Image recording apparatus and ink sheet cassette usable in the image recording apparatus

An image recording apparatus in which an image is recorded on a recording medium by means of an ink sheet having a plurality of ink layers having different color tones on a substrate, comprising:

• a mounting portion for mounting said ink sheet;
• recording means which is adapted to act on said ink sheet mounted on said mounting portion;
• designating means for designating color tones of the image to be recorded on said recording medium;
• control means for controlling, in accordance with the color tones designated by said designating means, a condition for separation of said ink sheet from said recording medium after an action of said recording means on said ink sheet, wherein said ink sheet is accommodated in a cassette adapted to be detachably mounted on said mounting portion, and said cassette has a member for pressing said ink sheet onto the recording medium.

An ink sheet cassette detachably mounted on an image recording apparatus for recording an image having a color tone in accordance with color tone information, said ink sheet cassette comprising:

• an ink sheet having a plurality of ink layers having different colors on a substrate;
• an ink sheet supply section for unwinding said ink sheet;
• an ink sheet winding section for winding said ink sheet supplied from said ink sheet supply section;
• a driving force receiving section for receiving a driving force for causing said ink sheet winding section to wind said ink sheet;
• and
• changing means which operates in accordance with color tones of the image to be recorded for changing a conveyance route from said ink sheet supply section to said ink sheet winding section so as to record images having different color tones by receiving the driving force from a body of said image recording apparatus.