This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 164,547/1997 filed Jun. 20, 1997 and Japanese Patent Application No. 167,473/1998 filed Jun. 15, 1998, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method in which ink dot adheres to the printing medium to form a character or an image, and especially relates to an ink-jet printing apparatus and an ink-jet printing method equipped with a plurality of printing modes according to different printing quality.
Heretofore, an ink-jet printing method is favorable for low noise, low running cost, downsizing with ease, and coloring with ease.
A color ink-jet printing method performs color printing by being equipped with three primary color inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) or four kinds of these three primary color inks and black (B).
In the conventional ink-jet printing method, it is preferable to use an especial paper having an ink absorption layer for forming an image without bleeding between inks.
Recently, by improving ink, a method which has the printing properties of a general paper used in large quantities by a copier, and the like, has been made for practical use.
However, printing quality according to a general paper has been still inadequate, because ink adherent to printing medium bleeds. Therefore, it is difficult to similarly get image quality between printing for a general paper and printing for an especial paper.
Judging from the use of a printing apparatus, it is desirable that both printing modes are compatible by using the same printing apparatus. Namely, one printing mode is faster printing velocity in spite of lower printing quality and the other printing mode is higher printing quality in spite of slower printing velocity.
Therefore, to improve printing quality, Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 63-254050 proposes a method in which multi-pass printing performs different scanning according to each of adjacent boundary dots. However, this multi-pass printing method has a defect in the increase of the number of scannings to decrease printing velocity.
There is a method which proposes high printing quality by improving printing resolution. For example, 360 dpi (dot per inch) is higher printing resolution than 180 dpi and 720 dpi is higher printing resolution than 360 dpi to improve printing quality. However, the high resolution printing method has a defect in which data content increases and data transmission velocity decreases to decrease printing velocity.
To improve above defect, there is a compressed data transmission method. This method performs processes in which a host computer compresses data for transferring and the compressed data is transferred from the host computer to a printing apparatus and then the compressed data is developed. However, this compressed data transmission method, for effectively performing compression and development, has a defect in which original data cannot be perfectly reproduced to deteriorate data itself.
As mentioned above, in the conventional ink-jet printing method, each of methods performs the improvement of printing quality and the high speed process of printing velocity. However, printing quality and printing velocity cannot be relative to data transmission velocity.
For example, when a printing apparatus receives high resolution data for the improvement in printing quality, it relatively takes long transmission time. As a result, a printing head of the printing apparatus stops and waits during receiving time to deteriorate the efficiency of the printing system as a whole.
Further, in the multi-pass printing method performing printing by thinning dot for printing to complementarily print at several scannings, as above, the waiting state of the printing head generates the fluctuation in printing density to deteriorate printing quality.
An object of the present invention is to decrease a waste of time in the printing system by obtaining the most suitability of printing data formation, data transmission, and printing operation in accordance with printing modes according to a plurality of printing velocities.
As a result, a primary object of the present invention is to provide printing apparatus and printing method, which are able to keep the balance of printing quality in a printing system in which both data transmission velocity and printing velocity are relative to each other, thereby improving the efficiency of the printing system as a whole.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus performing printing on a printing medium by controlling the driving of a printing head according to received data,
the apparatus comprising:
distinction means for distinguishing data compression rate of the received data;
mode selection means for selecting a printing mode according to slow printing velocity when the data compression rate is low and selecting a printing mode according to fast printing velocity when the data compression rate is high; and
control means for setting the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode.
In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus performing printing on a printing medium by controlling the driving of a printing head according to received data,
the apparatus comprising:
distinction means for distinguishing information content per unit area of the received data;
mode selection means for selecting a printing mode according to slow printing velocity when the information content per unit area is large and selecting a printing mode according to fast printing velocity when the information content per unit area is small; and
control means for setting the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode.
In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method performing printing on a printing medium by controlling the driving of a printing head according to received data,
the method comprising the steps of:
distinguishing data compression rate of the received data;
selecting a printing mode according to slow printing velocity when the data compression rate is low and controlling the driving of the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode to perform printing on the printing medium; and
selecting a printing mode according to fast printing velocity when the data compression rate is high and controlling the driving of the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode to perform printing on the printing medium.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method performing printing on a printing medium by controlling the driving of a printing head according to received data,
the method comprising steps of:
distinguishing information content per unit area of the received data;
selecting a printing mode according to slow printing velocity when the information content per unit area is large and controlling the driving of the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode to perform printing on the printing medium; and
selecting a printing mode according to fast printing velocity when the information content per unit area is small and controlling the driving of the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode to perform printing on the printing medium.
In a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing controlling system transferring data from a host apparatus to a printing apparatus, and performing printing on a printing medium by controlling the driving of a printing head of the printing apparatus,
the system printing the data including predetermined data compression rate on the printing medium by moving the printing head at printing velocity according to selected printing mode,
wherein
the host apparatus comprising:
mode selecting means for selecting printing mode according to data compression rate and printing velocity of the printing head;
the printing apparatus comprising:
receiving means for receiving the data including predetermined data compression rate according to the selected printing mode; and
control means for setting the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode.
In a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing controlling system transferring data from a host apparatus to a printing apparatus, and performing printing on a printing medium by controlling the driving of a printing head of the printing apparatus, the system printing the data including predetermined information content per unit area on the printing medium by moving the printing head at printing velocity according to selected printing mode,
wherein,
the host apparatus comprising:
mode selection means for selecting printing mode according to information content per unit area and printing velocity of the printing head;
the printing apparatus comprising:
receiving means for receiving the data including predetermined information content per unit area; and
control means for setting the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode.
In a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing medium memorizing a program for controlling the driving of the printing head of a printing apparatus,
the program comprising the steps of:
distinguishing data compression rate of the data transferred from a host apparatus to the printing apparatus;
selecting a printing mode according to slow printing velocity when the data compression rate is low and controlling the driving of the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode to perform printing; and
selecting a printing mode according to fast printing velocity when the data compression rate is high and controlling the driving of the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode to perform printing.
In an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing medium memorizing a program for controlling the driving of the printing head of a printing apparatus,
the program comprising the steps of:
distinguishing information content per unit area of the data;
selecting a printing mode according to slow printing velocity when the information content per unit area is large and controlling the driving of the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode to perform printing; and
selecting a printing mode according to fast printing velocity when the information content per unit area is small and controlling the driving of the printing head at printing velocity according to the selected printing mode to perform printing.