UV Curing Ink Multi-Pass Printing Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet printers using ultraviolet curing type ink face challenges with uneven print quality due to temperature variations and dot gain differences between printing passes, particularly when using multi-pass methods, which affect the accuracy and quality of the printed output.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus and method that employs a temporary curing ultraviolet light source to partially cure ink droplets in each pass, followed by complete curing with a separate ultraviolet light source, with adjustable irradiation settings to minimize temperature rise and maintain consistent dot gain across passes, using a storage section to manage these settings based on medium type, print speed, and pass number.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If ultraviolet rays are irradiated with high intensity to cure ink quickly, then curing speed is improved, but temperature rise occurs causing dot gain variation and unevenness between passes
Solution Approach 1:
The curing process is divided into two distinct stages: a first ultraviolet light source performs partial curing at reduced intensity to minimize heat generation, while a second ultraviolet light source completes the curing process. This segmentation allows each light source to operate at optimal intensity levels, preventing temperature rise and dot gain variation while maintaining overall curing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The first ultraviolet light source performs preliminary curing action by partially curing the ink dots before the second light source completes the process. This preliminary action at reduced intensity prevents excessive heat generation and dot gain variation, while still achieving sufficient initial curing to maintain print quality consistency across multiple passes.
2Manufacturing precision
If multi-pass printing method is used to achieve high print resolution, then print quality is improved, but temperature accumulation occurs causing dot gain differences between passes
Solution Approach 1:
The curing process is divided into two distinct stages: a first ultraviolet light source performs partial curing at reduced intensity to minimize heat generation, while a second ultraviolet light source completes the curing process. This segmentation allows each light source to operate at optimal intensity levels, preventing temperature rise and dot gain variation while maintaining overall curing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the irradiation intensity parameter by using two different ultraviolet light sources with different output characteristics. The first light source operates at lower intensity to minimize heat generation during multi-pass printing, while the second light source provides higher intensity for complete curing. This parameter change enables consistent dot gain across multiple passes while maintaining high print resolution.
3Stability of the object's composition
If ultraviolet light irradiation is applied in each pass to prevent ink blurring, then ink stability is improved, but heat generation causes temperature rise and unevenness between passes
Solution Approach 1:
The curing process is divided into two distinct stages: a first ultraviolet light source performs partial curing at reduced intensity to minimize heat generation, while a second ultraviolet light source completes the curing process. This segmentation allows each light source to operate at optimal intensity levels, preventing temperature rise and dot gain variation while maintaining overall curing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The first ultraviolet light source applies partial curing action rather than complete curing in each pass. This partial action provides sufficient stabilization to prevent ink blurring while generating minimal heat, avoiding temperature accumulation and unevenness between passes. The second light source then completes the curing process to achieve full ink stability.
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 light intensity in each pass, suppresses temperature rise, and maintains consistent dot gain, thereby improving print quality and preventing unevenness between passes, allowing for high-quality printing with ultraviolet curing type inks in multi-pass methods.
Implementation Method 1
an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets of an ultraviolet curing type ink, which is cured by ultraviolet rays
Implementation Method 2
the temperature rise is caused due to heat generated from a light source of ultraviolet rays. In addition, the present inventors have found that there may cause a case that a difference of a dot gain of ink is occurred between printing passes by the temperature rise. In this case, for example, polymerization heat generated by polymerization of monomer in the ink may be included as the heat generated at the time of printing.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus, including: an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets of an ultraviolet curing type ink toward a medium; a temporary curing ultraviolet light source; an irradiation setting storage section which stores ultraviolet irradiation settings of ultraviolet rays from the temporary curing ultraviolet light source to the medium; and a curing completion ultraviolet light source being for completing curing of the dots of the ink, is provided. The ink jet head performs a printing by a multi-pass method. The ultraviolet irradiation settings are set so that, regarding temperature of the region where the ink jet head ejects ink droplets in each main scanning operation in the multi-pass method, an increasing range of temperature compared with temperature at a timing of the last main scanning operation is suppressed within a temperature rising range which dot gains of the dots of the ink are substantially the same as each other.