JPS62234957A - Thermal transfer recording - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable even rough paper having a low surface smoothness as recording paper to be printed clearly by setting the travel speed of a carriage and the feed speed of an ink ribbon differently from each other. CONSTITUTION:An ink ribbon 4 is pressed on recording paper 2 by means of a thermal head 3 and the thermal head 3 is heated to perform printing. At the same time, a carriage moves at a speed V1 in scanning direction and then the ink ribbon 4 is fed in a reverse direction at a speed V2 which is approx. 10% higher than the speed V1. For this reason, ink which is thermally transferred to the recording paper 2 is apt to be retransferred to the ribbon base of the ink ribbon 4 when the ink cools off. However, before such a retransfer, the ink is maintained in a state that it is printed on the recording paper 2, because the ink ribbon 4 is separated from the thermal transfer part of the ink ribbon. Consequently ink is allowed to stick to even the recessed part of rough paper in a bridged form despite its significantly uneven surface, so that a clear printing can be recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Emperor Chestnut The present invention relates to a print recording method for a thermal transfer printer.

In thermal transfer printers that print on recording paper by moving a carriage equipped with a thermal head, an ink ribbon, and a ribbon cassette, the conventional printing method is to move the carriage while moving the ink ribbon to the recording paper. When performing thermal transfer by melting the ink with the heat of the thermal head, print by matching the carriage movement speed with the ink ribbon feed speed to prevent the recording paper from becoming dirty due to the movement of the ink ribbon. method is commonly adopted.

Problems to be Solved by Part I However, this recording method in which the moving speed of the carriage and the feeding speed of the ink ribbon are matched does not cause any problems if the surface smoothness of the recording paper is high. This problem particularly occurs when the recording paper has a low surface smoothness, that is, so-called rough paper. That is, since rough paper has large recesses on its recording surface, the contact area of the thermal head with the recording paper is small. Therefore, there is a problem in that the ink adheres only to the convex portions of the rough paper and does not adhere to the concave portions.

To solve this problem, a method has been adopted in which a resin is mixed into the ink component and the ink is placed on the concave portions of the recording paper in an erected manner (Solid Ink Releasing (See “Research on Law”). This ink has a certain degree of viscosity and cohesive force, and transfer is performed in blocks, so the timing of peeling off the ink ribbon from the recording paper is difficult. There are restrictions on the settings of the mounting angle, etc., making manufacturing difficult and requiring fine adjustment.

Therefore, in view of the problem of ridges, the present invention aims to provide a thermal transfer recording method that allows printing on rough paper using a conventional thermal head without special consideration to the structure of the thermal head. .

The thermal transfer recording method of the present invention is a thermal transfer printer that prints on recording paper by moving a carriage equipped with a thermal head, an ink ribbon, and a ribbon cassette. The above objective is achieved by setting the speed to a different speed.

In the thermal transfer recording method of the present invention, the carriage moving speed and the ink ribbon feeding speed are set to different speeds, particularly the ink ribbon feeding speed is set slightly faster, and the ink ribbon is heated immediately after being heated by the thermal head. In this case, the ink is shifted from the printed area of the recording paper to prevent the ink transferred to the recording paper from being retransferred to the ink ribbon base.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thermal transfer printer as an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a ribbon feeding mechanism. In these drawings, reference numeral 1 indicates a platen roll of a thermal transfer printer, to which rough recording paper 2 is attached in a surrounding manner. On the other hand, recording paper 2
a thermal head 3 for printing, an ink ribbon 4 interposed between the thermal head 3 and the recording paper 2, a ribbon cassette 5 containing the ink ribbon 4,
A carriage (not shown) is attached to a timing belt 7 driven by a carriage drive motor 6 and configured to be movable in the scanning direction of the platen roll 1.

In this thermal transfer printer, a thermal head 3 presses an ink ribbon 4 against a recording paper 2, heats the thermal head 3, and performs printing. At the same time, the carriage moves in the scanning direction at a speed vI, and at the same time moves the ink ribbon 4 at the above speed. V, feed and move in the opposite direction at a faster speed v2. This speed is V
, f-V, but in this embodiment, the value of the following equation is set to approximately 10%.

l That is, the feed movement speed v2 of the ink ribbon 4 is set to be approximately 10% faster than the movement speed v1 of the thermal head 3.

The ink ribbon 4 is wound up by two opposing ribbon feeding rolls 8a and 8b, and wound around a ribbon winding shaft 9. The drive-side ribbon feed roll 8a is driven by a ribbon drive motor 10 that can control the ribbon feed speed to Vt, and is pressed against the other ribbon feed roll 8b to feed the ribbon between the ribbon feed rolls 8a and 8b. The ribbon winding shaft 9 is driven by a drive motor 10 via a gear All, a gear B12, and a gear C13, and as the ribbon is wound around the ribbon winding shaft 9, its diameter increases. For this reason, there is a concern that the ribbon winding speed may increase, but to counter this problem, a spring clutch 14 is provided between the ribbon winding shaft 9 and the gear C13, and the strength of the spring clutch 14 is increased. By making the pressure force weaker than that of the ribbon feed rolls 8a, 8b, the ink ribbon 4 can be wound only when the tension on the ink ribbon 4 is loosened between the ribbon feed rolls 8a, 8b and the ribbon winding shaft 9. to accommodate undesired speed changes. 15 is ink ribbon 4
This is a ribbon guide that guides the ribbon from the ribbon supply shaft 16 to the ribbon take-up shaft 9 side.

In this recording method using a thermal transfer printer, a thermal head 3 presses an ink ribbon 4 against a recording paper 2, heats the thermal head 3, and prints. Immediately after the ink is fused, the ink ribbon 4 is moved from the printing area of the recording paper 2. The feature is that they are shifted and separated from each other. This makes the feeding speed v2 of the ink ribbon 4 faster than the moving speed vl of the thermal head 3 by about 10%, so that the aforementioned early separation of the ink ribbon 4 is possible. Therefore, the ink that has been thermally transferred to the recording paper 2 tries to be retransferred to the ribbon base of the ink ribbon 4 when it cools down, but the ink ribbon 4 has separated from the thermal transfer area before that, so the ink is The state printed on the recording paper 2 is maintained. Therefore, even if conventional ink is used on paper such as rough paper with large concavities on the surface, the ink will reliably adhere to the concavities in a bridging pattern, forming a clear print record. I can do it.

Note that since the feeding speed of the ink ribbon 4 is always faster than the moving speed of the carriage, a difference in speed also occurs when printing with the thermal head 3, but as mentioned above,
If the difference is on the order of %, there is no risk that the printed result will become unclear.

The speed difference between the moving speed v1 of the thermal head 3 and the feeding speed v2 of the ink ribbon 4 is such that the faster the feeding speed Vt of the ink ribbon 4, the more remarkable the above effect becomes. In this case, the ink ribbon 4 will slide on the surface of the recording paper 2, and there is a risk that the ink ribbon 4 will stain or disrupt the printed image. Therefore, there is a limit to increasing the speed difference, but
According to the results of the experiment, good results were obtained when the speed Vt was made faster than the speed vI by about 10% as described in this embodiment.

Furthermore, by setting the moving speed of the carriage and the feeding speed of the ink ribbon 4 at different speeds, it is possible that the ink ribbon 4 rubs against the recording paper 2 and the recording paper 2 becomes dirty. It is also possible to increase the feeding speed of the ink ribbon 4 only during printing in conjunction with the printing signal to the thermal head 3. According to this, when the thermal head 3 is not printing, the moving speed of the carriage, that is, the thermal head 3, and the feeding speed of the ink ribbon 4 are the same, so the ink ribbon 4 slides on the surface of the recording paper 2, causing can prevent stains.

3. Windproofing and Windproof The thermal transfer recording method of the present invention is a thermal transfer printer that prints on recording paper by moving a carriage consisting of a thermal head, an ink ribbon, and a ribbon cassette, in which the moving speed of the carriage and the feeding speed of the ink ribbon are set to be different. Since the speed is set, the ink ribbon can be pressed against the recording paper by the thermal head, and the ink ribbon can be immediately separated from the recording paper after the ink has been thermally transferred by the thermal head. Therefore, according to this thermal transfer recording method, even if the same ink as the conventional ink is used on paper such as rough paper with large concave portions on the surface, the ink is reliably adhered to the concave portions in a bridging shape. This has the effect of forming clear printed records.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thermal transfer printer as an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a ribbon feeding mechanism. 1 Nibraten roll, 2: Recording paper, 3: Thermal head, 4: Ink ribbon, 5: Ribbon cassette.゛Patent applicant: Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A thermal transfer printer that prints on recording paper by moving a carriage equipped with a thermal head, an ink ribbon, and a ribbon cassette, characterized in that the moving speed of the carriage and the feeding speed of the ink ribbon are set to different speeds. Thermal transfer recording method. (2) The thermal transfer recording method according to claim 1, wherein the moving speed of the carriage and the feeding speed of the ink ribbon are set to different speeds during print recording and immediately thereafter. (3) The thermal transfer recording method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the feeding speed of the ink ribbon is approximately 10% faster than the moving speed of the carriage. (4) The moving speed of the carriage and the feeding speed of the ink ribbon are different speeds only in the printing area, and are the same speed in the non-printing area, as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3. Thermal transfer recording method described in section.