Patent Description:
There is known an additional printing device that performs variable-printing of an address, a date, and the like on a recording medium on which an image is printed in advance.

<CIT> discloses a card processing system that partially prints a predetermined content, such as a barcode, on a card on which nothing is printed and a card on which predetermined printing, such as a pattern, is performed on a base. The card processing system disclosed in <CIT> comprises a transport unit that transports the card, a pretreatment unit that performs pretreatment on a part of a surface of the card transported by the transport unit, and a printing unit that performs printing on a location on the surface of the card transported by the transport unit on which the pretreatment is performed by the pretreatment unit. With the system disclosed in <CIT>, since a coating layer is formed by the pretreatment only on a part of the surface of the card, it is possible to suppress an adverse effect of the coating layer in the post-process as much as possible.

<CIT> discloses a printing device and printing method. The printing device includes a head having a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink that hardens under emission of light are arranged, the head being adapted for ejecting the ink from the nozzle row onto a medium that undergoes a relative movement, thereby forming a plurality of dot lines; a light source for emitting light; an adjusting part for adjusting a distance between the head and the light source; a detecting part for detecting a dot width of a given dot line; correction data in which a concentration correction value is defined for every dot line; and a memory part for storing a dot width of the given dot line in relation to when the correction data was created; wherein the distance between the head and the light source is adjusted.

In general, a pretreatment quality performed before printing varies depending on a transport condition, a printing condition, or a recording medium condition. For example, in the card processing system disclosed in <CIT>, since the presence or absence of the pattern of the base and a surface state of the card due to the pattern of the base vary, the pretreatment quality varies. Therefore, there is a problem that printing cannot always be performed with an optimum treatment quality. There is a similar problem with a post-treatment quality performed after printing.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is to provide an image forming device that always forms an image with an optimum treatment quality, and a manufacturing method of a printed material.

In order to achieve the above object, an aspect of the present invention relates to an image forming device according to claim <NUM> of the appended claims.

According to the present aspect, since at least one information of the information on the transportation speed of the recording medium in the transport unit, the information on the applied amount of the ink in the printing unit, or the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium is acquired to control the distance between the printing unit and the treatment unit in the transport direction based on the acquired information, it is possible to always form the image with the optimum treatment quality.

In particular, by controlling the distance while keeping the transportation speed of the recording medium in the transport unit at a certain speed, it is possible to control a time from printing to treatment of the recording medium, or a time from treatment to printing, and it is possible to keep the treatment quality at a certain level.

It is preferable that an image be printed on the printing surface of the recording medium in advance before printing by the printing unit and treatment by the treatment unit, the information acquisition unit acquire information on density of the image printed in advance, as the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium, and the distance control unit increase the distance between the treatment unit and the printing unit in the transport direction as the acquired density is denser. As a result, it is possible to form the image with the optimum treatment quality regardless of the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium. The information acquisition unit may acquire, as the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium, information on density of a region of the image printed in advance to which the ink is applied in the printing unit.

It is preferable that an image be printed on the printing surface of the recording medium in advance before the printing by the printing unit and the treatment by the treatment unit, the information acquisition unit acquire whether the image printed in advance is an electrophotographic picture or an image printed by using an energy ray curable ink, as the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium, and the distance control unit decrease the distance between the printing unit and the treatment unit in the transport direction in a case in which the image printed in advance is the electrophotographic picture or the image printed by using the energy ray curable ink. As a result, it is possible to form the image with the optimum treatment quality regardless of the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium.

It is preferable that the information acquisition unit acquire the information on the transportation speed of the recording medium in the transport unit, and the distance control unit increase the distance as the acquired transportation speed is faster. As a result, it is possible to form the image with the optimum treatment quality regardless of the transportation speed.

It is preferable that the information acquisition unit acquire the information on the applied amount of the ink in the printing unit, and the distance control unit decrease the distance as the acquired applied amount of the ink is larger. As a result, it is possible to form the image with the optimum treatment quality regardless of the applied amount of the ink.

It is preferable that the printing unit and the treatment unit be movable in a width direction intersecting the transport direction, the printing unit be able to perform printing on a part of the recording medium, and the treatment unit be able to perform treatment on a part of the recording medium. By performing printing and treatment of a part of the recording medium, it is effective without waste in a case of additional printing in which it is not necessary to perform printing on the entire surface of the recording medium.

It is preferable that the printing unit and the treatment unit be independently movable in the width direction. As a result, it is possible to reduce a weight of the printing unit.

It is preferable that the image forming device further comprise a position control unit that controls movement of the treatment unit in the width direction based on positional information of the printing unit in the width direction. As a result, it is possible to move the treatment unit to the same position as the printing unit.

It is preferable that position accuracy of movement of the treatment unit in the width direction be lower than position accuracy of movement of the printing unit in the width direction. Since the treatment unit does not require highly accurate position adjustment, it is possible to reduce a cost by coarsening the position accuracy.

It is preferable that the printing unit include an ink jetting head that jets the ink from a nozzle, a cleaning unit that is disposed adjacent to the transport unit in the width direction and wipes a nozzle surface of the ink jetting head on which the nozzle is disposed, and a capping unit that is disposed adjacent to the transport unit in the width direction and moisturizes the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head, and the movement unit change the distance by moving the treatment unit in the transport direction. As a result, it is possible to change the distance without moving the cleaning unit and the capping unit in the transport direction.

It is preferable that the treatment unit include a pretreatment unit that is disposed on an upstream side of the printing unit in the transport direction and performs, on the transported recording medium, at least one pretreatment of applying a pretreatment liquid that chemically reacts with the applied ink, irradiation of energy light that promotes permeation of the applied ink into the printing surface, or surface reforming that suppresses spread of the applied ink on the printing surface. As a result, it is possible to appropriately perform pretreatment on the recording medium.

It is preferable that the treatment unit include a post-treatment unit that is disposed on a downstream side of the printing unit in the transport direction and performs, on the transported recording medium, at least one post-treatment of irradiation of energy light that cures the applied ink or drying of the applied ink. As a result, it is possible to appropriately perform pretreatment on the recording medium.

It is preferable that the image forming device further comprise a main printing unit that is disposed to face the transport unit on an upstream side of the printing unit and the treatment unit in the transport direction, and performs main printing on the printing surface of the transported recording medium. As a result, it is possible to perform, by the printing unit, additional printing on the recording medium printed by the main printing unit.

In order to achieve the above object, another aspect of the present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a printed material, according to claim <NUM> of the appended claims.

According to the present invention, it is possible to always form the image with the optimum treatment quality.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a perspective view of an image forming device <NUM> according to the present embodiment. In addition, <FIG> is a top view of the image forming device <NUM>. In <FIG> and <FIG>, the X, Y, and Z-directions are orthogonal directions to each other, the X-direction and the Y-direction are horizontal directions, and the Z-direction is a vertical direction. The image forming device <NUM> is an inkjet printing device that prints an image by applying an ink to a long recording medium P.

As the recording medium P, various media, such as paper, non-woven fabric, vinyl chloride, synthetic chemical fiber, polyethylene, polyester, tarpaulin, can be used regardless of a material, and regardless of whether it is a permeable medium or a non-permeable medium. In the recording medium P according to the present embodiment, the image is printed in advance on a printing surface. A printing method of the image printed in advance is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include inkjet printing, offset printing, and electrophotographic picture.

The image forming device <NUM> manufactures a printed material by performing additional printing on a part of the printing surface of the recording medium P. The image forming device <NUM> may perform printing on the recording medium P in which the image is not printed on the printing surface, in addition to additional printing.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the image forming device <NUM> comprises a sending reel <NUM>, a winding reel <NUM>, a plurality of pass rollers <NUM>, a pretreatment unit <NUM>, a printing unit <NUM>, and a post-treatment unit <NUM>.

The sending reel <NUM> is rotatably supported by a side wall (not shown). The recording medium P on which the image is printed in advance on the printing surface is wound on the sending reel <NUM> in a roll shape. A sending motor (not shown) that rotates and drives the sending reel <NUM> is connected to the sending reel <NUM>.

The winding reel <NUM> is rotatably supported by a side wall (not shown). One end of the recording medium P is connected to the winding reel <NUM>. A winding motor (not shown) that rotates and drives the winding reel <NUM> is connected to the winding reel <NUM>.

The plurality of pass rollers <NUM> are arranged along a transport path of the recording medium P from the sending reel <NUM> to the winding reel <NUM>. The sending reel <NUM>, the winding reel <NUM>, and the pass rollers <NUM> constitute a transport unit <NUM> that transports the recording medium P in the Y-direction, which is a transport direction. The transport unit <NUM> guides the recording medium P along the transport path from the sending reel <NUM> to the winding reel <NUM> by the plurality of pass rollers <NUM> and transports the recording medium P in a roll-to-roll manner. It should be noted that the transport unit <NUM> may comprise a transportation speed detection unit (not shown) that detects the transportation speed of the recording medium P, and an inline sensor (not shown) that captures the image printed in advance on the recording medium P.

Here, the transport unit <NUM> transports the recording medium P from the sending reel <NUM> to the winding reel <NUM> in a certain direction (Y-direction), but space saving may be achieved by folding back a traveling direction of the recording medium P by the plurality of pass rollers <NUM>.

In the transport path of the recording medium P, the pretreatment unit <NUM>, the printing unit <NUM>, and the post-treatment unit <NUM> are arranged in order from an upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium P to face the transport unit <NUM>.

The pretreatment unit <NUM> (example of the treatment unit) is disposed on the upstream side of the printing unit <NUM> in the transport direction of the recording medium P. The pretreatment unit <NUM> performs pretreatment on the transported recording medium P. The pretreatment unit <NUM> can perform pretreatment on a part of the recording medium P.

The pretreatment unit <NUM> performs, on the recording medium P transported by the transport unit <NUM>, at least one pretreatment of applying a pretreatment liquid that chemically reacts with the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM>, irradiation of the energy light that promotes permeation of the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> into the printing surface, or surface reforming that suppresses spread of the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> on the printing surface. Here, a case will be described in which the pretreatment liquid is applied.

The pretreatment unit <NUM> comprises a pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM>, a pretreatment carriage <NUM>, a pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM>, and a pair of pretreatment Y-direction guides <NUM>.

The pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> is a pretreatment liquid jetting unit that jets the pretreatment liquid by an inkjet method. The pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> applies the pretreatment liquid to the printing surface of the recording medium P. The pretreatment liquid contains an aggregating agent having an action of aggregating the components contained in the ink applied by the printing unit <NUM>. Examples of the aggregating agent include an acidic compound, a polyvalent metal salt, and a cationic polymer. The pretreatment liquid according to the present embodiment is an acidic liquid containing acid as the aggregating agent. An amount of the pretreatment liquid applied by the pretreatment unit <NUM> need only be an applied amount that appropriately aggregates the ink by the printing unit <NUM>.

The pretreatment unit <NUM> may apply the pretreatment liquid to the printing surface of the recording medium P using a coating roller.

The pretreatment carriage <NUM> supports the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM>. The pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> movably supports the pretreatment carriage <NUM> along the X-direction, which is a width direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium P. The pair of pretreatment Y-direction guides <NUM> support the pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> to be movable along the Y-direction from both sides in the X-direction. The pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> and the pair of pretreatment Y-direction guides <NUM> each comprise a motor (not shown).

The pair of pretreatment Y-direction guides <NUM> correspond to a movement unit that changes a distance between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the transport direction of the recording medium P. Since the pretreatment unit <NUM> comprises the movement unit, it is not necessary to move the printing unit <NUM>. Therefore, the distance can be changed without moving a cleaning unit <NUM> and a capping unit <NUM>, which will be described below, in the Y-direction.

The printing unit <NUM> applies the ink to the printing surface of the recording medium P transported by the transport unit <NUM> to perform printing (image forming). The printing unit <NUM> can perform printing on a part of the recording medium P. The printing unit <NUM> comprises an ink jetting head <NUM>, a printing carriage <NUM>, a printing X-direction guide <NUM>, the cleaning unit <NUM>, and the capping unit <NUM>.

The ink jetting head <NUM> is an ink jetting unit that jets the ink by the inkjet method from a nozzle (not shown) disposed on a nozzle surface (not shown). The ink jetting head <NUM> applies the ink to the printing surface of the recording medium P to print the image. As the ink, an aqueous ink in which water or a water-soluble solvent and a coloring material, such as a dye or a pigment, are dissolved or dispersed is used. The ink applied to the printing surface of the recording medium P is aggregated by the pretreatment liquid applied in advance to the printing surface by the pretreatment unit <NUM>.

The printing carriage <NUM> supports the ink jetting head <NUM>. The printing X-direction guide <NUM> movably supports the printing carriage <NUM> along the X-direction. The printing X-direction guide <NUM> comprises a motor (not shown).

The cleaning unit <NUM> and the capping unit <NUM> are disposed at positions adjacent to the transport unit <NUM> on the X-direction side and facing the printing X-direction guide <NUM>.

The cleaning unit <NUM> includes a wiping member (not shown). The cleaning unit <NUM> wipes the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head <NUM> in a case in which the ink jetting head <NUM> is moved between the position facing the transport unit <NUM> and the position facing the capping unit <NUM>.

The capping unit <NUM> contains a moisturizer (not shown). In a case in which the ink jetting head <NUM> is moved to the position facing the capping unit <NUM>, the capping unit <NUM> moisturizes the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head <NUM>.

The cleaning unit <NUM> and the capping unit <NUM> may be provided in the pretreatment unit <NUM>. Since the pretreatment unit <NUM> comprises the cleaning unit <NUM> and the capping unit <NUM>, the nozzle surface of the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> can be wiped and moisturized.

The post-treatment unit <NUM> (example of the treatment unit) is disposed on the downstream side of the printing unit <NUM> in the transport direction of the recording medium P. The post-treatment unit <NUM> performs post-treatment on the transported recording medium P. The post-treatment unit <NUM> can perform post-treatment on a part of the recording medium P.

The post-treatment unit <NUM> performs, on the recording medium P transported by the transport unit <NUM>, at least one post-treatment of irradiation of the energy light that cures the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> or drying of the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM>. Here, a case will be described in which the ink is dried.

The post-treatment unit <NUM> comprises an infrared heater <NUM>, a post-treatment carriage <NUM>, a post-treatment X-direction guide <NUM>, and a pair of post-treatment Y-direction guides <NUM>.

The infrared heater <NUM> includes an infrared light source that emits infrared rays. The infrared heater <NUM> irradiates the printing surface of the recording medium P with the infrared rays to dry the ink applied to the printing surface by the printing unit <NUM>.

The post-treatment unit <NUM> may include a fan or a blower that blows dry air to dry the ink applied to the printing surface.

The post-treatment carriage <NUM> supports the infrared heater <NUM>. The post-treatment X-direction guide <NUM> movably supports the post-treatment carriage <NUM> along the X-direction. The pair of post-treatment Y-direction guides <NUM> support the pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> to be movable along the Y-direction from both sides in the X-direction. The post-treatment X-direction guide <NUM> and the pair of post-treatment Y-direction guides <NUM> each comprise a motor (not shown).

The pair of post-treatment Y-direction guides <NUM> correspond to a movement unit that changes the distance between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the transport direction of the recording medium P. Since the post-treatment unit <NUM> comprises the movement unit, it is not necessary to move the printing unit <NUM>. Therefore, the distance can be changed without moving the cleaning unit <NUM> and the capping unit <NUM> in the Y-direction.

In the image forming device <NUM>, the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> of the pretreatment unit <NUM>, the ink jetting head <NUM> of the printing unit <NUM>, and the infrared heater <NUM> of the post-treatment unit <NUM> can be independently moved in the X-direction.

<FIG> is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the image forming device <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the image forming device <NUM> comprises a user interface <NUM>, a transport control unit <NUM>, a pretreatment control unit <NUM>, a printing control unit <NUM>, a post-treatment control unit <NUM>, and an integrated control unit <NUM>.

The user interface <NUM> comprises an input unit (not shown) and a display unit (not shown) for a user to operate the image forming device <NUM>. The input unit is, for example, an operation panel that receives the input from the user. The display unit is, for example, a display that displays image data and various pieces of information. The user can operate the user interface <NUM> to print a desired image by the image forming device <NUM>.

The user may operate the user interface <NUM> to input the image data to be printed by the printing unit <NUM> and printing position information which is information on positions in the X-direction and the Y-direction for printing the image. In addition, the user may operate the user interface <NUM> to input information on the image printed in advance on the recording medium P.

The transport control unit <NUM> controls the transport unit <NUM>. The transport control unit <NUM> rotates and drives the reel of the sending reel <NUM> by the sending motor (not shown), and sends the recording medium P from the sending reel <NUM>. The transport control unit <NUM> rotates and drives the reel of the winding reel <NUM> by the winding motor (not shown), and wounds the recording medium P by the winding reel <NUM>. The transport control unit <NUM> may acquire the transportation speed of the recording medium P from the transportation speed detection unit (not shown) to perform a feedback control of the rotation speeds of the sending motor and the winding motor based on the acquired transportation speed.

The pretreatment control unit <NUM> controls the rotation and driving of the motor (not shown) of the pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> to move the pretreatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction. The pretreatment control unit <NUM> rotates and drives the motor (not shown) of the pretreatment Y-direction guide <NUM> to move the pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> in the Y-direction. Further, the pretreatment control unit <NUM> controls jetting of the pretreatment liquid by the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM>.

The printing control unit <NUM> controls the rotation and driving of the motor (not shown) of the printing X-direction guide <NUM> to move the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction. It should be noted that the position accuracy of the movement of the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction is higher than the position accuracy of the movement of the pretreatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction. In addition, the printing control unit <NUM> controls jetting of the ink by the ink jetting head <NUM>.

The printing control unit <NUM> controls the cleaning unit <NUM> to control wiping of the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head <NUM>. The printing control unit <NUM> controls the capping unit <NUM> to control the moisturizing of the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head <NUM>.

The post-treatment control unit <NUM> controls the rotation and driving of the motor (not shown) of the post-treatment X-direction guide <NUM> to move the post-treatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction. It should be noted that the position accuracy of the movement of the post-treatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction is lower than the position accuracy of the movement of the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction.

The post-treatment control unit <NUM> controls the rotation and driving of the motor (not shown) of the post-treatment Y-direction guide <NUM> to move the post-treatment X-direction guide <NUM> in the Y-direction. The post-treatment control unit <NUM> controls the irradiation of the infrared rays by the infrared heater <NUM>.

The integrated control unit <NUM> controls the image forming device <NUM> in an integrated manner. The integrated control unit <NUM> comprises a communication interface (not shown), and acquires the image data and the printing position information to be printed by the printing unit <NUM>. The integrated control unit <NUM> may acquire the image data and the printing position information input from the user interface <NUM>. The integrated control unit <NUM> may comprise storage (not shown) and store the acquired image data and printing position information. It should be noted that the printing position information may be included in the image data.

The integrated control unit <NUM> performs halftone processing or the like on the acquired image data to generate dot data. The halftone processing is processing of generating binarized dot data which defines the presence or absence of dots for each pixel from a gradation value of the image data. The integrated control unit <NUM> calculates an amount of the ink jetted from the ink jetting head <NUM>, that is, the applied amount of the ink in the printing unit <NUM>, based on the dot data.

The integrated control unit <NUM> controls the pretreatment control unit <NUM> to control a jetting timing of the pretreatment liquid by the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM>. In addition, the integrated control unit <NUM> controls the printing control unit <NUM> to control a jetting timing of the ink by the ink jetting head <NUM>. Further, the integrated control unit <NUM> controls the post-treatment control unit <NUM> to control an irradiation timing of the infrared rays by the infrared heater <NUM>.

The integrated control unit <NUM> controls the jetting timing of the pretreatment liquid by the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM>, the jetting timing of the ink by the ink jetting head <NUM>, and the irradiation timing of the infrared rays by the infrared heater <NUM>.

In addition, the integrated control unit <NUM> comprises an information acquisition unit <NUM>, a position control unit <NUM>, and a distance control unit <NUM>.

The information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires information on a surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P. The information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires, for example, the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P from the information on the image printed in advance on the recording medium P input from the user interface <NUM>. The information on the image printed in advance on the recording medium P may be input by the communication interface. The information acquisition unit <NUM> may acquire the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P from the image of the printing surface of the recording medium P captured by the inline sensor (not shown).

In addition, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires information on the transportation speed of the recording medium P from the transport control unit <NUM>. The information acquisition unit <NUM> may acquire the transportation speed of the recording medium P input from the user interface <NUM> by the user.

Further, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires information on the applied amount of the ink calculated in the integrated control unit <NUM>.

It should be noted that the information acquisition unit <NUM> need only acquire at least one of the information on the surface state, the information on the transportation speed, or the information on the applied amount of the ink.

The integrated control unit <NUM> calculates an optimum distance L<NUM> in the Y-direction between the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> and the ink jetting head <NUM> based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit <NUM>. Similarly, the integrated control unit <NUM> calculates an optimum distance L<NUM> in the Y-direction between the ink jetting head <NUM> and the infrared heater <NUM> based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit <NUM>.

The position control unit <NUM> controls the printing control unit <NUM> based on the information on the position in the X-direction in the acquired printing position information of the image data to move the position of the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction. As a result, the position control unit <NUM> changes the position of the ink jetting head <NUM> in the X-direction to the position at which the image is printed.

In addition, the position control unit <NUM> controls the pretreatment control unit <NUM> based on the information on the position of the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction to move the pretreatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction. As a result, the position control unit <NUM> changes the position of the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> in the X-direction to the position at which the image is printed, that is, the same position as the position of the ink jetting head <NUM> in the X-direction. Similarly, the position control unit <NUM> controls the post-treatment control unit <NUM> based on the information on the position of the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction to move the post-treatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction. As a result, the position control unit <NUM> changes the position of the infrared heater <NUM> in the X-direction to the position at which the image is printed, that is, the same position as the position of the ink jetting head <NUM> in the X-direction.

The distance control unit <NUM> controls the pretreatment control unit <NUM> to change the position of the pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> in the Y-direction such that the distance between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction is the distance L<NUM> calculated in the integrated control unit <NUM>. In addition, the distance control unit <NUM> controls the post-treatment control unit <NUM> to change the position of the post-treatment X-direction guide <NUM> in the Y-direction such that the distance between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction is the distance L<NUM> calculated in the integrated control unit <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart showing a process of a manufacturing method of the printed material. Here, an example will be described in which the printed material is manufactured by performing additional printing on a part of the printing surface of the recording medium P on which the image is printed in advance on the printing surface before the pretreatment by the pretreatment unit <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the manufacturing method of the printed material includes an information acquisition step (step S1), a position control step (step S2), a distance control step (step S3), a transport step (step S4), a pretreatment step (step S5), a printing step (step S6), and a post-treatment step (step S7).

In step S1, the integrated control unit <NUM> acquires the image data and the printing position information to be printed by the printing unit <NUM> from the communication interface (not shown). The integrated control unit <NUM> may acquire the image data and the printing position information from the user interface <NUM>. The integrated control unit <NUM> generates the dot data from the acquired image data, and calculates the applied amount of the ink in the printing unit <NUM> based on the dot data. The information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires the applied amount of the ink calculated by the integrated control unit <NUM>.

In addition, the user operates the user interface <NUM> to input the information on the image printed in advance on the recording medium P. The information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P from the information on the image. The information acquisition unit <NUM> may acquire the information on the image printed in advance on the recording medium P from the communication interface, or may acquire the information on the image printed in advance on the recording medium P from the image of the printing surface of the recording medium P captured by the inline sensor (not shown).

In addition, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires the information on the transportation speed of the recording medium P from the transport control unit <NUM>. The information acquisition unit <NUM> may acquire the information on the transportation speed of the recording medium P input by the user by operating the user interface <NUM>. The information acquisition unit <NUM> may transport the recording medium P by the transport unit <NUM> via the transport control unit <NUM> to acquire the transportation speed of the recording medium P detected by the transportation speed detection unit.

In step S2, the position control unit <NUM> moves the position of the ink jetting head <NUM> in the X-direction to the position at which the image is printed, based on the information on the position in the X-direction in the printing position information acquired in step S1. In addition, the position control unit <NUM> moves the positions of the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> and the infrared heater <NUM> in the X-direction to the same position as the position of the ink jetting head <NUM> in the X-direction based on the information on the position of the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction.

It should be noted that, as described above, the position accuracy of the movement of the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction is higher than the position accuracy of the movement of the pretreatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction and the position accuracy of the movement of the post-treatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction. Therefore, in some cases, it is not possible to move the positions of the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> and the infrared heater <NUM> in the X-direction to exactly the same position as the position of the ink jetting head <NUM> in the X-direction. In this case, the movement need only be performed to the position closest to the position of the ink jetting head <NUM> in the X-direction in terms of the position accuracy of the movement of the pretreatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction and the position accuracy of the movement of the post-treatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction.

In step S3, the integrated control unit <NUM> calculates the optimum distance L<NUM> in the Y-direction between the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> and the ink jetting head <NUM> based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit <NUM>. The distance control unit <NUM> changes the position of the pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> in the Y-direction to set the distance between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction to the distance L<NUM>.

Similarly, the integrated control unit <NUM> calculates the optimum distance L<NUM> in the Y-direction between the ink jetting head <NUM> and the infrared heater <NUM> based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit <NUM>. The distance control unit <NUM> changes the position of the post-treatment X-direction guide <NUM> in the Y-direction to set the distance between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction to the distance L<NUM>.

It should be noted that the details of the distance L<NUM> and the distance L<NUM> will be described below.

Subsequently, in step S4, the transport control unit <NUM> transports the recording medium P by the transport unit <NUM> at a predetermined transportation speed. This transportation speed is the transportation speed of the recording medium P acquired by the information acquisition unit <NUM> in step S1.

In step S5, the integrated control unit <NUM> controls the pretreatment control unit <NUM> to control the jetting timing of the pretreatment liquid by the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM>. Here, the integrated control unit <NUM> controls the pretreatment control unit <NUM> based on the information on the position in the Y-direction in the acquired printing position information of the image data, the information on the image printed in advance on the recording medium P captured by the inline sensor (not shown), and the information on the transportation speed of the recording medium P by the transport unit <NUM>.

For example, the integrated control unit <NUM> detects, by the inline sensor, an image region of the position in the Y-direction at which the image is printed in the printing unit <NUM> in the image printed in advance on the recording medium P transported by the transport unit <NUM>, and jets the pretreatment liquid by the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> after a time, which is a value obtained by dividing the distance between the inline sensor and the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> in the Y-direction by the transportation speed of the recording medium P, has elapsed from the detection by the inline sensor. As a result, the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> jets the pretreatment liquid to the recording medium P, and the jetted pretreatment liquid is applied to the position based on the printing position information of the recording medium P. The jetting timing of the pretreatment liquid by the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM> may be acquired by another method as appropriate.

In step S6, the integrated control unit <NUM> controls the printing control unit <NUM> to control the jetting timing of the ink by the ink jetting head <NUM>. Here, the jetting timing of the ink by the ink jetting head <NUM> is acquired in the same manner as the jetting timing of the pretreatment liquid by the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM>. As a result, the ink jetting head <NUM> jets the ink to the recording medium P, and the jetted ink is applied to the position based on the printing position information of the recording medium P to print the image.

In step S7, the integrated control unit <NUM> controls the post-treatment control unit <NUM> to control the irradiation timing of the infrared rays by the infrared heater <NUM>. Here, the irradiation timing of the infrared rays by the infrared heater <NUM> is acquired in the same manner as the jetting timing of the pretreatment liquid by the pretreatment liquid jetting head <NUM>. As a result, the infrared heater <NUM> emits the infrared rays from the infrared light source, and the emitted infrared rays are emitted to the position based on the printing position information of the recording medium P to dry the pretreatment liquid and the ink.

In a case in which all the processes for the recording medium P is terminated, the integrated control unit <NUM> controls the transport control unit <NUM> to stop the transportation of the recording medium P by the transport unit <NUM>.

In addition, the integrated control unit <NUM> rotates and drives the motor (not shown) of the printing X-direction guide <NUM> by the printing control unit <NUM> to move the printing carriage <NUM> to the cleaning unit <NUM>. The printing control unit <NUM> wipes the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head <NUM> by the cleaning unit <NUM>. Further, the integrated control unit <NUM> rotates and drives the motor (not shown) of the printing X-direction guide <NUM> by the printing control unit <NUM> to move the printing carriage <NUM> to the position of the capping unit <NUM>. The printing control unit <NUM> moisturizes the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head <NUM> by the capping unit <NUM>.

In this way, the process of manufacturing method of the printed material is terminated. With the manufacturing method of the printed material according to the present embodiment, since at least one of the information on the surface state, the information on the transportation speed, or the information on the applied amount of the ink is acquired in the information acquisition unit <NUM>, and the distance between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction and the distance between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction are controlled based on the acquired information, it is possible to always form the image with the optimum treatment quality while keeping the transportation speed of the recording medium P by the transport unit <NUM> at a certain speed.

Here, a case has been described in which additional printing is performed on the recording medium P, but the printed material may be manufactured by performing printing on the recording medium P in which the image is not printed on the printing surface. In this case, the information acquisition unit <NUM> may acquire information on the material of the recording medium P, information on the presence or absence of coating, and the like as the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P.

In the present embodiment, the pretreatment carriage <NUM> of the pretreatment unit <NUM>, the printing carriage <NUM> of the printing unit <NUM>, and the post-treatment carriage <NUM> of the post-treatment unit <NUM> can independently move in the X-direction. Therefore, a weight of the printing carriage <NUM> can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the pretreatment carriage <NUM> of the pretreatment unit <NUM>, the printing carriage <NUM> of the printing unit <NUM>, and the post-treatment carriage <NUM> of the post-treatment unit <NUM> are integrally moved, and the position accuracy of the movement of the printing carriage <NUM> in the X-direction can be made high.

In addition, since only the printing carriage <NUM> is moved to a position separated from the transport unit <NUM> in the X-direction during non-printing, the pretreatment carriage <NUM> and the post-treatment carriage <NUM> are not moved unnecessarily. Further, since the infrared heater <NUM> mounted on the post-treatment carriage <NUM>, the light source of the energy light for curing the ink, or the like may adversely affect the ink jetting head <NUM>, it is effective to separate the positions of the printing carriage <NUM> and the post-treatment carriage <NUM> in the X-direction.

In image forming, the treatment quality of the pretreatment and post-treatment of printing varies depending on the surface state (physical and chemical properties) of the recording medium P. Here, by changing the time from the pretreatment to printing in accordance with the surface state of the recording medium P, the pretreatment quality can be brought close to a certain level. The time from pretreatment to printing can be controlled by changing the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction.

Similarly, by changing the time from printing to post-treatment in accordance with the surface state of the recording medium P, the post-treatment quality can be brought close to a certain level. The time from printing to post-treatment can be controlled by changing the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction.

The surface state of the recording medium P in additional printing varies depending on the image printed in advance. Therefore, changing the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction and the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction is particularly effective in additional printing.

In a case in which the density of the image printed in advance is dense, that is, the amount of the ink is large, the permeation of the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> into the recording medium P is suppressed. Therefore, the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> tends to bleed on the printing surface. Therefore, it is preferable to decrease the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM>, such as drying or ultraviolet curing.

That is, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires information on the density of the image printed in advance as the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P, and the distance control unit <NUM> decreases the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction as the acquired density is denser. The information acquisition unit <NUM> need only acquire the information on the amount of the ink on the image printed in advance as the information on the density of the image, and the distance control unit <NUM> need only decrease the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction as the acquired amount of the ink is larger.

In addition, in a case in which the amount of the ink in the image printed in advance is large, the permeation of the pretreatment liquid applied by the pretreatment unit <NUM> into the recording medium P is suppressed. Therefore, the reactivity of the pretreatment liquid is improved. Therefore, it is preferable to increase the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> that applies the pretreatment liquid that chemically reacts with the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM>.

That is, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires the information on the amount of the ink in the image printed in advance, and the distance control unit <NUM> increases the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction as the acquired amount of the ink is larger.

The information acquisition unit <NUM> may acquire the information on the density of the region of the image printed in advance to which the ink is applied in the printing unit <NUM> as the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P.

In a case in which the image printed in advance is the electrophotographic picture and is printed using the energy ray curable ink, such as ultra violet (UV) ink that is cured by emitting ultraviolet rays or electron beam (EB) ink that is cured by emitting electron beams, the ink in the image printed in advance acts as a permeation suppression layer. Therefore, the permeation of the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> into the recording medium P is suppressed, and the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> tends to bleed on the printing surface of the recording medium P. Therefore, it is preferable to decrease the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM>, such as drying or ultraviolet curing.

That is, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires, as the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P, whether the image printed in advance is the electrophotographic picture or the image printed using the energy ray curable ink, and the distance control unit <NUM> decreases the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction in a case in which the acquired surface state is printing of the electrophotographic picture or printing using the energy ray curable ink.

In addition, in a case in which the image printed in advance is the electrophotographic picture, or in a case in which the image printed in advance is printed using the energy ray curable ink, the ink of the image printed in advance acts as the permeation suppression layer. Therefore, the permeation of the pretreatment liquid applied in the pretreatment unit <NUM> into the recording medium P is suppressed, and the reactivity of the pretreatment liquid is improved. Therefore, it is preferable to increase the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> that applies the pretreatment liquid that chemically reacts with the ink applied in the printing unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM>.

That is, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium P, and the distance control unit <NUM> increases the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction in a case in which the acquired surface state is printing of the electrophotographic picture or printing using the energy ray curable ink.

Generally, the pretreatment quality is changed in accordance with the time from pretreatment by the pretreatment unit <NUM> to printing by the printing unit <NUM>. Similarly, the post-treatment quality is changed in accordance with the time from printing by the printing unit <NUM> to post-treatment by the post-treatment unit <NUM>. This characteristic is not limited to additional printing. Therefore, it is preferable to change the distance between the printing unit <NUM>, and the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in accordance with the transportation speed of the recording medium P in the transport unit <NUM>.

That is, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires the information on the transportation speed of the recording medium P in the transport unit <NUM>, and the distance control unit <NUM> increases the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction, and the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction as the acquired transportation speed is faster. As a result, it is possible to keep the quality of the pretreatment and the post-treatment to a certain level regardless of the transportation speed of the recording medium P.

Generally, the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> adversely affect the jettability of the ink jetting head <NUM> of the printing unit <NUM>. This characteristic is not limited to additional printing. Therefore, it is preferable to decrease the distance between the printing unit <NUM>, and the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> as the applied amount of the ink to the printing unit <NUM> is larger.

That is, the information acquisition unit <NUM> acquires the information on the applied amount of the ink in the printing unit <NUM>, and the distance control unit <NUM> decreases the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction, and the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction as the acquired applied amount of the ink is larger.

Specifically, the image to be printed in the printing unit <NUM> is divided into a plurality of regions, the amount of the ink for each region is calculated, and the maximum amount thereof is defined as the applied amount of the ink of the image. It is preferable to control the distance L<NUM> between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> and the distance L<NUM> between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in accordance with the defined applied amount of the ink.

<FIG> is a perspective view of an image forming device <NUM> according to another embodiment. It should be noted that the same reference numerals are given to the parts common to the image forming device <NUM>, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The recording medium P before the image is printed is wound on the sending reel <NUM> of the image forming device <NUM> in a roll shape.

The image forming device <NUM> comprises an ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> as a main printing unit. The ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> is a unit that jets the ink from the nozzle (not shown) disposed on the nozzle surface (not shown) by the inkjet method to perform main printing on the recording medium P. The ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> is a so-called line head in which a plurality of nozzles (not shown) that jet the ink are arranged over a length equal to or larger than a width of the recording medium P in the X-direction. The line head may be configured by connecting a plurality of head modules (not shown) to each other. The ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> is disposed with the nozzle surface (not shown) facing the transport unit <NUM>.

The ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> prints the image on the surface of the recording medium P by jetting the ink from the nozzle formed on the nozzle surface to the recording medium P. As described above, the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> records the image by a so-called single-pass method by scanning the recording medium P once.

The image printed by the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> corresponds to the "image printed in advance on the recording medium P" in the image forming device <NUM>.

The cleaning unit that wipes the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> and the capping unit that moisturizes the nozzle surface of the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> may be provided.

On the upstream side of the recording medium P in the transport direction of the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM>, at least one pretreatment of applying of the pretreatment liquid that chemically reacts with the ink jetted in the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM>, irradiation of the energy light that promotes the permeation of the ink jetted in the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> to the printing surface, or surface reforming that suppresses the spread of the ink jetted in the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> on the printing surface may be performed on the recording medium P.

In addition, on the downstream side of the recording medium P in the transport direction from the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM>, at least one post-treatment of irradiation of the energy light that cures the ink jetted in the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> or drying of the ink jetted in the ink jetting head for main printing <NUM> may be performed on the recording medium P.

The unit that performs the main printing on the recording medium P is not limited to the inkjet method, and may be an offset printing method, an electrophotographic picture printing method, or an energy ray curable ink printing method.

In the image forming devices <NUM> and <NUM> according to the present embodiment, the position of the pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> in the Y-direction is changed to change the distance between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction. However, a configuration may be adopted in which the printing X-direction guide <NUM> is made to be movable in the Y-direction, and the printing X-direction guide <NUM> is moved in the Y-direction to change the distance between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the Y-direction. Similarly, the printing X-direction guide <NUM> may be moved in the Y-direction to change the distance between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the Y-direction.

In addition, by keeping the position of the pretreatment X-direction guide <NUM> and the position of the printing X-direction guide <NUM> at a certain position and changing the transport path by the transport unit <NUM>, the distance between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM> in the transport direction may be controlled to change the time from pretreatment to printing. For example, between the pretreatment unit <NUM> and the printing unit <NUM>, by making the traveling direction of the recording medium P to the transport path, which is once directed downward in the Z-direction and then is folded back and returned upward in the Z-direction, and changing the distance to the fold, the transport path can be changed. Similarly, by keeping the position of the printing X-direction guide <NUM> and the position of the post-treatment X-direction guide <NUM> at a certain position and changing the transport path by the transport unit <NUM>, the distance between the printing unit <NUM> and the post-treatment unit <NUM> in the transport direction may be controlled to change the time from printing to post-treatment.

In the embodiments described so far, for example, the hardware structure of the processing unit that executes various processing, such as the transport control unit <NUM>, the pretreatment control unit <NUM>, the printing control unit <NUM>, the post-treatment control unit <NUM>, and the integrated control unit <NUM>, is the following various processors. The various processors include a central processing unit (CPU) that is a general-purpose processor which executes software (program) to function as various processing units, a graphics processing unit (GPU) that is a processor specialized in image processing, a programmable logic device (PLD) that is a processor of which a circuit configuration after the manufacture, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a dedicated electric circuit that is a processor having a dedicated circuit configuration designed to execute specific processing, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the like.

One processing unit may be composed of one of these various processors, or may be composed of two or more processors of the same type or different types (for example, a plurality of FPGAs, a combination of a CPU and an FPGA, or a combination of a CPU and a GPU). In addition, a plurality of processing units may be composed of one processor. As an example of configuring the plurality of processing units with one processor, first, as represented by a computer, such as a server or a client, there is a form in which one processor is composed of a combination of one or more CPUs and software, and the processor functions as the plurality of processing units. Second, as represented by a system on chip (SoC) or the like, there is a form in which the processor is used in which the functions of the entire system which includes the plurality of processing units are realized by a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. As described above, the various processing units are composed of one or more of the various processors as the hardware structure.

Claim 1:
An image forming device (<NUM>) comprising:
a transport unit (<NUM>) that transports a recording medium in a transport direction;
a printing unit (<NUM>) that is disposed to face the transport unit (<NUM>) and applies an ink to a printing surface of the transported recording medium to perform printing;
a treatment unit (<NUM>, <NUM>) that is disposed to face the transport unit (<NUM>) and performs treatment on the transported recording medium;
a movement unit that changes a distance between the printing unit (<NUM>) and the treatment unit (<NUM>, <NUM>) in the transport direction;
an information acquisition unit (<NUM>) that acquires at least one information of information on a transportation speed of the recording medium in the transport unit (<NUM>), information on an applied amount of the ink in the printing unit (<NUM>), or information on a surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium; and
a distance control unit (<NUM>) that controls the distance based on the acquired information,
characterized in that
an image is printed on the printing surface of the recording medium in advance before the printing by the printing unit (<NUM>) and the treatment by the treatment unit (<NUM>, <NUM>),
the information acquisition unit (<NUM>) acquires whether the image printed in advance is an electrophotographic picture or an image printed by using an energy ray curable ink, as the information on the surface state of the printing surface of the recording medium, and
the distance control unit (<NUM>) decreases the distance between the printing unit (<NUM>) and the treatment unit (<NUM>, <NUM>) in the transport direction in a case in which the image printed in advance is the electrophotographic picture or the image printed by using the energy ray curable ink.