JPH10202928A - Recording method and recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure high recording quality having no blur through an image conditioning operation wherein thermal sublimation ink is transferred from an ink ribbon and then the surface of a thermal head is applied to the surface of a recording image at a part having a density higher than a specified level through an image conditioning member in order to smooth the recording image. SOLUTION: A plurality of cassette holders are provided at specified positions on the lower surface of a canopy 19 facing a carriage 4 and ribbon cassettes 5a-5d are arranged in a row along the moving direction of the carriage 4. An ink ribbon-like image conditioning member 27 is contained in the ribbon cassette 5d. The image conditioning member 27 is formed by applying a back coat to a basic body comprising a resin film excellent in heat resistance and slipperiness, e.g. PET or PA. After image recording is performed on a sheet using an ink ribbon, the surface of a thermal head 7 is applied to a recording image at a part having a density higher than a specified level through the image conditioning member 27 in order to smooth the recording image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording method and a recording apparatus, and more particularly to a recording method and a recording method suitable for recording a desired image on paper by a thermal head using an ink ribbon made of a heat sublimable ink. It relates to a recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a thermal transfer printer, which is a kind of recording apparatus, is frequently used as an output device of a computer, a word processor or the like because of high recording quality, low noise, low cost, and ease of maintenance.

In such a conventional thermal transfer printer, a carriage is formed so as to be able to reciprocate along a platen, and a thermal head formed by arranging a plurality of heating elements on the carriage is mounted on the carriage. It is configured such that a ribbon cassette containing color ink ribbons is detachably mounted.

[0004] Then, the ink ribbon and paper fed from the ribbon cassette are sandwiched between the platen and the thermal head, and the thermal head is reciprocated along the platen together with the carriage, and the ink ribbon is wound up. By selectively energizing the heat generating elements of the thermal head based on the recording information to generate heat, the ink of the ink ribbon is partially transferred to the paper to record an image such as a desired character on the paper. It has become.

When a full-color image is recorded on paper, three ribbon cassettes containing at least ink ribbons formed of inks of three colors, yellow, magenta and cyan, are arranged, and these ribbon cassettes are mounted on a carriage. It is automatically exchanged between and is provided for recording.

In such a conventional thermal transfer printer, recording is performed on paper using an ink ribbon in which a hot-melt ink is applied to a base made of a resin film made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or the like. However, in recent years, there has been known a type in which recording is performed on paper using an ink ribbon in which a substrate is coated with a thermal sublimation ink.

[0007] When recording on paper using an ink ribbon made of hot-melt ink, it is possible to record on various types of paper such as plain paper, cardboard, and postcards.
It is easy to use. In order to perform gradation recording using the ink ribbon made of the heat-meltable ink, a dither method or the like is used because density gradation of one dot cannot be performed.

On the other hand, a paper using an ink ribbon formed by applying a heat sublimable ink to a substrate made of a resin film made of PET or the like, more specifically, an ink ribbon made of a heat sublimable ink. When printing is performed on the paper, the amount of ink transferred to the paper can be controlled by controlling the energy applied to the thermal head to adjust the sublimation amount of the heat sublimable ink, and to control the amount of the image to be printed on the paper. Since the density can be adjusted, a high-quality full-color image comparable to a silver halide photograph can be obtained by using a specially treated paper as a paper. For this reason, a thermal transfer printer using an ink ribbon made of thermal sublimation ink has recently been widely used as a high-quality video printer or the like.

[0009]

However, in the above-described thermal transfer printer using the ink ribbon made of the thermal sublimable ink, when the thermal sublimable ink is transferred to the paper and a desired image is recorded on the paper, In a bright portion where the density of the recorded image is low, the energy supplied to the thermal head for thermally sublimating the thermal sublimable ink of the ink ribbon is small, and the thermal sublimable ink transferred to the paper is smooth and glossy. It becomes a glossy image. On the other hand, in the black area where the density of the recorded image is high, the energy supplied to the thermal head for thermally sublimating the heat sublimable ink of the ink ribbon is large, and the surface of the paper is thermally deformed. As a result, a so-called mat occurs in which the image transferred to the paper becomes dull, and as a result, the glossy part and the dull part are mixed in the image recorded on the paper, which is an obstructive factor for obtaining higher recording quality. .

[0010] Further, this mat has a problem that it becomes more noticeable when a full-color image is recorded on paper by superimposing at least three color sublimable inks of yellow, magenta and cyan.

Therefore, even when a desired image is recorded on a sheet of paper using an ink ribbon made of a heat sublimable ink, a dull color called a mat is formed in a black portion where the density of the image recorded on the sheet is high. What can obtain a higher recording quality without a defect is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and has a higher recording quality without dullness called a mat even when an image is recorded on paper using an ink ribbon made of a thermosublimable ink. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording method and a recording device capable of obtaining the above.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording method for selectively supplying energy to a plurality of heating elements of a thermal head. Then, after transferring the thermal sublimation ink of the ink ribbon to the paper to record a desired image on the paper, the surface of the thermal head is exposed to at least a predetermined density of the image recorded on the paper via the image adjusting member. The point is to perform an image adjustment operation for bringing an image recorded on a sheet into smooth by bringing the image into contact with the surface of the above portion. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to forcibly smooth a black-colored portion having a density higher than at least a predetermined density transferred to the paper, and as a result, a dullness called mat is obtained. No higher quality recording can be easily obtained.
Further, since the surface of the thermal head can be brought into contact with the image recorded on the paper via the image adjusting member, the surface of the thermal head including the portion where the heating element is provided is directly in contact with the image recorded on the paper. Therefore, it is possible to prevent such a problem that the surface of the thermal head is stained or dust adheres to the surface of the thermal head when the image is adjusted.

The recording method of the present invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that a thermal head using an ink ribbon formed of at least three color sublimable inks of yellow, magenta and cyan. After selectively supplying energy to the plurality of heating elements and transferring the three-color heat sublimable inks onto a sheet to record a desired full-color image on the sheet, the surface of the thermal head is imaged. An aspect of the present invention is to perform an image adjustment operation for making the full-color image recorded on the paper smooth by indirectly abutting the surface of a portion of the full-color image recorded on the paper having at least a predetermined density via the adjustment member. By adopting such a configuration, a black portion having a high density of at least a predetermined density or more of a full-color image obtained by transferring at least three color sublimable inks of yellow, magenta and cyan onto a sheet of paper is transferred. Forcibly smoothing can be performed, and as a result, recording of a full-color image of higher recording quality without dullness called matte can be easily obtained.
Further, since the surface of the thermal head can be brought into contact with the image recorded on the paper via the image adjusting member, the surface of the thermal head including the portion where the heating element is provided is directly in contact with the image recorded on the paper. Therefore, it is possible to prevent such a problem that the surface of the thermal head is stained or dust adheres to the surface of the thermal head when the image is adjusted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording method according to the first or second aspect, wherein the heating element of the thermal head is used when the image adjusting operation is performed. The point is that less energy is supplied than the maximum energy supplied to the heating element of the thermal head when the thermal sublimation ink is transferred onto paper. And, by adopting such a configuration, it is possible to promote the diffusion and coloring of the thermo-sublimable dye constituting the thermo-sublimable ink while reliably preventing the occurrence of the mat due to the image adjustment operation itself. As a result, an image with higher recording quality can be easily obtained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus comprising: a platen; and a ribbon accommodating an ink ribbon which is reciprocally movable along the platen and is composed of a heat sublimable ink. A thermal head having a carriage on which a cassette can be mounted, and a plurality of heating elements arranged on the carriage and capable of coming into contact with and separating from the platen, the thermal sublimation ink of the ink ribbon; Is a recording device that records a desired image on a sheet by transferring the image to a sheet, and an image adjustment member used when smoothing the image recorded on the sheet, and after recording the desired image on the sheet. The surface of the thermal head is brought into contact with the surface of at least a predetermined density or more of the image recorded on the sheet via the image adjusting member to smooth the image recorded on the sheet. In that it has an image adjustment unit to perform the image adjustment operation. By adopting such a configuration, the thermal sublimation ink can be transferred onto the paper to record a desired image on the paper, and the surface of the thermal head can be recorded on the paper via the image adjustment member. Contact the surface of at least the predetermined density of the image,
It is possible to forcibly smooth a black-colored portion having a density higher than at least a predetermined density recorded on the paper, and as a result, it is possible to easily obtain a higher recording quality without dullness called a mat. . Further, since the surface of the thermal head can be brought into contact with the image recorded on the paper via the image adjusting member, the surface of the thermal head including the portion where the heating element is provided is directly in contact with the image recorded on the paper. Therefore, it is possible to prevent such a problem that the surface of the thermal head is stained or dust adheres to the surface of the thermal head when the image is adjusted.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus comprising: a platen; and a ribbon accommodating an ink ribbon made of a heat sublimable ink which is reciprocally movable along the platen. A carriage on which a cassette can be mounted, a thermal head arranged on the carriage and having a plurality of heating elements arranged so as to be able to contact and separate from the platen, and at least yellow, magenta and Three ribbon cassettes accommodating ink ribbons made of three color sublimable inks of cyan, wherein the ribbon cassettes are automatically replaced,
A recording device mounted on a carriage and recording the desired full-color image on a sheet by transferring and superimposing each of the thermal sublimation inks on the sheet, and is used when smoothing the full-color image recorded on the sheet. After the desired full-color image is recorded on the paper, the surface of the thermal head is brought into contact with the surface of at least a predetermined density or higher portion of the full-color image recorded on the paper via the image adjusting member. And an image adjustment unit that performs an image adjustment operation for smoothing a full-color image recorded on a sheet. By adopting such a configuration, at least three colors of heat sublimation inks of yellow, magenta and cyan can be superimposed and transferred onto a sheet to record a desired full-color image on the sheet. The surface of the thermal head is brought into contact with the surface of at least a predetermined density or more of the full-color image recorded on the paper via the adjustment member, and the high-density black color of the full-color image recorded on the paper is at least the predetermined density or more. Can be forcibly smoothed, and as a result, it is possible to easily obtain a full-color image having no dullness and a higher recording quality called a mat. Further, since the surface of the thermal head can be brought into contact with the full-color image recorded on the paper via the image adjusting member, the surface including the arrangement of the heating elements of the thermal head is directly in contact with the full-color image recorded on the paper. Therefore, it is possible to prevent inconvenience that the surface of the thermal head is stained or dust adheres to the surface of the thermal head during image adjustment, thereby damaging the surface of the thermal head.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the recording apparatus according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the image adjustment unit performs the image adjustment operation when performing the image adjustment operation. The point is that the heat generating element of the thermal head is configured to supply less energy than the maximum energy supplied to the heat generating element of the thermal head when the thermal sublimation ink is transferred onto paper. By adopting such a configuration, when performing the image adjustment operation, the maximum energy supplied to the heat generating element of the thermal head when transferring the thermal sublimable ink to the paper is changed to the heat generating element of the thermal head. Since a small amount of energy can be supplied, the occurrence of mats due to the image adjustment operation itself is reliably prevented, and the diffusion and coloring of the unreacted portion of the thermo-sublimable dye constituting the thermo-sublimable ink transferred to the paper are promoted. As a result, an image with higher recording quality can be easily obtained.

A feature of the recording apparatus of the present invention described in claim 7 is that, in any one of claims 4 to 6, the image adjustment member is a heat-resistant film. It is in. The heat-resistant film mentioned here specifically refers to a film formed of a heat-resistant resin material such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or polyamide. And by adopting such a configuration,
An inexpensive and highly durable image adjusting member can be easily obtained.

A feature of the recording apparatus according to the present invention described in claim 8 is that, in any one of claims 4 to 7, at least a surface of the thermal head of the image adjustment member. In that a back coat is applied to the surface opposite to. The back coat referred to here is the same as the back coat applied to the ink ribbon, and specifically, because of its excellent thin film coating properties, silicone modified-acrylic resin, silicone modified-ester resin And silicone-modified urethane resins, silicone-modified-amide resins, and those obtained by impregnating these resins with silicone oil. By adopting such a configuration, when performing the image adjustment operation, heat resistance for protecting the image adjustment member from heat by the thermal head and sticking between the thermal head and the image adjustment member are reduced. Slipperiness for prevention can easily be improved.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the image adjusting member is formed in an ink ribbon shape in any one of the fourth to eighth aspects. And is stored in a ribbon cassette, and is manually or automatically replaced and mounted on a carriage. And by adopting such a configuration, the handleability and operability of the image adjustment member itself can be easily improved. Further, since the image adjustment member is formed in the shape of an ink ribbon and stored in the ribbon cassette, the image adjustment member can be manually or automatically replaced and easily mounted on the carriage, so that the operability of the image adjustment member is easily improved. In addition, the image adjustment member can be easily positioned between the thermal head and the recorded image when performing the image adjustment operation.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the recording method according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the main part. And
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the carriage, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a control unit.

The recording apparatus according to the present embodiment comprises three ribbon cassettes for each color containing ink ribbons made of three sublimable inks of yellow, magenta and cyan, and an image adjusting member formed in an ink ribbon shape. Can be used to record a full-color image on a sheet using a ribbon cassette containing the.

As shown in FIG. 1, a thermal transfer printer 1 as a recording apparatus of the present embodiment has a flat platen 2 disposed at a predetermined position of a printer frame (not shown) such that a recording surface 2a is substantially vertical. A guide shaft 3 is disposed below and in front of the platen 2 in parallel with the platen 2. A vertically divided carriage 4 is attached to the guide shaft 3, and the lower side of the carriage 4 is attached to the guide shaft 3.
The upper part of the carriage 4 is an upper carriage 4b on which a ribbon cassette 5 is mounted and which can be vertically moved toward and away from the lower carriage 4a. This carriage 4
The drive belt 6 is fixed to a part of a drive belt 6 wound around a pair of pulleys (not shown), and the drive belt 6 is driven by a drive means (not shown) such as a stepping motor, whereby the drive belt 6 is driven. The carriage 4 is connected to the guide shaft 3
To reciprocate along.

The carriage 4 is opposed to the platen 2 and can be freely moved toward and away from the platen 2.
Thermal head 7 for recording on upper paper (not shown)
The thermal head 7 selectively generates heat based on desired recording information input by a suitable input device (not shown) such as a host computer, an image reader, or a keyboard. A plurality of heating elements (not shown) are arranged. The paper is a special paper that has been subjected to a surface treatment so that the heat sublimable ink is stably fixed as described above.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of parallel crank mechanisms 8 (only one is shown) are provided on both left and right sides of the carriage 4. The upper carriage 4b is configured to be movable parallel to and away from the lower carriage 4a to be attached thereto. Each of the parallel crank mechanisms 8 includes:
It has a pair of links 9a and 9b that cross each other in an X shape.
0a, and the ends of the links 9a, 9b are connected by pins 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e.
The lower carriage 4a is slidably engaged with long holes (not shown) formed on the left and right side upper surfaces of the lower carriage 4a and the left and right side lower surfaces of the upper carriage 4b, respectively.

A rotary crank mechanism 11 is provided on the lower carriage 4a.
1 has a rotating plate 12 supported so as to be rotatable by the lower carriage 4a. One end of a connecting link 14 is pivotally connected to the eccentric position of the rotary plate 12 by a pin 13a, and the other end of the connecting link 14 is pivotally connected to the upper carriage 4b by a pin 13b. The rotating plate 12 is driven to rotate by driving means (not shown) such as a motor. By the rotation of the rotating plate 12, the upper carriage 4b is connected to the lower carriage 4a via the connection link 14. It is designed to move in parallel with respect to it.

Returning to FIG. 1, a pair of plate-like arms 15 gently curved inward from each other is provided on the upper surface of the right and left sides of the upper carriage 4b at a distance substantially equal to the width of the ribbon cassette 5. Each of the arms 15
Are formed at the tip end portions thereof with engaging portions 15a formed of projections for holding the ribbon cassette 5 so as to face each other. At the center of the upper carriage 4b, a take-up bobbin 16a for winding the ink ribbon 17 housed in the ribbon cassette 5 and a delivery bobbin 16b for delivering the ink ribbon 17 are rotatably arranged at predetermined intervals. The ink ribbon 17 is caused to travel in a predetermined direction by rotating the winding bobbin 16a.

An optical sensor 18 for detecting the type of the ink ribbon 17 stored in the ribbon cassette 5 is provided on the upper surface of the edge of the carriage 4 farther from the platen 2. Is connected to a control unit 25, which is provided at a desired position of the thermal transfer printer 1 and controls the recording operation of the thermal transfer printer 1, which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, above the carriage 4, a substantially plate-shaped canopy 1 supported on the frame so as to be openable and closable as shown by a double arrow A in FIG.
Reference numeral 9 is provided at a predetermined distance from the carriage 4. The canopy 19 functions as a paper presser on the exit side of a paper feed mechanism (not shown) in the closed state, and has a length substantially equal to the moving area of the carriage 4 so as to face the carriage 4. Have been.

A plurality of cassette holders (not shown) for holding the ribbon cassette 5 are provided at predetermined positions on the lower surface of the canopy 19 facing the carriage 4, and each cassette holder records a full-color image. At least three of yellow, magenta and cyan to do
Ink ribbons 17a, 17 made of color sublimable ink
b, 17c, and an image adjustment member 2 to be described later formed in an ink ribbon shape similar to these ink ribbons 17.
Ribbon cassette 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d in which 7 is stored
Are arranged in a line along the moving direction of the carriage 4. Among them, the ribbon cassette 5a has
Ink ribbon 17a made of yellow thermal sublimation ink
However, in the ribbon cassette 5b, an ink ribbon 17b made of magenta thermosublimable ink is placed.
Has an ink ribbon 1 made of cyan sublimable ink.
7c, and an image adjusting member 27 formed in an ink ribbon shape is stored in the ribbon cassette 5d.

Then, each of the ribbon cassettes 5a, 5b, 5
c and 5d are the canopy 1 as shown by the double-headed arrow B in FIG.
9 and the upper carriage 4b are selectively transferred.

In order to form a full-color image, in addition to the three sublimable inks of yellow, magenta and cyan, an ink ribbon made of black sublimable ink and an overcoat for overcoating are used. An ink ribbon made of a transparent heat-meltable ink may be used in combination as needed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the case body 20 of each of the ribbon cassettes 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d has the same shape irrespective of the type of the ink ribbon 17 and the image adjustment member 27 housed therein. The inside of the case main body 20 has an ink ribbon 17 wound around the ink ribbon 17 for recording.
Alternatively, a take-up reel 21a that winds the image adjustment member 27 of the portion subjected to the image adjustment, and a delivery reel 21b that sends out the ink ribbon 17 or the image adjustment member 27 are rotatably accommodated. On the surface of the ribbon cassette 5 which is mounted on the carriage 4 and faces the platen 2, a concave portion 22 facing the thermal head 7 is formed.
7 or an intermediate portion of the image adjustment member 27 is led out. Furthermore, a pair of rotatably supported ribbon feed rollers (not shown) and a plurality of guide rollers (shown in the drawing) inside the case body 20 and in the middle of the travel path of the ink ribbon 17 or the image adjustment member 27. (Not shown).

On the rear surface of the ribbon cassette 5 extending parallel to the surface on which the concave portion 22 is formed, the type of the ink ribbon 17 stored in each ribbon cassette 5 and the image adjustment member 27 are determined. Is formed by a reflective seal 24 having a different number of striped non-reflective portions 24a depending on the type of the ink ribbon 17 housed therein and the image adjusting member 27. Have been. In the present embodiment, the ribbon cassette 5 shown at the left end in FIG.
a is a reflective seal 24 having three non-reflective portions 24a.
A is attached as an identification mark 23, and in the following order:
A reflective seal 24B having four non-reflective portions 24a is attached as identification marks 23 to the ribbon cassette 5b, and two non-reflective portions 24a are attached to the ribbon cassette 5c.
Is attached as an identification mark 23 to the ribbon cassette 5d, and a reflection seal 24C having one non-reflection portion 24a is attached to the ribbon cassette 5d as the identification mark 23. Further, the left end of the rear surface of the ribbon cassette 5 is used as a reference position BP for detecting the identification mark 23, and the distance L from the identification mark 23 to the right end of the non-reflecting portion 24a located at the right end in FIG. And the desired non-reflective portion 24a for identifying the type of the ink ribbon 17 or the image forming member 27 is formed within the distance L.

Then, the identification mark 23 is detected by an optical sensor 18 provided on the carriage 4 and a detection signal is output to a control unit 25 of the printer. The type of the ink ribbon 17 and the image forming member 27 stored in the ribbon cassette 5 are determined by counting the number of the non-reflection portions 24a. further,
The carriage 4 can be stopped in a state where the optical sensor 18 detects the type of the ink ribbon 17 to be used and the identification mark 23 corresponding to the image forming member 27, and the cassette of the canopy 19 is stopped in a state where the carriage 4 is stopped. The ribbon cassette 5 provided in the holder is automatically transferred to the upper carriage 4b.

The image adjusting member 27 is formed by applying a back coat to a base made of a resin film made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PA (polyamide) or the like and having good heat resistance and slipperiness. .
This back coat is used to protect the image adjustment member 27 from heat generated by the thermal head 7 when performing the image adjustment operation, and to prevent sticking between the thermal head 7 and the image adjustment member 27. And is the same as the back coat applied to the ink ribbon 17. As the back coat, a silicone-modified-acrylic resin, a silicone-modified-ester resin, a silicone-modified-urethane resin, a silicone-modified-amide resin, and the like can be exemplified as being preferable in terms of excellent thin film coating properties. . Further, those resins impregnated with silicone oil may be used. The back coat is applied to at least the surface facing the surface of the thermal head 7 when the image adjustment member 27 formed in an ink ribbon shape is stored in the ribbon cassette 5d.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control section 25 drives at least the CPU 31, a memory 32 formed of a ROM, a RAM or the like having an appropriate capacity, and each section of the recording apparatus 1 such as the thermal head 7. Controller 3
And 3.

In the memory 32, at least recording information for recording is color-separated into three colors of yellow, magenta and cyan and stored as recording data for each color, and actual recording is performed. At the time of printing, print data of a color corresponding to the color of the ink ribbon 17 to be used is output to the controller 33, and the controller 33 selectively drives any one of the plurality of heating elements of the thermal head 7 according to the print data. To generate heat.

In the memory 32, at least the thermal sublimation ink of each of the ink ribbons 17 is superimposed and transferred onto a sheet to record a desired full-color image on the sheet. The ribbon cassette 5d containing the image adjustment member 27 formed in the shape of a ribbon is mounted on the carriage 4, and the ink ribbon-shaped image adjustment member 27 stored in the ribbon cassette 5d is recorded on the surface of the thermal head 7 and on paper. Then, the surface of the thermal head 7 was brought into contact with the surface of at least a predetermined density or higher portion of the full-color image recorded on the paper via the image adjustment member 27, and was recorded on the paper. An image storing a program for performing an image adjustment operation for forcibly smoothing at least a portion of a full-color image having a density higher than a predetermined density It has an adjustment portion 34. In addition, the image adjustment unit 34 uses the maximum energy supplied to the heating element of the thermal head 7 when transferring the thermal sublimable ink to the paper when performing the image adjustment operation. When the maximum energy supply to the heating element of the thermal head 7 during recording is 100%, for example, the energy supply to the heating element when performing the image adjustment operation is 12 to 50%. An energy adjusting unit 35 in which a program to be stored is stored. The energy supplied to the heat generating element of the thermal head 7 when performing the image adjustment operation depends on the energy of the image adjustment member 2.
An appropriate value may be determined according to the type, thickness, and the like of 7.
Further, the program for performing the image adjustment operation may be a program that causes the surface of the thermal head 7 to contact all the parts of the full-color image recorded on the sheet. further,
The moving speed of the carriage 4 when performing the image adjustment operation may be faster than the moving speed of the carriage 4 during recording.

In the memory 32, based on the recording information, at least a heating operation to the heating elements of the thermal head 7 at the time of recording, an amount of energy supply to each heating element, and a contact / separation of the thermal head 7 with respect to the platen 2. The operation of the ribbon cassette 5 is controlled on the basis of an output signal from an optical sensor 18 accompanying the movement of the carriage 4 and a program for controlling the operation of each part such as the operation of transporting a sheet by a paper feed mechanism (not shown).
And the type of the ink ribbon 17 stored in the ribbon cassette 5 and the carriage 4 with respect to the home position.
A program for determining or detecting the moving distance of the canopy 19, the open / closed state of the canopy 19, the distance between a pair of adjacent or separated ribbon cassettes 5, and a portion of a full-color image to be recorded on paper based on recording information having a predetermined density or more. Various programs such as a program for detecting in advance are also stored.

Further, the ribbon cassette 5d containing the image adjusting member 27 may be configured to be used in reverse or in reverse rotation.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described together with the method of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the recording information input to the control unit 25 of the thermal transfer printer 1 from a host computer or an image reader (not shown) is separated into three colors of yellow, magenta and cyan to be used. The data is stored in the memory 32 as recording data for each color. Actual recording is performed in the order of yellow, magenta, and cyan by using the ribbon cassettes 5a, 5b, and 5c in this order. The chromatic color is formed by adding a density gradation to one or a combination of two inks of three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and the achromatic color is formed of yellow, magenta, and cyan. It is formed by adding a density gradation to a combination of three cyan inks.

First, the case where the first yellow ink recording is performed on a sheet will be described. The detection operation of the ribbon cassette 5a containing the yellow ink ribbon 17a is performed by a control command from the control unit 25.
For example, by moving the carriage 4 located in a non-mounted state where the ribbon cassette 5 is not mounted at the home position provided at the left end in FIG. 1 to the right in FIG. 1, the optical sensor 18 disposed on the carriage 4 becomes This is performed by detecting the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5. Then, the optical sensor 18 sends a unique detection signal of each identification mark 23 based on the arrangement and pitch of the non-reflection portions 24a to the control portion 25, and the control portion 25 identifies the ribbon cassette 5a corresponding to the control command. It is determined whether the mark is a mark 23 or not, and in the case of the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5a corresponding to the control command, the movement of the carriage 4 is stopped and the ribbon cassette 5a corresponding to the control command is stopped.
Is not the identification mark 23, the movement of the carriage 4 is continued until the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5a corresponding to the command is detected.

Thereafter, the carriage 4 is stopped at a position opposed to the corresponding ribbon cassette 5a, the parallel crank mechanism 8 and the rotary crank mechanism 11 are driven to raise the upper carriage 4b, and the yellow color is held by the cassette holder of the canopy 19. The ribbon cassette 5a containing the ink ribbon 17a is transferred to the upper carriage 4. Then, again, each of the parallel crank mechanism 8 and the rotary crank mechanism 1
1 to lower the upper carriage 4b so as to contact the lower carriage 4a. Thereby, the carriage 4
Is a mounted state in which the ribbon cassette 5a containing the yellow ink ribbon 17a is mounted.

Next, predetermined paper is conveyed to a predetermined position between the thermal head 7 and the platen 2 by a known paper feeding mechanism (not shown), and the thermal head 7 is moved via the yellow ink ribbon 17a and the paper. Platen 2
In this state, the carriage 4 is moved along the platen 2 while the head 4 is pressed against the recording surface 2a.
5, by selectively energizing the heating elements of the thermal head 7 in accordance with the density of the image to be recorded to generate heat, the yellow sublimable ink of the ink ribbon 17a is partially sublimated and transferred to paper. To record yellow on paper.

When the yellow recording is completed, the carriage 4 is stopped at a position facing a cassette holder (not shown) in which the used ribbon cassette 5a is held in advance, and the upper carriage 4b is operated in the same manner as the operation described above.
To automatically transfer the ribbon cassette 5a containing the yellow ink ribbon 17a mounted on the upper carriage 4b to the cassette holder.

Next, the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5b containing the magenta ink ribbon 17b to be used for the next recording is detected by the optical sensor 18, and this ribbon cassette 5b is mounted on the carriage 4, and the yellow recording is performed. As in the case of (1), magenta recording using the ribbon cassette 5b is performed.

When the recording of magenta is completed, the recording of cyan is performed in the same manner.

In general, the surface of the thermal head 7 is cleaned by a known cleaning mechanism (not shown) every time printing of each color is performed or at a predetermined use time.

An ordinary color image is formed by superimposing two or less colors of thermal sublimable ink. However, in order to obtain a black image and a high-density gray image, three colors of yellow, magenta and cyan are used. It is necessary to superimpose the sublimable ink.

When a full-color image is recorded on a sheet by superimposing the yellow, magenta and cyan color sublimable inks, the light-colored portions having a low density of the full-color image correspond to the heat-sublimable ink of each ink ribbon 17. The energy supplied to the heat generating element of the thermal head 7 for sublimating the ink is small, and the heat sublimable ink transferred to the paper becomes a smooth, glossy and glossy image, but a black color portion where the density of the full color image is high. In this case, the energy supplied to the heat generating element of the thermal head 7 for sublimating the heat sublimable ink of each ink ribbon is large, and the image transferred to the paper becomes dull due to the thermal deformation of the surface of the paper. Matting occurs, and as a result, glossy parts and dull parts are mixed in the full-color image recorded on paper, resulting in good quality. It can not be recorded.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, after the recording of the three colors of yellow, magenta and cyan is completed, a control command for performing an image adjusting operation is sent from the control unit 25. This image adjustment operation is performed by the optical sensor 18 detecting the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5 in accordance with a control command from the control unit 25 in the same manner as in the recording. Then, the optical sensor 18 sends a unique detection signal of each identification mark 23 having a configuration such as an arrangement and a pitch of the non-reflection portions 24 a to the control unit 25, and the image adjustment member 27 corresponding to the control command is sent to the control unit 25. It is determined whether it is the identification mark 23 of the stored ribbon cassette 5d, and the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5d corresponding to the control command is determined.
In this case, the movement of the carriage 4 is stopped. If the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5d corresponding to the control command is not present, the movement of the carriage 4 is continued until the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5a corresponding to the command is detected. continue.

Thereafter, the carriage 4 is stopped at a position facing the corresponding ribbon cassette 5d, and the ribbon cassette 5d containing the image adjusting member 27 is mounted on the carriage 4 in the same manner as during recording.

Then, the ribbon cassette 5 is mounted on the carriage 4.
While the carriage 4 is moved along the platen 2 in a mounted state with the d, the thermal head 7 is brought into contact with the sheet via the image adjusting member 27 at a portion of the full-color image at least at a predetermined density. Force full-color images to be smoothed.

The thermal head 7 is moved toward and away from the paper while the carriage 4 is moving along the platen 2 by frequently operating a known contacting / separating mechanism (not shown) for moving the thermal head 7 toward and away from the sheet. The thermal head 7 may be damaged as in the recording operation.
The carriage 4 may be moved along the platen 2 in a head-down state in which the carriage 4 is brought into contact with the sheet via the image adjustment member 27. In this case, since the surface of the thermal head 7 comes into sliding contact with the full-color image recorded on the sheet via the image adjusting member 27, the full-color image can be further smoothed.

By performing such an image adjusting operation, it is possible to easily obtain higher recording quality in which the entire full-color image has no dullness called a mat and has a glossy and glossy image. .

At this time, the heating element of the thermal head 7 is supplied to the heating element of the thermal head 7 when the thermal sublimation ink is transferred to the paper based on the program stored in the energy adjusting section 35. Since less energy than the maximum energy to be supplied is supplied, the occurrence of a mat due to the image adjustment operation itself is reliably prevented, and the unreacted portion of the thermo-sublimable dye constituting the thermo-sublimable ink transferred to the paper is diffused. Color formation can be promoted, and as a result, a full-color image with higher recording quality can be easily obtained.

Further, at the time of image adjustment, the image adjustment member 2
By contacting the surface of the thermal head 7 with the full-color image recorded on the paper via the, the surface including the arrangement of the heating elements of the thermal head 7 does not directly contact the full-color image. The inconvenience of damaging the surface of the thermal head 7 due to the contamination of the surface of the thermal head 7 or the attachment of dust can be prevented.

Further, in this embodiment, since the back surface is applied to one surface of the image adjusting member 27 which is in contact with the surface of the thermal head 7, the thermal head 7 and the image adjusting member 27 slide smoothly. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the image adjustment member 27 from melting when the thermal head 7 and the image adjustment member 27 do not slide smoothly, or prevent the surface of the thermal head 7 from being damaged or worn. In other words, the operation of the thermal head 7 can be made smooth by applying a back coat to one surface of the image adjustment member 27 that is in contact with the surface of the thermal head 7, and the durability of the thermal head 7 and the image adjustment member 27 is improved. Can be done.

Further, in this embodiment, the image adjusting member 27 is housed in the ribbon cassette 5d in the form of an ink ribbon, so that the image adjusting member 27 can be easily used without using any special structure. can do. That is, the handleability and operability of the image adjustment member 27 itself can be easily improved. Since the image adjustment member 27 is formed in the shape of an ink ribbon and stored in a ribbon cassette, the image adjustment member 27 can be manually or automatically replaced and easily mounted on the carriage. And the image adjustment member 27 can be easily disposed on the thermal transfer printer 1. Further, when performing the image adjustment operation, the image adjustment member 27 can be easily positioned between the thermal head 7 and the recorded full-color image. Also, the ink ribbon-shaped image adjustment member 27
Since it is possible to use a manufacturing facility for manufacturing a general ink ribbon, it is possible to easily obtain an ink ribbon which is easy to manufacture, inexpensive, and excellent in durability. Further, when a film made of PET is used as the image adjusting member 27, the structure is the same as that obtained by removing ink from a general ink ribbon, so that the manufacturing is easier and the cost is lower. be able to.

In the present embodiment, the thermal transfer printer 1 capable of forming a full-color image has been described as an example. However, a recording apparatus for transferring a single-color thermal sublimation ink to paper is used. Is also good. Control unit 2 in this case
5, the recording information for recording is stored as recording data corresponding to the head resolution without color separation, and the recording data is output to the controller 33 during actual recording. It is only necessary to selectively drive any one of the plurality of heating elements of the thermal head 7 according to print data to generate heat. further,
When performing the image adjustment operation, the user manually replaces the ribbon cassette 5d containing the image adjustment member 27 formed in the ink ribbon shape with respect to the carriage 4, that is, the image formed in the ink ribbon shape. A configuration in which the ribbon cassette 5 is not automatically replaced such that the ribbon cassette 5d in which the adjustment member 27 is stored is not held in the cassette holder in advance. The memory 3 of the control unit 25 in this case
There is no need to store a program for automatically replacing the ribbon cassette 5 in the second image adjustment unit 34.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified as needed.

[0066]

As described above, according to the recording method and the recording apparatus of the present invention, the desired image can be recorded on the paper by transferring the heat sublimable ink to the paper, and the image adjusting member can be used. The surface of the thermal head is brought into contact with the surface of at least a predetermined density or higher portion of the image recorded on the paper through the forcibly to forcibly smooth the black portion having a high density of at least the predetermined density or higher recorded on the paper. As a result, it is possible to easily obtain a higher recording quality without dullness called a mat. Further, since the surface of the thermal head can be brought into contact with the image recorded on the paper via the image adjusting member, the surface of the thermal head including the portion where the heating element is provided is directly in contact with the image recorded on the paper. Therefore, it is possible to prevent such a problem that the surface of the thermal head is stained or dust adheres to the surface of the thermal head when the image is adjusted.

Further, according to the recording method and the recording apparatus of the present invention, when performing the image adjustment operation, the recording medium is supplied to the heating element of the thermal head and to the heating element of the thermal head when transferring the sublimable ink to the paper. Since less energy than the maximum energy to be supplied is supplied, the occurrence of a mat due to the image adjustment operation itself is reliably prevented, and the unreacted amount of the unreacted heat sublimable dye constituting the heat sublimable ink transferred to the paper is also considered. Diffusion and color development can be promoted, and as a result,
This is an extremely excellent effect that an image with higher recording quality can be easily obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part showing an example of an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention to which a recording method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a main part of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a carriage of the printing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a control unit of the printing apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermal transfer printer 2 Platen 4 Carriage 4a Lower carriage 4b Upper carriage 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d Ribbon cassette 7 Thermal head 17 Ink ribbon 17a Ink ribbon 17b (made of yellow heat sublimation ink) Ink ribbon 17b (Magenta heat sublimation Ink ribbon 17c (made of cyan thermal sublimation ink) Ink ribbon 18 Optical sensor 19 Canopy 23 Identification mark 24 Reflective seal 24a Non-reflective part 25 Control part 27 Image adjustment member 31 CPU 32 Memory 33 Controller 34 Image adjustment Unit 35 Energy adjustment unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A method for selectively supplying energy to a plurality of heating elements of a thermal head to transfer a heat sublimable ink of an ink ribbon to a sheet and record a desired image on the sheet, and thereafter, the thermal head A recording method comprising: performing an image adjustment operation of bringing an image recorded on a sheet into smooth by bringing the surface of the sheet into contact with a surface of at least a predetermined density or more of an image recorded on the sheet via an image adjustment member. . 2. An ink ribbon formed of at least three color sublimation inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and selectively supplying energy to a plurality of heating elements of a thermal head to heat sublimation of the three colors. After a desired full-color image is recorded on the paper by transferring the hydrophilic ink onto the paper, the surface of the thermal head is exposed to at least a predetermined density or higher portion of the full-color image recorded on the paper via the image adjustment member. A recording method comprising performing an image adjustment operation for making a full-color image recorded on a sheet indirectly in contact with a front surface smooth. 3. When performing the image adjustment operation, energy that is smaller than the maximum energy supplied to the heating element of the thermal head when transferring the thermal sublimation ink to paper is applied to the heating element of the thermal head. The recording method according to claim 1, wherein the recording method is supplied. 4. A carriage capable of mounting a platen, a ribbon cassette capable of reciprocating along the platen and accommodating an ink ribbon made of thermosublimable ink, and being provided on the carriage and in contact with the platen. A thermal head in which a plurality of heat generating elements which can be separated are arranged and arranged, and a desired image is recorded on the sheet by transferring the heat sublimable ink of the ink ribbon to the sheet. An image adjustment member used when smoothing an image recorded on a sheet, and after recording a desired image on the sheet, the surface of the thermal head is printed on the sheet via the image adjustment member. A recording apparatus comprising: an image adjustment unit configured to perform an image adjustment operation for smoothing an image recorded on a sheet by abutting at least a surface of a portion having a predetermined density or higher. 5. A carriage, on which a platen, a ribbon cassette capable of reciprocating along the platen and containing an ink ribbon made of thermosublimable ink can be mounted, and a carriage provided on the carriage and in contact with the platen. A thermal head in which a plurality of detachable heating elements are arranged and arranged, and three ribbon cassettes which are arranged at predetermined positions and contain ink ribbons of at least three color sublimable inks of yellow, magenta and cyan With
A recording apparatus for automatically exchanging each of the ribbon cassettes, mounting the carriages on a carriage, and superimposing and transferring each of the thermal sublimation inks on a sheet to record a desired full-color image on the sheet. An image adjustment member used when smoothing the full-color image obtained, and after performing recording of a desired full-color image on paper, at least a full-color image recorded on paper through the image adjustment member on the surface of the thermal head. A recording apparatus comprising: an image adjustment unit that performs an image adjustment operation of bringing a full-color image recorded on a sheet into smoothness by abutting a surface of a portion having a predetermined density or more. 6. The image adjusting section, when performing the image adjusting operation, supplies the heating sublimable ink to a heating element of the thermal head when transferring the thermal sublimation ink to a sheet. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording apparatus is configured to supply less energy than energy. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image adjustment member is a heat-resistant film. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a back coat is applied to at least a surface of the image adjustment member facing a surface of the thermal head. . 9. The image adjusting member according to claim 4, wherein the image adjusting member is formed in an ink ribbon shape and is housed in a ribbon cassette, and is manually or automatically replaced and mounted on a carriage. 9. The recording device according to any one of items 8.