Ink-jet Head Nozzle Density Segmentation for Color Banding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink-jet printers experience color banding due to differences in color tint between areas where the ink-jet head moves in one direction and another, leading to degraded printing quality.
Innovation Solution
The ink-jet head features nozzle groups with a high density portion in the center and two low density portions on either side, arranged at increased spacing, allowing ink to land from both directions and forming intermediate areas to smooth color transitions, reducing color banding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the ink-jet head reciprocates in the scanning direction to increase recording speed, then productivity is improved, but color banding occurs due to different ink landing orders, degrading printing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle groups are segmented into high density portions and low density portions along the scanning direction. This segmentation allows different regions to serve different functions: high density portions for primary ink deposition and low density portions for creating intermediate areas that smooth color transitions, thereby resolving the color banding issue while maintaining high-speed reciprocating operation
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the nozzle groups are assigned different nozzle densities locally. The high density portions are positioned to jet inks during both forward and backward movements, while low density portions are positioned to create intermediate areas. This local quality differentiation ensures that each region contributes appropriately to eliminating color banding while maintaining overall printing efficiency
2Manufacturing precision
If nozzles are arranged with increased spacing in low density portions, then color banding is reduced through intermediate areas, but nozzle density is decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle groups are divided into high density portions and low density portions. The low density portions with increased spacing create intermediate areas that smooth color transitions, while the high density portions maintain sufficient nozzle quantity for effective ink deposition. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by distributing different density requirements to different spatial locations
Solution Approach 2:
Different spacing distances are applied locally to different portions of the nozzle groups. The low density portions have greater spacing to create intermediate areas for color smoothing, while the high density portions have smaller spacing to maintain adequate ink deposition capability. This local differentiation achieves color uniformity without excessively reducing overall nozzle quantity
Data Source
AI summary
An ink-jet head has a plurality of nozzle groups which respectively jet inks of a plurality of colors. Each nozzle group has a high density portion of small nozzle interval and two low density portions of larger nozzle interval than the high density portion. The high density portion is positioned between the low density portions. Because in accompaniment with a reciprocating movement of the ink-jet head, an intermediate area, in which inks from the two low density portions land in a mixed manner, is formed between two areas, in which inks from the high density portion land, color banding is made inconspicuous and lowering of the printing quality due to differences in color can be suppressed.