Printing apparatus and printing method

A printing apparatus comprising:

• a control unit configured to execute an (n−1)-th image processing and an n-th image processing that is next to the (n−1)-th image processing, each of the (n−1)-th image processing and the n-th image processing including division and combination of image data, n being a positive integer and 2 or more,
• acquiring (n−1)-th image data as a target of the (n−1)-th image processing and n-th image data as a target of the n-th image processing,
• generating an (n−1)-th upper image having a horizontal lower side and an (n−1)-th lower image having a horizontal upper side for the (n−1)-th image data by dividing the (n−1)-th image data by a first horizontal line,
• generating an n-th upper image having a horizontal lower side and an n-th lower image having a horizontal upper side for the n-th image data by dividing the n-th image data by a second horizontal line different from the first horizontal line,
• generating combined image data having a horizontal upper side and a horizontal lower side by combining the (n−1)-th lower image of the (n−1)-th image data, which is generated by the dividing of the (n−1)-th image data in the (n−1)-th image processing, to the upper side of the n-th upper image of the n-th image data, which is generated by the dividing of the n-th image data in the n-th image processing, and
• causing the printing unit to execute printing based on the combined image data;
• and
• a printing unit configured to perform printing on a printing medium based on the combined image data after the n-th image processing;
• a transport unit configured to transport clothing fabric that is the printing medium where a pattern is formed;
• and
• an imaging unit configured to image the clothing fabric transported by the transport unit, wherein
• based on a comparison between first image data representing the pattern and second image data generated by the imaging of the clothing fabric by the imaging unit, the control unit extracts a pattern region in the second image data corresponding to the pattern,
• the control unit corrects third image data representing an image to be printed overlapping the pattern so that the third image data matches a shape of the pattern region, and
• the corrected third image data is set as a target of the n-th image processing.