Patent Application
20080175643
This disclosure relates to a method and consumer product for printing decorative ribbon. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for printing ribbon decorations.
While the disclosure is particularly directed towards margined or margin-less printing of decorative ribbons and will thus be described with specific reference thereto, it will be appreciated that the disclosure may have usefulness in other fields and applications. For example, this disclosure may be used with various types of printing and designing.
By way of background, there are many products on the market with generic decorative design. A consumer may walk into almost any gift store and purchase items that display commonly used messages, such as “Happy Birthday” or “Happy Anniversary”. With the aid of computers, many consumers have learned to design their own decorative paper based products. Many of these products display a user-designed, personalized greeting. These products include party invitations, name cards, post cards, business cards, etc.
One common limitation of this style of printing is that printer limitations will not allow a design to encompass the whole width array of the paper. Because of printer limitations, printing can only take place up to the margins of the paper. This leaves a space on the decorative paper where no ink can be printed.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a consumer oriented margin-less printing method and apparatus. Furthermore, there is a need in the industry for a substrate that will enable such consumer margin-less printing. The present disclosure contemplates a new method and apparatus that resolves the above referenced difficulties and others.
The method and apparatus for a ribbon printer assembly is provided. This disclosure will allow for a margin-less printing system for ribbons and other decorative stationery products appropriate for consumer use.
In one aspect of the disclosure, the apparatus includes a ribbon printer assembly comprising a printer media having a first and second side. The first side includes a printable portion and the second side includes a bonding agent. The assembly also includes a backing proportionally wider than the printer media. The backing is adapted to temporarily affix to the adhesive on the printer media. The assembly also includes a printer engine which is configured to print along the entire width of the printer media and a supply mechanism which is configured to secure the backing and supply the printer engine with the backing and printer media.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the assembly includes an outer shell encapsulating the printer engine.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the backing is a paper based material coated with a parting agent.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the assembly includes a software program configured to interact with a user interface allowing a user to create designs which may be printed on the printer media.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the printing engine is configured to print in color.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the printing engine is configured to print in negative space on the printer media.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the assembly includes a printing engine that is configured to print on the printable portion of the printer media with or without leaving a margin, thereby overlapping ink onto the backing.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the assembly includes an ink cartridge which is configured to supply the print engine with ink for printing.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the assembly may receive printing commands from an associated computer via a universal serial bus (USB) port, Bluetooth, Firewire, Ethernet connection, etc.
In another aspect of the disclosure, the system includes a printing substrate for printing a continuous design on a ribbon which comprises a ribbon having a first side and a second side. The first side is a printing face. The printing substrate also includes a backing with a width proportionally wider than the ribbon and an adhesive joining the second side of the ribbon to the backing.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, the printing substrate includes an adhesive that remains on the ribbon when separated from the backing, enabling the ribbon to adhere to an associated surface after the ribbon is separated from the backing.
In another aspect of the disclosure, the method includes a method for margin or margin-less printing on a printable ribbon which comprises supplying a print engine with a printable substrate. The printable substrate comprises a ribbon, a backing, and an adhesive binding for the ribbon and the backing, where the lateral edges of the backing are spaced further apart than the lateral edges of the ribbon. The method also includes printing on the substrate via a print engine where the design is printed overlapping the lateral edges of the ribbon allowing for ink to printed on the backing.
In another aspect of the disclosure, the method includes supplying the print engine via a spooling mechanism which is configured to center the ribbon for printing.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method includes the design being printed in the negative space of the ribbon.
In yet another aspect of the disclosure, the method includes using compatible software in order to create said design.
In another aspect of the disclosure, the method includes the design being communicated to the print engine via USB, Bluetooth, Firewire, or any other known connection means.
The presently described embodiments exist in the construction, arrangement and combination of various parts of the device and steps of the method whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showing are for purposes of illustrating the disclosed embodiments only and not for purposes of limiting the same.
In operation, as described in greater detail below, the presently described embodiments include a method and apparatus for margin-less printing. The present disclosure allows for printing on a ribbon assembly without a margin, thereby enabling a printer to print on the entire printable portion of a decorative ribbon. This assembly also allows for the printer to print on the entire decorative portion without spilling ink onto the printer assembly itself.
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The outer shell 20 encloses a printing engine 14 which is supplied ink by an ink cartridge 16. As shown, the printing substrate 12 may travel into the outer shell 20 through the printing engine 14 and then out of the outer shell 20 onto a storage tray 22 which is located outside of the outer shell 20.
In this embodiment, the print engine 14 and ink cartridge 16 are located inside of the outer shell 20. The ink cartridge 16 is located adjacent to the print engine 14. In this embodiment, the USB port 18 is located on the bottom portion of the outer shell. It should be appreciated however, that the USB port may be located anywhere on the printer assembly.
The spooling mechanism 10 is used in order to store the printing substrate 12 in a method which will allow for a continuous feed to the printer engine 14. Generally, the printing substrate will be wound about the spooling mechanism 10 at the spooling mechanism's core in several turns. The outermost end of the printing substrate 12 is available for feeding into the print engine 14. In this sense, the printing substrate 12 will unravel as it is pulled through the printing assembly turning the spooling mechanism 10. This allows for easy supply and storage of the printing substrate 12.
As the printing substrate 12 enters the outer shell 20, the printer engine 14 prints the desired design onto the substrate 12. The ink cartridge 16 supplies the printer engine 14 with ink. The ink cartridge 16 is generally situated near the printer engine 14 in order for easy access to the ink. The ink cartridge 16 may be a color ink cartridge which will allow for color ink to be used on the printing substrate 12.
The design that the printer engine 14 prints on the printing substrate 12 may be communicated via a computer (not shown). The computer may incorporate software which will communicate the user's design to the print engine 14. This communication may be made through a digital input. The digital input may include a Compact Disk (CD), a Secure Digital (SD) card, etc. In the exemplary embodiment a communication is established through a USB connection via the USB port 18. However a connection may also be established through Bluetooth, Firewire, or one of many other ways to establish a connection known in the art.
As the printing substrate 12 leaves the outer shell 20, it may be collected by a tray 22. The tray 22 may store the printing substrate 12 after it has its design incorporated onto it.
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As shown, it is not necessary for the ribbon 24 to be centered on the backing 28. This will allow for the ribbon 24 to have edges 34, 36 that may not be equally spaced from the backing's edges 38, 40. The spooling mechanism (
The ribbon 24 may be separated from the backing, by simply peeling the ribbon 24 from the backing 28. This can be facilitated by a parting agent coating on the backing 28, from which the adhesive can be easily removed. This will allow for embodiments where the adhesive that binds the ribbon 24 to the backing 28 to remain on the ribbon 24. In this sense, the ribbon 24 maintains the adhesive and may be bound to another associated surface via the adhesive.
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The ribbon 24 may be constructed from many types of different materials including, but not limited to, acetate, polyester, cotton blends, mixtures, etc. The backing 22 may also be made from a variety of different materials, including paper.
The above description merely provides a disclosure of particular embodiments and is not intended for the purpose of limiting the same thereto. As such, the disclosure is not limited to only the above described embodiments. Rather, it is recognized that one skilled in the art could conceive alternate embodiments that fall within the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60885453 | Jan 2007 | US |
