JP2012179840A - Ink ribbon, dot matrix printer, and life determining method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dot matrix printer capable of accurately determining a life of an ink ribbon before printing.SOLUTION: The dot matrix printer has: the ink ribbon; a line printing head comprising a plurality of pins; a communication part receiving character code data; a font data reference part referring to font data corresponding to the character code data and converting the data into printing dot image data; a pin unit count part counting the number of printing scheduled dots per pin unit; a replacement guide display part adding the number of printing scheduled dots per pin unit to an accumulative count value of the number of printing dots before printing, and displaying the replacement of the ink ribbon when an accumulative count value of the number of printing dots after updating is larger than a life count value of a pin unit of the ink ribbon; and a printer saving part saving printer data including the font data, the accumulative count value of the number of printing dots of a pin unit, and a replacement history of the ink ribbon.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an ink ribbon, a dot matrix printer, and a method for determining the life thereof.

  Conventionally, it is common for a dot matrix printer not to determine the life of an ink ribbon. Therefore, the user confirms that the ink has become thinner by looking at the print result and determines that the ribbon has reached the end of its life, or determines damage such as a hole in the ribbon and determines the life of the ink ribbon. It was. However, this has the drawback (problem) that after printing, the printing is not noticed until a problem occurs, such as thinning of the print or damage of the ribbon and jamming.

  In addition, for maintenance of the entire dot matrix printer including the print head and platen, information that counts the total number of dots printed, the number of characters printed, etc. is displayed on a printed or liquid crystal screen, etc., and commands are sent from the connected personal computer. Some of these information can be confirmed by sending, but the factors affecting the life of the print head and the platen are not sufficiently confirmed only by the total number of printed dots or the number of printed characters.

  In the dot matrix printer, the relationship between the vertical position of the ink ribbon and the print head is fixed. For example, in the case of a 24-pin dot printer, the vertical position where one pin impacts the ink ribbon is displaced by mechanical friction or the like. Except for the factors, it is always the same position. Similarly, the vertical position where impact is applied to each of the 2 to 24 pins is always the same position. If the same position is impacted many times, the ink adhering to the position can be easily removed, and the printing of the pin becomes light. Also, if the same position is impacted, the ribbon fabric at that position is likely to be damaged. In particular, since dot matrix printers often print on forms and regular documents that contain many ruled lines, only specific pins of the print head are used. Therefore, counting the number of print dots in units of pins is effective for determining the life of the print head or ink ribbon.

  There is a method to count up the drive pulse of each dot pin for the estimation of the print head life, but since it only displays the head life count, the print may fade and the print may fail. It does not correspond to the determination of the reduction or the life of the ink ribbon (see Patent Document 1).

  Further, when storing the number of print dots in a non-volatile memory with a limited number of writes, it is necessary to determine and write a certain specification so that the guaranteed number of writes is not exceeded within the life of the ink ribbon.

JP-A-2-209249

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a dot matrix printer capable of solving the above problems and accurately determining the life of the ink ribbon before printing.

  In order to achieve the above object, a dot matrix printer according to an embodiment includes an ink ribbon, a line print head including a plurality of pins, a communication unit that receives character code data, and font data corresponding to the character code data. A font data reference section for referring to and converted into print dot image data, the print dot image data is stored, an image buffer memory composed of row pixels having at least the same number of lines as the plurality of pins, and stored in the image buffer A plurality of pins are associated with each row pixel of the printed dot image data, a pin unit count unit for counting the number of dots to be printed for each pin unit, and the number of dots to be printed for each pin unit are printed before printing. This is added to the accumulated dot count value, and the updated print dot count count value is When the life count value of the ink ribbon is larger than the pin unit life count value, the replacement guide display unit that displays the replacement of the ink ribbon, the font data, the cumulative print dot count count value per pin, and the ink ribbon replacement history are displayed. A printer storage unit storing printer data including the printer data.

1 is a block diagram of a dot matrix printer according to a first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining dot count in units of pins of the image buffer memory in the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing ink ribbon life determination processing in the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing ink ribbon replacement detection processing in the embodiment. An example of the ink ribbon exchange guide screen in the same embodiment. An example of a printer status display in the second embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing printer status inquiry processing in the embodiment. 9 is a flowchart illustrating print head life determination processing according to the third embodiment. An example of a print head replacement guide screen in the same embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

(First embodiment)
In this embodiment, the number of print dots is counted for each pin of the print head, and the life of the ink ribbon is determined.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a dot matrix printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 1 assumes a printer controller 10 for controlling the entire dot printer and a terminal (hereinafter referred to as a PC terminal) such as a personal computer 11 connected to the printer controller 10 as a general usage pattern.

  The printer control unit 10 includes a communication unit 101, a printer data storage unit 102, a font data reference unit 103, a character modification unit 104, an image buffer unit 105, an exchange detection unit 106, a pin unit count unit 107, an ink ribbon data storage unit 108, A life determination unit 109, a mechanism control unit 110, a print head 111, an ink ribbon 112, and a display unit 113 are included. The general operation of each part is as follows. Solid arrows indicate the connection of each part.

  The communication unit 101 can communicate with the PC terminal 11 by wired or wireless communication means, receiving print character data, receiving printer status inquiries, and maintenance information such as a replacement guide for the ink ribbon 112 and the print head 111. Send and so on.

  The printer data storage unit 102 stores various printer data such as firmware for operating the dot matrix printer of the present embodiment, font data, printer setting data, maintenance history information for ink ribbon 112 and print head 111 replacement, It is composed of a relatively large capacity flash memory.

  The font data reference unit 103 receives the print character code from the communication unit 101, refers to the font data of the font set in the printer data storage unit 102, and converts the print character code into print dot image data.

  The character modification unit 104 further performs character modification on the print dot image data when the print character code includes character modifications such as underline, inversion, and superscript.

  The image buffer unit 105 stores the print dot image data subjected to character modification as a binary pixel value on an image buffer memory configured by a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. The image buffer memory will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The replacement detection unit 106 detects that the ink ribbon 112 or the print head 111 has been replaced. In the exchange detection method, for example, whether or not it is mechanically detached is detected by the position of a hook or the like. Alternatively, optical or electrical detection may be used. In order to distinguish between simple removal and replacement due to a jam or the like, a product identification number such as a product serial number is read, and the determination is made from the usage history.

  The pin unit count unit 107 counts the number of print dots for each pin of the print head corresponding to the print dot pattern data developed on the image buffer memory.

  The ink ribbon data storage unit 108 adds the dot count value for each pin to be printed, which is stored in the image buffer memory, to the print dot count value printed so far, and calculates the accumulated count value.

  The ink ribbon data storage unit 108 is configured by a non-volatile memory such as EEPOM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), and at least after the ink ribbon 112 is replaced, the total number of print dots counted per pin of the print head 111. The count value is saved. In addition, the EEPROM of the ink ribbon data storage unit 108 is mounted in the cassette of the ink ribbon 112, and the replacement is detected by storing the product identification number such as the manufacturing serial number and the life count value corresponding to the ink ribbon length in advance. The life corresponding to product options (product attribute values) such as ribbon length can be accurately determined.

  The life determination unit 109 compares the life count value corresponding to the ribbon length of the ink ribbon 112 with the accumulated count value up to the present, and if the accumulated count value is larger than the life count value, the ink ribbon 112 is replaced on the display unit 113. Display guide information that prompts

  The mechanism control unit 110 performs printing at a desired position by controlling a print head drive mechanism (not shown), a paper feed mechanism, and the like based on the print dot image data stored in the image buffer memory.

  In this embodiment, the print head unit 111 is assumed to be a print head having line dots. A print head generally used for Kanji has 24 pin dots.

  The ink ribbon 112 is formed with a mechanism for detecting its attachment / detachment, and notifies the replacement detection unit 106 that the ink ribbon 112 has been replaced. Preferably, the EEPROM of the ink ribbon data storage unit 108 is mounted on an ink ribbon cassette (not shown).

  The display unit 113 is responsible for user interfaces such as printer setting information, ink ribbon usage status display, and maintenance guide display. Generally, it has a display screen such as a liquid crystal and buttons for command selection.

  Next, the image buffer memory 21 mounted in the image buffer unit 105 will be described with reference to FIG. The image buffer memory 21 is a pixel memory having the number of rows as the number of pixels N of the print head 111 (N is a natural number) and the number of columns as M (M is a natural number). Usually, the printed characters of a dot matrix printer are represented by an integral multiple of 8 dots in both vertical and horizontal directions. Especially when Kanji is used, one character is 24 × 24 dots, so N = 24 and M is 24. The image buffer memory 21 having an integer multiple is preferable because general-purpose font data can be used. The number of pins of the print head 111 determines the resolution.

For example, received via the communication unit 101 (2 letter A B in the example of FIG. 2) PC terminal 11 from the transmitted series of printing character codes, print fonts that are set in the printer data storage unit 102 (e.g. Reference is made to font data (AB) corresponding to Mincho. Further, the character modifier 104 reflects the character modifier information 22 such as an underline and develops it as print dot image data on the image buffer memory 21.

  Each row pixel in the image buffer memory 21 is associated with pin 1 to pin N of the print head 111. The pin unit count unit 107 counts the number of dots to be printed for each row pixel M times in the printing direction.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the ink ribbon life determination process, which will be described with reference to each block of FIG. First, in step ST301, the communication unit 101 receives a print character code transmitted from the PC terminal 11.

  In step ST302, the print character data received by the communication unit 101 is referred to the font data of the font set in the printer data storage unit 102, and converted from the print character code to the print dot image data. Further, if the character modification information is included in the print character data, the character modification unit 104 modifies the character on the print dot image data if the print character code has character modification such as underline, black-and-white inversion, and superscript. Apply.

  In step ST303, the image buffer unit 105 develops and stores the print dot image data subjected to the character modification as a binary pixel value on the image buffer memory 21 including a RAM or the like. Here, it is assumed that the pixels shown in black are printed with impact.

  In step ST304, the pin unit count unit 107 associates each row pixel of the image buffer memory 21 with each pin of the print head 111, thereby counting the number of dots to be printed on a pin basis.

  In step ST305, the dot count value for each pin scheduled to be printed is stored in the ink ribbon data storage unit 108, and the cumulative count value for the number of dots printed for each pin after the ink ribbon 112 is replaced is updated.

  In step ST306, the cumulative count value of each pin of the print head 111 is compared with the life count value of the ink ribbon 112. If all the cumulative count values of each pin are smaller than the ink ribbon life count value (ST306: No), printing is executed (step ST307).

  When any one of the cumulative count values of each pin is larger than the life count value of the ink ribbon 112 (ST306: Yes), a guide screen for prompting the replacement of the ink ribbon 112 is output to the display unit 113. Further, a similar message screen is displayed on the PC terminal 11, and the operator is informed that there is a possibility that character blurring may occur if printing is performed as it is. A display example of the display unit 113 is shown in FIG. 5 (step ST308). After this guide screen is displayed, the operator can select whether to print as it is or to cancel printing.

  Here, the life of the ink ribbon 112 and the number of guaranteed write operations of the ink ribbon storage unit 108 will be described. The life of the ink ribbon 112 changes depending on conditions such as the ribbon length and the number of rotations that can be used for an endless type ink ribbon, but those capable of printing about 3 million characters have been developed. On the other hand, the EEPROM used for the ink ribbon storage unit 108 is guaranteed to be written approximately 1 million times. Therefore, since the number of characters printed on the ink ribbon 112 is larger than the number of times of writing, it is necessary to write the count value in units of at least several characters.

  In the present embodiment, the print dot image data of the number of characters to be printed at one time is stored in the image buffer unit 105, and the number of print dots is counted for each pin. It will be. By increasing the capacity of the mounted image buffer memory 21, the number of printed characters per time can be increased, so that the number of times of writing can be greatly reduced, and the count of the number of printed dots can be kept accurate. .

  In addition, since the order of the number of print life characters of the ink ribbon 112 and the number of guaranteed write times of the EEPROM of the ink ribbon storage unit 108 is the same, a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM mounted on the ink ribbon storage unit 108 when the ink ribbon 112 is replaced It is convenient to mount the printer in an ink ribbon cassette (not shown) and replace it together with the ink ribbon cassette. In other words, since a new EEPROM is set with the replacement, the life of the EEPROM need not be specially managed. In addition, product attributes such as manufacturing serial number and ribbon length are stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory such as EEPROM at the time of shipment from the factory. Judgment can be made.

  Next, replacement detection of the ink ribbon 112 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. It is assumed that a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM mounted in the ink ribbon storage unit 108 is mounted in the ink ribbon cassette and is exchanged together with the ink ribbon cassette.

  In step ST401, the ink ribbon 112 is replaced. The replacement of the ink ribbon 112 is detected mechanically, or a detection object such as a bar code or a QR code (Quick Response Code) attached to the ink ribbon cassette is optically detected. Furthermore, the resistance value, the EEPROM The information inside is accessed and detected electrically. Any of these methods may be used.

  In step ST402, the product identification number of the ink ribbon 112 is read. This product identification number is, for example, a production serial number. This product identification number may be read by a bar code or the like, or information stored in the EEPROM may be read.

  In step ST403, the read product identification number is compared with the product identification number stored in the printer data storage unit 102 as an exchange history. If the read product identification number does not match the product identification number stored in the printer data storage unit 102 (ST403: Yes), it is determined that the ink ribbon 112 has been replaced, and the printer data storage unit 102 stores the read product identification number. Remember the number. If it is determined that a new ink ribbon 112 has been set, a display screen as shown in FIG. 5B is displayed on the display unit 113 and a similar message window is also displayed on the PC terminal 11.

  If the read product identification number matches the product identification number stored in the printer data storage unit 102 (ST403: No), the ink ribbon has been reset due to a jam or the like, or the old ink ribbon has been reset by mistake. Judge. Also, in this case, if the used ribbon is set in the same type of dot matrix printer, only the product identification number will be erroneously detected. At the same time, the cumulative count value in the EEPROM or the used flag is saved as appropriate. Judgment is made together with these. If it is determined that the old ink ribbon has been reset, a display screen indicating that the ink ribbon has been reset is displayed on the display unit 113 and a similar message window is also displayed on the PC terminal 11.

  In step ST404, the ribbon length is read from the EEPROM as a product attribute value. Alternatively, the ribbon length may be referred from a table based on the product identification number.

  In step ST405, a life count value for each pin is set from the product attribute value such as the ribbon length. This life count value may be stored in advance as one of the product attribute values in the EEPROM in the ink ribbon cassette and directly read out.

  In step ST405, the current accumulated dot count is set to zero. When the EEPROM is mounted in the ink ribbon cassette, if the cumulative count value is set to 0 at the time of shipment from the factory, it may be only confirmed.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the display unit 113. The display unit 113 is arranged in a portion with good operability and visibility of the dot matrix printer, and includes a display monitor 50 such as a liquid crystal panel and buttons 51 for displaying various menus on the display monitor 50. FIG. 5A shows an example of ink ribbon replacement guide display, and FIG. 5B shows an example of guide display when a new ink ribbon is set.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, since the number of print dots is counted for each pin using the image buffer memory, it is accurate against damage to the ink ribbon fabric and accompanying print fading. Life management is possible. In addition, since the life can be determined before printing, printing failures can be reduced. Further, since the count value is written in units of the image buffer capacity, it is possible to guarantee the number of times of writing in a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM. Furthermore, when non-volatile memory such as EEPROM is mounted on the ink ribbon, product attribute information of various ink ribbons can be updated along with ink ribbon replacement, so that accurate ink ribbon replacement detection and life management can be performed and maintenance is easy. It becomes.

(Second Embodiment)
In this embodiment, a printer status display inquiry can be made by transmitting a command from a PC terminal to the dot matrix printer of this embodiment.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a printer status display screen 61 displayed on the PC terminal 11. In this printer status display example, printer setting information such as font, print pitch, paper, margin, and line feed pitch, ink ribbon usage status such as the total number of dots printed per pin and the total number of dots printed, and the total number of characters printed Other information such as the number of accesses to the ink ribbon data storage unit 108, the number of accesses to the printer data storage unit 102, and the total number of dots printed after the print head replacement is displayed.

  The operator of the PC terminal 11 can grasp the printer status while looking at the printer information display screen 61. The printer status inquiry will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Dotted arrows indicate the flow of inquiry.

  When a printer status display command is issued from the PC terminal 11, in step ST701, the current print dot count value for each pin calculated in the image buffer memory 21 is acquired. The cumulative count number stored in the ink ribbon data storage unit 108 is added and updated to reflect the ink ribbon usage state of the printer data storage unit 102.

  In step ST702, the printer settings and other information stored in the data printer data storage unit 102 are read out, print status display data combined with the ink ribbon usage status is created, and the communication unit 101 is connected via the display unit 113. send. The communication unit 101 displays a print status display screen on the PC terminal 11. This printer status display can also be displayed on the display monitor 50 connected to the display unit 113.

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment, by issuing a printer status command from the PC terminal, it is possible to confirm the status of the dot matrix printer including the dot count for each pin.

(Third embodiment)
In this embodiment, the life of the print head can be managed by using the fact that the number of print dots on the ink ribbon is accurately counted.

  The print head 111 has a lifetime that is about 1 billion times longer than that of the ink ribbon. For this reason, if an attempt is made to save the print dot count count value for each pin in the nonvolatile memory, there is a possibility that the guaranteed number of writing times will be greatly exceeded. In the present embodiment, the life of the print head is also managed by using accurate ink ribbon replacement detection and accurate print dot count.

  The life management of the print head 111 will be described with reference to the flowchart of the life determination process after replacement of the print head shown in FIG. In the following flowchart, it is assumed that ink ribbons having the same ribbon length are sequentially replaced.

  In step ST801, replacement of the print head 111 is detected. This detection is performed by the exchange detection unit 106 as indicated by the one-dot chain line arrow in FIG. As the replacement detection method, the same method as the replacement detection of the ink ribbon 112 can be considered.

  In step ST802, a product identification number such as a production serial number or a product model number is read. This product reading method can also be realized with the same configuration as the ink ribbon.

  In step ST803, when the print head 111 is replaced, the dot count cumulative count value for each pin of the ink ribbon 112 is acquired from the ink data storage unit. This value is stored in the printer data storage unit 102 as an array variable Nc (N) with N pins.

  In step ST804, the replacement count Nr and the life count value Nj of the ink ribbon 112 are acquired from the replacement history of the ink ribbon 112 stored in the printer data storage unit 102. The life count value Nh of the print head 111 may be stored in advance in the printer data storage unit 102 or may be stored in an EEPROM mounted on the ink ribbon 112. This is because the lifetime, Nj, and Nh of each other are determined by the combination of the ink ribbon and the print head. These life count values are determined by various experiments during product development.

  In step ST805, the cumulative dot number count value Nn (N) for each pin of the ink ribbon 112 is acquired when the number of print dots in the image buffer memory 21 shown in step ST304 of FIG. 3 is counted.

  In step ST806, the print dot cumulative count value of the print head 111 up to the present is calculated for each pin. The calculation formula for each pin is shown in Formula (1).

Print dot cumulative count value = Nr × Nj−Nc (I) + Nn (I) (1)
(I is an integer 1 ≦ I ≦ N)
In step ST807, the print dot number cumulative count value of the print head 111 is compared with the print head life count value Nh. When the print dot number cumulative count value of the print head 111 is smaller than the print head life count value Nh (ST807: No), printing is performed (step ST808). In addition, when any one of the print dot count cumulative count values of each pin is larger than the life count value Nh of the print head 111 (ST807: Yes), a guide screen for prompting replacement of the print head 111 on the display unit 113 is displayed. Output. In addition, a similar message window is displayed on the PC terminal 11, and the operator is informed that there is a possibility that character blurring may occur if printing is performed as it is. A display example of the display unit 113 is shown in FIG. 9 (step ST309). After this guide screen is displayed, the operator can select whether to print as it is or to cancel printing.

  Therefore, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to manage the life of the print head using the fact that the number of print dots on the ink ribbon is accurately counted. In addition, when exchanging ink ribbons having different ribbon lengths, the print dot number cumulative count value of each replaced ink ribbon may be integrated by referring to the exchange history.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, since the count is performed in units of pins using the image buffer, it is possible to accurately manage the life of the ribbon fabric against damage or blurring of printing. Moreover, since the life determination can be performed before printing, printing failures can be reduced. In addition, since writing is performed in units of image buffer capacity, it is possible to guarantee the number of times of writing to a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM. Furthermore, when non-volatile memory such as EEPROM is mounted on the ink ribbon, product attribute information of various ink ribbons can be updated along with ink ribbon replacement, so that accurate ink ribbon replacement detection and life management can be performed and maintenance is easy. It becomes. Furthermore, it is possible to manage the life of the print head by utilizing the accurate number of print dots on the ink ribbon.

  By adopting such a configuration, the user or service person can accurately and easily check the life of the ink ribbon or the print head.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

  For example, in the embodiment of the present invention, the number of dots to be printed for each pin unit is added to the print dot cumulative count value before printing, and the updated print dot number cumulative count value is obtained from the life count value for each pin of the ink ribbon. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A dot print life count value for each pin unit is held in advance, and subtraction is performed for each print from this life count value, and when this life count value becomes zero or less, the ink ribbon should be replaced. Good.

  These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Communication part 102 ... Printer data storage part 103 ... Font data reference part 104 ... Character modification part 105 ... Image buffer part 106 ... Exchange detection part 107 ... Pin unit count part 108 ... Ink ribbon data storage part 109 ... Life determination part 110 ... Mechanism control unit 111 ... Print head 112 ... Ink ribbon 113 ... Display unit

Claims (8)

An ink ribbon,
A line print head consisting of a plurality of pins;
A communication unit that receives character code data;
A font data reference section that converts font data corresponding to the character code data into print dot image data; and
The print dot image data is stored, and at least an image buffer memory composed of row pixels having the same number of rows as the number of pins.
A pin unit count unit that associates the plurality of pins with each row pixel of the print dot image data stored in the image buffer, and counts the number of print planned dots for each pin unit;
When the print dot number cumulative count value for each pin unit is added to the print dot number cumulative count value before printing, and the updated print dot number cumulative count value after the update is larger than the life count value for each pin of the ink ribbon, A replacement guide display for displaying replacement of the ink ribbon;
A printer storage unit in which printer data including the font data, the cumulative print dot count count value per pin, and the ink ribbon replacement history is stored;
A dot matrix printer.   The dot matrix printer according to claim 1, further comprising a replacement detection unit that detects replacement of the ink ribbon, and acquiring a product identification number.   An ink ribbon that is used in the dot matrix printer according to claim 2 and has the product identification number and print dot number life count value information for each pin corresponding to the ribbon length.   3. The dot matrix printer according to claim 2, wherein when the product identification number is not in the ink ribbon replacement history, the print dot number cumulative count value for each pin is set to zero.   The dot matrix printer according to claim 4, wherein the replacement detection unit further detects replacement of the line print head.   6. The dot matrix printer according to claim 5, wherein the print life of the line print head is obtained from the number of replacements of the ink ribbon and the cumulative number of print dot counts. A step of referring to the font data for the received character code data, and further converting to character-modified print dot image data;
Expanding and storing the print dot image data in an image buffer memory composed of the same number of row pixels as the number of pins of the print head; and
Associating the pins of the print head with each row pixel of the image buffer memory and counting the number of dots to be printed per pin;
Adding the print dot number count value to the print dot number cumulative count value before printing, and comparing the updated print dot number count value after the update with the life count value of the ink ribbon in units of pins;
An ink ribbon life determination method comprising:   A print head life determination method comprising a step of obtaining a print head print count count value for each print pin from a number of ink ribbon replacements and a print dot count count value, and comparing the print head print count count value with a print head life count value.

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