Claims
- 1. An article of manufacture adapted for use with printing apparatus of the type which includes means for thermally transferring ink from a ribbon to a mail piece, the article comprising:
- (a) a frame defining first and second printing stations, said first printing station having a first thermal printhead and said second printing station having a second thermal printhead;
- (b) a ribbon including a backing layer and an ink donor layer;
- (c) a ribbon supply spool rotatably mounted on said frame, said ribbon would on said supply spool and having a leader end extending therefrom;
- (d) a ribbon take-up spool rotatably mounted on said frame, said leader end of said ribbon connected to said take-up spool; and
- (e) means for guiding said ribbon in a feed path extending from said supply spool through said first and second printing stations and again through said first printing station to said take-up spool such that said ink donor layer and said backing layer face each other at said first printing station, whereby some but not all ink from said ink donor layer may be thermally transferred to said backing layer at said first printing station, and such that substantially all of the ink remaining in the ink donor layer after exiting said first printing station may be thermally transferred to said mailpiece at said second printing station.
- 2. The article according to claim 1, wherein said ribbon guiding means includes a ribbon backing roller rotatably mounted on said frame at said first printing station.
- 3. The article according to claim 1, wherein the feed path has a first leg extending from said supply spool through said first printing station to said second printing station, a second leg extending through said second printing station to said first printing station, and a third leg extending through said first printing station to said take-up spool.
- 4. The article according to claim 1,
- wherein said frame includes a hollow enclosure; and
- wherein said ribbon supply and take-up spools, respectively, are mounted on said frame within said enclosure.
- 5. The article according to claim 1, wherein said ink donor layer includes a heat fusible ink impregnated material, and said backing layer includes a strip of smooth plastic film.
- 6. The article according to claim 2, wherein said first thermal printhead is provided adjacent to said ribbon backing roller for engaging said backing layer of said ribbon at said first printing station.
- 7. The article according to claim 3, wherein said first thermal printhead is located for engaging said ribbon in the first leg of the feed path at said first printing station.
- 8. The article according to claim 3, wherein said second thermal printhead is located for engaging said ribbon in the second leg of the feed path at said second printing station.
- 9. The article according to claim 3, wherein said ribbon guiding means includes a ribbon backing roller for engaging said ribbon in the third leg of the feed path at said first printing station.
- 10. The article according to claim 7, wherein said ribbon guiding means includes a ribbon backing roller for engaging said ribbon in the third leg of the feed path at said first printing station, whereby ink from said ribbon in the first leg of the feed path at said first printing station may be transferred to said ribbon in the third leg of the feed path at said first printing station.
- 11. The article according to claim 10, wherein said second thermal printhead is located for engaging said ribbon in the second leg of the feed path at said second printing station.
- 12. The article according to claim 5, wherein said ink inpregnated material is fluorescence pigmented.
- 13. Printing apparatus for mailpieces comprising: (a) first and second spaced stations having, respectively, first and second thermal printheads, (b) means for passing a mailpiece through the second station for printing postage indicia thereon, (c) a transfer medium comprising a continuous plastic tape having a layer of heat transferable ink on its front side, (d) supply and takeup means for the transfer tape, (e) means for guiding the transfer tape from the supply means through the first station in a first pass such that the tape back side during the first pass faces the first printhead, thence through the second station such that the tape back side faces the second printhead and the tape front side faces the mailpiece, thence back through the first station in a second pass such that the tape back side during the second pass faces the tape front side during the first pass, thence to the takeup means, (f) means for applying a negative imaging signal to the first printhead to cause substantially all of the non-image ink portions on the tape during its first pass to be transferred to the back side of the tape during its second pass leaving on the tape front side as it approaches the second station substantially only an ink image, and (g) means for applying to the second printhead non-imaging electrical power to cause the second printhead to raise the temperature of the entire tape portion as it passes through the second station to a temperature sufficiently high to cause all of the ink image remaining on the tape to be transferred to the mailpiece.
- 14. Printing apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first printhead is a low power printhead, and the second printhead is a large area printhead.
- 15. Printing apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein means for provided at each printhead such that the pressure applied by the second printhead against the tape and against the mailpiece is greater than that applied by the first printhead.
- 16. Printing apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the applying means at each head are such that the amount of heat provided at the first printhead is smaller than that applied at the second printhead.
- 17. Printing apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second printhead is maintained continuously at least at an elevated temperature below the temperature required to transfer ink from the tape when in contact therewith.
- 18. Printing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein the plastic tape has a smooth back side.
- 19. Printing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein element (g) is such that all of the ink remaining on the tape as it passes through the second station is transferred to the mailpiece.
- 20. A cartridge comprising:
- a housing, first and second thermal printheads, a supply roll, a back-up roller, and a take-up roll all rotatably mounted to the housing;
- wherein the back-up roller and the first thermal printhead face each other and define therebetween a first printing station, and the second thermal printhead defines one side of a second printing station; and
- a ribbon wound on said supply roller and having an inked side and a back side, and paid out from the supply roll, then passing in a first run through the first station, with the back side of the ribbon facing the first printhead, then through the second station, with the back side of the ribbon facing the second printhead and the inked side facing a surface to be printed, then in a second run through the first station, between the back-up roller and the first run of the ribbon through the first station, and then to the take-up roll;
- wherein the non-image portions of a desired image can be transferred from the first run to the second run of the ribbon at the first station and the remaining image portions can be transferred by the second printhead from the ribbon to the surface at the second station.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 000,585, filed Jan. 6, 1987 U.S. Pat. No 4,777,831.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
62-62778 |
Mar 1987 |
JPX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
585 |
Jan 1987 |
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