Printing information processing system, printing system, printing information processing method and printing method
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsDaigoro Kanematsu, Kentaro Yano, Masao Kato, Minako Kato, Mitsuhiro Ono
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A printing information processing system provided in the present invention calculates the total of printing signal values for printing onto at least one boundary area of the upper and lower adjacent boundary areas included in the upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas formed by print heads, and responding to the magnitude of this total of printing signal values performs correction on the magnitude of the print signal value for printing onto the boundary by the use of the print signal for at least one area of the upper and lower adjacent boundary areas.
Claims25
A printing signal processing apparatus for providing printing signals to a printing apparatus for forming an image on a printing medium, wherein the printing apparatus alternately repeats (i) a primary scanning operation for relatively moving a carriage provided with printing heads corresponding to a plurality of colors over the printing medium in a primary scanning direction and driving the printing heads based on binary printing signals obtained from multi-valued printing signals to form an image on a scanning print area corresponding to an array width of printing elements of the printing heads and (ii) a sub-scanning operation for moving the printing medium relative to the printing heads by an amount corresponding to the array width of the printing elements in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the primary scanning direction to sequentially form an image on a plurality of adjacent scanning print areas in the sub-scanning direction, said printing signal processing apparatus comprising:
- means for calculating a total value of multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in at least one of upper and lower adjacent boundary areas in upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas;
- and
- means for correcting the printing signals for carrying out correction of decreasing multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in which the calculated total value exceeds a threshold value,
- wherein the threshold value corresponding to the pixel depends on the position of the pixel.
A printing signal processing apparatus for providing printing signals to a printing apparatus for forming an image on a printing medium, wherein the printing apparatus alternately repeats (i) a primary scanning operation for relatively moving a carriage provided with printing heads corresponding to a plurality of colors over the printing medium in a primary scanning direction and driving the printing heads based on binary printing signals obtained from multi-valued printing signals to form an image on a scanning print area corresponding to an array width of printing elements of the printing heads and (ii) a sub-scanning operation for moving the printing medium relative to the printing heads by an amount corresponding to the array width of the printing elements in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the primary scanning direction to sequentially form an image on a plurality of adjacent scanning print areas in the sub-scanning direction, said printing signal processing apparatus comprising:
- means for calculating a total value of multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in at least one of upper and lower adjacent boundary areas in upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas;
- and
- means for correcting the printing signals for carrying out correction of decreasing multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in which the calculated total value exceeds a threshold value,
- wherein a smaller threshold value is used in a pixel a shorter distance from a boundary line between the adjacent scanning print areas.
A printing apparatus for alternately repeating (i) a primary scanning operation for relatively moving a carriage provided with printing heads corresponding to a plurality of colors over a printing medium in a primary scanning direction and driving the printing heads to form an image on a scanning printing area corresponding to an array width of printing elements of the printing heads and (ii) a sub-scanning operation for moving the printing medium relative to the printing heads by an amount corresponding to the array width of the printing elements in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the primary scanning direction to sequentially form an image on a plurality of adjacent scanning print areas in the sub-scanning direction, said printing apparatus comprising:
- means for calculating a total value of multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in at least one of upper and lower adjacent boundary areas in upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas;
- means for correcting the printing signals for carrying out correction of decreasing multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in which the calculated total value exceeds a threshold value;
- means for converting the multi-valued printing signals corrected by the means for correcting the printing signals into binary printing signals;
- and
- means for driving the printing heads based on the converted binary printing signals,
- wherein the threshold value corresponding to the pixel depends on the position of the pixel.
A printing apparatus for alternately repeating (i) a primary scanning operation for relatively moving a carriage provided with printing heads corresponding to a plurality of colors over a printing medium in a primary scanning direction and driving the printing heads to form an image on a scanning print area corresponding to an array width of printing elements of the printing heads and (ii) a sub-scanning operation for moving the printing medium relative to the printing heads by an amount corresponding to the array width of the printing elements in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the primary scanning direction to sequentially form an image on a plurality of adjacent scanning print areas in the sub-scanning direction, said printing apparatus comprising:
- means for calculating a total value of multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in at least one of upper and lower adjacent boundary areas in upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas;
- means for correcting the printing signals for carrying out correction of decreasing multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in which the calculated total value exceeds a threshold value;
- means for converting the multi-valued printing signals corrected by the means for correcting the printing signals into binary printing signals;
- and
- means for driving the printing heads based on the converted binary printing signals,
- wherein a smaller threshold value is used in a pixel a shorter distance from a boundary line between the adjacent scanning print areas.
A printing signal processing method for carrying out a printing method of alternately repeating (i) a primary scanning operation for relatively moving a carriage provided with printing heads corresponding to a plurality of colors over a printing medium in a primary scanning direction and driving the printing heads based on binary printing signals to form an image on a scanning print area corresponding to an array width of printing elements of the printing heads and (ii) a sub-scanning operation for moving the printing medium relative to the printing heads by an amount corresponding to the array width of the printing elements in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the primary scanning direction to sequentially form an image on a plurality of adjacent scanning print areas in the sub-scanning direction, said printing signal processing method comprising the steps of:
- calculating a total value of multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in at least one of upper and lower adjacent boundary areas in upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas;
- correcting the printing signals for carrying out correction of decreasing multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in which the calculated total value exceeds a threshold value;
- and
- converting the corrected multi-valued printing signals into the binary printing signals,
- wherein the threshold value corresponding to the pixel depends on the position of the pixel.
A printing signal processing method for carrying out a printing method of alternately repeating (i) a primary scanning operation for relatively moving a carriage provided with printing heads corresponding to a plurality of colors over a printing medium in a primary scanning direction and driving the printing heads based on binary printing signals to form an image on a scanning print area corresponding to an array width of printing elements of the printing heads and (ii) a sub-scanning operation for moving the printing medium relative to the printing heads by an amount corresponding to the array width of the printing elements in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the primary scanning direction to sequentially form an image on a plurality of adjacent scanning print areas in the sub-scanning direction, said printing signal processing method comprising the steps of:
- calculating a total value of multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in at least one of upper and lower adjacent boundary areas in upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas;
- correcting the printing signals for carrying out correction of decreasing multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in which the calculated total value exceeds a threshold value;
- and
- converting the corrected multi-valued printing signals into the binary printing signals,
- wherein a smaller threshold value is used in a pixel a shorter distance from a boundary line between the adjacent scanning print areas.
A printing method of alternately repeating (i) a primary scanning operation for relatively moving a carriage provided with printing heads corresponding to a plurality of colors over a printing medium in a primary scanning direction and driving the printing heads to form an image on a scanning print area corresponding to an array width of printing elements of the printing heads and (ii) a sub-scanning operation for moving the printing medium relative to the printing heads by an amount corresponding to the array width of the printing elements in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the primary scanning direction to sequentially form an image on a plurality of adjacent scanning print areas in the sub-scanning direction, said printing method comprising the steps of:
- calculating a total value of multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in at least one of upper and lower adjacent boundary areas in upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas;
- correcting the printing signals for carrying out correction of decreasing multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in which the calculated total value exceeds a threshold value;
- converting the corrected multi-valued printing signals into binary printing signals;
- and
- driving the printing heads based on the converted binary printing signals,
- wherein the threshold value corresponding to the pixel depends on the position of the pixel.
A printing method of alternately repeating (i) a primary scanning operation for relatively moving a carriage provided with printing heads corresponding to a plurality of colors over a printing medium in a primary scanning direction and driving the printing heads to form an image on a scanning print area corresponding to an array width of printing elements of the printing heads and (ii) a sub-scanning operation for moving the printing medium relative to the printing heads by an amount corresponding to the array width of the printing elements in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the primary scanning direction to sequentially form an image on a plurality of adjacent scanning print areas in the sub-scanning direction, said printing method comprising the steps of:
- calculating a total value of multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in at least one of upper and lower adjacent boundary areas in upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas;
- correcting the printing signals for carrying out correction of decreasing multi-valued printing signal values for all colors corresponding to a pixel in which the calculated total value exceeds a threshold value;
- converting the corrected multi-valued printing signals into binary printing signals;
- and
- driving the printing head based on the converted binary printing signals,
- wherein a smaller threshold value is used in a pixel a shorter distance from a boundary line between the adjacent scanning print areas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.