A method and apparatus for collecting sample data from a liquid droplet dispensation system is provided.

Disclosed is an apparatus for detecting liquid discharge characteristics according to an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus including: a liquid supply unit supplying a liquid; a liquid guide unit including a flow path through which the liquid supplied from the liquid supply unit passes and a nozzle mounting portion communicating with the flow path and on which the nozzle is mounted and guiding the liquid supplied from the liquid supply unit to the nozzle mounted on the nozzle mounting portion; a lighting unit projecting light onto the liquid passing through the flow path inside the liquid guide unit; and a camera obtaining an image of the liquid discharged from the nozzle by being arranged toward the nozzle.

Herein is described a method involving a drop detector. The method may comprise: ejecting ink drops from the nozzles on a printhead toward a drop detector. A drop characteristic may then be determined from the drop detector for each ink-jet nozzle. Drop characteristics for the nozzles across the printhead may be collated into a data set, and compared with a predetermined data set for a printhead having predetermined print behaviour to determine if and how the data sets differ in terms of the pattern of drop characteristics across the printheads. If the data sets differ, a recovery strategy may be selected based how the data sets differ in terms of the pattern of drop characteristics across the printheads. A system and computer readable medium are also described herein.

A fluid dispenser calibration system includes a fluid dispenser having a plurality of nozzles, a balance having a balance surface, and a mask positioned between the fluid dispenser and the balance surface. A nozzle pitch is a distance between two adjacent nozzles. The balance measures mass of fluid dispensed from a single nozzle and measures a change in mass on the balance surface. The balance surface has a linear dimension that is greater than the nozzle pitch. The mask includes an aperture and a catch region. The aperture allows fluid dispensed from the single nozzle to impact the balance surface. The catch region catches fluid dispensed from remaining nozzles in the plurality of nozzles.

A droplet analysis unit capable of measuring and digitizing the meniscus shape, motion, and position of ink droplets and a substrate treatment apparatus including the droplet analysis unit are provided. The substrate treatment apparatus includes: a process treatment unit supporting a substrate while the substrate is being treated; an inkjet head unit treating the substrate by ejecting a substrate treatment liquid onto the substrate using a plurality of nozzles; a gantry unit moving the inkjet head unit over the substrate; and a droplet analysis unit measuring a meniscus in each of the nozzles that is associated with the substrate treatment liquid, wherein the droplet analysis unit measures and quantifies three-dimensional (3D) information regarding the meniscus.

Methods and apparatus are described herein for measurement of droplets dispensed from a printhead of an inkjet printer onto a substrate. An inkjet printer described herein comprises a printhead assembly comprising a printhead and an imaging system, the imaging system comprising a camera and a strobed LED source; and a deposition unit for positioning a substrate to receive droplets dispensed from the printhead and for imaging the droplets using the imaging system and the strobed LED source. Methods described herein comprise dispensing droplets of a liquid from a printhead of a printhead assembly of an inkjet printer onto a substrate; positioning the substrate with respect to an imaging system coupled to the printhead assembly, the imaging system comprising a camera and an LED light source; and imaging the droplets on the substrate by relatively scanning the substrate and the imaging system and strobing the LED light source.

A post-processing device includes a first discharge unit, a processing tray, an end alignment portion, a transport unit that comes into contact with an upperface of a medium placed on the processing tray and transports the medium to the end alignment portion, a position changing unit that changes the relative position of the transport unit with respect to the processing tray, a controller, and a post-processing unit that performs a post-process on the medium on the processing tray, wherein the position changing unit is configured to move the transport unit to a transport position to which the medium is transported and a standby position farther away from the processing tray than the transport position, wherein the controller changes the standby position based on the processing information related to the process performed on the medium, and wherein the processing information includes information about a process performed on the first medium.

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.

A printing system is disclosed. The printing system includes at least one physical memory device to store calibration logic and one or more processors coupled with the at least one physical memory device to execute the calibration logic to receive a reference halftone design, receive reference ink drop size data, receive a reference printer transfer function corresponding to the reference halftone design, a reference printer response target and a reference print substrate, receive first print measurement data corresponding to the reference halftone design, the reference printer transfer function and a first print substrate, receive first printer response target, generate a first intermediate print substrate transfer function based on the first print measurement data and the first printer response target, generate a first printer transfer function based on the first intermediate print substrate transfer function, the reference halftone design, the reference ink drop size data and the reference printer transfer function and generate a first print substrate transfer function as an approximation of a function with input values determined as the first printer transfer function evaluated at digital count values and output values determined as the composition of the first intermediate print substrate transfer function and the reference printer transfer function evaluated at the digital count values, wherein a transfer function comprises a mapping of an input digital count to an output digital count.

A printing device includes: a printer, which to include a plurality of nozzles; a discharge detection sensor configured to detect an amount of ink discharged from the plurality of the nozzles; and a nozzle combination calculator configured to determine a final nozzle combination for each pixel column on a substrate based on discharge rates of the plurality of the nozzles, where the nozzle combination calculator includes: an average value calculator configured to set a usable nozzle group for each pixel column of the substrate among the plurality of the nozzles; and a nozzle combination determiner configured to determine the final nozzle combination corresponding to each pixel column by using a moving average value of nozzle discharge rates of the nozzle group set for each pixel column.