TAPE PRINTING DEVICE AND CASSETTE WITH TAPE Russian patent published in 2008 - IPC B41J3/407 

FIELD: polygraphy.

SUBSTANCE: label printer designed for printing onto the tape with a direct thermo graphical multi-colour image formation incorporates a good few heat-activated dyes and, at least, one developing agent for production of multi-colour image on the said tape with a direct thermo graphical multi-colour image formation on heating the said tape. The printer has, at least, one printing head with a set of printing elements, an interface to select, at least, one background colour and, at least, one text colour and a control device to operate the said set of printing elements heating the said tape to effect a selective activation of dyes to select required colours. The printer uses a tape roll, the tape having an upper layer forming the image and selectively activated to get a colour by heating the said tape to temperature T1 during time interval t1, and a lower layer forming the image and selectively activated to get a colour by heating the said tape at temperature T2 during time interval t2 during which T1>T2 and t1<t2. This allows a separate activation of the said upper or lower layers. The tape has an additional protective layer. The tape cassette incorporates a casing containing the said tape. The tape printer incorporates a tape roll compartment, the printing head, the driving mechanism and control unit including a memory storing, at least, one of the following parameters, i.e. temperature, heating time interval and colour data retrieved in selecting the values of temperature and heating intervals for every printing element in compliance with the data input into the printer. The label printing method uses a tape drive moving the said tape along the thermo graphical printing head and printing head control that allows obtaining a multi-colour image on the tape in a direct one-pass thermo graphical transfer. There is a version of the tape printer combined with a tape reserve.

EFFECT: one-colour continuously-variable optical density image printing or multi-colour images printing using thermo graphical printing.

41 cl, 33 dwg