Fast building of masks for use in incremental printing

A method of preparing and using a mask for incremental printing;

• said method comprising the steps of:
• automatically selectively applying a first condition that introduces randomness into a mask to be produced;
• automatically selectively applying a second condition that introduces determinism into the mask to be produced;
• automatically selecting a balance between the first condition and the second condition to adjust the relative degree of randomness and determinism in the printmask to be produced;
• then automatically using, or storing for later use, the produced mask.

A method of preparing and using a mask for incremental printing;

• said method comprising the steps of:
• for each pixel position in a mask to be prepared, determining a multiplicity of numerical weighting values that respectively represent relative acceptability of inking in a particular inkdrop plane with respect to each of a multiplicity of operating conditions or other nearby positions;
• and
• consolidating the multiplicity of numerical weighting values to determine substantially a single numerical weighting value that represents overall relative acceptability of inking at said pixel position in the particular inkdrop plane.

A method of preparing and using a mask for incremental printing;

• said method comprising the steps of:
• evaluating the potential use of certain print nozzles for inking at a particular pixel position in a mask to be prepared;
• and
• taking into account the results of the evaluating step in determining relative acceptability of inking that particular pixel position, in a particular inkdrop plane, to prepare the mask.

A method for generating and employing masks for use in incremental printing, using a self-standing input text file of mask constraints, and also using a mask-generating control algorithm;

• said program comprising the steps of:
• automatically reading the self-standing input text file to accept such constraints;
• automatically accepting any definition of a mask-generating modular control algorithm that applies said mask constraints;
• automatically generating a mask, under control of a printmask-generating modular control algorithm;
• automatically operating the defined mask-generating modular control algorithm to apply the mask constraints and thereby control the mask-generating step;
• and
• automatically forwarding the generated mask for use, or for storage and later use, in a printer or a printer driver for operating the printer to print images.

A method for generating and employing masks for use in incremental printing, using a self-standing input text file of mask constraints, and also using a mask-optimizing control algorithm;

• said program comprising the steps of:
• reading the self-standing input text file to accept such constraints;
• applying the accepted constraints to generate a mask;
• accepting any definition of a mask-optimizing modular control algorithm that receives said generated mask as an input and reprocesses said received mask to substantially optimize it for image quality;
• operating the accepted mask-optimizing modular control algorithm to reprocess said received mask to substantially optimize it for image quality;
• and
• forwarding the optimized mask for use, or for storage and later use, in a printer or a printer driver for operating the printer to print images.