JP2005059504A - Print control method and printer of recording medium for retransfer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print control method and a printer for a recording medium for retransfer capable of printing on the recording medium for retransfer so that a character can be retransferred well. <P>SOLUTION: In the print control method for a recording medium for retransfer where a character is printed on the recording medium Tr for retransfer as a retransfer material in place of a recording medium Tp for print using a thermal print means 1 for printing a character on the recording medium Tp for print using a thermal head 131 while feeding an ink ribbon R simultaneously with the recording medium Tp for print as a transfer material, quantity of heat being applied to the thermal head 131 is reduced as compared with a case for printing on the recording medium Tp for print and feeding speed of the ink ribbon R and the recording medium Tr for retransfer is set higher as compared with a case for printing on the recording medium Tp for print. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to retransfer that prints a character on a retransfer recording medium that is a retransfer material by using a single thermal printing unit that prints the character on the recording medium that is a transfer material. The present invention relates to a printing control method for a recording medium for use and a printing apparatus.

Using a retransfer sheet on which characters such as letters, numbers, symbols and simple figures are transferred to the printing surface, rubbed from the back side or heated with an iron to retransfer paper, glass, plastic, cloth, etc. Instant lettering is performed to re-transfer the transferred character onto the surface of the object. Such a retransfer sheet thermally transfers a desired character to a transfer tape (retransfer recording medium), which is a retransfer material, using a printing device such as a thermal printer, a word processor, or a typewriter. It is known to produce. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 11-59085 A (second page)

  By the way, as the transfer tape, one having retransferability with respect to the heat-transferred ink is used. For example, a heat-transferred ink is re-transferred together with the surface treatment layer by laminating a surface treatment layer mainly composed of a thermoplastic resin such as ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer on the tape base material. . However, when printing is performed on such a transfer tape by thermal transfer of the ink with a thermal printing apparatus in the same manner as printing on a printing tape (recording medium for printing) as a transfer material, In the transfer tape with the surface treatment layer laminated, the surface treatment layer is heated by the thermal head via the ink ribbon and peeled off from the tape substrate. Therefore, a part of the ink once thermally transferred to the transfer tape is transferred to the ink ribbon. Go back (reverse transcription). Therefore, there is a problem that the character image printed on the transfer tape is faint and it is difficult to perform good retransfer of the character.

  The present invention provides a printing control method and a printing apparatus for a recording medium for retransfer, which can perform printing on the recording medium for retransfer so that good retransfer of characters can be performed. Objective.

  The retransfer recording medium printing control method of the present invention is a thermal format in which a character is printed on a printing recording medium by a thermal head while simultaneously feeding an ink ribbon and a printing recording medium as a transfer material. In the printing control method for a retransfer recording medium in which a character is printed on a retransfer recording medium as a retransfer material instead of the printing recording medium, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head is changed. And reducing the feeding speed of the ink ribbon and the retransfer recording medium as compared with the case of printing on the printing recording medium. Features.

  Further, the printing apparatus of the present invention includes a feeding unit that simultaneously feeds an ink ribbon and a recording medium, a printing unit that prints a character on a recording medium by a thermal head in synchronization with a feeding operation by the feeding unit, and a printing unit. When the type of the recording medium introduced into the printing medium is a printing recording medium as a transfer material, a printing control mode in which the amount of heat applied to the thermal head and the feeding speed by the feeding means are defined is selected and printed. When the type of recording medium introduced into the means is a recording medium for retransfer as a retransfer material, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head and printing are smaller than the amount of heat applied in the control mode for printing. A mode selection means for selecting a re-transfer control mode in which the feed speed by the feed means that is faster than the feed speed specified in the control mode is selected by the mode selection means. Based on one of the modes which are to a control means for controlling the printing means and the feed means, comprising the.

According to these configurations, when printing on the recording medium for retransfer, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head is reduced and the feeding speed by the printing means is compared with printing on the recording medium for printing. To speed up. For this reason, the surface treatment layer of the recording medium for retransfer is not excessively heated by the thermal head via the ink ribbon, and the recording medium for retransfer is in contact with the recording medium for retransfer and the ink ribbon. Since the recording medium for retransfer is immediately separated from the ink ribbon after the melted ink is transferred, the surface treatment layer of the recording medium for retransfer does not peel off during the printing operation. Part of the ink transferred to the recording medium for recording is not reversely transferred to the ink ribbon together with the surface treatment layer.
Further, instead of the retransfer recording medium provided with the surface treatment layer, the wettability of the print surface is reduced by, for example, performing a treatment such as covering the print surface with a coating layer made of silicon resin or fluorine resin ( Even in a recording medium for retransfer with a large water contact angle, the flow of ink in the ink ribbon that has been heated and melted by the thermal head is reduced by reducing the amount of heat applied to the thermal head, and immediately. Further, since the recording medium for retransfer is separated from the ink ribbon, a part of the ink once transferred to the recording medium for retransfer is not reversely transferred to the ink ribbon.
The amount of heat applied to the thermal head refers to the amount of heat as an input obtained by multiplying the applied voltage (or applied current) by the strobe pulse to the thermal head by the application time.

  Further, in this case, when it is usual to print a normal image character on the recording medium, it further includes mirror image print instruction means for instructing printing of the mirror image character, and the mode selection means includes the mirror image It is preferable to select the retransfer control mode when the print instruction means instructs to print a mirror image character.

  According to this configuration, the user only needs to instruct to print a mirror image character (mirror character), and the user does not instruct the type of the recording medium introduced into the printing unit. Printing in an appropriate mode. Note that a mirror image character is usually printed on the retransfer material so that it can be recognized as a normal image character when it is retransferred to the retransfer object.

  Further, in this case, a detection unit that detects the type of the recording medium introduced into the printing unit is further provided, and the mode selection unit detects that the recording medium for retransfer is introduced by the detection unit. In addition, it is preferable to select the retransfer control mode.

  According to this configuration, since the type of the non-recording medium mounted on the printing apparatus is detected by the detection unit, an appropriate mode corresponding to the type of the recording medium is reliably selected.

  According to the retransfer recording medium printing control method and the printing apparatus of the present invention, when printing on the retransfer recording medium, the thermal head is applied to the thermal head as compared with the case of printing on the printing recording medium. By reducing the amount of applied heat and increasing the feeding speed by the printing means, a portion of the ink once transferred to the retransfer recording medium is not reversely transferred to the ink ribbon. Therefore, printing can be performed so that the character can be retransferred satisfactorily.

  Hereinafter, a tape printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The tape printer according to the present embodiment detachably mounts a tape cartridge containing a printing tape (recording medium for printing) with release paper, and draws the printing tape from the tape cartridge, while desired characters and numbers are attached thereto. In addition to printing characters such as symbols and simple figures, cutting the printed part to a predetermined length to create a label, it also contains a transfer tape (recording medium for retransfer) instead of a print tape The tape cartridge is mounted, a character is printed on the tape cartridge, the printed portion is cut into a predetermined length, and a retransfer sheet is created.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tape printer 1 includes an apparatus main body 11 having an outer shell formed by an apparatus case 12, and a tape cartridge 13 detachably attached to the apparatus main body 11. The ink ribbon R and the tape T to be printed are accommodated so as to be fed out.

  The device case 12 includes a case main body 21 that integrally covers the surface and peripheral surface of the device main body 11 and a back cover (not shown) that covers the lower surface of the device main body 11. A keyboard 81 constituting the operation unit 71 is disposed, and an opening / closing lid 22 and a display 82 are disposed on the left and right sides of the upper surface of the rear half. Further, a tape discharge port 23 for discharging the printed tape T to the outside is formed in the left side portion 21a of the case body 21.

  A cartridge mounting portion 24 for mounting the tape cartridge 13 is provided inside the opening / closing lid 22, and the tape cartridge 13 is attached to and detached from the cartridge mounting portion 24 with the opening / closing lid 22 opened. .

  The tape cartridge 13 is configured by accommodating an ink ribbon R, a tape T, and a platen 32 in a cartridge case 31 composed of upper and lower cases. The tape T is wound around the tape reel 33, and the ink ribbon R is wound around the cartridge case 31 in a state of being wound around the ribbon feeding reel 34 and the ribbon take-up reel 35, respectively. The platen 32 is rotatably accommodated in the cartridge case 31 so as to be adjacent to a head insertion opening 36 into which a thermal head 131 (described later) is loosely inserted.

  In the tape cartridge 13, the ribbon take-up reel 35 and the platen 32 are respectively inserted into a ribbon take-up drive shaft 91 (described later) and a platen drive shaft 92 (described later) installed on the cartridge mounting portion 24. The cartridge is mounted on the cartridge mounting unit 24. Although details will be described later, the tape T and the ink ribbon R run in a state where they overlap each other at the position of the head insertion opening 36 by synchronously rotating the ribbon take-up drive shaft 91 and the platen drive shaft 92. Then, only the printed tape T is discharged to the outside from the tape discharge port 23, and the ink ribbon R is wound inside (ribbon take-up reel 35).

  The tape T accommodated in the tape cartridge 13 is prepared in a plurality of types having different widths (for example, 4.6 mm to 18 mm). Although not shown, a plurality of small holes are provided on the back surface of the tape cartridge 13 so that the types of tapes T having different widths can be identified, and the cartridge mounting portion 24 detects the presence or absence of these holes. A tape identification sensor 155 (described later) is provided so that the width of the tape T can be detected.

  In addition to the printing tape Tp for creating a label, the tape T is provided with a transfer tape Tr for creating a retransfer sheet, which is provided in a state of being mounted in the cartridge case 31. As shown in FIG. 5, the printing tape Tp includes a printing substrate tape 41 in which an adhesive 43 is applied to the back surface of the printing substrate 42, and a release paper 45 attached to the printing substrate tape 41 by the adhesive 43. Are laminated. The printing substrate 42 is made of a polyester film or the like, and an image receiving layer 44 made of a polyester resin or the like having good fixability of ink thermally transferred from the ink ribbon R is provided on the surface on which the character is printed. Yes. The release paper 45 is for preventing dust and the like from adhering to the adhesive 43 until the printing substrate tape 41 is used as a label, and is made of plain paper or the like whose surface is siliconized. Has been. Therefore, the adhesive force exerted on the release paper 45 by the adhesive 43 is extremely smaller than the adhesive force exerted on the printing substrate 42. Therefore, the release paper 45 can be easily peeled off from the printing base tape 41 on which the character is printed, and can be affixed to the back cover of the folder as a label.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the transfer tape Tr has a structure in which a surface treatment layer 52 for receiving ink to be thermally transferred is laminated on the surface of a retransfer substrate 51 made of polyethylene terephthalate or the like. ing. The surface treatment layer 52 is made of a thermoplastic resin such as an ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer, wax, or the like. In addition, an anchor layer 53 that gently attaches the surface treatment layer 52 to the retransfer substrate 51 is provided between the retransfer substrate 51 and the surface treatment layer 52. Then, the thermal transferable ink layer 62 (described later) of the ink ribbon R thermally transferred to the surface treatment layer 52 is transferred to the transfer tape Tr again by a transfer stick (not shown) provided in the tape printer 1. By overlapping with the object Ob and rubbing from the back surface, it peels off at the interface between the surface treatment layer 52 and the anchor layer 53 and is retransferred together with the surface treatment layer 52 to the retransfer object Ob (see FIG. 8).
The transfer tape Tr may have a printing surface covered with a coating layer made of silicon resin or fluorine resin, and the ink thermally transferred to the coating layer having low wettability is applied to the object to be retransferred Ob. Pressure-sensitive retransfer can be performed. Further, as the transfer tape Tr, a heat-sensitive transfer tape that transfers the object to be transferred by heating from the back surface with an iron or the like may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the ink ribbon R has a heat-sensitive transfer ink layer 62 laminated on the surface of a ribbon base 61 made of polyethylene terephthalate or the like, and has heat resistance on the back surface, that is, the surface in contact with the thermal head 131. The back surface layer 63 is stacked.

  On the other hand, the apparatus main body 11 includes an operation unit 71 configured by the keyboard 81 and the display 82, a tape feeding unit 72 that simultaneously feeds the ink ribbon R and the tape T, and a printing unit that performs printing. 73, a tape cutting unit 74 that cuts the tape T after printing, a detection unit 75 that has various sensors and performs various detections, a drive unit 76 that has various drivers and drives each circuit, and a tape And a control unit 77 that controls each unit in the printing apparatus 1 (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tape feeding section 72 is inserted into the ribbon take-up reel 35 and the platen 32, and rotates the ribbon take-up drive shaft 91 and the platen drive shaft 92, respectively. A drive motor 93 as a source, a reduction gear train 94 that transmits the power of the drive motor 93 to the drive shafts 91 and 92, and an encoder 95 for detecting the rotational speed of the drive motor 93 are provided. Although details will be described later, the tape feeding section 72 shares the drive motor 93 with the tape cutting section 74.

  A drive motor 93 composed of a DC motor capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions is incorporated so as to be mounted on the motor holder 96 on the back side of the cartridge mounting portion 24. Although details will be described later, the rotational speed of the drive motor 93 is controlled by pulse width modulation (PWM) control.

  The reduction gear train 94 is disposed on the back surface of the cartridge mounting portion 24 and includes a common gear train 101 on the drive motor 93 side and a feed gear train 102 on the ribbon take-up drive shaft 91 and the platen drive shaft 92 side. Yes.

  The common gear train 101 is rotatable to the worm wheel 112, a worm 111 fixed to the main shaft 93a of the drive motor 93, a worm wheel 112 meshing with the worm 111, a small gear 114 coaxially fixed to the worm wheel 112, and the worm wheel 112. A clutch arm 115 that is mounted, and a clutch gear 116 that is rotatably attached to the tip of the clutch arm 115 and meshes with the small gear 114 are provided.

  That is, the clutch arm 115, the small gear 114, and the clutch gear 116 constitute a clutch mechanism 113 for switching the rotational power. The forward and reverse rotational power of the drive motor 93 is transmitted from the worm 111 and the worm wheel 112 to the clutch mechanism 113. The operation is switched to a tape feeding operation (including a printing operation) or a tape cutting operation.

  The feed gear train 102 includes an intermediate gear 121 that meshes with the clutch gear 116, a branch gear 122 that meshes with the intermediate gear, a ribbon-side output gear 123 and a platen-side intermediate gear 124 that mesh with the branch gear, and a platen that meshes with the platen-side intermediate gear 124. Side output gear 125, and the two output gears 123 and 125 rotate the ribbon take-up drive shaft 91 and the platen drive shaft 92. That is, when the drive motor 93 rotates in the forward direction, the clutch mechanism 113 is connected to the feed gear train 102, and the power of the drive motor 93 is transmitted to the ribbon take-up drive shaft 91 and the platen drive shaft 92, and the ribbon take-up reel 35 described above. And the platen 32 is rotated.

  The encoder 95 includes a pulse disc 97 fixed to the tip of the main shaft 93 a of the drive motor 93, and a photo interrupter 156 (described later) of the detection unit 75 faces the pulse disc 97.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing unit 73 includes a thermal head 131 covered with a head cover 132. The resistance value of each heating element 133 of the thermal head 131 is slightly different for each thermal head. For this reason, the head rank indicating the average resistance value of each heating element 133 measured in advance is designated for the thermal head 131.

  When the tape cartridge 13 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 24, the platen 32 is engaged with the platen drive shaft 92, the ribbon take-up reel 35 is engaged with the ribbon take-up drive shaft 91, and the thermal head 131 is engaged with the head insertion opening 36. It is inserted in. When the open / close lid 22 is closed in this state, the tape T and the ink ribbon R are sandwiched between the platen 32 and the thermal head 131, and printing is possible.

  As described above, when the platen 32 and the ribbon take-up reel 35 are rotated by the tape feeding unit 72, the tape T and the ink ribbon R are simultaneously fed, and the dots of the print image (character) are synchronized with these. When a strobe pulse based on information is applied and the thermal head 131 is driven to generate heat, the thermal transferable ink layer 62 of the ink ribbon R is thermally transferred to the tape T, and the character is printed on the tape T.

  In this case, in order to obtain an appropriate adhesion strength of the ink to the tape T, it is necessary to cause the thermal head 131 to generate a heat amount applied within a predetermined range. The amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 is proportional to the product of the voltage applied by the strobe pulse to the thermal head 131 (each heating element 133) and the application time. Although details will be described later, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 is controlled by controlling the application time by the strobe pulse.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tape cutting unit 74 includes the drive motor 93, the common gear train 101, the cutting gear train 141, the cutting operation cam 143 fixed to the final gear 142 of the cutting gear train 141, and the cutting And a slide cutter 144 that is cut by the operation cam 143. When the drive motor 93 is reversed, the clutch mechanism 113 is connected to the cutting gear train 141, and the power of the driving motor 93 is transmitted to the slide cutter 144 via the cutting operation cam 143 to cause the cutting operation. The tape T is cut by the slide cutter 144 and then discharged from the tape discharge port 23.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the detection unit 75 includes a rotation speed sensor 151 that detects the rotation speed of the drive motor 93, a head surface temperature sensor 152 that detects the surface temperature of the thermal head 131, and drives each part of the tape printing apparatus 1. The voltage detection sensor 153 that detects the output voltage of the battery used as a power source, the head rank designation switch 154 that is set to a value corresponding to the head rank of the thermal head 131, and the type of the tape T introduced into the printing unit 73 are identified. Various sensors such as a tape identification sensor 155 are provided. And each sensor supplies the detected value to the control part 77 mentioned later.

  The rotation speed sensor 151 has a photo interrupter 156 that faces the pulse disk 97, and is driven by the light of the light emitting element of the photo interrupter 156 passing through the rotating pulse disk 97 and being received by the light receiving element. The number of rotations (number of pulses) of the motor 93 is detected. That is, blinking of light received by the light receiving element is output as a pulse signal to the control unit 77 described later.

  The tape identification sensor 155 is configured by a micro switch (not shown) provided in the tape cartridge mounting portion 24, and the back surface of the tape cartridge 13 according to the type (width, etc.) of the tape T accommodated in the tape cartridge 13. The type of the tape T is identified by identifying a plurality of small holes provided in. That is, it is possible to identify the number of bits configured by a plurality of switches and a plurality of holes.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the drive unit 76 drives each unit based on a control signal output from the control unit 77, and drives the display driver 161 that controls the drive of the display 82 and the thermal head 131. A head driver 162 for controlling and a motor driver 163 for controlling the drive motor 93 are provided.

  The operation unit 71 is used when a user inputs data, various commands, instructions, and the like from the keyboard 81 to create / edit print image data and visually check the result.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the keyboard 81 inputs various designations and data to the control unit 77, and the keyboard 81 includes alphabet key groups, symbol key groups, numeric key groups, hiragana, katakana, and the like. In addition to the character key group 83 including the kana key group, a function key group 84 for designating various operations is arranged.

  The function key group 84 is used for data confirmation and line feed at the time of text input, a selection key 85 for instructing selection of various modes on the selection screen, a cancel key 86 for taking various inputs, and changing the role of each key. A shift key 87, four cursor keys 88 for moving the cursor and a display range of the display 82, a print key 89 for starting a printing operation, and the like.

  The control unit 77 includes a CPU 171, a ROM 172, a character generation ROM (CG-ROM) 173, a RAM 174, and a peripheral control circuit (P-CON) 175, which are connected to each other via an internal bus 176.

  The ROM 172 stores, in addition to the control program area 181 storing the control program processed by the CPU 171, various tables used for calculating the application time to the thermal head 131, that is, the head rank coefficient from the set value DH of the head rank designation switch 154. Head rank correction table TB1 for obtaining CH, voltage correction table TB2 for obtaining voltage coefficient CV from voltage detection value DV of voltage detection sensor 153, and temperature coefficient CT from temperature detection value DT of head surface temperature sensor 152 A temperature correction table TB3 for obtaining is stored. As will be described in detail later, the voltage correction table TB2 and the temperature correction table TB3 are dedicated tables for the printing control mode Mp and the retransfer control mode Mr, that is, voltage correction dedicated to the printing control mode Mp. A table TB2p, a temperature correction table TB3p, a voltage correction table TB2r dedicated to the retransfer control mode Mr, and a temperature correction table TB3r are provided.

  The head rank correction table TB1 is set so that the head rank coefficient CH becomes larger (the application time becomes longer) as the resistance value indicated by the head rank set value DH is larger. The voltage correction table TB2 has a voltage detection value DV. The larger the value, the smaller the voltage coefficient CV (the application time becomes smaller), and the temperature correction table TB3 is set so that the larger the temperature detection value DT, the smaller the temperature coefficient CT (the smaller the application time). .

  The CG-ROM 173 stores font data such as characters, symbols, and graphics prepared in the tape printer 1, and outputs corresponding font data when given code data specifying characters and the like. .

  The RAM 174 is supplied with power by a backup circuit (not shown) so as to retain the stored data even when the power is turned off by the operation of the power key. A text data area 192 for storing text data such as input characters, a display image data area 193 for storing display image data on the display 82, a print image data area 194 for storing print image data, and a drawing for storing drawing registration image data It has areas such as a registered image data area 195 and various buffer areas 196, and is used as a work area for control processing. Further, a parameter storage area AR for storing the head rank coefficient CH, voltage coefficient CV, and temperature coefficient CV is provided.

  The P-CON 175 incorporates a logic circuit that complements the function of the CPU 171 and handles interface signals with peripheral circuits. For this reason, the P-CON 175 is connected to the various sensors of the detection unit 75 and the keyboard 81, and the various detection signals from the detection unit 75, the various data input from the keyboard 81, various commands, and the like to the internal bus 176. At the same time, the data and control signals output from the CPU 171 or the like to the internal bus 176 are output to the drive unit 76.

  The CPU 171 processes various detection signals, various data, and various commands input via the P-CON 175 in accordance with the control program in the ROM 172, and then outputs the control signal to the drive unit 76 via the P-CON 175. As a result, the overall position of the tape printing apparatus 1 is controlled, such as printing position control and display control on the display 82, and controlling the thermal head 131 to print on the tape T under predetermined printing conditions.

  A processing flow of the entire control of the tape printer 1 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. First, when processing is started by turning on the power, for example, initial setting for returning the tape printer 1 to the requested initial state is performed (S1), and then the initial screen is displayed on the display screen. (S2). When the initial screen display is completed and the key input interrupt is permitted, the key input interrupt standby state (S3: No) is entered, and key input becomes possible. When a key input interrupt is generated by key input (S3: Yes), the process proceeds to an interrupt process (S4). When the interrupt process ends, the key input interrupt standby state is again entered (S3: No). Note that the decision branch (S3) on whether or not a key has been input and various interrupt processes (S4) are conceptually illustrated processes.

  As described above, in the tape printer 1, the main processing is performed by interruption processing. Therefore, if the print image creation preparation and the printing preparation are ready, the user presses the print key 89 at an arbitrary time, thereby interrupting the printing processing. Occurs and the printing operation is performed, so that the user can arbitrarily select an operation procedure up to printing.

  Furthermore, in the tape printer 1 of the present embodiment, a print menu for setting print image data is prepared in order to perform printing according to the user's purpose. For example, the print menu is provided with a menu such as “mirror character printing” for performing printing by inverting the character image on the tape T. This “mirror character printing” is selected when printing is performed on the transfer tape Tr so that the character thermally transferred to the transfer tape Tr can be recognized as a normal image when the character is transferred again to the retransfer object Ob. Is. When the user selects “mirror character printing” from the print menu displayed on the display 82 and presses the selection key 85, the printing operation is started, and the character data of the mirror image is output from the CG-ROM 173 and is transferred to the transfer tape Tr. A mirror image character (mirror character) is printed. When mirror character printing is not selected, the tape printer 1 prints a normal image character on the tape T.

  Further, the print menu is provided with a “print density” menu for adjusting the density of characters printed on the tape T. When a special tape cartridge 13 (for example, a tape cartridge of a reflective label) is used. In addition, the print density can be adjusted.

  Here, a process of printing a character on the transfer tape Tr by the tape printer 1 to create a retransfer material and retransferring the character on the retransfer material to the retransfer material will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, in the printing operation of the tape printer 1, while applying the ink ribbon R and the tape T at a feeding speed within a predetermined range, the applied heat amount within a predetermined range is applied to the thermal head 131 based on the print image data. Then, each heating element 133 is heated (indicated as H in FIGS. 8 and 9) (see FIG. 8A). Then, the heat-sensitive transferable ink layer 62 at a location heated by each heating element 133 of the thermal head 131 is transferred onto the surface treatment layer 52 of the transfer tape Tr (see FIG. 5B). The thus-prepared retransfer material (transfer tape Tr) is superimposed on the object to be retransferred Ob and rubbed from the back surface, whereby the heat-transferred character (heat-sensitive transfer ink layer 62) is reprinted together with the surface treatment layer 52. It is retransferred to the transfer object Ob (see FIG. 4C).

  However, when printing on the transfer tape Tr, the surface treatment layer 52 of the transfer tape Tr is easily peeled off from the anchor layer 53 by heating from the thermal head 131, so printing is performed at the same feeding speed and applied heat amount as the printing tape Tp. In this case, a part of the ink once thermally transferred to the transfer tape Tr is reversely transferred to the ink ribbon R together with the surface treatment layer 52. (See FIG. 9). Therefore, as will be described in detail later, when printing on the transfer tape Tr, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 is reduced as compared with the case of printing on the print tape Tp, and between the ink ribbon R and the transfer tape Tr. By increasing the feeding speed, it is possible to obtain a clear thermal transfer image and its retransfer image.

  First, the print control process in the printing operation of the tape printer 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. This process is started after the print key 89 is pressed. When this processing is started, first, the control unit 77 fetches the set value DH of the head rank specifying switch 154, and then uses the head rank correction table TB1 to obtain the head rank coefficient CH corresponding to this set value. This is stored in the CH storage area of the parameter storage area AR (S11).

  In the next S12, the division number J of the image data is determined based on the width of the tape T identified by the tape identification sensor 155. In the present embodiment, J = 1 is set when the width of the tape T is 4.6 mm, and J = 2 is set when the width is 9 mm, 12 mm, and 18 mm. That is, when the width of the tape T is 4.6 mm, printing of one row parallel to the width direction of the tape T is performed once (one line), and when 9 mm, 12 mm, and 18 mm, printing of one row is 2 It is divided into 2 times (2 lines).

In continuing S13, the control part 77 judges whether the mirror character printing was instruct | indicated by the user. When the user selects “mirror character printing” from the above print menu and presses the selection key 85 (mirror image printing instruction means) (instructs “mirror character printing”), the re-transfer control mode Mr is selected, When the user does not instruct “mirror character printing”, the printing control mode Mp is selected.
The tape cartridge 13 containing the transfer tape Tr may be provided with a hole different from the hole for identifying the tape width, and the tape identification sensor 155 may identify the hole and send the identification result to the control unit 77. Good. In this case, the control unit 77 selects the retransfer control mode Mr when the tape identification sensor 155 detects that the transfer tape Tr has been introduced, and the tape identification sensor 155 has introduced the printing tape Tp. Is detected, the printing control mode Mp is selected.

  Subsequently, feeding of the ink ribbon R and the tape T is started (S14). In the retransfer control mode Mr, a higher feed rate (for example, 8 mm / s) is defined as compared with the feed rate (for example, 6 mm / s) defined in the print control mode Mp. Therefore, when the retransfer control mode Mr is selected, the ink ribbon R and the tape T are fed at a higher speed than when the printing control mode Mp is selected. The feeding speed of the ink ribbon R and the tape T is controlled to a constant speed by feedback controlling the number of rotations of the drive motor 93. That is, the control unit 77 acquires the pulse signal sent from the rotation speed sensor 151 and compares the PWM signal with the preset feed speed to change the PWM value of the pulse signal supplied to the motor driver 163, thereby The output voltage from the driver 163 is controlled, and the rotational speed of the drive motor 93 is controlled.

  In subsequent S15, after the voltage detection value DV is taken in from the voltage detection sensor 153, the voltage correction table TB2p, TB2r set for each control mode is used to obtain the voltage coefficient CV corresponding to this voltage detection value DV, and the parameter Store in the CV storage area of the storage area AR. The voltage correction table TB2r dedicated to the retransfer control mode Mr is set so that the voltage coefficient CV is smaller (application time is shorter) than the voltage correction table TB2p dedicated to the printing control mode Mp.

  In subsequent S16, after the temperature detection value DT is taken from the head surface temperature detection sensor 152, the temperature coefficient CT corresponding to the temperature detection value DT is obtained using the temperature correction tables TB3p and TB3r set for each control mode. And stored in the CT storage area of the parameter storage area AR. The temperature correction table TB3r dedicated to the retransfer control mode Mr is set so that the temperature coefficient CT is smaller (application time is shorter) than the temperature correction table TB3p dedicated to the printing control mode Mp.

In S17, the head rank coefficient CH, voltage coefficient CV, and temperature coefficient CT stored in the parameter storage area AR in S11, S15, and S16 are used, and the application time (P-CON175 application time calculation circuit) STB width) is calculated. Here, since the voltage coefficient CV and the temperature coefficient CT are obtained using the voltage correction table TB2 and the temperature correction table TB3 dedicated to each control mode, respectively, the application time for the printing control mode Mp (for example, 3 msec) is obtained. In comparison, the application time of the retransfer control mode Mr (for example, 2 msec) is calculated to be shorter. Therefore, when the retransfer control mode Mr is selected, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 is smaller than when the printing control mode Mp is selected.
Note that this application time is also calculated using the density coefficient set by the selection when the user selects a darker or lighter density than the normal time in the “print density” menu.

  In this way, printing of one line is completed by controlling the feeding speed of the ink ribbon R and the tape T suitable for each control mode and the amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 (S18). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not printing of all lines has been completed (S19). If not, the process proceeds to S15 again. Then, the remaining print portion of one print data is printed in the same manner, and the printing is finished.

  As described above, the control unit 77 selects the printing control mode Mp when the user does not instruct “mirror character printing”, and when the user instructs “mirror character printing”, the retransfer control mode. Select Mr. In each control mode Mr, a dedicated voltage correction table TB2 and a temperature correction table TB3 for calculating the application time to the thermal head are defined, and the feed speed between the ink ribbon R and the printing tape Tp is defined. Has been. In the retransfer control mode Mr, correction tables TB2r and TB3r are defined such that a shorter application time is calculated than in the printing control mode Mp, and a high feed rate is specified. ing.

  Therefore, when the user instructs “mirror character printing” to print a mirror character on the transfer tape Tr, compared to when the user does not instruct “mirror character printing” to print on the printing tape Tp. Further, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 is small, and the feeding speed between the ink ribbon R and the transfer tape Tr is increased. Therefore, when printing is performed on the transfer tape Tr, the surface treatment layer 52 is not excessively heated by the thermal head 131 via the ink ribbon R, and the transfer tape Tr and the ink ribbon R are in contact with each other. Since the transfer tape Tr is immediately separated from the ink ribbon R after the molten ink is transferred to the Tr, the surface treatment layer 52 does not peel off during the printing operation, and the ink once transferred to the transfer tape Tr A part of the surface treatment layer 52 is not reversely transferred to the ink ribbon.

  In addition, even when the transfer tape Tr is used in which the printing surface is covered with a coating layer made of silicon resin or fluorine resin, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 is reduced so that the ink heated and melted by the thermal head 131 is used. Since the fluidity of the ink on the ribbon R becomes low and the transfer tape Tr is immediately separated from the ink ribbon R, a part of the ink once transferred to the transfer tape Tr body is reversely transferred to the ink ribbon R. There is no.

  Here, by using the tape printer 1 of the present embodiment, the PWM value and the STB width are changed, that is, the feeding speed of the ink ribbon R and the tape T and the amount of heat applied to the thermal head are changed. The results of printing on Tp and the retransfer tape Tr will be described. FIG. 11A shows the evaluation result of the image obtained on the printing tape Tp, and FIG. 11B shows the evaluation result of the image obtained on the transfer tape Tr and its retransfer image.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, when printing on the printing tape Tp, if the amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 is increased and the feeding speed between the ink ribbon R and the tape T is set not to be too fast, the ink Can be appropriately fixed to the image receiving layer 44 of the printing tape Tp, and a good image can be obtained. On the other hand, in the case of printing on the transfer tape Tr, the amount of heat applied to the thermal head 131 is reduced as compared with the case of printing on the printing tape Tp, and the feeding speed between the ink ribbon R and the tape T is set to the printing tape Tp. When the printing speed was higher than that when printing on, a good image and its retransfer image could be obtained.

  Even when the character is printed on the printing tape Tp, for example, when the user prints a mirror image character on the transparent printing tape Tp in order to create a transparent label that can be seen through the glass, “Mirror character printing” may be instructed. In this case, printing is performed on the printing tape Tp in the retransfer control mode Mr (PWM value: 82%, STB width: 2 msec). However, even in the retransfer control mode Mr, an image is received on the printing tape Tp. Since printing is performed at a heat amount applied to the thermal head 131 and a feed speed of the ink ribbon R and the tape T that are substantially sufficient to fix the ink to the layer 44, the image on the printing tape Tp is not faint and practical. There is no upper hindrance (see FIG. 11).

It is the whole perspective view of the state where the opening-and-closing lid of the tape printer concerning an embodiment was opened. It is the perspective view which removed the back cover and looked at the tape printer concerning an embodiment from the back side. It is a block diagram of the control system of the tape printer which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the whole control of the tape printer which concerns on embodiment by a conceptual process. It is sectional drawing of the printing tape which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the transfer tape which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the ink ribbon which concerns on embodiment. When printing on a transfer tape in the retransfer control mode according to the embodiment, a thermal transferable ink layer is selectively thermally transferred from the ink ribbon onto the transfer tape to form an image, and then reprinted on the transfer target. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the process of forming a transfer image. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a process in which a thermal transferable ink layer of an ink ribbon thermally transferred to a transfer tape is reversely transferred onto the transfer tape when printing on the transfer tape in the printing control mode according to the embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating print control processing according to the embodiment. It is the figure which showed the evaluation result of the image obtained on the printing tape which concerns on embodiment. It is the figure which showed the evaluation result of the image obtained on the transfer tape which concerns on embodiment, and its retransfer image.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tape printer 11 Apparatus main body 13 Tape cartridge 52 Surface treatment layer 53 Anchor layer 72 Tape feed part 73 Printing part 75 Detection part 76 Drive part 77 Control part 85 Selection key 89 Print key 93 Drive motor 131 Thermal head Tp Print tape Tr Transfer Tape R Ink ribbon Mp Control mode for printing Mr Control mode for retransfer

Claims (4)

A thermal printing unit that prints characters on the recording medium with a thermal head while simultaneously feeding the ink ribbon and the recording medium as a transfer material is used instead of the recording medium. In the retransfer recording medium print control method for printing a character on a retransfer recording medium as a retransfer material,
While reducing the amount of heat applied to the thermal head as compared to printing on the recording medium for printing,
A printing control method for a recording medium for retransfer, wherein a feeding speed of the ink ribbon and the recording medium for retransfer is increased as compared with the case of printing on the recording medium for printing. Feeding means for simultaneously sending the ink ribbon and the recording medium;
Printing means for printing a character on the recording medium by a thermal head in synchronization with the feeding operation by the feeding means;
A printing control mode in which the amount of heat applied to the thermal head and the feeding speed by the feeding means are defined when the type of recording medium introduced into the printing means is a printing recording medium as a transfer material. And when the type of the recording medium introduced into the printing means is a recording medium for retransfer as a retransfer material, the amount of applied heat is less than the amount of applied heat defined in the printing control mode. Mode selection means for selecting a retransfer control mode in which the feed speed by the feed means is faster than the amount of heat applied to the thermal head and the feed speed specified in the print control mode;
A printing apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the printing unit and the feeding unit based on any mode selected by the mode selection unit. Mirror image printing instruction means for instructing to print a mirror image character when printing a normal image character on the recording medium is regularly used,
The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the mode selection unit selects the retransfer control mode when the mirror image print instruction unit instructs to print a mirror image character. Detecting means for detecting the type of the recording medium introduced into the printing means;
3. The printing according to claim 2, wherein the mode selection unit selects the re-transfer control mode when the detection unit detects that the recording medium for re-transfer is introduced. 4. apparatus.

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