Method and apparatus for improved printing
AssigneeRaster Graphics, Inc.
InventorDonald R. Billet
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to controlling an ink jet printing device during an interleaved, or overlap, mode of operation. Ink jet nozzles which would normally be inoperative during a given pass of the print head are selectively activated to compensate for nozzles determined to be inoperative.
Claims15
Method for controlling ink jet nozzles of a printing device as the nozzles scan at least once over a printing medium to print at least one band on the printing medium, comprising the steps of:
- identifying functional and malfunctional ones of the ink jet nozzles in the printing device;
- and
- controlling outputs of the functional ink jet nozzles in the printing device to compensate for malfunctional ink jet nozzles, wherein none of the functional ink jet nozzles are disabled to compensate for the malfunctional ink jet nozzles, and wherein non-compensatory nozzle output and compensatory nozzle output from the functional ink jet nozzles both occur during at least one of the at least one scans;
- storing information for controlling the functional ink jet nozzles in a look-up table;
- scanning the printing device over the printing medium at least once;
- and
- regenerating the information stored in said look-up table for each scan of said printing device over the printing medium.
Apparatus for controlling ink jet nozzles of a printing device as the nozzles scan at least once over a printing medium to print at least one band on the printing medium, comprising:
- a user interface for storing information regarding ones of the ink jet nozzles determined to be malfunctional and displaying information which identifies the malfunctional ink jet nozzles;
- and
- a print device controller for controlling outputs of functional ones of the ink jet nozzles of the printing device based on the information stored in the user interface to compensate for the malfunctional ink jet nozzles, wherein none of the functional ones of the ink jet nozzles are disabled to compensate for the malfunctional ink jet nozzles, and wherein non-compensatory nozzle output and compensatory nozzle output from the functional nozzles both occur during at least one of the at least one scans;
- and
- at least one look-up table for storing a mask used by the printing device controller to control said ink jet nozzles during a given scan of the print device over a the printing medium, wherein the mask stored in the lookup table is regenerated for each of the at least one scans.
A printing system comprising:
- at least one print head having ink jet nozzles for printing ink onto a printable medium as the nozzles scan at least once over the printable medium;
- a user interface for storing information regarding ones of the ink jet nozzles determined to be malfunctional and displaying information which identifies the malfunctional ink jet nozzles;
- and
- a print device controller for controlling outputs of functioning ones of the ink jet nozzles based on the information stored in the user interface to compensate for the malfunctional ink jet nozzles in such a way that none of the functional ink jet nozzles are disabled to compensate for the malfunctional ink jet nozzles, and noncompensatory nozzle output and compensatory nozzle output from the functional ink jet nozzles both occur during at least one of the at least one scans;
- and
- at least one look-up table for storing a mask used by the printing device controller to control said ink jet nozzles during a given scan of the print device over a the printing medium, wherein the mask stored in the lookup table is regenerated for each of the at least one scans.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.