Canon Production Printing Holding B.V.

A printer apparatus for recording images having matt portions and glossy portions and a print method for recording images having matt portions and glossy portions onto a porous media are disclosed. The method involves locally applying a support layer and subsequently applying an image portion on top of the support layer.

Deformation is reduced or prevented in a printed print medium during steam treatment by a print medium treatment device for a printer. The print medium treatment device includes a steam treatment unit for treating a first side of a print medium with steam, the steam treatment unit including a steam generator connectable to a steam chamber; and a conveyor for transporting the print medium through the steam chamber. The conveyor includes a holding device for engaging a second side of the print medium opposite the first side, such that the print medium is flattened against the conveyor.

A method for a UV curable printer comprising a medium support surface for supporting the print media, a print head assembly for ejecting droplets of structure ink, white ink and colored ink forming a relief print on the print media and a print controller for controlling the printing of the relief print in layers, each layer to be deposited in a predetermined plurality of passes of the print head assembly over the medium support surface. The print controller receives a print job comprising a color image with color information per pixel comprising a color per pixel which is intended to be achieved by depositing the colored ink, and a height image with height information per pixel comprising a height per pixel which is intended to be achieved by depositing a plurality of elevation layers of structure ink. The print controller determines besides the plurality of elevation layers at least one reflective layer of white ink and at least colored layer of colored ink to form the color image. The print head assembly subsequently printing the plurality of elevation layers, the at least one white layer and the at least one color layer. The print controller creates a last in time elevation layer intended to be printed in the predetermined plurality of passes, wherein the last in time elevation layer is formed by droplets of structure ink having a fixed coverage per pixel in a last pass of the last in time elevation layer.

A method for a UV curable printer comprising a medium support surface for supporting the print media, a print head assembly for ejecting droplets of structure ink, white ink and colored ink forming a relief print on the print media and a print controller for controlling the printing of the relief print in layers. Each layer is deposited in a predetermined plurality of passes of the print head assembly over the medium support surface. The print controller receives a print job comprising a color image with color information per pixel comprising a color per pixel which is intended to be achieved by depositing the colored ink, and a height image with height information per pixel comprising a height per pixel which is intended to be achieved by depositing a plurality of elevation layers of structure ink. The print controller determines besides the plurality of elevation layers at least one anti-contouring layer of structure ink to prevent contouring artefacts and at least colored layer of colored ink to form the color image. The print head assembly subsequently prints the plurality of elevation layers, the at least one anti-contouring layer and the at least one color layer. The print controller creating a last in time elevation layer intended to be printed in the predetermined plurality of passes, wherein the last in time elevation layer is formed by droplets of structure ink and white ink.

A printing system and a method for printing a test chart by the printing system having a media input holder, a media output holder, a print engine and a print controller. The method includes receiving print data of a print job to be printed by the printing system, establishing a job type of the print job, upon establishing the job type to be a test chart type, establishing media properties of the print job, determining a first amount of empty sheets for the test chart which sheets have the established media properties and are suitable to serve as backing sheets for the test chart in a further analysis of the test chart when printed, the print engine producing the test chart by printing the print data of the print job on a sheet having the established media properties transported from the media input holder to the print engine, receiving the printed sheet in the media output holder, and automatically depositing the determined first amount of empty sheets before or after the printed sheet in the same media output holder, wherein the first amount of empty sheets is automatically transported from the media input holder to the media output holder.

A method determines the positional deviations of nozzles in a printhead array using only a single test pattern and performs steps of: printing a test pattern, whereby preferably neighboring nozzles jet non-simultaneously; sensing the test pattern to determine an array of detected droplet positions; determining an array of nominal nozzle positions based on the detected droplet positions and their respective jetting times; determining a common rotation deviation parameter corresponding to a rotation of the printhead array with respect to a scanning direction based on the detected droplet positions; transforming the array of nominal nozzle positions to compensate for the common rotation deviation parameter; and determining positional deviations of nozzles in the printhead array by comparing the transformed array of nominal nozzle positions to a reference.

A method for generating print files for a 3 D object to be printed in layers on top of each other by means of a 3 D printer, the method comprising the steps of a) determining the print files from data input including an intended geometry and color information, b) simulating a print process using a thin-film equation to predict a geometry of the 3 D object to be printed, c) updating the print files based on a deviation between a geometry predicted by the simulation and the intended geometry included in the data input, and d) repeating steps b) and c) until a required accuracy of the predicted geometry is achieved.

An ink supply system is described for supplying a print bar of an inkjet printing device with ink. The ink supply system includes an ink reservoir to hold ink, as well as an intermediate container that is connected in a fluid-conducting manner with the ink reservoir via a conduit. The intermediate container is configured to buffer ink for the operation of the print bar. The ink supply system also includes a negative pressure pump that is configured to produce a negative pressure in the intermediate container so that ink is conveyed, by the negative pressure, from the ink reservoir into the intermediate container via the conduit.

An ink reservoir to hold ink for an inkjet printing device is described. The ink reservoir has an extraction opening that is designed for connection of a conduit for the extraction of ink from the ink reservoir. The ink reservoir has a machine-readable code. The ink reservoir is designed such that the code is damaged if the extraction opening is accessed in order to be able to connect a conduit to the extraction opening, and/or if a conduit is connected to the extraction opening.

A print job includes a color image, a height image with height information per pixel of the color image and a gloss image with gloss information per pixel of the color image. A print head assembly subsequently prints elevation layers, anti-contouring layers, white layers, at least one color ink layer and at least one overcoat layer on the print media. A print controller creates multiple inverse anti-contouring layers. Each pixel value of the multiple inverse anti-contouring layers is a complementary value of the corresponding pixel in the anti-contouring layers with respect to a maximum of ink pixels determined to be printed on top of each other in the anti-contouring layers. The print head assembly prints the multiple inverse anti-contouring layers between the at least one color ink layer and the at least one overcoat layer.