Inkjet Nozzle Composite Black Density Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printers face issues with ink bleeding and 'wind ripples' when forming high-density monochrome images, causing the underlying color of the printing substrate to be conspicuous, which existing solutions fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
An image formation apparatus and method that discharge black ink droplets from black nozzles and color ink droplets from color nozzles to produce composite black, adjusting the ratio based on recording density to improve image quality and suppress wind ripples.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high-density black ink droplets are discharged from black nozzles to form high-density monochrome images, then the recording density is improved, but wind ripples occur and the underlying color becomes conspicuous
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines black ink discharge from black nozzles with color ink discharge from color nozzles to form composite black dots. This merging of ink sources increases dot coverage and reduces the air flow disturbances that cause wind ripples, while maintaining high recording density.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite black formation by combining black ink with color inks (cyan, magenta, yellow) to create a multi-component ink system. This composite approach increases coverage density and reduces the harmful air flow effects associated with single-ink high-density discharge.
2Manufacturing precision
If high-density black ink droplets are discharged from black nozzles to form high-density monochrome images, then the recording density is improved, but the underlying color becomes conspicuous
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges black ink discharge with color ink discharge to create composite black dots with higher coverage. This increased coverage density effectively masks the underlying color of the printing substrate, preventing it from becoming conspicuous even at high recording densities.
3Device complexity
If only black nozzles are used to form monochrome images, then the device complexity is reduced, but the image quality deteriorates due to wind ripples and poor filling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes color nozzles serve a dual function: they discharge color inks for color images and discharge color inks that produce composite black for monochrome images. This multi-functionality improves monochrome image quality without requiring a separate monochrome nozzle system, thus not increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the functionality of black nozzles and color nozzles in monochrome printing mode, where both nozzle types discharge inks that contribute to composite black formation. This merging of functions improves image quality while utilizing existing hardware resources.
Data Source
AI summary
An image formation apparatus configured to form a monochrome image by discharging ink droplets on the basis of recording data from a plurality of nozzles having black nozzles for discharging black ink droplets and color nozzles for discharging color ink droplets that produce composite black, the image formation apparatus comprising a control unit configured to form the monochrome image by discharging the black ink droplets from the black nozzles and discharging the color ink droplets that produce composite black from the color nozzles when recording density of black ink represented by the recording data is a predetermined density or higher.