Printer
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorJeffrey A. Nielsen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A printer that includes a multi-colorant print cartridge is described. The printer can determine if a level of a most depleted colorant in the multi-colorant cartridge and a level of a least depleted colorant in the multi-colorant cartridge meet predetermined criteria. The printer can, if the criteria are met, perform a default printing procedure to print the document. The printer can, if the criteria are not met, perform an alternative printing procedure to print the document. The alternative printing procedure uses more of the least depleted colorant to print the document as compared to the default printing procedure.
Claims29
In a printer that includes a multi-colorant print cartridge, a method of printing a document comprising:
- determining if a level of a most depleted colorant in the multi-colorant cartridge and a level of a least depleted colorant in the multi-colorant cartridge meet predetermined criteria;
- if the criteria are met, then performing a default printing procedure to print the document;
- if the criteria are not met, then performing an alternative printing procedure to print the document;
- and
- wherein the alternative printing procedure uses more of the least depleted colorant to print the document as compared to the default printing procedure.
In a printer, a method, comprising:
- (a) receiving a request to print a document;
- (b) comparing a level of a least depleted colorant in a multi-colorant cartridge to a level of a most depleted colorant in the multi-colorant cartridge to determine if the least depleted colorant should be used in place of a second colorant to print pre-selected image elements of the document;
- (c) if the comparing step concludes the least depleted colorant should be used in place of the second colorant, then printing the document in part by using the least depleted colorant to print the pre-selected image elements.
A printer that can use a multi-colorant print cartridge, comprising:
- (a) means for determining if colorant levels in the multi-colorant print cartridge are balanced;
- (b) means for:
- (i) directing the printer to print selected elements of a document using a first colorant if the determining means determines the colorant levels are balanced;
- (ii) directing the printer to print the same selected elements of the document using a least depleted colorant from the multi-colorant print cartridge, in place of the first colorant, if the determining means determines the colorant levels are not balanced.
A printer, comprising:
- (a) a multi-colorant cartridge for supplying cyan (C), magenta (M) and yellow (Y) colorant;
- (b) a single colorant cartridge for supplying black colorant;
- (c) a controller configured, in response to a request to print a document, to:
- (i) determine if the CMY colorant levels are balanced;
- (ii) if the CMY colorant levels are determined to be balanced, then direct the printer to print the document according to a default printing procedure;
- (iii) if the CMY colorant levels are determined not to be balanced, then direct the printer to print the document according to an alternative printing procedure;
- wherein the default printing procedure prints a plurality of elements in the document using the black colorant;
- wherein the alternative printing procedure substitutes, for the black colorant, cyan colorant to print a subset of the elements if the cyan colorant is a least depleted colorant in the multi-colorant cartridge.
A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions embodied therein to cause a processor of a printer that includes a multi-colorant print cartridge to:
- determine if a difference between a level of a most depleted colorant in the multi-colorant print cartridge and a level of a least depleted colorant in the multi-colorant cartridge is below a threshold value;
- if the difference is below the threshold value, then direct the printer to print a document according to a default printing procedure;
- if the difference is not below the threshold value, then direct the printer to print the same document according to an alternative printing procedure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.