Liquid discharge device

Abstract

To provide a liquid discharge device that can surely release a drying state of any of a plurality of kinds of liquid which are different in easiness of drying.SOLUTION: A control device 30 provided on a liquid discharge device 1 executes a printing process of discharging liquid from a nozzle 11 to form an image on a medium A to be printed, on the basis of image data, and a discharging / flushing process of discharging liquid onto a predetermined flushing area 23, where total discharge amounts of first liquid are more than total discharge amounts of second liquid that is harder in drying than the first liquid, and discharging of the second liquid is started after discharging of the first liquid is started.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a liquid ejection device that ejects liquid. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, inkjet recording devices such as that described in Patent Document 1 are known. Patent Document 1 describes that in order to prevent ink from mixing from nozzles that have completed preliminary ejection processing with nozzles that have not yet completed preliminary ejection processing, the frequency of preliminary ejection is varied for each color and the timing at which the preliminary ejection processing is completed is synchronized for each color. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-052885 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, ink that is preliminary ejected infrequently tends to dry out during the non-ejection period between two consecutive preliminary ejections. In other words, it may not be possible to reliably eliminate the dry state for all of the inks of multiple colors that dry out easily.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to provide a liquid ejection device that can reliably eliminate the dried state of any of a plurality of types of liquid that dry easily in different ways. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A liquid ejection device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure comprises a head having nozzles for each type of liquid that ejects onto a printing medium multiple types of liquid, including a first liquid and a second liquid that is less likely to dry than the first liquid, and a control device, wherein the control device executes a printing process that ejects the liquid from the nozzles based on image data to form an image on the printing medium, and an ejection flushing process that ejects the liquid into a predetermined flushing area, wherein in the ejection flushing process, the total ejection amount of the first liquid is greater than the total ejection amount of the second liquid, and the ejection of the second liquid begins after the ejection of the first liquid begins. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the liquid ejection device of the present disclosure, by delaying the start timing of flushing for the second liquid compared to the first liquid and bringing it closer to the start of printing, it is possible to eliminate the dry state of both the first liquid and the second liquid at the start of printing, thereby achieving stable printing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid ejection device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the ejection head. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the liquid ejection device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a signal input to an actuator. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows a first example of a flushing process performed by a liquid ejection device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a second example of a flushing process performed by a liquid ejection device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows a third example of a flushing process performed by a liquid ejection device. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows a fourth example of a flushing process performed by a liquid ejection device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a liquid ejection device according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the following, the same or corresponding elements will be designated by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0010] (Configuration of liquid ejection device) 1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid ejection device 1 according to the present disclosure. The liquid ejection device 1 prints an image on a print medium A using liquid ejected from an ejection head 10 based on image data. An example of such a liquid ejection device 1 applied to an inkjet printer that ejects ink will be described below.

[0011] The liquid ejection device 1 is a serial head type, and alternates between a process of ejecting ink of multiple colors to form an image while the ejection head 10 moves (scans) and a process of transporting the print medium A. Note that, hereinafter, the direction in which the ejection head 10 moves back and forth is referred to as a first direction (or left-right direction), and the direction in which the print medium A is transported, which is perpendicular to the first direction, is referred to as a second direction (or front-back direction). Furthermore, a direction perpendicular to both the first and second directions is referred to as a third direction (or up-down direction). However, the arrangement direction of the liquid ejection device 1 is not limited to this.

[0012] The ejection head 10 is housed in a housing 2 of the liquid ejection device 1. The ejection head 10 has a nozzle surface 12 in which a plurality of nozzles 11 are opened, which eject liquid onto the print medium A based on print data. The nozzles 11 include nozzles 11a and nozzles 11b which eject a plurality of types of liquid that dry easily. Of these, nozzle 11a is a nozzle 11 which ejects a first liquid, and nozzle 11b is a nozzle 11 which ejects a second liquid that dries more slowly than the first liquid. A more detailed configuration of the ejection head 10 will be described later.

[0013] The liquid ejection device 1 includes a platen 14 disposed opposite the ejection head 10. The platen 14 is positioned below the ejection head 10 at a predetermined distance, and supports the print medium A from below with its flat upper surface.

[0014] The liquid ejection device 1 is equipped with a transport device 15 that transports the print medium A on a platen 14. The transport device 15 has, for example, two transport rollers 16 and a transport motor. The two transport rollers 16 are arranged at a distance from each other in the front and rear with the platen 14 sandwiched between them, and are connected to the rotating shaft of the transport motor via a reducer. Therefore, when the transport motor is driven, the two transport rollers 16 rotate about their axes, transporting the print medium A on the platen 14 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0015] The liquid ejection device 1 is equipped with a moving device 18 that moves the ejection head 10 back and forth in the left and right direction. The moving device 18 has a carriage 19, two guide rails 20, an endless belt 21, and a moving motor. The carriage 19 supports the ejection head 10 and moves back and forth in the left and right direction together with the ejection head 10. The two guide rails 20 extend left and right across the platen 14 and are arranged spaced apart in the front and back with the ejection head 10 sandwiched between them. The two guide rails 20 support the carriage 19 so that it can move (scan) in the left and right direction.

[0016] The endless belt 21 is wound around two pulleys 22 provided near the left and right ends of one of the guide rails 20, and is connected to the carriage 19 at a predetermined location. The movement motor has a rotation shaft connected to either the left or right pulley 22 via a reducer. Therefore, in this movement device 18, when the movement motor is driven to rotate, the endless belt 21 runs, and the carriage 19 supporting the discharge head 10 moves left and right along the guide rail 20.

[0017] Within the housing 2, a flushing area 23 is provided within the range within which the carriage 19 can be moved by the moving device 18. In the example of FIG. 1, the flushing area 23 is provided at a position away to the right of the platen 14. In order to prevent the liquid in the nozzles 11 from drying out and to adjust the meniscus, the liquid ejection device 1 moves the carriage 19 to position the ejection head 11 opposite the flushing area 23 and performs a flushing process, which will be described later. The flushing area 23 is provided with a foam that absorbs and holds the liquid, a guide plate that guides the liquid ejected from the nozzles 11 to the foam, and the like.

[0018] The liquid ejection device 1 is equipped with a plurality of tanks 24 that store ink of each color to be supplied to the ejection head 10. These tanks 24 are housed inside the housing 2 by opening an openable cover provided on the housing 2. The liquid ejection device 1 of the present disclosure uses a total of four colors of ink, for example, colors such as cyan, yellow, magenta, and black, and is equipped with four tanks 24 accordingly. One end of a flexible tube 25 is connected to each tank 24, and the other end is connected to an ink supply port of the ejection head 10, and ink from each tank 24 is sent to the ejection head 10 through the tube 25.

[0019] It is possible to use pigment ink as the black ink and dye ink as the color ink, in which case the first liquid corresponds to black, and the second liquid, which is slower to dry than the first liquid, corresponds to the color ink.

[0020] (Configuration of ejection head) Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the ejection head 20. As shown in Fig. 2, the ejection head 20 has a flow path section 50 in which multiple plates made of metal such as stainless steel are stacked. A portion of each plate is fully or half-etched, thereby forming multiple supply manifolds 51 for each ink type and multiple individual channels 52 that communicate between the supply manifolds 51 and the nozzles 11 within the flow path section 50. Each individual channel 52 includes a supply throttle path 53, a pressure chamber 54, a descender 55, and a nozzle hole 56, and the lower end opening of the nozzle hole 56 forms the nozzle 11.

[0021] A driving unit 60 is laminated on the flow path unit 50. The driving unit 60 is configured, for example, by laminating a piezoelectric ceramic layer 61, a common electrode 62, and a piezoelectric ceramic layer 63 so as to cover almost the entire area of ​​the upper surface of the ejection head 20, and further by arranging a plurality of individual electrodes 64 corresponding to each pressure chamber 53. The piezoelectric ceramic layer 61, the common electrode 62, and the portion of the piezoelectric ceramic layer 63 that corresponds to each pressure chamber 53, together with the corresponding individual electrode 64, constitute an actuator 65 corresponding to one individual channel 52.

[0022] In such an ejection head 20, ink is supplied from a tank 24 to a supply manifold 51, and further supplied from the supply manifold 51 to each individual channel 52. An ejection pressure is applied to the ink in the pressure chamber 53 of the individual channel 52 by driving (displacing) the actuator 65 corresponding to that individual channel 52. When the ejection pressure is applied, the ink in that individual channel 52 moves toward the nozzle hole 56 and is ejected from the nozzle 11 as droplets.

[0023] The above-described configuration of the ejection head 20 is merely an example, and the configuration of the ejection head 20 according to the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the ejection head 20 may have a return manifold in addition to the supply manifold 51, and may further include a return flow path that passes ink from the downstream end of the descender 55 to the return manifold.

[0024] (Hardware functional configuration) Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the liquid ejection device 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the liquid ejection device 1 has a functional configuration mainly made up of hardware, including a control device 30, a storage device 31 connected to the control device 30, an interface 32, and a head driving device 33. The control device 30 is also connected to the transport device 15 and the moving device 18 described above.

[0025] The control device 30 is, for example, a computer, and includes a processor such as an MPU, or an integrated circuit such as an ASIC. The storage device 31 is a memory accessible from the control device 30, and includes, for example, RAM and ROM. The RAM temporarily stores image data included in the print job, print data generated from this image data through halftone processing, and various data used in calculations by the control device 30. The ROM stores computer programs and data for various data processing operations. Therefore, the control device 30 controls the operation of each part of the liquid ejection device 1 by executing computer programs while referencing the data stored in the storage device 31.

[0026] The interface 32 is a connection device that connects the control device 30 to external devices of the liquid ejection device 1. Examples of external devices include other computers, communication networks, recording media, displays, and other liquid ejection devices. The liquid ejection device 1 obtains a print job including image data and print setting information from an external device, such as a computer, via this interface 32.

[0027] The head drive device 33 has a head drive circuit electrically connected to each actuator 65 of the ejection head 10, and controls the operation of each actuator 65 based on instructions from the control device 30. That is, the control device 30 outputs a control signal for driving the actuator 65 to the head drive circuit, and the head drive circuit generates a drive signal based on the input control signal and outputs this drive signal to each actuator 65. Therefore, the liquid ejection device 1 can selectively perform a printing process or ejection flushing process that includes ejection of large ink droplets and ejection of small ink droplets, or a non-ejection flushing process that vibrates ink in the nozzles 11 without ejecting ink.

[0028] (About ejection signals and droplets) 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of signals input to the actuator 65. Shown here, in order of increasing pressure applied to the liquid, are a non-ejection signal WS1, a non-ejection drive signal WS2, an ejection drive signal for small droplets WS3, and an ejection drive signal for large droplets WS4. Each signal disclosed here has a periodic waveform, with one period T covering the period from the slight tremor pulse Pa to the stabilization pulse Pb, and two periods of the signal are shown in FIG.

[0029] The no-ejection signal WS1 is a signal that includes only a slight movement pulse Pa and a stabilization pulse Pb in the signal waveform of one period T, and does not include a drive pulse that applies pressure to the liquid between them. Note that in this no-ejection signal WS1, one or both of the slight movement pulse Pa and the stabilization pulse Pb may be omitted.

[0030] The non-ejection drive signal WS2 is a signal that includes a slight movement pulse Pa and a stabilization pulse Pb, as well as a drive pulse P1 with a small time width between them. Because the non-ejection drive signal WS2 includes the drive pulse P1, pressure is applied to the liquid in the corresponding individual channel 52, causing the liquid to vibrate in the nozzle 11. However, because the time width of the drive pulse P1 is small, the liquid is not ejected from the nozzle 11.

[0031] The ejection drive signal WS3 is a signal that includes a slight movement pulse Pa, a stabilization pulse Pb, and a drive pulse P2 between them that has a time width greater than that of the drive pulse P1. Because the ejection drive signal WS3 includes such a drive pulse P2, pressure is applied to the liquid in the corresponding individual channel 52, and the pressurized liquid is ejected from the nozzle 11 as small droplets. The small droplets are, for example, droplets with a volume of approximately 4 pl (picoliters).

[0032] The ejection drive signal WS4 is a signal that includes a slight movement pulse Pa, a stabilization pulse Pb, and a drive pulse P3 between them that has a time width even greater than that of the drive pulse P2. Because the ejection drive signal WS4 includes such a drive pulse P3, pressure is applied to the liquid in the corresponding individual channel 52, and the pressurized liquid is ejected from the nozzle 11 as a large droplet. A large droplet is, for example, a droplet with a volume of approximately 20 pL.

[0033] The above-mentioned slight movement pulse Pa is a pulse signal that vibrates the meniscus of ink in the nozzle 11, improving the stability of the droplet ejection immediately afterwards and increasing the droplet ejection speed. The stabilization pulse Pb is a pulse signal that is applied at the end of one cycle, particularly after the droplet is ejected, and is, for example, a pulse of opposite phase to the drive pulses P1 to P3, and stabilizes the meniscus in the nozzle 11.

[0034] 3, the transport device 15 has a transport drive circuit electrically connected to the transport motor described above, and the operation of the transport motor is controlled by the control device 30 via the transport drive circuit. This allows the transport device 15 to transport the print medium A on the platen 14 intermittently or continuously in the forward / backward direction, which is the second direction, and to stop and hold the print medium A at a predetermined position on the platen 14.

[0035] The movement device 18 has a movement drive circuit electrically connected to the movement motor described above, and the operation of the movement motor is controlled by the control device 30 via the movement drive circuit. This allows the movement device 18 to move the carriage 19 supporting the ejection head 10 in the left and right direction, which is the first direction, at different speeds, and to stop the carriage 19 at any position within its movable range. Therefore, the ejection head 10 mounted on the carriage 19 is moved back and forth in the left and right direction relative to the print medium A by the movement device 18, or is positioned above the flushing area 23.

[0036] (Software functional configuration) Meanwhile, the liquid ejection device 1 has a functional configuration mainly made up of software, which includes a print processing unit 40, an ejection flushing processing unit 41, and a non-ejection flushing processing unit 42. Each of these processing units 40 to 47 functions when the control device 30 executes a computer program stored in the storage device 31.

[0037] Of these, the print processing unit 40 executes a print process in which droplets are ejected from the nozzles 11 of the ejection head 20 based on print data generated from image data, while the movement device 18 moves the ejection head 20 and the print medium A relative to each other, to form an image on the print medium A. At this time, in order to eject droplets from the nozzles 11, the control device 30 inputs drive signals such as the above-mentioned ejection drive signals WS3 and WS4 to the actuator 65.

[0038] As one aspect of the "flushing process," the ejection flushing processing unit 41 executes an ejection flushing process in which liquid is ejected toward the flushing region 23. That is, the control device 30 uses the movement device 19 to position the ejection head 20 so that it faces the flushing region 23, and ejects liquid from the nozzles 11 into the flushing region 23 while stopping the ejection head 20 in that position or moving it back and forth a short distance. In this type of ejection flushing process, when liquid is ejected from the nozzles 11, the above-mentioned ejection drive signals WS3, WS4, etc. are input to the actuator 65.

[0039] As another mode of the "flushing process," the non-ejection flushing processing unit 42 executes a non-ejection flushing process in which the liquid is vibrated within the nozzles 11 without being ejected from the nozzles 11. In this type of non-ejection flushing process, the non-ejection drive signal WS2 described above is input to the actuator 65. Note that the flushing processes described above (ejection flushing process and non-ejection flushing process) are executed immediately before printing begins in the printing process.

[0040] (Operation of the liquid ejection device) Next, we will explain the operation of the flushing process (ejection flushing process and non-ejection flushing process) of this liquid ejection device 1. Figures 5 to 8 are schematic diagrams for explaining examples of the operation of the flushing process. In the flushing process described below with reference to Figures 5 to 8, black ink as the first liquid and color ink as the second liquid that dries more slowly than the first liquid are processed.

[0041] In the following ejection flushing process, as an example, 1,000 large droplets of 20 pL each of black ink are ejected, resulting in a total of 20 nL (nanoliters). These 1,000 ejections of black ink are carried out in 10 steps of 100 droplets each. On the other hand, color inks are ejected in a total of 4 nL, less than black ink, because they are slower to dry than black ink. In other words, the total ejection volume of black ink (20 nL) is greater than the total ejection volume of color ink (4 nL).

[0042] In each of Figures 5 to 8, the upper part shows a diagram of the number of black ink and color inks ejected in each process. In this diagram, "NEF" indicates non-ejection drive (Figure 6). Also, the lower part of each figure shows a schematic diagram of the actuator operation timing and operation content in each process.

[0043] In this image, hatched circles (e.g., Figure 5) indicate that droplets of black ink (first liquid) have been ejected, and open circles (e.g., Figure 5) indicate that droplets of color ink (second liquid) have been ejected. Furthermore, horizontal bars (e.g., Figure 5) indicate a non-ejection state, and open and dashed circles (e.g., Figure 6) indicate that non-ejection drive has been performed on individual color ink channels. Furthermore, the size of each circle indicates the size of the ejected droplets, with larger circles (e.g., Figure 8) indicating large droplets and smaller circles (e.g., Figure 8) indicating small droplets.

[0044] Fig. 5 shows a first example of a flushing process by the liquid ejection device 1. As shown in the upper diagram of Fig. 5, in this flushing process, 100 large droplets of black ink are ejected in each of the first to tenth steps, whereas ejection of color inks begins after the start of ejection of black ink. Specifically, color inks are not ejected in the first to eighth steps, and in the ninth and tenth steps, large droplets of ink, like black ink, are ejected 100 times in each step, and the ejection timing of the black ink and color inks is synchronized.

[0045] This allows the total amount of color ink, which is the second liquid that is difficult to dry, to be ejected by ejection flushing to be less than that of black ink, which is the first liquid, and also prevents the color ink from drying out due to waiting while black ink is ejected and flushed before printing begins, thereby achieving stable image quality immediately after printing begins.

[0046] 5, as can be seen from the top diagram, the total number of black ink ejections (1,000) is greater than the total number of color ink ejections (200), and as can be seen from the bottom diagram, the final ejection of black ink and the final ejection of color ink are performed simultaneously. In this way, by performing the final ejection of each ink at the same time, it is possible to eliminate the dried state of each ink in the same way just before printing begins.

[0047] 6 shows a second example of a flushing process performed by the liquid ejection device 1. In this example, the liquid ejection device 1 performs a non-ejection flushing process on the color inks during the period in which the ejection flushing process is being performed, between the start of ejection of black ink and the start of ejection of color inks.

[0048] A more specific explanation will be given with reference to the upper and lower diagrams in Figure 6. The liquid ejection device 1 executes an ejection flushing process for black ink, ejecting 100 large ink droplets at a time in steps 1 to 10. On the other hand, for color inks, an ejection flushing process is executed for color inks in steps 9 and 10 after the start of ejection of black ink, ejecting 100 large ink droplets at each step. Furthermore, for color inks, a non-ejection flushing process is executed until the start of the ejection flushing process, in this case, during steps 1 to 8.

[0049] As a result, there is a non-ejection period before the ejection flushing process starts, during which the color ink is prone to drying, but by performing the non-ejection flushing process during this period, it is possible to prevent the color ink from drying out.

[0050] 6 shows a case where the non-ejection flushing process is performed in all of the first to eighth steps, but this is not limiting. For example, the non-ejection flushing process may be performed in only some of the first to eighth steps. In this case, it is preferable to set the step in which the non-ejection flushing is performed as close as possible to the start of the ejection flushing process.

[0051] Furthermore, in the non-ejection flushing process in each step, the number of vibrations applied during one step is not particularly limited. The ejection timing and number of vibrations may be the same as or different from the ejection timing and number of vibrations applied during the ejection flushing for black ink in the same step. The number of vibrations may be different for each step. For example, the number of vibrations during a step immediately following a step may be set to be the same or increased.

[0052] 7 shows a third example of a flushing process performed by the liquid ejection device 1. In this example, the ejection flushing process performed by the liquid ejection device 1 has a larger total number of ejections of black ink than the total number of ejections of color inks, and the ejection frequency of the color inks increases over time.

[0053] A more detailed explanation will be given with reference to the upper and lower diagrams in Figure 7. For black ink, an ejection flushing process is performed in which large ink droplets are ejected 100 times each in steps 1 to 10. Therefore, the total number of ejections of black ink is 1000. On the other hand, the total number of ejections of color ink is 200, as shown in the upper diagram. Furthermore, color ink is not ejected in steps 1 to 6, and an ejection flushing process using large ink droplets is performed in steps 7 to 10.

[0054] Furthermore, in the case of the color ink ejection flushing process, the ejection frequency is set to 25% compared to black ink in the seventh and eighth steps. In other words, the color ink is set to be ejected once for every four black ink ejections. In the next ninth step, the ejection frequency is set to 50% compared to black ink, so that the color ink is ejected once for every two black ink ejections. Furthermore, in the tenth step, the ejection frequency is set to 100% compared to black ink, so that the black ink and color ink are ejected simultaneously in equal numbers each time. The above is just one example, but the color ink ejection frequency is set to increase over time.

[0055] As a result, the color ink dries during a non-ejection period before the ejection flushing process begins, but the ejection frequency is set low immediately after the ejection flushing process begins. Therefore, even if the color ink is slightly dry, it can be ejected stably (reliably) by ejecting it at a low frequency. Then, after the color ink that is slightly drier near the nozzles is ejected, the ejection frequency is increased, so the color ink can be reliably released from its dried state before printing begins, ensuring ejection stability during printing.

[0056] It is also possible to combine the third example with the second example. For example, in the third example shown in Figure 7, the non-ejection process for color inks may be replaced with a non-ejection flushing process for color inks. This makes it possible to more reliably prevent the color inks from drying out.

[0057] 8 shows a fourth example of a flushing process performed by the liquid ejection device 1. In this example, the ejection flushing process performed by the liquid ejection device 1 is such that the total amount of black ink ejected is greater than the total amount of color ink ejected, and the amount of color ink ejected in one ejection is less than the amount of black ink ejected in one ejection.

[0058] A more detailed explanation will be given with reference to the upper and lower diagrams in Figure 8. For black ink, an ejection flushing process is performed in which large ink droplets are ejected 100 times each in the first to tenth steps. Therefore, the total number of ejections of black ink is 1000, and because large droplets (20 pL) are used, the total ejection volume is 20 nL. On the other hand, for black color ink, an ejection flushing process is performed in which small ink droplets are ejected 100 times each in the first to tenth steps. Therefore, the total number of ejections of color ink is 1000, but because small droplets (4 pL) are used, the total ejection volume is 4 nL.

[0059] In this way, even if the color inks are set to have a smaller total ejection volume than the black ink due to differences in drying easiness, the occurrence (or prolongation) of non-ejection periods can be suppressed by setting a smaller ejection volume per ejection. Therefore, the dryness-free states of the black ink and color inks can be made closer to each other when the flushing process is completed.

[0060] In the example of Figure 8, the total number of ejections of black ink (1000 times) and the total number of ejections of color inks (1000 times) are set to be the same. This prevents periods of non-ejection of color ink during black ink ejection flushing, making it possible to more reliably prevent the color ink from drying out. However, the total number of ejections of black ink and color ink does not have to be the same; for example, the total number of ejections of color ink may be set to be less than that of black ink.

[0061] Furthermore, this fourth example may be combined with the second example. For example, when the total number of times that color ink is ejected is less than that of black ink as described above, the non-ejection flushing process for color ink may be performed at a timing when the color ink is not ejected.

[0062] Although the above description has been given with reference to an example of a flushing process using two types of liquid (ink) that dry at different rates, the present disclosure can also be applied to a flushing process using three or more types of liquid that dry at different rates. For example, if the first liquid, second liquid, and third liquid have properties that make them slow to dry in that order (the third liquid is the slowest to dry), the flushing process can be configured to apply one or more of the combinations from the first to fourth examples above between the first and second liquids, and also to provide one or more of the combinations from the first to fourth examples above between the second and third liquids. [Industrial Applicability]

[0063] The present disclosure can be applied to a liquid ejection device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 1 Liquid discharge device 10 Discharge head 11 nozzles 30 Control device 40 Print processing unit 41 Discharge flushing processing section 42 Non-ejection flushing processing section

Claims

1. a head having nozzles for ejecting a plurality of types of liquid, including a first liquid and a second liquid that dries less quickly than the first liquid, onto a print medium; a control device; The control device a printing process in which the liquid is ejected from the nozzles based on image data to form an image on the print medium; a discharge flushing process for discharging the liquid into a predetermined flushing area; In the ejection flushing process, a total ejection amount of the first liquid is greater than a total ejection amount of the second liquid, and the ejection of the second liquid starts after the ejection of the first liquid starts. Liquid discharge device.

2. the control device further performs a non-ejection flushing process in which the liquid is vibrated within the nozzle without being ejected; the non-ejection flushing process is performed on the second liquid during the execution period of the ejection flushing process, from the start of ejection of the first liquid to the start of ejection of the second liquid. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 .

3. In the ejection flushing process, the total number of ejections of the first liquid is greater than the total number of ejections of the second liquid, and the ejection frequency of the second liquid increases over time. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 .

4. In the ejection flushing process, the total number of ejections of the first liquid is greater than the total number of ejections of the second liquid, and the final ejection of the first liquid and the final ejection of the second liquid are performed simultaneously. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 .

5. a head having nozzles for ejecting a plurality of types of liquid, including a first liquid and a second liquid that dries less quickly than the first liquid, onto a print medium; a control device; The control device a printing process in which the liquid is ejected from the nozzles based on image data to form an image on the print medium; a discharge flushing process for discharging the liquid into a predetermined flushing area; In the ejection flushing process, a total ejection amount of the first liquid is greater than a total ejection amount of the second liquid, and an ejection amount of the second liquid per ejection is smaller than an ejection amount of the first liquid per ejection. Liquid discharge device.

6. the total number of times the first liquid is ejected and the total number of times the second liquid is ejected in the ejection flushing process are equal to each other; The liquid ejection device according to claim 5 .

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