JP2011212884A - Multicolor thermal transfer printer and method and program for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent thermal transfer omission in a multicolor thermal transfer printer.SOLUTION: In the multicolor thermal printer, each of a second thermal transfer unit and its subsequent thermal transfer units from the upstream side includes: an image data acquisition means 101 acquiring thermal transfer image data and upstream side image data which is image data of the other thermal transfer units on the upstream side; a contour region extraction means 103 extracting a contour region of an overlapped region of images indicated by the upstream side image data and images indicated by the thermal transfer image data; and an optimal heat quantity setting means 104 setting optimal heat quantity which is optimal heat quantity applied to an ink ribbon in the contour region based on the contour region.

Description

  The present invention relates to a multicolor thermal transfer printer, a control method for a multicolor thermal transfer printer, and a multicolor thermal transfer printer, in which a multicolor fine image is thermally transferred onto a continuous transfer foil original such as a resin film. Related to the control program.

  Affixing the transfer foil, on which the image has been thermally transferred with the thermoplastic resin ink, into the injection mold, and then injecting the molten synthetic resin into the mold, the thermoplastic resin ink of the image is thermally transferred onto the surface. A beautiful injection molded product can be manufactured. After the injection molded product is taken out from the mold, the base material of the transfer foil is removed to complete the injection molded product with an image displayed on the surface.

  For the production of the transfer foil, a gravure printing method or the like is used, but in the case of a small number of copies, the cost of the printer can be reduced, and in particular, a thermal transfer printer that uses thermoplastic resin ink for thermal transfer of an image. It is considered desirable to use it. This is because the thermoplastic resin ink hardly causes distortion in the image due to heat when it is thermally transferred to the injection molded product.

  In this thermal transfer printer, a plurality of thermal transfer units each for thermally transferring an image of a predetermined color ink are arranged in series, and while the raw material such as a film travels from the upstream thermal transfer unit to the downstream thermal transfer unit. In each thermal transfer unit, the continuous transfer foil original is sandwiched between the thermal head and the platen together with the ink ribbon, so that the images of the respective color inks are superimposed and thermally transferred.

  However, due to the physical thickness of the thermoplastic resin ink that was thermally transferred at the first time, the portion where the thermoplastic resin ink was thermally transferred and the portion where the thermoplastic resin ink was not thermally transferred during the second overlap thermal transfer There is a problem in that the thermoplastic resin ink does not sufficiently adhere in the boundary region, and thermal transfer omission occurs in which the pattern by the thermoplastic resin ink is lost in the vicinity of the boundary line.

  For such a problem, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of changing the heat amount of the entire area where heat transfer is performed in accordance with the thermal transfer sensitivity of the ink.

JP 2006-62084 A

  However, if the amount of heat in the entire heat transfer area is increased, the thermal storage of the thermal head becomes larger than in normal heat transfer, the heat transfer outside the boundary becomes unstable, the image quality becomes unstable, and the heat transfer Problems such as tailing and ink ribbon sticking are likely to occur at the end.

  In addition, there is a method of increasing the pressing force of the entire thermal head in order to improve the adhesion, but the image quality of the thermoplastic resin ink other than the boundary portion changes. In addition, in the case of a printer having a plurality of thermal transfer units, the method of increasing the pressure results in conveyance resistance, the film conveyance tension of the thermal head portion of the upstream and downstream thermal transfer units is likely to change, and the stacking accuracy between units deteriorates. There is a problem in that color misregistration occurs and image quality deteriorates. Further, when the tension of the ink ribbon is increased, the slip resistance is increased and a problem is likely to occur.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is intended to provide a multicolor thermal transfer printer capable of performing high-definition multicolor thermal transfer of an image onto a continuous raw fabric using a thermoplastic resin ink. is there.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.

  In addition, although the code | symbol with a parenthesis is attached | subjected in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, this invention is not limited to this.

  That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of thermal transfer units (I, II, III, and IV) that thermally transfer an image of a predetermined color ink are arranged in series, and continuous transfer as a continuous raw material is performed. While the foil web (7) travels from the upstream thermal transfer unit (I) to the downstream thermal transfer unit (IV), in each thermal transfer unit (I, II, III, IV), together with the ink ribbon (14) In the multicolor thermal transfer printer in which the images of the respective color inks are superimposed and thermally transferred by being sandwiched between the thermal head (13) and the platen (12), the second and subsequent thermal transfer units (II, III, IV) from the upstream side. ) Includes thermal transfer image data that is image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink to be thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit (II, III, IV), and , Image data acquisition means (101) for acquiring upstream image data, which is image data sent to other upstream thermal transfer units (I, II, III), an image represented by the upstream image data, Overlap area detection means (102) for detecting an overlap area with the image represented by the thermal transfer image data, and outline area extraction means (103) for extracting the outline area of the overlap area detected by the overlap area detection means (102) And an optimum amount of heat corresponding to preset heat transfer image data and an optimum amount of heat that is the optimum amount of heat applied to the ink ribbon in the contour region based on the contour region extracted by the contour extraction means The optimum heat quantity information corresponding to the optimum heat quantity set by the setting means (104) and the optimum heat quantity setting means (104) is stored in the thermal head (13 Be provided with a, an optimal amount of heat information output means (105) for outputting to adopt a multi-color thermal transfer printer according to claim.

  As described in claim 2, in the multi-color thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, the optimum heat quantity setting means (104) sets the optimum heat quantity larger than the heat quantity corresponding to the preset thermal transfer image data. be able to.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the multicolor thermal transfer printer according to the first or second aspect, the thermoplastic resin ink of the ink ribbon used in the other thermal transfer unit (II, III, IV) on the upstream side. An input means (130) for inputting thickness information is further provided, and the optimum heat quantity setting means (104) is applied to the ink ribbon based on the thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink input to the input means (130). The optimum heat quantity to be set can be set.

  As described in claim 4, in the multicolor thermal transfer printer according to claim 3, the optimum heat quantity setting means (104) is based on the thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink input to the input means (130). As the thickness of the thermoplastic resin ink increases, the optimum amount of heat to be applied to the ink ribbon can be set larger.

  As described in claim 5, a plurality of thermal transfer units (I, II, III, IV) each for thermally transferring an image of a predetermined color ink are arranged in series, and continuous transfer as a continuous original fabric While the foil web (7) travels from the upstream thermal transfer unit (I) to the downstream thermal transfer unit (IV), in each thermal transfer unit (I, II, III, IV), together with the ink ribbon (14) In the control method of the multi-color thermal transfer printer in which the image of each color ink is superimposed and thermally transferred by being sandwiched between the thermal head (13) and the platen (12), the second and subsequent thermal transfer units (II, III, IV) is a method of controlling thermal transfer image data, which is image data corresponding to thermoplastic resin ink to be thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit, and upstream An image data acquisition step (101) for acquiring upstream image data that is image data sent to another thermal transfer unit, an image represented by the upstream image data, and an image represented by the thermal transfer image data An overlapping region detecting step (102) for detecting an overlapping region, a contour region extracting step (103) for extracting a contour region of the overlapping region detected in the overlapping region detecting step (102), and preset thermal transfer image data An optimum heat amount setting step (104) for setting an optimum heat amount, which is an optimum heat amount applied to the ink ribbon in the contour region, based on the corresponding heat amount and the contour region extracted in the contour region extraction step (103); The optimum heat quantity information for outputting the optimum heat quantity information corresponding to the optimum heat quantity set in the optimum heat quantity setting step (103) to the thermal head. And an output step (104), to adopt a method of controlling a multi-color thermal transfer printer, characterized by comprising.

  7. A plurality of thermal transfer units (I, II, III, IV), each of which thermally transfers an image of a predetermined color ink, are arranged in series to form a continuous transfer as a continuous original fabric. While the foil web (7) travels from the upstream thermal transfer unit (I) to the downstream thermal transfer unit (IV), in each thermal transfer unit (I, II, III, IV), together with the ink ribbon (14) A control program for a multicolor thermal transfer printer in which an image of each color ink is superimposed and thermally transferred by being sandwiched between a thermal head (13) and a platen (12). II, III, IV) is a thermal transfer image data which is image data corresponding to a thermoplastic resin ink to be thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit, And image data acquisition means (101) for acquiring upstream image data, which is image data sent to another upstream thermal transfer unit, an image represented by the upstream image data, and the thermal transfer image data Overlap area detection means (102) for detecting an overlap area with the image, outline area extraction means (103) for extracting the outline area of the overlap area detected by the overlap area detection means (102), preset thermal transfer image data The optimum heat amount setting means (104) for setting the optimum heat amount that is the optimum heat amount applied to the ink ribbon in the contour region based on the heat amount corresponding to the contour region and the contour region extracted by the contour extracting means, and the optimum heat amount setting Optimum heat quantity information output means (105) for outputting optimum heat quantity information corresponding to the optimum heat quantity set in the means to the thermal head It is made to function as employing a control program of the multi-color thermal transfer printer according to claim.

  According to the present invention, the thermoplastic resin that is thermally transferred from the ink ribbon 14 by extracting the contour region from the overlapping region of the image data that is overlaid in the thermal transfer unit and increasing the amount of heat generated from the thermal head 13 in the contour region. The occurrence of ink thermal transfer omission is prevented, and a fine multicolor image can be printed with the thermoplastic resin ink.

It is a schematic diagram showing a layer structure of a transfer foil thermally transferred by a multicolor thermal transfer printer according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic front view of an embodiment of a multicolor thermal transfer printer according to the present invention. It is a schematic front view of one thermal transfer unit in a multicolor thermal transfer printer. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functional blocks of a thermal head control unit 100 of the multicolor thermal transfer printer according to the present invention. 2A is a plan view of image data in a thermal transfer unit I of a multicolor thermal transfer printer, a heat amount distribution in a thermal head 13, and a cross section of a continuous transfer foil original fabric 7. FIG. (B) Image data in the thermal transfer unit II of the multicolor thermal transfer printer, a plan view of the heat quantity distribution in the thermal head 13, and a cross section of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7. (A) It is the figure which showed the mode of the thermoplastic resin ink of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 after heat-transferring by the thermal transfer unit I and the thermal transfer unit II by the conventional control method. (B) It is the figure which showed the mode of the thermoplastic resin ink of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 after heat-transferring by the thermal transfer unit I and the thermal transfer unit II by the control method which concerns on this invention. (A) It is the figure which showed the top view and sectional drawing of heat quantity distribution in the image data and the thermal head 13 in the thermal transfer unit I of a multicolor thermal transfer printer. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a plan view and a cross-sectional view of image data and a heat distribution in the thermal head 13 in the thermal transfer unit II of the multicolor thermal transfer printer. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a heat distribution in a thermal head 13 in a thermal transfer unit II of a multicolor thermal transfer printer, and a diagram showing a state of a thermoplastic resin ink of a continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 after being thermally transferred.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the transfer foil in which the thermoplastic resin ink is thermally transferred from the ink ribbon 14 by the multicolor thermal transfer printer will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer foil 1 has a layer structure in which a release layer 3, a protective layer 4, an ink receiving layer 5, and an ink layer 6 are sequentially laminated on a base material layer 2. Among these, the layer constituent part from the base material layer 2 to the ink receiving layer 5 is a continuous transfer foil original fabric 7, which is used in a multicolor thermal transfer printer described later, and the thermoplastic resin ink from the ink ribbon 14 is transferred to the ink layer. 6 is thermally transferred.

  The base material layer 2 is formed of, for example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film or paper, and the protective layer 4 is formed of, for example, a UV curable acrylic resin. The release layer 3 and the ink receiving layer 5 are also formed of known materials that need not be exemplified. The protective layer 4 and the ink receiving layer 5 are formed of a transparent material or a translucent material so that an image formed by the ink layer 6 can be seen through. Further, the thickness of the base material layer 2 is about 50 μm as an example, and the thickness including the release layer 3, the protective layer 4, and the ink receiving layer 5 is several microns, and is about 10 μm or less as an example.

  The ink layer 6 is formed of a known thermoplastic resin ink. The thickness of the ink layer 6 is about 1 μm as an example. The ink layer 6 is formed by thermally transferring thermoplastic inks of various colors such as yellow, red, and indigo on the ink receiving layer 5 of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7, thereby carrying a desired image. The transfer foil 1 is made. The softening point of the thermoplastic resin ink is about 105 ° C.

  Next, a multicolor thermal transfer printer for thermally transferring thermoplastic resin ink from the ink ribbon 14 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, this multi-color thermal transfer printer has a plurality of thermal transfer units I, II, III, and IV that are arranged in series to thermally transfer an image of a predetermined color ink to a continuous transfer foil original fabric 7, respectively. It is constituted by being done.

  As viewed in the flow direction of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 in the multi-color thermal transfer printer, a feed roll 7a for feeding the untransferred continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 is installed on the upstream side, and the preheated transfer film 7 is installed on the downstream side. A take-up roll 7b for winding the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 is provided. The rotating shafts of the vector inverter motors 10 and 11 are connected to the cores of the feeding roll 7a and the winding roll 7b, respectively. The rotations of both rolls 7a and 7b are controlled by the vector inverter motors 10 and 11 so that the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 travels between the rolls 7a and 7b at a predetermined speed.

  The thermal transfer units I, II, III, and IV are indigo, red, yellow, white from the upstream side to the downstream side of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 between the feeding roll 7a and the winding roll 7b. The inks are arranged so as to be thermally transferred. Of course, the arrangement of the thermal transfer units I, II, III, and IV is not limited to the order of indigo, red, yellow, and white. Also, it is not limited to four units, it may be three units of three color printing or two units of two color printing, or additional units may be added from four units so that other color inks can be further thermally transferred. Also good.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the indigo ink thermal transfer unit I is provided with guide rollers 10 and 11 for detouring the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 traveling in the horizontal direction upward. Above these guide rollers 10 and 11, a platen 12 for running a detoured continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 is disposed. Above the platen 12, the thermal head 13 is disposed so as to face the platen 12. An indigo ink ribbon 14 is disposed between the platen 12 and the thermal head 13.

  The platen 12 is a roll whose surface is covered with rubber. The platen 12 is directly connected to the rotating shaft of a constant speed control type servo motor M.

  As shown in FIG. 3, nip rollers 15 and 15 that press the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 passing between the platen 12 and the thermal head 13 against the platen 12 before and after the thermal head 13 as required. Provided. The continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 is pressed against the surface of the platen 12 by the nip rollers 15 and 15, thereby preventing slippage between the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 and the platen 12. As a result, the image is thermally transferred more precisely and beautifully.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a far-infrared heater 16 is installed below the platen 12 as preheating means for preheating the platen 12. The far infrared heater 16 preheats the platen 12 to the temperature of the platen 12 after the multicolor thermal transfer printer is started up. Since the surface of the platen 12 is made of rubber, heat is stored by continuing thermal transfer, the diameter changes, and the traveling speed of the continuous transfer foil raw fabric 7 changes accordingly. Such inconvenience can be eliminated by heating in advance.

  The thermal head 13 can be pivoted up and down with the pivot 13a as a fulcrum. When the image is thermally transferred, the thermal head 13 is pivoted downward from above with the pivot 13a as a fulcrum, and the ink ribbon 14 is moved to the platen 12 as shown in FIG. It is designed to push toward you.

  The ink ribbon 14 in the thermal transfer unit I for indigo ink is formed by applying indigo ink on the surface of a continuous metal foil or the like, and its feeding roll 14a and take-up roll 14b have the platen 12 and the thermal head 13 attached. It arrange | positions so that it may pinch | interpose from the upstream and downstream of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7. The feed roll 14a and the take-up roll 14b of the ink ribbon 14 are provided with a thermal head control unit so that the ink ribbon 14 travels around the platen 12 at the same speed as the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 during the thermal transfer shown in FIG. 100.

  Further, the thermal head controller 100 controls the amount of heat generated from the thermal head 13 so that the thermoplastic resin ink of the ink ribbon 14 is finely and beautifully transferred to the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7. As an example, the temperature in the vicinity of the thermal head 13 is about 300 ° C., and the temperature of the thermoplastic resin ink is about 150 ° C.

  When the platen 12 is rotated at a constant speed by the constant speed control servo motor 22, the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 is moved between the platen 12 and the thermal head 13 at a constant speed equal to the peripheral speed of the platen 12 and the ink ribbon 14. While passing in an overlapping state, an image of indigo ink is thermally transferred onto the surface.

  The thermal transfer unit I for indigo color ink is configured as described above, but the thermal transfer units II, III, and IV for other color inks are also configured in the same manner. However, only the color of the thermoplastic resin ink of the ink ribbon 14 is different. Therefore, detailed description of the thermal transfer units II, III, and IV of other color inks is omitted.

  The constant speed controlled servo motors 22 that drive the platens 12 of the thermal transfer units I, II, III, and IV of the respective colors are controlled by the control unit 17 so that all of them move the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 at the same constant speed. Controlled by. Specifically, the constant speed control type servo motor 22 for driving the platen 12 is provided in the same number of four as the number of thermal transfer colors, and the other three speeds are determined based on the desired one speed. It is controlled to have the same rotational speed. As a result, the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 is fed in one direction by the platen 12 of each color, and the images of the respective colors are superimposed on the surface of the continuous transfer foil without being shifted in color and thermally transferred.

  Each thermal transfer unit is provided with a thermal head controller 100, and the inter-unit controller 200 controls the thermal head controller 100 of the thermal transfer unit. Note that the thermal head control unit 100 may be installed in the same place as the inter-unit control unit 200 and connected by a communication cable or the like instead of being arranged in each thermal transfer unit.

  Next, functional blocks of the thermal head controller 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The thermal head control unit 100 includes a CPU 110 that is a central processing unit, a ROM that is a read-only memory, a RAM that is a read / write memory as needed, a storage unit 120 such as a hard disk, and an input unit 130 to which information is input. Is included.

  The CPU 110 includes an image data acquisition unit 101 as an image data acquisition unit, an overlap region detection unit 102 as an overlap region detection unit, a contour region extraction unit 103 as a contour region extraction unit, and an optimal heat amount setting unit as an optimal heat amount setting unit. 104, an optimum heat quantity information output unit 105 as optimum heat quantity information output means is included.

  The image data acquisition unit 101 includes thermal transfer image data that is image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink to be thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit, and upstream image data that is image data sent to another upstream thermal transfer unit. It has the function to acquire.

  For example, when thermal transfer is to be performed in the thermal transfer unit II, thermal transfer image data for thermoplastic resin ink to be thermally transferred from the thermal head 13 in the thermal transfer unit II, and a thermal head in the thermal transfer unit I on the upstream side of the thermal transfer unit II. The image data acquisition unit 101 acquires the upstream thermal transfer image data from 13 for the thermal transfer of the thermoplastic resin ink.

  When thermal transfer is to be performed in the thermal transfer unit III, the thermal transfer image data is image data of the thermal transfer unit III, and the upstream thermal transfer image data is data of the thermal transfer unit I and the thermal transfer unit II.

  Further, the thermal transfer image data and the upstream thermal transfer image data may be transferred from another thermal transfer unit to the image data acquisition unit 101 via the inter-unit control unit 200 or may be stored in the storage unit 130 in advance. Further, the thermal transfer image data and the upstream thermal transfer image data stored in advance in the inter-unit control unit 200 may be transferred to the image data acquisition unit 101.

  The overlapping area detection unit 102 has a function of detecting an overlapping area between the image represented by the upstream image data and the image represented by the thermal transfer image data. Details will be described in detail after FIG.

  The contour region extraction unit 103 has a function of extracting the contour region of the overlapping region detected by the overlapping region detection means. As an example, the width of the contour region is about 1 mm or more. Details will be described in detail after FIG.

  The optimum heat amount setting unit 104 is an optimum heat amount that is applied to the thermoplastic ink ribbon in the contour region based on the heat amount corresponding to the preset thermal transfer image data and the contour region extracted by the contour region extraction unit 103. It has a function to set the optimum amount of heat, which is the amount of heat.

  The optimum heat quantity setting unit 104 has a function of setting the optimum heat quantity larger than the heat quantity corresponding to the preset thermal transfer image data.

  Furthermore, the optimum heat quantity setting unit 104 sets the optimum heat quantity to be applied to the ink ribbon as the thickness of the thermoplastic resin ink increases based on the thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink input to the input unit 130. It has a function.

  Details will be described in detail after FIG.

  The optimum heat quantity information output unit 105 outputs optimum heat quantity information corresponding to the optimum heat quantity set by the optimum heat quantity setting unit 104 to the thermal head.

  The optimum heat quantity information is information corresponding to the optimum heat quantity, and is information indicating the optimum heat quantity sent to the thermal head by alphanumeric characters, characters, symbols, and the like.

  The storage unit 120 includes information such as thermal transfer image data and upstream thermal transfer image data, and information on the thickness of the thermoplastic resin ink of the ink ribbon used in the other upstream thermal transfer unit and the thermal transfer unit to be thermally transferred. Remembered.

  In addition, the storage unit 120 functions as a temporary storage device for information used in the image data acquisition unit 101, the overlap region detection unit 102, the contour region extraction unit 103, the optimum heat amount setting unit 104, and the optimum heat amount information output unit 105. Have.

  The input unit 130 has a function of inputting the thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink of the ink ribbon used in another thermal transfer unit on the upstream side.

  The thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink of the ink ribbon used in the other thermal transfer unit on the upstream side is transferred from the other thermal transfer unit to the input unit 130 via the inter-unit control unit 200, or stored in advance in the storage unit 130. It may be stored. Further, the thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink of the ink ribbon that is stored in advance in the inter-unit control unit 200 may be transferred to the input unit 130.

  FIG. 5 shows image data, heat distribution in the thermal head 13 corresponding to the image data in the thermal transfer unit I and the thermal transfer unit II, and a cross section of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 after the thermoplastic resin ink is thermally transferred. FIG.

  FIG. 5A shows a state where the thermal transfer unit I thermally transfers the image data of the circle to the continuous transfer foil original 7 on which the thermoplastic resin ink has not been thermally transferred yet. FIG.

  The upper part of FIG. 5A shows a circle as image data in the thermal transfer unit I, the middle part shows a plan view of the heat amount distribution in the thermal head 13 corresponding to the upper part of the image data, and the lower part shows a thermal transfer of the thermoplastic resin ink. It is the figure which showed the cross section of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 in the diameter direction of the circle | round | yen after having passed.

  FIG. 5 (B) shows the image data of the quadrilateral image data in the thermal transfer unit II on the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 on which the thermoplastic resin ink has not been thermally transferred as in FIG. 5 (A). It is the figure which showed the mode in the case of carrying out thermal transfer of the resin ink.

  The upper part of FIG. 5B shows a quadrangle that is image data in the thermal transfer unit II, the middle part shows a plan view of the heat amount distribution in the thermal head 13 corresponding to the upper part of the image data, and the lower part shows a thermal transfer of the thermoplastic resin ink. It is the figure which showed the cross section of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 of the direction which crosses right and left in FIG.

  6 (A), after the thermoplastic resin ink is thermally transferred from the ink ribbon 14 to the continuous transfer foil original 7 corresponding to the circle of the image data in the thermal transfer unit I as shown in FIG. 5 (A), FIG. As shown in B), in the thermal transfer unit II, the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 after the thermoplastic resin ink is thermally transferred from the ink ribbon 14 to the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 in correspondence with the square of the image data. It is the figure which showed the mode of the thermoplastic resin ink of.

  FIG. 6A shows a state after the thermoplastic resin ink is overlaid and thermally transferred by a conventional method, and the upper stage is a plan view of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 after the thermoplastic resin ink is thermally transferred. These are sectional drawings of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 after the thermoplastic resin ink was thermally transferred.

  A region 51 in FIG. 6A shows a region where the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit I is a lower layer and the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit II is an upper layer and is overlaid and thermally transferred. Indicates a region of the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit II, and a region 53 is a region where the thermoplastic resin ink of the thermal transfer unit II should be thermally transferred but is not actually thermally transferred. Indicates.

  This is because the thickness of the thermoplastic resin ink of the thermal transfer unit I that is thermally transferred to the lower layer of the region 51 causes a step in the outer periphery of the region 51, and the ink ribbon 14 of the thermal transfer unit II that was supposed to be thermally transferred to the region 53. This is a thermal transfer omission that occurs because the thermoplastic resin ink is not sufficiently melted or pressurized by the thermal head 13 and is not in close contact with the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7, causing breakage or cracks.

  6A indicates that the thermoplastic resin ink of the thermal transfer unit I and the thermoplastic resin ink of the thermal transfer unit II overlap each other.

  FIG. 6B is a plan view of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 showing the state of the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 in which the thermoplastic resin ink is superimposed and thermally transferred by the thermal transfer unit I and the thermal transfer unit II by the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention. It is a figure (upper stage) and sectional drawing (lower stage). When the thermoplastic resin ink is superimposed and thermally transferred by the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, the thermal transfer omission in the region 53 of FIG. 6A does not occur.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a heat amount pattern in the case where the thermoplastic resin ink is overlaid and thermally transferred by the thermal transfer unit I and the thermal transfer unit II by the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention in which the thermal transfer missing of FIG. 6B does not occur.

  7A shows a circle area 61 of image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the thermal transfer unit I, and the middle stage shows image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the thermal transfer unit I. A plan view of the heat quantity distribution output from the optimum heat quantity information output unit 105 to the thermal head 13 corresponding to the circle area 61 is shown, and the lower part shows an AA cross-sectional view of the middle part of the heat quantity distribution.

  As shown in the lower part of FIG. 7A, the amount of heat output to the thermal head 13 in the thermal transfer unit I is a substantially constant amount of heat h1, and the continuous transfer foil original fabric corresponding to the circle region 61 of the image data. 7 is output from the optimum heat amount information output unit 105 to the thermal head 13.

  The upper part of FIG. 7B shows a rectangular area 62 of image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the thermal transfer unit II, and the middle part shows image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the thermal transfer unit II. The plan view of the heat quantity distribution output from the optimum heat quantity information output unit 105 to the thermal head 13 corresponding to the square area 62 is shown, and the lower part shows a BB cross-sectional view of the middle part of the heat quantity distribution.

  The middle annular region 71 in FIG. 7B is a circle region 61 of image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the upper thermal transfer unit I in FIG. 7A, and FIG. The upper part of () shows the contour extracted by the contour region extraction unit 103 from the overlapping region detected by the overlapping region detection unit 102 from the rectangular region 62 of the image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the thermal transfer unit II. Indicates the area. The contour region includes an inner region from the circumferential line of the region 61 to the inside of the region 61, and an outer region from the circumferential line of the region 61 to the outside of the region 61. The inner area and the outer area are the same as or wider than the width of the thermal transfer omission area, and in addition, considering the positional accuracy between the thermal transfer units, the thermal transfer is performed even in long runs by setting it wider than the positional accuracy between the thermal transfer units. Stable image quality without missing can be ensured. As an example, the width of the inner region and the outer region can be set to about 0.5 mm or more, preferably about 1 mm or more, of the registration accuracy between the thermal transfer units. In addition, since the inner region and the outer region having this width are included in the contour region, not only the thermoplastic resin ink but also the surrounding portions such as the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 and the platen 12 are heated and deformed. By becoming easy, thermoplastic resin ink becomes easy to closely_contact | adhere to the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7. FIG.

  The lower part of FIG. 7B is a BB cross-sectional view of the heat distribution in the middle part. In the part corresponding to the region 72 on the left side of FIG. 7B, the heat quantity h2 shown in the lower part is from the optimum heat quantity information output unit 105. Output to the thermal head 13. In a portion corresponding to the contour region of the region 71 in FIG. 7B, the heat amount h3 shown in the lower stage is output from the optimum heat amount information output unit 105 to the thermal head 13. The amount of heat h3 is desirably about 10% to about 30% larger than the amount of heat h2. As the thickness of the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the upstream thermal transfer unit I from the thermal transfer unit II increases, the heat quantity h3 as the optimum heat quantity is set larger.

  As an example, if the thickness of the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the upstream thermal transfer unit I is about 1 μm, the amount of heat h3 is desirably about 15% larger than the amount of heat h2. If it is less than about 10%, there is a risk of thermal transfer omission, and if it is more than about 30%, sticking of the ink ribbon 14 or reverse transfer may occur, resulting in a print defect.

  In a portion corresponding to the region 73 in FIG. 7B, the heat amount h2 shown in the lower stage is output from the optimum heat amount information output unit 105 to the thermal head 13.

  The optimized heat quantity shown in the middle and lower parts of FIG. 7B is output from the optimum heat quantity information output unit 105 to the thermal head 13, and as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the thermoplastic resin ink is thermally transferred as a fine and beautiful image with no color shift.

In order to prevent thermal transfer omission, it is better to have a large outline area. However, if the area becomes too large, the line width or dots of the area where the amount of heat has increased will become too thick, resulting in poor image quality and unstable image quality. become. Therefore, the contour area needs to be set to the minimum area in consideration of the width of the thermal transfer missing area and the positional accuracy between the thermal transfer units.

  FIG. 8 shows a continuous transfer foil with the optimized heat quantity distribution in the lower part of FIG. 7B and the heat quantity output from the optimum heat quantity information output unit 105 of the thermal transfer unit II to the thermal head 13 with the optimized heat quantity distribution. It is a figure which shows the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred by the original fabric.

  The thermoplastic resin ink in the ink part 74 is softened by heat due to the region of the width W1 where the heat quantity in the upper part of FIG. 8 is large, and the ink part 74 is firmly attached to the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 even at a low pressure. Showed how to do.

  In addition, the thermoplastic resin ink in the ink portion 75 is softened by heat due to the region of the width W2 where the amount of heat in the upper stage of FIG. 8 is large, and the ink portion 75 is firmly attached to the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 even at a low pressure. Showed a close contact.

  The regions of the width W1 and the width W2 are contour regions including regions where the layer of the thermoplastic resin ink thermally transferred to the continuous transfer foil original fabric 7 has a step, and the thermoplasticity of the ink ribbon 14 with a selectively large amount of heat. This is the region where the resin ink is heated.

  In this way, the thermoplastic resin ink is selectively heated by a relatively large amount of heat in the contour region, so that even if the contour region has an ink step, the thermoplastic resin ink is neatly transferred to the continuous transfer foil original fabric. 7 can be thermally transferred.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible.

I, II, III, IV ... thermal transfer unit 7 ... continuous transfer foil original fabric 12 ... platen 13 ... thermal head 14 ... ink ribbon 15 ... nip roller 22 ... constant speed control servo motor 23 ... motor 101 ... image data acquisition unit 102 ... overlapping region detection unit 103 ... contour region extraction unit 104 ... optimum heat amount setting unit 105 ... optimum heat amount information output unit

Claims (6)

A plurality of thermal transfer units each thermally transferring an image of a predetermined color ink are arranged in series, and while the continuous raw material travels from the upstream thermal transfer unit to the downstream thermal transfer unit, ink is transferred to each thermal transfer unit. In a multi-color thermal transfer printer in which an image of each color ink is superimposed and thermally transferred by being sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen together with a ribbon,
Image data acquisition for acquiring thermal transfer image data, which is image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink to be thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit, and upstream image data, which is image data sent to another upstream thermal transfer unit Means,
An overlapping area detecting means for detecting an overlapping area between the image represented by the upstream image data and the image represented by the thermal transfer image data;
Contour region extracting means for extracting the contour region of the overlapping region detected by the overlapping region detecting means;
Optimal heat quantity setting that sets the optimum heat quantity, which is the optimum heat quantity applied to the ink ribbon in the contour area, based on the heat quantity corresponding to the preset thermal transfer image data and the contour area extracted by the contour area extraction means Means,
Optimum heat quantity information output means for outputting optimum heat quantity information corresponding to the optimum heat quantity set by the optimum heat quantity setting means to the thermal head; and
A multicolor thermal transfer printer comprising: The multicolor thermal transfer printer according to claim 1.
The multi-color thermal transfer printer, wherein the optimum heat quantity setting means sets an optimum heat quantity larger than a heat quantity corresponding to preset thermal transfer image data. The multicolor thermal transfer printer according to claim 1 or 2,
An input means for inputting thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink of the ink ribbon used in another upstream thermal transfer unit is further provided,
The multi-color thermal transfer printer, wherein the optimum heat quantity setting means sets the optimum heat quantity to be applied to the ink ribbon based on the thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink input to the input means. The multicolor thermal transfer printer according to claim 3.
The optimum heat quantity setting means sets the optimum heat quantity to be applied to the ink ribbon as the thickness of the thermoplastic resin ink increases, based on the thickness information of the thermoplastic resin ink input to the input means. Multicolor thermal transfer printer. A plurality of thermal transfer units each thermally transferring an image of a predetermined color ink are arranged in series, and while the continuous raw material travels from the upstream thermal transfer unit to the downstream thermal transfer unit, ink is transferred to each thermal transfer unit. In a control method of a multicolor thermal transfer printer in which an image of each color ink is superimposed and thermally transferred by being sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen together with a ribbon, the control method of the second and subsequent thermal transfer units from the upstream is as follows:
Image data acquisition for acquiring thermal transfer image data, which is image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink to be thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit, and upstream image data, which is image data sent to another upstream thermal transfer unit Process,
An overlapping area detecting step for detecting an overlapping area between the image represented by the upstream image data and the image represented by the thermal transfer image data;
A contour region extraction step for extracting a contour region of the overlap region detected in the overlap region detection step;
Optimal heat quantity setting that sets the optimum heat quantity, which is the optimum heat quantity applied to the ink ribbon in the contour area, based on the heat quantity corresponding to the preset thermal transfer image data and the contour area extracted in the contour area extraction step Process,
An optimum heat quantity information output step for outputting optimum heat quantity information corresponding to the optimum heat quantity set in the optimum heat quantity setting step to the thermal head;
A control method for a multi-color thermal transfer printer. A plurality of thermal transfer units each thermally transferring an image of a predetermined color ink are arranged in series, and while the continuous raw material travels from the upstream thermal transfer unit to the downstream thermal transfer unit, ink is transferred to each thermal transfer unit. A control program for a multicolor thermal transfer printer in which an image of each color ink is superimposed and thermally transferred by being sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen together with a ribbon.
Image data acquisition for acquiring thermal transfer image data, which is image data corresponding to the thermoplastic resin ink to be thermally transferred in the thermal transfer unit, and upstream image data, which is image data sent to another upstream thermal transfer unit means,
An overlapping area detecting means for detecting an overlapping area between the image represented by the upstream image data and the image represented by the thermal transfer image data;
Contour area extracting means for extracting the outline area of the overlapping area detected by the overlapping area detecting means;
Optimal heat quantity setting that sets the optimum heat quantity, which is the optimum heat quantity applied to the ink ribbon in the contour area, based on the heat quantity corresponding to the preset thermal transfer image data and the contour area extracted by the contour area extraction means means,
Optimum heat quantity information output means for outputting optimum heat quantity information corresponding to the optimum heat quantity set in the optimum heat quantity setting means to the thermal head;
A control program for a multi-color thermal transfer printer, characterized in that