Printing apparatus, printing system, and method for manufacturing printed material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9387696-B2
Application number	US-201514642575-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 9, 2015
Priority date	Mar 11, 2014
Publication date	Jul 12, 2016
Grant date	Jul 12, 2016

Abstract

A printing apparatus includes a plasma processing unit that processes a surface of a processing object by using plasma; a recording unit that forms a first-color image on the surface of the processing object by inkjet recording, the surface being plasma-processed by the plasma processing unit, and forms a second-color image to be superimposed on the first-color image by the inkjet recording; and an adjusting unit that adjusts a plasma energy amount that is to be applied to the processing object according to the second-color image.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printing apparatus comprising:
a plasma processing unit that processes a surface of a processing object by using plasma;
a recording unit that forms a first-color image on the surface of the processing object by inkjet recording, the surface having been plasma-processed by the plasma processing unit, and forms a second-color image to be superimposed on the first-color image by the inkjet recording; and
an adjusting unit that adjusts a plasma energy amount that is to be applied to the processing object according to the second-color image.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the plasma processing unit acidifies at least the surface of the processing object.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a reading unit that reads the second-color image recorded by the recording unit; and
an analysis unit that analyzes the second-color image read by the reading unit, wherein
the adjusting unit adjusts the plasma energy amount according to a result of the analysis of the analysis unit.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a reception unit that receives an input from a user, wherein
the adjusting unit adjusts the plasma energy amount according to the input received by the reception unit.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the second-color image has a color of which luminosity is lower than luminosity of a color of the first-color image.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the first-color image has a color of yellow or white, and
the second-color image has a color different from the color of the first-color image.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
an ink ejected to the surface of the processing object by the recording unit is an ink where negatively charged pigments are dispersed in a liquid.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
an ink ejected to the surface of the processing object by the recording unit is an aqueous pigment ink.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the recording unit forms the second-color image in a region that is an inner portion of the first-color image and is an inner side separated from an outer edge of the first-color image.

10. The printing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the analysis unit analyzes at least one of a dot circularity, a dot diameter, and a deviation of concentration of pigments in the second-color image read by the reading unit.

11. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the second-color image is a dot pattern where singular dots or plural dots are two-dimensionally arranged or a line pattern where plural dots are arranged in a line shape.

12. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the plasma processing unit comprises a discharging electrode, and
the adjusting unit adjusts the plasma energy amount by adjusting at least one of amplitude or time width of a voltage pulse applied to the discharging electrode.

13. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the plasma processing unit comprises a plurality of discharging electrodes, and
the adjusting unit adjusts the plasma energy amount by changing the number of driving discharging electrodes among the plurality of the discharging electrodes.

14. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a transporting unit that transports the processing object from the plasma processing unit through the recording unit to the reading unit, wherein
the adjusting unit adjusts the plasma energy amount that is to be applied to the processing object by adjusting a transport speed of the processing object.

15. The printing apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a control unit that controls the recording unit to print an original image that is a printing object; and
a determination unit that determines whether a region where the second-color image is superimposed on the first-color image exists in a dot arrangement pattern of the original image, wherein
the reading unit reads the second-color image of the region that is determined by the determination unit.

16. The printing apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein
the determination unit determines whether the region where the second-color image is superimposed on the first-color image exists in a process of forming the dot arrangement pattern of the original image.

17. The printing apparatus according to claim 15 , further comprising:
an addition unit that adds the dot arrangement pattern where the second-color image is superimposed on the first-color image in the original image, as a result of the determination of the determination unit, when the region where the second-color image is superimposed on the first-color image does not exist in the original image, wherein
the reading unit reads the second-color image of the arrangement pattern added by the addition unit.

18. The printing apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein
the determination unit determines whether the region where the second-color image is superimposed on the first-color image exists within a predetermined range from a distal portion of the original image, and
the addition unit adds the dot arrangement pattern where the second-color image is superimposed on the first-color image within the predetermined range from the distal portion of the original image when the determination unit determines that the region does not exist within the predetermined range from the distal portion of the original image.

19. A printing system comprising:
a plasma processing device that processes a surface of a processing object by using plasma; and
a recording device that forms a first-color image on the surface of the processing object by inkjet recording, the surface having been plasma-processed by the plasma processing device, and forms a second-color image to be superimposed on the first-color image by the inkjet recording, wherein
the printing system comprises an adjusting unit that adjusts a plasma energy amount that is to be applied to the processing object according to the second-color image.

20. A method for manufacturing a printed material where an image is formed on a processing object in an inkjet recording manner, comprising:
processing a surface of the processing object by using plasma;
forming a first-color image on the surface of the processing object by the inkjet recording, the surface having been plasma-processed;
forming a second-color image to be superimposed on the first-color image by the inkjet recording;
adjusting a plasma energy amount that is to be applied to the processing object according to the second-color image; and
printing an original image that is a printing object on the processing object that is plasma-processed with the adjusted plasma energy amount.

Assignees

• Hiratsuka Hiroyuki
• Nagai Koji
• Katoh Satoshi
• Saitoh Haruki
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hiratsuka Hiroyuki
• Nagai Koji
• Katoh Satoshi
• Saitoh Haruki

Classifications

• B41J11/0015 Primary

  for treating before, during or after printing or for uniform coating or laminating the copy material before or after printing (selective coating B41J2/2114) · CPC title

• B41M5/0011

  Pre-treatment or treatment during printing of the recording material, e.g. heating, irradiating (after-treatment of prints B41M7/00; printers for treating or overcoating copy materials before, during or after printing B41J11/0015) · CPC title