Sony Corporation

Sony Deutschland Gmbh

Hidehiko Funayama

Masakazu Sone

Koji Yoshino

Kazuhiro Sato

Satoshi Nakamura

Hiroshi Takeuchi

Kozo Kawakita

Seijiro Tomita

Yoshihiro Okamoto

Yasushi Hirumi

Naoki Takizawa

Jinichi Morimura

Shojiro Asami

Hiroshi Dohi

Koichi Kokusho

Akio Hitachi

Masato Nakamura

Kohji Ogiwara

Mitsuaki Ogiwara

Teruyasu Hanagami

Izumi Kariya

Yasuo Yukita

Shunichi Kamimura

Takatoshi Iwanabe

An image transcription method of transcribing an image of the dye on a printing sheet outputted by e.g., a video printer onto a substrate for transcription, such as a cup of pottery or the like. For transcription, a resin is coated on the surface of the substrate for transcription to form a reception layer. This reception layer is dried in an electrical oven to form a support for transcription. A printing sheet carrying an image of a sublimable dye is stacked on the reception layer of the support for transcription and pressured to the reception layer under application of heat and pressure. As the resin for the reception layer, the acrylic resin or the epoxy resin or both are employed. If the resin composed mainly of the acrylic resin is employed, the viscosity of the resin is set to 43 to 52 seconds in terms of the Ford cup viscosity, and the resin discharge pressure from a spray gun is set to 35 kg/m &plusmn;0.01 kg.cm . The distance between the spray gun and the substrate for transcription is set to 100 mm&plusmn;5 mm, while the drying temperature is 170 to 180&deg; C. The thickness of the reception layer is 10 to 50 &mgr;m. After transcribing the image of the sublimable dye to the reception layer, a transparent film is bonded, if necessary, as a protective film on the reception layer.

Ink ribbon for image transcription

A printer system, a printer apparatus, a printing method, an ink ribbon and a printing medium that certainly and effectively prevent a quality of printed image from being degraded without causing trouble to a user. More concretely, the printing medium is provided with memory mechanisms and the memory mechanisms stores predetermined control data, the printer apparatus reads out the control data stored in the memory mechanisms by contactless communication and controls the photographic printing operation on the basis of the control data which is read out.

Printer system, printer apparatus, printing method, ink ribbon and printing medium

Method for transcribing an image and a support for transcription and ink ribbon employed therefor

The reuse of an ink ribbon is prevented and the image quality and the proper paper feeding operation are secured by providing an ink ribbon damaging means to a ink ribbon cartridge of a color video printer. For example, a ring cutter is provided to the spool shaft of a spool on which an ink ribbon used for printing is wound so that the ink ribbon wound on the spool is cut.

Ink ribbon cartridge including ink ribbon damaging means and rotation direction restricting means

An autochanger which can continuously operate a video printing apparatus without having recourse to intervention by an operator which includes a paper feed tray for containing a plurality of recording media and/or an ink ribbon cartridge are loaded in the video printer device to selectively change them as the occasion demands, a magazine which can contain a plurality of paper feed trays and/or ink ribbon cartridges and a conveyance means of paper feed tray and/or ink ribbon cartridge for conveying the paper feed tray and/or the ink ribbon cartridge between the video printer device and the magazine. Therefore, the paper feed tray and the ink ribbon cartridge of the video printer device can be changed by the conveyance means as the occasion demands, so as to realize an autochanger which can continuously operate a video printer device without having recourse to intervention by an operator.

Printing apparatus and autocharger thereof

Printing apparatus and autochanger thereof

A video printer includes a chassis, a platen rotatably mounted on the chassis, a printing head carried by the chassis so as to be moved between a pressure-contact position in which the printing head is pressure-contacted with the platen and a standby position in which the printing head is spaced apart from the platen, a roll for pressure-contacting a transfer sheet against the platen, and a cutter provided at a position spaced apart from the printing head and proximate to the sheet exit opening. The transfer sheet is provided in a sheet guide system through a space between the platen and the printing head as far as a sheet exit opening. The printing head is moved to the pressure-contact position during printing operation to the standby position during non-printing operation. When printing an image on the transfer sheet, the transfer sheet is rewound by a distance less than a distance between the printing head and the cutter for effective utilization of the transfer sheet. A control arrangement is provided which has a printing key and a copy key, and which allows the number of copies to be set using the copy key after printing has been initiated using the printing key.

Video printer

A video printer includes a chassis, a platen rotatably mounted on the chassis, a printing head carried by the chassis so as to be moved between a pressure-contact position in which the printing head is pressure-contacted with the platen and a standby position in which the printing head is spaced apart from the platen, a roll for pressure-contacting a transfer sheet against the platen, and a cutter provided at a position spaced apart from the printing head and proximate to the sheet exit opening. The transfer sheet is provided in a sheet guide system through a space between the platen and the printing head as far as a sheet exit opening. The printing head is moved to the pressure-contact position during printing time and to the standby position during non-printing time. When printing an image on the transfer sheet, the transfer sheet is rewound by a distance less than a distance between the printing head and the cutter for effective utilization of the transfer sheet.

Video printer having rewind function to improve transfer sheet

A video printer for transferring an image from an ink ribbon to a print sheet has a print medium detector for detecting the type of a print medium and outputting medium data indicative of the detected type, a memory for storing image data to be printed, and a keyboard for inputting reversal information indicating whether the image data stored in the memory are to be reversed or not. A reversing unit selectively outputs the image data stored in the memory and reversed image data which are a reversal of the image data stored in the memory. A gamma correcting circuit adjusts image density of the image data with image density adjusting data, or a gamma curve, selected from a plurality of sets of image density adjusting data or gamma curves each having a different image density characteristic, and outputs the image data with the adjusted image density. A thermal head transfers an image represented by the image data with the adjusted image density to the print medium with an ink ribbon. The video printer has a controller for controlling the reversing unit based on the reversal information and controlling the gamma correcting circuit to select the image density adjusting data based on both the reversal information and the medium data.

A roll paper for a thermal printer in which a coloring paper having a thermal coloring layer and a peeling paper on which the coloring paper with the coloring layer is stuck by an adhesive material are wound as a roll shape is comprised of first cuts for defining a picture forming region of one frame on the coloring paper in order for the picture forming region to be peeled off from the peeling paper and second cuts formed to completely cross the entire width of the roll paper, in which the first and second cuts are repeatedly formed at every picture forming region in the length direction of the roll paper.

Roll paper for thermal printer

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Hidehiko Funayama