Recording device and recording method

Abstract

To suppress a reduction in the image quality of a line part due to the amount of reaction liquid reacting with ink.SOLUTION: A recording device comprises means which specifies pixels included in a line part on the basis of image data indicating an image formed on a recording medium. Regarding the amount of reaction liquid per unit area applied to the line part formed with the pixels specified by the specification means, the amount of the reaction liquid per unit area applied to a region where the image is formed including pixels that are not specified as the line part is reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording method. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Recording devices are known that record images by fixing ink on a recording medium using a reactive liquid that reacts with the ink.

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses that the amount of reaction liquid applied to the boundary portion is increased in order to suppress jagged lines at the boundary portion caused by the absence of reaction liquid applied to the ink at the boundary portion between the image and the margin. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-147418 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, it has been found that the method of Patent Document 1 may result in a decrease in image quality.

[0006] If the colorant ink comes into contact with the reaction liquid before it can react and set, the colorant ink may flow toward the reaction liquid, causing bleeding. In particular, as shown in Figure 10, if the position of the K (black) ink dots (solid circles) and the reaction liquid dots (transparent circles) is misaligned, the colorant ink will flow toward the reaction liquid ink, causing greater bleeding of the colorant ink. If this bleeding occurs when printing lines, the degradation of image quality is easily visible.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to suppress deterioration of image quality in line portions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is a recording apparatus comprising: ink applying means for applying ink containing a coloring material to a recording medium; reaction liquid applying means for applying reaction liquid to the recording medium that reacts with the ink to promote solidification of the ink; control means for controlling the amount of reaction liquid applied from the reaction liquid applying means; identification means for identifying pixels included in a line portion based on image data representing an image to be formed on the recording medium; and width determination means for determining the width of the line portion including the pixels identified as being a line portion by the identification means, and forming an image by applying the ink from the ink applying means in accordance with the image data, wherein the control means controls the amount of reaction liquid applied to an area determined to be the line portion when the width of the line portion formed by the pixels on the recording medium identified by the identification means is determined to be equal to or less than a predetermined width. No The control means controls the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied so that the amount per unit area of the reaction liquid to be applied to an area where an image including pixels not specified by the specifying means is formed is equal to or less than half of the amount per unit area of the reaction liquid to be applied to an area where an image including pixels not specified by the specifying means is formed, and when the width of the line portion determined by the width determination means is equal to or less than the predetermined width, the control means controls the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied so that the amount per unit area of the reaction liquid to be applied to an area where the line portion determined to be equal to or less than the predetermined width is less than the amount per unit area of the reaction liquid to be applied to an area where the width of the line portion determined by the width determination means is not equal to or less than the predetermined width. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress deterioration of image quality in line portions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a print head according to an embodiment, viewed from the ejection port side. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a print control system according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a data processing process according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of a PDL format and drawing commands according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating multi-pass printing according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining color processing conversion in an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the amount of ink applied in the embodiment. [Figure 10] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating degradation of line quality due to ink bleeding in an embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a data processing process according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating image density and color dot contact rate in an embodiment. [Figure 13] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating reaction liquid deposition control based on image density and edge amount in an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The following description will be given taking a recording apparatus using an inkjet recording method as an example. The recording apparatus may be, for example, a single-function printer having only a recording function, or a multi-function printer having multiple functions such as a recording function, a fax function, and a scanner function. It may also be, for example, a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing color filters, electronic devices, optical devices, microstructures, etc. using a predetermined recording method.

[0012] [First embodiment] (1) Configuration of the inkjet recording device 1 shows the appearance of an inkjet recording apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as a recording apparatus or a printer) 100 according to this embodiment. This is a so-called serial scanning type recording apparatus, which records an image on a recording medium P by scanning a recording head 9 in a scanning direction (X direction) that intersects (orthogonal in this embodiment) with the conveyance direction (Y direction) of the recording medium P.

[0013] The configuration of this inkjet recording device and its operation during recording are outlined using Figure 1. First, a recording medium P is transported from a holding unit 13 (see Figure 2) holding the recording medium P onto a platen 4 that supports the recording medium P by a transport roller 14 (see Figure 2) and a pinch roller 15 (see Figure 2), which are driven via gears by a transport motor (not shown). On the platen 4, the recording medium P is transported in the Y direction. Once the recording medium P is transported to a predetermined transport position opposite the carriage 2, a carriage motor (not shown) causes the carriage 2 to scan back and forth (move back and forth) along a guide shaft 8 extending in the X direction. The carriage 2 is equipped with a recording head 9 (see Figure 2) that has nozzles that eject ink. As the carriage 2 moves back and forth, an image is recorded on the recording medium P by ejecting ink from the nozzles of the recording head 9 at a timing based on a position signal obtained by an encoder. The area scanned by the carriage 2 in one direction and printed is an area with a bandwidth corresponding to the array of nozzles. The scanning speed is variable, and scanning can be performed at speeds of 10 to 70 inches per second. The printing resolution is also variable, allowing for ejection operations at 300 to 2400 dpi. In this embodiment, the scanning speed is 40 inches per second, and the ejection operation is performed at a recording resolution of 1200 dpi (1 / 1200 inch intervals). When recording for one band width is completed, the recording medium P is transported a predetermined distance in the Y direction, and recording is performed for the next band width. As the recording medium P is transported in the Y direction, it is taken up onto the spool 6.

[0014] A carriage belt can be used to transmit the driving force from the carriage motor to the carriage unit 2. In place of a carriage belt, other driving methods can be used, such as one that includes a lead screw that is rotationally driven by the carriage motor and extends in the X direction, and an engagement portion that is provided on the carriage unit 2 and engages with the groove of the lead screw.

[0015] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram illustrating the internal structure of the recording device. Although not shown in Fig. 1, the recording device 100 of this embodiment is provided with a heating unit equipped with a heater 10 and a heater cover 11, which heats and dries the ink applied to the recording medium P after recording by the recording head 9 has been completed. This heating unit also has the function of heating and forming a film of water-soluble resin particles, which will be described later. These water-soluble resin particles are a resin that forms a film by heating after being applied to the recording medium, improving the scratch resistance of the image.

[0016] A heater 10 supported by a frame (not shown) is disposed in a curing area located downstream in the transport direction from the position where the recording head 9 mounted on the carriage unit 2 reciprocates, and dries the liquid ink on the recording medium P with heat. The heater 10 is covered by a heater cover 11, which functions to efficiently irradiate the heat of the heater 10 onto the recording medium P and to protect the heater 10. After recording is performed by the recording head 9, the recording medium P is wound up by a spool 6 to form a roll-shaped wound medium 12. Specifically, a sheath heater, a halogen heater, or the like can be used as the heater 10.

[0017] In the recording method of this embodiment, the heating temperature of the heating unit in the curing region is preferably equal to or higher than the minimum film-forming temperature of the water-soluble resin particles. Furthermore, since the heating unit must evaporate most of the liquid components, such as the water-soluble organic solvent, in the ink during heating, it is preferable that the heating unit be configured to ensure sufficient heating time to supply the energy required to evaporate most of the liquid components. The temperature is set taking into consideration film-forming properties, evaporation, productivity, and the heat resistance of the recording medium P.

[0018] The heating means of the heating unit in the curing region may be a method of blowing hot air from above, or a contact-type heat conduction heater from below the recording medium, etc. In this embodiment, the heating unit in the curing region has one heating means, but two or more heating means may be provided and used in combination as long as the temperature measured by a radiation thermometer (not shown) on the recording medium P does not exceed the set value of the heating temperature.

[0019] (2) Recording head configuration 3 shows the ejection opening surface of the print head 9 according to this embodiment. The print head 9 is equipped with an ejection opening array 22K for ejecting black ink (K), an ejection opening array 22C for ejecting cyan ink (C), an ejection opening array 22M for ejecting magenta ink (M), and an ejection opening array 22Y for ejecting yellow ink (Y), as inks containing coloring materials. Because the black ink (K), cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), and yellow ink (Y) each contain coloring materials, these inks will also be referred to as coloring inks in the following explanation for simplicity.

[0020] The recording head 9 also has an ejection port array 22RCT that ejects a reactive liquid ink (RCT) that does not contain a colorant. This reactive liquid ink does not contain a colorant, but does contain a reactive component that reacts with the colorant contained in the colorant ink, and can reduce bleeding (smearing) when it comes into contact with the colorant ink on the recording medium.

[0021] In the print head 9, these ejection opening arrays are arranged in the order of ejection opening arrays 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y, and 22RCT from left to right in the X direction. Each of these ejection opening arrays 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y, and 22RCT is configured by 1,280 ejection openings 30 that eject each type of ink, arranged in the Y direction (arrangement direction) at a density of 1,200 dpi. In this embodiment, the amount of ink ejected at one time from one ejection opening 30 is approximately 4.5 pl.

[0022] These ejection opening arrays 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y, and 22RCT are connected to ink tanks (not shown) that store the corresponding inks, and ink is supplied to them. Note that the print head 9 and the ink tanks used in this embodiment may be configured as an integrated unit, or may be configured to be separable from each other.

[0023] The detailed compositions of the black ink (K), cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), yellow ink (Y), and reactive liquid ink (RCT) will be described later.

[0024] Furthermore, the water-soluble resin particles that form a film upon heating and improve the scratch resistance of the printed matter may be contained in each of the color inks, or may be contained in a clear emulsion ink (Em), which is a third ink that does not contain a colorant and is different from the color inks and the reaction liquid ink. In this case, the recording head 9 may be provided with an ejection port array 22Em that ejects the clear emulsion ink.

[0025] (3) Configuration of the recording system FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control system of the printing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. The main control unit 300 includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, and an input / output port 304. The CPU 301 performs processing operations such as calculation, selection, discrimination, and control, as well as printing operations. The RAM 302 stores the CPU 301 and control programs to be executed by the CPU 301. The RAM 303 is used as a buffer for print data. The memory 313 stores mask patterns, which will be described later. The input / output port 304 is connected to drive circuits 305, 306, 307, and 308, including a conveyance motor 309 for driving the conveyance roller 14, a carriage motor 310 for scanning the carriage 2, and actuators such as the print head 9 and heater 10. The main control unit 300 is also connected to a host computer, PC 312, via an interface circuit 311.

[0026] (4) Image processing 5 is a block diagram for explaining the flow of image data conversion processing. Image processing in the printing system of this example is executed by the host computer 312 (PC) and the printing apparatus 100. This is image data conversion processing that generates data indicating the formation positions of ink dots for each printing scan from input printing data.

[0027] (4-1) Image processing by the host computer Programs that run on the operating system of the host PC 312 include applications and printer drivers. An example of such an application is an application for creating CAD drawings. In application process J01, the application executes a process for generating image data corresponding to an image to be recorded by the recording device 100. The image data generated by application process J01 is passed to the printer driver.

[0028] The printer driver of the host PC 312 generates image data in a page description language (PDL) format. Hereinafter, image data in PDL format will be referred to as "PDL data." Examples of PDLs include Adobe's "PDF" and "PostScript," and Hewlett-Packard's "HPGL / 2." PDL is a widely used image format that can describe not only bitmaps but also vector data such as lines and text. The printer driver performs a generation process J02 to generate image data for the recording device from image data passed from an application. The image data for the recording device is PDL data, and the printer driver generates the image data for the recording device by adding a header section, such as printing setting information set through the user interface (UI) of the host PC 312. The generated image data for the recording device is sent to the recording device 100 via the I / F unit 311 of the recording device 100 and stored in RAM 303, which is used as a data buffer.

[0029] FIG. 6(a) is an explanatory diagram of an example of a PDL format. The PDL format is composed of a job management and printer setting command 601, an image data drawing command 602, and a job end command 605. The image data drawing command 602 includes a bitmap section 603 and a vector command section 604, and is in a format that can express not only bitmaps but also graphics such as characters and lines. FIG. 6(b) is an explanatory diagram of the image data drawing command 602. The image data drawing command 602 is composed of a bundle of multiple series of drawing commands 602 (called display lists (DLs)) in units of a certain size (here, 64 [KB]).

[0030] 6(c) is a command list for explaining the breakdown of the drawing commands 602. The drawing commands 602 are broadly divided into bitmap drawing commands and vector drawing commands. The vector drawing commands are further divided into "line drawing commands" related to pen color, line width, drawing, etc., "character drawing commands" that specify the character font and the character itself, and "hatching drawing commands" that specify the hatching type and density. Image data in this PDL format is sent from the host PC 312 to the printing device 100.

[0031] (4-2) Processing of recording devices The processing from J03 onwards in Figure 5 will now be described. The series of processes shown here is carried out by CPU 301 loading a computer-executable program stored in storage area ROM 302 into working memory RAM 303, and then having CPU 301 execute the program. When host computer 312 sends a print command including image data in PDL format, a series of print command data is first received via interface circuit 311 and input / output port 304 and stored in working memory RAM 303. The print command data includes, in addition to image data, the size of the image data, a recording mode for recording it, and so on, and the image processing described below is carried out based on the results of analyzing this information.

[0032] The CPU 301 performs the image data analysis process J03 shown in Fig. 5. In the image data analysis process J03, image data in PDL format is sequentially read from the work memory RAM 303. The CPU 301 interprets the drawing commands included in the PDL data and converts the image data in PDL format (PDL data) into raster image data in a format similar to a bitmap. The converted raster image data is stored in the work memory RAM 303. In this embodiment, the raster image data is multi-value data of R (red), G (green), and B (blue).

[0033] Next, the CPU 301 performs color conversion processing J04. Color conversion processing J04 converts the print data into image data consisting of ink color signals for the printing device 100. For example, if the input print data includes image data representing an image, and the image data represents the image in color space coordinates such as sRGB, which is the display color of a monitor, the sRGB color coordinates (R, G, B) are converted into ink color data (C, M, Y, K) for the printing device. This conversion method is realized by known techniques such as matrix calculation processing or processing using a three-dimensional lookup table (LUT). Since the printing device 100 in this example uses black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) inks, the RGB signal image data is converted into image data consisting of 8-bit color signals for K, C, M, and Y. The color signals for each ink correspond to the application amount of each ink. The number of ink colors is not limited to four: K, C, M, and Y. When inks other than KCMY are used, such as light cyan (Lc), which is lighter in density than cyan (C), light magenta (Lm), which is lighter in density than magenta (M), and gray (Gy), color signals corresponding to those inks are generated.

[0034] Next, the CPU 301 performs halftoning processing J05 shown in FIG. 5. Halftoning processing J05 performs halftoning processing on image data including color signals that have been subjected to color conversion processing J04. This halftoning processing J05 is processing to reduce the number of gradation levels of the image data. In this example, halftoning processing J05 is performed using a dither matrix in which threshold values for comparison with image data values are arranged for each pixel. This halftoning processing J05 ultimately generates binary data indicating whether or not to form an ink dot at each pixel. When a multi-pass printing method, which will be described later, is employed, a process is performed to determine the pixels to be ejected in each scan by performing mask processing on the data after halftoning processing, using a mask pattern or the like to thin out the ink printed in one scan.

[0035] Next, CPU 301 performs print data generation process J06 shown in Figure 5. Print data generation process J06 generates print data by adding print control information to print image data containing 1-bit dot data. The generated print data is stored in work memory RAM 303. The binary print data stored in work memory RAM 303 is sequentially read out by CPU 301 and input to head drive circuit 307, which performs drive process J07. The 1-bit print data for each ink color input to head drive circuit 307 is converted into drive pulses for print head 9, and print head 9 ejects ink at predetermined timing based on the drive pulses via head drive circuit 307.

[0036] Note that a plurality of lookup tables referenced in the color conversion process and a plurality of dither matrices referenced in the halftone process described above are prepared in advance in the storage area ROM 302 according to the type of recording medium and the recording mode. When the main control unit 300 receives print command data, it analyzes it, selectively reads out the lookup table corresponding to the print command from the storage area ROM 302, loads it into the working memory RAM 303, and uses it.

[0037] In this embodiment, J01 and J02 are performed by the host computer 312, and the processing from J03 onwards is performed by the recording device 100. However, the processing up to J06 may be performed by the host computer.

[0038] (5) Multi-pass printing method In this embodiment, an image is printed by so-called multi-pass printing, in which printing is performed on a predetermined area on a print medium by multiple scans using each of the K, C, M, Y, and RCT inks. General multi-pass printing will be described below.

[0039] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a typical multi-pass printing method. Here, an image is formed by discharging ink onto a predetermined area from each of six ejection port groups A1 to A6 formed by dividing each ejection port array 22 in the Y direction. In other words, six scans are performed on the predetermined area. Note that, in reality, after one scan of the print head 9 is completed, the print medium P is transported downstream in the Y direction and the next scan is performed, but for simplicity's sake, FIG. 7 shows the print head 9 as moving upstream in the Y direction between scans.

[0040] First, in the first scan (first scan), the print head 9 scans a predetermined area 80 on the print medium P in a positional relationship where the ejection opening group A1 in the ejection opening array 22 faces the predetermined area 80. During the first scan, ink from the ejection opening group A1 is ejected onto the predetermined area 80 in accordance with print data corresponding to each type of ink corresponding to the first scan. After this first scan is completed, the print medium is transported in the Y direction a distance corresponding to one ejection opening group. Thereafter, a second scan (second scan) is performed, and ink from the ejection opening group A2 is ejected onto the predetermined area 80. Thereafter, transport of the print medium and ejection from the print head are alternated, and ink ejection from the ejection opening groups A3 to A6 onto the predetermined area 80 is performed during the third to sixth scans. In this manner, multi-pass printing onto the predetermined area 80 is completed.

[0041] (6) Ink composition The inks constituting the ink set used in this embodiment will now be described in detail. Hereinafter, "parts" and "%" are by weight unless otherwise specified.

[0042] (6-1) Composition of each ink The composition of each ink will be described in detail below.

[0043] The colorant inks (C, M, Y, K) and the reactive liquid ink (RCT) used in this embodiment all contain a water-soluble organic solvent. The water-soluble organic solvent preferably has a boiling point of 150°C or higher and 300°C or lower for reasons of wettability and moisture retention of the print head 9 face surface. Furthermore, from the viewpoints of film-forming aid function for resin particles and swelling solubility in a print medium on which a resin layer is formed, particularly preferred are ketone compounds such as acetone and cyclohexanone, propylene glycol derivatives such as tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and heterocyclic compounds having a lactam structure, such as N-methylpyrrolidone and 2-pyrrolidone.

[0044] 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. Specific examples of the water-soluble organic solvent include alkyl alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, and tert-butyl alcohol; 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; alkylene glycols having an alkylene group containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms, 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; and 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, and 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone are examples of the water-soluble organic solvents listed above. These water-soluble organic solvents can be used alone or in combination.

[0045] It is preferable to use deionized water as the water. The content of the water-soluble organic solvent in the reaction liquid ink (RCT) is not particularly limited, but the colorant inks (C, M, Y, K) can contain surfactants, antifoaming agents, preservatives, antifungal agents, etc. in addition to the above components as needed to give them desired physical properties.

[0046] In addition, both the colorant inks (C, M, Y, K) and the reaction liquid ink (RCT) used in this embodiment contain surfactants. Surfactants are used as penetrants to improve the ink's permeability to inkjet recording media. The greater the amount of surfactant added, the stronger the ink's surface tension reduction effect, improving the ink's wettability and permeability to the recording media. In this embodiment, a small amount of acetylene glycol EO adduct or the like was added as a surfactant to adjust the surface tension of each ink to 30 dyn / cm or less, and the difference in surface tension between the inks to within 2 dyn / cm. More specifically, the surface tension of each ink was adjusted to approximately 22 to 24 dyn / cm. A fully automatic surface tensiometer CBVP-Z (manufactured by Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd.) was used to measure the surface tension. Note that the measuring device is not limited to the above examples, as long as it can measure the surface tension of the ink.

[0047] Furthermore, the pH of each ink of this embodiment is stable on the alkaline side, with values ranging from 8.5 to 9.5. From the viewpoint of preventing elution and deterioration of components in the recording device or recording head that come into contact with each ink, and a decrease in the solubility of the dispersion resin in the ink, it is preferable that the pH of each ink be between 7.0 and 10.0. pH was measured using a pH meter model F-52 manufactured by Horiba, Ltd. Note that the measuring device is not limited to the above examples, as long as it can measure the pH of the ink.

[0048] (6-2) Reaction liquid ink Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order to solve problems with images such as bleeding and beading, a recording system is employed in which a reaction liquid is used to insolubilize part or all of the solid components of the color ink.

[0049] The reaction liquid is, for example, a solution containing polyvalent metal ions (e.g., magnesium nitrate, magnesium chloride, aluminum sulfate, iron chloride, etc.) for the purpose of insolubilizing dissolved dyes and dispersed pigments and resins. As one type of flocculation using such cations, a system using a low-molecular-weight cationic polymer flocculant can also be used for the purpose of neutralizing the charge of water-soluble resin particles and insolubilizing anionic soluble substances.

[0050] Another reaction system is an insolubilization system using a reaction solution that utilizes a pH difference. As mentioned above, most color inks used in inkjet recording are stable on the alkaline side due to the properties of the color inks themselves. The pH is generally around 7 to 10, and in many cases, it is set around 8.5 to 9.5 from an industrial perspective and taking into account the influence of the external environment. To aggregate and solidify such color inks, an acidic solution is added and the pH is changed, destroying the stable state and causing the dispersed components to aggregate. For this purpose, an acidic solution can also be used as a reaction solution.

[0051] (6-3) Water-soluble resin fine particles The colorant ink of this embodiment contains water-soluble resin particles that adhere to the recording medium and improve the scratch resistance (fixability) of the recorded image. The resin particles melt when heated, and a heater is used to form a film of the resin particles and dry the solvent contained in the ink. In this embodiment, "resin particles" refers to polymer particles that exist in a dispersed state in water.

[0052] Specifically, the resin particles may be acrylic resin particles synthesized by emulsion polymerization of monomers such as (meth)acrylic acid alkyl esters or (meth)acrylic acid alkylamides. These include styrene-acrylic resin particles synthesized by emulsion polymerization of styrene monomers such as (meth)acrylic acid alkyl esters or (meth)acrylic acid alkylamides. Examples include polyethylene resin particles, polypropylene resin particles, polyurethane resin particles, and styrene-butadiene resin particles. Other examples include core-shell resin particles in which the polymer composition differs between the core and shell of the resin particles, and resin particles obtained by emulsion polymerization around pre-synthesized acrylic particles used as seed particles to control particle size. Furthermore, hybrid resin particles in which different resin particles, such as acrylic resin particles and urethane resin particles, are chemically bonded may also be used.

[0053] The water-soluble resin particles do not necessarily have to be contained in the colorant ink, but may be contained in a clear emulsion ink (Em), which is a third ink that does not contain a colorant and is different from the colorant ink and the reaction liquid ink.

[0054] (7) Recording medium The recording apparatus of this embodiment is capable of recording on low-permeability recording media that are difficult for moisture to penetrate. Low-permeability recording media are media that absorb very little or no water. Therefore, aqueous inks that do not contain organic solvents are repelled, making it difficult to form images on them. On the other hand, low-permeability recording media have excellent water resistance and weather resistance, making them suitable as media for forming printed materials for outdoor use. Media with a water contact angle of 45° or greater, preferably 60° or greater, at 25°C are often used for forming printed materials for outdoor use.

[0055] Low-permeability recording media include recording media with a plastic layer formed on the outermost surface of a substrate, recording media without an ink-receiving layer formed on a substrate, and sheets, films, banners, etc. of glass, Yupo, plastic, etc. Examples of the coated plastics include polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. These low-permeability recording media have excellent water resistance, light resistance, and abrasion resistance, and are therefore generally used when recording materials for outdoor exhibition.

[0056] One example of a method for evaluating the permeability of a recording medium is the Bristow method described in JAPAN TAPPI Paper and Pulp Test Method No. 51, "Test Method for Liquid Absorbency of Paper and Paperboard." In the Bristow method, a predetermined amount of ink is poured into a holding container with a predetermined-sized opening slit. The ink is then brought into contact with a recording medium, which has been processed into a strip and wrapped around a disk, through the slit. While keeping the position of the holding container fixed, the disk is rotated, and the area (length) of the ink band transferred to the recording medium is measured. From this ink band area, the amount of ink transferred per unit area per second (ml m-2) can be calculated. In this embodiment, a recording medium with an ink transfer amount (water absorption amount) of less than 10 ml m-2 in 30 msec1 / 2 using the Bristow method is considered to have low permeability.

[0057] (8) Suppression of bleeding The color conversion process in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8(a). FIG. 8(a) is a diagram showing a lookup table used in the color conversion process J04 shown in FIG. 5. The horizontal axis represents the input signal value in the color conversion process J04, which here represents the achromatic color gradation (R=G=B) going from white (R=G=B=255) to black (R=G=B=0). Meanwhile, the vertical axis represents the output signal value in the color conversion process J04. The higher the density of the input image, the greater the amount of K ink applied. As the amount of K ink applied increases, the amount of reactive liquid ink (RCT) applied also increases, which promotes an increase in the viscosity of the ink liquid, causing the K ink to fix to the recording medium and suppressing bleeding.

[0058] On the other hand, when printing lines, since lines are generally of high density, performing the color conversion process shown in Figure 8(a) results in the deposition of a large amount of reactive liquid. As shown in Figure 10, if there is a deviation in the landing positions of the color ink and the reactive liquid ink, contact between the color ink dots and the reactive liquid dots will cause the ink to flow (bleed) in a small area. The thinner the line, the more visually noticeable this minute bleeding becomes, degrading the line quality.

[0059] Therefore, in this embodiment, a color conversion process is performed on the lines so that the reaction liquid ink is not applied, as shown in Figure 8(b), thereby suppressing the occurrence of minute bleeding due to contact between the color ink and the reaction liquid ink as described above.

[0060] A method for suppressing line bleeding and forming high-definition line images will be described in more detail below.

[0061] (Line detection) First, a method for detecting lines will be described.

[0062] When rendering vector data into RGB data in the image data analysis process J03 shown in Fig. 5, the CPU 301 acquires line attributes from the vector data and generates a line attribute plane (α channel) that indicates whether or not a pixel is a line. Specifically, the CPU 301 determines that a pixel corresponding to the coordinates at which "drawing in one stroke while moving the coordinates" of the line drawing command in the PDL shown in Fig. 6(c) is a line pixel, and identifies the line pixel.

[0063] (Processing for line parts) Next, control of the line portion will be described.

[0064] The color conversion process J04 shown in Fig. 5 will now be described in detail. The color conversion process J04 of this embodiment further performs color separation LUT switching control. Here, control is performed to switch the lookup table used in the color conversion process J04 for each pixel based on the line determination result of the image data analysis process J03.

[0065] If the target pixel is a line pixel, the color separation LUT switching control unit reads out a lookup table for line pixels from among the multiple lookup tables pre-stored in the storage area ROM 302 and provides it to the color conversion process J04. On the other hand, if the target pixel is not a line pixel, the color separation LUT switching control unit reads out a lookup table for non-line pixels from among the multiple lookup tables pre-stored in the storage area ROM 302 and provides it to the color conversion process J04. The color conversion process J04 converts the received RGB signal into a CMYK signal according to the provided lookup table.

[0066] In this embodiment, processing is performed using Figure 8(a) as the lookup table for non-line pixels (normal pixels) and Figure 8(b) as the lookup table for line pixels. In both cases, the horizontal axis represents the input signal value in color conversion processing J04, which here represents the achromatic color gradation (R=G=B) going from white (R=G=B=255) to black (R=G=B=0). Meanwhile, the vertical axis represents the output signal value in color conversion processing J04.

[0067] If the target pixel is a non-line pixel, image data for applying reaction liquid is generated using the color conversion process shown in Figure 8(a). This ensures that sufficient reaction liquid is applied to non-line objects. Since ink is applied to adjacent positions of non-line objects, not applying reaction liquid would result in a lot of bleeding. Therefore, applying reaction liquid to non-line objects quickly increases the viscosity of the color ink, thereby suppressing bleeding. By passing the heater 10 with the viscosity of the color ink increased, the ink is fixed to the recording medium at the ink position at that time, and image formation is completed with suppressed bleeding.

[0068] On the other hand, if the target pixel is a line pixel, image data without the application of reaction liquid is generated based on the color conversion process shown in the lookup table for line pixels shown in Figure 8(b). As a result, the amount of reaction liquid applied to the area where the line portion including the target pixel is printed is zero, so even if the ink and reaction liquid are misaligned on the printing medium, bleeding due to the application of reaction liquid does not occur, and high-quality thin lines can be formed.

[0069] Figure 9 illustrates the amount of reaction liquid applied when printing line and non-line images. Figure 9(a-1) shows a line image printed with K ink, and Figure 9(a-2) shows the reaction liquid applied at that time. Figure 9(b-2) shows a non-line image printed with K ink, and Figure 9(b-2) shows the reaction liquid applied at that time. For line images, image data without reaction liquid applied is generated using the lookup table in Figure 8(b), so no reaction liquid is applied, as shown in Figure 9(a-2). On the other hand, for non-line images, image data is generated using the lookup table in Figure 8(a), so reaction liquid is applied to 50% of the pixels in the area to which K ink is applied, as shown in Figure 9(b-2). If the unit area is 5 pixels (1 / 300 inch) vertically and 1 pixel (1 / 1200 inch) horizontally, the line and non-line images shown in Figure 9 have K ink applied at 100% density within the unit area. The amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area is less for line images than for non-line images.

[0070] As described above, by appropriately controlling the amount of reaction liquid for each region depending on the type of image, it is possible to fix the color ink to the recording medium, even if the recording medium is a low-permeability recording medium, while suppressing bleeding of fine lines and reducing deterioration in image quality.

[0071] Although the data generation method has been described in which reaction liquid is not applied to pixels in the line portions, the effect of suppressing bleeding can be achieved by applying a smaller amount of reaction liquid per unit area to the line portions than the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area to the non-line portions.

[0072] (Processing according to line width) Incidentally, even if the line portion is a thick line (an object with a large area), if reaction liquid is not applied to the line portion, a large amount of ink will be present over a wide area, just as with a non-line object. Therefore, if reaction liquid is not applied to the line portion, the ink in the center of the thick line, in particular, may not be properly fixed to the recording medium, and the ink may run when tilted. On the other hand, if reaction liquid is applied to a thick line, slight bleeding due to contact between the color ink and the reaction liquid ink occurs at the edge portion, which is the boundary between the line portion and the non-line area. However, since this is slight bleeding on the thick line, it is visually inconspicuous. Therefore, it is preferable to control the application of reaction liquid not to thin lines below a certain width, and to apply reaction liquid appropriately to thick lines above a certain width, as with non-line pixels.

[0073] Specifically, the determination of whether a line is thin or thick can be made based on line width information obtained from the "pen line width setting" of the line drawing command in the PDL. If the line width of the drawing command is less than a specified width, it is determined to be a thin line, and conversely, if it is greater than the specified width, it is determined to be a thick line. If the target pixel is a thin line, the line drawing lookup table in Figure 8(b) is applied in the color conversion process, and if it is a thick line or non-line drawing, the non-line drawing (for normal pixels) lookup table in Figure 8(a) is applied in the color conversion process.

[0074] Furthermore, while the above describes a process for reducing the amount of reaction liquid applied to thin lines to zero, it does not have to be zero. Instead, line width information can be used to control the amount of reaction liquid applied so that it gradually decreases as the line becomes thinner. When drawing lines by changing the line width from thin to thick, if a large amount of reaction liquid is suddenly applied when the line width exceeds a certain width, sudden bleeding may occur and become noticeable. Therefore, by gradually changing the amount of reaction liquid applied depending on the line width, the boundary between areas where bleeding has occurred and areas where it has not occurred can be made less noticeable, and bleeding of thin lines can be suppressed.

[0075] For example, signal value conversion can be performed so that the thinner the line width, the closer it is to the line drawing lookup table of Fig. 8(b), and the thicker the line width, the closer it is to the non-line drawing lookup table of Fig. 8(a). For example, the non-line drawing lookup table of Fig. 8(a) is applied to thick lines of a predetermined line width or more, and the line drawing lookup table of Fig. 8(b) is applied to thin lines of a predetermined line width or less. Then, for lines with intermediate line widths, color conversion processing can be performed based on signal values obtained by linear interpolation between the non-line drawing lookup table of Fig. 8(a) and the line drawing lookup table of Fig. 8(b).

[0076] Furthermore, the interfacial tension and wettability with the ink droplets differ depending on the recording medium, and the way the droplets spread and the speed at which they spread also differ. By changing the thin line determination threshold (the above-mentioned predetermined width) for each recording medium and recording speed, it is possible to achieve a configuration that enables optimal reaction liquid deposition control for each recording medium.

[0077] (For colored lines) So far we have shown the case of a single-color line made of K ink, but similar control is also effective for color lines made of C ink, M ink, Y ink, etc. Furthermore, even in the case of a line created using secondary colors such as M ink and Y ink, such as a red line, bleeding can be suppressed and the line quality of the color line can be improved by controlling to reduce the amount of reaction liquid.

[0078] (For raster data) In this embodiment, the input data is vector data such as CAD drawings, but it may also be raster data such as photographic images or poster images. In this case, a method for detecting lines and line widths will be described.

[0079] In the case of raster data (such as RGB images), edge amount / directivity can be extracted using filter processing, and line-likeness can be estimated based on this. Specifically, this can be done using a general edge extraction filter or a pattern matching method to determine directionality.

[0080] However, it is preferable to set the filter size according to the line width you want to detect. If the filter size is set too wide, wide objects that you do not want to judge as thin lines may be mistakenly judged as thin lines. For example, if you want to detect lines between 1 pixel and 5 pixels in width as thin lines, it is appropriate to set the filter size to 7 x 7 pixels centered on the target pixel. By setting the filter size in this way, if the target pixel's thin line-likeliness is above a predetermined value, the target pixel will be judged as a thin line.

[0081] Furthermore, the interfacial tension and wettability with the ink droplets differ depending on the recording medium, and the way the droplets spread and the speed at which they spread also differ. The size of the thin line judgment filter may be changed depending on the recording medium and the recording speed. This allows for a configuration that makes it possible to control the application of reaction liquid according to the type of recording medium.

[0082] [Second embodiment] In the first embodiment, the control of reaction liquid deposition onto thin lines was described, but deposition of reaction liquid onto isolated ink dots other than thin lines can cause ink flow and potentially lead to ink bleeding. Below, we will explain the case where the control of reaction liquid deposition described in the first embodiment is extended to control onto isolated ink dots. Portions that are the same as those in the first embodiment may be omitted.

[0083] When a color ink dot is an isolated point, if reaction liquid is applied to the same or adjacent position, the color ink will flow due to contact between the color ink dot and the reaction liquid dot. This phenomenon is difficult to detect visually if it occurs in one place, but if this minute bleeding occurs scattered over a wide area, it will appear to worsen the graininess.

[0084] The first embodiment was described using an example of vector data intended for CAD drawings. In this embodiment, the description will be given using an example of a form in which deterioration of graininess, such as a photograph or poster, significantly affects image quality. Fig. 11 is a block diagram illustrating image processing in this embodiment. The input image is assumed to be raster data (RGB image).

[0085] (Estimation of dot isolation degree) The isolation degree estimation process J08 in Figure 11 will now be described. J01, J02, J04-J07, and 9 in Figure 11 perform the same processing as J01, J02, J04-J07, and 9 described in Figure 5, so their description will be omitted here. First, the isolation degree estimation process J08 calculates the average density of a predetermined area. This can be directly regarded as the average number of dots of color ink in the predetermined area. Here, the predetermined area is set to 8 x 8 pixels.

[0086] Figure 12(a) shows the relationship between the pixel size of the image processing and the diameter of the color ink dots on the paper surface, as well as the presence or absence of dot contact for each number of color ink dots. The image processing resolution is 1200 dpi, and the size of one pixel is approximately 21 μm. The ink droplet ejected in one ejection is 4.5 pL, and the diameter of the ink dots on the paper surface is approximately 40 μm. Therefore, as shown in Figure 12(a), in this embodiment, if the number of color ink dots in a given area is approximately 25% or less, there is a possibility that the color ink dots will not touch each other, meaning that all color ink dots will be isolated dots. On the other hand, if the density of the input image is 50% or more, there is a high possibility that the color ink dots will touch in all directions, and there is a high possibility that there will be no isolated ink dots. Figure 12(b-1) shows the dot contact rate versus input image density. The dot isolation probability is the inverse of the dot contact probability, so it is shown in Figure 12(b-2) as a graph. The isolation degree estimation process J08 estimates this isolation probability as the degree of isolation of the dots in that area.

[0087] Furthermore, the isolation degree estimation process J08 determines that the target pixel is an isolated point if the isolation degree is lower than a predetermined threshold, and determines that the target pixel is not an isolated point if the isolation degree is lower than the predetermined threshold. Here, the predetermined threshold is 30%, and the target pixel is determined to be an isolated point if the isolation degree is 30% or less.

[0088] (Control of reaction liquid ink based on dot isolation degree) Next, a method for controlling the amount of reaction liquid ink applied based on the degree of dot isolation will be described. The reaction liquid ink application amount control is performed in the color conversion process J04 in FIG.

[0089] Next, the amount of reaction liquid applied can be corrected using the same method as described in embodiment 1. If the pixel is not an isolated point, the color conversion process J04 is performed using the lookup table for normal pixels to which reaction liquid is applied (Figure 8(a)). Because there is frequent contact between color inks, significant ink bleeding (bleeding) is likely to occur. However, applying sufficient reaction liquid increases the viscosity of the color ink, suppressing bleeding. On the other hand, if the pixel is an isolated point, the color conversion process J04 is performed using the lookup table for which reaction liquid is not applied (Figure 8(b)). Because there is no contact between color inks or between color inks and reaction liquid ink, the isolated dot does not flow and is heated by the heater 10 without bleeding. Therefore, the dot arrangement can be fixed on the recording medium without disrupting it.

[0090] As described above, according to the second embodiment, by estimating the degree of dot isolation and appropriately controlling the reaction liquid ink based on the result, it is possible to form an image that suppresses bleeding regardless of the density of the image and does not impair the graininess of low-density areas.

[0091] (For lines) The above-mentioned control of isolated points is also effective for line portions.

[0092] For line sections, whether or not the line is independent of other objects is important. In the case of a black line on a white background, no ink is applied around the black line, so the average density of the specified area is low and the line is determined to be highly independent (isolated). Therefore, using the lookup table in Figure 8(b), the application of reaction liquid is controlled to reduce, suppressing bleeding due to contact with the reaction liquid.

[0093] On the other hand, in the case of a black line on a colored background, color ink is applied to the colored background portion, so ink of the object that is not a line is applied around the black line. Therefore, the average density of the specified area is high, and the independence (degree of isolation) of the line is determined to be low. Therefore, by using the lookup table in Figure 8(a), sufficient reaction liquid is applied, and bleeding between the line and the colored background is suppressed.

[0094] Furthermore, for thick lines, the degree of isolation is determined to increase in stages from the inside to the outside. Therefore, the amount of reaction liquid applied is reduced as you move further out. The viscosity of the ink inside the line increases due to the effect of the reaction liquid, suppressing bleeding. Although a small amount of reaction liquid is applied to the ink at the edge of the thick line, it is pulled by the ink on the inside, which has increased viscosity, and therefore the ink at the edge does not flow into the white area outside the edge. By suppressing bleeding by reducing the amount of reaction liquid applied to the edge of the thick line and suppressing bleeding by applying a sufficient amount of reaction liquid to the center of the thick line, bleeding of the entire thick line can be suppressed and a decrease in image quality can be prevented. In addition, since reaction liquid is not applied to unnecessary areas, the amount of reaction liquid consumed can be reduced.

[0095] (for gradients) When considering gradation images, a new problem can arise with the method described above of switching whether or not to apply reaction liquid ink depending on whether the point is isolated. If a large amount of reaction liquid is suddenly applied from a certain gradation between low and high density, the continuity of density and graininess will be lost, and there is a risk of false contours being caused.

[0096] By gradually changing the amount of reaction liquid based on the degree of isolation, continuity is not lost and a natural appearance is eliminated. This can be achieved by multiplying the reaction liquid deposition amount data (RCT data) generated after color conversion processing using a lookup table in color conversion process J04 by a correction coefficient based on the dot isolation degree. Specifically, the correction can be made using the following formula.

[0097] RCT data (after correction) = RCT data (before correction) x (100% - dot isolation degree) When the degree of dot isolation is 0% (when the contact rate between dots is 100%), the RCT data (after correction) = the RCT data (before correction), and the result is that the reaction liquid is applied sufficiently to that area, as shown in Figure 8(a).

[0098] On the other hand, when the degree of dot isolation is 100% (when the contact rate between dots is 0%), the RCT data (after correction) = 0, and as a result, no reaction liquid is applied to that area, as shown in Figure 8(b).

[0099] Also, when the degree of dot isolation is 50%, RCT data (after correction) = RCT data (before correction) × (100% - 50%) = RCT data (before correction) × 0.5. In other words, half the amount of reaction liquid output from the lookup table in Figure 8(a) is dispensed.

[0100] Furthermore, instead of the method of multiplying the correction coefficients described above, it is also possible to implement the method of linearly interpolating the lookup table described in the first embodiment.

[0101] (Text / Hatching) Furthermore, although hatching patterns and characters are made up of thin lines, their average density can sometimes be around 50%. In such cases, applying reaction liquid will cause the thin lines to bleed, impairing the image quality of the hatching or characters. Therefore, we will show a method for controlling reaction liquid by determining whether an object, such as a hatching pattern or character, should maintain its shape independently from its surroundings, and estimating the degree of isolation of the target pixel based on this, along with the dot contact probability estimated from the average density. Figure 13 shows an overview of this control.

[0102] Methods for determining whether an object has a shape whose shape should be preserved include a method of determining the presence or absence of a shape by edge extraction, and a method of determining the directionality of an image using a directional filter to determine whether the image signal is noise. Specifically, the method extracts edges from a predetermined area containing the target pixel and calculates the total edge amount for the area. Areas with a total edge amount greater than a predetermined amount are estimated to be text or hatched areas. Such areas are determined to have a high degree of independence from their surroundings.

[0103] The degree of isolation is estimated by combining the dot contact probability estimated from the average density with the degree of independence from the surroundings, and the amount of reaction liquid applied is controlled according to the degree of isolation, making it possible to form images without compromising the resolution of fine text and hatching.

[0104] Furthermore, by using attribute information indicating line attributes and character attributes obtained from the PDL drawing commands described in the first embodiment in combination with the dot touching probability, it is possible to further improve accuracy.

[0105] As explained above, in the second embodiment, the degree of isolation of dots and objects is estimated, and the amount of reaction liquid ink applied is appropriately controlled based on the results. By doing so, it is possible to form a high-definition image on the recording medium that suppresses bleeding in large, high-density areas, does not impair graininess in low-density areas, and maintains resolution for detailed objects.

[0106] [Other embodiments] We have explained above how to estimate the degree of dot isolation from a multi-value image and control the amount of reaction liquid, but it is also possible to determine the degree of isolation using dot data immediately before printing and control the amount of reaction liquid applied.The amount of reaction liquid applied can be controlled by thinning out reaction liquid dots at the edges of lines using binary dot data immediately before printing, or by determining isolated dots of color ink and thinning out reaction liquid dots from around them.More precise correction on a dot-by-dot basis is possible by directly processing the dot data in the binary dot data state, which indicates whether or not ink will be applied.

[0107] Specifically, first determine whether it is an isolated point or not by the number of adjacent dots. This can be done by counting the total number of dots in a 3x3 area centered on the target pixel. If the total number of dots is only one of the target pixel, it can be determined to be an isolated point. In this case, if only K is being printed, only the number of K dots is added up, and if it is a four-color CMYK print, the number of dots for each CMYK color is added up.

[0108] If the number of dots is two or more, the rate at which dots touch each other increases. As explained in the second embodiment using FIG. 12, the touch rate (the degree to which a dot is not an isolated point) can be calculated for the number of printed dots. The reciprocal of the touch rate gives the degree of dot isolation. If the determination is made based on the dot data, isolated points can be determined more accurately.

[0109] The amount of reaction liquid to be applied can be controlled according to the degree of isolation calculated as above. The reaction liquid dot data is subjected to a masking process in which a mask pattern according to the degree of isolation is used for each pixel, and the amount of reaction liquid to be applied can be controlled by thinning out the reaction liquid dots.

[0110] Furthermore, it is difficult to identify lines in a binary image, but binary dot data images can be added together in a specified area to easily restore a multi-value image (binary-to-multi-value conversion). Then, by using the line identification method described in the first embodiment to identify lines, it is possible to identify lines in dot data as well. For line pixels, all reaction liquid dots are thinned out, while for non-line pixels, masking is performed using a mask pattern according to the degree of isolation, and the reaction liquid dots are thinned out. By changing the mask pattern used for line and non-line portions in this way, it is possible to apply the appropriate amount of reaction liquid to each of the line and non-line portions.

[0111] (Change the correction strength for each color) It is also possible to configure the system to increase the correction strength for important colors in the image. For example, black lines are particularly important in CAD drawings. For example, pure black (RGB (0,0,0)) in the RGB image from the input image can be determined, and lines that are pure black can be identified. Then, if the line is pure black, all reaction liquid dots can be thinned out.

[0112] Furthermore, compared to solid black lines, lines of colors other than black or secondary colors may require a larger amount of ink. Such lines require a larger amount of color ink to be applied to the line itself, and without reactive liquid, the ink may overflow and cause bleeding. To address this issue, as described above, by varying the correction strength for each color, thinning out the reactive liquid only for solid black lines, and applying reactive liquid to lines of other colors in the same way as non-line areas, it is possible to obtain optimal line quality for both types of lines.

[0113] (Change the correction strength for each media) Since the interfacial tension between the ink droplets and the recording medium differs and the droplets spread differently depending on the recording medium, it is also effective to change the method of thinning out the reaction liquid dots for each recording medium.

[0114] As described above, by using the method described in this embodiment, it is possible to form a high-definition image on a recording medium that suppresses bleeding in large, high-density areas, does not impair graininess in low-density areas, and maintains resolution for detailed objects.

[0115] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an image is recorded on a recording medium using an inkjet method in which ink is ejected from ejection ports. However, this invention can be applied to other recording devices as long as the configuration allows for the amount of reaction liquid applied to the recording medium to be changed. In any device, there is a possibility that the timing of ink application from the unit that applies the reaction liquid ink and ink containing colorant to the recording medium may be off, which may result in deviation in the impact position. By applying the present invention to such devices, bleeding can be suppressed, and degradation of image quality can be prevented.

[0116] 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 device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 100 Recording device 300 Main control unit 301 CPU 302 ROM 303 RAM 312 host computer

Claims

1. an ink applying means for applying ink containing a coloring material to a recording medium; a reaction liquid applying means for applying a reaction liquid to the recording medium, the reaction liquid reacting with the ink to promote solidification of the ink; a control means for controlling the amount of the reaction liquid applied from the reaction liquid applying means; a specifying means for specifying pixels included in the line portion based on image data representing an image to be formed on a recording medium; a width determination means for determining the width of a line portion including a pixel that has been determined to be a line portion by the determination means; a recording apparatus for forming an image by applying the ink from the ink applying means in accordance with the image data, when the width determination means determines that the width of a line portion formed by pixels on the recording medium identified by the identification means is equal to or less than a predetermined width, the control means controls the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied to the region determined to be the line portion per unit area so that the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied to the region where an image including pixels not identified by the identification means as the line portion is formed is equal to or less than half of the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied to the region where an image including pixels not identified as the line portion by the identification means is formed; The control means controls the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area to a line portion determined to have a width equal to or less than the predetermined width when the width of the line portion determined by the width determination means is equal to or less than the predetermined width, so that the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area to a line portion determined to have a width equal to or less than the predetermined width is less than the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area to a line portion determined to have a width equal to or more than the predetermined width when the width determination means determines that the width of the line portion is not equal to or less than the predetermined width.

2. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined width is set to a different value depending on the type of recording medium.

3. The recording device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control means controls the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area to a line portion of a first width when the width of the line portion determined by the width determination means is a first width that is less than the specified width, so that the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area to a line portion of a first width is greater than the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area to a line portion of a second width when the width of the line portion determined by the width determination means is a second width that is smaller than the first width.

4. The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the control means controls the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied so that the reaction liquid is not applied to a line portion formed by pixels on the recording medium identified by the identification means.

5. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specifying means specifies pixels included in the line portion by filtering.

6. a conversion processing means for converting data corresponding to the color space of the image into data corresponding to the color space of the recording device using a lookup table; A recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the conversion processing means switches the lookup table used in the conversion processing depending on whether the pixel to be converted is a pixel identified by the identification means as being a line portion.

7. the ink applying means is capable of applying a plurality of inks of different colors, a color determining means for determining the color of the line portion when the pixel is determined to be a line portion by the determining means; The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, when the pixel is identified as a line portion by the identification means, the control means controls the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied based on the color of the line portion identified by the color discrimination means.

8. the ink applying means is capable of applying a plurality of inks including black ink and inks of colors other than black; The recording device according to claim 7, characterized in that the control means controls the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied per unit area to a line portion including a pixel that has been identified by the identification means as a line portion and whose color has been determined to be a color that will be recorded using only black ink, so that the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied per unit area to a line portion including a pixel that has been identified by the identification means as a line portion and whose color has been determined to be a color that will be recorded using ink of a color other than black, is less than the amount of the reaction liquid to be applied per unit area to a line portion including a pixel that has been identified by the identification means as a line portion and whose color has been determined to be a color that will be recorded using ink of a color other than black.

9. A recording device as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the control means controls the amount of reaction liquid applied so that the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area is less on the outside of the line portion than on the inside of the line portion for areas of the line portion where the width determination means determines that the width of the line portion is not equal to or less than the specified width.

10. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is a low-permeability recording medium that has no or very little water absorption.

11. a carriage carrying the ink supplying means and the reaction liquid supplying means; a moving means for moving the carriage in a first direction; a conveying means for conveying the recording medium in a direction intersecting the first direction; and 11. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image is formed on the recording medium by applying ink and reaction liquid from the ink applying means and the reaction liquid applying means to the recording medium while the carriage is moved by the moving means.

12. the ink applying means has an ejection port for ejecting the ink, 12. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reaction liquid applying means has a discharge port for discharging the reaction liquid.

13. an ink applying means for applying ink containing a coloring material to a recording medium, and a reaction liquid applying means for applying a reaction liquid to the recording medium that reacts with the ink to promote solidification of the ink, thereby applying the ink and the reaction liquid to the recording medium according to image data, thereby forming an image; Identifying pixels included in the line portion based on image data representing an image to be formed on a recording medium; determining a width of the line portion including the identified pixel; when it is determined that the width of the line portion identified as a line portion is equal to or less than a predetermined width, controlling the amount of the reaction liquid applied per unit area to the region determined to be the line portion so that the amount of the reaction liquid applied per unit area is equal to or less than half of the amount of the reaction liquid applied per unit area to a region where an image including pixels not identified as a line portion is formed; A recording method characterized by controlling the amount of reaction liquid applied to a region of a line portion determined to be a line portion having a width equal to or less than a predetermined width, when the width of the line portion identified to be a line portion is equal to or less than a predetermined width, so that the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area is smaller than the amount of reaction liquid applied per unit area to a region of a line portion determined to be a line portion having a width greater than the predetermined width.

Images