Method for user alignment of a color printer
US6164749A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 17, 1997 |
| Grant date | Dec 26, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 17, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB41J2/2135
- WIPO fieldTextile and paper machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A semi-automatic, user-interactive solution to a color printer's inter-pen misalignment is described. Plural test patterns are printed using two or more possibly misregistered color pens, and the operator selects the best, or a preferred, alignment pattern. The operator's choice of pattern is entered into the ink-jet printer's controller and adjustment, e.g. offset, data are stored by the controller in a non-volatile memory device to be used in subsequent printing to better align the misaligned color pens. Importantly, the test patterns use a linear hash-mark from one of the separate pens, e.g. black (K), and adjacent thereto a color combination from plural others of the separate pens, e.g. yellow (Y) and cyan (C), to produce alignment patterns that are readily visible to the operator. In accordance with the preferred method, an alignment pattern includes a background patch of visible ink, e.g. cyan, and a foreground linear hash-mark of `invisible` ink, e.g. yellow. Alternatively, the alignment pattern may include a background patch of visible ink, e.g. cyan, and a foreground patch minus the linear hash-mark, of `invisible` ink, e.g. yellow. In either case, a plural-color target or…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.