Patent ID: 8081204

Claim:
An image recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium by irradiation with light, wherein a target image to be recorded on a recording medium contains a plurality of pixel lines each of which has a plurality of pixels arranged in a line direction, each of said plurality of pixel lines consists of a plurality of pixel groups each of which is a series of pixels having same pixel values, said image recording apparatus comprising: a light modulator having a light modulator element; a holding part for holding a recording medium on which said target image is recorded by signal light from said light modulator; a moving mechanism for moving said holding part relatively to said light modulator to move an irradiation position on a recording medium continuously in a scan direction corresponding to said line direction, said irradiation position being irradiated with light from said light modulator element; an operation part for obtaining a shift amount for shifting a transition position of an output light amount outputted from said light modulator element with respect to each pixel value-change point which is a position between adjacent two pixel groups in each pixel line, in order to correct displacement of writing of a pixel group, wherein in a case where said shift amount excesses a width corresponding to one pixel in said scan direction on a recording medium, said operation part alters a pixel value(s) of a pixel(s) in said each pixel line so that said each pixel value-change point moves in said line direction by a number of pixels of an integer part of a calculated value which is obtained by dividing said shift amount by said width, and said operation part modifies said shift amount corresponding to said each pixel value-change point to a value equivalent to a decimal part of said calculated value; and a control part for controlling said light modulator on the basis of said target image after alteration and said shift amount after modification, in synchronization with said moving mechanism.