A liquid ejection device includes: a liquid ejection unit with an ejection port surface provided with an ejection port from which liquid is ejected and configured to eject the liquid onto a substrate at an ejection position; an image capturing mechanism configured to face the ejection port surface of the liquid ejection unit and to capture an image of the ejection port surface at a maintenance position different from the ejection position; and a lighting unit configured to irradiate the ejection port surface at multiple incidence angles with respect to the ejection port surface in an operation of capturing an image of the ejection port surface by the image capturing mechanism.

A method analyzes image data of a test pattern printed on an image receiving member by a printer to identify split inkjets in the printheads of the printer. The test pattern is formed by operating each inkjet of a printhead to form a dash and the areas of the dashes are compared to an average dash area to identify split inkjets. Firing signal parameters for the split inkjets are adjusted and subsequent firing signals are generated using the adjusted parameters. Image data of the pixels formed by the split inkjets are analyzed after the split inkjets have been operated using the adjusted firing signal parameters. If the pixel size for a split inkjets indicates that the split inkjet has been remediated, then the firing signal parameters are returned to their nominal values.

An example method of purging filler fluid from a printhead of a printing device includes applying a plurality of energy levels to a resistor coupled to the printhead. In addition, the method includes determining a temperature profile of a fluid within the printhead while applying the plurality of energy levels. Further, the method includes characterizing the fluid based on the temperature profile.

A system and method for determining the operational status of a nozzle in an inkjet printhead having a piezoelectric actuator configured to cause the ejection of ink through the nozzle, the system comprising: a driving circuit configured to apply a driving signal to the piezoelectric actuator during a first time period; and a sensing circuit configured to measure the current within the piezoelectric actuator as a function of time during a second time period after the first time period; wherein the system is configured to determine the operational status of the nozzle in dependence on the time taken for the measured current to reach a predetermined condition during the second time period, or on the slope of the measured current as a function of time during the second time period.

An ink jet printer includes a transporting section configured to transport continuous paper in a transport direction, an ink jet head forming a nozzle array having a plurality of nozzles aligned in the transport direction, a cutting section configured to cut the continuous paper in an intersecting direction, and a controller configured to control the transporting section, the ink jet head, and the cutting section. The controller causes the ink jet head to form, on the continuous paper, a first image and a second image that are adjacent to one another in the transport direction, causes a nozzle among the nozzles aligned in the nozzle array to form a test pattern in a region between the first image and the second image, and causes the cutting section to cut the continuous paper to separate, from the continuous paper, the inter-image region in which the test pattern was formed.

A system comprises a printhead including a nozzle, a temperature sensor and a processor. The temperature sensor detects the temperature of a location of a print surface upon firing the nozzle to eject a drop of printing fluid to the location of the print surface. The processor determines whether the nozzle ejected the drop properly using the detected temperature.

An inkjet printing apparatus includes: a stage, which reciprocates in forward and reverse directions opposite to each other and has a target substrate disposed thereon; an inspection device including a film disposed outside the stage and a measurement unit which measures an inspection pattern provided on the film; and a head assembly, which moves along one direction crossing the forward direction and has a plurality of heads which supplies a liquid composition to the target substrate. The head assembly moves in the one direction to overlap the film and sprays the composition onto the film to form an inspection pattern.

Provided are a control unit that predicts the life of an inkjet head unit and maximizes its life to be used, and a substrate treating apparatus including the same. The control unit performs maintenance of an inkjet head unit for discharging a substrate treatment liquid onto a substrate and comprises a count module for counting the number of discharges for each nozzle of the inkjet head unit, a comparison module for comparing the number of discharges with a reference value to determine whether the number of discharges is equal to or greater than the reference value, and an evaluation module for evaluating whether a life of the inkjet head unit has reached a usable life based on whether the number of discharges of each nozzle is equal to or greater than the reference value.

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a liquid discharge portion configured to discharge a liquid from a nozzle provided in a nozzle surface and move in a X-axis direction, and a detection portion configured to detect a liquid droplet adhering to the nozzle surface, including an irradiating portion configured to radiate irradiation light along the nozzle surface in an irradiating direction intersecting the scanning direction, and a light receiving portion configured to receive the irradiation light radiated from the irradiating portion, in which in the liquid droplet detection of detecting the liquid droplet, the liquid discharge portion moves in the X-axis direction on a −Z direction side of the detection portion in a state where the irradiating portion is caused to radiate the irradiation light.

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a recording device and a recording controller. The recording controller alternately performs a main scanning control and a sub-scanning control. The main scanning control controls discharging liquid while moving the recording device and a recording medium relative to each other in a main scanning direction. The sub-scanning control controls the recording device to discharge the liquid from at least two recording elements of the recording device, in accordance with at least two times of the main scanning control performed at positions on the recording medium in a sub-scanning direction. The recording device discharges the liquid, within a range in the sub-scanning direction corresponding to a position of the recording head. The recording controller performs the main scanning control for discharging the liquid based on discharge order mask patterns different from each other in a plurality of regions in the main scanning direction.