Ink-jet recording device, ink-jet recording method, and ink-jet recording system

Abstract

To achieve high image quality.SOLUTION: This ink-jet recording device comprises: a recording head that discharges a colored ink containing a coloring material and reaction liquid contacted with the coloring material to cause coagulation of the coloring material to a recording medium to record an image; recording means for recording a plurality of test patterns formed by associating a plurality of first pattern images of the prescribed amount of the colored ink with a plurality of second pattern images of the different amount of the reaction liquid on the recording medium by the recording head; drying means for drying the test patterns on the recording medium when the test patterns are recorded on the recording medium by the recording means; acquisition means for acquiring recording information corresponding to the recording result of each of the test patterns; and determination means for determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying condition for the drying means when recording on the recording medium on the basis of the recording information acquired by the acquisition means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 15

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an inkjet recording apparatus, an inkjet recording method, and an inkjet recording system, and more particularly to a technique for suppressing ink bleeding on a recording medium using a reaction liquid.

Background Art

[0002] In this type of inkjet recording apparatus, when discharging ink onto a recording medium, a reaction liquid is discharged together and brought into contact with the ink on the recording medium to cause aggregation in the coloring material of the ink. By such aggregation of the coloring material, bleeding of the ink on the recording medium is suppressed, and an improvement in recording quality can be expected. In relation to this technique, Patent Document 1 describes using a reaction liquid when performing recording on a recording medium having low ink permeability (absorbency). Thereby, even on a recording medium having low ink absorbency and prone to bleeding, bleeding can be suppressed and high-quality recording becomes possible.

[0003] Conventionally, particularly when performing recording on a recording medium with low ink absorbency, the recording site has been dried to fix the recording image.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, controlling the application of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions disclosed in Patent Document 1 may not be sufficient to appropriately suppress bleeding and improve fixing properties. That is, depending on the wettability of the recording medium to be used, appropriate amounts of the reaction liquid and drying conditions are different. For example, even for a recording medium with low absorbency, it can be divided into a recording medium that is easy to wet and a recording medium that is difficult to wet according to the state of the surface energy of the recording medium. This surface energy state of the recording medium differs, for example, depending on the processing conditions of the recording medium. Thus, even recording media having the same absorbency have different wettabilities, and accordingly, different combinations of appropriate amounts of the reaction liquid and drying conditions result.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to obtain high-quality image quality by determining appropriate amounts of the reaction liquid and drying conditions according to the wettability of the recording medium.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The inkjet recording apparatus of the present disclosure includes a recording head for discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that comes into contact with the coloring material and causes aggregation of the coloring material onto a recording medium to record an image, and a plurality of first pattern images of the colored ink in a predetermined amount and a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid are recorded on the recording medium by the recording head in correspondence with each other. Recording means for recording a plurality of test patterns configured as such, drying means for drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when the recording means records the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium, and recording information corresponding to the recording results of each of the plurality of test patterns. Acquisition means for acquiring, and determination means for determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying means when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information acquired by the acquisition means.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, high-quality image quality can be obtained.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the matters of the present disclosure, and not all combinations of the features described in the following embodiments are essential for the solution means of the present disclosure. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same components.

[0011] <<First Embodiment>> A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described, in which high-quality image quality can be obtained by controlling a drying unit according to wettability. <Recording apparatus configuration> FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an external configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a "recording apparatus") according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an ejection port arrangement in the recording head 105 of FIGS. 1 and 2 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the XYZ coordinate axes are each indicated by an arrow. The Y axis indicates the conveyance direction when the recording medium P is conveyed. The recording medium P is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow of the Y axis. The X axis indicates the scanning direction of the carriage unit 102 (recording head 105). Scanning is performed in the direction indicated by the arrow of the X axis. In the case of reciprocating recording, scanning is performed in the direction indicated by the arrow of the X axis and in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow of the X axis. The Z axis indicates the height direction of the recording apparatus.

[0012] The inkjet recording apparatus shown in Fig. 1 (hereinafter also referred to as the recording apparatus) is a so-called serial scanning type recording apparatus. This inkjet recording apparatus scans the recording head 105 in the X direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the Y direction (conveying direction) to record an image. The configuration of this inkjet recording apparatus and the outline of the operation during recording will be described with reference to Fig. 1. First, the conveyance unit 201 in Fig. 2 is driven by a sub-scanning motor 421 in Fig. 4 via a gear (not shown). The recording medium P is conveyed in the Y direction from the spool 101 in Fig. 1 that holds the recording medium P by the conveyance unit 201 in Fig. 2. On the other hand, the guide shafts 103 in Figs. 1 and 2 extend the carriage unit 102 in Figs. 1 and 2 in the X direction by a main scanning motor 420 in Fig. 4 at a predetermined conveyance position. The carriage unit 102 in Figs. 1 and 2 is reciprocally scanned (reciprocally moved) along the guide shaft 103 in the forward path in the +X direction and the return path in the -X direction. And in the process of this scanning, the controller 400 in Fig. 4 synchronizes with the timing based on the position signal obtained by the encoder 106 in the main scanning direction. Then, the controller 400 in Fig. 4 causes the recording head 105 that can be mounted on the carriage unit 102 to perform a discharging operation and record on the recording medium P. In the process of this reciprocal scanning, the controller 400 in Fig. 4 synchronizes with the timing based on the position signal obtained by the encoder 106 in the same manner as the recording head 105, and processes the detection signal corresponding to the position of the carriage unit 102. Note that a carriage belt (not shown) can be used for transmitting the driving force from the main scanning motor 420 to the carriage unit 102. However, the recording apparatus may have, instead of the carriage belt, for example, a lead screw (not shown) that is rotationally driven by the main scanning motor 420 and extends in the X direction, and an engaging portion provided on the carriage unit 102 that engages with the groove of the lead screw. Thus, the recording apparatus can also use other driving methods. The fed recording medium P is sandwiched and conveyed between the paper feed roller 201A and the pinch roller 201B of the conveyance unit 201, and is guided to the recording position (scanning area of the recording head 105) on the platen 104. Usually, a cap is mounted on the face surface of the recording head 105 in the standby state.Therefore, the user opens the cap prior to recording. This enables the user to make the recording head 105 and the carriage unit 102 scanable. After that, when the data for one scan is accumulated in a buffer (not shown), the carriage unit 102 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is scanned by the main scanning motor 420 in FIG. 4, and recording is performed as described above. Here, the reflection type optical sensor 107 in FIG. 1 includes a light emitting part composed of, for example, an LED, and a light receiving part composed of a photodiode. The reflection type optical sensor 107 can detect the density of the test pattern recorded on the recording medium P as the optical reflectance.

[0013] The conveyance unit 201 in FIG. 2 is composed of a paper feed roller 201A and a pinch roller 201B. The recording medium P is conveyed by the spool 101 in FIG. 1 while being sandwiched and conveyed by the paper feed roller 201A and the pinch roller 201B. The recording medium P conveyed by the spool 101 in FIG. 1 is recorded by the recording head 105 and then wound up by a take-up spool (not shown). Thereby, a roll-shaped take-up medium is formed. Ink is ejected from the recording head 105 attached to the carriage unit 102. Ink is applied onto the recording medium P while the carriage unit 102 scans in the X direction. At that time, by intermittently conveying the recording medium P in the +Y direction by the conveyance unit 201, an image is formed within the plane of the recording medium P. The platen 104 is disposed to face the scanning area of the recording head 105 and the carriage unit 102. The platen 104 sucks the recording medium P from the back side of the recording medium P to prevent the recording medium P from floating. In an example of FIG. 2, it is assumed that the recording medium P is fed from the wound state, recorded, and then wound up again. That is, in an example of FIG. 2, the usage form of the recording medium P is assumed to be a roll-to-roll form. Note that the usage form of the recording medium P is not limited to the roll-to-roll form. The usage form of the recording medium P may be, for example, in the form of cut paper.

[0014] Next, a configuration for drying the ink and fixing the ink on the recording medium P will be described. The recording apparatus includes a platen air-blowing unit 202. The platen air-blowing unit 202 is disposed upstream of the carriage unit 102. The platen air-blowing unit 202 is a unit that blows warm air onto the surface of the recording medium P on the platen 104. Thereby, evaporation of moisture contained in the ink discharged onto the surface of the recording medium P on the platen 104 can be promoted, and fixing of the ink can be promoted. Specifically, the platen air-blowing unit 202 includes a fan 202A and a heater 202B. The fan 202A is composed of, for example, an axial-flow fan that functions as a blowing unit. The heater 202B is attached to the discharge side of the fan 202A and is composed of, for example, an electric heater that functions as a temperature adjustment unit. Thereby, when the heater 202B is turned on, the air discharged from the fan 202A is heated. The heated air is discharged from the fan 202A and passes between the recording head 105 and the recording medium P on the platen 104. Thereby, evaporation of moisture contained in the ink discharged from the recording head 105 onto the surface of the recording medium P is promoted, and it becomes possible to promote fixing of the ink.

[0015] The recording device includes a fixing unit 203. The fixing unit 203 is arranged on the downstream side of the carriage unit 102. The fixing unit 203 is a unit that dries and fixes the ink applied to the recording medium P. The fixing unit 203 is substantially box-shaped, and its bottom surface faces the conveyance surface of the recording medium P. Then, by blowing warm air from the bottom surface toward the recording medium P, the ink and the recording medium P are heated, the water and solvent contained in the ink are evaporated, and the emulsion is formed into a film. Specifically, the fixing unit 203 includes a fan 203A, a heater 203B, and a fixing housing 203C. The shape of the fixing housing 203C is substantially box-shaped. An opening is formed in the bottom surface portion of the fixing housing 203C. The fan 203A is composed of, for example, an axial flow fan that functions as a blowing unit. The heater 203B is composed of, for example, an electric heater that functions as a temperature adjustment unit. Thereby, when the heater 203B is turned on, the air discharged from the fan 203A is heated. The heated air is discharged from the fan 203A and passes through the surface of the recording medium P. As a result, the water and solvent contained in the ink discharged from the recording head 105 onto the surface of the recording medium P are further evaporated, the emulsion is formed into a film, and the ink can be dried and fixed.

[0016] The recording apparatus includes a downflow unit 204. The downflow unit 204 is disposed at a position that covers the fixing unit 203 from the outside. The downflow unit 204 blows the warm air exhausted from the fixing unit 203 toward the floor direction. Specifically, the downflow unit 204 includes a downflow fan 204A and a downflow housing 204C. In an example of FIG. 2, the shape of the downflow housing 204C is formed to cover the fixing housing 203C. Openings are formed on each of the upstream side and the downstream side of the downflow housing 204C. The opening on the downstream side of the downflow housing 204C faces the vertical direction. That is, the opening on the downstream side of the downflow housing 204C faces the -Z direction. The downflow fan 204A is composed of, for example, an axial flow fan that functions as a blowing unit. Thereby, the air taken in from the opening on the upstream side of the downflow housing 204C is discharged from the opening on the downstream side of the downflow housing 204C. Therefore, it is possible to guide the air discharged and exhausted from the fixing unit 203 in the floor direction and blow the guided air onto the floor.

[0017] The recording apparatus includes an air curtain unit 205. The air curtain unit 205 may be provided between the platen 104 and the fixing unit 203. The air curtain unit 205 can prevent the ink mist flowed by the platen blowing unit 202 from entering the inside of the fixing unit 203. Specifically, the air curtain unit 205 includes an air curtain fan 205A. The air curtain fan 205A is composed of, for example, an axial flow fan. The air curtain fan 205A is arranged so that the central axis thereof faces the downstream end 203CL of the bottom surface portion of the fixing housing 203C. Thereby, the air blown out from the air curtain fan 205A passes between the bottom surface portion of the fixing housing 203C and the surface of the recording medium P. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the intrusion of the ink mist into the fixing unit 203.

[0018] (Ink containing coloring material) Referring to FIG. 3, the nozzle array in the recording head 105 will be described. The recording head 105 has a nozzle row 31, a nozzle row 32, a nozzle row 33, and a nozzle row 34. The nozzle row 31 ejects black ink as the ink containing a coloring material. The nozzle row 32 ejects cyan ink as the ink containing a coloring material. The nozzle row 33 ejects magenta ink as the ink containing a coloring material. The nozzle row 34 ejects yellow ink as the ink containing a coloring material. Each of the black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink is an ink containing a coloring material. Therefore, for simplicity in the following description, each ink containing a coloring material is also referred to as a colored ink.

[0019] (Reaction liquid not containing a coloring material) The recording head 105 further has a nozzle row 35. The nozzle row 35 ejects a reaction liquid not containing a coloring material. In the present embodiment, the head configuration of the nozzle row 35 is a head configuration separate from the head configuration of each colored ink. Also, the reaction liquid (also referred to as reaction liquid ink) does not contain a coloring material. The reaction liquid ink contains a reactive component. The reactive component reacts with the coloring material contained in the colored ink. Specifically, when the colored ink and the reaction liquid ink are brought into contact on the recording medium P, it becomes possible to cause aggregation in the coloring material contained in the colored ink. Therefore, the reaction liquid ink can suppress bleeding. Note that in this specification, the term "ink" may include not only colored ink but also reaction liquid ink.

[0020] The ejection port rows 31 to 35 are arranged in order from left to right in the X direction on the ejection port surface 105S of the recording head 105. In each of the ejection port rows 31 to 35, 1280 ejection ports 36 are arranged along the Y direction (also referred to as the arrangement direction) at a density of 1200 dpi. Each of the ejection ports 36 in the ejection port rows 31 to 34 ejects colored ink. Each of the ejection ports 36 in the ejection port row 35 ejects reaction liquid ink. Note that the ink droplets ejected at one time from one ejection port 36 in this embodiment are about 5 pl. Ink tanks (not shown) for storing the corresponding inks are connected to each of the ejection port rows 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35. Therefore, the corresponding inks are supplied from the corresponding ink tanks (not shown). Note that each of the recording head 105 and the ink tank used in this embodiment may be configured to be separable, but is not limited thereto. For example, each of the recording head 105 and the ink tank used in this embodiment may be integrally configured. Note that the detailed compositions of black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, and the reaction liquid will be described later.

[0021] (Controller 400) As shown in FIG. 4, the control configuration of the recording apparatus includes a controller 400, an interface (I / F) 405, an operation unit 406, a sensor group 411, a head driver 414, a main scanning motor driver 415, a sub-scanning motor driver 416, and a recovery processing unit 417. Note that the control configuration of the recording apparatus may include a host device 404. Alternatively, the control configuration of the recording apparatus may include an imaging unit 441. Alternatively, the control configuration of the recording apparatus may include a display unit 442. The controller 400 functions as a main control unit. In an example of FIG. 4, the controller 400 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 401, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 402, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 403. The controller 400 is configured in the form of a microcomputer including, for example, the CPU 401, the ROM 402, the RAM 403, and the like. When the controller 400 is configured in the form of a microcomputer, further, an I / O (not shown) may be included in the controller 400. The ROM 402 stores programs, required tables, or other fixed data for realizing various control modules of the recording apparatus. In the RAM 403, areas for developing programs for realizing the respective control modules, areas for developing image data, or working areas, etc. are appropriately allocated. The CPU 401 may execute processing for adjusting the landing position, which will be described later. An adjustment value for adjusting the landing position is set by the processing for adjusting the landing position by the CPU 401. The adjustment value is used in the subsequent actual recording process for adjusting the landing position. The host device 404 is a source for supplying image data. The host device 404 may create data such as images related to recording. Alternatively, the host device 404 may perform processing of image data related to recording or the like. Alternatively, the host device 404 may be provided with a reader unit for image reading or the like. The host device 404 is composed of, for example, an input interface unit such as a display and a keyboard, and an electronic computer capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the outside.The host device 404 can supply image data, other commands, status signals, etc. to the controller 400 via the interface (I / F) 405. Therefore, the controller 400 transmits and receives image data, other commands, status signals, etc. via the interface 405. Note that the host device 404 may be realized by, for example, another recording device. Alternatively, the host device 404 may be realized by a terminal such as a smartphone.

[0022] (Operation unit 406) The operation unit 406 includes a power switch 407, a recording start switch 408, a recovery switch 409, and a landing position adjustment activation switch 410. The operation unit 406 has a function of receiving an instruction input by an operator (also referred to as a user). In the operation unit 406, the power switch 407, the recording start switch 408, the recovery switch 409, and the landing position adjustment activation switch 410 function as a switch group. The power switch 407 is a switch for switching whether to supply power from the power source to the recording device. As the power source, a commercial power source may be used, but it is not particularly limited thereto. For example, when the recording device incorporates a secondary battery, the secondary battery may be used as the power source. The recording start switch 408 is a switch for instructing the recording device to start recording on the recording medium P. The recovery switch 409 is a switch for instructing the activation of the suction recovery operation for the recording head 105. The landing position adjustment activation switch 410 is a switch for adjusting the landing position of the ink. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that recording start, recovery operation, and landing position adjustment are executed as switches provided in the recording device main body. However, recording start, recovery operation, and landing position adjustment can also be executed based on an instruction from the host device 404. The operation unit 406 may further include an input unit 431. The input unit 431 has a function of receiving a user input. For example, if the content of the user input received by the input unit 431 corresponds to the content of the recording information regarding the recording state of images of a plurality of test patterns on the recording medium P, the CPU 401 may store the received user input in the RAM 403 as recording information. Although not shown in the figure, a storage device for storing recording information may be provided outside the controller 400. This storage device may be composed of, for example, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive). Alternatively, this storage device may be composed of a semiconductor memory such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), for example.

[0023] (Sensor group 411) The sensor group 411 includes a photocoupler 412 and a temperature sensor 413. The sensor group 411 has a function for detecting the state of the recording device. The sensor group 411 may include, for example, the reflective optical sensor 107 of FIG. 1. The photocoupler 412 detects the home position of the carriage unit 102. The temperature sensor 413 detects the ambient temperature. The temperature sensor 413 is disposed at an appropriate position. For example, the temperature sensor 413 may be disposed at the air outlet of the platen blower unit 202 of FIG. 2. With this arrangement configuration, it becomes possible to detect the temperature of the air blown out from the platen blower unit 202 of FIG. 2.

[0024] (Head driver 414) The recording head 105 of FIG. 2 includes a discharge heater 419 of FIG. 4 and a sub-heater 418 of FIG. 4. The discharge heater 419 has a function of discharging ink from the discharge port 36 of FIG. 3 by foaming the ink in a pressure chamber (not shown). The sub-heater 418 has a function of performing temperature adjustment to stabilize the ink discharge characteristics. The sub-heater 418 is formed on the substrate of the recording head 105 simultaneously with the discharge heater 419. Alternatively, the sub-heater 418 may be in a form attached to the recording head 105. The head driver 414 of FIG. 4 has a function of driving the discharge heater 419 according to the recording data. Specifically, the head driver 414 includes a shift register, a latch circuit, and logic circuit elements. The shift register has a function of aligning the recording data corresponding to the position of the discharge heater 419. The latch circuit has a function of latching at an appropriate timing. The logic circuit elements have a function of operating the discharge heater 419 in synchronization with the drive timing signal.

[0025] (Main scanning motor driver 415; Sub-scanning motor driver 416; Recovery processing unit 417) The main scanning motor driver 415 has a function for driving the main scanning motor 420. The main scanning motor 420 has a function of generating a driving force for moving the carriage unit 102 including the recording head 105 in the X direction. The sub-scanning motor 421 has a function of generating a driving force for conveying the recording medium P in the Y direction (also referred to as the sub-scanning direction) via the conveyance unit 201. The sub-scanning motor driver 416 has a function for driving the sub-scanning motor 421. The recovery processing unit 417 has a function of performing a recovery process for maintaining the ink ejection state in the recording head 105 in good condition.

[0026] (Imaging unit 441) The imaging unit 441 is disposed on the downstream side of the fixing unit 203. The imaging unit 441 has a function of imaging images of a plurality of test patterns recorded on the recording medium P that has passed through the fixing unit 203. The imaging unit 441 is composed of, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor. Alternatively, the imaging unit 441 may be composed of a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor. The CPU 401 may store the prediction result predicted based on the images of the plurality of test patterns imaged by the imaging unit 441 as recording information in the RAM 403 or the storage device. Details of the images of the test patterns will be described later.

[0027] (Display unit 442) The display unit 442 has a function of displaying information regarding images of a plurality of test patterns, various information such as the internal state of the recording apparatus, and the like. The display unit 442 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display. Alternatively, the display unit 442 may be composed of, for example, a plurality of LEDs, and various information may be notified by the blinking patterns of these LEDs. Note that the function of the operation unit 406 may be configured by a touch panel, and a touch panel display may be configured by laminating the touch panel and the liquid crystal display. With such a configuration, it is also possible to integrate the function of the operation unit 406 and the function of the display unit 442.

[0028] (Multi-pass Recording Control) Next, the multi-pass recording control in the recording apparatus described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the multi-pass recording control. The multi-pass recording control is a control for performing recording on a unit area 501 on a recording medium P by scanning a plurality of times using each colored ink and a reaction liquid. An image is recorded on the recording medium P by the multi-pass recording control by this control. In FIG. 5, an example in which recording is completed by performing eight scans on the unit area 501 is shown. The eight ejection port groups A1 to A8 in FIG. 5 are configured by dividing each ejection port row 31 to 35 in FIG. 3 in the Y direction. In each of the eight scans performed on the unit area 501 from each of the eight ejection port groups A1 to A8, the colored ink and the reaction liquid are ejected. At the time of this ejection, actually, the recording medium P is conveyed downstream in the Y direction between the scans of the recording head 105. In FIG. 5, for simplification, it is drawn such that the recording head 105 moves upstream in the Y direction between the scans of the recording head 105. First, in the first scan, the recording head 105 is scanned in a positional relationship in which the ejection port group A1 in each ejection port row 31 to 35 faces the unit area 501 on the recording medium P. Thereby, according to the recording data corresponding to the first scan, the colored ink and the reaction liquid are ejected from the ejection port group A1 to the unit area 501. After this first scan is completed, the recording medium P is conveyed in the Y direction by a distance corresponding to one ejection port group. Next, the second scan is performed. Thereby, according to the recording data corresponding to the second scan, the colored ink and the reaction liquid are ejected from the ejection port group A2 to the unit area 501. Thereafter, the conveyance of the recording medium P and the ejection from the recording head 105 are alternately performed for the third to eighth times. In this way, the ejection from the ejection port groups A1 to A8 in the first to eighth scans with respect to the unit area 501 is executed. In this way, the multi-pass recording with respect to the unit area 501 is completed. Of course, the recording for other unit areas is also performed in the same manner with different ejection port groups associated therewith at the same time.

[0029] (Mask Pattern) FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a mask pattern. In the mask pattern shown in FIG. 6, pixels (hereinafter also referred to as elements) filled in black indicate pixels that permit ink ejection when ink ejection is determined by quantization data. Pixels (elements) shown as blank in the mask pattern shown in FIG. 6 indicate pixels that do not permit ink ejection even when ink ejection is determined by quantization data. Further, FIG. 6 shows mask patterns each having a size of 4 pixels × 8 pixels. By repeatedly applying the mask pattern of FIG. 6 in the X direction and the Y direction, distribution processing is performed for all of the quantization data corresponding to each unit region 501 of FIG. 5. FIG. 6(a) shows a group of mask patterns applied to quantization data corresponding to the ejection port sequences 31 of black ink, 32 of cyan ink, 33 of magenta ink, and 34 of yellow ink, which are ejection port sequences of colored ink. As shown in FIG. 6(a), recording-permitted pixels are arranged only in the mask patterns corresponding to the ejection port groups A2 to A8 corresponding to the 2nd to 8th scans among the ejection port groups A1 to A8 of the colored ink ejection port sequences corresponding to the 1st to 8th scans. On the other hand, no recording-permitted pixels are arranged in the ejection port group A1 corresponding to the 1st scan. Therefore, in the present embodiment, colored ink is ejected only in the 2nd to 8th scans out of the 8 scans. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6(b), for the ejection port sequence 35 of the reaction liquid, recording-permitted pixels are arranged in the mask patterns corresponding to the ejection port groups A1 to A7 corresponding to the 1st to 7th scans among the ejection port groups A1 to A8 corresponding to the 1st to 8th scans. And no recording-permitted pixels are arranged in the mask pattern corresponding to the ejection port group A8 corresponding to the 8th scan other than those. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is ejected only in the 1st to 7th scans out of the 8 scans. As described above, the reaction liquid is ejected onto the recording medium prior to ejecting the colored ink. Therefore, when the colored ink is ejected onto the recording medium, aggregation of the pigment by the reaction liquid immediately starts. As a result, bleeding of the colored ink can be suitably reduced. Also, by switching the mask pattern as shown in FIGS. 6(c) and 6(d) by the recording medium P, the colored ink and the reaction liquid can be recorded in the same recording scan.In this embodiment, FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are used as mask pattern A, and FIGS. 6(c) and 6(d) are used as mask pattern B. Further, a recording medium on which a colored ink and a reaction liquid are recorded is conveyed and passes through the fixing unit 203, so that the ink is heated and dried, and the ink is fixed even on a non-absorbent or hardly absorbent recording medium, and the recording is completed.

[0030] (Composition of Ink) The composition of each ink will be described in detail below. The colored ink and the reaction solution used in this embodiment both contain a water-soluble organic solvent. For reasons of wettability and moisture retention of the face surface of the recording head 105, the water-soluble organic solvent preferably has a boiling point of 150°C or higher and 300°C or lower. Particularly preferred water-soluble organic solvents are ketone compounds such as acetone and cyclohexanone, ethylene glycol derivatives such as tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and heterocyclic compounds having a lactam structure represented by N-methyl-pyrrolidone and 2-pyrrolidone. From the viewpoint of ejection performance, the content of the water-soluble organic solvent is preferably 3 wt% or more and 30 wt% or less. Specifically, examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, etc. Also, specifically, examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include sec-butyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, etc. These are alkyl alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. Further, examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide. Ketones or ketoalcohols such as acetone and diacetone alcohol. Ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane. Polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol. Ethylene glycol. Or alkylene glycols having 2 to 6 carbon atoms in the alkylene group, such as propylene glycol, butylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, thiodiglycol, hexylene glycol, and diethylene glycol. Lower alkyl ether acetates such as polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate. Glycerin. Lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, diethylene glycol methyl (or ethyl) ether, and triethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether. Polyhydric alcohols such as trimethylolpropane and trimethylolethane. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, etc. may be mentioned.The water-soluble organic solvent as described above can be used alone or as a mixture. Also, it is desirable to use deionized water as the water. Note that the content of the water-soluble organic solvent in the reaction solution (RCT) is not particularly limited. However, for the colorant inks (C, M, Y, K), in order to give desired physical property values as necessary, surfactants, defoamers, preservatives, fungicides, etc. can be appropriately added in addition to the above components.

[0031] Also, the colored ink and the reaction solution used in this embodiment both contain a surfactant. The surfactant is used as a penetrant for the purpose of improving the penetrability of the ink with respect to the recording medium dedicated to inkjet. The greater the amount of the surfactant added, the stronger the property of reducing the surface tension of the ink, and the wettability and penetrability of the ink with respect to the recording medium are improved. In this embodiment, a small amount of an acetylene glycol EO adduct or the like is added as the surfactant, and the surface tension of each ink is adjusted to be 30 dyn / cm or less, and further the difference in the surface tension between the inks is within 2 dyn / cm. More specifically, the surface tension of each ink is adjusted to be about 28 to 30 dyn / cm. The surface tension was measured using a fully automatic surface tension meter CBVP-Z (manufactured by Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd.). Note that the measuring instrument is not limited to the one exemplified above as long as the surface tension of the ink can be measured.

[0032] Also, the pH of each ink in this embodiment is stable on the alkaline side, and its value is 8.5 to 9.5. From the viewpoint of preventing the elution and deterioration of the members in contact with each ink in the recording apparatus and the recording head, and the decrease in the solubility of the dispersion resin in the ink, etc., the pH of each ink is preferably 7.0 or more and 10.0 or less. The pH was measured using a pH METER model F-52 manufactured by Horiba, Ltd. Note that the measuring instrument is not limited to the one exemplified above as long as it can measure the pH of the ink.

[0033] For simplicity, among the black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink used in this embodiment, the cyan ink and the magenta ink will be described in detail below.

[0034] (Magenta Ink) (Preparation of Dispersion) First, using benzyl acrylate and methacrylic acid as raw materials, an AB-type block polymer with an acid value of 300 and a number average molecular weight of 2500 was prepared by a conventional method. Further, it was neutralized with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution and diluted with ion-exchanged water to prepare a homogeneous 50% by mass polymer aqueous solution. 100 g of the polymer solution, 100 g of C.I. Pigment Red 122, and 300 g of ion-exchanged water were mixed and mechanically stirred for 0.5 hour. Next, using a microfluidizer, this mixture was treated by passing it through the interaction chamber 5 times under a liquid pressure of about 70 MPa. Further, the dispersion obtained above was centrifuged (12,000 rpm, 20 minutes) to remove non-dispersed matter containing coarse particles to obtain a magenta dispersion. The obtained magenta dispersion had a pigment concentration of 10% by mass and a dispersant concentration of 5% by mass.

[0035] Next, the preparation of magenta ink will be described. For the preparation of the ink, using the above magenta dispersion, the following components were added thereto to a predetermined concentration. And after sufficiently mixing and stirring these components, pressure filtration was performed with a microfilter having a pore size of 2.5 μm (manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation) to prepare a colorant ink having a pigment concentration of 4% by mass and a dispersant concentration of 2% by mass.

[0036] 40 parts of the magenta dispersion 5 parts of 2-pyrrolidone 15 parts of 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol 0.5 part of acetylene glycol EO adduct (manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.) Ion-exchanged water The balance

[0037] (Cyan Ink) (Preparation of Dispersion) First, using benzyl acrylate and methacrylic acid as raw materials, an AB-type block polymer with an acid value of 250 and a number average molecular weight of 3000 was prepared by a conventional method. Further, it was neutralized with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution and diluted with ion-exchanged water to prepare a homogeneous 50% by mass polymer aqueous solution. 180 g of the polymer solution, 100 g of CI Pigment Blue 15:3, and 220 g of ion-exchanged water were mixed and mechanically stirred for 0.5 hours.

[0038] The mixture was then processed using a microfluidizer by passing it through the interaction chamber five times under a liquid pressure of about 70 MPa.

[0039] The dispersion thus obtained was then centrifuged (12,000 rpm, 20 minutes) to remove non-dispersed matter including coarse particles, to obtain a cyan dispersion having a pigment concentration of 10% by mass and a dispersant concentration of 10% by mass.

[0040] (Cyan ink) (Ink Preparation) The ink was prepared by adding the following components to the cyan dispersion to a predetermined concentration: After thoroughly mixing and stirring these components, the mixture was filtered under pressure using a microfilter (manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation) with a pore size of 2.5 μm to prepare a color ink with a pigment concentration of 4% by mass and a dispersant concentration of 2% by mass.

[0041] 20 parts of the cyan dispersion 2-Pyrrolidone 5 parts 2-Methyl-1,3-propanediol 15 parts Acetylene glycol EO adduct 0.5 parts (Kawaken Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.) Ion-exchanged water Remainder

[0042] The reaction liquid used in this embodiment contains a reactive component that reacts with the pigment contained in the ink and causes the pigment to aggregate or gel. Specifically, this reactive component is a component that, when mixed on a recording medium or the like with an ink having a pigment stably dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous medium by the action of an ionic group, can destroy the dispersion stability of the ink. More specifically, as described above, glutaric acid is used in this embodiment.

[0043] Note that it is not always necessary to use glutaric acid. In this embodiment, various water-soluble organic acids can be used as reactive components of the reaction solution as long as they are water-soluble. Specific examples of the organic acid include oxalic acid, polyacrylic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, glycolic acid, malonic acid, malic acid, maleic acid, ascorbic acid, levulinic acid, succinic acid. Further, specific examples of the organic acid further include glutaric acid, glutamic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, pyronic carboxylic acid, pyrrole carboxylic acid. Further, specific examples of the organic acid further include furan carboxylic acid, pyridine carboxylic acid, coumaric acid, thiophene carboxylic acid, nicotinic acid, oxysuccinic acid, dioxysuccinic acid. The content of the organic acid is preferably 3.0% by mass or more and 90.0% by mass or less, more preferably 5.0% by mass or more and 70.0% by mass or less, based on the total mass of the composition contained in the reaction solution.

[0044] (Reaction solution) (Preparation of ink) In this embodiment, as described above, glutaric acid (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was used as the organic acid, and the following components were mixed to prepare a reaction solution.

[0045] 3 parts of glutaric acid 5 parts of 2-pyrrolidone 15 parts of 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol 0.5 part of acetylene glycol EO adduct (Manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.) Ion-exchanged water The balance

[0046] As a recording method using a colored ink and a reaction solution, the colored ink and the reaction solution are each recorded in a necessary amount in the same area. As a result, by bringing the reaction solution into contact with the colored ink at a certain frequency, it is possible to obtain an effect of suppressing bleeding that occurs particularly significantly on a non-absorbent medium. Further, the recording medium on which the colored ink and the reaction solution are recorded is conveyed and passed through the fixing unit 203, so that the ink is heated and dried, so that the ink can be fixed and the recording can be completed even on a non-absorbent or hardly absorbent recording medium.

[0047] (Recording medium) The recording apparatus in this embodiment can perform recording on a plurality of recording media. The recording media P that can be recorded in this embodiment can be mainly classified into three types. The first is a non-absorbent recording medium in which the moisture contained in the colored ink does not penetrate. The second is a hardly absorbent recording medium with low absorbency of the moisture contained in the colored ink. The third is a recording medium for inkjet application with high absorbency of moisture.

[0048] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a UI (User Interface) for selecting a recording medium. It is a diagram schematically showing a screen (UI) displayed on the display of the host device 404 when the user inputs information regarding the type of the recording medium. In an example of FIG. 7, eight types of recording media, namely, “vinyl film”, “vinyl banner”, “PP film”, “synthetic paper”, “wallpaper”, “plain paper”, “glossy paper”, “art paper”, and “coated paper” are displayed. “Vinyl film”, “vinyl banner”, “PP film”, and “synthetic paper” are recording media in which moisture contained in the colored ink hardly penetrates. Examples of the “synthetic paper” include “Yupo (registered trademark)”. The recording media include those in which a plastic layer is formed on the outermost surface of the base material, those in which an ink receiving layer is not formed on the base material, or sheets, films, banners, etc. made of glass, synthetic paper, plastic, etc. Examples of the above-mentioned plastic to be coated include polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. These recording media with low absorbency are excellent in water resistance, light resistance, and abrasion resistance, and thus are generally used when recording outdoor display materials. “Glossy paper”, “art paper”, and “coated paper” are recording media for inkjet application in which moisture contained in the colored ink penetrates and has high absorbency. Although these recording media are inferior to the recording media with low absorbency in terms of water resistance, light resistance, and abrasion resistance, they are excellent in color development because they can absorb the colored ink applied in the ink receiving layer, and high-quality recording is possible. Therefore, these recording media are generally used when recording indoor display materials. Since the absorbency is high and the colored ink penetrates into the recording medium before the colored inks come into contact with each other, a reaction solution is not required. On the other hand, “plain paper” and “wallpaper” are classified as hardly absorbent recording media in which the surface layer is made of a pulp material or a coating layer and the water absorption rate is slow. In the hardly absorbent recording media, the colored inks come into contact with each other before the colored ink is absorbed by the recording medium, resulting in bleeding of the colored ink. Therefore, a reaction solution is also used to prevent bleeding of the colored ink in the hardly absorbent recording media. In order to classify the hardly absorbent and non-absorbent recording media, an index for quantifying the “absorbency” of the recording medium is the liquid transfer amount Vt per unit time.As a method for measuring the liquid transfer volume Vt, there is a method called the "Bristow method" which measures the water absorption amount in a short time immediately after contact with water. In the Bristow method, a certain amount V of liquid is placed in a container with a small opening, and while keeping the opening in contact with the paper surface, the area wL of the part where the liquid has transferred is measured, and the liquid transfer volume per unit time Vt = V / wL can be calculated by this formula.

[0049] (Wettability) However, to measure the transfer volume of ink on a recording medium, a dedicated device for measuring Bristow must be used, and it is difficult to incorporate a dedicated device into a general recording apparatus. Also, among non-absorbent recording media where moisture contained in colored ink is difficult to penetrate and hard-to-absorb recording media with low absorbency of moisture contained in colored ink, the surface tension of the colored ink applied to the recording medium varies depending on the surface energy of the surface layer of the recording medium. Therefore, it is classified into a recording medium P with easy-wetting characteristics and a recording medium P with difficult-wetting characteristics. The index for quantifying the "wettability" of a recording medium is the "contact angle" (θ: Contact AngLe). Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the quantification of the "wettability" of a recording medium. Fig. 8(a) shows an example of parameters for obtaining the contact angle θ as the angle formed between the tangent of a liquid droplet and the solid surface. As shown in Fig. 8(a), the contact angle θ is called the "contact angle" and can be calculated by Young's formula γs = γL·cosθ + γsL. Fig. 8(b) is a diagram showing a recording medium P with easy-wetting characteristics. The recording medium P with easy-wetting characteristics has a small contact angle θ, and when a liquid such as colored ink is applied, it spreads. Fig. 8(c) is a diagram showing a recording medium P with difficult-wetting characteristics. The recording medium P with difficult-wetting characteristics has a large contact angle θ, and even when a liquid such as colored ink is applied, it does not spread. However, to measure the contact angle θ as the angle formed between the recording medium P and the colored ink, a dedicated contact angle meter must be used, and it is difficult to incorporate a dedicated contact angle meter into a general recording apparatus. When using a pre-registered recording medium, the "absorbency" or "wettability" can be collected in advance, and recording means corresponding to the "absorbency" or "wettability" can be prepared and provided in advance.

[0050] (Classification of Recording Media) FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the classification of recording media according to the "absorbency" and "wettability" of the recording media. As described above, "absorbency" is classified by the base material or coating, etc., and "glossy paper", "art paper", and "coated paper" are classified as recording media applicable to inkjet. "Plain paper" and "wallpaper" are classified as poorly absorbent recording media. "Vinyl chloride film", "vinyl chloride banner", "PP film", and "synthetic paper" are classified as non-absorbent recording media. On the other hand, regarding "wettability", the wettability of the recording media may vary greatly depending on processing conditions or material formulations, etc. For example, among non-absorbent recording media, "vinyl chloride film", "vinyl chloride banner", and "PP film" have a relatively large contact angle, so they are classified as recording media P with poor wettability characteristics. On the other hand, "synthetic paper" has a relatively small contact angle, so it is classified as recording media P with easy wettability characteristics. Thus, the wettability of the recording media is diverse. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the wettability of recording media that have not been registered in advance.

[0051] (Drying Conditions) FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the drying conditions. As shown in FIG. 10, the drying conditions include a first drying condition and a second drying condition. The first drying condition includes a blowing setting that causes control without air supply. The second drying condition includes a blowing setting that causes control with air supply. In either the first drying condition or the second drying condition, the air supply is performed by the platen blowing unit 202. However, it may also be from other than the platen blowing unit 202. It is not particularly limited as long as it is a device for evaporating the moisture of the ink of the recording medium P.

[0052] The first drying condition includes at least one of the air supply setting, temperature setting, and wind speed setting. In an example of FIG. 10, for the first drying condition, the air supply setting is set to "none", the temperature setting is set to "none", and the wind speed setting is set to "none". On the other hand, in an example of FIG. 10, the second drying condition also includes at least one of the air supply setting, temperature setting, and wind speed setting, similar to the first drying condition. In an example of FIG. 10, for the second drying condition, the air supply setting is set to "yes", the temperature setting is set to "30 °C", and the wind speed setting is set to "3 m / s". Additionally, an air volume setting may be further added. For example, as the rotation speed of the fan 202A increases, the air volume blown out from the fan 202A increases. Therefore, the air volume may be set based on the rotation speed of the fan 202A. It is assumed that the amount of ink mist also increases as the air volume increases. Thus, when the rotation speed of the fan 202A is increased to increase the air volume, the rotation speed of the air curtain fan 205A may also be increased. Alternatively, a condition (the third drying condition) that is more capable of drying than the second drying condition may be added. For example, for the third drying condition, the air supply setting may be set to "yes", the temperature setting may be set to "35 °C", and the wind speed setting may be set to "6 m / s".

[0053] (Test pattern) Figure 11 is a diagram for explaining a test pattern. In Figure 11, [pl / dpi] indicates the amount of droplets per unit area. In an example of Figure 11, it is [pl / 600dpi]. Therefore, in this unit area, it shows that there are 600 droplets included in one side of 1 inch (about 2.54 cm). That is, the amount of droplets has a density of 600 per inch. In Figure 11, as an example of the test pattern, the letter "A" of one alphabet character is shown. The letter "A" is composed of a colored ink and a reaction solution. As the coloring material contained in the colored ink, black ink is adopted. The amount of ink per unit area of the black ink is 36 [pl / 600dpi]. As shown in Figure 11, for the amount of the reaction solution, 5 patterns of (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) have been tried. The amount of the reaction solution per unit area of (a) is 0 [pl / 600dpi]. The amount of the reaction solution per unit area of (b) is 5 [pl / 600dpi]. The amount of the reaction solution per unit area of (c) is 10 [pl / 600dpi]. The amount of the reaction solution per unit area of (d) is 15 [pl / 600dpi]. The amount of the reaction solution per unit area of (e) is 20 [pl / 600dpi]. Each test pattern shown in Figure 11 is recorded by recording 5 letters "A" on the recording medium P, and further, by using the mask pattern A in Figure 6(b) and superimposing the amounts of the reaction solutions of (a) to (e) by multi-pass recording. By generating images of such a plurality of test patterns, it becomes possible to determine from which amount of the reaction solution the test pattern image bleeds. Specifically, attention is paid to the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink at the boundary between the area where the colored ink is recorded and the area where the colored ink is not recorded. When there is bleeding of the colored ink at this boundary, since the image recorded with the colored ink bleeds, it can be discriminated even visually.

[0054] (No air blowing (first drying condition); Difficult to get wet (low wettability)) FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the recording results under the first drying condition of the test pattern for a recording medium having water-repellent characteristics. Specifically, FIG. 12 shows the results of recording each test pattern of FIG. 11 under the first drying condition of FIG. 10 on the recording medium having water-repellent characteristics shown in FIG. 8(c). Each of the images (a) to (e) in FIG. 12 corresponds to the images recorded under the conditions shown in each of (a) to (e) in FIG. 11. The images (a) and (b) in FIG. 12 corresponding to the images under the conditions of (a) and (b) in FIG. 11 indicate that the liquid volume of the reaction liquid for aggregating the colored ink is insufficient. Therefore, the character "A" is blurred. On the other hand, in the images (c), (d), and (e) in FIG. 12 corresponding to the images under the conditions of (c), (d), and (e) in FIG. 11 where the liquid volume of the reaction liquid is 10 [pl / 600dpi] or more, the character "A" is not blurred.

[0055] (No air blowing (first drying condition); Easy to wet (high wettability)) FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the recording results under the first drying condition of the test pattern for a recording medium having water-wettable characteristics. Specifically, FIG. 13 shows the results of recording each test pattern of FIG. 11 under the first drying condition of FIG. 10 on the recording medium having water-wettable characteristics shown in FIG. 8(b). Each of the images (a) to (e) in FIG. 13 corresponds to the images recorded under the conditions shown in each of (a) to (e) in FIG. 11. All the images (a) to (e) in FIG. 12 corresponding to the images under the conditions of (a) to (e) in FIG. 11 indicate that the colored ink is spreading from the character "A". Therefore, in all the images (a) to (e) in FIG. 12, the phenomenon of ink bleeding from a predetermined position occurs.

[0056] (Air blowing (second drying condition); Easy to wet (high wettability)) FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the recording results with air blowing of test patterns on a recording medium having water-absorbing properties. Specifically, FIG. 14 shows the results of recording each test pattern in FIG. 11 under the second drying condition in FIG. 10 on the recording medium having water-absorbing properties shown in FIG. 8(b). Each of the images (a) to (e) in FIG. 14 corresponds to the images recorded under the conditions shown in each of (a) to (e) in FIG. 11. It is shown that the colored ink has spread from the character "A" in the images (a) to (c) in FIG. 13 corresponding to the images under the conditions (a) to (c) in FIG. 11. Therefore, in the images (a) to (c) in FIG. 13, the phenomenon of ink bleeding from a predetermined position has occurred. On the other hand, in the images (d) and (e) in FIG. 14 corresponding to the images under the conditions (d) and (e) in FIG. 11 where the liquid volume of the reaction liquid is 15 [pl / 600 dpi] or more, the phenomenon of bleeding of the character "A" has not occurred.

[0057] (Operation example) FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a process for determining the drying condition and the liquid volume of the reaction liquid in the recording according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The process shown in FIG. 15 is realized by the CPU 401 reading out and executing a program for realizing each control module stored in the ROM 402 into the RAM 403. Note that some or all of the functions of the steps in FIG. 15 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC or an electronic circuit. The symbol "S" in the description of each process means that it is a step in the flowchart diagram.

[0058] The process shown in FIG. 15 is started when the user inputs an instruction to start recording a test pattern to the recording apparatus.

[0059] In S1501, the CPU 401 causes the blowing to be performed under the first drying condition. The first drying condition is applied to the platen blowing unit 202. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the CPU 401 sets the platen blowing unit 202 to "Blowing setting: None", "Temperature setting: None", and "Air velocity setting: None". That is, the platen blowing unit 202 does not supply air. In S1502, the CPU 401 records a test pattern under the first drying condition. Specifically, the CPU 401 causes the recording head 105 to record a test pattern without the supply of air by the platen blowing unit 202. In S1503, the CPU 401 conveys the recording medium to the fixing unit 203 to dry and fix the image of the recorded test pattern. In S1504, when the fixing in S1503 is completed, the CPU 401 notifies the end of recording on the recording medium. The notification may be made by the display unit 442. Alternatively, the notification may be made by the display of the host device 404. Alternatively, the notification may be made by notifying a user-owned smartphone or the like. In S1505, the CPU 401 determines whether or not it has received a user input. Here, it is assumed that whether or not there is an image without image defects is input as the user input. When the CPU 401 determines that it has received a user input, the process of S1505 proceeds to the process of S1506. On the other hand, when the CPU 401 determines that it has not received a user input, the process of S1505 is continued.

[0060] In S1506, the CPU 401 determines whether there is an image without image defects from the results of the test pattern in FIG. 12 recorded based on the input content of the user in S1505. If the CPU 401 determines that there is an image without image defects from the results of the test pattern in FIG. 12 recorded, the process of S1506 proceeds to the process of S1507. In this case, as shown in FIG. 12, in the recording medium on which the test pattern is recorded, there is bleeding of the colored ink at 0 [pl] and 5 [pl] of the amount of the reaction solution, and there is no bleeding of the colored ink at 10 [pl], 15 [pl], and 20 [pl]. This corresponds to the case of the recording medium having the water-repellent property shown in FIG. 12 as an example. Specifically, it can be visually determined by the user that the images without image defects among the images (a) to (e) in FIG. 12 are (c), (d), and (e) in FIG. 12. Therefore, the user instructs a selection of "Yes" from the user interface of the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus. On the other hand, if the CPU 401 determines that there is no image without image defects from the results of the test pattern in FIG. 12 recorded, the process of S1506 proceeds to the process of S1509. In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, in the recording medium on which the test pattern is recorded, there is bleeding of the colored ink in all of the amounts of the reaction solution from 0 [pl] to 20 [pl]. This corresponds to the case of the recording medium having the water-absorbent property shown in FIG. 13 as an example. Specifically, it can be visually determined by the user that there is no image without image defects among the images (a) to (e) in FIG. 13. Therefore, the user instructs a selection of "No" from the user interface of the recording apparatus or the host apparatus.

[0061] In S1507, the CPU 401 sets the drying conditions to the first drying conditions shown in FIG. 10 and advances the process of S1507 to the process of S1508. Specifically, the CPU 401 automatically sets the drying conditions based on the first drying conditions of "no air blowing setting", "no temperature setting", and "no wind speed setting". Alternatively, when the first drying conditions are input by the user from the user interface provided in the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus, the CPU 401 performs the following processes. That is, the CPU 401 sets the drying conditions in the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus according to the input first drying conditions. By this operation, it is set that the platen air blowing unit 202 supplies air based on the first drying conditions. That is, the first drying conditions including an air blowing setting for stopping the air supply by the platen air blowing unit 202 are set.

[0062] In step S1508, the CPU 401 sets the liquid amount of the reaction liquid in (c) in FIGS. 12(c), (d), and (e), which has no image defect, and has the least liquid amount among the liquid amounts of the reaction liquid, as the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid. The setting method may be realized based on the input content of the user from the user interface that the user has for the information on the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid in the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus 404. The CPU 401 sets the liquid amount of the reaction liquid in the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus according to the input information on the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid. By the operations described in the flowchart above, the drying conditions during recording and the liquid amount of the reaction liquid for a recording medium having water-repellent characteristics are determined.

[0063] As described above, according to the flowchart of FIG. 15, after recording the test pattern under the first drying conditions in S1502, the process of determining whether there is an image without image defects in S1506 is performed. Therefore, when there is an image without image defects at the time of determination in S1506, the CPU 401 can determine the drying conditions and the liquid amount of the reaction liquid without recording the test pattern under the second drying conditions. Therefore, it is possible to process efficiently.

[0064] In step S1509, the CPU 401 causes the blowing to be performed under the second drying condition. The second drying condition is applied to the platen blowing unit 202. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the CPU 401 sets the platen blowing unit 202 to "Blowing setting: Yes", "Temperature setting: 30 °C", and "Air velocity setting: 3 m / s". That is, the platen blowing unit 202 supplies air. In particular, the platen blowing unit 202 supplies heated air. In S1510, the CPU 401 records a test pattern under the second drying condition. Specifically, the CPU 401 causes the recording head 105 to record a test pattern while the platen blowing unit 202 supplies heated air. In S1511, the CPU 401 conveys the recording medium to the fixing unit 203 to dry and fix the image of the recorded test pattern. In S1512, when the fixing in S1511 is completed, the CPU 401 notifies the end of the recording on the recording medium. The notification may be performed in the same manner as in S1504.

[0065] In S1513, the CPU 401 sets the drying condition to the second drying condition shown in FIG. 10 and advances the process of S1513 to the process of S1514. Specifically, the CPU 401 automatically sets the drying condition based on the second drying condition of "Blowing setting: Yes", "Temperature setting: 30 °C", and "Air velocity setting: 3 m / s". Alternatively, when the second drying condition is input by the user from the user interface of the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus, the CPU 401 performs the following process. That is, the CPU 401 sets the drying condition in the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus according to the input second drying condition. By this operation, it is set that the platen blowing unit 202 supplies air based on the second drying condition. That is, the second drying condition including the blowing setting in which the platen blowing unit 202 supplies air is set.

[0066] In step S1514, the CPU 401 sets, as the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid, the liquid amount of the reaction liquid in (d) in the images of (d) and (e) in FIG. 14 that have no image defect, which is the smallest liquid amount among them. The setting method may be realized based on the input content of the user from the user interface of the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus where the user records the information on the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid. The CPU 401 sets the liquid amount of the reaction liquid in the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus according to the input information on the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid. By the operations described in the flowchart above, the drying conditions during recording and the liquid amount of the reaction liquid for the recording medium with easily wettable characteristics are determined.

[0067] As described above, according to the flowchart of FIG. 15, when there is no image without image defect at the determination of S1506, the CPU 401 records the test pattern under the second drying condition, and based on the test pattern, the drying condition and the liquid amount of the reaction liquid can be determined. Therefore, since the test pattern is recorded by changing the drying condition from the first drying condition to the second drying condition, even if there is no image without image defect under the first drying condition, it is possible to record the test pattern again. According to such an operation, since the test pattern under the second drying condition in which air is heated only when necessary is recorded, the power consumption required for heating the air is not wasted.

[0068] Furthermore, for the recording medium having easily wettable characteristics, the platen air blowing unit 202 blows the heated air onto the surface of the recording medium during recording. According to such an operation, it is possible to promote the evaporation of the moisture contained in the ink and promote the fixing of the ink, thereby suppressing the image defect caused by the phenomenon of the ink bleeding. Also, by determining the liquid amount of the reaction liquid for suppressing the image defect to be the smallest liquid amount, the consumption of the unnecessary liquid amount of the reaction liquid can be suppressed.

[0069] Also, for a recording medium having water-repellent properties, during recording, by preventing the warm air blown by the platen air supply unit 202 from being blown onto the surface of the recording medium, it is possible to suppress image defects caused by the occurrence of streak unevenness phenomenon due to drying acceleration. Specifically, for a recording medium having water-repellent properties, as shown in Fig. 8(c), since the contact angle θ is large, the ink droplets are less likely to spread along the surface of the recording medium. Here, it is assumed that the ink is a case where the reactive liquid ink is superimposed on the colored ink. When warm air is blown in the state of Fig. 8(c), the moisture in the ink droplets evaporates while the ink droplets do not spread on the surface of the recording medium. Due to the evaporation of the moisture in the ink droplets, the proportion of the particles of the synthetic resin shown in the reactive liquid increases among the moisture in the ink droplets. Therefore, the surface of the ink droplets begins to form a film while the ink droplets do not spread along the surface of the recording medium. At the same time, a part of the blown air passes through the surface of the droplets, and streaks are formed. As a result, when viewed as a whole, a plurality of film-formed ink droplets are scattered on the recording medium, resulting in an overall uneven state. As a result, the streak unevenness phenomenon occurs. Therefore, in the process according to the flowchart of Fig. 15, first, the air supply is controlled under the first drying condition. That is, on the platen 104, the operation of blowing the warm air by the platen air supply unit 202 is not performed. According to this operation, even if the recording medium has water-repellent properties, the occurrence of the streak unevenness phenomenon can be avoided, so that image defects caused by the streak unevenness phenomenon can be suppressed. Also, even if the recording medium has water-absorbent properties and there is no image with bleeding of the colored ink under the first drying condition, the air supply is controlled under the second drying condition. Therefore, even if the recording medium has water-absorbent properties, it is possible to record an image without bleeding of the colored ink, so that image defects caused by the bleeding phenomenon of the ink in the water-absorbent recording medium can also be suppressed. From the above, it is possible to obtain high-quality image quality.

[0070] Note that in S1512 as well, there may be no image without image defects on the recording medium. In this case, it is also possible to blow air under the third drying condition that is even drier than the second drying condition. For example, as the third drying condition, the air blowing setting may be set to "on", the temperature setting may be set to "35°C", and the wind speed setting may be set to "6 m / s". The CPU 401 causes the air to be blown under this third drying condition. The third drying condition is applied to the platen air blowing unit 202. The CPU 401 records a test pattern under the third drying condition. The CPU 401 conveys the recording medium to the fixing unit 203 to fix the image of the recorded test pattern. In this case, the third drying condition is set instead of the second drying condition. Also, the liquid amount of the reaction solution is determined from the test pattern under the third drying condition.

[0071] (First Modification Example: Automatic Determination by Similarity Calculation) FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a first modification example of the process for determining the drying condition and the liquid amount of the reaction solution in the recording according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The process shown in FIG. 16 is realized by the CPU 401 reading out a program for realizing each control module stored in the ROM 402 into the RAM 403 and executing it. Note that part or all of the functions of the steps in FIG. 16 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC or an electronic circuit. The symbol "S" in the description of each process means that it is a step in the flowchart figure.

[0072] The process shown in FIG. 16 starts when the user inputs an instruction to start recording a test pattern to the recording apparatus.

[0073] In the process shown in FIG. 16, it is assumed that the test pattern recorded on the recording medium is automatically determined by pattern matching. In FIG. 16, the processes of S1601 to S1603 and S1607 to S1615 are the same as the processes of S1501 to S1503 and S1506 to S1514 in FIG. 15. Therefore, the description of these is omitted.

[0074] In S1604, the CPU 401 determines whether a test pattern is recorded on the recording medium. If the CPU 401 determines that a test pattern is recorded on the recording medium, the process of S1604 proceeds to the process of S1605. On the other hand, if the CPU 401 determines that no test pattern is recorded on the recording medium, the process of S1604 continues. Here, for the determination in S1604, it is sufficient that the reflective optical sensor 107 is arranged on the downstream side of the fixing unit 203. As described above, the reflective optical sensor 107 can detect the density of the pattern recorded on the recording medium P as the optical reflectance. Therefore, based on the density of this pattern, it is possible to determine whether a test pattern is recorded on the recording medium. In S1605, the CPU 401 causes the imaging unit 441 to image the test pattern recorded on the recording medium. By this operation, the test pattern becomes available as imaging data, so the imaging data can be used for pattern matching described later. In S1606, the CPU 401 calculates the similarity of the imaging result with respect to the test pattern in an ideal image state without image defects. Specifically, the CPU 401 stores in advance a test pattern in an ideal image state without image defects as ideal data. By doing so, it becomes possible to calculate the similarity between the ideal data and the imaging data. For calculating the similarity, any pattern matching algorithm can be used. For example, the similarity between the pixel values of the ideal data as a template image and the pixel values of the imaging data may be calculated by SSD (Sum of Squared Difference). Alternatively, the difference between the feature amounts of the ideal data and the imaging data may be calculated by SIFT (Scale-Invariant Feature Transform). Thus, by adding the processes of S1604 to S1606, it becomes possible to automatically determine whether there is an image without image defects without the user's visual inspection.

[0075] (Second Modified Example: Automatic Determination by Machine Learning Model) FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a second modification example of a process for determining drying conditions and the amount of reaction solution in the recording according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The process shown in FIG. 17 is realized by the CPU 401 reading out and executing a program for realizing each control module stored in the ROM 402 into the RAM 403. Note that part or all of the functions of the steps in FIG. 17 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC or an electronic circuit. The symbol "S" in the description of each process means that it is a step in the flowchart diagram.

[0076] The process shown in FIG. 17 starts when the user inputs an instruction to start recording a test pattern to the recording apparatus.

[0077] In the process shown in FIG. 17, it is assumed that the test pattern recorded on the recording medium is automatically determined based on a machine learning model. In FIG. 17, the processes of S1701 to S1703 and S1707 to S1715 are the same as the processes of S1501 to S1503 and S1506 to S1514 in FIG. 15. Also, in FIG. 17, the processes of S1704 and S1705 are the same as the processes of S1604 and S1605 in FIG. 16. Therefore, the descriptions of these are omitted.

[0078] In S1706, the CPU 401 determines the imaging result based on the machine learning model. Specifically, a plurality of assumed test patterns may be pre-learned, and the learned training data may be used to compare with the imaging data. The learned training data may be used in this way. More specifically, when using a support vector machine as the learning algorithm, a hyperplane may be obtained. For example, in the boundary portion, a hyperplane for distinguishing the pixel value distribution when there is bleeding of the colored ink and the pixel value distribution when there is no bleeding of the colored ink may be obtained in advance. Whether there is image damage may be determined according to whether the pixel value distribution included in the imaging information can be classified into either the pixel value distribution when there is bleeding of the colored ink or the pixel value distribution when there is no bleeding of the colored ink with the hyperplane as the boundary. Note that the learning algorithm may be other known algorithms such as neural networks and deep learning. Also, since it is necessary to discriminate the bleeding of the image, it is preferable to appropriately perform emphasizing the contour of the object, extracting the area of the object, etc. when creating the training data. In this way, by adding the processing of S1704 to S1706, it becomes possible to automatically determine whether there is an image without image damage, rather than by the user's visual inspection.

[0079] <<Second Embodiment>> In the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the process of recording test patterns while varying the drying conditions by the platen air supply unit 202 and determining the optimal drying conditions and the optimal reaction liquid amount from the recorded images will be described. In the first embodiment, after recording the test pattern under the first drying condition, when there is no image without image damage, the test pattern under the second drying condition is recorded. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, after recording the test pattern under the first drying condition, without determining whether there is an image without image damage, the test pattern under the second drying condition is recorded, and then the determination of whether there is an image without image damage is made, which is different from the first embodiment. Note that the description of the same content as in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0080] (Operation Example) FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a process for determining drying conditions and the amount of reaction solution in the recording according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The process shown in FIG. 18 is realized by the CPU 401 reading out a program for realizing each control module stored in the ROM 402 into the RAM 403 and executing it. Note that some or all of the functions of the steps in FIG. 18 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC or an electronic circuit. The symbol "S" in the description of each process means that it is a step in the flowchart diagram.

[0081] The process shown in FIG. 18 is started when the user inputs an instruction to start recording a test pattern to the recording device.

[0082] Each process in the flowchart of FIG. 18 is the same as each process content in the flowchart of FIG. 15, but the combination of each process, that is, the order of each process is partially different. Specifically, in FIG. 18, the processes of S1801 to S1804 are the same as the processes of S1501 to S1504 in FIG. 15. In FIG. 18, the processes of S1805 to S1808 are the same as the processes of S1509 to S1512 in FIG. 15. In FIG. 18, the processes of S1809 to S1810 are the same as the processes of S1505 to S1506 in FIG. 15. Note that although the descriptions of S1810 and S1506 are different, the process contents are the same. In FIG. 18, the processes of S1811 to S1812 are the same as the processes of S1507 to S1508 in FIG. 15. In FIG. 18, the processes of S1813 to S1814 are the same as the processes of S1513 to S1514 in FIG. 15.

[0083] In other words, in the process shown in FIG. 18, a test pattern is recorded on the recording medium under the first drying condition, and subsequently, a test pattern is recorded under the second drying condition. After this, it is determined whether there is an image without image defects in the test pattern under the first drying condition. According to this operation, the recording of the test patterns under the first drying condition and the second drying condition can be performed continuously. Therefore, even if there is no image without image defects in the test pattern under the first drying condition, the test pattern under the second drying condition has already been recorded on the recording medium. Therefore, it becomes possible to select the test pattern under the second drying condition. Also, even if there is an image without image defects in the test pattern under the first drying condition, the test pattern under the second drying condition is recorded on the recording medium. However, there is an advantage in that the process is executed without changing the general flow of recording the test pattern, determining the test pattern, and setting the drying condition.

[0084] Thus, in this embodiment, the recording of the test pattern under the first drying condition and the recording of the test pattern under the second drying condition are continuously performed. After this, the drying condition and the liquid amount of the reaction liquid that can suppress image defects with respect to the recording medium having water-repellent characteristics are determined based on the recording result of the test pattern under the first drying condition. And it is possible to determine the drying condition and the liquid amount of the reaction liquid that can suppress image defects with respect to the recording medium having water-absorbent characteristics based on the recording result of the test pattern under the second drying condition.

[0085] As described above, in the second embodiment, since the test pattern is always recorded under the second drying conditions, for a recording medium having a water-receptive property, as a result, the drying means blows warm air onto the surface of the recording medium during recording. According to this operation, it is possible to promote the evaporation of moisture contained in the ink and suppress the bleeding of the ink by promoting the fixing of the ink. In addition, it is possible to suppress image defects caused by the bleeding of the ink. Also, by determining the liquid amount of the reaction liquid for suppressing image defects to be the minimum liquid amount, it is possible to suppress the consumption of the unnecessary liquid amount of the reaction liquid. Further, in the second embodiment, the test pattern under the first drying conditions and the test pattern under the second drying conditions are recorded separately. Therefore, even if the recording medium has a water-repellent property, since the test pattern under the first drying conditions is also recorded, a process of not blowing warm air onto the surface of the recording medium during recording by the drying means is also executed. Thereby, it becomes possible to set the drying conditions and the liquid amount of the reaction liquid suitable for suppressing image defects caused by the occurrence of the streak phenomenon due to drying acceleration.

[0086] <<Third Embodiment>> In the first and second embodiments of the present disclosure, the process of determining the liquid amount of the reaction liquid for suppressing the phenomenon that a single colored ink bleeds into the recording medium has been described. In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the process of determining the liquid amount of the reaction liquid for suppressing the phenomenon that a single colored ink bleeds into the recording medium and further suppressing the bleeding phenomenon occurring between different colored inks will be described. In addition, in the third embodiment, the description of the same content as in the first and second embodiments will be omitted.

[0087] (Test Pattern) FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a test pattern. In FIG. 19, an example is shown in which a character image of the alphabet "A" in a second colored ink is overlapped on a background image of a first colored ink, and a reaction liquid is further ejected and recorded on a recording medium. As the first colored ink, for example, yellow ink is used. As the second colored ink, for example, black ink is used. In both the yellow ink and the black ink, the ink amount per unit area is a predetermined amount of 36 [pl / 600 dpi]. On the other hand, as test patterns, five types from (f) to (j) are tried for the liquid amount of the reaction liquid. The liquid amount of the reaction liquid per unit area for each of (f) to (j) is 0 [pl / 600 dpi], 5 [pl / 600 dpi], 10 [pl / 600 dpi], 15 [pl / 600 dpi], and 20 [pl / 600 dpi]. Specifically, when recording with each of the liquid amounts of the five types of reaction liquids from (f) to (j) in FIG. 19, it is recorded by the multi-pass recording control shown in FIG. 5 using the mask pattern of the reaction liquid in FIG. 6(b). As described above, since FIG. 6(b) and FIG. 6(d) are the same, the mask pattern of the reaction liquid may be the mask pattern in FIG. 6(d).

[0088] (Operation outline) Flowcharts for explaining the process of determining the drying conditions during recording and the liquid amount of the reaction liquid in the present embodiment use FIG. 15 of the first embodiment and FIG. 18 of the second embodiment. Note that the first colored ink is not limited to yellow ink. For example, magenta ink may be used. The second colored ink is also not limited to black ink. For example, cyan ink may be used.

[0089] (No air blowing (first drying condition); Difficult to get wet (low wettability)) FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the recording results under the first drying condition of the test pattern for a recording medium having water-repellent properties. Specifically, FIG. 20 shows the results of recording the test patterns of FIGS. 11 and 19 under the first drying condition of FIG. 10 on the recording medium having water-repellent properties shown in FIG. 8(c). (a) to (e) of FIG. 20 show images of the same results as (a) to (e) of FIG. 12. (f) to (j) of FIG. 20 show the results of recording the test patterns of FIG. 19 newly added in this embodiment. (c) to (e) of FIG. 20 show images in which no ink bleeding phenomenon occurs. (h) to (j) of FIG. 20 show images in which no bleeding phenomenon occurs between different colored inks. That is, (h) to (j) of FIG. 20 show images in which there is no bleeding between a colored ink containing a colorant and another colored ink containing a different colorant from the colorant.

[0090] (Operation example) A case where the flowchart of the first embodiment (the process shown in FIG. 15) is used will be described. In step S1506 of FIG. 15, the CPU 401 determines that there is an image without image defects. The CPU 401 proceeds with the process of S1506 to the process of S1507. In S1507, the CPU 401 sets the first drying condition as the drying condition. Specifically, the CPU 401 sets the drying condition as "no air blowing setting", "no temperature setting", and "no wind speed setting". In S1508, the CPU 401 selects (c) to (e) and (h) to (j) of FIG. 20 as images without image defects. Next, the CPU 401 sets the liquid volume of the reaction liquid in (c) and (h) of FIG. 20, which is the smallest liquid volume among the liquid volumes of the reaction liquid in the images without image defects in both (c) to (e) and (h) to (j) of FIG. 20, as the discharge liquid volume of the reaction liquid. The CPU 401 sets the information on the set discharge liquid volume of the reaction liquid based on the input content of the user from the user interface of the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus 404.

[0091] (Operation example) A case where the flowchart of the second embodiment (the process shown in FIG. 18) is used will be described. In step S1810 of FIG. 18, the CPU 401 determines that there is an image without image defects. The CPU 401 proceeds with the process of S1810 to the process of S1811. In S1811, the CPU 401 sets the first drying condition as the drying condition. Specifically, the CPU 401 sets the drying condition to "no air blowing setting", "no temperature setting", and "no wind speed setting". In S1812, the CPU 401 selects FIGS. 20(c) to (e) and FIGS. 20(h) to (j) as images without image defects. Next, the CPU 401 sets the liquid amount of the reaction liquid in FIGS. 20(c) and (h), which is the smallest liquid amount among the liquid amounts of the reaction liquid in the images without image defects in both FIGS. 20(c) to (e) and FIGS. 20(h) to (j), as the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid. The CPU 401 sets the information on the set discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid based on the input content of the user from the user interface of the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus 404.

[0092] (No air blowing (first drying condition); easy to get wet (high wettability)) FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the recording results under the first drying condition of the test pattern for a recording medium having an easy-to-get-wet characteristic. Specifically, FIG. 21 shows the results of recording the test patterns of FIGS. 11 and 19 under the first drying condition of FIG. 10 for the recording medium having the easy-to-get-wet characteristic shown in FIG. 8(b). FIGS. 21(a) to (e) show images with the same results as FIGS. 13(a) to (e). FIGS. 21(f) to (j) show the results of recording the test pattern of FIG. 19 newly added in this embodiment. There are no images in FIGS. 21(a) to (e) where the phenomenon of ink bleeding does not occur, and all show images where the phenomenon of ink bleeding occurs. FIGS. 21(h) to (j) show images where the bleeding phenomenon occurring between different colored inks does not occur. That is, FIGS. 21(h) to (j) show images where there is no bleeding between the colored ink containing the colorant and another colored ink containing a different colorant from the colorant.

[0093] (Operation example) A case where the flowchart of the first embodiment (the process shown in FIG. 15) is used will be described. In S1506 of FIG. 15, the CPU 401 determines that there is no image without image damage. The CPU 401 proceeds with the process of S1506 to the process of S1509. In S1509, the CPU 401 sets the second drying condition as the drying condition. Specifically, the CPU 401 sets it as "air blowing setting: yes", "temperature setting: 30 °C", and "wind speed setting: 3 m / s" as the drying condition. In S1510, the CPU 401 records a test pattern under the second drying condition. Specifically, the CPU 401 causes the recording head 105 to record a test pattern while causing the platen air blowing unit 202 to supply warm air.

[0094] (With air blowing (second drying condition); Prone to wetting (high wettability)) FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the recording result of a test pattern under the second drying condition for a recording medium having a property of being prone to wetting. Specifically, FIG. 22 shows the result of recording the test patterns of FIGS. 11 and 19 under the second drying condition of FIG. 10 for the recording medium having the property of being prone to wetting shown in FIG. 8(b). (a) to (e) of FIG. 22 show images with the same results as (a) to (e) of FIG. 14. (f) to (j) of FIG. 22 show the results of recording the test pattern of FIG. 19 newly added in this embodiment. (d) and (e) of FIG. 22 show images in which the phenomenon of ink bleeding does not occur. (h) to (j) of FIG. 22 show images in which the bleeding phenomenon occurring between different colored inks does not occur. That is, (h) to (j) of FIG. 22 show images in which there is no bleeding between a colored ink containing a colorant and another colored ink containing a different colorant from the colorant.

[0095] (Operation example) The case of using the flowchart of the first embodiment (the process shown in FIG. 15) will be described. In step S1513 of FIG. 15, the CPU 401 sets the second drying condition as the drying condition. Specifically, the CPU 401 sets "air supply setting: yes", "temperature setting: 30 ° C", and "wind speed setting: 3 m / s" as the drying condition. The setting may be an automatic setting. Alternatively, the setting may be a manual setting from the user interface of the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus 404. Next, the CPU 401 sets the liquid amount of the reaction liquid in FIG. 22(d), which is the smallest liquid amount among the liquid amounts of the reaction liquid in the images without image defects in both FIGS. 22(d) and (e) and FIGS. 22(h) to (j) of FIG. 22, as the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid. The CPU 401 sets based on the input content of the user from the user interface of the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus 404 for the information on the set discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid.

[0096] (Operation example) A case where the flowchart of the second embodiment (FIG. 18) is used will be described. As shown in FIG. 21, when air blowing is performed under the first drying conditions on a recording medium having a water-repellent property, there is no image without image defects in the test pattern under the first drying conditions. Therefore, in S1809, due to the user's input, it is input that there is no image without image defects. Therefore, in step S1810, the CPU 401 determines that there is no image without image defects. The CPU 401 proceeds with the process of S1810 to the process of S1813. In S1813, the CPU 401 sets the second drying conditions as the drying conditions. Specifically, the CPU 401 sets the drying conditions as "air blowing setting: yes", "temperature setting: 30 ° C", and "wind speed setting: 3 m / s". In S1814, the CPU 401 selects (d) and (e) of FIG. 22, and (h) to (j) of FIG. 22 as images without image defects. Next, the CPU 401 sets the liquid amounts of the reaction liquids in (d) and (i) of FIG. 22, which are the smallest liquid amounts among the liquid amounts of the reaction liquids in the images without image defects in both (d) and (e) of FIG. 22 and (h) to (j) of FIG. 22, as the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid. The CPU 401 sets the information on the set discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid based on the input content of the user from the user interface of the recording apparatus main body or the host apparatus 404.

[0097] In this way, it is possible to determine the drying conditions and the optimum liquid amount of the reaction liquid in consideration of not only the phenomenon of ink bleeding but also the bleeding phenomenon occurring between different colored inks.

[0098] As described above, when an operation of blowing hot air onto the surface of a recording medium during recording is performed by a drying means on a recording medium having a water-absorbent property, the following occurs. That is, according to this operation, evaporation of moisture contained in the ink can be promoted, and fixing of the ink can be facilitated. In addition to being able to suppress image defects due to bleeding of the ink, it is also possible to suppress bleeding phenomena occurring between different colored inks. Also, by determining the liquid amount of the reaction liquid for suppressing image defects to the minimum liquid amount, consumption of the unnecessary liquid amount of the reaction liquid can be suppressed. Also, when an operation of blowing hot air onto the surface of a recording medium during recording is not performed by a drying means on a recording medium having a water-repellent property, the following occurs. That is, according to this operation, in addition to being able to suppress image defects due to the occurrence of the streaking phenomenon due to accelerated drying, it is also possible to suppress image defects due to bleeding phenomena occurring between different colored inks.

[0099] <<Other Embodiments>> (Test Pattern) In each of the above-described embodiments, the test patterns described in the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure were described using the black-colored letter "A", but are not limited to the letter "A", and may be other letters or an image composed of a combination of elements other than letters. FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining other test patterns. (a) of FIG. 23 shows the same letter "A" as in FIG. 11, and (f) of FIG. 23 shows the same letter "A" as in FIG. 19. Alternatively, instead of (a) of FIG. 23, images (b) to (e) composed of a combination of elements may be used. Alternatively, instead of (f) of FIG. 23, images (g) to (j) composed of a combination of elements may be used. Alternatively, it is not limited to black ink, and other colored inks or a combination of a plurality of other colored inks may be used. Alternatively, although the background color adjacent to different colored inks in FIG. 19 was set to yellow, it is not limited thereto. For example, other colored inks or a combination of a plurality of other colored inks may be used. Alternatively, a light-colored ink having a large brightness difference from the image composed of a combination of elements may be used. Alternatively, although the ink amount of the colored ink of the test pattern was described as an ink amount per unit area of 36 [pl / 600 dpi] which is a predetermined amount, it is not limited to this ink amount, and an ink amount corresponding to a user-specified ink amount may be used. Alternatively, the liquid amount of the reaction solution per unit area is not limited to five steps at intervals of 5 [pl / 600 dpi] of 0 [pl / 600 dpi], 5 [pl / 600 dpi], 10 [pl / 600 dpi], 15 [pl / 600 dpi], and 20 [pl / 600 dpi]. The liquid amount of the reaction solution per unit area and the interval between each step may be even finer. For example, an interval of 0.5 [pl / 600 dpi] may be used. Alternatively, the number of steps may be set to 10 steps which is even more. Alternatively, the image formed by the reaction solution overlapping the colored ink may be an image in which several pixels protrude at 600 dpi into the area where the colored ink is not recorded at the boundary of the area where the colored ink is not recorded. Further, the test patterns described in the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows. That is, in the first embodiment, a case where an ink bleeding phenomenon occurs at the boundary between the area where the colored ink is recorded and the area where the colored ink is not recorded was described.In the second embodiment, a case where a bleeding phenomenon occurs at a boundary portion where different colored inks are adjacent to each other was described. Further, it was described that the optimal amount of the reaction solution is determined for the bleeding phenomenon of the ink at the boundary portion and the bleeding phenomenon of the ink at the boundary portion where different colored inks are adjacent to each other. However, the present invention is not limited to these. Furthermore, it may be a test pattern including a plurality of images in which the amount of the reaction solution is varied so as to be able to determine an image defect that occurs depending on the amount of the reaction solution, such as an image for determining the optimal amount of the reaction solution for uniformity (also referred to as granularity). Alternatively, for all these image defect phenomena, the amount of the reaction solution may be determined to be the amount of the reaction solution in which no image defect occurs, and the amount of the reaction solution may be determined to be the smallest amount among them.

[0100] In the drying conditions during recording by the platen blowing unit 202 described in the first to third embodiments, the second drying condition was set to have blowing, a blowing temperature of 30°C, and a wind speed setting of 3 m / sec, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may have a plurality of drying conditions consisting of combinations of different blowing temperatures and different wind speeds. After step S1808 of the flowchart described in FIG. 18, recording of a plurality of test patterns may be performed under drying conditions different from the first drying condition and the second drying condition, and the optimal drying condition with blowing may be determined.

[0101] In each of the above-described embodiments, an example of the configuration in which the drying means includes the fan 202A and the heater 202B was described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The drying means may include a heat exchanger. Further, the drying means may include a dehumidifier.

[0102] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and causing one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus to read and execute the program. Further, it can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0103] The disclosure of this embodiment includes configurations represented by the following inkjet recording apparatus, inkjet recording method, and inkjet recording system.

[0104] <Configuration 1> A recording head for discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that comes into contact with the coloring material to cause aggregation of the coloring material onto a recording medium to record an image, Recording means for causing the recording head to record a plurality of test patterns configured by associating a plurality of first pattern images of a predetermined amount of the colored ink with a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid on the recording medium, Drying means for drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when the plurality of test patterns are recorded on the recording medium by the recording means, Acquisition means for acquiring recording information corresponding to the recording results of each of the plurality of test patterns, Determination means for determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying means when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information acquired by the acquisition means, An inkjet recording apparatus characterized by comprising the above.

[0105] <Configuration 2> When the determination means determines based on the recording information that there is a first pattern image in which there is no bleeding of the colored ink from the area where the colored ink is recorded at the boundary between the area where the colored ink is recorded and the area where the colored ink is not recorded in each of the plurality of test patterns, the inkjet recording apparatus according to Configuration 1, characterized in that the smallest amount among the amounts of the reaction liquid of the second pattern image corresponding to the first pattern image is determined as the discharge liquid amount of the reaction liquid discharged by the recording head.

[0106] <Configuration 3> The drying means further has a blower unit capable of controlling the air volume of the air supplied toward the recording medium, The drying conditions include a first drying condition and a second drying condition. The first drying condition includes a blowing setting for controlling the non - supply of the air by the blowing unit, The second drying condition includes a blowing setting for controlling the supply of the air by the blowing unit, The determining means, when it is determined based on the recording information that there is a first pattern image without bleeding of the colored ink at the boundary portion, records the plurality of test patterns to be dried by the drying means under the first drying condition, The inkjet recording apparatus according to Configuration 2, wherein when it is determined based on the recording information that there is no first pattern image without bleeding of the colored ink at the boundary portion, records the plurality of test patterns to be dried by the drying means under the second drying condition.

[0107] <Configuration 4> The inkjet recording apparatus according to Configuration 3, wherein the drying means further has a temperature adjusting unit capable of adjusting the temperature of the air supplied toward the recording medium.

[0108] <Configuration 5> The first drying condition further includes a temperature setting for not adjusting the temperature of the air by the temperature adjusting unit, The inkjet recording apparatus according to Configuration 4, wherein the second drying condition further includes a temperature setting for adjusting the temperature of the air by the temperature adjusting unit.

[0109] <Configuration 6> The determining means, in a situation where the drying means controls each of the blowing unit and the temperature adjusting unit according to the first drying condition, when it is determined based on the recording information that there is a first pattern image without bleeding of the colored ink in each of the plurality of test patterns recorded under the first drying condition, determines the smallest amount among the amounts of the reaction liquid of the second pattern image corresponding to the first pattern image as the discharge liquid amount. The inkjet recording apparatus according to Configuration 5.

[0110] <Configuration 7> When the determination means determines based on the recording information that there is a first pattern image in which bleeding of the colored ink does not occur among the colored inks of the first pattern images constituting each of the plurality of test patterns dried under the second drying condition by the drying means, the inkjet recording apparatus according to Configuration 5 or 6, wherein the smallest amount among the amounts of the reaction liquid of the second pattern image corresponding to the first pattern image is determined as the discharge liquid amount.

[0111] <Configuration 8> The determination means determines the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink in the first pattern image constituting each of the plurality of test patterns dried under the first drying condition by the drying means based on the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of Configurations 3 to 6.

[0112] <Configuration 9> After the determination means records the plurality of test patterns to be dried under the first drying condition by the drying means as a plurality of first test patterns, and then records a plurality of other test patterns different from the plurality of test patterns to be dried under the second drying condition by the drying means as a plurality of second test patterns, the determination means determines the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink in the first pattern image constituting each of the plurality of first test patterns based on the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of Configurations 3 to 6.

[0113] <Configuration 10> When the determination means determines based on the recording information that there is no bleeding of the colored ink in the region where the colored ink is recorded at the boundary portion, and there is no bleeding between the colored ink and another colored ink containing another colorant different from the colorant in the region where the other colored ink is recorded at another boundary portion between the region where the colored ink is recorded and the region where the other colored ink is recorded, the amount of the reaction liquid in the second pattern image corresponding to the first pattern image without bleeding of the colored ink and the amount of the reaction liquid in the second pattern image corresponding to the third pattern image without bleeding between the colored ink and the other colored ink are determined, and the smallest amount among them is determined as the discharge liquid amount to be discharged by the recording head. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of Configurations 2 to 6, characterized in that.

[0114] <Configuration 11> Further comprising input means for receiving user input, The acquisition means acquires input information based on the user input received by the input means as the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of Configurations 2 to 6, characterized in that.

[0115] <Configuration 12> Further comprising imaging means for imaging images of the plurality of test patterns recorded on the recording medium, The acquisition means acquires imaging information based on the images of the plurality of test patterns imaged by the imaging means as the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of Configurations 2 to 6, characterized in that.

[0116] <Configuration 13> When the acquisition means acquires the imaging information as the recording information, the determination means determines the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink based on the similarity of each of the plurality of test patterns, which is the recording result corresponding to the recording information, with respect to an ideal test pattern without bleeding of the colored ink. The inkjet recording apparatus according to Configuration 12, characterized in that.

[0117] <Configuration 14> The determination means determines the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink based on a machine learning model that has learned to distinguish the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink when the acquisition means acquires the imaging information as the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to Configuration 12.

[0118] <Configuration 15> The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of Configurations 1 to 6, further comprising display means for displaying information regarding images of the plurality of test patterns.

[0119] <Configuration 16> An inkjet recording method, A first recording step of discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that comes into contact with the coloring material and causes aggregation of the coloring material onto a recording medium to record an image; A second recording step of recording a plurality of test patterns configured by associating a plurality of first pattern images of a predetermined amount of the colored ink and a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid on the recording medium by the first recording step; A drying step of drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when recording the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium by the second recording step; An acquisition step of acquiring recording information corresponding to each recording result of the plurality of test patterns; A determination step of determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying step when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information acquired in the acquisition step; An inkjet recording method characterized by including.

[0120] <Configuration 17> An inkjet recording system including an inkjet recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium and input means for receiving an input from a user, The inkjet recording apparatus, A recording head for discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that comes into contact with the coloring material to cause aggregation of the coloring material onto the recording medium to record an image, Recording means for causing the recording head to record a plurality of test patterns configured by associating a plurality of first pattern images of a predetermined amount of the colored ink and a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid on the recording medium, Drying means for drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when the recording means records the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium, Obtaining means for obtaining recording information corresponding to each recording result of the plurality of test patterns, Determining means for determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying means when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information obtained by the obtaining means, Comprising The obtaining means obtains input information based on the input of the user received by the input means as the recording information, characterized in that it is an inkjet recording system.

[0121] <Configuration 18> An inkjet recording system including an inkjet recording device for recording an image on a recording medium and imaging means for imaging an image, The inkjet recording device is A recording head for discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that comes into contact with the coloring material to cause aggregation of the coloring material onto the recording medium to record an image, Recording means for causing the recording head to record a plurality of test patterns configured by associating a plurality of first pattern images of a predetermined amount of the colored ink and a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid on the recording medium, Drying means for drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when the recording means records the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium, Obtaining means for obtaining recording information corresponding to each recording result of the plurality of test patterns, Determining means for determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying means when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information acquired by the acquisition means; comprising; The acquisition means acquires imaging information based on an image of the plurality of test patterns imaged by the imaging means as the recording information, and is characterized by an inkjet recording system.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0122] 105 Recording head 402 ROM 403 RAM 401 CPU P Recording medium

Claims

1. A recording head for discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that contacts the coloring material to cause aggregation of the coloring material onto a recording medium to record an image; Recording means for recording a plurality of test patterns configured by associating a plurality of first pattern images of a predetermined amount of the colored ink and a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid with the recording medium by the recording head; Drying means for drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when the recording means records the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium; Acquisition means for acquiring recording information corresponding to each recording result of the plurality of test patterns; Determination means for determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying means when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information acquired by the acquisition means; An inkjet recording apparatus comprising the same.

2. When the determination means determines based on the recording information that there is a first pattern image in which there is no bleeding of the colored ink from the area where the colored ink is recorded at the boundary between the area where the colored ink is recorded and the area where the colored ink is not recorded in each of the plurality of test patterns, the inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the reaction liquid of the second pattern image corresponding to the first pattern image is determined as the discharge amount of the reaction liquid discharged by the recording head.

3. The drying means further includes a blower unit capable of controlling the air volume of the air supplied toward the recording medium, The drying conditions include a first drying condition and a second drying condition, The first drying condition includes a blowing setting for performing control not to supply the air by the blower unit, The second drying condition includes a blowing setting for performing control to supply the air by the blower unit, The determination means is When it is determined based on the recording information that there is the first pattern image without bleeding of the colored ink in the boundary portion, a plurality of test patterns to be dried by the drying means under the first drying condition are recorded. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when it is determined based on the recording information that there is no first pattern image without bleeding of the colored ink in the boundary portion, a plurality of test patterns to be dried by the drying means under the second drying condition are recorded.

4. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the drying means further includes a temperature adjusting unit capable of adjusting the temperature of the air supplied toward the recording medium.

5. The first drying condition further includes a temperature setting for not adjusting the temperature of the air by the temperature adjusting unit. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second drying condition further includes a temperature setting for adjusting the temperature of the air by the temperature adjusting unit.

6. When it is determined based on the recording information that there is the first pattern image without bleeding of the colored ink in each of the plurality of test patterns recorded under the first drying condition in a situation where the drying means controls each of the blowing unit and the temperature adjusting unit according to the first drying condition, the inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the smallest amount among the amounts of the reaction liquid of the second pattern image corresponding to the first pattern image is determined as the discharge liquid amount.

7. When the determination means determines based on the recording information that there is a first pattern image in which bleeding of the colored ink does not occur among the colored inks of the first pattern images constituting each of the plurality of test patterns dried under the second drying condition by the drying means, the inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the smallest amount among the amounts of the reaction liquid of the second pattern image corresponding to the first pattern image is determined as the discharge liquid amount.

8. The determination means determines the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink in the first pattern image constituting each of the plurality of test patterns dried under the first drying condition by the drying means based on the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6.

9. After the determination means records the plurality of test patterns to be dried under the first drying condition by the drying means as a plurality of first test patterns, and then records a plurality of other test patterns different from the plurality of test patterns to be dried under the second drying condition by the drying means as a plurality of second test patterns, the determination means determines the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink in the first pattern image constituting each of the plurality of first test patterns based on the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6.

10. When the determination means determines based on the recording information that there is no bleeding of the colored ink from the area where the colored ink is recorded at the boundary portion, and there is no bleeding between the colored ink and another colored ink containing another coloring material different from the coloring material at another boundary portion between the area where the colored ink is recorded and the area where another colored ink containing another coloring material different from the coloring material is recorded, the amount of the reaction liquid in the second pattern image corresponding to the first pattern image without bleeding of the colored ink and the amount of the reaction liquid in the second pattern image corresponding to the third pattern image without bleeding between the colored ink and the other colored ink are determined. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the smallest amount among them is determined as the discharge liquid amount to be discharged by the recording head.

11. further comprising input means for receiving an input from a user, The acquisition means acquires input information based on the input from the user received by the input means as the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6.

12. further comprising imaging means for imaging images of the plurality of test patterns recorded on the recording medium, The acquisition means acquires imaging information based on the images of the plurality of test patterns imaged by the imaging means as the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6.

13. When the acquisition means acquires the imaging information as the recording information, the determination means determines the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink based on the similarity of each of the plurality of test patterns, which is the recording result corresponding to the recording information, with respect to an ideal test pattern without bleeding of the colored ink. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 12.

14. The determination means determines the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink based on a machine learning model that has learned to distinguish the presence or absence of bleeding of the colored ink when the acquisition means acquires the imaging information as the recording information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 12.

15. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising display means for displaying information regarding images of the plurality of test patterns.

16. An inkjet recording method, A first recording step of discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that contacts the coloring material and causes aggregation of the coloring material onto a recording medium to record an image, A second recording step of recording a plurality of test patterns configured by associating a plurality of first pattern images of a predetermined amount of the colored ink and a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid on the recording medium by the first recording step, A drying step of drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when recording the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium by the second recording step, An acquisition step of acquiring recording information corresponding to each recording result of the plurality of test patterns, A determination step of determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying step when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information acquired in the acquisition step, An inkjet recording method characterized by including.

17. An inkjet recording system including an inkjet recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium and input means for receiving an input from a user, The inkjet recording apparatus, A recording head for discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that contacts the coloring material and causes aggregation of the coloring material onto the recording medium to record an image, Recording means for recording a plurality of test patterns configured by associating a plurality of first pattern images of a predetermined amount of the colored ink and a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid with the recording medium by the recording head; Drying means for drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when the recording means records the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium; Obtaining means for obtaining recording information corresponding to the recording results of the respective plurality of test patterns; Determining means for determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying means when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information obtained by the obtaining means; Comprising The obtaining means obtains input information based on the input of the user received by the input means as the recording information, and an inkjet recording system characterized by this.

18. An inkjet recording system including an inkjet recording device for recording an image on a recording medium and imaging means for imaging an image, The inkjet recording device A recording head for discharging a colored ink containing a coloring material and a reaction liquid that contacts the coloring material to cause aggregation of the coloring material onto the recording medium to record an image; Recording means for recording a plurality of test patterns configured by associating a plurality of first pattern images of a predetermined amount of the colored ink and a plurality of second pattern images of different amounts of the reaction liquid with the recording medium by the recording head; Drying means for drying the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium when the recording means records the plurality of test patterns on the recording medium; Obtaining means for obtaining recording information corresponding to the recording results of the respective plurality of test patterns; Determining means for determining the amount of the reaction liquid and the drying conditions by the drying means when recording on the recording medium based on the recording information obtained by the obtaining means; Comprising, The acquisition means acquires imaging information based on an image of the plurality of test patterns imaged by the imaging means as the recording information, and is characterized by an inkjet recording system.

Images