System and method for automating print medium selection and for optimizing print quality in a printer
First Claim
1. A printer that can use a print medium having encoded information therein in the form of invisible markings, said printer comprising:
- an illumination device for illuminating said invisible markings;
an optical sensor for detecting said invisible markings; and
software operable to decode said detected invisible markings to obtain information about the characteristics of said print medium, and further operable to use said information to facilitate printer performance.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A technique for the automatic detection of certain characteristics of the print medium being used in a printer is disclosed. These characteristics may include, without limitation, the manufacturer, the finish, the quality, orientation, and the dimensions of the print medium. Each sheet of specialty print medium is marked at the point of manufacture or packaging with certain preassigned numeric or symbolic codes that uniquely identify the characteristics of the print medium. Sensors are added to each printer to automatically detect and decode the markings on the speciality print media. This information is used to automatically optimize the printer for the best print quality possible.
63 Citations
14 Claims
-
1. A printer that can use a print medium having encoded information therein in the form of invisible markings, said printer comprising:
-
an illumination device for illuminating said invisible markings; an optical sensor for detecting said invisible markings; and software operable to decode said detected invisible markings to obtain information about the characteristics of said print medium, and further operable to use said information to facilitate printer performance. - View Dependent Claims (11)
-
-
2. An automated method for adapting the print quality of a printer to the characteristics of a print medium being used in said printer, said method comprising the steps of:
-
receiving a first print medium at said printer, said first print medium including markings; detecting markings in said first print medium using one or more sensors; decoding said detected markings to obtain information about the characteristics of said first print medium; selecting a painting scheme for the printer based upon said decoded information; printing on the first print medium according to the selected painting scheme; receiving a second print medium at said printer, said second print medium not including markings; and responsive to the second print medium not including markings, printing on the second medium according to the painting scheme selected for the first print medium.
-
-
3. An automated method for producing print media incorporating individualized information about the characteristics of the print medium, said method comprising the steps of:
-
collecting information about the characteristics of print media that is of relevance to a printer capable of optimizing its print quality; encoding said collected information about the characteristics of the print medium into binary form using a prespecified format; and marking said encoded information about the characteristics of said print medium at at least one prespecified location on said print medium. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5)
-
-
6. An automated system for producing print media incorporating individualized information about the characteristics of the print medium, said system comprising:
-
means for collecting information about the characteristics of print media that is of relevance to a printer capable of optimizing its print quality; means for encoding said collected information about the characteristics of the print medium into binary form using a prespecified format; and means for marking said encoded information about the characteristics of said print medium at at least one prespecified location on said print medium. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
12. A system for adapting the print quality of a printer, said system comprising:
-
a processor; and a storage device connected to said processor, said storage device for storing instructions readable by said processor to thereby cause said processor to; receive an indication that a first print medium is at said printer, said first print medium including markings; receive an indication of said markings included with said first print medium; decode said markings to obtain information about the characteristics of said first print medium; select a painting scheme for the printer based upon the decoded markings; initiate printing on the first print medium according to the selected painting scheme; receive an indication that a second print medium is at said printer, said second print medium not including markings; and responsive to the second print medium not including markings, initiate printing on the second medium according to the painting scheme selected for the first print medium. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
-
Specification