JPH11138876A - Color printer, ink sheet and color thermal transfer recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the time required for color image recording by providing an ink sheet having a plurality of continuous coloring material blocks each coated with unit quantity of coloring material of a plurality of colors corresponding to the scanning unit and moving a thermal head relatively to the ink sheet. SOLUTION: An ink sheet 11 comprises an ink sheet body 12, and a coloring material block 13 provided on the surface thereof along the winding direction. The ink sheet 11 is coated with coloring materials 13a-13d of four colors tune by 1 line (unit quantity) in the breadthwise direction of the sheet in same order. When the image information of a first line is sent to a control circuit, the ink sheet 11 and a recording medium 17 are carried in the winding direction and the coloring materials 13a-13d are thermally transferred sequentially onto the recording medium 17 by means of a thermal head 16. The images of each color is recorded on the n-th line. For the image information of n line, 4×n line recording is effected on the recording medium 17 and the number of pixels in the winding direction is increased four times as much as that of an original image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color printer for thermally transferring a color material on an ink sheet to a recording medium, an ink sheet used in the color printer, and a color thermal transfer recording method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a main part of a conventional color printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 9-125, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an ink sheet of FIG.
In the figure, an ink sheet 1 includes an ink sheet body (film base) 2 and four color (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) color materials (inks) 3a to 3d applied to the surface of the ink sheet body 2. And
The color materials 3a to 3d of each color are repeatedly applied for one screen.

Further, the ink sheet 1 before use is wound around an ink sheet roll 4, and the used ink sheet 1 is taken up by a take-up reel 5. A thermal head 6 is provided in the middle of the conveyance path of the ink sheet 1 so as to be able to contact and separate from the back surface of the ink sheet 1. The recording medium 7 is pressed against the thermal head 6 by a platen 8.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the leading end of the recording medium 7 is aligned with the head of the yellow color material 3a, and the ink sheet 1 and the recording medium 7 are transported stepwise in the winding direction of the ink sheet 1. The thermal head 6 is provided with a plurality of heating resistors (not shown), and these heating resistors are driven in accordance with image information, so that the color material 3a on the ink sheet 1 becomes a recording medium. 7 is transferred by heating.

Thereafter, the recording medium 7 is fed in the reverse direction, and the leading end of the recording medium 7 is aligned with the leading end of the magenta color material 3b.
Then, transfer of one screen of magenta is performed by the same operation. The cyan and black color materials 3c and 3d are similarly transferred, so that yellow, magenta, cyan, and black color materials 3a to 3d are printed on the recording medium 7.
Is printed.

[0006]

In the conventional color printer constructed as described above, it is necessary to reciprocate the recording medium 7 a number of times corresponding to the number of colors of the color material, and to perform transfer for each color. Therefore, there is a problem that color misregistration is likely to occur between the respective colors, and the time required for recording is prolonged. In particular, when such a color printer is to be diverted for printing on a large-sized recording medium such as a decorative panel, color misregistration and prolonged recording time become serious problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can perform thermal transfer recording of a color image at high speed and with high accuracy.
An object of the present invention is to provide a color printer, an ink sheet and a color thermal transfer recording method that can reduce running costs.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color printer including a plurality of color material blocks formed by applying a plurality of color materials in unit amounts corresponding to scanning units. An ink sheet, a thermal head provided opposite to the ink sheet, for heating a color material and transferring the color material onto a recording medium, and a driving unit for moving the thermal head relatively to the ink sheet and the recording medium. It is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color printer.
A line type thermal head is used as the thermal head.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color printer.
A serial type thermal head is used as the thermal head.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color printer.
A color material block, in which color materials of each color are arranged in a line extending in the main scanning direction as a unit amount, is provided continuously along the sub-scanning direction.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color printer.
A color material block in which color materials of respective colors are arranged in a matrix in a predetermined area as a unit amount is provided continuously in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.

The color printer according to the invention of claim 6 is
A roller is provided between the ink sheet and the recording medium, in which the color material from the ink sheet is transferred to the outer peripheral surface and the transferred color material is pressure-transferred onto the recording medium.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink sheet body, and a large number of ink sheets are continuously provided on the ink sheet body, and a plurality of color materials are applied by a unit amount corresponding to a scanning unit. And a color material block.

The ink sheet according to the invention of claim 8 is provided with a color material block formed by arranging color materials of each color in unit of one line continuously in a sub-scanning direction.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the ink sheet, a color material block formed by arranging color materials of respective colors of a predetermined area as a unit amount in a matrix is continuously formed in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. It is provided.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color thermal transfer recording method for an ink sheet provided with a large number of color material blocks formed by applying a plurality of color materials in unit amounts corresponding to scanning units. And scan the thermal head,
The color material is transferred onto a recording medium by heating.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a color printer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an ink sheet of FIG. In the figure, an ink sheet 11 includes an ink sheet body (film base) 12 and
Color material block 13 continuously provided on the surface of the ink sheet body 12 along the sub-scanning direction (winding direction).
And Many color material blocks 13 are provided in one screen.

Each of the color material blocks 13 is a color material (ink) of four colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black).
13a to 13d are applied in the same order by one line (unit amount) extending in the main scanning direction (sheet width direction). Such a method of applying the coloring materials 13a to 13d can be realized by using, for example, a photoresist method disclosed in JP-A-61-233704. Further, the ink sheet 11 before use is wound around an ink sheet roll 14, and the used ink sheet 11 is taken up by a take-up reel 15.

In the middle of the conveyance path of the ink sheet 11,
Thermal head 1 that can contact and separate from the back surface of ink sheet 11
6 are provided. On the thermal head 16, heating resistors (not shown) are arranged and fixed on one line in the main scanning direction. That is, as the thermal head 16, a line type thermal head capable of simultaneously recording one line by one application pulse to the heating resistor is used. The recording medium 17 is pressed against the thermal head 16 by a platen 18. Also, the driving means is
It comprises a take-up reel 15, a platen 18, and a rotating mechanism for rotating these in synchronization.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the first
When the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black image information of the line is sent to a control circuit (not shown), the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images are conveyed while the ink sheet 11 and the recording medium 17 are conveyed in the winding direction. Color material 13
a to 13 d are sequentially heated and transferred onto the recording medium 17 by the thermal head 16. The image information of the second and subsequent lines is sequentially sent to the control circuit, and one color material block 13 is sequentially transferred onto the recording medium 17 for one line of image information.

Then, the last line of the image information, the n-th line
For the line, the (4 × n−3) th on the recording medium 17
The line is a yellow image and the (4 × n−
2) A magenta image on the line, the (4 ×
The (n-1) th line is a cyan image, and the (4 ×)
n) A black image is recorded on the line, and recording for one screen is completed.

As described above, (4 × n) lines are recorded on the recording medium 17 for the n lines of image information, and the number of pixels in the sub-scanning direction is increased to four times that of the original image. However, by changing the feed pitch of the ink sheet 11 and the recording medium 17 to 1/4 of the conventional one, a change in the image aspect ratio (aspect ratio) is prevented.

According to the color thermal transfer recording method using the ink sheet 11 and the color printer as described above, printing of four colors can be performed only by sending the recording medium 17 once. It is not necessary to reciprocate by the number of colors, color shift is prevented, color images can be thermally transferred at high speed with high accuracy, and running costs can be reduced.

In the prior art, the size of the screen in the sub-scanning direction is limited.
Can be continuously provided on the ink sheet main body 12 without being divided for each screen, and the change in the size of the recording medium 17 can be directly handled. Therefore, printing can be easily performed on the large-sized recording medium 17.

In the above example, one color material block 13 is formed by applying the color materials 13a to 13d line by line as a unit amount, but the unit amount may be plural lines. Also in this case, by adjusting the feed pitch of the thermal head 16, the aspect ratio of the image can be maintained.

In the above example, the ink sheet 11 and the recording medium 1 are used to maintain the aspect ratio of the recorded image.
7, the sub-scanning resolution of the thermal head 16 is adjusted by, for example, making the length of the heating resistor itself in the main scanning direction: length in the sub-scanning direction 4: 1. However, the aspect ratio can be maintained. further,
Printing may be performed by processing image information. That is, it is possible to maintain the aspect ratio even if image information is adjusted by reduction using a linear interpolation method, a cubic hyperbolic interpolation method, or the like, or by simple thinning.

Embodiment 2 Next, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of a color printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the ink sheet of FIG. In the figure, an ink sheet 21 includes an ink sheet body 12 and
Color material blocks 2 continuously provided on the surface of the ink sheet body 12 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.
And 2. Many color material blocks 22 are provided in one screen.

Each of the color material blocks 22 includes four color materials (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) 22a to 22a.
2d is formed by applying a predetermined area (unit amount) in a matrix in the same order by a photoresist method or the like. The unit amount of each of the color materials 22a to 22d is preferably set to one dot from the viewpoint of resolution, but may be set to plural dots in consideration of the manufacturing cost and productivity of the ink sheet 21.

In the middle of the conveyance path of the ink sheet 21,
A thermal head 23 for transferring the color materials 22a to 22d to the recording medium 17 is provided. This thermal head 23 is a serial type thermal head having one heating resistor, and is reciprocated in the main scanning direction while being guided by a guide mechanism 24 extending in the main scanning direction. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the first
When image information of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black on the line is received by a thermal head control circuit (not shown), the data is rearranged so as to correspond to the arrangement of the color materials of each color on the ink sheet 21. Is performed. And
By the physical main scanning of the thermal head 23, the yellow and magenta color materials 22a and 22b on the first line of the ink sheet 21 are thermally transferred onto the recording medium 17 alternately and repeatedly. Next, the ink sheet 21 and the recording medium 17 are sent in the sub-scanning direction, and the cyan and black color materials 22c and 22d on the second line of the ink sheet 21 are thermally transferred onto the recording medium 17.

The image information of the second and subsequent lines is sequentially sent to the control circuit, and one line of color material blocks 22 in the main scanning direction are sequentially transferred onto the recording medium 17 for one line of image information. . Therefore, two main scans are performed on one line of image information. Then, with respect to the n-th line which is the last line of the image information, the (2 ×
The yellow image and the magenta image are recorded on the (n-1) line, the cyan image and the black image are recorded on the (2 × n) line on the recording medium 17, and the recording for one screen is completed.

According to the color thermal transfer recording method using the ink sheet 21 and the color printer as described above, printing of four colors can be performed only by sending the recording medium 17 once. It is not necessary to reciprocate by the number of colors, color shift is prevented, color images can be thermally transferred at high speed with high accuracy, and running costs can be reduced.

In the prior art, the size of the screen in the sub-scanning direction is limited.
Can be continuously provided on the ink sheet main body 12 without being divided for each screen, and therefore, it is possible to cope with a change in the size of the recording medium 17 as it is. Therefore, printing can be easily performed on the large-sized recording medium 17. Furthermore, since the serial type thermal head 23 was used,
The occurrence of color unevenness due to uneven resistance values of the individual heating resistors is prevented, and a stable image can be obtained.

In the above example, the thermal head 23 having one heating resistor is shown. However, a thermal head 23 having a plurality of heating resistors arranged in a line in the sub-scanning direction is used for improving the recording speed. You may.

Further, even if the line type thermal head 16 as shown in the first embodiment is combined with the ink sheet 21 shown in FIG. 4, the serial type thermal head 23 is used in combination with the ink sheet 11 shown in FIG. May be.

Embodiment 3 Further, in the first embodiment, the color materials 13a to 13
13d was directly transferred, but as shown in FIG. 5, when printing is performed on a highly rigid recording medium 25 such as a steel plate used for an elevator cab wall or door, the ink sheet 11 is used.
An intermediate transfer roller 26 is interposed between the intermediate transfer roller 26 and the recording medium 25, and transfer is performed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer roller 26.
The color materials 13 a to 13 d on the intermediate transfer roller 26 may be pressure-transferred onto the recording medium 25.

Embodiment 4 FIG. Further, Embodiment 2
Even when the serial type thermal head 23 shown in FIG.
As shown in (5), the intermediate transfer roller 26 may be disposed between the ink sheet 21 and the recording medium 25.

[0039]

As described above, the color printer according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with a large number of color material blocks in which a plurality of color materials are applied in a unit amount corresponding to a scanning unit. Because the ink sheet used is not necessary, it is not necessary to reciprocate the recording medium according to the number of colors of the color material to be used, and furthermore, the color shift is prevented, so that the color image can be thermally transferred and recorded at high speed and with high accuracy. In addition, running costs can be reduced.

In the color printer according to the second aspect of the present invention, the line type thermal head is used as the thermal head, so that the printing time can be further reduced.

In the color printer according to the third aspect of the present invention, since a serial thermal head is used as the thermal head, it is possible to prevent transfer unevenness due to uneven resistance values of the individual heating resistors and to stabilize image quality.

In the color printer according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a color material block in which color materials of respective colors are arranged in a line extending in the main scanning direction as a unit amount and are arranged continuously in the sub scanning direction. An increase in the manufacturing cost of the ink sheet can be suppressed, and the control of the thermal head during thermal transfer can be facilitated.

In the color printer according to the present invention, a color material block in which color materials of respective colors are arranged in a matrix by a predetermined area as a unit amount is provided continuously in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. Therefore, image quality can be improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the color printer, the color material from the ink sheet is transferred to the outer peripheral surface, and a roller for pressing and transferring the transferred color material to the recording medium is provided between the ink sheet and the recording medium. The coloring material can be easily transferred to a recording medium having a high rigidity such as a steel plate because it is provided between the coloring materials.

The ink sheet according to the seventh aspect of the present invention is used because a large number of color material blocks formed by applying a plurality of color materials in unit amounts according to the scanning unit are continuously provided on the ink sheet body. It is not necessary to reciprocate the recording medium in accordance with the number of colors of the color material, and furthermore, the color misregistration is prevented, so that the thermal transfer recording of a color image can be performed at high speed and with high accuracy, and the running cost can be reduced.

In the ink sheet according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the color material blocks in which the color materials of the respective colors are arranged in a unit amount of one line are provided continuously in the sub-scanning direction, so that the manufacturing cost is increased. Thus, the control of the thermal head during thermal transfer can be facilitated.

The ink sheet according to the ninth aspect of the present invention is provided with a color material block formed by arranging color materials of respective colors of a predetermined area as a unit amount in a matrix in a main scanning direction and a sub scanning direction. Therefore, image quality can be improved.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color thermal transfer recording method for an ink sheet provided with a large number of continuous color material blocks formed by applying a plurality of color materials in unit amounts corresponding to scanning units. Since the thermal head is scanned and the color material is transferred onto the recording medium by heating, it is not necessary to reciprocate the recording medium according to the number of colors of the color material to be used, and furthermore, the color misregistration is prevented. Thermal transfer recording of a color image at high speed and high accuracy can be performed, and running costs can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a color printer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the ink sheet of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of a color printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the ink sheet of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of a color printer according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of a color printer according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of an example of a conventional color printer.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the ink sheet of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 21 ink sheet, 12 ink sheet body,
13, 22 color material block, 13a to 13d, 22a to
22d color material, 16,23 thermal head, 17,2
5 recording medium, 26 intermediate transfer roller.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiji Inaba 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (72) Inventor Naoki Yagi 2-3-2, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Electric Incorporated (72) Inventor Takamichi Rokuka 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An ink sheet provided with a large number of color material blocks in which a plurality of color materials are applied in a unit amount corresponding to a scanning unit, and an ink sheet provided opposite to the ink sheet. A color printer, comprising: a thermal head for heating a color material to transfer it onto a recording medium; and a driving unit for relatively moving the thermal head with respect to the ink sheet and the recording medium. 2. The color printer according to claim 1, wherein the thermal head is a line type thermal head. 3. The color printer according to claim 1, wherein the thermal head is a serial type thermal head. 4. The ink sheet is provided with a color material block in which color materials of each color are arranged in a line in the main scanning direction as a unit amount and are arranged continuously in the sub scanning direction. The color printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. A color material block in which color materials of respective colors are arranged in a matrix in a predetermined amount as a unit amount in the ink sheet and are continuously provided in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. 4. The color printer according to claim 1, wherein: 6. A roller provided between the ink sheet and the recording medium, the roller transferring the color material from the ink sheet to the outer peripheral surface, and pressing and transferring the transferred color material to the recording medium. The color printer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: 7. An ink sheet main body, and a plurality of color material blocks which are continuously provided on the ink sheet main body and are coated with a plurality of color materials in a unit amount corresponding to a scanning unit. An ink sheet comprising: 8. A color material block in which color materials of respective colors arranged in a line extending in the main scanning direction as a unit amount are arranged continuously in the sub-scanning direction. The ink sheet described in the above. 9. A color material block in which color materials of respective colors of a predetermined area as a unit amount are arranged in a matrix, and are provided continuously in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. The ink sheet according to claim 7. 10. A thermal head scans an ink sheet provided with a large number of color material blocks in which a plurality of color materials are applied in a unit amount corresponding to a scanning unit. A color thermal transfer recording method, wherein the color image is transferred onto a recording medium by heating.