Inkjet Printing Apparatus Dynamic Waiting Time Calibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing calibration methods for inkjet printing face challenges in minimizing waiting time after drying to ensure color stability, as the time required for color stabilization varies with ink type and amount, leading to inconsistent measurement results if a uniform waiting time is applied.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printing apparatus with a control unit that adjusts the waiting time based on printing information, including ink type and amount, to ensure accurate color stabilization before measurement, comprising a printing unit, drying unit, and measurement unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a uniform waiting time is set for all ink types and amounts, then the calibration process is simplified and faster, but measurement precision deteriorates because color stability cannot be ensured for all conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The waiting time is made dynamic rather than uniform, adjusting based on ink type and amount. The control unit determines appropriate waiting times from a predetermined table specific to each ink type and amount combination, ensuring color stability is achieved while optimizing calibration efficiency for each condition.
Solution Approach 2:
The waiting time parameter is changed based on ink type and amount parameters. By establishing a relationship between these parameters and the required waiting time, the system adapts the waiting duration to match the specific drying and color stabilization requirements of different ink conditions.
2Measurement precision
If a long waiting time is set to ensure color stability, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to excessive waiting time in some conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The waiting time is dynamically adjusted to match the actual color stabilization requirements of each ink type and amount. This prevents both excessive waiting (which reduces productivity) and insufficient waiting (which compromises measurement precision), optimizing the calibration process for each specific condition.
Solution Approach 2:
The waiting time parameter is optimized by establishing specific relationships between ink type, ink amount, and required waiting duration. This ensures that the waiting time is neither too long nor too short for any given printing condition, achieving both measurement precision and productivity.
3Productivity
If measurement is performed immediately after drying, then productivity is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates because color is not yet stabilized
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary determination of the appropriate waiting time based on ink type and amount before actual measurement begins. This allows the measurement process to start at the optimal moment when color stability is achieved, rather than using a fixed or arbitrary waiting period.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses predetermined waiting time information based on ink characteristics to control the measurement timing. This feedback mechanism ensures that measurement is performed at the appropriate time for each ink type and amount, balancing productivity with measurement precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach minimizes waiting time while ensuring color stability, allowing for precise calibration of printing properties by dynamically setting the waiting time according to the specific conditions of the ink type and amount used.
Implementation Method 1
a drying unit to dry a printing medium on which an image was printed by the inkjet head
Data Source
AI summary
A waiting time Ts is decided on the basis of ink type information and ink feed amount information, referring to waiting time table A (Step 6). Along with this, a dried printing paper is carried to and stopped in a waiting area 9 (Step 7), a time period T is measured after stopping, and measurement processing in the next step is delayed until the time period T reaches the waiting time Ts. Then, when the time period T reaches the waiting time Ts, a measuring instrument 10 is used to measure a density of a patch printed on the printing paper (Steps 8 and 9).