On a sheet of paper on which an image has already been formed, a first registration mark pair and a second registration mark pair are printed. The first registration mark pair and second registration mark pair each consist of a pair of registration marks that are arranged to be spaced apart in a paper-width direction, the second registration mark pair located posterior to the first registration mark pair in the paper-conveying direction. Based on the actual positional relationship between the first registration mark pair and the second registration mark pair that are read by a reading unit, a correction unit corrects discharge data that corresponds to an image formation area located between the first registration mark pair and the second registration mark pair.

A printing method includes printing an image on a sheet with a printhead, detecting an edge of the printed image in a widthwise direction of the sheet, and performing borderless printing, based on the detection result, to make a margin amount in the widthwise direction become not more than a predetermined value so as to prevent the image from being formed outside of the sheet in the widthwise direction.

A method for measuring a liquid droplet includes: setting a translucent sample substrate having formed thereon a measurement target liquid droplet on a measurement table having a surface with a recess, the sample substrate being set on the measurement table in an orientation that a side on a back of the liquid droplet corresponds in position to the recess; applying light to the liquid droplet formed on the sample substrate set on the measurement table, imaging the liquid droplet with an imaging section, and measuring quantities of reflected light from the sample substrate and the liquid droplet with the sample substrate having a thickness larger than a wavelength of the light, and equal to or smaller than a focal length of the liquid droplet; and determining a volume or a surface shape of the liquid droplet using the reflected light quantities measured by the imaging section.

A fluidic die includes an array of nozzles, each nozzle to eject a fluid drop in response to a corresponding actuation signal having an actuation value. The fluidic dies includes nozzle select logic to provide, for each nozzle, a nozzle select signal having a select value or a non-select value, with a select value indicating the nozzle is select to eject a fluid drop, a nozzle displacement register to receive displacement bits, each displacement bit corresponding to a different one of the nozzles and having an enable value or a disable value, a disable value indicating a defective nozzle, and actuation logic, for each nozzle having a corresponding nozzle select signal having a select value, the actuation logic to provide an actuation signal having an actuation value to an operational neighboring nozzle instead of to the selected nozzle when the corresponding displacement bit has a disable value.

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.

A drive waveform acquisition unit that acquires a drive waveform, a drive voltage generation unit that generates the drive voltage, a jetting frequency setting unit that sets a jetting frequency on the basis of drop velocity information representing a relationship between the jetting frequency and a drop velocity in a single-shot, and a drive voltage supply unit that supplies the drive voltage to the jetting head are included. The jetting frequency setting unit sets a jetting frequency at which the drop velocity is a second velocity equal to or less than a first velocity in the drop velocity information as the jetting frequency of the jetting head.

An information processing apparatus includes a processor configured to: acquire physical property information on physical properties of a recording medium and 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; derive an action amount using the physical property information and the setting information, the action amount relating to action of the recording medium applied by the ink ejected onto the recording medium; and output the action amount.

A liquid discharge method of discharging a liquid from a nozzle of a liquid discharge head by applying a drive pulse to a drive element of the liquid discharge head includes an acquisition step of acquiring a discharge characteristic of the liquid from the liquid discharge head, as a recording condition, and a driving step of applying the drive pulse to the drive element. The recording condition includes any of an angle of a discharge direction of the liquid discharged from the nozzle with respect to a reference direction, a drive frequency of the drive element, and an aspect ratio of distribution of the liquid discharged from the nozzle. In the liquid discharge method, in the driving step, the drive pulse that varies depending on the recording condition acquired in the acquisition step is applied to the drive element.

A liquid discharge method of discharging a liquid from a nozzle of a liquid discharge head by applying a drive pulse to a drive element of the liquid discharge head includes an acquisition step of acquiring a state of a dot formed on a recording medium by the liquid discharged from the nozzle, as a recording condition, and a driving step of applying the drive pulse that varies depending on the recording condition acquired in the acquisition step, to the drive element. The drive pulse may include a first potential, a second potential different from the first potential, and a third potential different from the first potential and the second potential. The second potential may be to be applied after the first potential, and the third potential may be to be applied after the second potential.

A liquid discharge method of discharging a liquid from a nozzle of a liquid discharge head by applying a drive pulse to a drive element of the liquid discharge head includes an acquisition step of acquiring a recording condition including a first discharge characteristic and a second discharge characteristic of the liquid from the liquid discharge head, a determination step of determining the drive pulse to be applied to the drive element, based on the recording condition, and a driving step of applying the drive pulse determined in the determination step to the drive element. In the liquid discharge method, in the determination step, the drive pulse is determined by a determination method subjected to weighting in which a weight of the first discharge characteristic is greater than a weight of the second discharge characteristic.