JP2000313130A - High speed transfer method for thermal ribbon and calendar producing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high speed transfer method for a thermal ribbon capable of performing printing at a high speed so as to match with the speed of other process in a manufacturing process of printed matter such as a calendar or the like requiring gathering-binding processes, and a calendar manufacturing method and apparatus using the same. SOLUTION: In printing individual information such as a shop name or the like in a calendar, at first, information other than the individual information is preliminarily transferred to unnecessary transfer paper from a thermal ribbon by using a thermal head to prepare a positive thermal ribbon having the individual information. Next, the individual information is transferred to calendar paper 20 from the positive thermal ribbon 6 by using a heat roll to obtain the calendar paper 20 having the individual information such as a shop name or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high-speed thermal ribbon transfer method and a high-speed thermal ribbon transfer method capable of printing at a higher speed in printing using a thermal ribbon such as printing a store name on a calendar. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a calendar applied thereto.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a calendar manufacturing process. 5 (A) shows a printing process, FIG. 5 (B) shows a collating process, FIG. 5 (C) shows a store name printing process, FIG. 5 (D) shows a cutting process, and FIG. E) shows the binding step, and FIG. 5 (F) shows the packaging step.

[0003] The printing step is a step of printing a picture, a day of the week, and the like on the calendar paper 20. As shown in FIG. 5A, the calendar paper 20 is printed on a cover, a page for each month, and a picture, a day of the week, and the like, and stacked. The collation process is a process of arranging the calendar sheets 20 in page order. As shown in FIG.
Month, February,..., December
Zeros are collated. The shop name printing step is a step of printing the shop name on each collated calendar sheet 20. FIG. 5 (C)
As shown in FIG. 1, for example, each calender paper 20 is transferred by a method of transferring a thermal ribbon by a thermal head.
Is printed with the name of the store.

[0004] The cutting process is performed by stacking calendar paper 2
This is a step of cutting 0 into a predetermined size. As shown in FIG. 5 (D), each of the calendar sheets 20 on which the shop names have been collated and the shop name is printed is trimmed for finishing. The binding step is a step of binding each of the cut calendar sheets 20 one by one. Each of the cut calendar sheets 20 is manually put into the binding machine one by one. Then, as shown in FIG. 5E, the upper end side of each calendar paper 20 is bound by a binding tool 21 such as a metal fitting. The packaging step is a step of packaging the calendar 2 for each predetermined number of copies. As shown in FIG. 5F, the calendar 2 is wrapped with, for example, kraft paper.

[0005] In the above-described calendar manufacturing process, in the store name printing process, the store name information and the like of the thermal ribbon can be transferred to the calendar paper 20 by the heat of the thermal head using the thermal ribbon. . A printing method with a plate, such as letterpress printing or offset printing, can be used for store name printing.However, compared to such a printing method, a method using a thermal ribbon does not require a plate, so the switching time is shorter. In addition, the production can be performed efficiently, and the cost can be reduced because the plate cost is not required.

[0006]

However, in a shop name printing method using a thermal ribbon, when the present invention is applied to an inline machine that performs a collating process to a binding process consistently, the shop name printing process and the other processes are not performed. Since the speeds are different, in other words, the printing speed of the store name by the thermal head cannot catch up with the speed of processes other than the printing of the store name, so that there is a problem that the productivity of the entire production machine is reduced. Specifically, in the printing method using a thermal ribbon, the processing speed is at most 50 mm / sec due to the performance of the thermal head.
The speed is as low as c.

In view of the above, in the present invention, it is possible to perform printing at a high speed so as to match the speed of other processes in a manufacturing process of a printed material that requires a collating to binding process such as a calendar. An object of the present invention is to provide a high-speed transfer method of a thermal ribbon, and a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a calender using the method.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a non-image portion is transferred from a thermal ribbon by a thermal head to form a positive thermal ribbon having an image portion. The method is characterized by comprising a preparation step of preparing and a printing step of transferring the prepared positive thermal ribbon to paper by a heat roll. According to the first aspect of the present invention, in particular, the image portion is left on the thermal ribbon by using a heat roll to leave only the image portion on the thermal ribbon by transferring the image in advance using a thermal head. Since the printing is performed by transferring the image data, the time required for the actual printing using the thermal ribbon can be greatly reduced.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, when a calendar is manufactured from a plurality of calendar papers, the thermal head leaves individual information on the thermal ribbon and transfers other information to the transfer paper. By creating a positive thermal ribbon having individual information and transferring the created positive thermal ribbon to calendar paper by a heat roll, individual information is printed for each calendar paper, and the individual information is printed. The collated calendar papers are collated and the collated calendar papers are bound. In the invention according to the second and third aspects, in particular, the individual information remaining on the thermal ribbon is preliminarily transferred by using a thermal head, so that the individual information remaining on the thermal ribbon is subsequently used by using a heat roll. Is printed by transferring the common information in advance to the calendar paper on which the common information is printed, and the respective calendar papers on which the individual information is printed are collated,
Further, since the collated calendar sheets are bound, a calendar on which individual information is printed can be manufactured at a high speed in accordance with a collating process to a binding process which are performed at a high speed.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (High-Speed Transfer Method of Thermal Ribbon) FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a preparation step in the high-speed transfer method of a thermal ribbon of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 3 is an unused thermal ribbon, 4 is a transfer sheet for transferring unnecessary portions, 5
Is a thermal head that receives print information and transfers other than the print information from the thermal ribbon to the transfer paper, and 6 is a thermal head that transfers non-print information from the unused thermal ribbon to the transfer paper 4 with the thermal head 5 to obtain the print information. The positive thermal ribbon 7 which has only the transfer paper on which the information other than the printing information is transferred from the thermal ribbon 3 onto the transfer paper 4 is shown. The thermal ribbon 3 and the transfer paper 4 are mounted on rotatable supply rolls, respectively, and the positive thermal ribbon 6 and the transferred paper 7 are mounted on rotatable winding rolls.

When the preparation process is started, in FIG. 1, in FIG. 1, a supply roll holding an unused thermal ribbon 3 and a supply roll holding a transfer sheet 4, a winding roll holding a positive thermal ribbon 6, and a transferred sheet 7 Are respectively rotated, and the unused thermal ribbon 3 and the transfer paper 4 are fed out at a speed of about 50 mm / sec. Of course, at the start, the positive thermal ribbon 6 and the transferred paper 7 are not wound around the take-up rolls, and only the leading ends are attached to the respective take-up rolls. In the thermal head 5, a portion other than the print information is transferred from the thermal ribbon 3 to the transfer paper 4 in such a manner that the print information corresponding to the individual information obtained from a database (described later) or the like via a computer (described later) is extracted. . Parts other than the print information are transferred at predetermined intervals by the thermal head 5,
At the same time, print information remains on the positive thermal ribbon 6 at predetermined intervals.

The positive thermal ribbon 6 obtained in this manner is applied to a printing unit 10 for performing a printing process as shown in FIG.
Set on the supply roll. FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the printing unit 10, in which 6 is a positive thermal ribbon obtained in the preparation process, 11 is a heat roll for transferring by generating heat, 12 is a substrate of the thermal ribbon, and 20 is printing Paper.

When the printing process is started in the printing unit 10 shown in FIG. 2, the supply roll holding the positive thermal ribbon 6 and the winding roll holding the base material 12 of the thermal ribbon rotate, and the positive thermal ribbon is rotated. Ribbon 6
Further, the base material 12 of the thermal ribbon is sent out at a speed of about 500 mm / sec which is about 10 times the processing speed in the preparation step. Of course, at the start, the base material 12 of the thermal ribbon is not wound around the winding roll,
Only its tip is in a state of being attached to the take-up roll. Further, the printing paper 20 is printed at a speed corresponding to this.
Is supplied. For example, a combination of a suction port, a blowing nozzle, a nip roll, and the like can be used as a paper feeding unit for the printing paper 20. Of the printing papers 20 stacked,
The uppermost one is sucked up by the suction port, and air is blown from behind (left side in FIG. 2) to float only one print sheet 20 and send it out between the pair of nip rolls to sequentially print between the pair of heat rolls 11. Paper 20 can be supplied.

Between the pair of heat rolls 11, pressure is applied to the positive thermal ribbon 6 and the printing paper 20, and the printing information on the positive thermal ribbon 6 is transferred onto the printing paper 20 by being heated. You. The printing paper 20 on which the printing information is transferred is stacked at a predetermined position, and the positive thermal ribbon 6 transfers the printing information and then is wound up by a take-up roll. Material 12 is obtained.

(Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing Calender) Next, an example in which the printing unit 10 is applied to a calendar manufacturing apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a calendar manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The calendar manufacturing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that manufactures the calendar 2 from calendar paper (cover, page for each month from January to December, mount) 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the calendar manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a printing unit 10, a collation line unit 30, and a thickness detection unit 4.
0, rejector unit 50, metal fitting unit 60, separate volume unit 70,
A packaging unit 80 and the like are provided.

The appearance of the printing unit 10 is box-shaped as shown in FIG. 3, and a transfer mechanism as shown in FIG. 2 is provided inside the box. The printing units 10 are provided along the collation line unit 30 by the number of calendars 2 (14).

The collation line section 30 is a section for arranging the calendar paper 20 on which the individual information is printed in the order of pages and grouping them one by one. The collation line section 30 is indicated by an arrow A in the figure.
It has a conveyor 30a that moves in the direction. The collating line section 30 is provided for the calendar paper 20 discharged by the printing section 10.
Are collated in the order of a cover from the top, a page and a mount for each month from January to December, and sent to the thickness detection unit 40.

The thickness detecting section 40 is a section for detecting additional or missing pages of the calendar paper 20 collated by the collating line section 30. The thickness detector 40 inspects the calendar paper 20 conveyed by the conveyor 30a and detects a defective product.

The rejector section 50 is a section for removing defective products from the collated calendar paper 20 based on the detection result of the thickness detecting section 40. When the thickness detector 40 detects a defective product, the rejector unit 50
a. Discharge this defective product from above.

The metal fitting unit 60 is a part for binding the collated calendar paper 20 with metal fittings. Hardware binding section 6
0 has a number counter (not shown). The metal part binding unit 60 counts the number of copies of the calendar 2 bound with metal parts by the number counter.

The separate volume section 70 is a section for separating the calendar 2 bound by the metal fitting binding section 60 into a predetermined number of copies. The separation unit 70 sends the calendar 2 to the packaging unit 80 in a state where a predetermined number of the calendars 2 are stacked.

The wrapping section 80 is a section for wrapping the calendar 2 separated by the separating section 70. Packaging section 80
For example, the calender 2 in a flat stacked state is wrapped by shrink wrapping by wrapping the stretchable film by heat shrinking, kraft wrapping by kraft paper, or the like.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the calender manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
The left side shows a configuration for performing a preparation process, and the right side shows a calender manufacturing apparatus main body for performing a calendar manufacturing process. In the preparation process on the left side, the host computer 90
Is a central processing unit that controls the entire preparation process. The host computer 90 transmits the individual information selected by the input unit 92 to the thermal head 5 as print data via the printer controller 93. The host computer 90 is connected to a database 91, an input unit 92, and a printer controller 93, and the printer controller 93 is connected to the thermal head 5.

The database 91 is a section for storing individual information in advance. The input unit 92 includes a database 91
Is a part for selecting arbitrary information from the individual information stored by the. The input unit 92 is operated by the user with reference to a print item list or the like. The printer controller 93 is
This is a control device that transmits print data to the thermal head 5 in response to a command signal transmitted by the host computer 90.

4, the line sequencer 94 includes a printing unit 10, a collating line unit 30, a thickness detecting unit 40, a rejector unit 50, and a separate unit 7.
And a central processing unit that controls the packaging unit 80. The line sequencer 94 includes a printing unit 10 and a collating line unit 3
0, thickness detecting section 40, rejector section 50, separate volume section 70,
The packaging unit 80 is connected. In the preparation process, the host computer 90 and the printing unit 10 of the calendar manufacturing device are connected offline via a medium such as an FD, or
Information can be exchanged online through a network. From the host computer 90, control information such as the number of copies of one store name and ribbon defect information is passed to the printing unit 10.

Next, a method of manufacturing a calendar according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. When the user selects the individual information by the input unit 92, the host computer 90
Reads the individual information from the database 91 and transfers the individual information to the thermal head 5 as print data via the printer controller 93. At the same time, in a preparation step as shown in FIG. 1, the supply roll holding the thermal ribbon 3 and the supply roll holding the transfer paper 4 rotate, and the thermal ribbon 3 and the transfer paper 4
Sent to The thermal head 5 transfers the information other than the sent individual information from the thermal ribbon 3 to the transfer paper 4 to obtain a positive thermal ribbon 6. The number of positive thermal ribbons 6 (14) constituting the calendar 2 is prepared.

Next, the positive thermal ribbon 6 is
Each of the printing units 10 is set on a supply roll. Then, the printing of the individual information is performed on each calendar sheet 20 by the printing unit 10. Calendar paper 2 printed
0 is discharged onto the conveyor 30a of the collating line section 30.

The collating line section 30 is provided with the calendar paper 20.
And send it out to the thickness detecting unit 40. Thickness detector 4
No. 0 inspects the collated calendar paper 20, and the rejector unit 50 discharges a defective product from the conveyor 30a. The metal fitting part 60 binds the correctly collated calendar paper 20 with metal fittings. Separation section 70 separates calendar 2 for every fixed number of copies, and packaging section 80 wraps calendar 2 for every fixed number of copies.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Because the image area was left only on the thermal ribbon by transferring it in advance using a thermal head, and then printing was performed by transferring the image area remaining on the thermal ribbon using a heat roll. Thus, the time required for actual printing using a thermal ribbon can be greatly reduced. In the production of calendars,
The individual information is left on the thermal ribbon by transferring it in advance using a thermal head, and then the individual information remaining on the thermal ribbon is transferred to a calender paper on which common information is printed using a heat roll. Each calendar paper on which the individual information is printed is collated, and the collated calendar papers are further bound. Can be manufactured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a preparation step in a method for high-speed transfer of a thermal ribbon and a method for manufacturing a calender according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a printing step in a thermal ribbon high-speed transfer method and a calender manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a calender manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a calendar manufacturing apparatus and a preparation process according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a conventional calender manufacturing process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Calendar manufacturing apparatus 2 ... Calendar 3 ... Thermal ribbon 4 ... Transfer paper 5 ... Thermal head 6 ... Positive thermal ribbon 7 ... Transferred paper 10 ... Printing Unit 11: Heat roll 12: Thermal ribbon base material 20: Calendar paper (printing paper) 30: Collating line unit 40: Thickness detecting unit 50: Rejector unit 60: -Binding unit 70-Separation unit 80-Packaging unit 90-Host computer 91-Database 92-Input unit 93-Printer controller 94-Line sequencer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C065 AA05 AB08 AB09 AD07 AF02 DA33 DA36 2H111 AA01 AA26 AA33 AB00 CA11 CA12

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A preparation step for preparing a positive thermal ribbon having an image portion by transferring a non-image portion from a thermal ribbon by a thermal head, and applying the generated positive thermal ribbon to a sheet by a heat roll. A high-speed transfer method of a thermal ribbon, comprising a printing step of transferring. 2. A calendar manufacturing method for manufacturing a calendar from a plurality of calendar papers, wherein a thermal head leaves individual information on a thermal ribbon and transfers other than the individual information to a transfer sheet to form a positive calendar having individual information. A preparation step of creating a thermal ribbon, a printing step of printing individual information for each calendar sheet by transferring the created positive thermal ribbon to calendar paper by a heat roll, and the individual information is printed A calendar manufacturing method, comprising: a collating step of collating each calendar sheet; and a binding step of binding the collated calendar sheets. 3. A calender producing apparatus for producing a calender from a plurality of calender papers, wherein a positive thermal ribbon having individual information prepared in advance is transferred to the calender paper by a heat roll, so that each calender paper is produced. A calendar manufacturing method comprising: printing means for printing individual information; collating means for collating each of the calendar sheets on which the individual information is printed; and binding means for binding the collated calendar sheets. apparatus.