Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Hideo Kawase

Hideki Yorozu

Yuusai Ishitobi

An object of the invention is to provide an image printing data control method for thermal transfer printers capable of achieving efficient transmission of image printing data from an external control section to a printer control section, and thereby making it possible to reduce the printing time. Image printing data consisting of undercoat printing data for carrying out undercoat printing on recording paper, image data for carrying out desired image printing, and overcoat printing data for carrying out overcoat printing over the image printing are transmitted, at the time of printing, from an external control section to the control section of a thermal transfer printer, wherein the undercoat printing data and the overcoat printing data are common data; each of the undercoat printing step and the overcoat printing step in the printing process is selected as desired; and printing control data indicating the presence or absence of the step of the undercoat printing and the step of the overcoat printing are transmitted, before the transmission of the image printing data, to the control section of the thermal transfer printer.

Image printing data control method for thermal transfer printers

The invention intends to obtain a good printed result without creating displacement of printing positions when printing is performed on a piece of printed paper with different contact pressures of the thermal head to the platen. To achieve the object, the thermal transfer printer of the invention comprises control means that make it possible to select a contact pressure of the thermal head to the platen in correspondence with a printing mode, and controls a printing setting position in accordance with the printing mode selected, whereby it becomes possible to correct the drifts of printing positions due to the difference of contact pressures of the thermal head to the platen, and acquire an excellent printed result without having the drifts of printing positions.

Thermal transfer printer without printing displacement

A thermal transfer printer comprises a temperature detector which detects the temperature of a thermal head, a heating controller which performs heating processing on the thermal head to increase the thermal head temperature to a temperature higher than a print-permit temperature, a heat radiation controller which performs heat radiation processing on the thermal head to reduce the thermal head temperature to the print-permit temperature, and a control unit which controls a temperature slope of the thermal head to be a descending slope to be the print-permit temperature by radiating heat from the thermal head. The thermal transfer printer obtains an excellent print result.

Thermal transfer printer and print-start control method

A method of transferring recording data to a recording device for preventing the slowdown of effective recording speed by determining beforehand the available memory capacity of an input device and by transferring the recording data in an optimum manner to the recording device. The available memory capacity of an input device 1 is determined. When the available memory capacity of the input device 1 is sufficient enough to store the recording data of one cycle by the recording head, the recording data of one cycle is transferred to the recording device 2 on a recording cycle basis. When the available memory capacity of the input device 1 is not sufficient enough to store the recording data of one cycle by the recording head, the recording data is transferred to the recording device 2 on an element-by-element basis.

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Iwate-ken, Japan

Hideo Kawase