JPH02121850A - Printing method and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To print in high quality by uniformly coating the whole surface of a transfer with heat-fusible ink, partly removing the ink to form an image on the transfer, and transferring the image onto a sheet. CONSTITUTION:Ink 1 of an ink tank 2 melted by the heat of a heater 3 is adhered to the outer surface or a heat roll 4, is stored in a gravure mesh of a heat gravure roll 5, the excess ink I is separated by a blade 6, and the surface of a transfer 1 is coated with the ink I. When the cooled and solidified ink I is arrived at a position between a roll 8 to be transferred and a thermal head 11, the head 11 is selectively heated to melt ink I of a pattern inverted from a desired image, and a desired image remains on the transfer 1. The image is transferred to a sheet P by the heat of heat rollers 12A, 12B, thereby finishing printing. Thus, no noise is generated and high quality printing is possible.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a printing method and printer that perform printing using heat-melting ink, and particularly relates to a printing method that performs printing by transferring ink on a transfer body to paper. Concerning printing methods and printer improvements.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, there are various types of printers used as OA equipment, the representative ones being thermal transfer printers,
There are wire dot printers, laser printers, etc.

Among these, thermal transfer printers print by partially melting ink on an ink ribbon using a thermal head and transferring it to paper, and have the advantage of being able to print without making noise. .

Further, the wire dot printer performs printing by selectively protruding a plurality of wires built into a wire dot head and hitting paper on a platen with the tips of the wires via an ink ribbon. This has the advantage that running costs are low because the same location on the ink ribbon can be used multiple times.

Further, the laser printer performs D1 writing on the photoreceptor using a laser writing member to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor, and attaches toner to this electrostatic latent image to make it visible. Printing is performed by transferring an image onto paper, and it has the advantage of being able to perform high-speed printing.

However, the above-mentioned thermal transfer printer has the problem that the same part of the ink ribbon can be used only once in principle, and therefore the running cost is high. Further, the wire dot printer described above has the problem of being noisy because printing is performed by striking the paper on the platen with the tip of the wire. Furthermore, the above-described laser printer has the problem of being expensive because it must be equipped with a laser writing member and an electrophotographic device.

There is a printer described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 18366/1983 that overcomes the problems of conventional printers.

In the method described in this publication, a mask image forming base material is brought into contact with an ink roll made of heat-melting ink, and the ink on the ink roll is partially melted by a thermal head to print on the base material to form a mask image. The mask image on the base material is then transferred onto the transfer support using a heating device to perform printing.

According to this printing method (printer), not only can the price be lower than that of a laser printer, but it also does not generate noise like a wire dot printer, and furthermore, it uses thermal melting instead of an ink ribbon. Since it uses a thermal transfer ink roll made of synthetic ink, it has the advantage of being cheaper to run than a thermal transfer printer.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the method described in the above-mentioned publication, the ink of the thermal transfer ink roll is partially melted by a thermal head to form a mask image directly on the mask image forming base material. It is difficult to transfer the mask image with a uniform thickness, resulting in uneven thickness of the mask image.

Therefore, the method described in this publication has a problem in that the printing quality deteriorates.

The present invention overcomes these problems with conventional products, can be manufactured at low cost, has low running costs, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing method and a printer that can perform printing of good quality without generating noise.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the printing method of the present invention described in claim 1 uniformly applies heat-melting ink to almost the entire surface of a transfer body, and partially coats the ink on the transfer body. The method is characterized in that an image is formed on the transfer body by removing the toner, and this image is transferred to paper for printing.

The printer of the present invention described in claim 2 also includes a transfer body, and a heat-melting ink that is disposed to be joined to the transfer body and coats almost the entire surface of the transfer body in a molten state. a thermal head that partially melts the ink applied to the transfer member by the application member to form an image, and a thermal head that removes only the ink melted by the thermal head from the transfer member. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a transfer roll that transfers all of the ink remaining on the transfer body and forming an image onto the paper.

[For production]

According to the printing method of the present invention having the above-described configuration, heat-melting ink is uniformly applied to almost the entire surface of the transfer body, and then the ink on the transfer body is partially removed in a pattern in which black and white are reversed. , an image is formed using the ink left on the transfer body, and this image is transferred to the paper for printing, so the thickness of the image transferred to the paper is uniform, resulting in good quality printing. can be done.

Further, according to the printer of the present invention having the above-described configuration, the application member uniformly applies the heat-melting ink to almost the entire surface of the transfer body in a molten state, and the ink on the transfer body becomes a non-melted state. By the way, a pattern of image information and a black and white inverted pattern are melted and transferred to a transfer roll by a thermal head. As a result, an image is formed using the ink left on the transfer body. Therefore, if all of the ink left on the transfer body is transferred to the paper by the transfer means and printed, the thickness of the image transferred to the paper will be uniform, and this printer can also be used according to the above-mentioned method of the present invention. Similar to the printing method, it is possible to print with good quality.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention. This printer has a cylindrical transfer body 1, and this transfer body 1 is made of a plastic film such as polyimide or polyethylene terephthalate. has been done. Further, this transfer body 1 is configured to be rotationally driven in a clockwise direction by a driving means such as a motor (not shown).

In the drawing of the transfer body 1, there is ink I on the outer circumferential side in the right direction.
P! 2 is provided, and in this ink tank 2, heat-fusible ink (2) is stored. This ink ■ uses colorants such as carbon black, paraffin wax,
A mixture of wax such as carnauba wax, a binder made mainly of low molecular weight resin such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer or polyamide, a softener such as silicone oil, a dispersant such as stearic acid, and a preservative. It is configured as follows. Further, a heater 3 is disposed below the ink tank 2, and is configured to heat and melt the ink I in the ink tank 2 during printing.

A heat roll 4 is disposed in the ink tank 2 and has an axial length approximately equal to that of the transfer body 1 and is aligned with the transfer body 1 in the axial direction. , the ink I in the ink 1fi2 is attached to the outer peripheral surface and is pumped up. The heat roll 4 is rotationally driven in a clockwise direction by a drive means (not shown) and is heated by a heater (not shown) so as to hang.

Above the heat roll 4, an example of a coating member having approximately the same axial length as the transfer body 1 and the heat roll 4 and aligned with the transfer body 1 and the heat roll 4 in the axial direction is provided. A heat gravure roll 5 is disposed, and this heat gravure roll 5 is connected to the heat roll 4 and the transfer body 1 so as to apply ink I drawn up from the heat roll 4 to the outer peripheral surface of the transfer body 1. It has become. This heat gravure roll 5
A gravure mesh (not shown) is formed on the outer periphery of the
Ink I is stored and suspended within this mesh. Further, the heat gravure roll 5 is rotationally driven in a counterclockwise direction by a driving means (not shown) so that relative speeds are not generated between the transfer body 113 and the heat roll 4 at the joint portion thereof. At the same time, it can be heated by a motor (not shown).

The heat gravure roll 5 is provided with a blade 6 for peeling off the ink I adhering to the surface of the heat gravure roll 5 and leaving the ink I only in the gravure mesh.
The tips of the two are joined.

On the other hand, a roll-shaped heater 7 is disposed inside the heat gravure roll 5 with the transfer body 1 in between, for smoothing the application of the ink I to the transfer body 1 by the heat gravure roll 5. ing.

Below the transfer body 1, there is a transfer roll 8 which is joined to the transfer body 1 and to which the ink I applied on the transfer body 1 is partially applied, and is moved between the transfer body 1 and the transfer body 1 by a driving means (not shown). The ink I attached to the transfer roll 8 is disposed so as to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction so that a relative speed with the transfer body 1 is not generated at the joining portion of the transfer roll 8. The tip of the blade 9 that peels off the material is joined. Further, a receiver plate 10 is provided below the transfer roll 8 to receive the ink I peeled off from the transfer roll 8.

The transfer roll 8 has approximately the same axial length as the transfer body 1 and is aligned with the transfer body 1 in the axial direction. Further, the transfer target roll 8 is provided with the transfer body 1 in between.
A thermal head 11 is disposed inside so as to face the transfer body 1, and this thermal head 11. teeth,
The ink I, which has a pattern that is the black and white inversion of the desired image, is melted by heating and transferred to the transfer roll 8. For this reason, the thermal head 11 is provided with a control signal for printing based on image information from a υ1tX1 section of a printer (not shown).

Above the transfer body 1, a pair of heat rolls 12A and 12 are placed on the outside and inside of the transfer body 1 with the transfer body 1 in between.
B are arranged so as to be joined to the transfer body 1, respectively. These heat rolls 12A are provided with a heater (not shown) inside.

12B has approximately the same axial length as the transfer body 1 and is aligned with the transfer body 1 in the axial direction, and
It is designed to be rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown) so that a relative speed with respect to the transfer body 1 is not generated at the joint portion with the transfer body 1. Then, the upper heat roll 1
Between the transfer member 2A and the transfer member 1, a paper P onto which a desired image is transferred using the ink I on the transfer member 1 is run from left to right by a running means (not shown).

Next, a printing method using the printer of this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described.

During printing, the heater 3 generates heat to heat the ink I in the ink tank 2 to melt the ink I in the ink tank 2, and the heat roll 4, heat gravure roll 5, heat rolls 12A, 12B A heater (not shown) inside also generates heat and heats each roll to melt the ink I, and transfer body 1, heat roll 4, heat gravure roll 5, transfer target roll 8, and heat rolls 12A and 12B are shown in the figure. 63 <.

Then, the ink (2) in the ink tank 2, which is melted by the heat generated by the heater 3, adheres to the outer peripheral surface and is drawn up by the rotation of the rolls 1 to 4, and is then heated by the joining of the heat roll 4 and the heat gravure roll 5. It is pumped up so that it is stored in the gravure mesh of the gravure roll 5. Then, after removing the excess ink (3) adhering to the surface of the heat gravure roll 5 with the blade 6, the ink 1 in a molten state stored in the gravure mesh of the heat gravure roll 5 is removed.
It is applied to the surface of the transfer body 1 by joining the transfer body 1 and the heat gravure roll 5, and is cooled and solidified before facing the transfer target roll 8 as the transfer body 1 rotates. This transfer body 1
After the ink I applied to the outer peripheral surface of the printer and cooled and solidified reaches between the transfer roll 8 and the thermal head 11, a controller (not shown) of the printer sends the thermal head 1
A control 11 signal for printing is outputted to 1, and a plurality of heating elements (not shown) of the thermal head 11 selectively generate heat, so that ink in a pattern that is a black and white inversion of the desired image is printed on the transfer body 1. ■ Melt.

The melted ink (2) is then transferred to the transfer roll 8 and removed, leaving a desired image on the transfer body 1.

Thereafter, the desired image formed with the ink (■) on the transfer body 1 is melted by the heat of the heat rolls 12A and 12B and transferred to the paper P conveyed between the heat roll 12A and the transfer body 1, and printing is completed. do.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the printer has a simple configuration, it can be manufactured at low cost, and since printing is performed by thermal transfer, it does not generate noise unlike wire dot printers.Furthermore, since no ink ribbon is used, running costs can be reduced. Becomes cheaper. Moreover, since the ink I is applied to the transfer member 1 from the heat gravure roll 5 to a uniform thickness, it is possible to print with good quality.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes can be made as necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the printing method and printer according to the present invention have the excellent effects of being able to be manufactured at low cost, having low running costs, generating no noise, and being able to print with good quality. play.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention. 1... Transfer body, 2... Ink tank, 3... Heater,
4... Heat roll, 5... Heat gravure roll, 6... Blade, 7... Heater, 8... Transferred roll, 9... Blade, 10... Receiver is plate, 11・
...Thermal head, 12A, 12B... Heat roll, ■... Ink, P... Paper. 1st

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) Heat-melting ink is uniformly applied to almost the entire surface of the transfer body, and the ink on the transfer body is partially removed to form an image on the transfer body, and this image is A printing method characterized by printing by transferring the characters onto paper. 2) a transfer body, a coating member disposed to be joined to the transfer body and applying heat-melting ink to almost the entire surface of the transfer body in a molten state; A thermal head that partially melts the ink to form an image with the ink, a transfer roll that removes only the ink melted by the thermal head from the transfer body, and a transfer roll that is left on the transfer body to form the image. and a transfer means for transferring all of the ink onto paper.