Thermal graphic pen and method of use

An apparatus for filling a void in an image which has been printed by a process wherein a heat-sensitive pigmented material, coated on a foil, is transferred to a receptor material, said apparatus comprising:

• a piece of foil bearing a quantity of pigmented material of the same color as the pigmented material bordering the void to be filled, said quantity of pigmented material being in the form of a dot of approximately the same size as the void;
• a heater for simultaneously applying heat and pressure to the foil in the vicinity of the dot;
• and
• guide means for facilitating the positioning of said piece of foil on the printed receptor, with the dot of pigmented material superposed over the void.

A device for effecting the transfer of a heat-sensitive pigmented material from a foil on which it has been deposited to a sheet of receptor material, comprising:

• a handle;
• a heater element projecting from said handle;
• and
• a generally planar registration shield attached to said handle and resiliently carried in spaced relation to said heater element such that said heater element may be brought into contact with the shield by urging said handle towards said registration shield.

A method of creating an image on a receptor material comprising the steps of:

• providing a piece of foil bearing a quantity of heat-sensitive pigmented material in the form of a desired image;
• placing the foil on a receptor material with the image formed by the pigmented material confronting a selected location on the receptor material;
• placing a heat-transmitting shield adjacent the foil in overlying relationship with the image;
• and
• applying heat to the image through the shield to release the pigmented material from the foil and transfer the material in the form of the image onto the receptor material.

A method of filling a void in an image which has been printed on a receptor material by a process wherein a heat-sensitive pigmented material, coated on a foil, is transferred to the receptor material, the void-filling method comprising the steps of:

• providing a piece of foil bearing, on a first surface, a quantity of pigmented material of the same color as the pigmented material bordering the void to be filled, the quantity of pigmented material being in the form of a dot of approximately the same size as the void;
• positioning said piece of foil over the image printed on the receptor material, with said first surface of said piece of foil facing the image and the quantity of pigmented material superposed over the void in the image;
• and
• applying heat to said piece of foil, proximate to said quantity of pigmented material, while pressing at least the heated portion of the foil against the printed image to transfer pigmented material from the foil into the void of the image.

A method of filling a void in an image which has been printed on a receptor material by a process wherein a heat-sensitive pigmented material, coated on a foil, is transferred to the receptor material, the void-filling method comprising the steps of:

• providing a piece of foil bearing, on a first surface, a quantity of pigmented material of the same color as the pigmented material bordering the void to be filled;
• positioning said piece of foil over the image printed on the receptor material, with said first surface of said piece of foil facing the image and the quantity of pigmented material superposed over the void in the image;
• applying heat to said piece of foil, proximate to said quantity of pigmented material, while pressing at least the heated portion of the foil against the printed image to transfer pigmented material from the foil into the void of the image;
• providing a transparent guide member having position-indicating lines marked thereon;
• and
• superposing said guide member on said piece of foil as an aid to positioning the foil with its quantity of pigmented material over the void.

A method of filling a void in an image which has been printed on a receptor material by a process wherein a heat-sensitive pigmented material, coated on a foil, is transferred to the receptor material, the void-filling method comprising the steps of:

• providing a piece of foil bearing, on a first surface, a quantity of pigmented material of the same color as the pigmented material bordering the void to be filled;
• positioning said piece of foil over the image printed on the receptor material, with said first surface of said piece of foil facing the image and the quantity of pigmented material superposed over the void in the image;
• and
• applying heat to said piece of foil, proximate to said quantity of pigmented material, while pressing at least the heated portion of the foil against the printed image to transfer pigmented material from the foil into the void of the image, the step of applying heat while pressing the foil against the image including:
• placing a metal shield over the piece of foil and the quantity of pigmented material;
• and
• applying the heat to the piece of foil and the quantity of pigmented material through the shield.

An apparatus for filling a void in an image which has been printed by a process wherein a heat-sensitive pigmented material, coated on a foil, is transferred to a receptor material, said apparatus comprising:

• a piece of foil bearing a quantity of pigmented material of the same color as the pigmented material bordering the void to be filled, said quantity of pigmented material being in the form of a dot of approximately the same size as the void;
• a heater for simultaneously applying heat and pressure to the foil in the vicinity of the dot;
• and
• holding means for holding at least a portion of the piece of foil in a substantially planar and wrinkle-free condition.

An apparatus for filling a void in an image which has been printed by a process wherein a heat-sensitive pigmented material, coated on a foil, is transferred to a receptor material, said apparatus comprising:

• a piece of foil bearing a quantity of pigmented material of the same color as the pigmented material bordering the void to be filled, said quantity of pigmented material being in the form of a dot of approximately the same size as the void;
• and
• a heater for simultaneously applying heat and pressure to the foil in the vicinity of the dot, the heater including:
• a handle;
• a heater element projecting from said handle;
• and
• a generally planar registration shield attached to said handle and resiliently carried in spaced relation to said heater element such that said heater element may be brought into contact with the shield by urging said handle towards said registration shield.