Printer Monochrome Color Printing Mode Ink Cost
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current printing technologies, such as laser and solid ink, incur higher costs for color printing due to the use of multiple primary colors and complex machinery, while cost-saving modes like draft printing compromise quality.
Innovation Solution
A printer and printing method that employs a high saturation monochrome/low saturation color print mode, using solid or non-solid ink jet technology or laser technology, to print fully saturated monochrome images without undercolor and significantly desaturated color images at a balanced resolution, optionally with solid borders to maintain quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If undercoloring technique is used to enhance black print quality in draft mode, then monochrome print quality is improved, but printing cost increases due to significant use of expensive color ink
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating treatment between monochrome and color regions. Monochrome images receive full saturation black ink for high quality, while color images use desaturated tones achieved through black ink overlays on reduced-color-backgrounds, optimizing ink usage locally based on image type
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the saturation parameter of color ink strategically. Color images are printed with desaturated colors (lower color ink concentration), and black ink is overlaid to achieve final appearance. This parameter change reduces expensive color ink consumption while maintaining acceptable visual quality
2Manufacturing precision
If color printing uses multiple primary colors to generate all representable colors, then color image quality is improved, but printing cost increases due to higher ink consumption and complex machinery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the color information from full-color printing and replaces it with black ink overlays on desaturated backgrounds. Instead of using multiple primary colors (CMY) to generate all colors, the system takes out the expensive color ink requirement and achieves color effect through black ink modulation on reduced-color backgrounds
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes expensive color ink with cheaper black ink for the overlay layer. The color effect is achieved through the interaction of black ink with the desaturated color background, using the less expensive black ink as the primary cost-saving substitute
3Quantity of substance
If draft or fast color print mode is used to reduce printing cost, then cost per page is reduced, but print quality is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by using black ink overlays selectively and strategically rather than uniformly across all images. The overlay is applied in a controlled manner to achieve acceptable quality at reduced cost, rather than using full-color high-quality printing everywhere
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the resolution and saturation parameters for cost reduction. Color images are printed at reduced color saturation and with black ink overlays at optimized densities, achieving a balance between quality and cost that differs from both full-quality and draft modes
Data Source
AI summary
The embodiments provide a printer and a printing method that incorporate a printing mode capable of achieving high monochromatic quality at a low cost per page. This printing mode prints both fully saturated (or only minimally desaturated) monochrome images (e.g., black text and graphics) with no undercolor and significantly desaturated multi-color images on the same print medium. Optionally, the printing mode uses a specified resolution that is less than the maximum resolution, but greater than the minimum resolution. The printing mode also optionally prints outlines around monochrome images and/or color images in order maintain and enhance image quality.