A method includes irradiating printed matter, on which an ink containing a solvent is adhered, with light including a near infrared of a predetermined wavelength range, and measuring a spectrum, and determining a quantity of solvent content contained in the printed matter using a pre-created calibration curve model and the spectrum.

A droplet discharge apparatus includes a control device, a discharge device, and a measuring device. The control device sets conditions for a recording medium or a process using droplets. The discharge device discharges the droplets onto the recording medium. The measuring device measures landing positions of the droplets on the recording medium. The control device calculates a correction amount based on the landing positions, stores the correction amount for each of the conditions, and correct a timing at which the discharge device performs discharge with correction amounts that match the conditions, to correct the landing positions.

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of detecting printhead issues in a printer. The method comprises obtaining an image to be printed, generating a first sub-pattern and a second sub-pattern, wherein the first sub-pattern in a pattern to be printed in a first pass comprising a pattern suitable to enable the detection of a printhead issue and wherein the second sub-pattern is the complementary pattern that completes the first sub-pattern such that printing the first and second sub-patterns is equivalent to printing the obtained image, printing the first sub-pattern on a print target, obtaining an image of the printed first sub-pattern, analysing the image of the printed first sub-pattern to determine the presence of a printhead issue and, where appropriate, performing a printhead maintenance operation, and printing the second sub-pattern on the print target.

A controller for an inkjet printing device is configured to predict a remaining time period until a failure of the nozzle on the basis of a time curve of offset measurement values with regard to the offset of the ink droplets ejected by said nozzle. A compensation measure may be introduced promptly, before the actual failure of the nozzle on the basis of the prediction in order to have the effect that the compensation measure takes effect at latest at the point in time of the failure of the nozzle, and thus an interruption of the print quality may be prevented.

A droplet discharge apparatus includes a plurality of dischargers and a control device. The plurality of dischargers discharge droplets. The control device acquires characteristic values of end portions of areas on which the droplets discharged by the plurality of dischargers land, from a measurement of the end portions. The control device adjusts the plurality of dischargers such that a difference between the characteristic values is within a range.

In a method and system for increasing print quality, activation pulses are activated with which a nozzle of an inkjet printing device to print dots on a recording medium. The activation pulses may be adapted based on sensor data with respect to already printed dots. The method and system can further include an automatic adaptation of the activation pulses to increase print quality even given the presence of soiling at the nozzle.

In a state where a distance from an ejection port surface of an ejection head to a predetermined position corresponds to a first distance, a period detection unit detects a first period from when ejection of a droplet from an ejection port is started until when a droplet detection unit detects the droplet, and in a state where the distance from the ejection port surface of the ejection head to the predetermined position is changed to a second distance by a change unit, the period detection unit detects a second period from when ejection of a droplet from the ejection port is started until when the droplet detection unit detects the droplet, the second distance being different from the first distance. A calculation unit calculates an ejection speed of the droplet, based on the first distance, the second distance, the first period, and the second period.

An information processing apparatus includes a processor configured to: acquire physical property information on physical properties of a recording medium and on physical properties of ink to be ejected onto the recording medium and setting information on a setting of a device configured to eject the ink onto the recording medium, the ink including a first ink and a second ink; derive a feature quantity relating to characteristics of the ink by estimating behavior of a first ink to be ejected onto the recording medium and of a second ink to be ejected to a position adjacent to the first ink ejected, using the physical property information and the information on a setting to derive a feature quantity relating to characteristics of the recording medium; and output the feature quantity.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, first and second detectors, and a corrector. The image forming unit includes first and second image forming units disposed downstream of the first unit in a transport direction of a recording medium and causes the first and second units to form predetermined correction images onto the recording medium. The first detector is disposed downstream of the first unit and upstream of the second unit in the transport direction, and detects the correction image formed by the first unit. The second detector is disposed downstream of the second unit in the transport direction and detects the correction image formed by the second unit. The corrector corrects an image position of the second unit in a width direction of the recording medium by using the correction images formed by the first and second units and detected by the first and second detectors.

An ejection apparatus includes: a first ejection unit configured to eject droplets on a recording medium conveyed in a conveyance direction to form an image for detection; a first detection unit disposed downstream of the first ejection unit and configured to detect the image for detection; a second ejection unit disposed downstream of the detection unit and configured to eject droplets on the recording medium; and a control unit configured to: predict a first elongation amount of the recording medium based on a first difference between a first set time period and a first detection time period from a reference time point to a first detection time point when the image for detection is detected by the first detection unit; and perform delay control on the second ejection unit for delaying an ejection timing of the second ejection unit based on the predicted elongation amount.