| US 7,483,045 B2 | ||
| Printing apparatus | ||
| Motoyoshi Maetani, Iwade (Japan); and Naoki Kamikawa, Iwade (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Noritsu Koki Co., Ltd., Wakayama-Shi, Wakayama (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Apr. 11, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/402,205. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2005-119639 (JP), filed on Apr. 18, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0232618 A1, Oct. 19, 2006 | ||
| Int. Cl. B41J 2/42 (2006.01); B41J 2/385 (2006.01); B41J 2/47 (2006.01); B41J 2/435 (2006.01); G03G 15/01 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 347—154 [347/116; 347/130; 347/234; 347/248; 399/301] | 5 Claims |

| 1. A printing apparatus comprising:
an exposure head on which a plurality of light amount control sections are arranged in a main scanning direction, wherein
a test chart is created by the relative movement between the exposure head and a photosensitive material in a sub scanning
direction that is perpendicular to the main scanning direction and by controlling the light amount control sections of the
exposure head based on set exposure data during the relative movement,
a scanner for acquiring scanning data by scanning the test chart,
correction data generating means by which correction data for the light amount control sections is generated based on the
scanning data and stored in a correction table, and
test printing means for creating the test chart on the photosensitive material by performing exposure based on the exposure
data,
wherein a code portion indicating a type of the photosensitive material is formed on the test chart, and
a table setting routine that is provided in the correction data generating means performs a photosensitive material specifying
process for specifying the type of the photosensitive material by extracting the code portion from the scanning data, a density
data acquiring process for specifying a plurality of pixel lines corresponding to the plurality of light amount control sections
from among the scanning data and acquiring density data for each of the pixel lines, and a correction data storing process
for generating the correction data based on the density data that has been acquired in the density data acquiring process
and storing the generated correction data in the correction table in association with the type of the photosensitive material
that has been specified in the photosensitive material specifying process; and
wherein the test printing means creates a plurality of said test charts each having the code portion, by setting a plurality
of sheets of the photosensitive material having a width shorter than an exposable area in the main scanning direction of the
exposure head, at different positions in the main scanning direction of the exposure head, and performing exposure based on
the exposure data, and
the correction data generating means creates a single test chart by acquiring densities of pixel lines that are formed in
exposure performed by the same light amount control section, on overlapping portions in the main scanning direction of the
exposure head, from among the scanning data of the plurality of test charts, then adjusting the density of one of said pixel
lines on at least one test chart so as to make the densities of the pixel lines be in agreement, and, after the density has
been adjusted, performing a combination in such a manner that the plurality of test charts are joined together at the overlapping
portions.
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