Patent ID: 8899737

Claim:
A method of controlling ultraviolet-curable gel ink spread of a printed image comprising: applying one or more ultraviolet-curable gel inks to a first substrate image area by one or more inkjets in a printing zone of a printer, the one or more inkjets being configured to form one or more first ink spots on the first substrate image area; determining, with a processor, a temperature of at least the first substrate image area in the printing zone; determining, with the processor, a first spot size of at least one of the one or more first ink spots; referencing, with the processor, a target spot size for the one or more first ink spots; comparing, with the processor, the determined first spot size with the referenced target spot size for the one or more first ink spots; adjusting, with the processor, a temperature of at least a second substrate image area in the printing zone based on the comparing; and exposing the one or more ultraviolet-curable gel inks to an ultraviolet light to cure the one or more ultraviolet-curable gel inks.