An image inspection device includes: an inspection condition setting unit for setting, as an inspection condition, a determination criterion when detecting a defective image; an imaging unit that performs capturing a print image and outputs a captured image obtained by the capturing; and a defective image detection unit that detects a defective image from the captured image on the basis of the inspection condition. The inspection condition setting unit is configured to be able to set, as the inspection condition, first parameter values and second parameter values that are two different determination criteria. The defective image detection unit performs first detection processing of detecting a defective image from the captured image on the basis of the first parameter values and second detection processing of detecting a defective image from the captured image on the basis of the second parameter values.

A method of printing an image using a printing system having first and second printheads supplied with a same ink. The method includes the steps of: allocating first lines of the image to the first printhead; allocating second lines of the image to the second printhead; dithering the first lines of the image using a selected first dither mask; dithering the second lines of the image using a selected second dither mask; printing the dithered first lines of the image using the first printhead; and printing the dithered second lines of the image using the second printhead. The first and second dither masks are selected based on a relative alignment of the first and second printheads.

A control unit determines nozzles corresponding to the image to be printed and causes a recording head to eject ink from the nozzles. A correction processing unit performs a correction process corresponding to each of ink ejection malfunction positions in the image. The correction processing unit (a) prints a test pattern using the recording head, (b) determines the ink ejection malfunction positions on the basis of a scanned image of the test pattern, (c) determines a droplet hit position deviation amount of the ink at each of the ink ejection malfunction positions, and (d) determines a print sheet type of the print sheet, performs comparison between the droplet hit position deviation amount and a threshold value set for the print sheet type, and determines whether the correction process should be performed to the ink ejection malfunction position or not on the basis of a result of the comparison.

In an image forming apparatus, a correction processing unit prints a test pattern using a recording head, determines ink ejection malfunction positions on the basis of a scanned image of the test pattern, sets one of first and second correction modes for each of the ink ejection malfunction positions in accordance with a density of the ink ejection malfunction position on the basis of the scanned image, and performs the correction process for the ink ejection malfunction position in the set first or second correction mode. In the first correction mode, the correction process is performed for both a nozzle corresponding to the ink ejection malfunction position and an adjacent nozzle of the nozzle. In the second correction mode, the correction process is not performed for the nozzle corresponding to the ink ejection malfunction position but is performed for the adjacent nozzle.

A recording method for using a line-type recording apparatus to scan a recording medium with a plurality of line heads once for recording, the line heads having a width greater than or equal to the recording width of the recording medium, the method including a treatment liquid deposition step of depositing a treatment liquid containing a coagulant on the recording medium, and an ink deposition step of ejecting a coloring ink composition from the line heads to deposit the coloring ink composition on the recording medium, wherein in the ink deposition step an identical coloring ink composition is ejected from a first line head placed on the upstream side in the transport direction perpendicular to the width direction of the recording medium and from a second line head placed on the downstream side in the transport direction.

A pretreatment liquid for inkjet recording contains a photobase generator that produces an organic amine compound through light exposure. An inkjet recording apparatus forms an image on an image formation area of a recording medium. The inkjet recording apparatus includes a pretreatment section, a light exposure section, and a recording head. The pretreatment section ejects the pretreatment liquid for inkjet recording toward the image formation area of the recording medium. The light exposure section performs light exposure on the image formation area of the recording medium to which the pretreatment liquid for inkjet recording has been ejected. The recording head ejects an ink toward the image formation area of the recording medium subjected to the light exposure to form the image.

To enable highly accurate density unevenness correction while suppressing a reduction in productivity in printing accompanying correction value calculation for density unevenness correction. Based on an image obtained by scanning a chart including patches having uniform density for each tone value, a density characteristic of each nozzle is acquired. A non-ejectable nozzle that cannot eject ink normally is detected by analyzing a pattern for detecting the non-ejectable nozzle in the image obtained by scanning the chart. At the time of acquiring the density characteristic, the density characteristic is acquired based on a density measured value of an area of the image, which corresponds to a nozzle that is not detected as the non-ejectable nozzle.

A recording apparatus includes a liquid ejection unit that moves in a first direction relative to a medium and eject liquid, and a control unit that controls the liquid ejection unit. The liquid ejection unit includes a plurality of nozzles arranged in a direction different from the first direction and configured to eject the liquid, the control unit forms, by using a first nozzle of the nozzles, a first pattern with a first length in the first direction, the control unit forms, by using two or more nozzles different from the first nozzle, a second pattern including an image arrangement in which images are arranged so as to be displaced in a step-like manner in the first direction and a second direction different from the first direction, a region on the medium where the second pattern is formed has a second length in the first direction, and the first length is greater than the second length.

There is provided image formation method for forming image on medium by discharging liquid from head having nozzles arranged in first direction and actuators corresponding respectively to the nozzles. The method includes: discharging the liquid onto the medium from the nozzles by applying first voltage to the actuators while performing relative displacement between the head and the medium in second direction intersecting the first direction; and applying second voltage higher than the first voltage to actuator, of the actuators, corresponding to correction nozzle, based on information identifying discharge defect nozzle being a nozzle, of the nozzles, unable to discharge the liquid normally, the correction nozzle being a nozzle, of the nozzles, adjacent to the discharge defect nozzle in the first direction.

A setting device for a print engine is configured to cause the print engine to print a specific image including a first image to be printed using first nozzles of a first head unit and a second image to be printed using second nozzles of a second head unit, receive relative position information determined based on the printed specific image, the relative position information including information indicating a positional deviation amount in a specific direction between the first nozzles and the second nozzles, and set, based on the relative position information, use nozzles to be used for printing and non-use nozzles not to be used for printing among the first nozzles and the second nozzles within a range in which a first range where the first nozzles are located and a second range where the second nozzles are located overlap with each other.