Ink jet printing apparatus and ink jet printing method

The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device and an inkjet recording method for recording an image by ejecting ink onto a recording medium.

In recent years, as an output device, a recording device of a type in which ink is ejected from a recording head for recording has become widespread. Some such recording devices record an image by ejecting ink droplets from an ejection port formed in a recording head and forming dots on a recording medium. In recording in which dots are formed on a recording medium with ink droplets, when a certain area is almost filled with one color, dots are driven into a certain recording area with a high dot recording density. In such a case, if an excessively large amount of ink droplets are ejected to a recording area of a certain size, the ink bleeds out of the recording area, and recording is performed in which the outer shape of the recorded image is clearly shown. There was a problem that it could not be done.

In order to solve such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses an inkjet recording device in which a recording area is divided into an outer peripheral area and an inner area, and the ink used for recording is different according to each recording area. Has been done. In the recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, dots are formed in the outer peripheral region by using ink having relatively low permeability (ink relatively difficult to penetrate into a recording medium; hereinafter, slow penetrating ink). In the internal region, dots are formed by using both relatively highly permeable ink (ink that relatively easily penetrates into the recording medium; hereinafter, super-penetrating ink) and low-permeability slow-penetrating ink. .. In this way, since recording is performed using two types of inks having different permeability to the recording medium for the internal region, recording is performed as compared with the case where recording is performed only with slow-penetrating ink having low permeability. The time required to dry the medium is shortened, and the recording speed can be increased. In addition, bleeding can be reduced as compared with the case where the internal region is recorded only with the super-penetrating ink, and the deterioration of the quality of the image obtained by the recording can be suppressed.

<p><patcit num="1"><text>JP-A-2002-113850</text></patcit></p>

<p> When recording is performed by the recording device disclosed in Patent Document 1, dots are formed so that two types of inks having different permeability are alternately arranged in a staggered pattern in the internal region. .. Therefore, in the internal region, dots formed by the super-penetrating ink and dots formed by the slow-penetrating ink are mixed. However, in the internal region of the image recorded by the recording device disclosed in Patent Document 1, dots made of ink having different permeability to the recording medium are alternately arranged, but the order in which the ink is injected into the recording medium is Not specified. Therefore, there is a possibility that the slow-penetrating ink is injected into the recording area after the super-penetrating ink is injected. In such a case, in the internal region, the color material components such as dyes and pigments in the super-penetrating ink injected into the recording medium are drawn into the deep part in the recording medium, and the dot density becomes low. It may end up. Therefore, the density of a part of the recorded image is insufficient, which may deteriorate the quality of the recorded image. Such a problem may occur even when the coloring material contained in the ink is a dye, but it is remarkable when the pigment is used as the coloring material.</p><p> Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a recording method and a recording device that suppress a decrease in optical density in an inkjet recording device and an inkjet recording method that record using super-penetration ink and slow-penetration ink. With the goal.</p>

<p> The inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention uses a recording medium as a recording medium capable of ejecting a first ink and a second ink having a color similar to that of the first ink and having a higher permeability than that of the first ink. An inkjet recording apparatus that records an image on the recording medium by relative scanning with respect to the second ink on the outer peripheral region adjacent to the non-recording region on which recording is not performed. Recording is performed using the first ink without using the first ink, the first ink and the second ink are used for the internal region adjacent to the outer peripheral region, and the first ink is used. It is characterized by providing a recording control means for controlling the ejection of ink from the recording head so that the ink is ejected to the internal region before the second ink for recording.</p>

<p> According to the inkjet recording device and the inkjet recording method of the present invention, it is possible to suppress a decrease in optical density, so that a decrease in the quality of a recorded image can be suppressed.</p>

<figref num="1">It is a perspective view which showed typically the inkjet recording apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="2">(a) is a plan view schematically showing the recording head used in the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG. 1, and (b) describes the order in which ink is ejected from the recording head of (a). It is explanatory drawing shown for this.</figref><figref num="3">It is a block diagram which showed the schematic structure about the control system for controlling the recording by the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG.</figref><figref num="4">FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a data flow in image data processing in an image processing system composed of an inkjet recording device and a host PC in FIG. 1.</figref><figref num="5">It is a block diagram which showed the schematic structure about the data flow in order to explain the edge processing in the block diagram of FIG. 4 in more detail.</figref><figref num="6">It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the distribution of the data which distributes the recorded data of the recording area recorded in 1st Embodiment to each area.</figref><figref num="7">It is a block diagram which showed the schematic structure about the flow of data in order to explain the edge processing at the time of recording by the inkjet recording apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.</figref><figref num="8">It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the distribution of the data which distributes the recorded data of the recording area recorded in 2nd Embodiment to each area.</figref><figref num="9">It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the distribution of the data which distributes the recorded data of the recording area recorded in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention to each area.</figref><figref num="10">(a) is a plan view schematically showing the recording head used in the inkjet recording apparatus of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and (b) and (c) are from the recording head of (a). It is explanatory drawing which showed for explaining the order of the ejected ink.</figref><figref num="11">It is explanatory drawing which showed the relationship between the position of a recording head and the position of a recording target area in a recording medium when recording is performed by the recording head of FIG. 10.</figref><figref num="12">It is a block diagram which showed the schematic structure about the flow of data in order to explain the edge processing at the time of recording by the inkjet recording apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment.</figref><figref num="13">It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the distribution of the data which distributes the recorded data of the recording area recorded in 4th Embodiment to each area.</figref><figref num="14">(a) and (b) are explanatory views shown for demonstrating the order of ejecting ink from the recording head which performs recording in 4th Embodiment.</figref><figref num="15">It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the distribution of the data which distributes the recorded data of the recording area recorded in the 5th Embodiment of this invention to each area.</figref><figref num="16">(a) is a plan view schematically showing the recording head used in the inkjet recording apparatus of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and (b) and (c) are from the recording head of (a). It is explanatory drawing which showed for explaining the order of the ejected ink.</figref>

Hereinafter, the inkjet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration according to a first embodiment of a color inkjet recording device to which the present invention can be applied. Ink tanks 207 to 212 have 6 inks (black (slow penetration ink), black (super penetration ink), black (slow penetration ink), cyan, magenta, yellow: Ke, Km, Ke, C, M, Y). Is housed respectively. Ink from these six ink tanks 207 to 212 can be supplied to the recording heads 201 to 206. The recording heads 201 to 206 are provided corresponding to the six inks, and are configured to be able to eject the inks supplied from the ink tanks 207 to 212. Of the six recording heads 201 to 206, the recording heads that eject black ink are the recording heads 201, 202, and 203. Further, among the recording heads that eject these black inks, in the present embodiment, the recording heads 201 and 203 eject ink that is relatively difficult to penetrate into the recording medium (hereinafter, slow penetration ink). In addition, the recording head 202 ejects ink that easily penetrates into the recording medium (hereinafter, super-penetrating ink).

The transport roller 103 rotates while sandwiching the recording medium (recording paper) 107 together with the auxiliary roller 104 to transport the recording medium 107, and also plays a role of holding the recording medium 107. The carriage 106 can mount the ink tanks 207 to 212 and the recording heads 201 to 206, and is configured to be reciprocally movable along the X direction while mounting the recording heads and the ink tank. Ink is ejected from the recording head during the reciprocating movement of the carriage 106, whereby an image is recorded on the recording medium. During a non-recording operation such as a recovery operation of the recording heads 201 to 204, the carriage 106 is controlled to stand by at the home position position h indicated by the dotted line in the drawing.

When the recording start command is input, the recording heads 201 to 206 waiting at the home position h shown in FIG. 1 move in the X direction in the figure together with the carriage 106, eject ink, and discharge ink onto the recording medium 107. Record the image. By one movement (scanning) of the recording head, recording is performed on a region having a width corresponding to the arrangement range of the discharge ports of the recording heads 201 to 206.

When the recording associated with one scan in the main scanning direction of the carriage 106 (positive direction of X) is completed, the carriage 106 scans in the direction opposite to the main scanning direction (negative direction of X) toward the home position h. To do. Therefore, recording is performed by ejecting ink from the recording heads 201 to 206 to the recording medium while scanning the recording heads 201 to 206. After the previous recording scan is completed and before the subsequent recording scan is started, the transport roller 103 is rotated to transport the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction) that intersects the main scanning direction. By repeating the recording scan of the recording head and the transfer of the recording medium in this way, the recording of the image on the recording medium 107 is completed. The recording operation of ejecting ink from the recording heads 201 to 206 is performed based on the control by the control means described later.

In the above example, the configuration in which the ink tanks 207 to 212 and the recording heads 201 to 206 are detachably mounted on the carriage 106 is shown. However, a form in which a cartridge in which the ink tanks 207 to 212 and the recording heads 201 to 206 are integrated is mounted on the carriage may be adopted. Further, a form in which a multi-color integrated recording head capable of ejecting a plurality of colors of ink from one recording head is mounted on the carriage may be adopted.

Hereinafter, a data generation method of the recording device will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a recording control system circuit of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. The inkjet recording device 600 is connected to a data supply device such as a host computer (hereinafter, host PC) 1200 via an interface 400. Various data transmitted from the data supply device, control signals related to recording, and the like are input to the recording control unit 500 of the inkjet recording device 600. The recording control unit 500 controls the motor drivers 403 and 404 and the head driver 405, which will be described later, according to the control signal input via the interface 400. Further, the recording control unit 500 processes the input image data and the signal input from the head type signal generation circuit 405 described later. Reference numeral 401 denotes a transfer motor for rotating the transfer roller 103 for transfer of the recording medium 107. Reference numeral 402 denotes a carriage motor for reciprocating the carriage 106 on which the recording heads 201 to 206 are mounted. Reference numerals 403 and 404 are motor drivers for driving the transport motor 401 and the carriage motor 402, respectively. Reference numeral 405 is a head driver for driving the recording heads 201 to 206, and a plurality of 405s are provided according to the number of recording heads. Further, 406 is a head type signal generation circuit, and supplies signals indicating the types and numbers of the recording heads 201 to 206 mounted on the carriage 106 to the recording control unit 500.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration for performing image data processing in an image processing system composed of an inkjet recording device and a host PC. The recording control unit 500 of the inkjet recording device performs data processing transferred from the host PC 1200 in which the printer driver is installed via the interface 400.

The host PC 1200 receives the input image data 1000 from the application, and renders the received input image data 1000 at a resolution of 1200 dpi (dots / inch) 1001. As a result, multi-valued RGB data 1002 for recording is generated. In the present embodiment, the multi-valued RGB data 1002 for recording is 256-value data. The generated multi-value RGB data 1002 for recording is transferred to the recording control unit 500. The recording control unit 500 performs color conversion processing 1007 for converting multi-value RGB data 1002 for recording into multi-value (256 value) KCMY data 1008. Next, the multi-valued (256-valued) KCMY data 1008 is quantized (binarized) by the quantization process 1009 (for example, error diffusion). As a result, binarized KCMY data is generated. In this embodiment, binarized KCMY data with a resolution of 1200 dpi is generated.

Edge processing is performed on the binarized black data. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing edge processing. First, the non-edge portion detection process 2001 is performed. Of the binary black data, non-edge data, that is, non-edge data 2003 is generated. Of the binary black data, the data that does not correspond to the non-edge portion data is referred to as edge portion data 2103. The edge portion is an outer peripheral region adjacent to the non-recording region where recording is not performed, and the inner region surrounded by the outer peripheral region is the non-edge portion. In the present embodiment, among the binarized black data, one pixel (1 dot) is selected from the outermost portion (outer edge) of the recording target area as the edge pixel to be recorded to form the edge portion. To. Other data is used for recording as non-edge data.

When the edge portion data and the non-edge portion data are generated, ink is ejected and recording is performed based on the respective data of the edge portion data and the non-edge portion data. Here, the order of ejecting ink to the recording medium will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2A shows the recording heads 201 to 203 that eject black ink among the recording heads 201 to 206 of FIG. The inks recorded from the recording heads 201 and 203 are slow-penetrating inks (inks that are relatively difficult to penetrate into the recording medium; hereinafter, slow-penetrating inks) (first inks). The ink recorded from the recording head 202 is a super-penetrating ink (an ink that relatively easily penetrates into a recording medium; hereinafter, a super-penetrating ink) (second ink). These slow-penetrating inks and super-penetrating inks are visually recognized as the same color when recorded on a recording medium. In the present embodiment, the recording heads include a recording head 201 (first recording head) capable of ejecting slow-penetrating ink, a recording head 202 (second recording head) capable of ejecting super-penetrating ink, and slow-penetrating ink. It has a recording head 203 (third recording head) capable of discharging ink. That is, in the present embodiment, as the ejection port rows, the ejection port rows (first ejection port row, third ejection port row) capable of ejecting slow-penetrating ink and the ejection port rows capable of ejecting super-penetrating ink (first ejection port row, third ejection port row) ( It has a second discharge port row).

As shown in Fig. 2 (b), when scanning the recording head in the -X direction, slow penetration ink is applied from the recording head 201 to both the internal region (non-edge portion) and the outer peripheral region (edge portion). Record (211 in the figure). After that, the super-penetrating ink (212 in the figure) is recorded from the recording head 202 in the internal region (non-edge portion). Then, the slow-penetrating ink (213 in the figure) is recorded from the recording head 203 with respect to the outer peripheral region (edge portion). On the other hand, when the recording head is scanned in the X direction, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the recording head 203 slowly penetrates into both the internal region (non-edge portion) and the outer peripheral region (edge portion). Record the ink (223 in the figure). After that, the super-penetrating ink (222 in the figure) is recorded from the recording head 202 in the internal region (non-edge portion). Then, the slow-penetrating ink (221 in the figure) is recorded from the recording head 201 with respect to the outer peripheral region (edge portion).

In the recording to the internal region, the super-penetrating ink 212 ejected from the recording head 202 at the time of recording in the -X direction is recorded on the slow-penetrating ink 211 recorded in advance. Further, the super-penetrating ink 222 ejected from the recording head 202 at the time of recording in the X direction is recorded on the slow-penetrating ink 223 recorded in advance. At this time, since the slow-penetrating inks 211 and 223 are hard-to-penetrate inks, the penetrating speed is slow, and the super-penetrating inks 212 and 222 remain on the surface of the recording medium until they land on the surface of the recording medium. By mixing the slow-penetrating inks 211 and 223 and the super-penetrating inks 212 and 222 on the surface of the recording medium, the permeation rates of both are averaged. At this time, the penetration speed is faster than that of the portion recorded only with the slow penetration ink. That is, by recording with a slow-penetrating ink having a slow penetrating speed and then recording with a super-penetrating ink having a high penetrating speed with respect to the internal region of the image, the coloring material is inside the recording medium as compared with the case of recording with only the slow-penetrating ink. It is possible to improve scratch resistance and marker resistance.

In this way, when recording in the internal region, the slow-penetrating ink is ejected to the recording medium before the super-penetrating ink so that the slow-penetrating ink and the super-penetrating ink are at least in contact with each other on the recording medium for recording. Do (internal area recording sequence).

Further, regarding the outer peripheral region, ink is ejected from the recording head 201 and the recording head 203 that eject the slow-penetrating ink to perform recording (outer peripheral region recording sequence).

If the color material of the ink is excessively raised beyond the surface of the recording medium, the raised portion of the color material on the recording medium may come into contact with a finger or the like. If the coloring material in the portion greatly raised above the surface of the recording medium comes into contact with a finger or the like, the recorded image may become dirty and the quality of the recorded image may deteriorate. Further, when the character is traced from above by the marker in a state where the color material forming the character is excessively raised above the surface of the recording medium, the color material of the portion raised from the surface of the recording medium is raised by the marker. It may be smeared and the quality of the recorded image may deteriorate. If the color material of the ink has sufficiently penetrated into the recording medium, excessive swelling from the surface of the recording medium can be suppressed, and when there is contact with a finger or the like or when the marker traces over the recorded image. In addition, the recorded image is not polluted and the quality of the recorded image is maintained high.

In addition, when recording with the super-penetrating ink followed by the super-penetrating ink in the internal region, the slow-penetrating ink is ejected after the super-penetrating ink for recording, or when recording is performed only with the super-penetrating ink. It is possible to increase the optical density of the recorded image.

The non-edge data 2003 is recorded by both a recording head that ejects slow-penetrating ink and a recording head that ejects super-penetrating ink. Of these, for the recording head that ejects slow-penetrating ink, the recording head that is in charge of recording is different depending on the scanning direction of the carriage and the recording head. When the scanning direction of the recording head is the X direction, the slow-penetrating ink 223 is ejected by the recording head 203 as shown in FIG. 2 (c). If the scanning direction of the recording head is the -X direction, the slow-penetrating ink 211 is ejected by the recording head 201 as shown in FIG. 2 (b). In this way, the ejection of the slow-penetrating ink is distributed to the two recording heads for recording. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 2A, the recording head that ejects the slow-penetrating ink in front of the recording head 202 that ejects the super-penetrating ink regardless of the scanning direction of the recording head. Either 201 or 203 will be located. Therefore, recording from the recording head 201 or the recording head 203 can be performed before recording from the recording head 202. In this way, regardless of the scanning direction of the recording head, it is possible to record with the slow-penetrating ink and then with the super-penetrating ink. In this way, in recording to the internal region, when the recording head 201 is in front of the scanning direction, a recording sequence (first recording sequence) in which ink is ejected from the recording head 201 and the recording head 202 to perform recording is performed. Do. Further, when the recording head 203 is in front of the scanning direction, a recording sequence (second recording sequence) in which ink is ejected from the recording head 202 and the recording head 203 to perform recording is executed.

In the present embodiment, in the recording of the edge portion data 2003, two recording heads for ejecting slow-penetrating ink are used for recording, but it is also possible to record with only one recording head. For example, the edge data 2003 records only from the recording head 201 when the head scanning direction is in the X direction, and records only from the recording head 203 when the head scanning direction is in the -X direction. This also has the effect of making it difficult to visually recognize the bleeding in the internal region where the super-penetrating ink has already landed.

A process of distributing data to the recording heads 201, 202, and 203 for each region and distributing the data will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, one cell indicates one pixel on the recorded data, and one ink dot is driven into each pixel. Although details will be described later, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for distributing data to the recording heads 201 to 203, and FIGS. 6 (c), (g), and (j) correspond to the recording head 201. Similarly, FIGS. 6 (d), 6 (h), and (k) correspond to the recording head 202, and FIGS. 6 (e), (i), and (l) correspond to the recording head 203. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the entire recorded data in the recording area recorded in the present embodiment. The recording target area shown in FIG. 6A has an outer peripheral area which is an inner area by a predetermined number of pixels from the outer edge and an inner area inside the outer peripheral area. The dotted line shown in the central portion lateral direction in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (l) indicates the boundary between regions in which the scanning directions of the recording heads are different. Above the dotted line are pixels recorded when the scanning direction of the recording head is in the X direction (right direction in FIG. 6), and below the dotted line, the scanning direction of the recording head is in the -X direction (in FIG. 6). It is a pixel recorded in the left direction). When the non-edge portion detection process 2001 is performed, the non-edge portion data 2003 for forming the pixels shown in FIG. 6 (f) and the pixels shown in FIG. 6 (b) are formed from the binarized recorded data. Edge data 2103 for this is generated.

The recording of the edge data 2103 shown in FIGS. 6 (b) to 6 (e) will be described. The edge data 2103 shown in FIG. 6B is recorded by the recording heads 201 and 203 that eject the slow penetration ink. When scanning in the X direction, the recording head 203 is located in front of the recording head 201 in the scanning direction. Therefore, while recording the recording area in a single scan, the image shown in the upper half of FIG. 6 (e) is recorded by the recording head 203, and then for the same area, the upper half of FIG. 6 (c). The image shown in is recorded by the recording head 201. When scanning in the X direction is performed, the moving direction of the recording head is folded back and scanning in the -X direction is performed. When scanning the recording head in the -X direction, the recording head 201 is located ahead of the recording head 203 in the scanning direction. Therefore, the image shown in the lower half of FIG. 6 (c) is recorded by the recording head 201, and then the image shown in the lower half of FIG. 6 (e) is recorded by the recording head 203 for the same area.

Next, the recording of the non-edge data 2003 shown in FIGS. 6 (f) to 6 (i) will be described. Figure 6 (f) shows the non-edge data 2003. The non-edge portion data 2003 is the recorded data of the region obtained by excluding the portion of the edge portion data 2103 from the entire recorded data shown in FIG. 6 (a).

The non-edge data 2003 of FIG. 6F is recorded by using both the recording head 201 and the recording head 203 that eject the slow-penetrating ink and the recording head 202 that ejects the super-penetrating ink. At this time, for the non-edge portion data 2003, in each recording area, the recording order is first recorded with the slow-penetrating ink and then recorded with the super-penetrating ink.

When the recording head scans in the X direction, recording is performed on the upper half area of FIGS. 6 (f) to 6 (i). At this time, the slow-penetrating ink is ejected from the recording head 203, and the super-penetrating ink is ejected from the recording head 202 to perform recording. At this time, the recording head 203 is located in front of the recording head 201 in the scanning direction. Therefore, it is possible to eject the slow-penetrating ink from the recording head 203 to a predetermined region while recording the recording area in one scan, and then eject the super-penetrating ink to that portion by the recording head 202.

When scanning in the X direction is performed, the moving direction of the recording head is folded back and scanning in the -X direction is performed. When scanning the recording head in the -X direction, recording is performed using the recording head 201 that ejects slow-penetrating ink and the recording head 202 that ejects super-penetrating ink. At this time, the recording head 201 is located in front of the recording head 202 in the scanning direction. Therefore, even in the scanning in the -X direction, the slow-penetrating ink is ejected from the recording head 201 to a predetermined area while recording the recording area in one scan, and then the super-penetrating ink is ejected to that portion by the recording head 202. Can be discharged. As described above, the upper half of the non-edge data 2003 shown in FIG. 6 (f) recorded when scanning in the X direction includes the recording head 202 for ejecting super-penetrating ink and the slow-penetrating ink. It is distributed to the recording head 203 to be discharged. At this time, the data distributed to the recording head 202 is the upper half of FIG. 6 (h), and the data distributed to the recording head 203 is the upper half of FIG. 6 (i). Further, the lower half of the non-edge data 2003 recorded when scanning in the -X direction is distributed to the recording head 201 that ejects slow-penetrating ink and the recording head 202 that ejects super-penetrating ink. Similarly, the data distributed to the recording head 201 is the lower half of FIG. 6 (g), and the data distributed to the recording head 202 is the lower half of FIG. 6 (h).

From the above, the data recorded by each recording head is as follows. The data recorded by the recording head 201 is the logical sum (FIG. 6 (j)) of the edge portion data FIG. 6 (c) and the non-edge portion data FIG. 6 (g). The data recorded by the recording head 202 is the logical sum (FIG. 6 (k)) of the edge portion data FIG. 6 (d) and the non-edge portion data FIG. 6 (h). The data recorded by the recording head 203 is the logical sum (FIG. 6 (l)) of the edge portion data FIG. 6 (e) and the non-edge portion data FIG. 6 (i).

Further, the present invention includes a program for controlling the inkjet recording device when ink is ejected from the recording target area of the recording medium by the inkjet recording device to perform recording by the above-mentioned inkjet recording method.

The composition of the ink used in this embodiment is as follows. The ratio of each component is shown in parts by mass (the total of each component is 100 parts by mass).

(Super Penetration Ink) Pigment dispersion 50 parts by mass 10 parts by mass of glycerin Polyethylene glycol 1000 1 part by mass Acetyleneol E100 (manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals) 1 part by mass Water balance

(Slow penetration ink) Pigment dispersion 50 parts by mass 10 parts by mass of glycerin Polyethylene glycol 1000 1 part by mass Acetyleneol E100 (manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals) 0.03 parts by mass Water balance The pigment dispersion was obtained as follows.

[Pigment dispersion] After mixing 10 g of carbon black with a surface area of 230 m2 / g and a DBP oil absorption of 70 ml / 100 g and 3.41 g of p-aminobenzoic acid well in 72 g of water, 1.62 g of nitric acid was added dropwise and stirred at 70 ° C. .. After a few minutes, a solution of 1.07 g of sodium nitrite in 5 g of water was added, and the mixture was further stirred for 1 hour. The obtained slurry is filtered with Toyo Filter Paper No. 2 (manufactured by Advantis), the pigment particles are thoroughly washed with water, dried in an oven at 90 ° C, and then water is added to this pigment to add a pigment concentration of 10 mass. %% Pigment aqueous solution was prepared. By the above method, a pigment dispersion liquid in which an anionically charged self-dispersion type carbon black in which a hydrophilic group was bonded via a phenyl group was dispersed on the surface was obtained.

The ink composition adopted in the present embodiment is an example to which the present invention can be applied, and two inks having similar colors but different relative permeability may be used.

The coloring material used in the present embodiment is called a self-dispersing pigment, and the pigment particles have a hydrophilic group. On the other hand, there is also a resin-dispersed pigment in which a resin is attached to pigment particles and the hydrophilic group of the resin exhibits water solubility. According to the studies by the inventors, it is more preferable to use a self-dispersing pigment in order to apply the present invention, but the effect of the invention was also obtained with a resin-dispersed pigment.

The difference in permeability between super-penetrating inks and slow-penetrating inks is defined by surface tension. The surface tension of super-penetrating ink is smaller than the surface tension of slow-penetrating ink, the surface tension of super-penetrating ink is 20mN / m or more and 40mN / m or less, and the surface tension of slow-penetrating ink is 40mN / m or more and 60mN / m or less. If so, the effect of the present invention was obtained. In order to control the surface tension, in this embodiment, acetylenol E100 (trade name; manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.) (ethylene oxide-2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decine-4,7-diol) A surfactant called (ethylene oxide-2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol) is used. The permeability of the super-penetrating ink and the slow-penetrating ink is relatively changed by this surfactant, but it may be changed by other solvents.

In this way, by recording the outer peripheral region (edge portion) with the slow-penetrating ink, it is possible to reduce the blurring of the recorded image and increase the density of the image while suppressing the deterioration of the quality of the recorded image. .. Further, by recording the internal region (non-edge portion) with the super-penetrating ink following the slow-penetrating ink, the degree of permeation of the super-penetrating ink into the recording medium can be suppressed. Therefore, since a large amount of ink coloring material can be left on the surface of the recording medium, the optical density in the internal region can be increased. Further, as compared with the case where recording is performed only with the slow-penetrating ink, it is possible to prevent the color material of the ink from rising and remaining from the surface of the recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the color material of the ink remaining above the surface of the recording medium from coming into contact with the user's hand or other objects, which stains the recorded image and deteriorates the quality of the recorded image. In this way, by reducing the amount of ink that rises above the surface of the recording medium and remains, it is possible to improve the scratch resistance and marker resistance of the recorded image.

(Second embodiment) Next, the recording by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The parts configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

In the first embodiment, the slow-penetrating ink is injected at the edge portion, the slow-penetrating ink is injected first at all the non-edge portions, and then the super-penetrating ink is injected so as to overlap the ink on the same area. It is being recorded. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, in order to improve the throughput, some data is thinned out and recorded at the edge portion and the non-edge portion. Then, in the non-edge portion, recording is performed so that the dots recorded by the slow-penetrating ink and the dots recorded by the super-penetrating ink are combined and complement each other to obtain an entire recorded image. In the present embodiment, in the non-edge portion, recording is performed so that the region recorded by the slow-penetrating ink and the region recorded by the super-penetrating ink are adjacent to each other.

When ink is continuously ejected from individual ejection ports, energy is once applied to the recording element in order to eject the ink, and then a certain amount of time is required for the energy to be applied to the recording element again. .. In addition, after the ink is ejected, an ink refill time is required to replenish the ink to each nozzle. In addition, it takes time to transmit a fixed amount of recorded data to the storage area at regular intervals. Here, the number of dots that can be recorded by one recording head in one scan (hereinafter, also referred to as scanning resolution) strongly depends on the configuration of the recording head. If the configuration of the recording head is changed to increase the scanning resolution of the recording head, the structure of the recording head must be significantly changed, which leads to an increase in cost.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the number of recordable dots in the scanning direction (X direction or -X direction) of the recording head shared by one recording head in one scan is recorded by only one recording head. It is 1 / n of. Since data is lost only by this, in the present embodiment, the recorded data is distributed to a plurality of arranged recording heads, so that the recorded data are complemented by the plurality of recording heads. In this embodiment, in particular, the number of recordable dots related to the scanning direction of the recording head, which is shared by one recording head in one scan, is halved when recording with only one recording head. The number of pixels in each of the recording heads is halved from the number of pixels formed by ejecting ink from a single recording head. As described above, in the present embodiment, by distributing the recording data for ejecting ink from the recording head to the recording medium to each recording head, the number of pixels of the recording data corresponding to the number of ink ejected per recording head. Is decreasing.

Since the flow of the second embodiment is different from the flow of the first embodiment after the edge processing, the edge processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. Here, the binarized black data is shown in FIG. 8 (a). The dotted line shown laterally from the center of FIG. 8A indicates the boundary between regions where the scanning directions of the recording heads are different. Above the dotted line are pixels recorded when the scanning direction of the recording head is in the X direction (right direction in FIG. 8), and below the dotted line, the scanning direction of the recording head is in the -X direction (in FIG. 8). It is a pixel recorded when (to the left). In the present embodiment, the length of the recording heads 201, 202, and 203 along the transport direction of the recording medium is half the length between both ends in the vertical direction of FIG. 8A, and is from the dotted line to the vertical direction. The length to one end.

Further, as will be described in detail later, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for distributing data to the recording heads 201 to 203, and FIGS. 8 (c), (g), and (j) correspond to the recording head 201. .. Similarly, FIGS. 8 (d), (h), and (k) correspond to the recording head 202, and FIGS. 8 (e), (i), and (l) correspond to the recording head 203.

First, the non-edge portion detection process 2001 is performed. Of the binarized black data, the internal region data, that is, the non-edge data 2003 is generated. Of the binary black data, the data that does not correspond to the non-edge portion data is referred to as edge portion data 2103. The non-edge portion data 2003 and the edge portion data 2103 obtained by performing the non-edge portion detection process 2001 are shown in FIGS. 8 (f) and 8 (b). In the present embodiment, the width of the outer peripheral region (edge portion) is set to two pixels.

The edge portion data 2103 of the present embodiment is distributed to two recording heads according to the column position of the data. Of the edge data 2103, the odd-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 201, and the even-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 203. Here, the "odd column" and "even column" refer to whether the column position in the data is the odd-numbered column or the even-numbered column from the leftmost column.

In the non-edge data 2003, the data is distributed to the three recording heads according to not only the column position of the data but also the scanning directions of the carriage 106 and the recording heads 201 to 206. When the scanning direction is the X direction in recording to the non-edge portion, as shown in FIGS. 8 (h) and 8 (i), the odd-numbered column data is recorded in the recording head 202, and the even-numbered column data is recorded in the recording head 203. Record with. When the scanning direction is the -X direction, the odd-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 201 and the even-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 202 as shown in FIGS. 8 (g) and 8 (h).

When recording the edge data 2103 of FIG. 8 (b), the data of the odd column of FIG. 8 (c) is recorded by the recording head 201 according to the column position, and the even column of FIG. 8 (e) is recorded. Data is recorded by the recording head 203. Therefore, all edge data 2103 is recorded with slow penetration ink.

In the recording of the non-edge data 2103 in FIG. 8 (f), when the scanning direction is the X direction (the area above the dotted line), the even column data is first recorded by the recording head 203, and the same. Data in odd columns is recorded by the recording head 202 by scanning. When recording in the -X direction (the area below the dotted line), the odd-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 201, and the even-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 202. In this way, recording with slow-penetrating ink is performed by the recording head in front of the scanning direction, and recording is performed by super-penetrating ink in the recording head behind in the scanning direction in the same scanning. Therefore, recording is performed first with the slow-penetrating ink, and then recording is performed with the super-penetrating ink.

The upper and lower parts of the non-edge data 2103 are shown in FIGS. 8 (g) to 8 (i). Further, in the recording of the non-edge portion data 2103, the data recorded by the recording head 201 is shown in FIG. 8 (g), the data recorded by the recording head 202 is shown in FIG. 8 (h), and the data recorded by the recording head 203 is shown. Is shown in Fig. 8 (i). From the above, the data recorded by each recording head in the second embodiment is as follows. The data recorded by the recording head 201 is the logical sum (FIG. 8 (j)) of the edge portion data FIG. 8 (c) and the non-edge portion data FIG. 8 (g). The data recorded by the recording head 202 is the logical sum (FIG. 8 (k)) of the edge portion data FIG. 8 (d) and the non-edge portion data FIG. 8 (h). The data recorded by the recording head 203 is the logical sum (FIG. 8 (l)) of the edge portion data FIG. 8 (e) and the non-edge portion data FIG. 8 (i).

As shown in FIG. 8, the data recorded by each recording head 201 to 203 in each scan is thinned out with respect to the scanning direction, and can be recorded in one scan as compared with the first embodiment. Record half of the data. Therefore, the scanning speed of the recording head can be doubled because the time for transferring the recorded data to the data storage area and the ink refilling time for each scan can be halved. For example, when the scanning speed is 25 ips (inches / second) when the scanning resolution is 1200 dpi, the scanning resolution can be reduced to 600 dpi. Therefore, the scanning speed of the recording head can be increased to 50 ips, and the time required for recording is shortened. Therefore, by recording by the recording method of the present embodiment, the scanning speed of the recording head can be improved, so that the recording throughput can be improved. At the same time, the scratch resistance of the internal region can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the slow-penetrating ink is ejected to the non-edge portion (internal region) in advance, and the data thinned out according to the column position is recorded. After that, the super-penetrating ink is ejected to the portion where the slow-penetrating ink is thinned out and recorded. At this time, at least a part of the recording area recorded with the slow-penetrating ink (first recording area) and the recording area recorded with the super-penetrating ink (second recording area) are recorded so as to be in contact with each other. There is. When the recording area recorded by the slow-penetrating ink and the recording area recorded by the super-penetrating ink come into contact with each other, the slow-penetrating ink and the super-penetrating ink are mixed on the surface of the recording medium. As a result, the scratch resistance and marker resistance of the internal region can be improved, and the optical density of the recorded image can be increased.

Also, in order to improve throughput, if super-penetration ink is ejected after slow-penetration ink in both X-direction and -X-direction bidirectional recording, slow-penetration ink and super-permeation ink are recorded in each direction. Two recording heads are required to eject the penetrating ink. Therefore, in order to eject the super-penetrating ink after ejecting the slow-penetrating ink in both the recording in the X direction and the recording in the -X direction, a total of four recording heads are usually required. Conceivable. However, in the arrangement configuration of the recording heads in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, only one recording head for ejecting the super-penetrating ink is arranged. That is, the recording head for ejecting the super-penetrating ink is shared between the recording at the time of scanning in the X direction and the recording at the time of scanning in the -X direction. This reduces the number of recording heads that eject super-penetrating ink and simplifies the configuration of the inkjet recording device. As a result, the size of the inkjet recording device can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the inkjet recording device can be kept low.

In the present embodiment, in recording to the internal region (non-edge portion), the last continuous recording head, that is, the recording head 203 for scanning in the -X direction and the recording head 201 for scanning in the X direction , Ink is not ejected, but the present invention is not limited to this. When ink is ejected from the last recording head, the scratch resistance and marker resistance may decrease, but if this is acceptable, even if ink is ejected from the last recording head, good. In that case, the optical density of the recorded image can be further increased. Whether or not to record using the last recording head may be adjusted for each recording device product at the time of design.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the recording in the internal region (non-edge portion), the recording of the slow-penetrating ink and the recording of the super-penetrating ink is performed separately for each column. At this time, in the internal region, when the ink is applied to the recording medium, the same position (pixels) on the recording medium is formed so that the super-penetrating ink is superimposed on the slow-penetrating ink as in the first embodiment. Ink may not be ejected to the ink, and may be in different positions. In the present invention, since the slow-penetrating ink only needs to be ejected to the internal region before the super-penetrating ink, the ink is ejected so that the dots of the slow-penetrating ink and the dots of the super-penetrating ink are adjacent to each other on the recording medium. It should be done. Data for ejecting ink from the respective recording heads may be generated so that the dots of the slow-penetrating ink and the dots of the super-penetrating ink overlap at least a part on the recording medium. The effect of the present invention can also be obtained by recording in this way. In the present embodiment, dots formed by super-penetrating ink and dots formed by slow-penetrating ink are used properly for each column, but the present invention is not limited to this. The dots formed by the super-penetrating ink and the dots formed by the slow-penetrating ink may be divided into a houndstooth pattern, or other division methods may be adopted.

(Third embodiment) Next, the recording by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The parts configured in the same manner as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the recorded image is formed with a width of 1 pixel or 2 pixels from the outer peripheral edge portion as an edge portion in the recording region. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, four pixels are selected as the edge portion for recording. The distribution of each data to the recording head will be described with reference to FIG.

As the image recording becomes higher resolution, it is desirable to increase the width of the edge portion (hereinafter referred to as the number of edge pixels) accordingly. The number of edge pixels depends on the amount of ink ejected from the recording head, which is approximately determined by the resolution. For example, when an image is formed by a recording head that ejects ink at a resolution of 600 × 600 dpi, an ink ejection amount of about 15 to 30 pl is selected as the amount of ink ejected from the recording head (that is, the ejection amount). Recording devices are often designed. In this case, the dot diameter of plain paper is often about 60 μm.

Further, for example, when an image is formed by a recording head capable of ejecting ink at a resolution of 1200 × 1200 dpi, about 4 to 15 pl is selected as the amount of ink ejected from the recording head (that is, the ejection amount). Recording devices are often designed. In this case, the dot diameter of the ink ejected on the recording medium is often about 30 μm on plain paper.

It is not desirable that the ink in the inner region extends beyond the outer peripheral region to the image to be recorded. Therefore, it is preferable that the outer peripheral region formed by the slow-penetrating ink has a certain width. By forming the outer peripheral region having a certain width on the outside of the inner region, it is possible to prevent the bleeding due to the super-penetrating ink discharged to the inner region from exceeding the outer peripheral region and protruding to the outside of the outer peripheral region. Even if the resolution is increased, it is desirable that the width of the outer peripheral region is maintained so that the bleeding due to the super-penetrating ink does not exceed the outer peripheral region. Considering the example of recording resolutions of 600 x 600 dpi and 1200 x 1200 dpi in the above example, if the number of edge pixels is sufficient in the case of 600 x 600 dpi, the number of edge pixels at 1200 x 1200 dpi is 600 x 600 dpi. It should be about twice as much as the case. By selecting the number of pixels according to the resolution in this way, the width of the outer peripheral region (edge portion) can be maintained, and bleeding due to the super-penetrating ink from the internal region exceeding the outer peripheral region can be suppressed. Therefore, deterioration of the quality of the recorded image can be suppressed. In this way, the width of the edge region (width of the outer peripheral region) is determined by the difference in permeability between the super-penetrating ink that is injected into the internal region and the slow-penetrating ink that is ejected into the external region, and the number of pixels depends on the resolution. It is desirable to be decided. Therefore, when the resolution of ink ejection by the recording head is set to a high resolution, it is desirable to increase the number of pixels forming the edge portion accordingly.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, recording by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The parts configured in the same manner as those in the first to third embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

In the recording apparatus according to the first to third embodiments, a total of three recording heads, two recording heads for ejecting slow-penetrating ink and one recording head for ejecting super-penetrating ink, are used for recording. It has been. On the other hand, in the recording device of the present embodiment, recording is performed using only two recording heads, one recording head that ejects slow-penetrating ink and one recording head that ejects super-penetrating ink. In the present embodiment, the throughput is slightly lower than that of the recording heads of the first to third embodiments, but the number of recording heads can be reduced, so that the cost of the recording device can be reduced.

Hereinafter, the recording heads 301 to 305 of the recording device according to the present embodiment will be described. The recording heads 301 to 305 of this embodiment discharge five inks (black (slowly penetrating ink), black (super penetrating ink), cyan, magenta, yellow: Ke, Km, Ke, C, M, Y), respectively. It is configured to be possible. Of the recording heads 301 to 305, the recording heads that eject black ink are the recording heads 301 and 302. Further, among the recording heads that eject these black inks, the recording head 301 ejects slow-penetrating ink that is relatively difficult to penetrate into the recording medium. In addition, the recording head 302 ejects super-penetrating ink that easily penetrates into the recording medium.

Further, for the sake of explanation, a two-pass recording form in which the recording heads 301 and 302 are divided into two in the transport direction of the recording medium and ink is ejected for each region will be described. The upper half of the recording head 301 (upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium) is 301a, the lower half (downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium) is 301b, the upper half of the recording head 302 is 302a, and the lower half is 302b. ..

Here, a criterion for determining the scanning start direction will be described. For example, when the recording device of the present embodiment is in the form of two-pass bidirectional recording, the recording medium is conveyed by a distance of half the width that the recording head can record after each scanning of the recording head. .. Since it is easier to understand if the recording medium is fixed, it will be described with reference to FIG. 11 with the recording medium fixed.

In the present embodiment, the recording head scans the same recording target area a plurality of times to pass over the recording target area a plurality of times, ink is ejected each time, and an image is recorded by the plurality of scans. A multi-pass type inkjet recording device is used. In the two-pass recording of the present embodiment, the recording head records an image by performing two scans on the same recording target area.

Further, in the present embodiment, a plurality of discharge ports formed in the recording head are partitioned into a plurality of regions. Half of the discharge ports partitioned along the transport direction of the recording medium pass over the recording target area in the first scan, and the remaining discharge ports pass over the recording target area in the second scan. Therefore, the recording of the image in the recording target area is completed by two scans. Of the images in the recording target area, ink is ejected from a portion of the partitioned ejection ports among the plurality of ejection ports formed in the recording head that first ejects the slow-penetrating ink to the internal region. Is recorded (third recording sequence). Then, after that, ink is ejected from a part of the partitioned ejection ports among the plurality of ejection ports formed in the recording head for ejecting the super-penetrating ink, and recording is performed (fourth recording sequence).

The recording head is scanned in the X direction to record the area (1), then the recording medium is conveyed, and then the recording head is scanned in the -X direction to record the areas (1) and (2). Then, the recording medium is conveyed again, and the recording head is scanned in the X direction to record the regions (2) and (3). By repeating these scanning and transporting the recording medium, the image data is recorded on the recording medium.

Here, focusing on the area (1), recording by scanning in the -X direction is performed following recording by scanning in the X direction of the recording head. Focusing on the area (2), the recording by the scanning in the -X direction of the recording head is followed by the recording by the scanning in the X direction. That is, the scanning direction of the recording head when recording is first performed on the recording medium differs depending on the area on the recording medium. When the scanning direction of the recording head at the time of the first recording is the X direction as in the areas (1) and (3), it is expressed as "the scanning start direction is the X direction" in the present specification. To do. Similarly, when the scanning direction of the recording head at the time of the first recording is the -X direction as in the areas (2) and (4), in the present specification, "the scanning start direction is the -X direction". Is expressed. "

Here, with reference to FIG. 10, the order in which ink is applied to the recording medium will be described. FIG. 10A shows the recording heads 301 and 302 of the recording heads 301 to 305 that eject black ink. Of these, the recording head 301 is a recording head that ejects slow-penetrating ink, and the recording head 302 is a recording head that ejects super-penetrating ink. Figures 10 (b) and 10 (c) show the order in which ink is ejected from each recording head. FIG. 10 (b) shows the order in which ink is applied in the recording area where recording was started by scanning in the -X direction. Further, FIG. 10 (c) shows the order in which ink is applied in the recording area where recording is started by scanning in the X direction.

With reference to FIG. 10 (b), recording for a region in which the scanning start direction in the recording medium is the -X direction will be described. In the first scan, the slow-penetrating ink 311a is ejected from the recording head 301a to the inner region and the outer peripheral region, and the super-permeating ink 312a is ejected from the recording head 302a to the inner region. When one scanning is completed, the recording medium is conveyed by a predetermined distance, the scanning direction is switched there, and the recording heads 301 to 305 eject ink while scanning in the X direction. When the recording head scans in the X direction, recording is performed while the recording head 301b ejects the slow-penetrating ink 311b to the outer peripheral region.

Next, using FIG. 10 (c), recording for a region in the recording medium in which the scanning start direction is the X direction will be described. In the first scan, the slow-penetrating ink 321a is ejected from the recording head 301a to the inner region and the outer peripheral region. When one scan is completed, the recording medium is conveyed by a predetermined distance, the scanning direction is switched there, and the recording head ejects ink while scanning in the X direction. When the recording head scans in the -X direction, the slow-penetrating ink 321b is ejected from the recording head 301b to the outer peripheral region, and the super-penetrating ink 322b is ejected from the recording head 302b to the inner region. In the present embodiment, the recording head 301b that ejects slow-penetrating ink ejects ink only to the outer peripheral region, and the recording heads 302a and 302b that eject super-penetrating ink eject ink only to the internal region.

Next, the edge processing performed on the binarized black data will be described. FIG. 12 shows a diagram of the edge processing process. First, the non-edge portion detection process 5001 is performed. Of the binarized black data, non-edge data, that is, non-edge data 5003 is generated. Of the binarized black data, the data that does not correspond to the non-edge portion data is referred to as edge portion data 5103. In this embodiment, two pixels are selected as the edge pixels. In the present embodiment, data is distributed to each recording head according to the scanning start direction of the recording head.

In the edge portion data 5103, if the recording head scanning start direction is the region in the X direction, the odd-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 301a, and the even-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 301b. If the recording head scanning start direction is in the -X direction, the odd-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 301b, and the even-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 301a.

In the non-edge data 5003, if the scanning start direction of the recording head is in the X direction region, the odd-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 301a, and the even-numbered column data is recorded by the recording head 302b. If the scanning start direction of the recording head is in the -X direction, the data in the odd column is recorded by the recording head 302a, and the data in the even column is recorded by the recording head 301a.

These relationships will be described with reference to FIG. Similar to the above-described embodiment, FIGS. 13 (c), 13 (h), and (l) correspond to the recording head 301a. Similarly, FIGS. 13 (d), (i), and (m) are on the recording head 302a, and FIGS. 13 (e), (j), and (n) are on the recording head 301b, and FIGS. 13 (f) and 13 (k) are shown. , (O) correspond to the recording head 302b.

Figure 13 (a) shows the pixels that are driven into the recording medium by the binarized black data. The dotted line extending laterally from FIG. 13A indicates the position where the scanning start direction of the recording head changes.

The area above the dotted line is the area where the scanning start direction of the recording head is in the X direction (right direction in FIG. 13) as in the areas (1) and (3) in FIG. 11, and the area below the dotted line is in FIG. Area (2) and (4) of the recording head is the area where the scanning start direction is the -X direction (left direction in FIG. 13). For the recorded data, the non-edge portion detection process 2001 is performed to generate the non-edge portion data 5003 and the edge portion data 5103.

FIG. 13 (b) shows the edge data 5103 among the binarized black data shown in FIG. 13 (a). Of the edge data 5103, if the scanning start direction of the recording head is the region in the X direction (above the dotted line), the odd-numbered column data is distributed to the recording head 301a and recorded (FIG. 13 (c)). Further, among the edge data 5103, the data of even-numbered columns in the region where the scanning start direction of the recording head is in the X direction is distributed to the recording head 301b and recorded (FIG. 13 (e)). If the scanning start direction of the recording head is the region in the -X direction (below the dotted line) of the edge data 5103, the odd-numbered column data is distributed to the recording head 301b and recorded (FIG. 13 (e)). .. Further, among the edge data 5103, the data of even-numbered columns in the region where the scanning start direction of the recording head is in the -X direction is distributed to the recording head 301a and recorded (FIG. 13 (c)).

FIG. 13 (g) shows the non-edge portion data 5003 among the binarized black data shown in FIG. 13 (a). Of the non-edge data 5003 shown in FIG. 13 (g), the odd-numbered column data in the region where the scanning start direction of the recording head is in the X direction (above the dotted line) is distributed to the recording head 301a. Then, the data is recorded by the recording head 301a according to the data distributed to the recording head 301a (FIG. 13 (h)). Of the non-edge data 5003, even-numbered column data in the region where the scanning start direction of the recording head is in the X direction is distributed to the recording head 302b and recorded by the recording head 302b (FIG. 13 (k)). ..

If the scanning start direction of the recording head is the region in the -X direction (below the dotted line) of the non-edge data 5003, the odd-numbered column data is distributed to the recording head 302a and recorded (FIG. 13). (i)). Of the non-edge data 5003, even-numbered column data in the region where the scanning start direction of the recording head is in the -X direction is distributed to the recording head 301a and recorded (FIG. 13 (h)).

From the above, the data recorded by each recording head is as follows. The data recorded by the recording head 301a is FIG. 13 (l), which is the logical sum of the edge data FIG. 13 (c) and the non-edge data FIG. 13 (h). The data recorded by the recording head 302a is FIG. 13 (m), which is the logical sum of the edge data FIG. 13 (d) and the non-edge data FIG. 13 (i). The data recorded by the recording head 301b is FIG. 13 (n), which is the logical sum of the edge portion data FIG. 13 (e) and the non-edge portion data FIG. 13 (j). The data recorded by the recording head 302b is FIG. 13 (o), which is the logical sum of the edge portion data FIG. 13 (f) and the non-edge portion data FIG. 13 (k).

As shown in FIG. 13, the data recorded by the respective recording heads 301 and 302 is decimated in the main scanning direction (X direction in FIG. 1 and lateral direction in FIG. 13), and per scan. , Half of the recorded data is recorded. Therefore, the time required for data transfer to the recording head and the refill time can be halved as compared with the case where all the recorded data are recorded in one scan. Therefore, the main scanning speed of the recording head can be doubled. For example, when the scanning resolution of the recording head is 1200 dpi and the main scanning speed is 25 ips, the number of dots recorded by thinning out the recorded data recorded in one scan is It can be reduced to 600dpi. This makes it possible to increase the main scanning speed of the recording head to 50 ips. Therefore, the time required for the entire recording is shortened, and the throughput of recording is improved.

This will be further described with reference to FIG. In FIGS. 14 (a) and 14 (b), the scanning start direction is the X direction in the regions (1) and (3) and the -X direction in the region (2). In the present embodiment, regardless of whether the scanning start direction is the X direction or the -X direction, in the recording to the outer peripheral region (edge portion), the ink is ejected from the recording head 301b following the ink ejection from the recording head 301a. I do. By ejecting ink from both the recording heads of the recording head 301a and the recording head 301b to perform recording, even if the number of dots recorded in one scan is reduced, the amount is transferred from each other's recording heads. It can be complemented by ejecting ink from. In recording to the internal region, the slow-penetrating ink is ejected from the recording head 301a in all regions. In the recording here, half of the data is thinned out, and the ink is ejected by another recording head in order to supplement the portion not recorded by the ink ejection from the recording head 301a.

As shown in the region (1) of FIG. 14 (a), when the scanning start direction is the -X direction, the recording head performs the same scanning as the scanning in which the ink is ejected from the recording head 301a. Recording is performed by ejecting ink from 302a. At this time, since the recording head 302a is located behind the recording head 301a in the scanning direction, the super-penetrating ink from the recording head 302a is discharged after the ink is ejected from the recording head 301a by the slow-penetrating ink. Ink is ejected by. Therefore, as the order in which the ink is ejected to the recording medium, the ink is ejected by the super-penetrating ink after the ink is ejected by the slow-penetrating ink.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, when the scanning start direction is the X direction, ink is ejected from the recording head 302a at the time of recording in the first scanning. Instead, the ink is ejected from the recording head 301a. When the scanning start direction is the X direction, recording is not performed due to ink ejection from the recording head 302a because the recording head 302a ejects super-penetrating ink before recording the slow-penetrating ink from the recording head 301a. This is because the ink passes through the recording target area. That is, in such a case, it is not possible to perform recording with the super-penetrating ink following the slow-penetrating ink, which is a constituent requirement of the present invention.

Recording is performed by ejecting ink from the recording head 301a, and when one scan is completed, the scanning direction is switched and scanning is performed in the -X direction. At this time, as shown in the area (2) of FIG. 14 (b), the recording head 302b ejects the ink with the super-penetrating ink in the internal area to perform recording.

In this way, regardless of whether the scanning start direction is the X direction or the -X direction, the super-penetrating ink ejected from the recording heads 302a and 302b is recorded after the slow-penetrating ink recorded in advance. To. In the present embodiment, the dots of the slow-penetrating ink ejected earlier and the dots of the super-penetrating ink ejected later overlap or are adjacent to each other on the recorded data, and the recorded data are at least mutually compatible with each other. I'm in contact.

At this time, since the slow-penetrating ink is an ink having a relatively slow penetrating speed, it stays on the surface of the recording medium until the super-penetrating ink discharged from the recording heads 302a and 302b lands on the surface of the recording medium. When the slow-penetrating ink and the super-penetrating ink come into contact with each other, they are mixed and the permeation rates of both are averaged. That is, the penetration speed is faster than that of the portion recorded only with the slow penetration ink. In this way, by recording a part of the internal region (non-edge portion) of the image using the ink having a slow penetration rate and then the ink having a high penetration rate, only the slow penetration ink having a slow penetration rate is used. The scratch resistance can be improved as compared with the case of recording.

Further, the slow-penetrating ink ejected from the recording head 301b is recorded on the slow-penetrating ink previously recorded by the recording head 301a. At this time, since the slow-penetrating ink is an ink having a slow penetrating speed, it stays on the surface of the recording medium until the ink ejected from the last continuous recording head lands on the surface of the recording medium. Even if the slow-penetrating ink and the slow-penetrating ink were mixed on the surface of the recording medium, the penetrating rate did not increase, and only two drops of the slow penetrating ink were recorded. By recording in the outer peripheral region (edge portion) of the image with ink having a slow penetration speed, the sharpness of the edge portion of the image can be improved, and the character quality and the line quality can be improved. Further, by recording in the internal region with the slow-penetrating ink followed by the super-penetrating ink, it is possible to increase the optical density in the internal region as compared with the case where recording is performed only with the super-penetrating ink.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the recording head is divided into a plurality of regions for each of the recording head that ejects the slow-penetrating ink and the recording head that ejects the super-penetrating ink. As a result, the plurality of discharge ports formed in the respective recording heads are divided into a plurality of regions. Then, in recording to the internal region, a part of the recording head that ejects the slow-penetrating ink first passes over the recording target region, and then a part of the recording head that ejects the super-penetrating ink records. Pass over the target area. Recording is performed by ejecting ink to the recording area as each recording head passes over the recording area.

When the recording head first ejects slow-penetrating ink to the recording target area and then ejects super-penetrating ink to the recording target area regardless of the scanning direction while scanning, four recording heads are usually required. It is thought that. However, in the fourth embodiment, a multi-pass type recording device in which a recorded image is formed by a plurality of scans is used, and a plurality of discharge ports formed in each recording head are partitioned into a plurality of regions. Then, regardless of the scanning direction of the recording head, the recording target area is recorded by a part of the recording head that ejects the slow-penetrating ink, and then the recording target area is recorded by the part of the recording head that ejects the super-penetrating ink. Is formed possible.

As described above, in the present embodiment, recording is performed using a total of two recording heads, one recording head that ejects slow-penetrating ink and one recording head that ejects super-penetrating ink. Although the throughput is slightly lower than that of the recording heads of the first embodiment to the third embodiment, the number of recording heads can be reduced, so that the cost of the recording device can be reduced.

In each recording head of the recording head that ejects slow-penetrating ink and the recording head that ejects super-penetrating ink, a plurality of ejection ports are divided into two regions, but the present invention has been determined. Not limited to this. Each of the recording head that ejects the slow-penetrating ink and the recording head that ejects the super-penetrating ink may be divided into two or more regions. At this time, if the order is determined so that the super-penetrating ink is ejected after the slow-penetrating ink is ejected, the region of each recording head does not have to be divided into two. Further, although the present embodiment has been described using the example of 2-pass recording, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and may be a case such as 3-pass recording or 4-pass recording. In this case as well, the recording head may be controlled so that the slow-penetrating ink is first ejected and then the super-penetrating ink is ejected in the first scanning recording for the recording target area.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, the recording by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The parts configured in the same manner as those in the first to fourth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

In the first to fourth embodiments described above, an example in which only black is ejected as the type of ink ejected from the recording head has been described. In the fifth embodiment, a case where recording with black ink is performed in parallel with recording with color ink will be described.

When an image recorded with color ink and an image recorded with black ink are recorded adjacent to each other, the portion where each image is adjacent is not recorded as an edge portion but is not recorded. It is often better to record as an edge. FIG. 15 shows a method of generating recorded data when recording black ink in parallel with recording a color image.

In FIG. 15 (a), the shaded portion is the data of the color image, and the black-painted portion is the binarized recording data of the portion recorded by the black ink as in FIG. 8 (a). FIG. 15 (b) shows the edge data 2103, and FIG. 15 (f) shows the non-edge data 2003. Compared with FIG. 8 of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15 (b), in the portion adjacent to the recorded data recorded by the color ink, the portion considered to be an edge in the data of black alone. A part (right end) of is generated as a non-edge part.

Further, when the penetrability of the color slow-penetrating ink and the black slow-penetrating ink is higher than that of the color ink when comparing the penetrability to the recording medium, the relative permeability of the black ink is higher. It is desirable to do it. In such a case, the black ink that has not penetrated the recording medium may be mixed with the ink of the portion recorded by the color ink, and the black ink may flow out to the area recorded by the color ink. Therefore, if the area to be recorded by the black ink is recorded only with the slow penetration ink in the area where the black ink and the color ink are adjacent to each other, the quality of the recorded image may deteriorate. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, when the black ink recording area and the color ink recording area are adjacent to each other, it is better to increase the relative permeability in the black ink to improve the image quality. It is thought that it will improve.

(Sixth Embodiment) Next, recording by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The parts configured in the same manner as those in the first to fifth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

In the second to fifth embodiments, by distributing the recorded data to a plurality of recording heads, it is possible to record the scanning direction (main scanning direction) at the time of recording in one scanning shared by one recording head. The number of dots on the data was set to half of the data recording resolution. By doing so, the scanning speed of the recording head is increased, and the throughput at the time of recording is improved. In addition to this, in the present embodiment, the number of dots to be recorded in the main scanning direction (X direction) of the recording heads shared by one recording head is increased by increasing the number of recording heads for ejecting slow-penetrating ink. It is further reduced. As a result, the scanning speed of the recording head can be further improved, and the recording throughput can be improved.

In the present embodiment in which the configuration of the recording head and the order of applying ink are described with reference to FIG. 16, a total of five recording heads are used. Recording heads 411L, 411R, 413L, and 413R that eject slow-penetrating ink are arranged on both sides of the recording head 412 so as to sandwich the recording head 412 that ejects super-penetrating ink. In the present embodiment, the recording heads 411L and 411R are arranged on the left side of FIG. 16 of the recording head 412, and the recording heads 413L and 413R are arranged on the right side of FIG. 16 of the recording head 412.

When recording is performed by the recording device of the present embodiment, the ink is ejected to the internal region (non-edge portion) by the two recording heads that first eject the slow-penetrating ink. At this time, if the scanning direction of the recording head is the X direction, the recording head 413R and the recording head 413L are used, and if the scanning direction is the -X direction, the 411L and the recording head 411R are used. Then, after that, the super-penetrating ink is ejected from the recording head 412 to perform recording. Further, when recording to the outer peripheral region, among the recording heads that eject slow-penetrating ink, the recording heads arranged behind the scanning direction (411R or 411L in the X direction, 413L or 413R in the -X direction). Ink is ejected from and recorded.

(Seventh Embodiment) Next, the recording by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. The parts configured in the same manner as those in the first to sixth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

In the present embodiment, the color material density of the slow-penetrating ink is made lower than the color material density of the super-penetrating ink. In the outer peripheral region of the recorded image, only the slow penetration ink is recorded. Therefore, a portion that rises beyond the surface of the recording medium is likely to occur. In such a portion, the coloring material on the recording medium may come into contact with a finger or the like, the recorded image may become dirty, and the quality of the recorded image may deteriorate. In addition, when the marker traces the image, the coloring material may be stained by the marker, and the quality of the recorded image may be deteriorated.

Therefore, in order to prevent the color material from rising above the surface of the recording medium in the outer peripheral region, the density of the color material of the slow-penetrating ink recorded in the outer peripheral region is reduced in the present embodiment. This makes it possible to improve the marker resistance and scratch resistance of the outer peripheral portion of the recorded image. The composition of the ink used in this embodiment is as shown below. The ratio of each component is shown in parts by mass (the total of each component is 100 parts by mass).

(Slow penetration ink 2) Pigment dispersion 20 parts by mass 10 parts by mass of glycerin Polyethylene glycol 1000 1 part by mass Acetyleneol E100 (manufactured by Kawaken Fine Chemicals) 0.03 parts by mass Water balance

(Eighth embodiment) Next, the recording by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The parts configured in the same manner as those in the first to seventh embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

In the present embodiment, a case where recording with black ink and recording with color ink are performed in parallel while adopting the ink formed by the ink composition of the seventh embodiment will be described. As described in the fifth embodiment, when the area recorded by the black ink and the area recorded by the color ink are adjacent to each other, the portion in contact with the region is not regarded as an edge portion. In many cases, it is better to use a non-edge part. Also in the present embodiment, the portion where the region recorded by the black ink and the region recorded by the color ink are in contact with each other is recorded as a non-edge portion instead of an edge portion, and not only the slow-penetrating ink but also the super-penetrating portion is recorded. Recording is also performed using ink.

(Ninth Embodiment) Next, the recording by the inkjet recording apparatus according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The parts configured in the same manner as those in the first to eighth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

Also in the present embodiment, a case where recording with black ink and recording with color ink are performed in parallel while adopting the ink formed by the ink composition of the seventh embodiment will be described. When the area recorded by the black ink and the area recorded by the color ink are adjacent to each other as in the fifth embodiment and the eighth embodiment, the edge where the areas are in contact with each other is an edge. It is often better to have a non-edge part instead of a part.

However, in a recording device using slow-penetrating ink having a low colorant density as in the present embodiment, a function of determining whether or not a region recorded by black ink and a region recorded by color ink are adjacent to each other. May be omitted. Normally, when recording is performed using slow-penetrating ink on the edge of the area recorded by black ink in a portion where the black ink recording area and the color ink recording area are adjacent to each other, the slow-penetrating ink becomes black. It may ooze from the side to the color side. Therefore, the sharpness of the black ink often decreases. However, when a slow-penetrating ink having a low colorant density is used as in the present embodiment, the deterioration of the quality of the recorded image is not noticeable when the black ink exudes to the color ink side. Therefore, it is possible to suppress deterioration of the quality of the recorded image when the black ink seeps into the color ink.

(Other embodiments) In the above-described embodiment, an example of recording using a slow-penetrating ink and a super-penetrating ink for black ink as inks of similar colors has been described. The color material density may be different from that of the inks of similar colors, and it is preferable that the color material density of the slow-penetrating ink is lower than the color material density of the super-penetrating ink as described above. Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and recording may be performed using the slow-penetrating ink and the super-penetrating ink for other colors. At this time, recording with the super-penetrating ink may be performed after the recording with the slow-penetrating ink is performed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of performing bidirectional recording has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and unidirectional recording may be used in consideration of the fact that the throughput is lower than that of bidirectional recording. In this case, if the recording head that ejects the slow-penetrating ink is located in front of the recording head that ejects the super-penetrating ink in the scanning direction, the slow-penetrating ink is first with respect to the internal region than the super-penetrating ink. Since it can be discharged, the effect of the present invention can be obtained.

Further, the above-described embodiment has been described with reference to an example in which the recording head scans the recording medium for recording, but the present invention is not limited to this, and recording is performed by relative scanning between the recording head and the recording medium. Anything that can be done is sufficient. That is, the recording medium may move with respect to the recording head. Further, the present invention is not limited to the form in which the recording heads are provided for each ink color as in the above-described embodiment, but the form of one or a plurality of recording heads having a row of ejection ports for ejecting ink for each ink color. It may be.

Further, in the present specification, the term "record" is used not only when forming significant information such as characters and figures, but also regardless of whether it is significant or unintentional. It also represents the case of forming an image, pattern, pattern, etc. on a wide range of recording media, or processing the recording medium, regardless of whether or not it is manifested so that it can be visually perceived by humans. And.

Further, the "recording device" includes a device having a printing function such as a printer, a multifunction printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine, and a manufacturing device for manufacturing an article by using inkjet technology.

The term "recording medium" refers not only to paper used in general recording devices, but also to a wide range of materials such as cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, and leather that can accept ink. Shall be.

Furthermore, "ink" (sometimes referred to as "liquid") should be broadly construed as in the definition of "recording" above. By being applied onto a recording medium, it can be used for forming images, patterns, patterns, etc., processing the recording medium, or processing ink (for example, coagulation or insolubilization of a coloring material in the ink applied to the recording medium). It shall represent a liquid.

201, 202, 203, 301, 302, 401L, 401R, 402, 403L, 403R Recording head 2103, 5103 Edge data 2003, 5003 Non-edge data