EP0657849A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for colour inkjet printing using a colourless precursor
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1994-11-21
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-11-21
Abstract
Abstract A multi-color ink-jet printing system includes a printing element (20) for applying a precisely metered quantity of a colorless precursor in a binary or ternary chemical reaction to a precisely defined printing location on a recording medium surface (13). The precursor conditions the medium surface (13) prior to application of one or more colorants (12, 14, 16, 18) to the recording medium surface (13) to prevent recording medium cockle and curl, and to reduce dry time, while conditioning the recording medium surface (13) for uniform dot gain independent of media composition. The precursor also immobilizes the colorants on the recording medium surface (13) to enable one-pass, multi-color printing, while eliminating color bleed.
Inventors
- 👤 Ross R. Allen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 00:58
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K15/00; G06K15/02; G06K15/10; G06K15/102; G06K15/105; B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/21; B41J2/2107; B41J2/2114; B41M; B41M5/00; B41M5/0011; B41M5/0017; B41J19/00; B41J19/14; B41J19/142; G06K2215/00; G06K2215/0082; G06K2215/0094; G06K2215/101; G06K2215/111
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
127 words
In a multi-color ink jet printer having a separate printer (12, 14, 16, 18) for applying each ink color, a method for applying binary or ternary ink jet ink chemistry to a recording medium surface (13), comprising the steps of: applying a colorless precursor to said recording medium surface (13) at each pixel location on said recording medium surface using a separate printer (20) to condition the recording medium surface prior to application of colored ink to said pixel location; and applying a complementary colored ink to each conditioned pixel location; wherein said precursor and said complementary colored ink react, thereby confining the ink to the pixel location defined by said precursor and thereby immediately immobilizing said colored ink at said pixel location to prevent color bleed.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: detecting when said precursor is exhausted or when only a small quantity of said precursor remains; and switching said printer into a conventional multipass, tiling mode in response thereto to minimize color bleed.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
69 words
The method according to any of the previous claims, further comprising the steps of: performing at each pixel location a logical-OR on data in a printer swath memory (30) among the primary printing colors to determine which pixels are to be printed on said recording medium surface (13); and applying said precursor to each recording medium surface (13) location at which a primary color pixel is to be printed.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
69 words
The method according to any of the previous claims, further comprising the steps of: determining when a colored ink pixel (40) appears within the boundary of a larger precursor pixel (41), which larger precursor pixel contains more than one of the smaller colored pixels; and applying said precursor at a lower resolution than that of said colored ink in a location that includes the colored pixel to be recorded.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
25 words
The method according to any of the previous claims, further comprising the steps of: applying said precursor with two separate printers to enable bidirectional printing.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
139 words
In a multi-color ink jet printer having a separate printer for applying each ink color, an apparatus for applying binary or ternary ink jet ink chemistry to a recording medium surface, especially according to the method of any of the previous claims, comprising: a first printer (20) for applying a colorless precursor to said recording medium surface (13) at each pixel location on said recording medium surface to condition the recording medium surface prior to application of colored ink to said pixel location; and at least a second printer (12, 14,16, 18) for applying a complementary colored ink to each conditioned pixel location; wherein said precursor and said complementary colored ink react, thereby confining the ink to the pixel location defined by said precursor and thereby immediately immobilizing said colored ink at said pixel location to prevent color bleed.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
60 words
The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said first printer (20) applies a precisely determined quantity of said precursor to said recording medium surface (13) at each pixel location; and wherein said precursor conditions each pixel location to print a spot having a predetermined size and thereby provide constant, media-independent spot size from application of complementary colored ink or inks.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
81 words
The apparatus according to either of claims 6 and 7, further comprising: a precursor reservoir; a detector for sensing when said precursor is exhausted or when only a small quantity of said precursor remains in said precursor reservoir; and a switch for switching said printer into a conventional multipass, tiling mode when said detector senses that said precursor is exhausted or when only a small quantity of said precursor remains in said precursor reservoir to thereby minimize color bleed and cockle.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
88 words
The apparatus according to any of claims 6 to 8, further comprising: a printer swath memory (30) for storing print data corresponding to pixel locations; a logic element (31, 32) for performing at each pixel location a logical-OR on data stored in said printer swath memory to determine which pixels are to be printed on said recording medium surface (13); and means for operating said first printer to apply said precursor to each recording medium surface location at which a primary color pixel spot is to be printed.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
61 words
The apparatus according to any of claims 6 to 9, further comprising: means for determining when a colored ink pixel appears within the boundary of a larger precursor pixel and; means for operating said first printer to apply said precursor at a lower resolution than that of said colored ink in a location that includes the colored pixel to be recorded.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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