The accompanying drawings illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts.
The illustrative embodiments of the present application describe multicolored thermal printing systems and supplies for simultaneously using a plurality of thermal printing technologies to achieve multicolored output. The illustrative embodiments described solve the problem of lack of color options for thermal printing by combining two thermal technologies. The systems combine thermal transfer technology, which melts a colored ribbon material onto a substrate using a thermal print head, with direct thermal printing technology, which applies heat from a thermal print head directly to a special substrate which gets marked when heat is applied. Since traditional thermal transfer printers use a single color thermal ribbon, the resulting image can only be a single color. The second technology, which is used in many popular label printers, is to use a thermal print head, without a ribbon, but rather with a special substrate which is sensitive to heat.
The illustrative systems combining the use of a thermal ribbon with a substrate sensitive to heat, so that both the color of the ribbon and the color of the substrate can be combined, resulting in more than one color. One of the advantages of the system is that with a single color ribbon and grayscale thermal media, more than a single color can be created. The illustrative embodiments utilize a grayscale to black multiple intensity direct thermal media with a single color thermal transfer ribbon (fluorescent red ribbon used in postage applications is described, but any color other than the media color, here black, should be acceptable). As can be appreciated, different combinations of colors may be utilized.
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Alternatively, a single heat thermal print head with a configurable temperature level could be used. Similarly, sheet fed or other known media transports may be utilized. Additionally, many appropriate controllers, memory and thermal element drivers are available or may be configured for the design to operate as described herein. The media may include a roll of media and alternatively can include a roll of adhesive backed thermal label stock.
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In this illustrative embodiment, there will be different temperatures at which certain events occur. For example at a first lowest relevant temperature TEMP0, the thermal ribbon wax ink will not transfer to the media and the direct thermal portion of the media will not be marked. The next relevant temperature is TEMP1. At temperature TEMP1, the thermal ribbon material will melt onto the substrate. Below temperature TEMP1, the ribbon material will not transfer to the substrate. Assuming a red ribbon, the resulting color would be Red at TEMP1. The next relevant temperature point described is referred to as TEMP2. This temperature, which is larger than TEMP1, will not only transfer the ribbon material to the substrate, but will also darken the substrate at a 50% gray level. The resulting color will be a combination of the ribbon material, and the 50% darkness of the thermal media. Assuming a red ribbon and media that turns grey when exposed to heat of temperature TEMP2, the resulting color would be a Medium Red. The final relevant temperature point described is referred to as TEMP3. This temperature, which is larger than both TEMP1 and TEMP2, will not only transfer the ribbon material to the substrate, but will also darken the substrate at a 100% level or black. The resulting color will be a combination of the ribbon material, and the 100% darkness of the thermal media. Assuming a red ribbon and media that turns black when exposed to the heat of temperature TEMP3, the resulting color would be a Dark Red.
The printed media 200 reflects the levels described above. The thermal media has a base of the substrate 230, a direct thermal marking layer 220 that is white and is marked in grayscale. The top layer represents deposited wax ink 210 from a thermal ribbon that is red in this case. In this example, the deposited wax ink is red, but the colors depicted reflect the colors as seen from the top of the media after the direct thermal layer is marked and after the wax ink layer is deposited. Accordingly, the section 210A represents no deposited ink over an unmarked direct media section 220A for a resulting color of the unmarked substrate or in this case white. Section 210B represents deposited ink over unmarked direct media section 220B creating a light red color in this case. Similarly, section 210C represents deposited ink over a 50% gray marked direct media section 220C creating a medium red color in this case. Finally, section 210D represents deposited ink over a 100% marked black direct media section 220D creating a dark red color in this case.
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The A MacBeth filter applied was a Green/Blue filter, the C filter applied was Visible and the E filter applied was Red Laser.
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While several embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Additions, deletions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. For example, other known colors, media, print heads and media transports may be substituted for those described above. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.