Recording apparatus, recording method, storage medium having a program stored thereon, and computer system that perform ejection operations using nozzles with a predetermined pitch

A recording apparatus for forming dots on a medium, comprising:

• a head having a plurality of nozzle groups, each of said nozzle groups having a plurality of nozzles that are arranged with a predetermined nozzle pitch;
• wherein said recording apparatus forms said dots on said medium by repeating alternately an ejection operation in which a liquid is ejected from said nozzles and a carry operation in which the medium is carried using a predetermined carry amount with respect to said head;
• wherein a distance between two nozzles that eject the liquid adjacently and that belong to different ones of said nozzle groups is equal to a sum of an integral multiple of said carry amount and said predetermined nozzle pitch;
• wherein there is a nozzle between said two nozzles that does not eject said liquid;
• wherein a nozzle at one end of said plurality of nozzles that are arranged does not eject said liquid;
• wherein said recording apparatus is capable of performing recording using different recording modes;
• wherein the nozzles that eject the liquid differ for different ones of said recording modes;
• wherein a spacing of said dots formed on said medium differs for different ones of said recording modes;
• wherein a number of the nozzles that form a single raster line differs for different ones of said recording modes;
• wherein the distance between said two nozzles is equal to a sum of an even multiple of said carry amount and said nozzle pitch;
• wherein said head comprises three or more of said nozzle groups, and a number of the nozzles that eject said liquid is equal between at least two of said nozzle groups;
• wherein said two nozzle groups are provided adjacent to each other in a direction in which said medium is carried;
• wherein when a spacing of the dots formed on said medium is D, said nozzle pitch is k·D, a number of said nozzles that are allowed to eject said liquid is N, and the carry amount is F,
• N and k are coprime, and
• F=ND;
• wherein when a single raster line is formed by M nozzles,
• N/M is an integer,
• N/M and k are coprime, and
• F=(N/M)·D;
• and
• wherein the distance between said two nozzles is equal to a sum of an integral multiple of a value obtained by multiplying said carry amount by k nozzle pitch.

A storage medium for storing a program for controlling a recording apparatus, comprising:

• a storage medium for storing said program;
• wherein said recording apparatus includes a head having a plurality of nozzle groups;
• wherein each of said nozzle groups has a plurality of nozzles that are arranged with a predetermined nozzle pitch;
• and
• wherein said program
• makes said recording apparatus form said dots on a medium by repeating alternately an ejection operation in which a liquid is ejected from said nozzles and a carry operation in which the medium is carried using a predetermined carry amount with respect to said head, and
• makes said recording apparatus perform said ejection operation such that a distance between two nozzles that eject the liquid adjacently and that belong to different ones of said nozzle groups is equal to a sum of an integral multiple of said carry amount and said predetermined nozzle pitch.

A system for forming dots on a medium comprising:

• a main computer unit;
• and
• a recording apparatus;
• wherein said recording apparatus includes:
• a head having a plurality of nozzle groups, each of said nozzle groups having a plurality of nozzles that are arranged with a predetermined nozzle pitch, and
• forms said dots on said medium by repeating alternately an ejection operation in which a liquid is ejected from said nozzles and a carry operation in which the medium is carried using a predetermined carry amount with respect to said head;
• and
• wherein a distance between two nozzles that eject the liquid adjacently and that belong to different ones of said nozzle groups is equal to a sum of an integral multiple of said carry amount and said predetermined nozzle pitch.