Thermal-transfer-type color printer having a feed roller with micro

Abstract

In a thermal-transfer-type color printer, an ink ribbon and a paper are sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen roller so that a specific image is transferred onto the paper in a specific color. The platen roller is made by a rubber material which has a certain degree of hardness. On the surface of the ink ribbon, plural colors of ink are sequentially and repeatedly painted. Hence, after transferring an image onto the paper in one color, the paper is moved backward; and then, another image is transferred onto the paper in another color. Thus, a multi-color printing is performed. In order to avoid a color shade or an printing error, in which a printing position of one-color image does not accurately match with a printing position of another-color image, the paper should be accurately moved forward and backward. In order to do so, the thermal-transfer-type color printer provides a precise paper-feed mechanism which comprises a pinch roller and a paper-feed roller. Around a surface of the paper-feed roller, micro projections are formed in predetermined size and shape, so that the paper is certainly held between the pinch roller and paper-feed roller. The micro projections can be formed at a selected surface area of the paper-feed roller. Those micro projections are formed by carrying out an etching process using a masking pattern formed at a certain surface area of the paper-feed roller.