of passes can be suppressed to m times, which is less than n times. Therefore, a decrease in the printing speed can also be suppressed.

[0056] That is, in the printing apparatus 1, for a recording area with a large discharge amount onto the medium 30, the discharge is divided into multiple times to reduce the discharge amount per time, and for a recording area with a small discharge amount, in order to suppress a decrease in the printing speed, printing is performed with a low pass. In this way, the printing apparatus 1 can perform printing while achieving both reduction of the influence of shrinkage due to swelling and suppression of a decrease in the printing speed.

[0057] Also, in the example of FIG. 3, as described above, by setting d = m or the like, i.e., setting d < n, even when the answer in step S3 is NO, printing can be performed without becoming slower than the printing speed corresponding to n scanning times. In the printing apparatus 1 that performs control with such a setting, regardless of the discharge duty in the recording area, when the amount of ink to be discharged is large and the medium 30 is a swelling medium, the number of passes is increased, and when it is otherwise, the number of passes is decreased, so that both suppression of density unevenness and ensuring of the printing speed can be achieved.

[0058] Also, by setting d < m in the example of FIG. 3, when the answer in step S3 is NO, that is, in the recording area where image formation is performed with a low discharge duty, the printing speed can be further improved, while on the other hand, density unevenness can be suppressed for portions that require a large amount of ink.

[0059] Also, for example, even when the answer in step S3 is NO, the control unit 10 may execute determination of the medium and setting of the number of scans in the same manner as in steps S4, S5, and S6, that is, may execute control corresponding to the swelling characteristics. In that case, the number of scans is set to be smaller than the values n and m set in steps S5 and S6, respectively, so that the minimum printing speed can be ensured. In this way, in the printing apparatus 1, when the medium 30 is a non-swelling medium and the recording area has a low discharge duty, the number of passes may be decreased, and when the medium 30 is a swelling medium and the recording area has a high discharge duty, the number of passes may be increased to suppress density unevenness.

[0060] Also, for example, even if the answer in step S3 is NO, the control unit 10 executes the determination of the medium and the setting of the number of scans in the same manner as in steps S4, S5, and S6, and the number of scans in that case may be the same as the values n and m set in steps S5 and S6, respectively. In other words, in the example of FIG. 3, the control unit 10 may perform print control excluding the processes of steps S3 and S7. When performing such print control, the printing apparatus 1 has the effect of suppressing density unevenness when the medium 30 is a swelling medium, and improving the printing speed when the medium 30 is a non-swelling medium compared to the case where the medium 30 is a swelling medium.

[0061] In the example of FIG. 3, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, it is described on the premise that the image data obtained in step S1 is all of the image data to be printed. However, in step S1, for example, among the image data obtained as the printing target, the analysis may be performed on the image data of the unit for which the analysis is performed to execute image formation. Needless to say, the image data of the unit for which the analysis is performed to execute image formation is the image data of a region having a range larger than the recording target region. In this case, the processing of FIG. 3 is performed on the selected analysis target image data among the image data obtained as the printing target, and the selection of the analysis target image data and the processing of FIG. 3 may be repeated until the analysis target image data runs out. Thereby, the printing apparatus 1 can finish forming the image indicated by the image data obtained as the printing target.

[0062] (Embodiment 2) The printing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 is different from the printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 in the process related to the determination of the medium 30. Therefore, also for Embodiment 2, the description will be made based on the configuration of the printing apparatus 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the description will be centered on the differences from Embodiment 1, but various examples described in Embodiment 1 can be applied.

[0063] In Embodiment 1, the determination as to whether the medium 30 in step S4 is a swelling medium is executed according to the designation of whether it is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium received by the operation reception unit 16 or a user operation from an external device.

[0064] In contrast, the control unit 10 in the present embodiment determines whether the medium 30 to be imaged is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium based on the association information associating the type of the medium with the swelling characteristics of the medium. The type of the medium 30 may be obtained, for example, by detecting with a separately installed sensor or by being specified by the user as described later. As this sensor, for example, a sensor that irradiates light on the medium 30 and detects the reflectance of the light, or a camera that images the surface image of the medium 30 can be mentioned.

[0065] This association information may be stored in the internal memory of the control unit 10 or the storage unit 14. This association information can be stored, for example, as a table. Further, the swelling characteristics may refer to, for example, simply whether it is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium, or may refer to the degree of swelling. When the swelling characteristics refer to the degree of swelling, the control unit 10 may determine whether it is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium based on a threshold value for the degree.

[0066] With such a configuration, in the printing apparatus 1, even when the medium 30 is a medium whose swelling or non-swelling state is unknown to the user, the swelling characteristic corresponding control described in the first embodiment can be executed, and both suppression of density unevenness and ensuring of the printing speed can be achieved.

[0067] Further, the printing apparatus 1 may include a second reception unit that is a reception unit for designating the type of the medium 30. That is, the second reception unit receives a type designation operation by the user for designating the type of the medium 30 on which an image is to be formed. Similar to the first reception unit, the second reception unit can be exemplified by the operation reception unit 16 or the communication unit 17. The operation reception unit 16 passes information indicating the type received as a user operation to the control unit 10. The communication unit 17 receives information indicating the type from an external device such as a PC and passes it to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 may determine whether the medium 30 on which an image is to be formed is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium based on the type designation operation received by the second reception unit and the stored association information.

[0068] Further, the above-mentioned association information is not limited to the information stored in advance, and may be information that can be updated or information that can be newly set. An example of this will be given with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface (UI) used in the printing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment.

[0069] In order to enable such update or new setting, the printing apparatus 1 may include a third reception unit that is a reception unit for receiving a user operation for associating the type of the medium with the swelling characteristics of the medium. Similar to the first reception unit, the third reception unit can be exemplified by the operation reception unit 16 or the communication unit 17. The operation reception unit 16 passes information regarding the association received as a user operation to the control unit 10. The communication unit 17 receives information regarding the association from an external device such as a PC and passes it to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 may update or newly store the association information based on this information.

[0070] For example, the third reception unit may cause the UI image 60 shown in FIG. 6 to be displayed on the display unit 15 or an external device such as a PC, and receive such a user operation for association. The UI image 60 includes the medium names stored as swelling media and non-swelling media, and includes radio buttons 61 to 66 associated with each medium name. Note that in FIG. 6, the A4 paper simply means a certain specific type of paper, and the B5 paper refers to a certain specific type of paper different from the A4 paper.

[0071] The third reception unit selects, as the swelling medium, the medium name corresponding to the button selected by the user among the radio buttons 61 to 63, and selects, as the non-swelling medium, the medium name corresponding to the button selected by the user among the radio buttons 64 to 66. When the OK button 67, that is, the setting button 67, is selected in the state where the selection has been made in this way, the control unit 10 updates the association information according to the buttons respectively selected as the swelling medium and the non-swelling medium. Of course, a more complex UI image may be prepared and the user may be allowed to edit the association information to update the association information. Note that the UI image 60 also includes a cancel button 68. When the cancel button 68 is selected, the UI image 60 is closed without setting the association information. Also, "determining whether the medium is a swelling medium or the non-swelling medium" includes updating the above-mentioned association information.

[0072] Also, the UI image 60 may include the medium names that are candidates for the swelling medium and the non-swelling medium. Thereby, when the setting button 67 is selected in the same procedure, the control unit 10 newly stores the association information according to the buttons respectively selected as the swelling medium and the non-swelling medium. Of course, a more complex UI image may be prepared to newly store more association information.

[0073] The above-mentioned association information may be updated or newly set from the third reception unit, for example, based on the result of the user actually performing printing.

[0074] Then, the control unit 10 may determine whether the medium 30 to be imaged is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium based on the association information associating the type of the medium 30 and the swelling characteristics of the medium 30 indicated by the user operation received by the third reception unit.

[0075] Regardless of being limited to the example of FIG. 6, for example, a UI image that lists the types of paper and allows selection of which of the swelling medium and non-swelling medium each type corresponds to can also be used. Also, even in the example including the third reception unit, if the printing apparatus 1 includes a second reception unit for designating the type of the medium 30, based on the type designation operation received by the second reception unit and the stored association information, it can be determined whether the medium 30 is a swelling medium or a non-swelling medium.

[0076] As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment, the determination of the medium 30 can be facilitated based on the association information. Further, in the present embodiment, by enabling reception of a user operation regarding update or new setting of the association information, the determination content can be changed according to the user operation, that is, the determination of the medium 30 can be made according to the user's sense of swelling property, resulting in a determination result that conforms to the user's sense. And by being able to make the determination of the medium 30 according to the user's sense, it is possible to achieve both suppression of density unevenness and ensuring of printing speed in a balance desired by the user.

[0077] Furthermore, the printing apparatus 1 may include a fourth reception unit that is a reception unit for receiving a user operation regarding the values of n and m or the values of n, m, and d, whereby the above balance can be set in more detail.

[0078] Here, a program for causing the printing apparatus 1 to execute printing from an external device such as a PC will be supplemented. This program is referred to as driver software or the like. This program is a program that causes a computer such as a PC that controls the printing apparatus 1 to display a UI image for receiving information received by any one or more of the first to fourth reception units described above, receive it, and execute a process of passing it to the printing apparatus 1.

[0079] (Embodiment 3) The printing apparatus according to Embodiment 3 is different from the printing apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 in that restrictions are imposed on the movement of the carriage 12 accompanied by ink ejection on the premise that ink can be ejected by the reciprocation of the carriage 12. Therefore, also for Embodiment 3, the description will be made based on the configuration of the printing apparatus 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the description will be centered on the differences from Embodiment 1, but various examples described in Embodiments 1 and 2 can be applied.

[0080] When forming an image with a discharge amount per unit area less than the predetermined amount on the medium 30 in this embodiment and when the image is text or a line drawing, the control unit 10 in this embodiment performs control under the following restrictions. That is, in such a case, the control unit 10 uniformly controls the movement of the carriage 12 accompanied by ink ejection from the print head 11 only in the forward path or only in the return path in the first direction exemplified in the main scanning direction D1. Note that the determination as to whether the image is text or a line drawing may be a determination as to whether the image is text, a determination as to whether the image is a line drawing, or a determination as to whether the image corresponds to at least one of text and a line drawing.

[0081] An example of print control in which the number of scans per recording area, that is, the number of passes per recording area, is changed, including such control, will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of a printing method in the printing apparatus according to Embodiment 3, and is also a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a change in the number of scans per recording area in the printing method of FIG. 3. FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the flow of the printing method accompanied by the change in the number of scans in FIG. 7.

[0082] First, as described in step S1 of FIG. 3, the image data is analyzed, divided for each recording area, and it is determined whether the recording area has a discharge amount per unit area equal to or greater than the predetermined amount as described in step S3. Then, in step S9, the control unit 10 performs a process of decomposing the number of scans for the recording area in which the number of scans is set to m times. This process is also referred to as a pass decomposition process or a pass division process.

[0083] As an example, the path decomposition process when forming an image 70 indicated by image data on a medium 30 as shown in FIG. 7 will be described. Here, an example is given on the premise that the medium 30 is a non-swellable medium, that up to six passes are used to form the image 70 on the medium 30, that is, m = 6, and that d = 4. Further, in this example, as shown in FIG. 7, it is described that the first to sixth passes of the print head 11 are scanned at the positions in the ranges indicated by the print heads 11-1 to 11-6, respectively. Note that FIG. 7 illustrates the relative positions of the print head 11 in the sub-scanning direction D2 with respect to the medium 30 by the print heads 11-1 to 11-6.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 8, when forming the image 70 on the medium 30, the control unit 10 performs analysis for each recording area, and for each recording area, determines whether the recording area is a recording area where the discharge amount per unit area is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, and determines whether the image is a character or a line drawing. Here, the control unit 10 may perform the determination as to whether it is a character or a line drawing only when it is less than the predetermined amount. Note that the control unit 10 can execute the determination as to whether it is a character or a line drawing itself using existing technologies such as performing determination of the image formation width.

[0085] Based on these determinations, the control unit 10 divides the image 70 into an image 71 of an area that is a character or a line drawing and an image 72 of other areas as shown in FIG. 8. Note that blank areas in the images 71 and 72 may be treated as areas where no data exists. Thereafter, the control unit 10 performs path division processing A on the image 71 (step S11), and determines, for example, to form the image 71 by discharging in two passes, i.e., the third pass P3 and the fifth pass P5. Note that the example is not limited to forming the image 71 with the third pass P3 and the fifth pass P5. In the case of d = 4, two passes out of the first to sixth passes P1 to P6 may be selected, and a predetermined pass out of the forward path passes that are odd passes or the return path passes that are even passes may be selected.

[0086] Further, the control unit 10 refers to information indicating that the image 71 is formed by the third path P3 and the fifth path P5 as a result of the path splitting process A (step S12), and performs a path splitting process B different from the path splitting process A on the image 72 (step S13). The information referred to in step S12 may be information indicating that an image corresponding to other than characters or line drawings, that is, an image that requires a discharge amount of a predetermined amount or more, is printed on a path different from the image corresponding to characters or line drawings. Based on the path splitting process B that has received such information, the control unit 10 determines, for example, to form the image 72 by discharging on the first, second, fourth, and sixth paths P1, P2, P4, and P6 excluding the third path P3 and the fifth path P5. However, the control unit 10 may determine to form the image 72 by discharging on all six paths of the first to sixth paths P1 to P6 by the path splitting process B.

[0087] Also, although not shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the result in step S3 is NO and it is not a character or a line drawing, since d = 4, the control unit 10 may select four paths out of the first to sixth paths P1 to P6 regardless of whether they are forward paths or return paths.

[0088] The control unit 10 executes the path splitting process A and the path splitting process B in this way, determines the positional relationship between the position of the print head 11 and each pixel of the image, that is, the positional relationship between each nozzle 20 and each pixel, and can generate print data according to the determination. Note that the control unit 10 may generate print data for both the path splitting process A and the path splitting process B, and finally synthesize them to generate the final print data. Then, the control unit 10 may control the carriage 12, the conveyance unit 13, and the print head 11 so as to form the image 70 on the medium 30 based on the generated print data.

[0089] Also, in the above example, it is premised that the medium 30 is a non-swellable medium and satisfies m = 6, but it can be similarly applied to an example in which the medium 30 is a swellable medium and satisfies n = 6.

[0090] According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of Embodiment 1 or 2, the following effects can be obtained. First, in the case of a recording area with a high ejection duty, since it will be filled in, the deviation of the landing position is less likely to be a problem. However, the lower the ejection duty of the recording area, the more conspicuous the deviation of the landing position becomes. And when forming an image in a bidirectional path, the deviation of the landing position between the forward path and the return path also becomes a problem, and correction for this may also be performed. On the other hand, in this embodiment, when forming an image of characters or a line drawing with a low ejection duty, by unifying the path direction and forming an image for the recording area with a low ejection duty, the problem of the deviation of the landing position between the forward path and the return path can be solved without increasing the number of paths unnecessarily.

[0091] (Example of a predetermined ejection duty) Regarding the predetermined amount described in Embodiments 1 to 3, an example of a predetermined ejection duty will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a test method for determining a predetermined ejection duty. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a medium to be tested in the test method of FIG. 9.

[0092] As an example of the case where the medium 30 is a swelling medium, two types of swelling media when the medium 30 is a polypropylene (PP) film and a Backlit film were tested in a printing environment of 23°C and 43%RH. As the PP film, B95 FlyCenter_PPs_170 with a weight of 170 g / m2 was used. As the Backlit film, B95 Deshiwei_BLF_150 with a weight of 150 g / m2 was used.

[0093] For these media, especially the PP film, the printing state varies greatly depending on the use environment. For example, due to the time of contact with moisture in the air, etc., bleeding and non-bleeding areas occur even within the same medium. Therefore, the medium was managed and the test was conducted as follows.

[0094] An example of a roll medium in which the medium is wound in a roll shape will be given. First, when storing the medium, it is wrapped with a buffer sheet and a transparent film and stored back in the packaging box. Then, at the time of printing, it is determined whether it is the first day of the week (step S21). If YES, a predetermined non-swelling medium is set in the printing apparatus (step S22), and an alignment check is performed (step S23). Here, PGPP was used as the predetermined non-swelling medium. PGPP is an abbreviation for Premium Glossy Photo Paper and is a glossy photo paper of EPSON (registered trademark). The alignment check in step S23 prints a predetermined alignment pattern on a predetermined non-swelling medium and visually checks whether there is any deviation in the landing position. The predetermined alignment pattern is set as a nozzle check pattern that allows the ejection state from the nozzles to be understood.

[0095] As a result of this alignment check, it is determined whether there is any visual deviation (step S24). If YES, that is, if there is no visual deviation, a predetermined swelling medium 90 is set (step S25). The predetermined swelling medium 90 will be one of the above-described two types of swelling media. Next, it is determined whether the predetermined swelling medium 90 has been fed by 1 m or more (step S26). If YES in step S26, an alignment pattern 93 is printed on the predetermined swelling medium 90, and further a sample pattern 94 is printed (step S27), and the process ends. After the work is completed, the predetermined swelling medium is not left attached but is removed and returned to the box. If NO in step S26, it is fed by 1 m or more and the process proceeds to step S27.

[0096] The alignment pattern 93 will be printed with a blank area 91 of 1 m opened from the start of winding. Note that the alignment pattern 93 is made the same as the predetermined alignment pattern printed in the alignment check in step S23. Also, if NO in step S21, a predetermined swelling medium is set (step S29), and the process proceeds to step S23.

[0097] If the answer in step S24 is NO, that is, if there is misalignment visually, a predetermined non-swellable medium is set (step S30), alignment check similar to step S23 is performed (step S31), and adjustment of the print head is performed as necessary (step S32). After step S32, the process returns to step S21.

[0098] As described above, as sample printing rules, the following (1) to (3) were provided and printing was performed. (1) Do not perform sample printing on the portion within 1 m from the start of winding. (2) Print an alignment pattern in front of the print sample and visually check whether the landing position is misaligned. (3) From the start of winding to the printing area of the alignment pattern 93, that is, for the area 92, it is stored to check whether bleeding occurs and alignment is stable by checking the nozzle check pattern and voltage value.

[0099] Although only the example where the medium is a roll medium has been described, in the case of a cut medium, for example, a medium cut to A4 size, the medium is put in a file, wrapped in a plastic bag, stored, and the same test was performed.

[0100] As a result of the above tests, when the discharge amount was converted to a single color, density unevenness due to misalignment of the landing position occurred in a solid image with a discharge duty of 54%. Therefore, it can be understood that a predetermined discharge duty may be set, for example, to 54% or, with a margin, to about 50%.

[0101] (Other Modification Examples) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist. For example, the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment may be configured not to include some of the components of the printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1. For example, the printing apparatus 1 may receive a user operation even if it includes only one of the display unit 15, the operation reception unit 16, and the communication unit 17.

[0102] In the above description, it was assumed that the nozzle ejects one type of dot. However, in a printing apparatus, it may be configured to distribute two or more types of dots having different sizes by changing the type of input signal, that is, by changing the input voltage.

[0103] In the above description, it was assumed that the printing apparatus is an inkjet printer. However, the printing apparatus can be widely applied to copiers, facsimiles, multifunction devices having these functions, and the like.

[0104] In addition, the above-described printing apparatus, external devices such as a PC, etc. can all be configured to include, for example, the following hardware configuration. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the apparatus.

[0105] The apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 11 can include a processor 101, a memory 102, and an interface 103. The interface 103 can include, as required according to the apparatus, for example, a communication interface or an interface with an input / output device, etc.

[0106] The processor 101 may be, for example, a CPU, a GPU, an MPU (Micro Processor Unit) also referred to as a microprocessor, etc. The processor 101 may include a plurality of processors. The memory 102 is configured, for example, by a combination of a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The functions in each apparatus are realized by the processor 101 reading a program stored in the memory 102 and executing it while exchanging necessary information via the interface 103.

[0107] Also, when the above-described program is loaded into a computer, it includes a set of instructions (or software code) for causing the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, the computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD), or other memory technologies. Also, by way of example and not limitation, the computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc, or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices. The program may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, the transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0108] As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited only to the configurations of the above embodiments, and various modifications, corrections, and combinations that can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the invention of the claims of the present patent application are of course included.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0109] D1…Main scanning direction, D2…Sub-scanning direction (transport direction), 1…Printing device, 10…Control unit, 11, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6…Printing heads, 11C…Cyan nozzle row, 11M…Magenta nozzle row, 11Y…Yellow nozzle row, 11K…Black nozzle row, 12…Carriage, 13…Transport unit, 14…Memory unit, 15…Display unit, 16…Operation reception unit, 17…Communication unit, 20…Nozzle, 30…Medium, 30A…Non-swellable medium, 30B…Swellable medium, 40, 50…Regions, 41, 42, 43, 51, 52, 53…Inks, 70, 71, 72…Images, 60…UI image, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66…Radio buttons, 67…OK button, 68…Cancel button, 90…Predetermined swellable medium, 91…Blank region, 92…Region, 93…Alignment pattern, 94…Sample pattern, 100…Device, 101…Processor, 102…Memory, 103…Interface

Claims

1. A print head having a plurality of nozzles capable of ejecting liquid onto a medium; a carriage that carries the print head and performs scanning to move the print head relative to the medium in a first direction; a transport unit that moves the carriage and the medium relatively in a second direction that intersects with the first direction; a control unit that performs printing control based on image data, including control of relative movement of the carriage and the transport unit and control of ejection of the liquid from the print head, thereby forming an image represented by the image data on the medium; When an image having a discharge amount per unit area of ​​a predetermined amount or more is formed in a recording area on the medium, the control unit where n is an integer of 2 or more, and the number of scans of the carriage with respect to the recording area is n times when the medium is a swelling medium that has swelling properties that cause the medium to deform upon absorbing the ejected liquid, When the medium is a non-swelling medium that is less deformed than the swelling medium, the number of scans of the carriage over the recording area is m, where m is a positive integer, and A printing device that performs printing control so that n>m.

2. A storage unit that stores information regarding swelling characteristics, 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit includes a table having association information that associates the type of the medium with the swelling characteristics of the medium.

3. a reception unit that receives a user operation for associating the type of the medium with the swelling characteristics of the medium; The printing device described in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit determines whether the medium on which an image is to be formed is the swelling medium or the non-swelling medium based on correspondence information indicating the type of medium and the swelling characteristics of the medium indicated by the user operation received by the reception unit.

4. a reception unit that receives a type designation operation by a user to designate the type of the medium on which an image is to be formed, A printing device as described in claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that the control unit determines whether the medium on which an image is to be formed is the swelling medium or the non-swelling medium based on the type designation operation and the correspondence information received by the reception unit.

5. a reception unit that receives a user operation that specifies whether the medium on which an image is to be formed is the swelling medium or the non-swelling medium, The printing device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines whether the medium on which an image is to be formed is the swelling medium or the non-swelling medium based on the user operation received by the reception unit.

6. When an image having a discharge amount per unit area smaller than the predetermined amount is formed on the medium, and the image is a character or a line drawing, 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movement of the carriage accompanied by the ejection of the liquid from the print head is unified to only a forward path or only a return path in the first direction.

7. A print head having a plurality of nozzles capable of ejecting liquid onto a medium; a carriage that carries the print head and performs scanning to move the print head relative to the medium in a first direction; a transport unit that moves the carriage and the medium relatively in a second direction that intersects with the first direction; a printing method for forming an image represented by image data on the medium by performing print control including control of relative movement of the carriage and the transport unit and control of ejection of the liquid from the print head based on image data, When an image having a discharge amount per unit area of ​​a predetermined amount or more is formed in a recording area on the medium, where n is an integer of 2 or more, and the number of scans of the carriage with respect to the recording area is n times when the medium is a swelling medium that has swelling properties that cause the medium to deform upon absorbing the ejected liquid, When the medium is a non-swelling medium that is less deformed than the swelling medium, the number of scans of the carriage over the recording area is m, where m is a positive integer, and A printing method comprising the steps of: controlling printing so that n>m.

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