Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.

Charles M Hevenor

Kenneth O Wood

William A Loos

William J Tortora

Howard H Plude, Jr

Edward M Oscarson

Thomas A Gordon

David J Logan

Raymond J MacQueen, Jr

Daniel G Binnall

John K White

Kurt J Ehrhardt

David M Mindek

Brian H Lis

Michael J Banavige

Ronald A Kapushinski

Roy Douglas Downey

Ronald B Webster

Joseph W Stempien

Martin C Voelker

Disclosed are the following: a wide format thermal printer for printing a multicolor graphic product on a printing sheet; a vacuum workbed for supporting a sheet material for performing work operations, such as cutting, printing or plotting, thereon; a replaceable donor sheet assembly, which includes a memory, for use with a thermal printer; methods and apparatus for improved thermal printing, including methods and apparatus for conserving donor sheet and reducing the amount of time required to print a multicolor graphic product; a thermal printhead including a memory; and methods and apparatus for the alignment of a sheet material for printing or performing other work operations on the sheet material. The wide format thermal printer can include provision for the automatic loading of cassettes of donor sheet from a cassette storage rack. The vacuum workbed can include provision for determining the size of the sheet material supported by the workbed, and for controlling the suction applied to the apertures in a worksurface of the workbed. Also disclosed are methods and apparatus for controlling the tension of the donor sheet during printing with a wide format thermal printer.

Methods and apparatus for improved thermal printing

A wide format thermal printer for printing a multicolor graphic product on a printing sheet; a vacuum workbed for supporting a sheet material for performing work operations, such as cutting, printing or plotting, thereon; a replaceable donor sheet assembly, which includes a memory, for use with a thermal printer; methods and apparatus for improved thermal printing, including methods and apparatus for conserving donor sheet and reducing the amount of time required to print a multicolor graphic product; a thermal printhead including a memory; methods and apparatus for the alignment of a sheet material for printing or performing other work operations on the sheet material; and methods and apparatus for controlling the tension of the donor sheet during printing with a wide format thermal printer. The wide format thermal printer can include provision for the automatic loading of cassettes of donor sheet from a cassette storage rack. The vacuum workbed can include provision for determining the size of the sheet material supported by the workbed, and for controlling the suction applied to the apparatus in a worksurface of the workbed.

Replaceable donor sheet assembly with memory for use with a thermal printer

Wide format thermal printer

A web and an associated web feeding and handling apparatus for performing a work operation on the web is disclosed. The apparatus feeds the web in a feed direction longitudinally of itself by means of a friction drive. The operation of the drive is controlled by lateral and longitudinal alignment indicia located on the web which insure that the web is properly aligned with the feed direction as the web is initially fed into and then through the apparatus, and to insure that any bowing of the web during the work operation is corrected or compensated for.

Web having alignment indicia and an associated web feeding and working apparatus

Web having alignment indicia and an associated web feeding and working

A processing apparatus for performing work operations on a sheet material includes a frame, and an advancing mechanism for feeding the sheet material through the apparatus. Additionally, an elongated tool head support is provided on the frame carries a tool head which moves along the support's length during a work operation. A retaining device such as, a magnetic or spring actuated clamp is also attached to the frame for retaining the sheet material as it is fed out of the processing apparatus. The use of the retaining device combined with the advancement of the sheet material causes the formation of a vertical loop in the material. The vertical loop causes the speed at which the advancing material approaches the floor or other horizontal surface to be reduced, thereby causing a concomitant reduction in the impact force of the sheet material with the floor. In addition, the vertical loop formed by the retained sheet provides a cushioning effect, further reducing the generated impact force. Accordingly, shock waves generated in the sheet material as a result of the impact with the floor are minimized.

Apparatus for retaining sheet material as it is advanced out of a

In an apparatus for printing graphic images on sheet material. The thermal print head has a linear array of heating elements extending in the y-coordinate direction, and is movable between a home position and a command position in that direction for printing graphic images wider than the length of the linear array. With the print head in the home position, a first group of heating elements at the upper end of the print head are actuated to print a plurality of first indicia equally spaced relative to each other in the y-coordinate direction. The print head is then moved upwardly in the y-coordinate direction to the command position whereby a second group of heating elements at the lower end of the print head overlap the first indicia. The print head then prints a plurality of second indicia in the spaces defined between adjacent first indicia with the second group of heating elements, and the print head is moved incrementally in the y-coordinate direction between printing sequential second indicia. The second indicia equally spaced between adjacent first indicia is then selected, and the command position of the print head is adjusted based on its total incremental movement corresponding to the selected second indicia to calibrate the movement of the print head in the y-coordinate direction.

Apparatus for making graphic products having a calibrated print head,

A thermal printer utilizes a donor web bearing a transfer ink to create enhanced printed images on a strip of sheet material with half-tones, color and other attractive features. The donor web is mounted on supply and take-up spools within a cassette that is removable from the printer in order to change the color or other printing characteristics of the web for various printing operations. A drag brake mounted in the printer connects with the supply spool through a disengageable coupling to maintain tension on the donor web during printing and to allow the web and cassette to be removed from the printer. A feed detection sensor in the form of an optical encoder is also contained within the printer and coupled to the supply spool through the same disengageable coupling utilized by the drag brake to detect feed faults.

Printer with feed fault detection

A printing apparatus for printing designs, halftones, alphanumeric and other printed matter on sheet material utilizes a thermal printhead that is pressed against sheet material on a roller platen during a printing operation. A donor web bearing an ink material is interposed between the printhead and the sheet material on the roller platen. In order to improve the print quality, the printer includes a pressure regulating mechanism which not only controls the pressure between the printing head and roller platen at different pressure levels but also allows the printing head and platen to be separated and moved away from one another.

Printing apparatus with pressure regulation

A method and apparatus for preparing graphic products utilizes a printer to print on sheet material and a cutter to cut the sheet material with the printed material within the periphery of the cut edges. Both the printer and the cutter are controlled by machine readable data having a common data base so that the printed material and the cut material correspond positionally in the final graphic product. The printer is a thermal printer that places the printed material on a strip of sheet material generally before the sheet material is cut. The thermal printer utilizes a donor web bearing a transfer ink to create enhanced printed images on the sheet material with half tones, color and other attractive features. The printer is controlled to regulate a number of printing parameters through coding on a cassette in which the donor web is supported.

Method and apparatus for making a graphic product

A thermal printer carries out printing operations to produce images in multiple colors in response to a printing program. In order to eliminate distortions and to insure registration of colors in the printed image, a printer controller eliminates backlash in the drive mechanism at the beginning of each printing operation.

Growing community of inventors

Glastonbury, CT, United States of America

Charles M Hevenor