Inkjet Printer Underlying Layer Dot Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inkjet printing methods on non-white recording mediums, such as cloth or paper, often result in images that lack depth or massiveness due to the underlying color layer's influence, and the color balance of the printed image differs from the intended original image, especially when using white ink as the underlying color.
Innovation Solution
An inkjet printer system that includes multiple color ink heads and a controller to extract specific underlying layer dot groups from ink dots of different colors, allowing for the formation of multiple printing layers with adjustable extraction ratios, enabling the printer to create images with enhanced depth and maintaining the desired color balance by overlapping the image layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If process color ink is directly ejected onto non-white recording medium, then printing speed is improved, but the real color of the ink cannot be provided
Solution Approach 1:
A white ink layer is formed on the recording medium before the image layer of process color ink is formed. This preliminary white layer serves as a base that enables accurate color reproduction on non-white recording mediums while maintaining efficient printing speed.
2Manufacturing precision
If an image layer is formed on a white ink layer, then color accuracy is improved, but the image lacks depth and massiveness
Solution Approach 1:
A portion of ink dots of process color ink is extracted at a predetermined extraction ratio and printed concurrently with the underlying color layer, while the remaining ink dots are printed to overlap the underlying color layer. This creates different local densities and depths in different regions of the image, providing both color accuracy and visual depth.
3Shape
If a portion of ink dots is extracted and printed concurrently with underlying color layer, then image massiveness is improved, but color balance differs from original image
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is configured to adjust the extraction ratio of ink dots for each color based on the color characteristics of the underlying color layer. This feedback mechanism ensures that the extracted ink dots compensate for the color influence of the underlying layer, maintaining accurate color balance while achieving image massiveness.
4Area of stationary object
If white ink is used as underlying color layer, then coverage on non-white medium is improved, but the image appears whitish and lacks massiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The extraction ratio of ink dots is adjusted based on the color characteristics of the underlying white ink layer. By selectively extracting and printing certain ink dots at different densities, the system maintains full coverage while creating visual depth and reducing the whitish appearance through controlled variation in ink distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
An inkjet printer ejects a first ink of a plurality of colors and a second ink. An extractor extracts an underlying layer dot group from ink dots of the first ink of each of the plurality of colors. Such underlying layer dot groups and ink dots of the second ink form a first printing layer. An image dot group including at least the ink dots, of the first ink, other than the underlying dot groups forms at least one additional printing layer. The underlying dot groups are each extracted from the ink dots of the first ink of the corresponding color based on a predetermined extraction ratio.