Printing apparatus and control method of printing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9665806-B2
Application number	US-201615095372-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 11, 2016
Priority date	Apr 17, 2015
Publication date	May 30, 2017
Grant date	May 30, 2017

Abstract

A printing apparatus of the invention includes a medium information acquisition section that acquires medium information that can specify a type of a print medium, a printing section that discharges print ink to the print medium, a coating section that coats the print medium with precoat liquid before the printing section performs printing, and a coating control section that controls the coating section. The coating control section variably changes an amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area according to the acquired medium information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printing apparatus, comprising:
a medium information acquisition section that acquires medium information that can specify a type of a print medium, the medium information is information that specifies a type of the print medium and a base color of the print medium;
a coating section that coats the print medium with precoat liquid before printing; and
a coating control section that controls the coating section,
wherein the coating control section variably changes an amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area according to the acquired medium information,
wherein, the coating control section determines whether or not the type of the print medium is a high quality paper or a textured base material and whether or not the base color is a chromatic color, according to the acquired medium information;
when the coating control section determines that the type of the print medium is not the high quality paper and the textured base material and the base color is not the chromatic color, the coating control section sets the amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area to a first value or the coating control section does not apply the precoat liquid, and
when the coating control section determines that the type of the print medium is the high quality paper or the textured base material and the base color is the chromatic color, or
when the coating control section determines that the type of the print medium is the high quality paper or the textured base material and the base color is not the chromatic color, or
when the coating control section determines that the type of the print medium is not the high quality paper and the textured base material and the base color is the chromatic color,
the coating control section sets the amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area to a second value larger than the first value.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a print data acquisition section that acquires print data; and
a printing section that discharges print ink to the print medium based on the print data,
wherein the coating control section determines a coating target area, which is an area where the precoat liquid is coated on the print medium, based on the print data.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the coating control section determines a print element area, which is an area where the print ink is coated on the print medium, as the coating target area.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the precoat liquid and the print ink are ultraviolet ray curable ink,
the printing apparatus further includes a curing section that cures the ultraviolet ray curable ink, and
the curing section includes
a first curing section that cures the precoat liquid coated on the print medium before the printing section performs printing, and
a second curing section that cures the print ink coated on the print medium after the printing section performs printing.

5. A printing apparatus, comprising:
a medium information acquisition section that acquires medium information that can specify a type of a print medium;
a coating section that coats the print medium with precoat liquid before printing; and
a coating control section that controls the coating section, the coating control section variably changes an amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area according to the acquired medium information that is information that can specify a wet-spreading property, an absorbing property, and a base color of the print medium, the coating control section determines the presence or absence of the wet-spreading property, the presence or absence of the absorbing property, and whether or not the base color is a chromatic color according to the acquired medium information,
when the coating control section determines that there is the absorbing property or the base color is a chromatic color, the coating control section sets the amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area to a first value,
when the coating control section determines that there is no absorbing property, the base color is not a chromatic color, and there is the wet-spreading property, the coating control section sets the amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area to a second value smaller than the first value, and
when the coating control section determines that there is no absorbing property, the base color is not a chromatic color, and there is no wet-spreading property, the coating control section does not apply the precoat liquid.

6. A control method of printing apparatus, comprising:
acquiring medium information that can specify a type of a print medium and a base color of the print medium; and
coating the print medium with precoat liquid before printing,
wherein a coating section changes an amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area according to the acquired medium information,
wherein,
when the type of the print medium is not the high quality paper and the textured base material and the base color is not the chromatic color, the amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area to a first value or no precoat liquid is applied, and
when the type of the print medium is the high quality paper or the textured base material and the base color is the chromatic color, or
when the type of the print medium is the high quality paper or the textured base material and the base color is not the chromatic color, or
when the type of the print medium is not the high quality paper and the textured base material and the base color is the chromatic color,

the amount of coating of the precoat liquid per unit area is set to a second value larger than the first value.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Akazawa Akira
• Takahashi Toru
• Kasai Tsuneo
• Takeuchi Yasuhiro

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

• G06K15/1823 Primary

  for evaluating the resources needed, e.g. rasterizing time, ink, paper stock · CPC title

• H04N1/00724

  Type of sheet, e.g. colour of paper or transparency · CPC title

• G06K15/021

  Adaptations for printing on specific media · CPC title

• B41J2/2117

  Ejecting white liquids · CPC title