WO1994006635A1 - Printing method and apparatus - Google Patents
Printing method and apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1994006635A1 WO1994006635A1 PCT/GB1993/001916 GB9301916W WO9406635A1 WO 1994006635 A1 WO1994006635 A1 WO 1994006635A1 GB 9301916 W GB9301916 W GB 9301916W WO 9406635 A1 WO9406635 A1 WO 9406635A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- receiver
- donor
- dye
- ribbon
- thermal transfer
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
- B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
- B41M5/26—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used
- B41M5/382—Contact thermal transfer or sublimation processes
- B41M5/38207—Contact thermal transfer or sublimation processes characterised by aspects not provided for in groups B41M5/385 - B41M5/395
- B41M5/38221—Apparatus features
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/435—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of radiation to a printing material or impression-transfer material
- B41J2/47—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of radiation to a printing material or impression-transfer material using the combination of scanning and modulation of light
- B41J2/471—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of radiation to a printing material or impression-transfer material using the combination of scanning and modulation of light using dot sequential main scanning by means of a light deflector, e.g. a rotating polygonal mirror
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
- B41J2/435—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of radiation to a printing material or impression-transfer material
- B41J2/475—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of radiation to a printing material or impression-transfer material for heating selectively by radiation or ultrasonic waves
- B41J2/4753—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of radiation to a printing material or impression-transfer material for heating selectively by radiation or ultrasonic waves using thermosensitive substrates, e.g. paper
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a printing method and apparatus involving the thermal transfer of a dye from a donor to a receiver, including melt, diffusion and sublimation transfer, and especially, but not exclusively, to such a method and apparatus employing a laser as the thermal source.
- the term "dye” should be taken to cover dyes, inks and pigments.
- a dyesheet and receiver sheet are held against one another, with the dyesheet between the receiver sheet and a laser source.
- the printer receives signals from, for example, video equipment, an electronic still camera or a computer, and controls the laser source accordingly to heat selected individual pixel areas of the dyesheet . This causes dye in the selected areas to transfer to the receiver sheet and form a desired print pattern.
- the receiver sheet will comprise a substrate on which is mounted a layer of dye-receptive material
- the dyesheet will comprise a thin substrate supporting a dye donor layer and a laser light absorber layer, with the dye donor layer consisting of a thermally-transferable dye held in a polymeric binder and with the absorber layer comprising carbon black as a broad band absorber, or an absorber which absorbs at the particular wavelength of the laser.
- a single combined donor and absorber layer may be used.
- Additional coatings may be provided on the dyesheet, such as an adhesive subbing layer between the substrate and dye donor/absorber layers.
- Other coatings may comprise backing layers, mounted on the opposite side of the substrate from the donor layer, for improving the heat resistance, slip and handling properties of the dyesheet . These backings are particularly useful where the dyesheet is wound in a roll, and may tend to stick to itself.
- the present invention provides a printing method comprising the thermal transfer of dye from a donor to a receiver, wherein the donor is heated through the receiver.
- electromagnetic radiation is used to heat a radiation absorber in the donor to cause the dye to be thermally transferred, wherein the radiation is passed through the receiver to the absorber.
- the donor and receiver may be in the form of sheets or ribbons held in close proximity to one another, although they could take any other suitable form, and the absorber may, amongst other arrangements, take'the form of a layer on the donor sheet/ribbon either adjacent to or as part of the dye donor layer.
- the invention reverses the prior art arrangements in which for example a laser beam passes through the donor and, instead, passes the radiation through the receiver.
- An important advantage of this is to remove the restriction on the donor sheet or ribbon that it have good radiation transmissive properties.
- the donor sheet or ribbon may therefore be provided with back coatings made of materials able to give optimal handling, slip and heat-resistant properties, etc, and which may be made as thick as desired to increase the donor's toughness and durability.
- the problem is avoided in that the radiation (having passed through the receiver) initially impinges on the side of the absorber layer which is closest to the receiver, whereby the initial rate of dye transfer and hence the printing speed are increased.
- the invention requires the receiver to be sufficiently transparent to the radiation to enable the absorber to be heated satisfactorily. It is further preferable for the receiver to be transparent to visible light, so that the printed pattern may be viewed from the opposite side to that on which it was printed.
- the print pattern resulting from the dye transfer may be the mirror image of that defined by the laser beam or beams when viewed from the side of the receiver onto which the dye is transferred, and so, to compensate for this when the receiver is opaque to visible light, the beam or beams may need to be controlled to heat the donor in a pattern which is the mirror image of that required. If the receiver is transparent to visible light, however, then no reversal need be made, as the pattern may be viewed through the opposite side of the receiver from that on to which the dye is transferred. No reversal is needed either of images for slide projection, as in this case it is the mirror image which is required.
- the invention is especially applicable to printing on slide transparencies (e.g. 35 mm) , microfiche, for example used in the archiving of documents, and acetate and polyester films, for example used as overhead projector transparencies.
- slide transparencies e.g. 35 mm
- microfiche for example used in the archiving of documents
- acetate and polyester films for example used as overhead projector transparencies.
- the donor and receiver are held closely adjacent one another during exposure to the radiation, and there are a number of known ways of achieving this in which the donor and receiver may take the form of individual sheets or continuous ribbons, and may be stationary or moving.
- a further advantage of the present invention is that it enables new and advantageous arrangements for supporting the donor and receiver to be employed, which are simple in construction, inexpensive, and easy to use.
- the donor ⁇ ribbon which is nearest to the roller, and this enables the receiver ribbon to be much more easily removed from or inserted into apparatus for carrying out the present method.
- the roller could be replaced by a plate convex to the ribbons to allow them to be tensioned against it without snagging.
- the receiver and donor whether in the form of continuous ribbons or individual sheets, are held against a rigid support plate, with the receiver sandwiched between the donor and the support plate, the support plate allowing radiation to pass therethrough to effect dye transfer.
- the receiver may move across the plate, and the plate need only transmit radiation in a narrow region in which the receiver and donor contact one another, dye transfer then occurring on a line-by ⁇ line basis as the receiver and donor pass across this region. This may be achieved by the plate being transparent to the radiation or by having an aperture in this region, although there is no reason, of course, why the plate could not be transparent over its whole surface, or have further such regions for allowing more than one point at which dye transfer takes place.
- the donor is a ribbon, supply and take-up spools for which are mounted on the opposite side of the support plate from the radiation source, and a pressure pad, such as a roller, is used to urge the donor ribbon and receiver sheet against one another and against the transmissive region of the support plate.
- a pressure pad such as a roller
- the roller could be replaced by a fixed pressure pad, which may be convex to the plate to guide the ribbon and prevent snagging, but this would increase friction and necessitate further feed means for the receiver.
- the above embodiments may advantageously be used in monochrome printing, but may also be used in colour printing, in which, for example, cyan, magenta and yellow, and sometimes black, prints are superimposed over one another to give a colour print .
- colour printing requires the receiver to be registered accurately in the same position for each cyan, magenta, yellow and black print, and it can be difficult to position a moving receiver ribbon or sheet at its original position prior to each print run, and to move it past a radiation source so that a new print is in accurate registration with those already made.
- the donor may be held against the receiver in any suitable manner such as by a vacuum or a pressure pad having a concave surface corresponding to the convex surface of the plate, but in a preferred form, the donor is held in tension around the convex surface and may take the form of a ribbon.
- the donor ribbon may be wound on spools, optionally housed in a cartridge or cassette, the spools being movable either side of the support plate in order to place the ribbon into and out of tension about the plate.
- the donor ribbon may be moved out of contact from the receiver, wound on, and retensioned around the curved support plate and back into contact with the fixed receiver.
- the receiver too, may be a ribbon held under tension around the convex surface of the support plate, or may be mounted to the support plate by adhesive or a vacuum, or in any other suitable manner, such as by being clamped at its edges.
- the curved support may be driven to move in a circle or backwards and forwards in an arc, and may, as a result, engage with and disengage from a donor ribbon at the start and end of each prin . This may be through friction or a more positive engagement, and on each engagement the donor ribbon may be moved forward by, for example, one colour strip.
- the radiation source may not need to scan in one or more directions.
- thermo radiation passes through the receiver, it may pass through dye already transferred to the receiver by a prior print run.
- the dyes themselves are transparent to the thermal radiation, or different colour dyes are transparent to different thermal radiation wavelengths and separate thermal sources having corresponding wavelengths are used to transfer each dye respectively. This helps to prevent a print already formed from being degraded by the thermal radiation, and also reduces back diffusion of the dyes into the dye donor or ribbon.
- the thermal source may be activated to compensate for effects of this type during each successive print.
- the radiation may be altered or diverted during its passage though the receiver, and optics may be provided to correct for this prior to the radiation entering the receiver.
- optics may be provided to correct for bi-refringence, although, in this case, the radiation could be polarised before entering the receiver, or an inherently polarised source such as a laser diode could be used.
- the invention may also extend to apparatus for carrying out any of the above methods.
- the invention provides thermal transfer printing apparatus comprising means for supporting a dye donor medium and a receiver medium, such as sheets or ribbons, in close proximity to one another, and a thermal source arranged to provide preferably electromagnetic radiation which, in use, passes through the receiver and thereby into the donor.
- the dye donor medium is preferably also a sheet or ribbon
- the preferred apparatus comprises a transparent receiver support plate.
- the plate is curved in one embodiment, and the apparatus may further comprise means for holding a donor ribbon in tension on the convex side of the plate.
- the preferred thermal radiation source is a laser, such as a laser diode or array of diodes .
- Figure 2 is a schematic front elevation of a second embodiment of the present invention
- Figure 3 is a schematic front elevation of a dye thermal transfer system according to a third embodiment of the present invention
- Figure 4 is a perspective view of a possible scanning arrangement for the system of Fig. 3; and Figure 5 shows a graph of laser-on-time against optical density on which are plotted the optical density of prints produced by imaging through (a) a donor and (b) a receiver.
- a dye thermal transfer printing apparatus 1 in which a receiver 2, in the form of a sheet, and a dye donor 3, in the form of a ribbon mounted on spools (not shown) , are fed between the nip of a pressure roller 4 and a support plate 5.
- the support plate 5 and receiver sheet 2 are transparent to the light of a laser beam 6 from a laser source 7, such as a Nd:YAG laser or a laser diode array, and a rotating polygon 8 is used to scan the beam 6 across the width of the donor ribbon 3 at the point where the receiver sheet 2 and donor ribbon 3 are pressed together.
- a flat field lens 9 is provided between the polygon 8 and support plate 5 to modify the laser beam 6 to scan in a flat focal plane rather than a curved one .
- the power of the laser beam 6 is modulated as it scans across the donor ribbon 3 in order to heat selected pixel areas of the ribbon 3 to a greater or lesser extent, and to therefore cause more or less dye to be transferred to the receiver sheet 2.
- a print image is thus built up line-by-line as the receiver sheet 2 and donor ribbon 3 are fed past the roller 4.
- Modulation of the laser power output may be under microprocessor control as is well known in the art. Carrying out this procedure will produce a monochrome print, but a colour print may be produced by repeating the procedure three or four times, each time with a different dye, e.g. cyan, magenta, yellow and possibly black. To do this a different dye donor ribbon 3 may be used each time, or the ribbon 3 may have successive strips of differently coloured dyes, so that it need only be wound onto the next strip.
- a linear array of separately modulated laser beam sources could be arranged across the width of the dye donor ribbon 3 , below the support plate 5, to replace the beam scanning.
- the support plate 5, which need only be transparent in the region opposing the roller 4, could instead have a slot therein through which the laser beam 6 may pass .
- Figure 2 shows a second embodiment, somewhat similar to the first embodiment, but with the receiver 2 in the form of a ribbon and without a support plate 5.
- the receiver 2 and dye donor 3 are urged together through tension in- the ribbons, which is produced by the roller 4 , and a scanning laser beam or an array of individual beams are directed through the receiver ribbon 2 and on to the dye donor ribbon 3 , as described above.
- a stationary support plate convex to the laser source to aid in guiding and prevent snagging of the ribbons, could be used instead of the roller 4, although this then produces more friction.
- Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the receiver 2, in the form of a sheet, and the dye donor 3, in the form of a ribbon, engage upon a curved support plate 10 concave to the radiation source.
- an array of laser beams arranged across the width of the donor ribbon 3 could be scanned together along the ribbon's length, and this could be achieved by using a scanning mirror or rotating polygon or by rotating the laser source array itself.
- the receiver does not move, and so re-registering is not required when producing colour prints. Instead, all that is needed is for the donor ribbon 3 to disengage from the receiver sheet 2, and be wound on so that a new colour strip is laid over the receiver 2 when the dye donor ribbon 3 is re-engaged with the receiver sheet 2.
- the receiver sheet 2 could be in the form of a ribbon held in place by tension about the curved support plate 10 or by, for example, a vacuum to which the ribbon is subjected by holes to the plate 10.
- the laser beam is only scanned across the width of the donor ribbon 3, or, equivalently, a stationary array of laser beams are provided across the width, and the receiver 2 and curved support plate 10 are moved in an arc having a radius of curvature substantially equal to that of the support plate's curved surface.
- This movement thus effectively provides the scanning along the length of the dye donor ribbon 2, and by continuing the movement to engage and/or disengage the donor ribbon 3 as the support plate 10 moves in a circle or back and forth in an arc, the donor ribbon 3 may be moved on to the next colour strip after each individual print. This then may remove the need for a donor ribbon spool drive.
- the beam By passing the laser beam through the receiver, the beam initially impinges on the side of the absorber layer which is closest to the receiver and so the optical density build up rate is increased as compared with the prior art. This can be seen in the following example:
- a magenta dye coat solution was made up as follows :
- This solution was then coated onto 23 ⁇ m polyester film with a K4 meyer bar and dried giving a dyecoat with a thickness of 4.5 ⁇ m.
- This donor ribbon was then held against a transparent receiver film comprising a dye receptive coating on transparent 120 ⁇ m polyester. Good contact between donor and receiver was maintained by holding them between a platten and nip roller.
- a 150mW, 817 nm SDL laser diode was collimated and focussed using a 160mm achromat lens, resulting in a laser spot size of 20x30 ⁇ m at the surface of the media (full width at half power maximum) , and a power of lOOmW.
- the laser beam was scanned across the media using a galvanometer scanner, and the laser pulsed for varying lengths of time allowing a series of magenta blocks to be printed in the receiver, the optical density of each block corresponding to the laser on times used.
- Each individual spot making up the blocks was printed so that its centre lay 20 ⁇ m from the spots around it.
- the transmission optical density of each block was measured using a Sakura densitometer using a green filter'.
- Plots of OD vs laser on time were drawn to compare the rate of OD build up when imaging either through the donor (a) or the receiver (b) . These are shown in figure 5. Comparison of the curves in fig. 5 shows that printing via irradiation through the receiver improves both the rate of OD build up and the OD maximum attainable.
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Toxicology (AREA)
- Electronic Switches (AREA)
- Thermal Transfer Or Thermal Recording In General (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP94910246A EP0659118B1 (en) | 1992-09-11 | 1993-09-10 | Printing method and apparatus |
DE69315850T DE69315850T2 (en) | 1992-09-11 | 1993-09-10 | PRINTING METHOD AND DEVICE |
JP6507889A JPH08504134A (en) | 1992-09-11 | 1993-09-10 | Printing method and device |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB9219240.0 | 1992-09-11 | ||
GB929219240A GB9219240D0 (en) | 1992-09-11 | 1992-09-11 | Printing method and apparatus |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1994006635A1 true WO1994006635A1 (en) | 1994-03-31 |
Family
ID=10721753
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB1993/001916 WO1994006635A1 (en) | 1992-09-11 | 1993-09-10 | Printing method and apparatus |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0659118B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH08504134A (en) |
DE (1) | DE69315850T2 (en) |
GB (1) | GB9219240D0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1994006635A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0605334B1 (en) * | 1992-12-28 | 1997-10-01 | Eastman Kodak Company | Laser-induced thermal dye transfer using reverse exposure |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6838155B2 (en) | 2002-02-28 | 2005-01-04 | Woodbridge Foam Corporation | Foam pad and process for production thereof |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3408216A (en) * | 1964-12-02 | 1968-10-29 | Xerox Corp | Image reproduction |
GB1284266A (en) * | 1968-10-16 | 1972-08-02 | Nat Res Dev | Improvements in printing |
EP0327314A2 (en) * | 1988-02-01 | 1989-08-09 | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company | Method for imprinting overwrapped packages |
WO1990008041A1 (en) * | 1989-01-13 | 1990-07-26 | J.M. Payne Innovators Limited | Improved printing process |
-
1992
- 1992-09-11 GB GB929219240A patent/GB9219240D0/en active Pending
-
1993
- 1993-09-10 DE DE69315850T patent/DE69315850T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1993-09-10 EP EP94910246A patent/EP0659118B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1993-09-10 WO PCT/GB1993/001916 patent/WO1994006635A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1993-09-10 JP JP6507889A patent/JPH08504134A/en active Pending
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3408216A (en) * | 1964-12-02 | 1968-10-29 | Xerox Corp | Image reproduction |
GB1284266A (en) * | 1968-10-16 | 1972-08-02 | Nat Res Dev | Improvements in printing |
EP0327314A2 (en) * | 1988-02-01 | 1989-08-09 | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company | Method for imprinting overwrapped packages |
WO1990008041A1 (en) * | 1989-01-13 | 1990-07-26 | J.M. Payne Innovators Limited | Improved printing process |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0605334B1 (en) * | 1992-12-28 | 1997-10-01 | Eastman Kodak Company | Laser-induced thermal dye transfer using reverse exposure |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0659118A1 (en) | 1995-06-28 |
JPH08504134A (en) | 1996-05-07 |
DE69315850D1 (en) | 1998-01-29 |
EP0659118B1 (en) | 1997-12-17 |
DE69315850T2 (en) | 1998-04-09 |
GB9219240D0 (en) | 1992-10-28 |
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