A pagewide array (PWA) print bar of a printing device prints a calibration pattern on a print medium. The print bar is nominally perpendicular to a media advancement direction in which the print medium advances relative to the PWA print bar during printing. An image of the printed calibration pattern is optically scanned, and a skew angle by which the PWA print bar deviates from true perpendicular to the media advancement direction is calculated based on the optically scanned image. The printing device is calibrated to compensate for the calculated skew angle during subsequent printing.

A digital printing machine comprises a cylindrical drum assembly on the rigid printing framework. A cylindrical drum moves along and rotates about its central cylindrical axis and a stationary printing head with multiple nozzles placed proximately above the circumference of the cylindrical drum. The combined linear and rotational movements of the cylindrical drum enable the printing head to create a smooth helical printing trajectory on the flexible fabrics. The cylindrical drum of the digital printing machine also works as a working drum to hold a piece of flexible textile to be printed. A double-side printing mechanism allows the digital printing machine to automatically carry out the second side printing.

A digital printing machine comprises a cylindrical drum assembly on the rigid printing framework. A cylindrical drum moves along and rotates about its central cylindrical axis and a stationary printing head with multiple nozzles placed proximately above the circumference of the cylindrical drum. The combined linear and rotational movements of the cylindrical drum enable the printing head to create a smooth helical printing trajectory on the flexible fabrics. The cylindrical drum of the digital printing machine also works as a working drum to hold a piece of flexible textile to be printed. A double-side printing mechanism allows the digital printing machine to automatically carry out the second side printing.

The present application proposes a printing apparatus, including n printheads arranged along the first direction, each printhead communicating with at least two different inks; a printing medium opposing to the printheads, the printing medium configured to rotate around a rotational axis; a motion controller that controls the motions of the printheads and the printing medium; a printing driver that controls the printing of the printheads; the printing medium being divided into s printing areas along the first direction, such that each printing area is configured to be printed by a printhead, where s and n are positive integers greater than 1. The printing apparatus and printing method proposed in this invention reduce the relative moving distance between the printheads and the printing medium during the printing process by dividing the printing area into multiple printing areas, thereby reducing the overall printing time and increasing the printing speed.

Print unevenness is less likely to occur in the printing of a cylindrical fabric.

A fabric printing method for performing color printing on a surface of a cylindrical fabric by using an inkjet mechanism, wherein either a shaft 20 or a plurality of printheads 31a to 31f constituting the inkjet mechanism, or both, are moved in the length direction X of the shaft 20 while rotating the shaft 20 to thereby perform helical printing on an outer surface of the fabric C to be printed placed on the shaft.

A printing apparatus includes a transfer drum configured to support a transfer member on an outer peripheral surface, a printing unit configured to form an ink image on the transfer member by discharging ink to the transfer member, a pressurizing drum arranged facing the transfer drum and configured to transfer the ink image on the transfer member to a print medium, an axial distance adjusting unit configured to displace a rotation-center axis of the transfer drum with respect to a rotation-center axis of the pressurizing drum, and a supporting unit displaced together with the rotation-center axis of the transfer drum and configured to support the printing unit.

A printing apparatus includes a transfer drum configured to support a transfer member on an outer peripheral surface, a printing unit configured to form an ink image on the transfer member by discharging ink to the transfer member, a pressurizing drum arranged facing the transfer drum and configured to transfer the ink image on the transfer member to a print medium, an axial distance adjusting unit configured to displace a rotation-center axis of the transfer drum with respect to a rotation-center axis of the pressurizing drum, and a supporting unit displaced together with the rotation-center axis of the transfer drum and configured to support the printing unit.

A printer includes a printbar having plural dice partially overlap in the direction of rows and a halftoner. The dice receive nozzle firing data which determines when and where the individual print nozzles are to be operated in order to emit the colorant onto the media so as to form the desired printed image on a media. The halftoner is a bidirectional error diffusion halftoner that is structured to generate halftoned data. The halftoned data is mappable into the firing data. The halftoner includes a serpentine direction reverser which is structured to halftone print data image pixels in a first serpentine direction to form halftoned data and then to halftone print data image pixels in an opposite serpentine direction to form the halftoned data.

A printer includes a printbar having plural dice partially overlap in the direction of rows and a halftoner. The dice receive nozzle firing data which determines when and where the individual print nozzles are to be operated in order to emit the colorant onto the media so as to form the desired printed image on a media. The halftoner is a bidirectional error diffusion halftoner that is structured to generate halftoned data. The halftoned data is mappable into the firing data. The halftoner includes a serpentine direction reverser which is structured to halftone print data image pixels in a first serpentine direction to form halftoned data and then to halftone print data image pixels in an opposite serpentine direction to form the halftoned data.

Bidirectional error diffusion halftoning of data. Pixels are halftoned in one serpentine direction, and pixels are halftoned in an opposite serpentine direction.