Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Toppan Insatsu Kabushiki Kaisha

Nobuaki Honma

Tomoyuki Marugame

Hiroyuki Kuroki

Kunio Omura

Michio Shinozaki

Tomio Andoh

Tomoko Mita

Hidetomo Sasaki

Ken Nishimura

Toshimasa Ishii

Sigeru Fukai

In an image forming apparatus using an indirect transferring method, an ink ribbon is selectively heated by a thermal head, in a state where an intermediate transfer film and the ink ribbon are put one on the other on a platen roller, so that a record-image is formed as a mirror image on an image-forming layer of the intermediate transfer film. Then, the intermediate transfer film and a target object are supplied with heat and pressure between a heating roller and a pressure roller, so that the record-image is transferred along with the image-forming layer of the intermediate transfer film to the target object. The intermediate transfer film and the ink ribbon are respectively accommodated in cassettes detachably mounted in the apparatus, and are used for forming the record-image while being fed from the cassettes.

Image forming apparatus and method, and transferring medium cassette

An image forming apparatus uses an ink ribbon having ink layers of different colors, and a long, film-like intermediate transfer medium. A platen for holding the medium during transfer is driven by a motor via a synchronous reduction gear whose speed reducing ratio is an integer multiple. The ink ribbon is selectively heated by a thermal head having regular polygonal or circular heat-generating portions. Under the control of a controller, the thermal head is driven on the basis of image information, and a record image containing an area gradation image is formed on the medium. This area gradation image has a color set by stacking dots having different colors in the same spot. The medium on which the record image is formed is overlapped on a target body and heated and pressed by a heat roller, thereby transferring the record image from the medium onto the target body.

Image forming apparatus and method, and image-applied article

Apparatus for producing an information recording card

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Tokyo, Japan

Nobuaki Honma