JPS63188064A - Thermal transfer recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a reverse transfer and enhance a printing quality, by a method wherein a recording energy to be applied to a thermal recording head is varied corresponding to the surface smoothness of a recording paper. CONSTITUTION:After the detection of the smoothness of a printing surface by a reflection sensor 4, a recording paper 1 is fed between a platen 5 and a thermal transfer ink film 2. Here, an ink on the ink film 2 heated by a heating body of a thermal recording head 3 is fused to the printing surface of the recording paper 1, thereafter is transferred to the printing surface by peeling the ink film 2 from the recording paper 1 through a roller 6. According to the smoothness of the recording paper 1 detected by the reflection sensor 4 or the smoothness previously indicated on the recording paper 1 to be used, a recording energy to be applied to the thermal head 3 is controlled to be an optimum value by a recording time or a recording electric power. In this manner, an optimum printing quality can be obtained without the reverse transfer caused by the excess or shortage of applied energy.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording method such as facsimile and printing/printing, and in particular, a control method suitable for thermal transfer recording that corresponds to a wide range of smoothness of recording paper. The present invention relates to a heat-sensitive transfer recording method using the method.

[Conventional technology]

In the conventional thermal transfer recording method, this method is particularly effective in dealing with various degrees of smoothness of recording paper.

For example, as described in JP-A-60-151260 or JP-A-60-151264, there is a method of appropriately heating the recording paper after printing, or a method of controlling the smoothness of the recording paper itself before printing by passing it between two rollers. It is known that the printing quality is improved by a method of improving the printing quality. However, no consideration has been given to the mechanism of thermal transfer recording, the economical aspects of manufacturing equipment when handling cut paper, and the use of changes in the surface of the recording paper.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The above conventional techniques involve melting the ink film for transfer with a thermal recording head, heating it with a heating roller, and then peeling off the ink film from the recording paper, or smoothing the rough surface of the recording paper with a pressure roller in advance, and then transferring it. Mechanisms such as recording are complicated, and an even more complicated mechanism is required to handle cut sheets. Further, although smoothing the surface of the recording paper is effective for the purpose of printing, it is not necessarily desirable for the user because it changes the surface condition of the recording paper.

The purpose of the present invention is to improve the mechanical structure of paper ranging from high-quality recording paper with a Bekk smoothness of several hundred seconds to rough surface paper with a Bekk smoothness of about 10 seconds, without requiring a complicated mechanism or changing the surface condition of the recording paper. We developed a thermal transfer recording method that uses electrical control to ensure print quality by electrically controlling recording paper without reverse transfer over a wide range of smoothness, and with less sticking noise during recording. It is on offer.

[Means for solving problems]

The above object is achieved by a thermal transfer recording method in which the recording energy applied to the thermal recording head for transfer is changed continuously or in several steps according to the smoothness of the recording paper. The smoothness can be detected using a well-known reflective sensor, or the optimum recording energy can be set by displaying it on the recording paper used in advance. This can be done by changing either the recording time or the recording power applied to the head.

[Effect]

According to the above thermal transfer recording method, in general, in thermal transfer recording in which printing is performed on recording paper using an ink film for transfer, in addition to the smoothness of the recording paper, the structure and installation of the thermal recording head that applies thermal energy is The transfer recording density varies greatly depending on the characteristics and tension of the ink film, as well as the recording speed and timing, but even if these are set close to the optimum conditions, the smoothness of the recording paper is a factor that changes the transfer recording. When changing from paper to rough surface, it is necessary to increase the recording energy in order to maintain a constant transfer recording density, and at that time, for example, when looking at transfer performance at a constant smoothness of recording paper, the applied energy increases. As the applied energy increases, the print density increases, and then, at a certain applied energy level, a reverse transfer phenomenon occurs in which the ink that was once welded to the recording paper re-attaches to the ink film.If the applied energy is further increased, the sticking sound that occurs when the recording paper and ink film peel off occurs. As the amount of energy increases, the slippage between the recording head and the ink film worsens, making smooth conveyance impossible, resulting in smearing in the sub-scanning direction, resulting in a significant deterioration in print quality.If the applied energy is further increased, the ink film and recording head become welded, making conveyance impossible. However, the applied energy that causes these phenomena changes relatively depending on the smoothness of the recording paper, and phenomena other than welding of the ink film and recording head occur with lower energy as the smoothness increases, and as the smoothness decreases, Since it is generated with high energy, if the recording energy is applied according to the smoothness of the recording paper taking these into consideration, it is possible to ensure the best printing quality with less noise.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of thermal transfer recording showing an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording method according to the present invention. In Figure 2,
1 is a recording paper, 2 is an ink film for thermal transfer, cloud is a thermal recording head, 4 is a reflective sensor, a 5-piece platen, and a 6-piece roller. After the smoothness of the printing surface of the recording paper 1 shown in FIG. The ink on the heated ink film 2 is fused to the printing surface of the recording paper 1, and when the ink film 2 is then peeled off from the recording paper 1 via the roller 6, the ink is transferred to the printing surface. In this case, according to the present invention, a reflective sensor? The recording energy applied to the thermal recording head 3 is controlled to a more optimal value over the recording time according to the smoothness of the recording paper 1 detected by 4 or the smoothness displayed on the recording paper 1 used in advance. do.

Next, Fig. 1 He(!+ is a characteristic diagram of the applied energy ratio with respect to the smoothness of the recording paper showing an example of the thermal transfer recording method according to the present invention. The characteristics when changed are shown, and the first !'KIA) shows the characteristics when changed in several steps. Curve [A] in the figure is a characteristic curve showing the applied energy ratio necessary to maintain a constant transfer density (reflection density) D = 1.0 with respect to the smoothness of the recording paper, and curve [B] is the characteristic curve showing the applied energy ratio required to maintain a constant transfer density (reflection density) D = 1.0 with respect to the smoothness of the recording paper. Areas (C), (D), and (K) are characteristic curves showing the applied energy ratio at which the highest transfer density is obtained with respect to the maximum transfer density. The resulting reverse transcription region, stalking region,
This is a qualitative representation area of the weld area.

In FIG. 1 1a+, the ratio of the energy applied to the heating element of the thermal recording head to the smoothness of the recording paper (Bekk seconds) found by one inventor's experiment is Bekk smoothness 3.
Displayed based on 00 seconds, reflection density of printing D=:1,0
The characteristic curve (A) that shows the applied energy ratio that yields the highest printing density has a characteristic that increases as the smoothness (Bekk seconds) decreases, and the characteristic curve (CB) that shows the applied energy ratio that yields the highest print density also has a characteristic that the smoothness value increases As the energy ratio decreases, it increases, and as the applied energy ratio increases beyond this, a sticking area CD) is generated from the reverse transfer area (C), and eventually the ink film and the recording head are welded to the area (K). The area outside this welding area (g) of 1g exhibits a phenomenon in which the applied energy ratio increases as the smoothness in seconds decreases. These characteristics vary relative to the applied energy ratio depending on the thermal recording head and driving conditions, especially the properties of the ink film.However, as the smoothness of the recording paper decreases, the applied energy ratio increases to achieve the same density. There is no change. In addition, the applied energy (recording energy) can be changed by either the recording time or the recording power applied to the thermal recording head, but in the case of thermal transfer recording, it is more advantageous to change the recording time from a control point of view, and the recording power can be changed. Otherwise, the ink film for transfer is sensitive to high heat and may be welded to the thermal recording head if high recording power is applied.

By understanding such phenomena, conditions that provide the optimum printing quality for the smoothness of the recording paper can be realized by changing the recording energy applied to the thermal recording head. Ideally, it would be better to control the thermal recording head with the applied energy ratio along the curves (A) and (B) in Figure 1 (al), but it would be better to control the thermal recording head with the applied energy ratio in several steps. In FIG. 11, FIG. 1 (eL
) The characteristics are shown when the applied energy ratio is set in several stepwise stages corresponding to the characteristic curve (A) that yields the transfer density D==1.0. The applied energy ratio in this case was given by changing the recording time during which the heating element of the thermosensitive recording head generates heat according to the characteristic (A) in FIG. 1a+. There is also a method of varying the applied energy ratio by changing the recording power, but when the recording power is increased, the peak temperature of the heating element of the thermal recording head increases, causing the ink film and the recording head to fuse as shown in Figure 1 (1...). This is not preferable because a phenomenon corresponding to the area (K) in which the recording head is closed may occur, and the life of the heating element of the recording head is shortened. Furthermore, even if the recording time is increased, the peak temperature of the heating element of the recording head will gradually rise if applied continuously, so split pulses are applied by dividing the recording time so that the peak temperature does not rise too much. .

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, since the applied energy for recording is changed in response to a wide range of smoothness of the recording paper, density reduction due to insufficient applied energy or excessive applied energy due to reverse transfer can be avoided. Not the best printed product.

Provided is a thermal transfer recording method that not only provides high quality but also produces less Stella-Young noise, which occurs when a recording paper with a high smoothness is transferred with high energy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1i! Figure 1 (a), (At is a characteristic diagram of the applied energy with respect to the smoothness of the recording paper showing an example of the thermal transfer recording method according to the present invention, and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the thermal transfer recording as well. ... Recording paper. 2... Ink film for thermal transfer. 3... Thermal recording head, 4... Reflective sensor, A... Transfer density D = 1.0 with respect to the smoothness of the recording paper. Characteristic curve of the applied energy ratio to obtain the highest transfer density with respect to the smoothness of the recording paper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thermal transfer recording method in which a thermal recording head records on a recording paper via a thermal transfer ink film, characterized by changing the recording energy applied to the thermal recording head in accordance with the surface smoothness of the recording paper. Thermal transfer recording method.