A print data creation device creates, from two-dimensional image data, three-dimensional print data to be printed on a thermally distensible sheet. The device includes a processor programmed to receive the two-dimensional image data of prescribed gradations; divide the two-dimensional image data of prescribed gradations into a plurality of density layers that expand to different respective expansion heights when printed on the thermally distensible sheet; create, from the plurality of density layers, an expansion data set having a plurality of layer images to be printed on the thermally distensible sheet; and causes the expansion data set to be output to a printing unit that prints on the thermally distensible sheet.

An image processing method for generating printing data includes correcting, in accordance with a degree of reduction in a dot coverage below a predetermined dot coverage in a region that undergoes printing in an overlapped manner by a first nozzle group and a second nozzle group, at least either of a first sharing ratio for the first nozzle group sharing positions of dots to be formed in an overlapping image region and a second sharing ratio for the second nozzle group sharing positions of dots to be formed to allow a total ratio of the first sharing ratio and the second sharing ratio to exceed 100%, and correcting a color conversion table based on the first sharing ratio and the second sharing ratio, after the correcting of at least either of the first sharing ratio and the second sharing ratio.

A printing apparatus operating as a liquid ejecting device is provided and includes: an inkjet head including a plurality of nozzles, a scanning driver that causes the inkjet head to perform a main scan, and a controller. When an abnormal nozzle is present, the controller causes another nozzle in the vicinity of the abnormal nozzle to eject the liquid of a larger amount than that in a normal time to a part of an ejecting position where the liquid can be ejected by the other nozzle based on a mask prepared in advance, so that an amount of liquid to be ejected at the time of the main scanning direction by the other nozzle becomes larger than that in the normal time. The mask is data specifying the ejecting position to increase an ejection amount of the liquid and an ejection amount to be increased at the ejecting position.

When a correction request is received, a printing correction pattern is printed. Thereafter, a screen prompting to scan the printed correction pattern is displayed. When the scan notification screen is displayed, if the scanning request is received, an image is scanned. Next, the driving information is corrected based on a scanned image. When a particular standby condition is satisfied without the scanning request being received, a process of setting non-completion information is performed. When a particular standby release condition is satisfied without the scanning request is received, a screen corresponding to the satisfied standby release condition is displayed at a particular timing. When the correction request is input when a screen different from the scan notification screen is displayed, information regarding necessity determination of the pattern printing process is received. When the pattern printing process is unnecessary, the notification displaying process is performed without performing the pattern printing process.

In some examples, dynamic threshold based error diffusion may include determining whether a pixel associated with a pattern to be printed includes a lighter tone or a darker tone compared to an adjacent pixel. In response to a determination that the pixel associated with the pattern to be printed includes the lighter tone or the darker tone compared to the adjacent pixel, a firing threshold may be respectively increased or decreased to respectively decrease or increase a likelihood of printing of the pattern.

A recording system for recording a recording image based on image data by repeating a pass operation in which a nozzle column discharges ink while reciprocating relatively to a recording medium in a main scanning direction to form dots on the recording medium, and a conveying operation of relatively moving the nozzle column and the recording medium in a sub-scanning direction crossing the main scanning direction, the recording system including an assigning section for obtaining a plurality of halftone data which is generated with respect to the same area of the image data based on the image data, and which corresponds to the ink of a predetermined color, and then assigning each of the halftone data obtained to the pass operations in the same direction in reciprocation in the main scanning direction in a predetermined recording area.

An ink printing process employs per-nozzle droplet volume measurement and processing software that plans droplet combinations to reach specific aggregate ink fills per target region, guaranteeing compliance with minimum and maximum ink fills set by specification. In various embodiments, different droplet combinations are produced through different printhead/substrate scan offsets, offsets between printheads, the use of different nozzle drive waveforms, and/or other techniques. These combinations can be based on repeated, rapid droplet measurements that develop understandings for each nozzle of means and spreads for expected droplet volume, velocity and trajectory, with combinations of droplets being planned based on these statistical parameters. Optionally, random fill variation can be introduced so as to mitigate Mura effects in a finished display device. The disclosed techniques have many possible applications.

A method for carrying out a printing operation on an inkjet printing machine compensates for failed printing nozzles by using a computer. After a screening process in which a halftone image is created for an image to be printed, failed printing nozzles are compensated for by increased ink application from neighboring printing nozzles by precalculating at least one corrective halftone image for the adjacent printing nozzles by using the computer, replacing the halftone image created in the screening process by the corrective halftone image in the at least one column of the neighboring printing nozzles, and carrying out the printing operation on the inkjet printing machine using the corrected halftone.

A recording head has two or more first nozzle rows from which an ink droplet of a first color is discharged, two or more second nozzle rows from which an ink droplet of a second color is discharged, and two or more third nozzle rows from which an ink droplet of a third color is discharged. In a plurality of nozzle rows from which an ink droplet is discharged on the same line along the relative movement direction, a distance between the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row in the relative movement direction is fixed, and a plurality of distances are present regarding a distance between the first nozzle row and the third nozzle row in the relative movement direction. Concerning an amount-of-ink upper limit that is an upper limit of an amount of ink that is dischargeable per unit area of the print substrate, first printing in which an amount-of-ink upper limit for a combination of the first nozzle row and the third nozzle row is smaller than an amount-of-ink upper limit for a combination of the first nozzle row and the second nozzle row is performed.

Density of each pixel is specified from a test pattern for measurement of density distribution, a density profile indicating distribution of the specified density for each pixel is acquired, and a pixel region including a nozzle of interest having a certain density difference or more from surrounding pixels and pixels on both sides thereof is extracted as a nozzle region of interest from the acquired density profile. Filters B to E, other than a filter A to be applied for density smoothing processing of pixels that do not belong to the nozzle region of interest, are applied for the density smoothing processing of the pixels in the nozzle region of interest, to generate a profile of a density correction value for eliminating a density difference between respective pixels based on the density profile after the smoothing processing.