JP5973288B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that prints characters and color images on a recording medium, and in particular, a plurality of types of ink panels in which a plurality of types of ink colors are formed in a surface sequential manner at substantially equal intervals with the width of the recording medium. The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that sequentially transfers ink to a recording medium.

  As a thermal transfer printing device, there is a printing device that uses both a sublimation dye and a fusing dye as the ink color of the ink ribbon. During image printing, sublimation inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan are used. An apparatus is known in which (CMY) is sublimated by a thermal head and color-printed on a print paper, while at the time of printing characters, a black color meltable ink (Bk) is melted by a thermal head and printed on the print paper ( For example, see cited document 1).

  It also has a printer driver that can select whether to print the black part of an object such as image data with heat-meltable ink. When this driver is selected, sublimation for one object (image data) An apparatus that prints ink (CMY) and meltable ink (Bk) in an overlapping manner is also known (see, for example, cited document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-106829 JP 2009-245384 A

  However, in the above-described printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a good print can be obtained when images are printed by overlaying CMY, but there is a limit to the maximum density. High density color printing with was difficult. For this reason, an apparatus that transfers and prints characters and color images on a card-like recording medium such as an ID card, identification card, and various membership cards is not suitable for a printing apparatus that prints on a large number of recording media in a short time. It has become. In addition, the black image data has a disadvantage that the density is lower than that of black of resin (resin).

  In addition, since the black portion of the image data, for example, the black portion of the logo, the hair portion of the face photo, etc. is printed with meltable ink (Bk), the black portion of the data is Although printing can be performed at a high density, color printing at a high density cannot be performed except for the black portion of the data.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that achieves high-speed printing time while ensuring the quality of color printing of image data in thermal transfer printing. It is said.

To solve the above problems, the present invention relates to an ink panel surface and is the surface sequentially disposed to melt ink of a plurality of types of inks panel surface and black sublimation ink double several colors are applied respectively are applied a printing apparatus for transferring printing to a transfer medium the color image and a monochrome image using ink ribbons, a printing unit for printing the color image and monochrome image to the transfer medium, print data composed of a plurality of objects Print data generation means for generating color data, RGB color data extraction means for extracting RGB color data from print data of the plurality of objects, and color image data for generating color image data by CMY-converting the RGB color data of a predetermined object a data generating means, said predetermined object and the same object to the being CMY conversion Comprising: a monochrome image data generating means for generating monochrome image data GB-collar data and monochrome data of a print control means for controlling said printing means, said print control means, corresponding to the color image data wherein the color image print control means for multiple colors the sublimable ink successively the said transfer medium using the by transferring the color image data to form the color image, a monochrome image by the previous SL monochrome image data, said to be a monochrome image print control means for transcription to the transfer medium by using a meltable ink, the said and the color image printing control means monochrome image print control means, wherein said color image of the same object monochrome image It is characterized by being transferred in a superimposed manner .

  Here, in the monochrome image data, the gradation value of each pixel is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the gradation value of the remaining pixels is transferred by superimposing the color image and the monochrome image. In this case, the density of the black portion is adjusted so as to exhibit a predetermined maximum gradation value.

  On the other hand, the color image data is converted so that the density is reduced in accordance with the density value for each pixel of the color image data, and when the color image and the monochrome image are transferred in a superimposed manner, the transfer is performed. The density of each pixel of the image is set to be the density before the conversion.

  In addition, the color image data has gradation values converted according to the brightness, saturation, and hue values of each pixel of the color image data, and the color image and the monochrome image are transferred in an overlapping manner. In this case, the brightness, saturation, and hue of each pixel of the transferred image are set to be the brightness, saturation, and hue before the conversion.

  The monochrome image printing control means transfers the monochrome image based on the monochrome image data subjected to the dither conversion process onto the color image.

  Further, the monochrome image printing control means determines, for each pixel of the monochrome image data, whether to print the pixel according to the saturation of the corresponding pixel of the color image data. It is said.

The image forming apparatus further includes switching control means for switching the color image to be printed only by the color image printing control means, and the switching control means transfers the color image to the transfer medium by the color image printing control means alone. time t ₁ is the in the case where a monochrome image print control means for transferring said monochrome image on the color image transferred to the transfer medium by the color image print control means, the transfer time by the color image print control means for t ₂ and the monochrome image print control means is characterized by controlling so as to be longer than the total time of the transfer time T ₃ to transfer the monochrome image data _(t 2 ₊ t _3).

The transfer medium is an intermediate transfer medium, and an image and characters printed on the intermediate transfer medium are transferred to a final transfer medium. Here, the monochrome image print control unit is configured to transfer the monochrome image data and the character data generated by the print data generation unit to the transfer medium using the meltable ink, The switching control means includes a time t4 required for processing in the previous process of transfer to the final transfer medium, a time t1 when the color image print control means independently transfers a color image to the transfer medium, and the monochrome image print control. When the means is longer than the total time (t1 + t5) of the character data transfer time t5, the image is controlled to be printed only by the color image print control means.

  According to the printing apparatus according to the present invention, even when the color image density is reduced by performing color image printing with sublimation CMY ink in a short time, the density can be increased by superimposing the monochrome image with molten Bk ink. it can. As a result, even if the total time of the color image printing and the monochrome image printing superimposed thereon is shorter than the color image printing time using only the sublimation CMY ink, the printing quality can be ensured and the printing speed can be increased.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a printing apparatus roughly. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the printing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation of the printing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing explaining the image displayed by the image data in each process step in simulation. It is explanatory drawing explaining a printing result. It is a graph explaining the relationship between the density and gradation in color printing.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a printing apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The printing device 1 is a card creation device that writes signal data such as magnetic information and IC information and prints images such as photographs, marks, and characters on ID cards for various certifications, credit cards for commercial transactions, and the like. Built in. It should be noted that the term “image data” used in the following description means data that displays a photograph or a mark in distinction from “character data”.

  For thermal transfer printing of the card making apparatus, an ink ink ribbon is used in which inks of a plurality of types of colors are applied to an ink panel formed in a surface sequential manner at intervals approximately equal to the width of the card-like medium. There are two methods of thermal transfer printing: a method of indirectly printing on a card-like medium via an intermediate transfer medium, and a method of directly printing on a card-like medium. A case of a printing apparatus employing an indirect printing method using a film as an intermediate transfer medium and a card-like medium as a final transfer medium will be described.

  In the card-like medium 20 conveyed for printing to the printing apparatus 1, these pieces of information are written in a pre-process processing unit 21 such as a magnetic information recording unit or an IC information recording unit. In particular, the card-like medium 20 on which the IC information is written has an IC chip for recording the IC information and has an uneven shape on a part of its surface, so that an intermediate transfer printing method is suitable. ing. The intermediate transfer printing method is also effective when transferring an image to a card whose surface is coated with a hologram or the like.

  In FIG. 1, the conveyance path P1 connected to the exit side of the pre-process processing unit 21 is formed using a first roller pair 29 and a second roller pair 30 connected to a conveyance motor (not shown) as conveyance means, When the sensor Se1 detects that the card-like medium 20 on which the recording of magnetic information and IC information has been completed is conveyed to the conveyance path P1, the conveyance motor is driven and the first and second roller pairs 29 and 30 are driven. Thus, the card-like medium 20 is taken in and conveyed. The first roller pair 29 and the second roller pair 30 are arranged with an interval Ld shorter than the length Lc in the card conveying direction.

  A media standby unit A and an image transfer unit B are arranged in the transport path P1. The media standby unit A temporarily waits in a state where the card-like medium 20 that has been transported to the transport path P1 after the recording of magnetic information and IC information is completed. Provided between the roller pair 30. For this reason, a transmission clutch (not shown) is provided between the first and second roller pairs 29, 30 and the transport motor, and the card-like medium 20 is stopped and waited when the clutch is turned off. Yes.

  The image transfer portion B is composed of a transfer platen (platen roller in the drawing) 31 and a heating roller 33, and the card-like medium 20 and the transfer film 46 pass between the transfer platen 31 and the heating roller 33. It is supposed to be. The heating roller 33 moves up and down between a position where it is pressed against the transfer platen 31 and a position where it is separated by a lifting mechanism (not shown). Accordingly, by simultaneously pressing and heating the card-like medium 20 and the transfer film 46 between the transfer platen 31, the image ink formed on the transfer film 46 is heat-welded to the card-like medium 20, and the card The image is transferred to the surface of the medium 20 (the lower surface in FIG. 1).

  The second roller pair 30 adjacent to the transfer platen 31 is provided with a sensor Se2 that detects the leading end of the card-like medium 20, and detects whether or not the card-like medium 20 exists in the media standby unit A. At this time, in a state where the card-like medium 20 is in a standby state, the leading end of the card-like medium 20 is upstream of the heating roller 33, whereby the leading end portion of the waiting card-like medium 20 is heated by the heating roller 33. Therefore, there is no risk of unevenness in the image transferred to the card-like medium 20.

  The transfer film 46 transfers an image (secondary transfer) to the card-like medium 20, and the transfer (primary transfer) of the image to the transfer film 46 is performed in the image forming unit C.

  The image forming unit C uses an ink ribbon 41 to transfer and transfer transfer images such as characters and images onto a transfer film 46 that is a recording medium. The image forming platen 45 and a thermal head 40 disposed to face the platen. It consists of. The sublimation ink ribbon 41 and the transfer film 46 supplied from the ribbon cassette 42 travel along the film transfer path P2 between the image forming platen 45 and the thermal head 40.

  The transfer film 46 is wound around a supply spool 47 and a take-up spool 48 of the film cassette 50, and the film transfer path P <b> 2 described above is formed between the supply spool 47 and the take-up spool 48. The supply spool 47 is connected to the operation motor Mr2, and the take-up spool 48 is connected to the take-up motor Mr3. Both the motors are attached to the apparatus frame and connected to the spool shaft via coupling means. Each motor is composed of a stepping motor and rotates in the same direction with the same feed amount.

  A transfer roller 49 and pinch rollers 32a and 32b are arranged in the film transfer path P2, and the transfer film 46 is conveyed along the film transfer path P2 by pressure contact between the transfer roller 49 and the pinch rollers 32a and 32b. . The transfer roller 49 is connected to a drive motor and causes the transfer film 46 to travel at a constant speed. At this time, the sensor Se3 detects markers formed on the transfer film 46 at predetermined intervals. When the image is formed on the transfer film 46, the transfer roller 49 is configured such that the ink ribbon 41 and the transfer film 46 rotate at the same speed in the counterclockwise direction (indicated by the dotted arrow) as shown in FIG.

  The ink ribbon 41 is stored in a ribbon cassette 42. In the ribbon cassette 42, a supply spool 43 and a take-up spool 44 constituting an ink ribbon transport unit are rotatably incorporated, and the take-up spool 44 is connected to a wind motor Mr1. A film-like ink ribbon 41 is wound between the spools 43 and 44. The ink ribbon 41 includes an ink panel surface of each color to which sublimable inks of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) are respectively applied, and an ink panel to which a meltable ink of Bk (black) is applied. Are arranged in a belt-like manner in a frame sequence. Each ink panel surface has a predetermined width corresponding to the printing width of the transfer film 46.

  The transfer film 46 is taken out from the supply spool 47 and is transferred to the cueing position for image transfer by rotating the transfer roller 49 in the clockwise direction. At this time, the ink ribbon 41 is also transferred to the cueing position by the take-up spool 44 rotating counterclockwise. Therefore, in the operation at this time, the transfer directions of the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 are opposite to each other.

  When the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 are aligned at the cueing position, the image forming platen 45 is moved toward the thermal head 40 by an unillustrated extrusion mechanism, and the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 are sandwiched between the thermal film 40 and the ink ribbon 41. It contacts the head 40.

  The thermal head 40 is connected to input signals from a head control IC (see FIG. 2). The head control IC is connected to the thermal head 40 in accordance with image data and character data to be printed on the transfer film 46. The heating is controlled.

  Accordingly, the take-up spool 44 rotates in synchronization with the thermal control of the thermal head 40 and conveys the ink ribbon 41 in the take-up direction at a predetermined speed. At this time, the transfer roller 49 rotates counterclockwise, and the transfer film 46 is transferred in the same direction as the ink ribbon 41 by an amount corresponding to the printing width of one card-like medium 20, so that this portion 46 g is transferred. An image is formed.

  When the image transfer by one ink panel is completed, the transfer roller 49 rotates again in the clockwise direction, and the transfer film 46 is pulled back to the cue position by an amount corresponding to the printing width of one card-like medium 20. . At this time, since the ink ribbon 41 is continuously transferred in the winding direction, the next ink panel panel is aligned with the transfer film 46 at the cueing position.

  Such cueing control is performed by sequentially aligning the Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and Bk (black) ink panels with the transfer film 46 at the cueing position. By repeating the heat transfer by the thermal head 40 and the image forming platen 45 after the alignment, images such as a facial photograph and character data to be printed on the front and back surfaces of the card-like medium 20 are transferred to the transfer film 46.

  Further, a film standby part D is provided on the upstream side of the image transfer part B in the film transfer path P2, and the standby part D is configured to wait while the transfer part 46g of the transfer film 46 is temporarily stopped. Yes. The film standby section D and the aforementioned media standby section A are arranged at an equal distance relative to the downstream image transfer section B, so that the cards are placed on standby with their front ends aligned in both standby sections. The medium 20 and the transfer film 46 are fed out toward the image transfer portion B at the same timing.

  The printing apparatus 1 configured as described above is controlled by a computer PC shown in FIG. The computer PC controls the operation of the printing apparatus 1 according to an application programmed in the application unit 2. In the following description of the control operation, the primary transfer control operation in the image forming unit C directly related to the present invention will be described.

  Regarding printing control, the application unit 2 is programmed with an application for generating an image and a text object and creating an object layout to be printed on the surface of the card-like medium 20. If there is, an object such as an individual face photograph or characters indicating ID information is generated to create a print layout. Then, the application unit 2 outputs the print data “a” to the printer driver 3. The print data a includes color image data and character data.

  The printer driver 3 includes a data sorting unit 4 that receives print data a from the application unit 2, an RGB color image data extraction unit 5, a character data extraction unit 6, an RGB-CMY conversion unit 7, a color image data generation unit 8, a monochrome image. A data generation unit 9 and a black print data generation unit 10 are included.

  The data sorting unit 4 sorts the received print data a, outputs RGB color image data to the RGB color image data extraction unit 5, and outputs character data to the character data extraction unit 6. The RGB-CMY conversion unit 7 converts the RGB color data of the color image into CMY color image data b, and outputs the converted color image data to the color image data generation unit 8 and the monochrome image data generation unit 9, respectively.

  The monochrome image data generation unit 9 converts the CMY color image data b into grayscale monochrome data and outputs it to the black print data generation unit 10. The black print data generation unit 10 combines the character data output from the character data extraction unit 6 and the monochrome image data to generate black print data, and outputs the black print data to the print control unit 14.

  The color image data generation unit 8 outputs color image data of each color to the print control unit 14 for each color in order to print a color image with CMY.

  The print control unit 14 (print control means) directly controls the operation of the printing apparatus 1 based on various commands output by the computer PC according to the application program. The print control unit 14 includes a color memory 11 that stores color image data output from the color image data generation unit 7, a black memory 12 that stores black print data output from the black print data synthesis unit 9, and a head control IC 13. The thermal control for the thermal head 40 by the head control IC 13 is performed based on the color image data and the black print data stored in the color memory 10 and the black memory 11. Therefore, in the print control unit 14, the color memory 11 forms a color image print control unit, and the black memory 12 forms a monochrome image print control unit.

  With the above configuration, a method for printing color image data in the image forming unit C in the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the print data a for printing on the surface of the card-like medium 20 is generated by the processing in the application unit 2, the computer PC starts controlling the printing operation. FIG. 4A schematically shows a color image of the face photograph portion displayed by the color image data in the print data a.

  First, in the first step S1, a printing method is selected. In this example, “print mode with sublimation CMY ink” (beautiful mode), “print mode with sublimation CMY ink and molten Bk ink” (high-speed mode), and “print mode with molten Bk ink” (monochrome mode) ) On a monitor screen of a computer PC (not shown).

  The “print mode with sublimation CMY ink” is selected when it is not necessary to print at high speed, and in order to print a color image as it is with sublimation CMY ink over the transfer film 46 over time, the transfer film When 46 is transferred to the card-like medium 20 by the image transfer portion Bk, a good printing result is obtained.

  The “print mode with melted Bk ink” is a monochrome print mode in which a color image is printed with only melted Bk ink.

  The “printing mode with sublimation CMY ink and molten Bk ink” is a printing method for high-speed printing according to the present invention. In the high speed mode, the density of the sublimation CMY ink is lowered in order to shorten the transfer time to the transfer film 46. Therefore, the color image transferred to the transfer film 46 using the sublimation CMY ink is superimposed on the monochrome image by the melted Bk ink to increase the density, so that a high density image can be printed even if the transfer time is short. It can be realized.

When printing in the high-speed mode is selected in step S1, processing in step S2 is performed. In step S2, the length of the pre-processing time t ₄ in the pre-processing unit 21 for the card-like medium 20, for example, the time required for writing magnetic information or IC information and the primary transfer time in the clean mode Make a comparison. The primary transfer time in the clean mode is the time t ₁ required to sequentially transfer the color image data of each CMY ink to the transfer film 46 by the thermal head 40 using the corresponding color panel. , Bk, the total time t ₅ required to transfer the character data to the transfer film 46 by the thermal head 40.

In this case, it is ideal that the pre-process time t ₄ and the primary transfer time (t ₁ + t ₅ ) in the clean mode are approximately equal, and when the pre-processed card-like medium 20 reaches the standby unit A. If the primary transfer to the transfer film 46 is also completed, the two can be immediately aligned and the secondary transfer can be performed, and the printing apparatus 1 can shorten the printing time on the card-like medium 20. Moreover, clear printing can be performed in the beautiful mode. Therefore, both times are compared in step S2, and if the primary transfer time (t ₁ + t ₅ ) in the beautiful mode is shorter than the pre-process time t ₄ , high-speed printing is selected in step S1. The process proceeds to step S11 and the process is performed in the beautiful mode.

  However, if the primary transfer time is longer than the pre-process time, the time during which the card-like medium 20 on which recording has been completed is waiting in the standby unit A also becomes longer, so the printing apparatus 1 moves to one card-like medium 20. It takes a long time to print.

  Therefore, when the primary transfer time is longer than, for example, the pre-process time required for recording magnetic information or IC information on the card-like medium 20, the primary transfer time can be increased at a high speed while ensuring the print quality above the standard. The processing from step S3 according to the present invention is performed.

  In the process of step S3, the print data a sent from the application unit 2 is sorted by the data sorting unit 4, and the RGB color image data held by the RGB color image data extracting unit 5 is converted into an RGB-CMY conversion unit. 7 performs CMY conversion.

  In step S4, the color image data generation unit 8 performs color conversion processing of the color image data using the conversion table. In the color conversion process, the density (on the data) of each color image data is set so that when the color image data is printed, the color of the original CMY color image data (the shade such as density) is obtained when black is overlaid. Is a process for reducing the density according to the value of brightness information). FIG. 4B schematically shows an image displayed by the color image data subjected to the color conversion process, and shows that the color tone is lighter than that of the color image of FIG. The color conversion process may be performed simultaneously using a dedicated conversion table at the time of CMY conversion in step S3.

  In step S <b> 5, the color image data generation unit 8 outputs color image data c of the color for each CMY color component of the color image data subjected to color conversion processing to the print control unit 14. The print control unit 14 stores the color image data c of each color in the color memory 11, and the head control IC 13 applies heat control to the thermal head 40 for each color sequentially on the transfer film 46 based on the color image data c. A color image shown in FIG. 4B is formed. The computer PC controls the alignment between the position of each ink panel of the ink ribbon 41 and the image transfer surface of the transfer film 46 in synchronization with the thermal control of the thermal head 40, but the description thereof is omitted. .

  In step S <b> 6, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 converts the color image data that has been CMY-converted by the RGB-CMY conversion unit 7 to gray scale and extracts a black component. By converting to gray scale, the image of the color image data is expressed by only light and dark colors from white to black, and becomes monochrome image data that does not include color information. FIG. 4C schematically shows an image displayed by the monochrome image data.

  In step S7, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 performs a conversion process on the monochrome image data. When the monochrome image data is printed as it is, it becomes completely black. Therefore, the monochrome image data is scanned pixel by pixel and discarded to a predetermined gradation value, thereby removing the white portion. Thereby, for example, data is not generated for a light yellow portion or the like in the color image of FIG.

  Then, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 adjusts the gradation value for each pixel with respect to the monochrome image data. The gradation value is adjusted by, for example, converting the density of the black part of the hair or the pupil to the highest gradation value of 1.8 when superimposed on the color image data subjected to the color conversion processing in FIG. Process based on the table. Here, the density 1.8 is an example of an ideal density in terms of print quality. However, since the density of the black portion is insufficient at 1.4 when printing with CMY sublimation ink at high speed, the processing here secures a density of 1.8 when black printing with monochrome image data is overlaid. Therefore, the gradation value is adjusted. The gradation values of the pixels of the other color portions are also adjusted within a range not exceeding the density of the black portion.

  According to this conversion table, for example, if the gradation value of the black portion of the original color image is 255, the gradation value (maximum gradation value) of the black portion is 125. FIG. 4D schematically shows an image displayed by the converted monochrome image data. The color tone is lighter than the image of FIG. 4C, and the lighter color is originally white. .

  Next, in step S8, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 performs dither conversion processing of the monochrome image data. The monochrome image data in gray scale for displaying the image of FIG. 4D has gradations from 0 to 255 in one dot. However, if this is printed with black melted ink, it is a binary value indicating whether or not black ink is applied. Therefore, a gray portion having a predetermined gradation or more becomes black with data “1”, and is below a predetermined gradation. The gray portion of the image becomes white when there is no data “0”, and the contrast becomes high. Therefore, monochrome image data is converted into a dither pattern so that various shades of gray can be expressed by black printing, and each gradation of 256 is expressed by a binary value of “0” or “1”. FIG. 4 (e) shows an image displayed by dithered monochrome image data.

  In step S9, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 performs black data application determination processing. Monochrome image data is printed by being superimposed on color image data. If black is superimposed on a portion where the color is bright, the vividness of that portion is impaired. Therefore, without printing all the monochrome image data, determine the pixels to print the monochrome image data according to the saturation of each pixel of the original color image data, and make sure that the vivid part does not overlap with black Thus, it is possible to obtain a printed image with a well-balanced density. In this determination, the saturation of the original color image data is extracted, black data is not printed for pixels with high saturation, and black data is printed for pixels with low saturation.

  Specifically, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 performs RGB-HSB conversion on each pixel of the original color image data to extract the saturation of each pixel, and converts the monochrome image data according to the saturation. Whether or not to apply is determined for each pixel. As a result, black is not added to vivid parts with high saturation, so that vividness is not impaired.On the other hand, even if black is added to pixels with saturation lower than a predetermined value, it does not become unnatural. In this portion, the density is improved, and the printed image has a density balance as a whole.

  In this way, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 outputs the monochrome image data subjected to the conversion process to the black print data generation unit 10, and the process of step S10 is performed.

  In step S 10, the black print data generation unit 10 combines the monochrome image data from the monochrome image data generation unit 9 and the character data from the character data extraction unit 6 to generate black print data d, and the print control unit 14. Output to. The print control unit 14 stores the black print data d in the black memory 12, and the head control IC 13 thermally controls the thermal head 40 based on the black print data d. Character information in black is printed together with the color image schematically shown in f). At this time, since the monochrome image by the monochrome image data of the black print data d is printed over the color image printed by the process of step S5, the color image shown in FIG. Compared with the color image shown in (b), the density is improved, resulting in a clearer printed image.

  FIG. 5 shows the printing surface of the transfer film 46 on which the color image 25 of the face photograph and the character data 26 are printed. This printing surface is transferred to the surface of the card-like medium 20 by the image transfer portion B and is ID. A card 24 is created.

  When the beautiful mode is selected in step S1 or when the printing in the beautiful mode is determined in the process of step S2 and the process of step S11 is performed, the data sorting unit 4 performs the application as in the process of step S3. The print data a sent from the unit 2 is sorted, and the RGB color image data held in the RGB color image data extraction unit 5 is CMY-converted by the RGB-CMY conversion unit 7. In the beautiful mode, the RGB-CMY conversion unit 7 outputs the color image data b of CMY conversion only to the color image data generation unit 8 and does not output it to the monochrome image data generation unit 9. Therefore, the RGB-CMY conversion unit 7 constitutes a switching control unit that switches the color image to be printed only with each of the CMY color inks.

  In step S <b> 12, the color image data generation unit 8 outputs to the print control unit 14 color image data c instructing a color print image for each CMY color component of the color image data subjected to color conversion processing. The print control unit 14 stores the color image data c in the color memory 11, and the head control IC 13 sequentially controls the thermal head 40 based on the color image data c, whereby the transfer film 46 has the structure shown in FIG. ) Is formed.

At this time, the computer PC is transported between the transfer film 46 and each ink panel of the ink ribbon 41 while being sandwiched between the thermal head 40 and the image forming platen 45, and is slower than the transport in the high speed mode. The printing apparatus 1 is controlled as follows. That is, the time t ₁ required to transfer the CMY ink panels to the transfer film 46 sequentially by the thermal head 40 alone is the color image of the CMY ink panels to the transfer film 46 sequentially by the thermal head 40 in the high speed mode. and the time t ₂ required to transfer, is controlled to be longer than the total time between the time t ₃ when required to transfer the monochrome image to the color image _(t 2 ₊ t _3). As a result, time-consuming transfer is performed on the print portion 46g of the transfer film 46, and a high-quality image shown in FIG. 4A is printed.

  In step S <b> 13 after the end of color printing, the black print data generation unit 10 generates black print data d from the character data from the character data extraction unit 6 and outputs the black print data d to the print control unit 14. In the beautiful mode, monochrome image data is not output from the monochrome image data generation unit 9 because the monochrome image is not superimposed on the color image printing surface of the transfer film 46, and only the character data is output. Thus, black print data d is generated. The print control unit 14 stores the black print data d in the black memory 12, and the head control IC 13 controls the thermal head 40 based on the black print data d, whereby the transfer film 46 has a color image. Character data in black is printed in another part.

  If the monochrome mode is selected in step S1, the process of step S21 is performed. In step S21, similar to the processing in step S6 in the high-speed mode, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 converts the color image data subjected to CMY conversion in the RGB-CMY conversion unit 7 to gray scale and extracts a black component.

  In the next step S22, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 performs dither conversion processing of the monochrome image data. In this monochrome mode, in order to print in a single black color, the monochrome image data generation unit 9 performs direct dither conversion processing on the monochrome image data obtained by converting the color image data to gray scale without performing adjustment by gradation. I do.

  In step S <b> 23, the black print data generation unit 10 combines the monochrome image data from the monochrome image data generation unit 9 and the character data from the character data extraction unit 6 to generate black print data d and the print control unit 14. Output to. The print control unit 14 stores the black print data d in the black memory 12, and the head control IC 13 thermally controls the thermal head 40 based on the black print data d, whereby the transfer film 46 has image and character information. Are printed in monochrome. In the monochrome mode, the computer PC performs thermal control on the thermal head 40 by the head control IC 13 by aligning only the black panel of the ink ribbon 41 with the transfer film 46 at the cueing position.

  As described above, when the printing apparatus 1 cannot take a sufficient time for printing a color image with the sublimation CMY ink because of the processing time in the previous process of the card, the color image printing with the sublimation CMY ink is shortened. Even if the density of the color image is lowered by time, the density can be increased by superimposing the monochrome images with the melted Bk ink.

  This will be described with reference to the graph of FIG. In the graph, the vertical axis represents the density from 0 to 2.0, the horizontal axis represents the brightness gradation from 0 to 255 (255 gradations in black), and the line A represents the ideal density in each gradation. The line B represents the density when the transfer time with the sublimation CMY ink is shortened in order to increase the printing speed. When printing is performed at high speed, the density decreases from around 190 gradations in color printing, and a difference occurs in print quality. Therefore, by superimposing a monochrome image on a color image printed at high speed, the density can be increased in a 220 gradation color image as shown by line C, and the print quality is ensured. As a result, the print quality can be ensured even if the total time of the color image printing and the monochrome image printing superimposed thereon is shorter than the color image printing time using only the sublimation CMY ink, so that the printing time can be increased. .

  Note that the color conversion process in step S4 described above may be converted according to not only the density but also the brightness, saturation, and hue values for each pixel of each color image data. The color image data is subjected to CMY conversion by using a conversion table that provides the color (lightness, saturation, and hue) of the original CMY color image data when the color image data is printed with black superimposed.

  In this embodiment, an example of transferring a monochrome image after transferring a color image has been disclosed. However, when an ink ribbon in which a black panel is first arranged is used, a color image is transferred after transferring the monochrome image. Will be transferred.

  Furthermore, although the configuration of the intermediate transfer printer in which the recording medium is the transfer film 46 is disclosed in the present embodiment, a direct printer that directly transfers to a medium such as the card-like medium 20 may be used. In that case, the recording medium is a card-like medium.

  The present invention relates to a technology for ensuring the print quality of a color image even when the printing time is high in a printing apparatus that transfers characters and color images to a card-like recording medium such as an ID card, identification card, and various membership cards. And has industrial applicability.

9 Monochrome image data generation unit (monochrome image data generation means)
7 RGB-CMY converter (switching control means)
11 Color memory (color image printing control means)
12 Black memory (monochrome image printing control means)
14 Print Control Unit (Print Control Unit)
20 Card-like medium (final transfer medium)
21 Pre-processing section 40 Thermal head (printing means)
41 Ink ribbon 45 Image forming platen 46 Transfer film (intermediate transfer medium)

Claims (11)

Color image and using the ink ribbon and the ink panel surface disposed sequentially surfaces fusible ink of a plurality of types of inks panel surface and black are applied to sublimation ink double several colors are applied respectively A printing apparatus for transferring a monochrome image onto a transfer medium,
Printing means for printing the color image and the monochrome image on the transfer medium;
Print data generation means for generating print data comprising a plurality of objects;
RGB color data extraction means for extracting RGB color data from the print data of the plurality of objects;
Color image data generation means for generating color image data by performing CMY conversion on the RGB color data of a predetermined object;
And monochrome image data generating means for generating monochrome image data to the RGB color over data of the predetermined object and the same object to the being CMY conversion to monochrome data of,
And a print control means for controlling said printing means,
The print control means includes
Color image printing control means for sequentially transferring the color image data to the transfer medium using the sublimation ink for each of the plurality of colors corresponding to the color image data to form the color image;
A monochromatic image by pre Symbol monochrome image data, anda monochrome image print control means for transcription to the transfer medium by using said fusible ink,
The printing apparatus, wherein the color image printing control unit and the monochrome image printing control unit transfer the color image and the monochrome image of the same object in an overlapping manner .   In the monochrome image data, the gradation value of each pixel is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the gradation value of the remaining pixels is black when the color image and the monochrome image are transferred in an overlapping manner. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the density of the portion is adjusted so as to exhibit a predetermined maximum gradation value.   The color image data is converted so that the density is reduced according to the density value for each pixel of the color image data, and when the color image and the monochrome image are transferred in an overlapping manner, The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the density for each pixel is set to be the density before the conversion.   The color image data has its gradation value converted according to the brightness, saturation, and hue values for each pixel of the color image data, and when the color image and the monochrome image are transferred in an overlapping manner The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brightness, saturation, and hue of each pixel of the transferred image are set to be the brightness, saturation, and hue before the conversion.   The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the monochrome image printing control unit transfers a monochrome image based on the monochrome image data subjected to the dither conversion process onto the color image.   The monochrome image printing control unit determines, for each pixel of the monochrome image data, whether to print the pixel according to the saturation of the corresponding pixel of the color image data. The printing apparatus according to claim 1. A switching control means for switching the color image to be printed only by the color image printing control means;
The switching control means is a time t ₁ for transferring the color image to the transfer medium by the color image print control means alone, and the monochrome image print control means is transferred to the transfer medium by the color image print control means. wherein in the case of transferring a monochrome image, the color image printing control means total time of the transfer time t ₂ and the transfer time T ₃ of the monochrome image print control means for transferring said monochrome image data by on the color image The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is controlled to be longer than (t ₂ + t ₃ ).   The printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transfer medium is an intermediate transfer medium, and an image and characters printed on the intermediate transfer medium are transferred to a final transfer medium. The monochrome image print control means is configured to transfer the monochrome image data and the character data generated by the print data generation means to the transfer medium using the meltable ink,
In the switching control means, the time t ₄ required for the process before the transfer to the final transfer medium is equal to the time t ₁ when the color image printing control means independently transfers the color image to the transfer medium and the monochrome. When the image print control means is longer than the total time (t ₁ + t ₅ ) of the character data transfer time t ₅ , the image print control means is controlled to print only the color image print control means. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein The monochrome image data generation means generates the monochrome image by converting the color image data obtained by CMY conversion of the RGB color data to gray scale and performing dither conversion processing on the gray scaled data. The printing apparatus according to 1. A color image and a monochrome image using an ink ribbon in which a plurality of types of ink panel surfaces to which sublimable inks of a plurality of colors are applied and an ink panel surface to which black meltable inks are applied are arranged in sequence. A printer driver for outputting color image data and monochrome image data to a printing apparatus for printing on a transfer medium,
Print data receiving means for receiving print data comprising a plurality of objects;
RGB color data extraction means for extracting RGB color data from the received print data of the plurality of objects;
Color image data generating means for converting the RGB color data of a predetermined object into CMY and generating color image data for printing on the transfer medium with the sublimation ink;
Monochrome image data for generating RGB image data for printing on the transfer medium with the fusible ink by converting the RGB color data of the same object as the predetermined object to be CMY-converted by the color image data generating means into monochrome data Generating means;
Output means for outputting the color image data and the monochrome image data to the printing apparatus,
The printer driver, wherein the output unit outputs the color image data and the monochrome image data of the same object to the printing apparatus so as to be printed on the transfer medium.

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