Printing Apparatus Reactive Liquid Application Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inkjet printing on low-permeability media faces issues with ink bleeding and beading due to excessive reactive liquid application, leading to reduced image quality and glossiness.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus with dual nozzle arrays for color material ink and reactive liquid, controlled to apply different total amounts of reactive liquid in alternating scans to optimize ink distribution and prevent beading, using a control unit to manage the application amounts based on the reactive liquid's application per unit area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the application amount of reactive liquid is increased to reduce bleeding, then bleeding between color material ink droplets is reduced, but over-flocculation occurs making the printed product less glossy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the reactive liquid application into multiple separate scans (first N/2 scans and second N/2 scans) rather than applying all reactive liquid in a single scan. This segmentation allows controlled distribution of the reactive liquid, preventing over-flocculation while ensuring adequate coverage to reduce bleeding between color material ink droplets.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the application amount of reactive liquid based on the total application amount of color material ink. The control unit varies the reactive liquid application amount between different scanning situations, optimizing the balance between preventing bleeding and maintaining glossiness through adaptive control.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the application amount of reactive liquid is increased due to increased color material ink application, then bleeding is reduced, but border portions of adjacent dots connect forming beading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the reactive liquid application across multiple scans, applying it in distributed portions rather than concentrated amounts. This prevents adjacent droplets of reactive liquid from connecting and forming beading, while still providing sufficient total coverage to prevent bleeding between color material ink droplets.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies reactive liquid in controlled partial amounts during different scans rather than applying the full amount at once. This partial action approach prevents excessive concentration that would cause beading, while the cumulative effect across multiple scans achieves the desired bleeding prevention.
3Reliability
If multi-pass printing is used to complete application of reactive liquid with fewer scans, then the possibility of color material ink contacting reactive liquid before bleeding occurs is increased, but excessive reactive liquid application causes beading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses dynamic control to adjust reactive liquid application amounts based on the specific scanning situation and cumulative application history. The control unit determines whether to apply reactive liquid in each scan based on real-time conditions, optimizing the timing and amount to prevent both bleeding and beading.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit monitors the cumulative application amount of reactive liquid and adjusts subsequent application amounts accordingly. This feedback mechanism prevents excessive application that would cause beading while ensuring sufficient coverage to prevent bleeding, by continuously adapting to the current state of the printing process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces bleeding and beading, enhancing image quality and maintaining glossiness by adjusting the reactive liquid application strategically during multi-pass printing.
Implementation Method 1
bleeding is reduced by bringing a color material ink and a reactive liquid into contact with each other on a print medium and thereby causing, e.g., flocculation of a color material contained in the color material ink
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus performs control so that out of N scans for printing an image in a predetermined region on a print medium, a total application amount of a reactive liquid printed by first N/2 scans and a total application amount of the reactive liquid printed by second N/2 scans may be different between a case where an application amount of the reactive liquid per unit area which corresponds to the predetermined region is a first amount and a case where the application amount of the reactive liquid per unit area is a second amount larger than the first amount.