Ejection control of quality-enhancing ink

A printing method of forming dots on a printing medium to print an image, the printing method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a print unit configured to form the dots on a print medium by ejecting ink droplets of at least one type of colored ink containing a color material and a quality-enhancing ink for enhancing quality of a printed material;
• and
• (b) generating dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel in a printed image to reproduce an image represented by a given image data, by formation of dots in respective pixels with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit, wherein
• the step (b) includes a processing mode configured to make a quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate for pixels belonging to a peripheral area lower than the quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate for pixels belonging to a center area with regard to at least one identical pixel value of the image data, wherein
• the quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate is a dot-recording rate of the quality-enhancing ink;
• the peripheral area is set at end portions of the printing medium;
• the center area is set in a central portion of the printing medium;
• and
• wherein the step (b) further includes
• a color conversion step of converting color in each pixel of the image data into a tone value, the tone value being for expressing the color with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit, and
• a color-quantizing step of generating the dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel, in response to the converted tone value with regard to each pixel of the image data, wherein
• the color conversion step includes a processing mode configured to make a quality-enhancing ink tone value for pixels belonging to the peripheral area lower than the quality-enhancing ink tone value for pixels belonging to the center area with regard to at least one identical pixel value of the image data, and wherein
• the quality-enhancing ink tone value is the tone value of the quality-enhancing ink.

A printing apparatus for forming dots on a printing medium to print an image, the printing apparatus comprising:

• a print unit configured to form the dots on a print medium by ejecting ink droplets of at least one type of colored ink containing a color material and a quality-enhancing ink for enhancing quality of a printed material;
• and
• a dot data generator configured to generate dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel in a printed image to reproduce an image represented by a given image data, by formation of dots in respective pixels with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit, wherein
• the dot data generator includes a processing mode configured to make a quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate for pixels belonging to a peripheral area lower than the quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate for pixels belonging to a center area with regard to at least one identical pixel value of the image data, wherein
• the quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate is a dot-recording rate of the quality-enhancing ink;
• the peripheral area is set at end portions of the printing medium;
• the center area is set in a central portion of the printing medium;
• and
• wherein the dot data generator further includes
• a color converter configured to convert color in each pixel of the image data into a tone value, the tone value being for expressing the color with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit, and
• a color quantizer configured to generate the dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel, in response to the converted tone value with regard to each pixel of the image data, wherein
• the color converter includes a processing mode configured to make a quality-enhancing ink tone value for pixels belonging to the peripheral area lower than the quality-enhancing ink tone value for pixels belonging to the center area with regard to at least one identical pixel value of the image data, and wherein
• the quality-enhancing ink tone value is the tone value of the quality-enhancing ink.

A printing control apparatus for generating print data to be supplied to a print unit to print, the print unit forming dots on a print medium by ejecting ink droplets of at least one type of colored ink containing a color material and a quality-enhancing ink for enhancing quality of a printed material, the printing control apparatus comprising:

• a dot data generator configured to generate dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel in a printed image to reproduce an image represented by a given image data, by formation of dots in respective pixels with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit, wherein
• the dot data generator has a processing mode configured to make a quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate for pixels belonging to a peripheral area lower than the quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate for pixels belonging to a center area with regard to at least one identical pixel value of the image data, wherein
• the quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate is a dot-recording rate of the quality-enhancing ink;
• the peripheral area is set at end portions of the printing medium;
• the center area is set in a central portion of the printing medium;
• and
• wherein the dot data generator further includes
• a color converter configured to convert color in each pixel of the image data into a tone value, the tone value being for expressing the color with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit, and
• a color quantizer configured to generate the dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel, in response to the converted tone value with regard to each pixel of the image data, wherein
• the color converter includes a processing mode configured to make a quality-enhancing ink tone value for pixels belonging to the peripheral area lower than the quality-enhancing ink tone value for pixels belonging to the center area with regard to at least one identical pixel value of the image data, and wherein
• the quality-enhancing ink tone value is the tone value of the quality-enhancing ink.

A computer program product for causing a computer to generate print data to be supplied to a print unit to print, the print unit forming dots on a print medium by ejecting ink droplets of at least one type of colored ink containing a color material and a quality-enhancing ink for enhancing quality of a printed material, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer-readable storage medium;
• and
• a computer program including computer-executable instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium, the computer program comprising:
• a first program for causing the computer to generate dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel in a printed image to reproduce an image represented by a given image data, by formation of dots in respective pixels with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit, wherein
• the first program includes a processing mode configured to make a quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate for pixels belonging to a peripheral area lower than the quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate for pixels belonging to a center area with regard to at least one identical pixel value of the image data, wherein
• the quality-enhancing ink dot-recording rate is a dot-recording rate of the quality-enhancing ink;
• the peripheral area is set at end portions of the printing medium;
• the center area is set in a central portion of the printing medium;
• and
• wherein the computer program further includes
• a second program for causing the computer to convert color in each pixel of the image data into a tone value, the tone value being for expressing the color with the at least one colored ink and the quality-enhancing ink available in the print unit, and
• a third program for causing the computer to generate the dot data representing a state of dot formation at each pixel, in response to the converted tone value with regard to each pixel of the image data, wherein
• the second program includes a processing mode configured to make a quality-enhancing ink tone value for pixels belonging to the peripheral area lower than the quality-enhancing ink tone value for pixels belonging to the center area with regard to at least one identical pixel value of the image data, and wherein
• the quality-enhancing ink tone value is the tone value of the quality-enhancing ink.