Printing apparatus and voltage control method

Abstract

The present invention provides a printing apparatus and voltage control method that can track instantaneous ON/OFF changes in the printing elements of the printhead and provide a steady voltage supply thereto, as well as restrain the voltage drop attendant upon such rapid load transitions. The present invention controls the drive voltage that drives the printhead including a plurality of printing elements mounted in a printing apparatus by inputting data transmitted from an external device, counting the number of printing elements to be driven, evaluating the extent of the load of the next single print cycle to be applied to the printhead, inputting an evaluation signal indicating the results of that evaluation to a voltage control unit that supplies a controlled voltage so as to drive the plurality of printing elements of the printhead, and adding a compensation voltage that compensates for the load-induced voltage drop that occurs when the printhead is driven.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.