US 7,556,343 B2
Ink-jet printing method, printing system, ink-jet printing apparatus, print data generating method, program and printer driver
Minako Kato, Kanagawa (Japan); and Rie Kajihara, Kanagawa (Japan)
Assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on May 01, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/414,186.
Application 11/414186 is a continuation of application No. 10/653207, filed on Sep. 03, 2003, granted, now 7,097,267.
Claims priority of application No. 2002-263222 (JP), filed on Sep. 09, 2002.
Prior Publication US 2006/0192800 A1, Aug. 31, 2006
Int. Cl. B41J 23/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 347—37  [347/12; 347/15] 3 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for generating print data for use by an ink-jet printing apparatus that performs printing by scanning an ink-jet printhead for discharging ink droplets of a first volume and ink droplets of a second volume smaller than the first volume to a print medium, said apparatus comprising:
a selecting unit configured to select a mode, which is to be used in printing, from a plurality of modes including a first mode in which printing to a pixel on the print medium is completed by scanning the ink-jet printhead one or more times and a second mode in which printing to the pixel is completed by scanning the ink-jet printhead a number of times greater than that of the first mode; and
a generating unit configured to generate print data in accordance with the mode selected by the selecting unit, wherein
the print data for performing the printing to a pixel expressing maximum density with regard to a prescribed hue using one or more of the ink droplets of the first volume without using ink droplets of the second volume is generated by the generating unit, if the first mode is selected by the selecting unit and the pixel expressing the maximum density exists, and
the print data for performing the printing to the pixel expressing maximum density with regard to the prescribed hue using one or more of the ink droplets of the first volume and one or more of the ink droplets of the second volume is generated by the generating unit, if the second mode is selected by the selecting unit and the pixel expressing the maximum density exists.