In a liquid discharge apparatus, a head unit includes a plurality of print heads, and a housing that houses the print heads, in which a first print head in the plurality of print heads includes a substrate that includes a first side, a second side, a first surface, and a second surface, a first nozzle plate, a first integrated circuit that is provided on the first surface, that outputs an abnormality signal indicating presence or absence of abnormality of the first print head, a first flexible wiring substrate that is electrically coupled to the substrate, and a second integrated circuit that is provided on the first flexible wiring substrate, the second integrated circuit is located between the first nozzle plate and the substrate, and the substrate is provided so that the first surface faces downward and the second surface faces upward in a direction along a vertical direction.

A liquid discharge head includes an individual liquid chamber having a nozzle through which a liquid is discharged in a liquid discharge direction, a piezoelectric element facing the individual liquid chamber, a first groove adjacent to the piezoelectric element in a nozzle array direction, a dummy individual liquid chamber without any nozzle, a dummy piezoelectric element facing the dummy individual liquid chamber, and a second groove adjacent to the dummy piezoelectric element in the nozzle array direction. The first groove extends in the liquid discharge direction. The second groove has a shorter length in the liquid discharge direction than the first groove.

An image forming apparatus includes: a piezoelectric element with a common electrode on one side and an individual electrode on another side; a nozzle; and circuitry. The circuitry selects one from drive signals and supplies the one drive signal to the piezoelectric element via the individual electrode, to discharge a droplet through the nozzle to form an image. Each drive signal includes waveform pulses including a main pulse that rises in a slope shape during a rising time and finishes rising at an end time. The circuitry generates the drive signals so that the end time of a less influential drive signal other than a most influential drive signal falls within a range of the rising time of the main pulse of the most influential drive signal; selects the one drive signal based on an image to be formed; and supplies the one drive signal to the piezoelectric element.

According to one embodiment, a control circuit for an inkjet head or the like includes an input circuit configured to receive drive information for driving liquid ejection from a plurality of nozzle arrays. The drive information includes a drive signal value to be supplied to a channel of the plurality of nozzle arrays. A latch circuit array of the control circuit has latch circuits for storing the drive information for each array in the plurality of nozzle arrays. A setting register is configured to receive a setting value to configure the input circuit to correspond to a connection mode for the plurality of latch circuits. The setting value corresponds to the number of arrays in the plurality of nozzle arrays.

An inkjet printing apparatus includes a printing unit having ejection parts, each configured to eject ink by using a piezoelectric element to be displaced in response to a change in electric potential. The inkjet printing apparatus also includes a circulation unit, a determination unit, and a control unit. The circulation unit executes ink circulation in a circulation path inclusive of the printing unit. The determination unit ejects the ink from each ejection part, detects residual vibration generated at an ejection part due to ink ejection, and determines an ejection state of ink ejection at the ejection part based on the detected residual vibration. The inkjet printing apparatus determines a printing state of ink ejection in the printing unit based on the ejection state. The control unit causes the determination unit not to make the ejection state determination in parallel with causing the circulation unit to execute the ink circulation.

A printer is configured to provide a stream of extraction gas that extracts a printing fluid from a printing nozzle. An electrode produces an electric field that accelerates the extracted printing fluid toward a printing substrate. The printer can be configured to selectively turn the electric field and the stream of extraction gas off and on to enable printing in a gas-extraction mode, an e-assisted gas-extraction mode, or an e-jet mode. The stream of gas can be provided by a second nozzle concentric with the printing nozzle, and the electrode can be part of the second nozzle. A third nozzle can discharge a focusing gas around the extracted printing fluid.

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 liquid discharge device includes: a piezoelectric element to which a drive voltage is applied; a nozzle from which a liquid is to be discharged in accordance with a change of the drive voltage; and circuitry configured to: generate: a first drive waveform including first multiple pulses switchable at first switch timings; and a second drive waveform including second multiple pulses different from the first multiple pulses switchable at second switch timings, at least one the first switch timings of the first multiple pulses of the first drive waveform and at least one of the second switch timings of the second multiple pulses of the second drive waveform are the same; select first selected pulses from the first multiple pulses in the first drive waveform; and select second selected pulses from the second multiple pulses in the second drive waveform.

A liquid ejecting system includes a head unit that includes a pressure chamber, a drive element driven by an applied drive waveform, a vibration plate that vibrates by drive of the drive element, and a nozzle through which a liquid is ejected by a pressure applied in the pressure chamber by vibration of the vibration plate, and an input portion to which an input parameter for detecting an ejection failure of the liquid based on residual vibration of the vibration plate is input from a server through a network connection portion.