Ink Modulation for Staggered Printhead Overlap Banding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Page wide array (PWA) inkjet printers face issues with thin die to die boundary banding due to misaligned nozzles, resulting in inconsistent image density between overlapping printheads, which can be corrected by physical alignment but increases costs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing ink modulation techniques using blending nozzles, where the ink amount is adjusted based on calibration routines to match the density of the surrounding area, and using a target with varying ink modulation to determine the necessary correction factors for blending nozzles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If physical alignment of printheads is implemented, then manufacturing precision of nozzle alignment is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical alignment system with a software-based ink modulation system. Instead of physically adjusting printhead positions through mechanical means, the invention uses computational algorithms to modulate ink deposition patterns, effectively substituting a mechanical alignment problem with a software-based compensation solution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the printheads by implementing variable ink modulation. By adjusting ink deposition parameters (volume, frequency, pattern) based on detected misalignment, the system compensates for positional errors without requiring physical realignment, thus resolving the contradiction between alignment precision and device complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If ink modulation is applied to blending nozzles, then image density consistency is improved, but control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system where ink modulation of blending nozzles is adjusted based on measured or detected image density variations. The system continuously monitors density consistency and dynamically adjusts blending nozzle parameters to compensate for misalignment, creating a closed-loop control mechanism that improves density consistency while managing control complexity through automation.
Data Source
AI summary
A printer is disclosed. The printer has a print engine that mounts a first printhead and a second printhead adjacent to the first printhead in a staggered line of overlapping printheads. Each printhead has at least one row of nozzles. The blending nozzles in the first printhead overlap with blending nozzles in the second printhead. When printing, the non-overlapping nozzles in the first printhead use a default ink modulation amount and the blending nozzles in both printheads use a scaled ink modulation amount.