Printer Banding Reduction via Dynamic Conveyance and Facing Member
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printers face issues with banding, a phenomenon where the print quality deteriorates near the boundaries between band areas due to variations in conveying amount, leading to conspicuous white or black streaks.
Innovation Solution
A printer configuration that includes a conveyor and a printing head with nozzles, where a facing member is used to stabilize the sheet, and the controller alternately executes partial printing and sheet conveyance multiple times, adjusting the conveying amount to ensure that the number of upstream raster lines printed is greater than those in the previous area, thereby minimizing banding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the printer performs printing by executing a plurality of pass processings, then the banding in the vicinity of the boundary between band areas is suppressed, but the printing time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The printing process is divided into multiple pass processings, where each pass prints a specific band area. By segmenting the printing task into sequential passes with different conveying amounts, the system achieves comprehensive coverage while maintaining print quality through multiple targeted printings rather than attempting to print all areas simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The printer alternates between different conveying amounts in a periodic manner across multiple passes. The first pass uses a first conveying amount, the second pass uses a second conveying amount, and this periodic alternation ensures that boundary areas receive proper printing from both passes, suppressing banding while maintaining an organized printing sequence.
2Manufacturing precision
If the conveyor conveys the medium by a small conveying amount to ensure overlapping print areas, then the print quality improves, but the productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The conveying amount is made dynamic rather than fixed. The system adjusts the conveying amount based on the pass number and area type: using a first conveying amount for normal areas and a second conveying amount for boundary areas. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize both print quality and productivity by conveying the minimum necessary distance for each specific printing context.
Solution Approach 2:
Different conveying amounts are applied to different areas of the medium. Normal areas receive conveying based on the first conveying amount, while boundary areas receive conveying based on the second conveying amount. This local differentiation ensures that each area receives the appropriate conveying distance for optimal printing, preventing both over-conveying and under-conveying.
3Manufacturing precision
If the printer uses a facing member to stabilize the sheet during printing, then the print quality improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A facing member is introduced as an intermediary element between the printing head and the medium. This member provides a stable reference surface that ensures consistent positioning and contact during the printing process, particularly important when alternating between different conveying amounts. The facing member acts as a mediator that maintains stability without requiring complex adjustments to the primary printing mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a printer including: a printing part having: a conveyor configured to convey a medium in a conveying direction; a printing head having a plurality of nozzles from which an ink of a specified color is discharged and of which positions in the conveying direction are mutually different, the printing head being configured to discharge the ink from the plurality of nozzles to the medium so as to form dots in the medium; and a facing member configured to be capable of facing a print surface of the medium on an upstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the plurality of nozzles of the printing head; and a controller.