Printing with cartridge exchange
AssigneeSeiko Epson Corporation
InventorKoichi Otsuki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The printing apparatus of the present invention comprises a print head that has basic-color nozzle arrays and a specific nozzle array disposed in a staggered manner in relation to a black ink nozzle array, which is one of the basic-color nozzle arrays; the specific nozzle array can receive a solution independently of the basic-color nozzle arrays; the solution can be selected from a plurality of solutions (including black ink) by selecting a specific cartridge mounted in a ink feeder; and images can be printed in black and white at a high speed with the aid of the two nozzle arrays (black ink nozzle array and specific nozzle array) by selecting black ink for the solution. Higher picture quality can also be obtained during photographic printing by selecting, for example, a dark yellow ink or a gray ink as the solution.
Claims33
A printing apparatus for ejecting ink drops to form dots on a print medium during main scan, comprising:
- a cartridge mounting section capable of mounting an ink tank set storing four basic-color inks of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and a supplementary cartridge storing a supplementary solution;
- a print head having four basic-color nozzle arrays for ejecting the four basic-color inks, respectively, and a supplementary nozzle array for ejecting the supplementary solution, the four basic-color nozzle arrays including a black ink nozzle array for ejecting the black ink;
- an ink feeder capable of feeding the four basic-color inks to the four basic-color nozzle arrays, while feeding the supplementary solution from the supplementary cartridge to the supplementary nozzle array,
- wherein the ink feeder feeds the supplementary solution independently from the basic-color nozzle arrays;
- the supplementary nozzle array is disposed in a staggered manner in relation to the black ink nozzle array in a sub-scan direction;
- and
- the supplementary solution is selectable from a plurality of types of solutions including the black ink.
A printing method of ejecting ink drops to form dots on a print medium, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a cartridge mounting section capable of mounting an ink tank set storing four basic-color inks of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and a supplementary cartridge storing a supplementary solution;
- (b) providing a print head having four basic-color nozzle arrays for ejecting the four basic-color inks, respectively, and a supplementary nozzle array for ejecting the supplementary solution, the four basic-color nozzle arrays including a black ink nozzle array for ejecting the black ink, the supplementary nozzle array is disposed in a staggered manner in relation to the black ink nozzle array in a sub-scan direction;
- (c) mounting one supplementary cartridge from a plurality of types of solutions including the black ink on the cartridge mounting section;
- and
- (d) feeding the four basic-color inks to the four basic-color nozzle ways, while feeding the supplementary solution from the supplementary cartridge to the supplementary nozzle array independently from the basic-color nozzle arrays.
A printing apparatus for ejecting ink drops to form dots on a print medium during main scan, comprising:
- a cartridge mounting section capable of mounting a black ink tank storing a black ink and a supplementary cartridge storing a supplementary solution;
- a print head having a black ink nozzle array for ejecting the black ink and a supplementary nozzle array for ejecting the supplementary solution;
- an ink feeder capable of feeding the black ink to the black ink nozzle array, while feeding the supplementary solution from the supplementary cartridge to the supplementary nozzle array;
- wherein the ink feeder feeds the supplementary solution independently from the black ink nozzle array;
- the supplementary nozzle array is disposed in a staggered manner in relation to the black ink nozzle array in a sub-scan direction;
- and
- the supplementary solution is selectable from a plurality of types of solutions including the black ink.
A printing method of ejecting ink drops to form dots on a print medium, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a cartridge mounting section capable of mounting a black ink tank storing a black ink and a supplementary cartridge storing a supplementary solution;
- (b) providing a print head having a black ink nozzle array for ejecting the black ink and a supplementary nozzle array for ejecting the supplementary solution, the supplementary nozzle array is disposed in a staggered manner in relation to the black ink nozzle array in a sub-scan direction;
- (c) mounting one supplementary cartridge from a plurality of types of solutions including the black ink on the cartridge mounting section;
- and
- (d) feeding the black ink to the black ink nozzle array, while feeding the supplementary solution from the supplementary cartridge to the supplementary nozzle array independently from the black ink nozzle array.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.