US 8,208,174 B2Granted

Reduction of pitch errors between points of a print image

AssigneeFrancotyp-Postalia GmbH

InventorsAxel Kieser, Olaf Turner

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Abstract

In a method and printing device, a deviation from a predetermined desired pitch that occurs between at least two points of at least one print image in a print direction is reduced. In a printing step, the at least one print image is generated on a substrate with at least one print head of the printing device with a relative movement between the at least print head and the substrate. In a determination step preceding the printing step, an initial deviation from a desired pitch between the two points is determined first and correction information to reduce the deviation is determined from the determined initial deviation. In the printing step, control signals for the at least one print head are generated depending on the correction information to generate the at least one print image. A variable delay of at least one of the control signals is predetermined by the correction information.

Claims28

Dependent claims

A method to reduce a deviation from a predetermined desired pitch that occurs between at least two points of at least one print image in a print direction, comprising the steps of:

in a printing step, generating at least one print image, that comprises at least two points, on a substrate with at least one print head of a printing device with a relative movement between the at least one print head and the substrate;
in a determination step preceding the printing step, from an initial image selected from the group consisting of a theoretical image and a test printed image automatically determining an initial deviation in said initial image from a desired pitch between two points in the initial image corresponding to the two points in said print image and, from said initial deviation, automatically determining correction information to reduce the initial deviation from the determined initial deviation;
in the printing step, generating control signals for the at least one print head depending on the correction information to generate the at least one print image;
and
applying a time delay to at least one of the control signals dependent on the correction information that reduces an actual deviation from said desired deviation between said two points in said print image.

2 more elements

A printing device, comprising:

a control device, at least one print head, and a drive device that generates a relative movement between the at least one print head and a substrate to be printed in a print direction;
the control device being configured to control the at least one print head and the drive device to cause at least one print image, comprising at least two points, to be generated on the substrate;
said control device being configured to have access to an electronic representation of an initial deviation in an initial image, selected from the group consisting of a theoretical image and a test printed image, from a desired pitch between two points in the initial image corresponding to the two points in said print image;
the control device being configured to generate control signals for the at least one print head to print the at least one print image that reduce an actual deviation from said desired pitch that occurs between said at least two points of the at least one print image in the print direction, by using said correction information;
and
the control device being configured to apply a time delay to at least one of the control signals dependent on the correction information that reduces said actual deviation.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.