Method and apparatus to compensate for defective nozzle of inkjet image forming device

An apparatus to compensate for a degradation of print image quality due to a defective nozzle included in a printer head of an inkjet image forming device, the apparatus comprising:

• a head vibration unit to move a printer head a predetermined distance in a scanning direction;
• and
• a data adjuster to shift image data to be printed corresponding to nozzles of the printer head in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the printer head by a number of nozzles corresponding to the predetermined moving distance of the printer head.

An image forming apparatus, comprising:

• a printer head comprising a nozzle unit having a plurality of nozzles to eject ink to form an image on a printing medium;
• and
• a defective nozzle compensation unit to compensate for a defective nozzle of the plurality of nozzles by moving the printer head in a first direction to change a position of the defective nozzle with respect to the printing medium, and by shifting image data corresponding to the plurality of nozzles in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

A defective nozzle compensation unit to compensate for a defective nozzle of a printer head, the unit comprising:

• a head vibration unit to move the printer head a predetermined moving distance in a first direction to change a position of the defective nozzle with respect to a printing medium;
• and
• a data adjuster to detect the predetermined moving distance and to shift image data corresponding to nozzles of the printer head in a second direction opposite to the first direction by a number of nozzles corresponding to the detected moving distance.