Patent · US Expired

Printing method and a printing apparatus

US6491373B1 · kind B1 · utility

21Cited by
9References
28Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 17, 2000
Grant dateDec 10, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 10, 2021

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N1/4051
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Deterioration in image quality is caused by deviation in dot forming positions between rasters in the case of carrying out printing of adjoining two rasters. The rasters are printed by two columns of ejection openings array disposed on an ink-jet head. To suppress image quailty deterioration, the two columns of ejection openings are shifted from each other by a half of a pitch at which the ejection openings are arranged in the column. When allocating input image data quantized into multi-valued levels to 2×2 dot array as pseudo half-tone processing before printing, the mutually different plural dot arrangements are applied concerning each level of the input image data, and the plural dot arrangements are cyclically changed in the main scanning direction according to predetermined rules, and also equalization processing for equalizing the number of said adjoining the two raster dots is properly performed in the one cycle. Thus, differences in a covering ratio of the printing medium with formed dots can be put to 10% or less in a range where the adjoining two rasters are deviated from each other by at least ±2 pixels in the scanning direction.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.