JPH0399861A - Color thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To set the mutual position relationship between heads precisely and to adjust the positions readily by attaching a plurality of the thermal heads to a single cassette member. CONSTITUTION:When thermal heads are attached to a head cassette 15, the deviations of the heads in the direction of a line, the deviations in the paper sending direction and the inclinations of the heads are adjusted, and the heads are attached. Since only the position of each thermal head with respect to the cassette 15 is adjusted, attachment can be achieved at high precision. The head cassette 15 can be mounted by inputting and removing it in the direction of the line of the thermal heads under the opened state of a cover 100 at the side surface. Therefore, the attachment is readily accomplished.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Summary] A color thermal transfer printer, particularly a color thermal transfer printer, is provided with at least two sets of recording units each consisting of a combination of a thermal head and a thermal transfer ink sheet cassette for different colors along the moving direction of recording paper; For color thermal transfer printers that perform color recording by superimposing the colors recorded by the recording unit on the recording paper, the mutual positional relationship of multiple thermal heads can be set accurately and the mutual positional adjustment can be easily performed. This is a color thermal transfer printer characterized in that a plurality of thermal heads are attached to a single cassette member.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention provides a color thermal transfer printer, in particular, at least two sets of recording units each consisting of a combination of a thermal head and a thermal transfer ink sheet cassette for different colors along the moving direction of recording paper, and the colors recorded by the recording units are This invention relates to a color thermal transfer printer that performs color recording by overlapping on recording paper.

In this type of color thermal transfer printer, since a plurality of colors recorded by a recording unit are superimposed on a recording paper, the phases of each recorded image must be matched.

Therefore, accuracy in the mounting positions between the recording units is required.

[Conventional technology]

One of the color recording methods using conventional color thermal transfer printers
There are four types: yellow, magenta, cyan, and black.
There is a known system that uses an ink sheet to which the four basic colors are sequentially applied, and records the four basic colors in order with one thermal head, and then overlays them to record seven full colors. . In this method, the ink sheet has yellow, magenta, cyan, and black ink layers sequentially in the feeding direction, and the yellow side is first used to perform color printing on the recording paper using a thermal head, and then the same color is printed on the recording paper using the yellow side. The recording paper is returned and the next color, magenta, is printed using the same thermal head, and the colors are successively overlapped in this way to print the desired color.

In addition, in order to increase the recording speed, as shown in Figure 4,
Independent ink sheet cassettes 11Y and 11M for the above basic colors (yellow, magenta, cyan)
, llc and thermal head 127.12X, 12
c, sequentially recorded on recording paper with an ink sheet,
A method of performing color recording by overlapping on recording paper is also known. In FIG. 4, the thermal heads 12y, 12x, and 12c are each independently attached to the printer body, and the ink sheet cassette lly
, 11. 1 and 11c are detachably attached to each recording unit. In addition, in Fig. 4, 13Y, 13x
, 13o is a platen in each recording unit, 14 is a recording paper guide, and 100 is a recording paper, and the recording paper is fed in the six directions of arrows.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, as shown in FIG.
20.1214.12c and overlays basic colors such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black on multiple recording units, thermal heads 12Y and 12I4.1 installed inside the printer are used.
The positional accuracy of the dots in the recorded image is affected by the positional accuracy of 2c. Therefore, as resolution increases and high dot position accuracy is required, it is necessary to mount the thermal head with high precision. However, as in the conventional structure shown in FIG. 4, each thermal head 12y, 12-
, 12c is installed independently on the printer body,
It is difficult to set and adjust the position with high precision.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a color thermal transfer printer in which the mutual positional relationship of a plurality of thermal heads can be set with high accuracy and the mutual positional adjustment can be easily performed.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve such problems, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG.
12c and thermal transfer ink sheet cassette 11Y111
14. At least two sets of recording units consisting of the combination of 11c are provided for different colors along the moving direction of the recording paper 100, and the colors recorded by the recording units are superimposed on the recording paper 100. In a color thermal transfer printer that performs recording, the plurality of thermal heads 12. ．． 12. .

12c attached to a single cassette member 15 is provided.

It is desirable that the ink sheets mounted on the plurality of recording units have at least two types of basic colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black.

[For production]

According to the present invention, as described above, a plurality of thermal heads 1
Since 27.1214.12o is attached to a single cassette member 15, the thermal head cassette 15 carrying each recording unit can be attached to the printer as one unit. Therefore, the mutual positions of the thermal heads are as follows in this cassette 15: each thermal head 12 = , 12N, 12
cCan be adjusted with high precision when installing. Further, even if it becomes necessary to adjust the mutual positional relationship after the cassette 15 is installed in the printer and recording is performed, the cassette 15 can be taken out and adjusted as a whole.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the color thermal transfer printer of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a color ink sheet, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the printer of the present invention and a head cassette.

In the color thermal transfer printer 10 of the illustrated embodiment, a color thermal transfer printer having three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan will be described. Each recording unit includes a thermal head 12Y, 12-. 12c, thermal transfer ink sheet rolls 11Y, 11)l, llc, and platens 13y, 13X, 13°. And each thermal head has the same head cassette 1.
It is integrally attached to 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the color thermal transfer ink sheet is a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film (for example, 6 μm thick) on which an ink layer 18 made of dye and wax is applied on a base material 17 of yellow, magenta, and cyan. Equipped with an ink sheet roll coated with each ink layer to correspond to the color. The thermal head has a dot density of 1
2 dots/mm line type head, total number of dots is 1
It is composed of 728 dots.

When recording a color image, cut paper 100, which is a recording paper, is supplied from a paper cassette 19, and yellow, magenta,
Recording is performed in cyan (and black) order. The positional accuracy of the recorded dots affects the image resolution, but
Resolution: 6 to 16 dots) At 7mm, dot pitch ±1
A deviation of /4 is considered to be an acceptable range. Therefore, under the condition of a dot density of 12 dots/mm, a positional accuracy of ±20 μm is required.

In the configuration of the color thermal transfer printer of the present invention, when installing, for example, four thermal heads in the head cassette 15, there may be misalignment of the thermal heads in the line direction (horizontal direction), misalignment in the paper feeding direction (vertical direction), and misalignment of the heads. Adjust the slope and install. At this time, since the position of each thermal head relative to the single head cassette 15 is only adjusted, the mutual positions of the thermal heads can be attached with high precision. In addition, the head cassette 15 with all the thermal heads installed can be inserted and removed in the direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction, that is, in the row direction of the line thermal heads, with the side cover 100 open as shown in FIG. By doing so, it can be integrally attached to the printer main body 10, making it easy to attach.

As a result of trying to output a color image using the color thermal transfer printer of the present invention, it was possible to suppress the positional accuracy of each color dot to ±20 μm in both the vertical and horizontal directions. On the other hand, with the conventional method in which each thermal head is attached to the printer body, under the same conditions
The limit was about 0 μm.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, with the color thermal transfer recording according to the present invention, the relative positions of the basic color dots that make up the image can be recorded with high accuracy, and maintenance and adjustment of the printer can be performed with extremely high workability. A color thermal transfer printer can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the color thermal transfer printer of the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a sectional view of a color ink sheet, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the printer of the present invention and a head cassette, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a conventional color thermal transfer printed circuit board. 11=, l1g, 11o... ink sheet cassette, 12=, 12. l, 12cm thermal head, 13, . 13. , 13cm...platen, 14...
・Recording paper guide, 15...Cassette for installing the thermal head, 17...
Base material, 18... Ink layer, 19... Recording paper cassette. Color thermal transfer printer of the present invention Structure of thermal transfer sheet Fig. 2 100... Recording paper Fig. 15... Head cassette Conventional color thermal transfer printer Fig. 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Thermal head (12_Y, 12_M, 12_C)
and thermal transfer ink sheet cassette (11_Y, 11_M
, 11_C) for different colors along the moving direction of the recording paper (100), and the colors recorded by the recording units are superimposed on the recording paper (100). By this,
In a color thermal transfer printer that performs color recording, the plurality of thermal heads (12_Y, 12_M, 12_C
) attached to a single cassette member (15).