Droplet ejection amounts are adjusted during a process of generating raster data, and this process is realized by a control circuit. The sum total of droplet ejection amounts exceeds 100% as for three nozzles while the sum total of droplet ejection amount is below 100% as for one nozzle, which is repeated at some nozzle numbers. The sum total of droplet ejection amounts is 100% in a normal portion. As such, in the case where this sum total is taken as a reference amount, the sum total of droplet ejection amounts for each raster in a region where overlap printing is performed is sequentially changed to be equal to or greater than the reference amount in the normal region where the overlap printing is not performed, and to be equal to or smaller than the above reference amount.

An ink droplet volume measuring apparatus including: a substrate on which an ink droplet is dropped; a chromatic confocal sensor irradiating light having a plurality of wavelengths to the ink droplet dropped on the substrate and scanning the ink droplet; and a controller calculating a three-dimensional shape of the ink droplet from a signal scanned by the chromatic confocal sensor.

An image processing apparatus includes a generation unit generating a first chart image having a plurality of patches with different tone values, an obtaining unit obtaining measurement values acquired by measuring a test chart created by forming the first chart image on a medium, the measurement values indicating densities of a color material in regions of the test chart corresponding to the respective patches, and a selection unit selecting at least one tone value in a range in which an output characteristic of the image forming apparatus derived based on the tone values of the respective patches and the measurement values satisfies a predetermined condition. The generation unit generates a second chart image having a patch corresponding to the selected tone value included and at least one patch corresponding to the tone value outside the range in which the output characteristic satisfies the predetermined condition is omitted among the patches.

In image forming apparatus, a control unit determines nozzles corresponding to the image to be printed, correspondingly to a position of a print sheet, and causes a recording head to eject ink from the nozzles. A correction processing unit performs a correction process corresponding to each of plural ink ejection malfunction positions in the image. If the number of the ink ejection malfunction positions detected with a predetermined ink droplet size exceeds a predetermined upperlimit value, the correction processing unit prints a test pattern using the control unit with an ink droplet size larger than the predetermined ink droplet size, determines as a preferential ink ejection malfunction position an ink ejection malfunction position that ink ejection malfunction is also detected in the test pattern on the basis of a scanned image of the test pattern, and preferentially performs the correction process for the preferential ink ejection malfunction position.

The disclosure concerns a test apparatus comprising a drum (100) configured such that ink drops (200) deposited on the surface of the drum form a printed marking (210) on the surface of the drum. The test apparatus further comprises an ink removal unit (300) configured to remove ink from the surface of the drum. The drum is at least partially transmissive of light and a light source (800) is disposed inside the drum to controllably illuminate the drum.

A printing apparatus (droplet discharge apparatus) includes a discharge portion that has a nozzle discharging ink to a medium and a control device that allows the discharge portion to discharge the ink depending on execution of a print job defining a mode for discharging the ink to the medium. Before the print job is executed, the control device calculates a discharge amount fluctuation which is a fluctuation in a discharge amount of liquid per unit time by the discharge portion based on the print job and determines whether or not maintenance for recovering ink discharge performance of the discharge portion is required at the time of executing the print job based on the discharge amount fluctuation.

A droplet inspection method using a 2-dimensional (2D) image of a droplet includes ejecting ink onto a substrate based on a preset inspection pattern using an inkjet head, acquiring a 2D image of the droplet of ink ejected to a plurality of positions on the substrate using a measurement camera located on a side surface or above the substrate, and calculating a diameter of the droplet from the 2D image and calculating a volume of the droplet using the calculated diameter of the droplet and a pre-measured contact angle of the substrate for inspection.

A cover member includes two end regions located at two ends in a first direction, and two beam portions which extend in the first direction and connect the two end regions together and which, together with the two end regions, form a single opening that exposes a plurality of discharge ports. When a width of the opening is denoted as a [mm], a minimum length in the first direction of the end regions is denoted as c [mm], a modulus of longitudinal elasticity of the cover member is denoted as E [GPa], and a thickness of the cover member is denoted as t [mm], the following expression is established: $c\frac{10{\left(\frac{a}{25}\right)}^4}{{\left(\frac{t}{0.3}\right)}^3\left(\frac{E}{200}\right)}.$

In an error diffusion process, a control device determines a dot value of a target pixel by using a gradation value of the target pixel, and an error value. The control device determines distribution error value by comparing a gradation dependent value with a first evaluated density value indicating a density of a first dot. The control device determines the distribution error value by using the first evaluated density value when the dot value of the target pixel indicates formation of the first dot and when the gradation dependent value is smaller than or equal to the first evaluated density value. The control device determines the distribution error value by using a modified evaluated density value greater than the first evaluated density value when the dot value indicates formation of the first dot and when the gradation dependent value is greater than the first evaluated density value.

A method and system for printing graphical content onto a plurality of memory devices and for providing a visually distinguishable memory device are provided. In one embodiment, graphical content to be printed onto a plurality of memory devices is identified. A graphical image is then created from the identified graphical content, wherein the graphical image comprises a plurality of sub-areas, wherein each sub-area contains graphical content and corresponds to at least one memory device of the plurality of memory devices. The graphical image is then printed onto the plurality of memory devices, wherein the plurality of memory devices are positioned to substantially correspond with positions of the plurality of sub-areas in the graphical image. Other embodiments are disclosed.