Patent ID: 7338154

Claim:
An image printing apparatus, comprising: a conveyance-printing section for printing on a recording medium sheet; a first printing device including a plurality of first printing heads mounted above the conveyance-printing section and staggered perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording medium sheet for jetting a first set of image-setting ink drops onto the recording medium sheet for printing; a second printing device including a plurality of second printing heads mounted above the conveyance-printing section and staggered perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium sheet for jetting a second set of image-setting ink drops, respectively, onto the recording medium sheet for printing, the second printing device arranged downstream from the first printing device with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording medium sheet; a first light radiating device including a plurality of first light sources mounted above the conveyance-printing section and arranged downstream from the first printing device and upstream from the second printing device with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording medium sheet for radiating ultraviolet rays to harden surfaces of the first set of image-setting ink drops jetted from the first printing device before the second set of image-setting ink drops are jetted from the second printing device; and a second light radiating device including a plurality of second light sources mounted above the conveyance-printing section and arranged downstream from the second printing device with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording medium for radiating ultraviolet rays to harden surfaces of the second set of image-setting ink drops jetted from the second printing device, and to completely harden the first set of image-setting ink drops previously jetted from the first printing device, wherein the plurality of first light sources and the plurality of second light sources are staggered perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium sheet and correspond to each of the plurality of first printing heads and the plurality of the second printing heads, respectively.