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US 2003/0193674 A1Published application
Printing system, printer driver, and printing method
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsHidehiko Kanda, Jiro Moriyama
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AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsHidehiko Kanda, Jiro Moriyama
Estimating the term…
A printing apparatus performs printing by scanning a printhead having an array of printing elements in which a plurality of printing elements are arranged in a predetermined direction, over a printing medium according to control information and image data transmitted from a host apparatus. Setting information designating some of the printing elements to be used for printing in the printing elements in the printhead according to a predetermined printing parameter is transmitted as control information from the host apparatus to the printing apparatus. In the printing apparatus, the printing elements to be used are set according to the setting information. Data to be printed by the printing elements used for printing in correspondence with scanning is generated in the host apparatus and transmitted as image data from the host. The printing apparatus performs printing by driving the set printing elements by the setting means according to the image data during scanning. Control relating settings of printing parameters in the printing apparatus is thus simplified to effectively reduce the capacity of a memory and the number of gates of a logic circuit provided in the printing apparatus. The manufacturing cost and the size of the printing apparatus are thereby reduced.
A printing system comprising:
A printer driver installed in a host apparatus connected to a printing apparatus using a printhead having an array of printing elements in which a plurality of printing elements are arranged in a predetermined direction, said printing apparatus scanning the printhead over a printing medium in a main scanning direction crossing to the predetermined direction, said printer driver transmitting control information and image data to the printing apparatus, said printer driver comprising program codes for executing:
A printing method of performing printing by scanning a printhead having an array of printing elements in which a plurality of printing elements are arranged in a predetermined direction, over a printing medium according to control information and image data transmitted from a host apparatus, said method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
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Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data
Receiving particular commands: receiving job control commands
Receiving job control commands: relating to the printing process
Graphical data reading
Term end not estimated
The present invention relates to a printing system, a printer driver and a printing method and, more particularly, to a printing system including a printing apparatus using a printhead having an array of printing elements in which a plurality of printing elements are arranged in a predetermined direction is scanned over a printing medium in a direction crossing to the predetermined direction to perform printing on the basis of information transmitted from a host. More specifically, the present invention relates to a printing system and a printing method which enable high-speed high-image-quality printing while reducing the manufacturing cost of a printing apparatus by reducing the capacity of a storage means (memory) provided in the printing apparatus.
Various printing methods are presently being known for printing of information. Ink jet printing methods are being widely used for printing apparatuses, copying machines, etc., because they enable printing apparatuses, etc., to be easily designed which operate with a reduced noise level and are reduced in manufacturing cost, in running cost, and in size.
Serial ink jet printing apparatuses have been arranged to perform printing so far in such a manner that main scanning with a printhead and sub scanning by transporting a printing medium are alternately repeated to perform printing of one page. In such printing apparatuses, the printhead has printing elements including ejection openings (nozzles) and ejection energy generating elements for ejecting ink selectively from the nozzles.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet printing apparatus in a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an essential control configuration in a printing system in the first embodiment;
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail in accordance with the accompanying drawings.
In this specification, “print” is not only to form significant information such as characters and graphics, but also to form, e.g., images, figures, and patterns on printing media in a broad sense, regardless of whether the information formed is significant or insignificant or whether the information formed is visualized so that a human can visually perceive it, or to process printing media.
“Printing media” are any media capable of receiving ink, such as cloth, plastic films, metal plates, glass, ceramics, wood, and leather, as well as paper sheets used in common printing apparatuses.