JPS6140167A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable to print in accordance with the smoothness of an image-receiving paper even where the smoothness of the paper is low, by changing printing conditions such as the number of times of printing on the image-receiving paper through operating an operating part. CONSTITUTION:A thermal printing head 1 comprising a row or rows of heating elements 5 provided on a base 4 is slidden in the transverse direction (a) of the image-receiving paper 3 by a sliding means 6, and the heating elements 5 are supplied with electric current from a heating driving part 7 so that a required part thereof generates heat. A controlling circuit 12 for controlling a printing action of the head 1 and a paper-feeding action of a platen 9 is connected with the operating part 13 for changing the printing conditions in accordance with the smoothness of the image-receiving paper 3. Where the smoothness of the paper 3 is so low that patterns printed thereon by one-time printing are unclear, overlap printing is conducted, that is, after printing in a line is conducted by sliding the head 1 along about one line, the same printing action by the head 1 is again conducted on the same part of the paper 3 without feeding the paper, whereby the printed patterns become clear.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer using a transfer film.

Conventional technology> Thermal transfer printers interpose a transfer film, whose surface is coated with ink, between a thermal print head and an image receiving paper, and heat the transfer film from the back side with the thermal print head. This printer transfers ink to the image receiving paper that is in close contact with the surface and prints a desired pattern on the image receiving paper, but unlike thermal printers, it does not require the use of specific paper such as thermal paper. Since there are no particular restrictions on the image receiving paper to be used and plain paper can be used, users often use a variety of plain papers.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> By the way, if the image receiving paper used by the user has low smoothness and the paper surface is rough, the adhesion between the ink-coated surface of the transfer film and the surface of the image receiving paper is poor. The ink is not completely transferred to the surface of the image-receiving paper, resulting in poor dot reproducibility, resulting in unclear print patterns, and poor print quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to enable a thermal transfer printer to obtain a clear print pattern with excellent dry Y reproducibility even if the image receiving paper has low smoothness.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is a thermal transfer printer in which a transfer film is interposed between the thermal print head and the image receiving paper. The present invention is characterized by comprising a control circuit for controlling changes and an operation section for changing and setting printing conditions.

<Example> Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a serial type thermal transfer printer embodying the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a serial type thermal print head, 2 a transfer film, and 3 an image receiving paper. Thermal printing heater 1 has heating elements 5 arranged in rows on a substrate 4.
The heating element 5 is slid in a direction A across the image receiving paper 3 by the sliding means 6, and a required portion of the heating element 5 generates heat by being energized by the heating drive section 7.

8 is a sliding drive unit that energizes the sliding means 6; 9 is a platen;
10 is a motor that rotates the platen, 11 is a paper feed drive unit that drives the motor, and 12 is a control circuit that controls the printing operation of the thermal printing pad 1 and the paper feeding operation of the platen 9; An operating section 13 is connected to the printer 1 for changing and setting printing conditions according to the smoothness of the image receiving paper 3.

Here, the printing conditions are conditions that are useful for adjusting the sharpness of the printing pattern, and the specific conditions and means and methods for changing the conditions will be explained below.

(A) Print once on the required location on image receiving paper 3, or
Or, if the same printing pattern is repeatedly printed on the same location, or if the printing pattern is unclear due to the low smoothness of the image receiving paper 3, the thermal printing head 1 will be printed in one stroke. After sliding and printing for one line, the thermal print head 1 performs the same printing operation on the same location on the image receiving paper 3 without paper feeding, and the printing pattern is made clear by so-called overprinting. do.

(B) The conditions regarding overlapping are changed in the same way as above. As shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 2, on the single substrate 4 of the thermal printing pad 1, a plurality of (two in the embodiment) are installed at intervals along the sliding direction of the thermal printing pad 1. Heating elements 5a, 5b
are arranged side by side, and if the printing pattern is unclear due to low smoothness of the image receiving paper 3, the heating element 5b of the succeeding stage prints the same pattern at the location printed by the heating element 5a of the preceding stage. In this method, overprinting is also performed in one stroke of the thermal printing head 1, so the printing speed remains the same whether or not overprinting is performed.

(C) Change the conditions regarding the temperature of the printed part.

If the printed pattern is unclear, the temperature of the heating element 5 during printing is increased by increasing the voltage applied to the heating element 5 of the thermal printing pad 1.

(D) Similarly, change the conditions regarding the temperature of the printed area. A heater for heating the image receiving paper 3 is provided near the thermal printing spatula)'1, and if the printing pattern is unclear, the image receiving paper 3 is heated with the heater to improve the fixation of the ink to the image receiving paper. do.

The user checks the smoothness of the receiving paper visually or tactilely,
If the smoothness is judged to be low, or if the printed pattern is unclear after printing, the user should
Operate 3 to switch the printing conditions. As a result, the printing operation of the thermal print head 1 and the paper feeding operation of the platen 9 are changed under the control of the control circuit 12, and the printing conditions are changed, and the printing pattern becomes clearer due to overprinting, etc., and the printing quality is maintained at a high level. It will be done.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment, showing a line type thermal transfer printer embodying the present invention, in which the same parts as in the embodiment of FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. 1 is a line-type thermal printing head, 2 is a transfer film, 3 is an image receiving paper, 4 is a substrate for the thermal printing head 1, 5 is a heating element for the thermal printing head 1, and 7 is a heat generating drive unit. , 9 is a platen, 10 is a motor for rotating the platen 9, 11 is a paper feed drive section, 12 is a control circuit, and 13 is an operation section.

In this embodiment as well, by operating the operating section 13, the printing operation of the thermal printing head 1'' changes, and the clarity of the printing pattern changes.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, by operating the operation unit,
Since the printing conditions change, such as the number of times of printing on the required area of the image receiving paper, it is possible to print according to the smoothness of the image receiving paper with low smoothness and rough paper surface.
It is possible to obtain clear print patterns with good reproducibility, and to maintain print quality at a high level.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a serial type thermal transfer printer embodying the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a thermal print head, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment. 1.1゛...Thermal printing head, 2...Transfer film,
3... Image receiving paper, 12... Control circuit, 13... Operation section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A thermal transfer printer in which a transfer film is interposed between a thermal printing head and an image-receiving paper, characterized by being equipped with a control circuit for controlling changes in printing conditions and an operation section for changing and setting printing conditions. Thermal transfer printer.