Text and color printing system

A desktop printing system for use with a microprocessor-based desktop computer to selectively print color graphics and at least a portion of a monochrome text on a plurality of print media such as sheets of paper, the printing system comprising:

• a color graphics printer having a printing means to print with incremental motion;
• a monochrome text printer for sequentially and separately printing text on the same sheet as the color graphics printer prints graphics, the text printer having printing means to print with continuous motion;
• a mechanical interconnection means which detachably connects together the color printer and the text printer;
• and
• an information control means which receives printing information from a microprocessor-based computer and which segregates the received information into color and monochrome components and then controls the color graphics and text printers to, respectively, print only the segregated color and monochrome components.

A system for use with microprocessor-based desktop computers for serially printing color graphics and monochrome text on a plurality of sheets of a print media such as individual sheets of paper, the system comprising:

• a color printer for printing color graphics on the sheets of paper with incremental motion, the color printer including:
• (i) a color graphics printing station;
• (ii) a sheet drying station;
• and
• (iii) a sheet transport means (1) for transporting the sheets of paper in one direction through the dryer prior to printing and (2) for transporting the sheets of paper through the dryer in the opposite direction during and after color printing;
• a text printer for sequentially and separately printing text on the sheets of paper, the text printer being operable to print text on the sheets of paper with continuous motion;
• a mechanical interconnection means which detachably connects together the color printer and the text printer so that individual ones of the sheets of paper are delivered from one of the printers to the other along an uninterrupted paper sheet flow path;
• and
• a control means (1) for segregating color information from monochrome information, (2) for using only color information for printing in the color printer and (3) for using only monochrome information for printing in the text printer.

A method for use with a microprocessor-based desktop computer for separately printing color graphics and monochrome text in response to commands from the computer, comprising the steps of:

• feeding a sheet into a first one of a color printer and a text printer;
• in response to the commands from the computer, executing a first printing operation on the sheet in the first one of the printers;
• delivering the sheet from the first one of the printers to the second one of the printers;
• and
• in response to other ones of the commands from the computer, executing a second printing operation on the sheet in the second one of the printers for sequentially and separately printing text on the same sheet as the color graphics printer prints graphics.

A method for separately and selectively printing, onto a print medium such as a sheet of paper, color graphics and at least a portion of a monochrome text in response to a plurality of commands from a microprocessor-based desktop computer, the method comprising the steps of:

• feeding the print medium in response to an instruction received from the computer;
• printing only a color graphic on the medium in the color printer, the color printer printing the color graphic in response to the instruction received from the computer;
• delivering the medium from the color printer to the text printer upon receiving the instruction from the computer that the color printer has completed the color graphic;
• and
• sequentially and separately printing only text on the medium in the text printer in response to an instruction received from the computer.

A method for sequentially printing color graphics and monochrome text sheets, comprising the steps of:

• feeding a sheet into a color printer;
• thermally pre-stabilizing the sheet;
• controlling printing information to print only color graphics on the sheet in the color printer;
• after printing color graphics, heating the printed sheet sufficiently to avoid ink smearing when the sheet is contacted by a drive wheel;
• driving the heated sheet from the color printer to a text printer;
• and
• controlling the printing information to print only monochrome text on the sheet in the text printer, thereby producing the sheet having both text and graphics printed thereon.