White Ink Width Adjustment for Image Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming technologies often result in a white background being exposed or thin lines/characters becoming missing due to inadequate consideration of the minimum necessary width for the white background, which varies based on the color of the recording medium and the color of the layers being formed.
Innovation Solution
An image forming method and apparatus that discharge white ink and color ink onto a recording medium, where the width of the white ink layer is adjusted based on a threshold and correction values to ensure the white background maintains a minimum necessary width, preventing exposure and missing of lines or characters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the white ink layer width is reduced to match thin lines or characters, then the image precision is improved, but the white background becomes exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different width settings for the white ink layer depending on the local characteristics of the image. When a line or character width is greater than a threshold value, the white ink layer width is set to match the line width precisely. When the line or character width is less than or equal to the threshold value, the white ink layer width is set to a fixed value greater than the threshold. This local differentiation ensures that thin lines and characters do not cause white background exposure while maintaining precision for thicker elements.
2Reliability
If the white ink layer width is increased to prevent background exposure, then the reliability is improved, but the image precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent avoids uniformly increasing the white ink layer width across all image elements. Instead, it selectively applies increased width only where necessary (when line or character width is less than or equal to the threshold value) to prevent white background exposure. For thicker elements exceeding the threshold, the white ink layer width precisely matches the element width, thereby maintaining image precision without unnecessary expansion.
3Device complexity
If a fixed threshold is used for all color combinations, then the device complexity is reduced, but the adaptability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adjusts the threshold value parameter based on the specific color combination being used. Different color combinations (e.g., black on white, red on white, blue on white) have different visibility characteristics and require different minimum widths for the white background to remain visible. By making the threshold value adaptable to the color combination rather than fixed, the system maintains high image quality across various colors while managing complexity through a systematic parameter adjustment approach.
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
The method effectively secures the minimum width for the white background, preventing exposure and ensuring the integrity of thin lines or characters by dynamically adjusting the discharge width of the white ink layer based on the relationship between the recording medium and the color ink layers.
Implementation Method 1
discharging, from a liquid discharged head, a white ink onto a recording medium to form a first layer having a first width, and a color ink onto the first layer to form a second layer having a second width
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming method is provided that includes discharging, from a liquid discharged head, a white ink onto a recording medium to form a first layer having a first width, and a color ink onto the first layer to form a second layer having a second width. When the second width is equal to or smaller than a threshold, the first width is equal to the second width, and when the second width is larger than the threshold, the first width is smaller than the second width.