Polaroid Corporation

Zink Imaging, Inc.

Senshin Capital, LLC

Anemarie DeYoung

Stephen J Telfer

William T Vetterling

Jay E Thornton

Daniel P Bybell

Brian David Busch

Chien Liu

Jayprakash C Bhatt

Alain Bouchard

F Richard Cottrell

Michael S Viola

Suhail Shabbir Saquib

Edward P Lindholm

Michael L Reisch

Alfredo G Kniazzeh

Dana Frederic Schuh

Hyung-Chul Choi

James A Foley

Sandra B Lawrence

F Richard Courell

Dana F Schuh

A technique for optimizing or enhancing color images. Embodiments are disclosed for creating an enhanced color image, including the enhancement of perceived color uniformity. In a 'dot-on-dot' registration scheme for producing color images, the dots need to be precisely superimposed on each other to provide optimum or enhanced images. The dot-on-dot registration produced by a single head thermal printer is generally acceptable, but a single head machine is very slow because multiple passes (reciprocation) are required to lay down multiple colors of dots. In a much faster multi-head or tandem thermal imaging system a serious problem of dot misalignment may cause moire patterns or other visual artifacts in the color images produced by dot patterns. A solution to this problem is disclosed herein which intentionally misregisters superimposed dots in a novel and particular manner to achieve image optimization. In a particular embodiment a first thermal print head has a first number of thermal elements energized at a first rate and a second thermal print head has a second number of thermal elements energized at a second rate. The numbers of thermal elements and rates of energization are selected to cause intentional misregistration at a high spatial frequency which is unnoticeable to the naked eye of a viewer of the image, thereby masking any unintentional mechanical misalignment of the print heads while maintaining imperceptible the intentional misregistration of the solution to the problem.

Technique for printing a color image

A multicolor imaging system is described wherein at least two, and preferably three, different image-forming layers of a thermal imaging member are addressed at least partially independently by a thermal printhead or printheads from the same surface of the imaging member by controlling the temperature of the thermal printhead(s) and the time thermal energy is applied to the image-forming layers. Each color of the thermal imaging member can be printed alone or in selectable proportion to the other color(s). Novel thermal imaging members are also described.

Thermal imaging system

A multicolor imaging system is described wherein at least two, and preferably three, different image-fonning layers of a thermal imaging member are addressed at least partially independently by a thermal printhead or printheads from the same surface of the imaging member by controlling the temperature of the thermal printhead(s) and the time thermal energy is applied to the image-forming layers. Each color of the thermal imaging member can be printed alone or in selectable proportion to the other color(s). Novel thermal imaging members are also described.

A thermal printer is disclosed which includes a plurality of thermal print heads, each of the plurality of thermal print heads being operable to print a distinct one of a plurality of colors. The plurality of thermal print heads may print output at a plurality of spatial resolutions. The thermal printer may include dot size varying means for varying perceived levels of color printed by the thermal printer by varying sizes of dots printed by the plurality of thermal print heads. The printer may perform various image processing steps on an image to be printed, such as tone scale adjustment, thermal history control, and common mode voltage correction, to improve the perceived quality of the printed image. The thermal printer may be incorporated into a digital photo-printing vending machine for printing images provided by a customer.

High speed photo-printing apparatus

There is described a nanoporous receiver element for use in thermal mass transfer imaging applications. The receiver element comprises a substrate carrying an image-receiving layer comprising particulate material and a binder material. The substrate may comprise a material having a compressibility of at least 1% under a pressure of 1 Newton per mm (1 MPa). Optionally, there may be provided, between the substrate and the nanoporous receiving layer, a layer having a thickness of less than about 50 &mgr;m which is comprised entirely of a material having a compressibility of less than about 1% under a pressure of 1 MPa. Alternatively, the substrate may comprise only the material having a compressibility of less than about 1% under a pressure of 1 MPa, provided that the thickness of the substrate does not exceed about 50 &mgr;m. The image-receiving layer comprises particulate material and a binder material, has a void volume of from about 40% to about 70% and a pore diameter distribution wherein at least 50% of the pores having a diameter greater than about 30 nm have diameters less than about 300 nm and at least 95% of the pores having diameters greater than about 300 nm have diameters less than about 1000 nm.

Thermal mass transfer imaging system

Growing community of inventors

Lexington, MA, United States of America

Anemarie DeYoung