Patent ID: 6318832
Filing Date: 2001-11-20
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
An ink jet printer for receiving image data defining a pattern of dots in a rectangular grid and for printing the pattern of dots on a print medium based on the image data, the printer comprising:a print medium advance mechanism for advancing the print medium in a first direction;a print head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto the print medium to print the dots, the nozzles having a center-to-center spacing in the first direction of d;a carriage connected to the print head for moving the print head adjacent the print medium in a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction;a carriage drive mechanism connected to the carriage for driving the carriage in the second direction; anda printer controller electrically connected to the print head, the print medium advance mechanism, and the carriage drive mechanism, the printer controller for controlling the print head to eject ink droplets from the nozzles toward the print medium, controlling the print medium advance mechanism to advance the print medium in the first direction, and controlling the carriage drive mechanism to move the carriage in the second direction, where the ejection of ink droplets, advancement of the print medium, and movement of the carriage under control of the printer controller forms the pattern of dots on the medium, the pattern of dots consisting of at least four interlaced arrays of dots, each array being offset from the other arrays by a predetermined spacing in at least one of the first and second directions, the printer controller for controlling the print head, the print medium advance mechanism, and the carriage drive mechanism to print the pattern of dots comprising at least four interlaced checkerboard arrays of dots, each of the checkerboard arrays comprising parallel rows of dots aligned in the second direction with a spacing in the second direction between centers of adjacent dots in each row being substantially equivalent to 2d, and each row being offset in the first and second directions from an adjacent row by a distance substantially equivalent to d, where no dot in any of the four arrays overlaps another dot in the same array.