JPH04238040A - Printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention is used in thermal printing printers, etc., and uses a long thermal printer head in which a plurality of heating resistors are arranged in a staggered manner to print thermal paper, etc. between a platen roller and the like. This invention relates to a printing method for printing.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, elongated thermal printer heads as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are known. 2 is a perspective view of the elongated thermal printer head, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the elongated thermal printer head shown in FIG. In this elongated thermal printer head 10, the support plate 1
Above, a first row of substrates 2a and a second row of substrates 2b are alternately provided in shifted rows. Further, a heat generating resistor 4a is provided at a predetermined distance B from the substrate end 3a facing the second row side of the substrates 2a in the first row.
A heat generating resistor 4b is provided at a predetermined distance B from the substrate end 3a facing the row side. The heating resistors 4b are arranged alternately in a staggered manner at a predetermined interval D.

[0003] Conventionally, when printing on thermal paper or the like using the elongated thermal printer head 10 configured as described above, the heating resistors 4a in the first row and the heating resistors 4b in the second row are connected to each other. are arranged at an interval D, so the first
Printing was performed using two platen rollers, one for the heating resistors 4a in the row and the other for the heating resistors 4b in the second row.

Alternatively, when printing is to be performed using only one platen roller, the symbols Ea and E are shown in FIG.
As shown by b, the substrate 2a,
2b is cut to bring the substrate ends 3a and 3b closer to each other, and the heat generating resistors 4a and 4b are placed very close to the substrate ends 3a and 3b, that is, the adjacent heat generating resistors Printing was performed with the distance D between 4a and 4b approaching "0".

[0005] Also, even in a long type thermal printer head having a structure different from that shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in order to print with one platen roller, a long type thermal printer head is used as shown in Fig. 4. The substrate 7 is cut diagonally near the first heating resistor 6a and the last heating resistor 6b of the thermal printer head 11, and printing is performed with the space between adjacent heating resistors 6a and 6b narrowed. was.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when printing is performed using two platen rollers using the long thermal printer head as described above, for example 10, it is possible to maintain printing quality, etc. However, since two platen rollers are required, the structure of the device becomes complicated, and there are problems such as being unsuitable for miniaturization.

On the other hand, when cutting and connecting the substrates so that the interval between adjacent heating resistors approaches "0", one platen roller 8 is attached to the connecting portion 5 as shown in FIG. By positioning it, it becomes possible to perform printing using only one platen roller 8, but in this case, the heating resistors 4a, 4b themselves are located very close to the substrate ends 3a, 3b, that is, the substrates 2a, 2b. Since the platen roller 8 and the heat generating resistors 4a, 4b do not contact smoothly due to the influence of the corners (corners) of the substrates 2a, 2b, for example, if the platen roller 8 and the heat generating resistors 4a, 4b do not come into contact with each other smoothly, If there is a step, etc., a pressure difference occurs, and white streaks or blurring occur in the printed image at the position corresponding to the joint portion 5, which may result in poor printing.

[0008] The present invention is capable of performing good printing without causing white streaks or blurring in the printed image even when only one platen roller is used when printing with a long thermal printer head. The purpose is to provide a printing method that allows printing.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides such a method that the heating resistors in the first row are positioned at positions facing the platen roller during printing using the heating resistors in the first row. When the long thermal printer head is moved, and when printing with the second row of heating resistors,
It is characterized in that the elongated thermal printer head is moved so that the second row of heating resistors is positioned at a position facing the platen roller.

0010

[Operation] In the present invention, the printing process is performed in two steps,
For example, during the first printing, the heating resistors in the first row are positioned to face the platen roller.
The long thermal printer head is moved, and for example, during the second printing, the long thermal printer head is moved so that the second row of heating resistors is positioned to face the platen roller. .

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an example of a printing device to which a printing method according to the present invention is applied. This printing device includes, for example, a long thermal printer head 10 having a structure as shown in FIG. 1(a) and 1(b).
) shows a state in which the elongated thermal printer heads 10 are positioned offset from each other by a distance D in the lateral direction Y with respect to the platen roller 8. Note that the elongated thermal printer head 10 has a first row of heating resistors 4.
a is arranged at a certain distance B from the board end 3a of the board 2a, and the second row of heating resistors 4b is arranged at a certain distance B from the board end 3b of the board 2b. As a result, the heat generating resistors 4a and the heat generating resistors 4b are alternately arranged in a staggered manner with an interval D between them, as shown in FIG.

Next, the printing operation in the printing apparatus having such a configuration will be explained. In this embodiment, printing by the elongated thermal printer head 10 is intended to be performed in two steps. That is, during the first printing, the movement control unit 12 moves the elongated type so that the first row of heating resistors 4a is positioned facing the platen roller 8, as shown in FIG. 1(a). The thermal printer head 10 is moved in the lateral direction Y. Next, move the thermal paper 16 in the direction of arrow F1.
The paper is passed in the direction of , and printing is performed on the thermal paper 16 by the heating resistor 4a of the first row.

Thermal paper 1 is heated by the heating resistor 4a of the first row.
6 is printed for the length of the paper, and when this is completed, the movement control unit 12 performs the second printing on the paper as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the elongated thermal printer head 10 is immediately moved in the lateral direction Y by a distance D so that the second row of heat generating resistors 4b is positioned facing the platen roller 8. Next, the thermal paper 16 is passed in the direction of arrow F2, and the thermal paper 16 is heated by the heating resistor 4b of the second row.
Printing is performed on the top, and then the thermal paper 16 on which the printing has been performed twice is discharged.

In this way, in this embodiment, by moving the elongated thermal printer head 10 in the lateral direction Y, even when only one platen roller 8 is used,
Printing can be performed on each of the heating resistors 4a and 4b in the first and second rows, which are separated by a certain distance D. Also, at this time, each heating resistor 4a, 4b is placed at a position separated by a certain distance B from the board ends 3a, 3b, and is not placed at the corner (corner) of the boards 2a, 2b. Since there is no platen roller 8 and heating resistor 4a during printing,
4b, the substrates 2a, 2b are in smooth contact with each other without being affected by the corners (corners). Thereby, it is possible to effectively prevent the problems of printed images, such as white streaks and blurring, which conventionally occurred when the heat generating resistors 4a and 4b were disposed close to the substrate ends 3a and 3b. Also,
Conventionally, it was necessary to cut the edges 3a and 3b of the substrates 2a and 2b with high precision in order to suppress the occurrence of white streaks and blurring, but in this embodiment, as described above, Since the resistors 4a and 4b are arranged at a certain distance B from the substrate ends 3a and 3b,
, 3b is not required, and the substrate end 3a
, 3b, even if the accuracy is low, it does not affect the print quality in any way.

[0015]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention,
During printing, the long thermal printer head is moved so that the heating resistors in the first or second row are positioned opposite the platen roller, so only one platen roller is used. Also, it is not necessary to place the heating resistors in the first and second rows at the corners of the board, and they can be placed at a certain distance from the edge of the board. Therefore, even when only one platen roller is used, it is possible to perform good printing without causing white streaks or blurring in the printed image.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a long thermal printer head.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the elongated thermal printer head of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an elongated thermal printer head having a structure different from that of FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a conventional printing method using a long thermal printer head.

[Explanation of symbols]

2a First row of substrates 2b Second row of substrates 3a First row of substrate ends 3b Second row of substrate ends 4a First row of heating resistors 4b Second row of heating resistors 8 Platen roller 10 Long length type thermal printer head 12 movement control section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a printing method in which printing is performed using a long thermal printer head in which a first row of heat generating resistors and a second row of heat generating resistors are arranged alternately, the first row of heat generating resistors is arranged alternately. When printing with the resistor, the elongated thermal printer head is moved so that the heat generating resistor in the first row is positioned facing the platen roller,
Further, when printing using the second row of heat generating resistors, the elongated thermal printer head is moved so that the second row of heat generating resistors is positioned at a position facing the platen roller. A printing method characterized by