JP2015178200A - Printing device and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device and a printing method in which a new fluorescent print can be overwritten on a fluorescent print.SOLUTION: A printing device, according to an embodiment, is configured to print a code to be read on a paper-like medium to be conveyed in a conveyance direction, which comprises a first printing portion and a second printing portion. The first printing portion prints a first code which edges the code to be read on the paper-like medium using first ink. The second printing portion prints a second code which fills an inside region of the first code on the paper-like medium using the second ink different from the first ink.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printing apparatus and a printing method using an inkjet.

  Some devices that read characters and other information written on paper-like media such as forms and postal items, and perform processing such as classification and calculation according to the reading results, together with optical character readers (OCR), paper Some include an ink jet printing apparatus that prints characters or the like on a medium. For example, in a form reading device used for a purpose of quickly processing a large amount of forms in a financial institution or a public office, the printing device is used for printing a serial number or the like as a mark indicating that the form has been read. A form on which a mark is printed is identified as already read, so that duplication processing is prevented and work efficiency is improved.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 09-20004

  By the way, even if such a current form reading device is used, the efficiency may not be achieved due to the mode of business. Specifically, there is a case where it is necessary to read a form read in another business, that is, a case where a form on which a mark is printed in the preceding business is identified as read in the subsequent business.

  In this case, in the subsequent work, it is necessary to sort the form to be read in advance and change the setting of the device depending on the presence or absence of the mark. Further, for the purpose of improving the readability in OCR, the mark is often used for fluorescent printing using fluorescent ink that is visualized by ultraviolet irradiation. For this reason, it is not immediately obvious with the naked eye at which position of which form the fluorescent print is made, and the work efficiency is reduced.

  In addition, when fluorescent printing has already been printed, there are cases where additional marks cannot be printed for subsequent work, such as when the paper is small, and work efficiency is reduced.

  An object is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method capable of overwriting fluorescent printing on fluorescent printing.

  According to the embodiment, the printing apparatus is a printing apparatus that prints a code to be read on a paper-like medium conveyed in the conveyance direction, and includes a first printing unit and a second printing unit. The first printing unit prints the first code that borders the code using the first ink on the paper-like medium. The second printing unit prints a second code that fills an area inside the first code by using a second ink different from the first ink.

1 is a diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment. The figure which shows the printing which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to a third embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
Prior to describing the embodiment, a previously proposed printing apparatus will be described.

  The present embodiment proposes a printing apparatus that can erase the background and overwrite the fluorescent print even when the background has a fluorescent print.

  Previously proposed printing devices apply ink such as UV curable resin on a fluorescent paper-like medium to suppress light emission of the underlying medium and overwrite fluorescent printing on the resin. . In this case, if fluorescent printing is overwritten before the resin hardens or dries, the resin and fluorescent ink will mix and the fluorescence will weaken, making it impossible to print clearly. A process is required.

  However, when the printing apparatus is applied to a small office device such as a form reading device, it is difficult to secure a space for providing a curing or drying unit in the printing unit.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the printing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the printing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment is provided as a part of a paper-like medium reading device 200.

  The paper-like medium reading device 200 is an automated device that continuously processes the paper-like medium 1. Examples include a mail sorter, a form reader, and a document scanner. The paper-like medium 1 is a medium that is processed by an automation device, and is a mail, a form, a document, or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 100 includes a first printing unit 10, a second printing unit 20, a transport unit 30, a fixing unit 40, a control unit 50, a reading unit 60, and an identification unit 70. Is provided.

  The first printing unit 10 borders a character (code) to be printed with a width indicated by W1 in FIG. 1 using a quenching ink 11 as a first ink that suppresses the emission of fluorescent ink on the paper-like medium 1. Print a character (first code). As an example, a known inkjet head can be used. The quenching ink 11 is a liquid containing molecules that absorb light of a wavelength used for light emission of the fluorescent ink 21 described later. Specifically, a liquid containing a known so-called photopolymerization initiator and a sensitizer corresponding to ultraviolet rays, or an ultraviolet curable resin can be used. The quenching ink 11 is preferably a transparent ink containing no dye or pigment in order to maintain the readability of printing on the medium.

  The second printing unit 20 is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the paper-like medium 1 with respect to the first printing unit 10 and is a fluorescent ink as a second ink as a mark indicating that the paper-like medium reading device 200 has read the second printing unit 20. 21 is used to print a character (second code) corresponding to a character to be printed so as to fill an area inside the character (first code) printed by the first printing unit 10. Here, the area inside the character printed by the first printing unit 10 is an area surrounded by an edge formed by the quenching ink 11 as the first ink. As an example, a known inkjet head can be used. The fluorescent ink 21 is a liquid containing molecules that emit fluorescence when irradiated with light of a specific wavelength. Specifically, a known liquid containing fluorescent molecules that emit light by ultraviolet rays, for example, a commercially available invisible ink can be used. The second printing unit 20 is installed so that the printing width W2 on the paper-like medium 1 by the second printing unit 20 is included in the printing width W1 of the first printing unit 10.

  The transport unit 30 has a function of relatively moving the paper-like medium 1, the first printing unit 10, and the second printing unit 20. FIG. 1 shows a case where the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20 are fixed, and the paper-like medium 1 is transported by the transport unit 30 in the transport direction. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the transport unit 30 moves the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20 with respect to the fixed paper-like medium 1.

  The transport unit 30 has a function of transporting the paper-like medium 1 at a given speed in the vicinity of the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20. As the transport unit 30, a known mechanism that is generally used in a printing apparatus, such as a mechanism that transports the paper-like medium 1 sandwiched between rollers or a mechanism that transports it while sandwiching it with a belt, can be used. The conveyance speed of the conveyance unit 30 is set according to a request such as the processing speed of the device.

  The fixing unit 40 fixes the relative position between the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20. That is, the fixing unit 40 prevents the relative positions of the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20 from changing due to vibrations caused by driving of the conveyance unit 30, and the printing position of the first printing unit 10. And the relative position between the second printing unit 20 and the printing position are kept constant.

  The fixing unit 40 may be a known mechanism that fixes the inkjet head with a fixing member, or may be a known mechanism that integrally molds a plurality of printing units as used in a normal inkjet printer or the like. .

  The control unit 50 controls the execution and stop of the printing by the first printing unit 10, or controls the execution and stop of the printing by the second printing unit 20, thereby printing the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit. 20 printing is controlled. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 50 controls the first printing unit 10 to print a framed character, and the second printing unit 20 controls to print the character in the framed character. The effect of preventing the mixing of ink is achieved by the action of positioning control so that the printing by the second printing unit 20 does not overlap the printing by the first printing unit 10. In this case, the control unit 50 performs control so that the print position of at least one of the plurality of heads is aligned.

  Moreover, the control part 50 can widen the area which erase | eliminates the fluorescent printing which was the foundation | substrate by controlling the printing of the 1st printing part 10 so that the edge of the outline character of the quenching ink 11 may be widened.

  The control of the control unit 50 mainly utilizes the difference in the fixing position between the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20 by the fixing unit 40 and the printing time delay determined by the conveyance speed of the conveyance unit 30. This is performed by giving a predetermined time delay to the printing of the printing unit 20 from the printing of the first printing unit 10.

  The reading unit 60 has a function of reading an image on the paper-like medium 1. An ultraviolet irradiation unit and a known reading unit such as a line scanner or a camera are provided to read the emitted fluorescent image. The identification unit 70 has a function of identifying the fluorescent print 22 printed by the second printing unit 20 from the image read by the reading unit 60. Thereby, the paper-like medium reading device 200 can identify the presence or absence of the printed fluorescent character based on the identification result by the identification unit 70, and can improve the processing efficiency.

  Further, the paper-like medium reading device 200 sets the threshold value of the emission intensity of the fluorescent ink 21 by setting the threshold value of the emission intensity even when the emission of the underlying fluorescent printing that cannot be completely erased by the quenching ink 11 remains weak. It is possible to identify the print.

  With the above-described configuration, the printing apparatus 100 can make a new fluorescent print “312” after deleting the underlying fluorescent print “123”.

  Next, an operation for performing a new fluorescent printing “312” on the fluorescent printing “123” of the base will be described with reference to FIG.

  Here, when the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 is applied as the quenching ink 11 on the fluorescent printing “123”, the fluorescence does not emit at the place where the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 is applied on the fluorescent printing “123”. This is considered to be a result of the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 absorbing ultraviolet rays.

  FIGS. 2A and 2B are conceptual diagrams comparing the results of the conventional example and the present embodiment when the fluorescent character to be overwritten is printed as a normal character.

  FIG. 2A is a conceptual diagram in the case where the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 is applied on the underlying fluorescent print “123” and the fluorescent print 22 (“312” in FIG. 2) is overwritten. In the case of FIG. 2A, the overwritten fluorescent print 22 is mixed with the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 to become thin and blur, and the visibility of the fluorescent print 22 is lowered.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 is applied on the underlying fluorescent print “123”, the character “312” of the new fluorescent print 22 is outlined. Print the trimmed characters. In this case, the portions 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d that are different from “1” and “3” are not printed. Further, the portions 12e and 12f that are different from “2” and “1” are not printed. Furthermore, the portion 12g where “3” and “2” are different is not printed. Subsequently, a new fluorescent print 22 is performed on the inside of the border. As a result, it is possible to prevent the overwritten fluorescent print 22 from being mixed with the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 so as to blur and become thin, and to improve the visibility of the fluorescent print 22.

  FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D are conceptual diagrams showing the features of the present embodiment when the overwritten fluorescent character is printed as a border character.

  FIG. 2C is a conceptual diagram when the fluorescent ink 21 is applied on the underlying fluorescent print “123” and the print (“312” in FIG. 2) by the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 is overwritten. In this case, the user sets the fluorescent ink 21 on the first printing unit 10 and sets the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 on the second printing unit 20. In the case of FIG. 2C as well, in the case of FIG. 2A, the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 overwritten before the fluorescent ink 21 dries blurs and the fluorescence erasing function is lowered, and the fluorescence inside the border is reduced. Erasure becomes insufficient and the visibility of the fluorescent print 22 is reduced.

  FIG. 2D shows a result obtained by reversing the method of applying the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 and the fluorescent ink 21 as compared with FIG. In this case, when the fluorescent ink 21 is applied onto the underlying fluorescent print “123”, a new character “312” of the fluorescent print 22 is printed with a border character. Subsequently, printing is performed with the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 in the trimmed interior. As a result, the ultraviolet absorbing ink 12 printed inside the border is not blotted, the fluorescence erasing function is not deteriorated, and the visibility of the fluorescent print 22 can be improved.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the border formed by the quenching ink 11 on the paper-like medium 1 in accordance with the character “312” to be printed by the second printing unit 20 by the first printing unit 10. Since the character is printed and the character “312” is printed in the border character by using the fluorescent ink 21 by the second printing unit 20, the fluorescent print 22 overwritten on the paper-like medium 1 is blurred and thin. The visibility of the fluorescent print 22 can be improved. Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a curing or drying unit in the printing unit, and the printing unit can be applied to a small office device such as a form reading device.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, the presence or absence of the printed fluorescent character can be identified based on the identification result by the identification unit 70, and the processing efficiency can be improved. Further, even if the light emission of the underlying fluorescent print that could not be erased by the quenching ink 11 remains weak, it is possible to identify the print of the fluorescent ink 21 by setting the threshold value of the light emission intensity. .

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which the printing apparatus 300 according to the second embodiment is provided as a part of the paper-like medium reading device 200. In FIG. 3, the same parts as those in FIG.

The printing apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 further includes an adjustment unit 80.
When the identification unit 70 detects a printing deviation between the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20, the adjustment unit 80 causes a printing deviation between the printing position by the first printing unit 10 and the printing position by the second printing unit 20. In order to eliminate the above, the printing position of each of the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20 controlled by the control unit 50 is adjusted. Here, the printing deviation can be defined as, for example, the area of the region where the printing position by the first printing unit 10 and the printing position by the second printing unit 20 overlap. For example, if the ink characteristics or device fixation is shifted due to the influence of ink replacement or the like, there is a risk that printing control will be lost.

  According to the second embodiment, even when a printing deviation occurs, the adjustment unit 80 can correct the printing positions of the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20 and perform printing. .

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which the printing apparatus 400 according to the third embodiment is provided as a part of the paper-like medium reading device 200. In FIG. 4, the same parts as those in FIG.

The printing apparatus 400 further includes an inspection unit 90 as a recognition unit.
The inspection unit 90 has a function of capturing a fluorescent image of the paper-like medium 1 and detecting the presence / absence of fluorescent printing and the position of fluorescent printing in advance. The control unit 50 controls the execution and stop of printing by the first printing unit 10 based on the detection result by the inspection unit 90 or controls the execution and stop of printing by the second printing unit 20.

  According to the third embodiment, when fluorescent ink is detected on the ground before printing by the inspection unit 90, the control unit 50 can determine the necessity of overwriting fluorescent printing. Furthermore, when the second printing unit 20 performs control so that the fluorescent ink 21 is not applied to a position where the fluorescent ink is on the ground, the amount of the fluorescent ink 21 used can be reduced.

(Other embodiments)
In each of the above embodiments, the border character is printed by the first printing unit 10, but the border character can also be printed by the second printing unit 20. In this case, the print width of the border character to be typed later is W1 in FIG. 1, and the print width of the normal character to be typed first is W2 in FIG.

  In each of the above embodiments, printing is performed in the order from the first printing unit 10 to the second printing unit 20, but the printing order of the first printing unit 10 and the second printing unit 20 may be reversed. . In this case, the first printing unit 10 is provided downstream of the second printing unit 20 in the conveyance direction of the paper-like medium 1. Here, if the quenching ink 11 is used in the second printing unit 20, the first printing unit 10 uses the fluorescent ink 21 to print a border character. If the fluorescent ink 21 is used in the second printing unit 20, the first printing unit 10 uses the quenching ink 11 to print a border character.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, for example, an example of printing a character (code) “312” has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to a character symbol representing a number or a word. A dimension code may be printed.

  In each of the above embodiments, the printing devices 100, 300, and 400 include the first printing unit 10, the second printing unit 20, the transport unit 30, the fixing unit 40, the control unit 50, and the reading unit 60. Although the example provided with the identification unit 70 has been described, the first printing unit 10, the second printing unit 20, the transport unit 30, the fixing unit 40, and the control unit 50 are included in the printing apparatuses 100, 300, and 400. And the reading unit 60 and the identification unit 70 may be provided in another device.

  According to the printing apparatus according to at least one of the embodiments described above, the fluorescent print can be overwritten on the fluorescent print.

  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. 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 1 ... Paper-like medium, 10 ... 1st printing part, 11 ... Quenching ink, 12 ... Ultraviolet absorption ink, 20 ... 2nd printing part, 21 ... Fluorescent ink, 22 ... Fluorescent printing, 30 ... Conveying part, 40 ... Fixed part , 50 ... control unit, 60 ... reading unit, 70 ... identification unit, 80 ... adjustment unit, 90 ... inspection unit, 100 ... printing device, 200 ... paper medium reading device, 300 ... printing device, 400 ... printing device.

Claims (10)

A printing device for printing a code to be read on a paper-like medium conveyed in a conveying direction,
A first printing unit that prints a first code that borders the code using a first ink on the paper-like medium;
A second printing unit that prints a second code that fills an area inside the first code using a second ink different from the first ink;
A printing apparatus comprising:   By controlling the execution and stop of printing by the first printing unit, or by controlling the execution and stop of printing by the second printing unit, the first printing unit and the second printing unit, respectively. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls a printing position. A reading unit for reading the second code printed by the second printing unit;
The printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a print identification unit that identifies the second code read by the reading unit.   The first printing controlled by the control unit to eliminate a positional deviation between the printing position by the first printing unit and the printing position by the second printing unit based on the printing reading result by the reading unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an adjustment unit that adjusts a printing position of each of the printing unit and the second printing unit. A recognizing unit for recognizing a printing position of a code printed on a paper-like medium before printing by the first printing unit and the second printing unit;
The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls a printing position of each of the first printing unit and the second printing unit based on a recognition result by the recognition unit. A transport unit that relatively moves the paper-like medium and the first and second printing units;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing unit that fixes a relative position between the first printing unit and the second printing unit.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the first ink and the second ink is a fluorescent ink, and the other is a quenching ink that absorbs light having a wavelength used for light emission of the fluorescent ink.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second printing unit is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the first printing unit.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first printing unit is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the second printing unit. A printing method for printing a code to be read on a paper-like medium conveyed in the conveying direction using the first and second printing units,
The first printing unit prints a first code that borders the code using the first ink on the paper-like medium;
A printing method in which the second printing unit prints a second code that fills an area inside the first code by using a second ink different from the first ink.