Patent ID: 6557964
Filing Date: 2003-05-06
Classification: B41J,G06K,H04N

Abstract:
A printing apparatus for printing with a print head provided with a plurality of printing elements deployed in a plurality of rows and which can form dots on a printing medium, to print dots on N adjacent rasters and dots on M adjacent columns under different conditions by causing said print head to perform a plurality of (P) main-scanning operations in a main-scanning direction and transporting said printing medium at least once in a sub-scanning direction, said apparatus comprising:control means for using dot arrangement patterns corresponding to a level of quantized image data to form dots corresponding to the level of said image data on the printed medium, said control means being capable of periodically changing said plurality of dot arrangement patterns used for the same level of said image data, wherein said plurality of dot arrangement patterns used for the same level of said image data are such that within each period when said patterns are periodically used, the number of dots formed in each of said N rasters are equalized, whereas the number of dots formed in each of said M columns are equalized, and said P, N, and M are each an integral number to or larger than 2.