Printer and method with media gloss and color determination

Abstract

A printer responds to a media gloss measurement for improved color printing. The printer includes a gloss meter, a controller, and a print engine. The gloss meter includes a solid body having a source tube and a reflection tube each being integral within the body. An LED in the source tube illuminates a reference surface at an angle of incidence. A photo sensor in the reflection tube responds to a first reference spectral reflection from the surface at an angle of reflection equal to the angle of incidence. When a sheet of media is registered by the printer against the reference surface, the photo sensor responds to a second spectral reflection from the media. The ratio of second to first spectral reflection intensities is compared to a selected threshold to identify the media by gloss level. When motion of the media is resumed, the media wipes the reference surface to maintain the accuracy of gloss measurements. The angle of incidence is less than thirty degrees for discriminating among media having low gloss characteristics.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.