Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Akira Minami

Keisuke Nishihara

Isao Fukuchi

Kohei Terada

Yuki Naruse

Mina Takechi

Sachiko Murakami

Tomohiro Kondo

Tomoaki Hazeyama

Yasuhiro Torii

Mariko Niizeki

Satoru Ito

A printer includes a thermal head including a plurality of heat generating elements configured to apply energy to a recording medium, and a controller configured to perform control of periodically supplying the power to the plurality of heat generating elements. The recording medium includes a first color developing portion configured to develop a first color and a second color developing portion configured to develop a second color. The controller is configured to periodically supply the power to the plurality of heat generating elements, set an average cycle for supplying the power to a first average cycle, in a case of causing the first color developing portion to develop the first color, and set an average cycle for supplying the power to a second average cycle longer than the first average cycle, in a case of causing the second color developing portion to develop the second color.

Printer and non-transitory computer readable storage medium

A printer includes a conveyance unit configured to convey a heat sensitive medium in a conveyance direction, a thermal head including a plurality of heat generating elements arranged in a direction crossing the conveyance direction, and configured to perform printing on the heat sensitive medium conveyed by the conveyance unit by heat generation of the plurality of heat generating elements, a controller configured to selectively cause the plurality of heat generating elements to generate heat by performing application control of energy to the heat generating element so as to print a dot on the heat sensitive medium by the heat generating elements, and a storage unit configured to store three or more heating patterns of the heat generating elements in the application control. The controller includes a first output unit and a second output unit.

Printer, printing method, and computer readable medium

A CPU of a printing apparatus energizes heat-generating elements for a predetermined period of time in a first divided printing cycle of two divided printing cycles obtained by dividing one printing cycle, according to a yellow energization pattern, and forms a first yellow print dot without causing a heat-sensitive tape to develop another color. Then, the CPU energizes the heat-generating elements for a predetermined period of time in a second divided printing cycle of the two divided printing cycles, and forms a second yellow print dot on the heat-sensitive tape. By forming two print dots in one printing cycle, the CPU secures a large color reproduction range.

Printing apparatus, printing method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium

A printing apparatus includes a thermal head in which a plurality of heating elements is arranged in a main scanning direction, a moving mechanism configured to relatively move a print medium with respect to the thermal head in a sub-scanning direction crossing the main scanning direction, a controller configured to control the thermal head and the moving mechanism, and a storage unit configured to store first print data in which pixels are arranged in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, the pixels including print pixels indicating pixels with which corresponding dots are formed on the print medium by heat generated by the heating elements and non-print pixels with which no dot is formed on the print medium, the first print data being for printing a first print image represented by the print pixels. The controller executes generation processing and control processing.

Printing apparatus, printing method, and computer readable medium

A cartridge includes: a cartridge case; a first supply portion including a heat-sensitive medium; and a second supply portion including an adhesive medium. The heat-sensitive medium includes a base material, a plurality of heat-sensitive layers, and at least one heat-insulating layer in a stacked state. The heat-sensitive layers include: a first heat-sensitive layer for producing a first color when heated above a first temperature; and a second heat-sensitive layer for producing a second color when heated above a second temperature higher than the first temperature. The cartridge case includes: an opening for exposing the heat-sensitive medium; and a guide part positioned downstream of the opening in a conveying direction of the heat-sensitive medium for guiding the heat-sensitive medium and the adhesive medium bonded to a surface of the heat-sensitive medium opposite the base material with respect to the plurality of heat-sensitive layers.

Cartridge, thermal printer using the cartridge, medium for use with the thermal printer, and method for creating laminated medium

A printer performs printing on a thermosensitive medium including a plurality of color developing layers including a first layer developing a first color and a second layer developing a second color. The printer includes a head and a control device performing a printing control including outputting a signal pattern based on post-conversion image data converted from pre-conversion image data to cause a plurality of heat generation elements of the head to selectively generate heat while controlling conveyance of the thermosensitive medium. In the converting, when target dots containing the second color is included in the plurality of dots in the pre-conversion image data, the control device converts a color of conversion dots to a conversion color containing the color developed by any one of the plurality of color developing layers.

Printer, printing method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing printing program

An image forming apparatus records an image on a recording medium including a first layer developing a first color when exceeding a first temperature, a second layer developing a second color when exceeding a second temperature, and a third layer developing a third color when exceeding a third temperature. The image forming apparatus includes a head applying energy to the recording medium from the first layer side and a control device configured to control the energy to be applied to the recording medium by the head so as to form an image of a mixed color of the first color, the second color, and the third color on the recording medium by controlling the head to apply the energy to the recording medium to develop the first color on the recording medium after developing the second color or the third color.

Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing image forming program

When a CPU of a printing apparatus generates a red energization pattern for causing a print medium to develop a color, the CPU generates a subtraction pattern obtained by subtracting a portion of an amount of energy from a magenta energization pattern. The CPU calculates a logical sum of a yellow energization pattern and the subtraction pattern, to generate the red energization pattern.

A medium includes: a heat-sensitive medium subjected to thermal printing; and an adhesive medium to be superimposed on the heat-sensitive medium in a thickness direction and bonded to the heat-sensitive medium. The heat-sensitive medium includes: a surface contacting the adhesive medium; a heat-sensitive medium base material having a transparency; and a first color producing layer having a transparency. The heat-sensitive medium base material has an uneven shape having roughness greater than that of the surface of the heat-sensitive medium. The first color producing layer is configured to produce a first color when heated to a temperature higher than or equal to a first temperature. The adhesive medium includes: an adhesive medium base material; and an adhesive layer provided on the adhesive medium base material. The adhesive layer makes contact with the surface of the heat-sensitive medium so that the adhesive medium is bonded to the heat-sensitive medium.

Medium including heat-sensitive medium provided with base material having uneven shape, and adhesive medium bonded to heat-sensitive medium

A printing device includes: a thermal head; and a processor. The thermal head includes a heating element. The processor is configured to perform: (a) creating; and (b) driving. The (a) creating creates print data based on image data representing an image to be printed on a printing medium. The (b) driving drives the heating element to apply heat to the printing medium according to the print data. The processor is configured to further perform: (c) determining. The (c) determining determines whether to create a plurality of labels for lamination using at least one printing medium including a first printing medium. The first printing medium is transparent and includes a plurality of heat-sensitive layers laminated together. Each of the plurality of heat-sensitive layers is configured to develop a different color when heat is applied from the heating element. The (c) creating is performed in accordance with a determination result in (a).

Printing device and data creating device creating print data for printing image on printing medium including heat-sensitive layer

A print data editing device is configured to perform: editing print data such that when dots constituting an input image represented by the print data are compared by units of columns before and after the editing, a coincidence is maximized when an image of each column in the input image after the editing is the same position as an image of the corresponding column in the input image before the editing or is shifted by a corresponding shift amount in a sub-scanning direction relative to the image of the corresponding column in the input image before the editing. An absolute value of at least one of shift amounts for columns in the input image after the editing is one dot or greater. An absolute difference value for any two neighboring columns in a main scanning direction in the input image after the editing is one dot or less.

Print data editing device editing print data such that partial image corresponding to column is shifted by shift amount in sub-scanning direction

A print data editing device performs editing print data such that when dots constituting an input image represented by the print data are compared by units of columns before and after performing the editing, a coincidence is maximized when an image of each column in the input image after the editing is the same position as an image of the corresponding column in the input image before the editing or is shifted by a corresponding shift amount relative to the image of the corresponding column in the input image before the editing and an editing condition is met. The editing condition includes that an absolute value of at least one shift amount is one dot or greater, an absolute difference value for any two neighboring columns is one dot or less, and at least one absolute difference value for all possible combinations of two columns is less than one dot.

Print data editing device editing print data such that partial image corresponding to column is shifted in sub-scanning direction and editing condition is met

A medium includes: a heat-sensitive medium and an adhesive medium laminated over the heat-sensitive medium in a thickness direction thereof. The heat-sensitive medium includes a base material and a first heat-sensitive layer configured to produce a first color when heated above a first temperature. The first heat-sensitive layer is positioned between the base material and the adhesive medium in the thickness direction. The adhesive medium includes an adhesive-medium base material and an adhesive layer provided at the adhesive-medium base material. The adhesive medium defines a width greater than a width of the heat-sensitive medium in a width direction thereof crossing the thickness direction.

Medium having heat-sensitive medium and adhesive medium whose width is greater than width of heat-sensitive medium, cartridge including the medium, and method for creating the medium

In a print data editing device, controller is configured to perform: editing; and converting. The editing edits print data representing an input image such that when sub-dots constituting the input image are compared by units of columns before and after performing the editing, a coincidence is maximized when an image of each column in the input image after the editing is the same position as an image of the corresponding column in the input image before the editing or is shifted by a corresponding shift amount in a sub-scanning direction relative to the image of the corresponding column in the input image before the editing. The converting includes: determining one or more sub-dot as a conversion sub-dot; and editing the print data such that the print data indicates OFF for the one or more sub-dots determined as the conversion sub-dot.

Print data editing device editing print data such that partial image corresponding to column is shifted in sub-scanning direction and number of on-dots in image represented by print data is reduced

A print data generating device is configured to generate print data for creating a printed medium by printing a target image on a heat-sensitive medium with a printing device. The printing device includes a thermal head having a heating element. The heat-sensitive medium includes: a base material; and a heat-sensitive layer. The base material has a transparency. The heat-sensitive layer is provided over one surface of the base material and is configured to develop a first color when heated to a first temperature or higher. The printing device is configured to control the heating element according to the print data to heat the heat-sensitive medium. The print data generating device includes a controller. The controller is configured to perform: (a) determining a condition of a background area on which the heat-sensitive medium is to be superimposed; and (b) generating the print data in accordance with the condition determined in (a).

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Nagoya, Japan

Akira Minami