Printer having an intermediate transfer film

A printer for applying an image onto a substrate including a printhead for causing printing onto a print receptive web supported adjacent the printhead, and passing through a processing station spaced from the printhead after printing, a web drive to move said print receptive web in a first direction from the printhead toward the processing station to cause slack between the printhead and the processing station, and to reverse the direction of movement of the web relative to the printhead and a take-up roller on the printer resiliently engaging the print receptive web between the printhead and the processing station for taking up slack that occurs in the print receptive web.

A printer for applying an image onto a substrate including a printhead for causing printing onto a print receptive web supported adjacent the printhead, and passing through a processing station spaced from the printhead after printing, said print receptive web becoming slack between the printhead and the processing station, and a take-up roller on the printer resiliently engaging the print receptive web between the printhead and the processing station for taking up slack that occurs in the print receptive web, wherein the processing station comprises a lamination station, and said print receptive web having a film that is heat transferrable to a substrate, said lamination station providing heat to transfer an image on the print receptive web onto the substrate.

A printer including a print web supply providing a print web, and a printhead for printing material from the print web under a process that requires reversing the direction of the print web and driving the print web in forward direction a plurality of times, a print receptive web movably supported on the printer adjacent the printhead, and passing through a processing station to transfer a printed image therefrom to a substrate, said print receptive web moving with said print web in opposite directions of movement when the printhead is printing an image onto the print receptive web, the print receptive web passing through the processing station at a different speed than the movement of the print web and print receptive web at the printhead, and a biased take-up roller for engaging the print receptive web between the printhead and the processing station for taking up slack that occurs in the print receptive web.

A printer including a first base support module, a second printing module and a third intermediate transfer web module, the second and third modules being movably mounted to the base support module, one of the second and third modules being mounted over said base module and the other of the second and third modules mounted over the one of the second and third modules in a working position, the second and third modules being movable to provide access to sides thereof facing the base module when the modules are in working position.

A printer for providing a printed image to a substrate including a printing head for transferring the printed image from a print web onto a surface of an intermediate transfer web, a drive for said intermediate transfer web to move said intermediate transfer web from said printhead to a processing station, said printhead moving said intermediate transfer web during printing at a rate that causes slack to occur between the processing station and the printhead, and a web slack take-up roller for maintaining a tension in said intermediate transfer web as the intermediate transfer web moves relative to the printhead at differing velocities than its movement through the processing station.

A printer for applying an image onto a substrate including a printhead for causing printing onto a print receptive web supported adjacent the printhead, a drive for moving the print receptive web through a processing station spaced from the printhead after printing, the printhead printing individual images on a section of the print receptive web, the processing station comprising a lamination station for laminating the image in the section onto a separate substrate of size to receive the image, a first sensor for sensing the presence of an image on the print receptive web, said first sensor being adjacent the lamination station, a second sensor for sensing the presence of a substrate, and a controller for coordinating the movement of the substrate and the image sensed into the lamination station to register the image on the substrate.