JPH0362556B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to paper for a thermal transfer printer that prints by thermally transferring ink applied to an ink ribbon.

Thermal transfer printers have become popular in recent years because they have the advantage of being able to print on OHP (overhead projector) film. Figure 1 A and B are OHPs used in thermal transfer printers.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a film for use, in which (a) shows a case where the film is wound into a roll, and (b) shows a case where the film is folded alternately at perforations l, l, . . . . Also, in A and B of this figure, 1 is OHP film, 2,
2 are feed holes, and these feed holes 2, 2, . . . are adapted to engage with feed pins of a platen roller for conveying paper.

By the way, in the OHP film 1 of a conventional thermal transfer printer, as shown in FIG. Therefore, it has the disadvantage that it often gets scratched during manufacturing, handling, and use. It is well known that when an image printed on an OHP film is projected, the projection screen becomes unsightly if the OHP film itself is scratched.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides paper for thermal transfer printers (OHP paper) that is resistant to scratches on the transparent film for OHP, in which a protective paper is removably superimposed on the entire non-printing surface of the transparent film. It is.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a white protective paper that is removably superimposed on the entire back surface (non-printing surface) of the OHP film 1. Although not shown, this protective paper 5 is provided with a feed hole (see Figure 1 A and B) like the OHP film 1, and the OHP film 1 and the protective paper 5 both have feed holes that are connected to the feed pins of the platen roller. are engaged and conveyed simultaneously. As in this embodiment, when the transparent film 1 and the protective paper 5 are overlapped and further wound into a roll, the OHP films 1 do not directly overlap each other as shown in FIG. No scratches on 1.

Next, other effects of this embodiment will be explained.

Reference numeral 10 shown in FIG. 3 is an ink ribbon used in a color thermal transfer printer, and is made of light-transmitting condenser paper. This ink ribbon 1
Cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are repeatedly applied to the area 0, and non-transparent areas (hereinafter referred to as black marks) 10a, 10a, . The reason why the black mark 10a is provided in this way is to accurately detect the color change of the ink ribbon 10. For example, as shown in FIG.
When the irradiated light is absorbed by the black mark 10a (indicated by a broken line in the figure), a color change is detected. Note that in the yellow, magenta, and cyan portions, the irradiation light passes through the ink ribbon 10 and then is applied to the paper 11.
(plain paper) and is received by the light receiver 16.
However, the color thermal transfer printer mentioned above
When the OHP film 1 is used, as shown in FIG. 12, but since this platen roller 12 is generally black, it absorbs the reflected light,
As a result, the irradiated light does not reach the light receiver 16, and the change in color cannot be detected. On the other hand, the OHP shown in this example is added to the color thermal transfer printer described above.
When paper is used, as shown in FIG. 4C, in areas other than the black mark 10a, the light transmitted through the OHP film 1 is reflected on the surface of the white protective paper 5 and reaches the light receiver 16, so that the black mark In the portion 10a, the color change can be detected satisfactorily.

In this manner, this embodiment not only prevents the OHP film 1 from being scratched, but also improves the detection of the color boundaries of the ink ribbon 10 in a color thermal transfer printer.

Incidentally, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a portion in which OHP sheets in this embodiment are alternately folded back and overlapped at perforations 1 (see A and B in FIG. 1). Even when folded in this manner, the chances of the OHP films 1 coming into direct contact with each other are significantly smaller than in the conventional case (FIG. 1B), and the incidence of scratches is therefore greatly reduced.

As explained above, according to the present invention, since the protective paper is removably superimposed on the entire non-printing surface of the transparent film (transparency film), it is possible to obtain the effect that the transparent film is less likely to be scratched, and also to protect the transparent film. When the color of the paper is a color with high reflectance such as white, the boundary between the colors of the ink ribbon in a color thermal transfer printer can be detected successfully using a reflective photosensor, with the same structure as when thermally transferring to plain paper. I can do it.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1A and 1B are perspective views showing the external appearance of an OHP film used in a thermal transfer printer, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of an ink ribbon used in a color thermal transfer printer, and FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case in which the OHP sheets in this embodiment are alternately folded back and stacked at the perforation l portion. 1... OHP film (transparent film), 2...
...Feedhole, 5...Protection paper.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A sheet of paper for a thermal transfer printer, comprising: a transparent film having one side as a printing surface; and a protective sheet that is removably superimposed on the entire non-printing surface of the transparent film. 2. The paper for a thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, wherein the protective paper is a non-transparent paper that reflects irradiated light from the printing surface side of the transparent film.