METHOD FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OF PRINTING WITH A THERMOTRANSFER PRINT HEAD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE METHOD

Abstract

In a method and apparatus for improving the printing with a thermotransfer print head, an energy value is calculated before the printing process according to different types to be implemented when a dot is to be printed. Energy values also are calculated for the heating elements at the ends of the row of heating elements of the high-resolution thermotransfer print head, so as to activate these heating elements even though in heating phases no dot to be printed at the border external to the barcode image. Additionally, those heating elements that do not lie in the two border regions of the heating element row are also activated for a limited time duration, the aforementioned time duration directly preceding the printing of a barcode image. A microprocessor calculates the energy values and is connected with a pixel energy memory for non-volatile buffering of the data that are transferred into a print data controller and are converted into a print pulse duration.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a simplified representation of a franking strip with a barcode.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a simplified thermotransfer print head.

FIG. 3 is a simplified flow chart for processing image data required for printing according to the prior art.

FIG. 4 shows a temperature curve and pulse/time diagram given printing of a dot.

FIG. 5 shows a simplified representation of the barcode data.

FIG. 6 shows a barcode image for explanation of the barcode data preparation using history control.

FIG. 7 shows a barcode image with external regions for explanation of a data preparation that is different for these regions, the external regions serving for pre-heating of heating elements (variant 1).

FIG. 8 is a section through a thermotransfer print head along a row of resistor heating elements.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for processing image data required for printing in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 10 is block diagram for controlling the printing of a franking machine with a print data controller for a thermotransfer print head.

FIG. 11 is a perspective representation of a commercially available franking machine (Optimail 30 of Francotyp-Postalia GmbH).

FIG. 12 shows a franking imprint according to the DPAG requirement FRANKIT.

FIG. 13 shows program routine with determination of the energy values for preheating and border heating of a thermotransfer print head.

FIG. 14 a shows barcode image with external regions for explanation of data preparation that is different for these regions, the external regions serving for the pre-heating of heating elements (variant 2).

FIG. 14 b shows a franking imprint according to the postal requirements for Australia.

FIG. 14 c is a program routine with determination of the energy values according to a further variant for preheating and boundary heating of a thermotransfer print head (variants 2 and 3).

FIG. 15 a is a pulse/time diagram for activation of a heating element of the thermotransfer print head, which heating element is activated in the leading region B.

FIG. 15 b is a pulse/time diagram for activation of a heating element of the thermotransfer print head, which heating element is situated in the boundary region N1.

FIG. 16 is a sub-routine with determination of the energy values according to the third variant for preheating of a thermotransfer print head.

FIG. 17 is a sub-routine with determination of the energy values according to the second and third variants for preheating of a thermotransfer print head and for pixel energy value calculation.

FIG. 18 shows a barcode image with external regions for explanation of a data preparation that is different for these regions, the external regions serving for the pre-heating of heating elements (variant 3).

FIG. 19 shows a franking imprint according to the postal requirement for Canada.

Claims

1. A method for printing an image with a thermotransfer print head, having a row of heating elements of a printing device having a controller equipped with a microprocessor and a pixel energy memory for data processing before printing and to initiate and to control a printing process, said method comprising calculating a first energy quantity at least with inclusion of machine parameters in a first determination step before printing, and in a first feed step supplying the first quantity to a first heating element of the thermotransfer print head to transfer ink from an ink ribbon associated with the thermotransfer print head onto a print medium surface, and calculating an energy value according to a first type, after which data of the print image are processed by the microprocessor in order to also activate heating elements in at least one of two border regions of a heating element row where no dots should be printed during the printing of the image; and additionally activating heating elements that do not lie in the two border regions of the heating element row for a limited time duration, said time duration immediately preceding printing of the image, and buffering energy values for each of the heating elements of the thermotransfer print head in a non-volatile manner in the pixel energy memory.

2. A method according to claim 1, comprising employing a different data preparation by the microprocessor for regions external to said image.

3. A method according to claim 1 comprising after the calculation of the first and second energy values, transferring data for respective pixel energy values via a bus into a print data controller and said print data controller in converting the data into a corresponding amount of binary pixel data with the same binary value, and in outputting each binary pixel data value to be supplied to a heating element to respective driver units of the thermotransfer print head in an associated phase of temporally successively running phases of a print pulse duration to convert the print data into print pulses of predetermined voltage level and with a duration that is separately adjustable for the heating elements.

4. A method according to the claim 3, comprising applying a voltage as said print pulse to the heating elements, and dividing the print pulse into phases of equal duration; and increasing base energy with each phase of the heating of a heating element or the energy supplied previously in the phases by one energy level, and also heating subsequent heating elements that are not used or are not immediately subsequently used for printing.

5. A method according to claim 4, comprising calculating the energy values for heating of the heating elements at an edge of the heating element row by the microprocessor, said energy values being associated with the pixels in at least one of the two border regions external to the image so that no dots are printed out by the heating elements at the border of the heating element row.

6. A method according to claim 5 comprising supplying energy up to two tenths of a maximum energy value to each heating element at the border of the heating element row of the thermotransfer print head while the image is printed.

7. A method according to claim 6 comprising, supplying said first and second energy values in to a predetermined energy value.

8. A method according to claim 6 comprising measuring a substrate temperature of the thermotransfer print head and comprising the measured substrate temperature to a threshold, and if the substrate temperature is below the threshold, increasing said predetermined energy value by one level is selected in the microprocessor.

9. A method according to claim 4 comprising supplying a predetermined first energy value heating elements used in a region external to said image before printing the image; said predetermined first energy value EH being insufficient to cause printing, but rather only causing a predetermined preheating of the respective heating elements in at least one of the preceding phases, and supplying a predetermined second energy value to each of heating elements in said region external to said image before printing the image that are not supplied with the predetermined first energy value, the predetermined second energy value being at least one energy level below the predetermined first energy value.

10. A method according to claim 4, comprising supplying a predetermined energy value EH to all heating elements of a heating element row which are used in a leading region before printing the image, said first energy value EH a heating pulse length that, does not cause printing but causes only a predetermined preheating of the heating element in at least one of the preceding phases, and supplying an energy of up to two tenths of a maximum energy value to all heating elements in the leading region and, in a boundary region, to at least one non-printing heating element at the boundary of the heating element row of the thermotransfer print head.

11. A method according to claim 10 comprising in a time span before printing the image when an image column of the leading region that is situated at a distance from the edge of the barcode image reaches a print location, preheating every non-printing heating element by supplying an energy of one tenth of the maximum energy value with a heating pulse during a time duration which has a duration of one phase of a printing pulse, and alternating the phase with another phase in which no energy is supplied to the non-printing heating element.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the distance from the edge of the image amounts to at least two image columns when an energy of one tenth of the maximum energy value is supplied to the heating element for preheating with the heat pulse during said time duration of one phase of a printing pulse.

13. A thermotransfer printing arrangement comprising thermotransfer print head comprising a row of heating elements, said row of the heating elements of the thermotransfer print head having a length that exceeds a length of a row of image elements at a border of an image which is printed last; said thermotransfer print head being arranged in a printing device and connected with a controller equipped with a microprocessor programmed to calculate energy values, before a printing process, for activating said heating elements said microprocessor calculating said energy values for heating elements at ends of the row of heating elements of the print head to activate said heating elements in warming phases when no dot to be printed at borders external to the image; and calculating an energy value to be supplied to the thermotransfer print head in different manners for printing of a dot.

14. An arrangement according to claim 13 wherein said microprocessor implements said energy value calculation according to a first calculation type and a second calculation type and by calculating an energy quantity to be supplied to each heating element of the thermotransfer print head dependent on machine parameters and dependent on different image segments of the image, and by evaluating history-related information and environment information about the activation of each heating element of the thermotransfer print head to modify the calculated energy quantity or for generation of an energy quantity for preheating of a heating element as well as to determine the energy values respectively associated with each heating element of the thermotransfer print head.

15. An arrangement according to claim 13 comprising a print head controller connected to said microprocessor and said print head, and a pixel energy memory that buffers the energy values in a non-volatile manner connected in terms of data and control with the thermotransfer print head via the print data controller.

16. An arrangement according to claim 15 wherein the print data controller is realized a field programmable module.

17. An arrangement according to claim 15 wherein the print data controller is realized an application specific integrated circuit.

18. An arrangement according to claim 14 wherein said print head comprises at least one heating element at a boundary of the heating element row, said at least one heating element being supplied with energy of up to two tenths of a maximum energy value as a result of an energy value calculation by said microprocessor according to a third type, said energy value calculation of the third type being implemented empirically or computationally by the microprocessor, and wherein said at least one heating element is immediately adjacent thereto which is used for printing of a 50% line at an upper boundary of the image.