Importance

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Abstract

A printhead, constructed with a plurality of common-type element substrates which sandwich a connecting board, which performs printing by utilizing a common-type control signal. The element substrate integrates: a plurality of heaters 101 which are arrayed in one line, power transistors 102, a shift register 104, a latch circuit 117, an AND circuit 119, terminals 114 to 116 for inputting block-selection signals, a terminal 120 for inputting an inverse instruction signal which instructs to invert the block selection signal, a block inverter 121 for inverting the block-selection signal in accordance with the inverse instruction signal, and a 3 to 8 decoder 118 for selecting one of a plurality of blocks. By utilizing a printhead where at least two of the element substrate are arranged opposite to each other, and where plural arrays of printing elements are formed, printing is performed by dividing a plurality of printing elements into a plurality of blocks and time-divisionally driving each block. When this printing is performed, the inverse instruction signal inverts the order of block selection which has been inverted because of the element substrates arranged opposite to each other.

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First Claim