Thermal printer and printing method
AssigneeMitsubishi Electric Corporation
InventorMegumi Mishima
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
When printing is performed using a thermal head to convert power into heat and to heat an ink sheet laid on paper by the heat, a change in density in a paper carrying direction D1 of an image to be printed in an output region of the paper is calculated using printing data, printing-data-for-correction to indicate an image-for-correction to be printed in a margin printing region of the paper and to cause a change of power required by the thermal head while a combined image including the image and the image-for-correction is printed onto the paper to be smaller than a change of the power required by the thermal head while only the image is printed onto the paper is created, and the ink sheet is heated by the thermal head in accordance with the printing data and the printing-data-for-correction.
Claims9
A thermal printer comprising:
- a paper carrier to carry paper in a first direction;
- a thermal head to convert power into heat, and heat an ink sheet laid on the paper by the heat;
- a density change calculation unit to calculate, using printing data, a change in density in the first direction of an image to be printed in an output region of the paper remaining in a printed object to be output;
- and
- a printing-data-for-correction creation unit to create, based on the change in density, printing-data-for-correction to be used to print an image-for-correction in a margin printing region of the paper not remaining in the printed object and to cause a first change of the power with printing location in the first direction while a combined image including the image and the image-for-correction is printed onto the paper to be smaller than a second change of the power with printing location in the first direction while the image is printed onto the paper, wherein
- the thermal head heats the ink sheet in accordance with the printing data and the printing-data-for-correction.
A printing method comprising:
- a) carrying paper in a first direction;
- b) converting power into heat, and heating an ink sheet laid on the paper by the heat;
- c) calculating, using printing data, a change in density in the first direction of an image to be printed in an output region of the paper remaining in a printed object to be output;
- and
- d) creating, based on the change in density, printing-data-for-correction to be used to print an image-for-correction in a margin printing region of the paper not remaining in the printed object and to cause a first change of the power with printing location in the first direction while a combined image including the image and the image-for-correction is printed onto the paper to be smaller than a second change of the power with printing location in the first direction while the image is printed onto the paper, wherein
- in the step b), the ink sheet is heated in accordance with the printing data and the printing-data-for-correction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.