Patent ID: 8016385

Claim:
A printer comprising: a feeding unit configured to perform repeated feeding of a medium for a predetermined feeding distance in a predetermined feeding direction; a print head configured to print on a printing surface of the medium in a printing zone set each time said feeding unit performs a feeding of the medium for the feeding distance; and a printing pass setting unit configured to set the printing zone containing a plurality of printing passes, said printing pass setting unit being configured to set said printing passes such that boundaries between said printing passes extend diagonally relative to a width direction of the medium, the width direction being perpendicular to the feeding direction of the medium, wherein said print head is configured to print in the printing zone while scanning in the width direction of the medium, wherein said printer is an inkjet printer, wherein said print head is an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles aligned in the feeding direction, and wherein said printing pass setting unit is configured to select nozzles in a certain range of alignment of said plurality of nozzles such that the selected nozzles eject ink droplets to said printing passes contained in said printing zone, and said printing pass setting unit is configured to shift said range for the selected nozzles in the feeding direction according to a position of said print head in the width direction of the medium so as to set said printing passes such that said boundaries between said printing passes extend diagonally relative to the width direction of the medium.