Abstract: A display marking tag for marking an item has an adhesive fastening strip for fastening the tag to the item to be marked, and a second strip, which can be adhered to the fastening strip, and which has a surface for being printed upon. On the side of the second strip disposed in contact with the fastening strip there can preferably be a semitransparent coating for decreasing the translucency of the second strip.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a thermal printer, with a thermal print head having a series of electrically drivable heating elements, with a microprocessor transferring data to be printed into a register associated with the thermal print head. In order to increase the printing speed, a buffer storage connected to the microprocessor via a parallel data line as well as a separate load state monitoring circuit are proposed, the monitoring circuit being connected to the buffer storage and causing data to be transferred from the buffer storage into the register when the data written into the buffer storage from the microprocessor has reached a defined quantity. As an alternative or addition, it is recommended to insert a pulse generator and a stepping motor driver between the output of the microprocessor and the stepping motor for driving the platen roll.

Abstract: A reusable ribbon cassette can be provided for a printer for printing on labels by using an ink transferred from the ribbon to the label material, wherein the ribbon cassette provides the ribbon for the printing. Such a re-usable cassette for a ribbon which is used up rapidly, in particular an ink ribbon in a thermal transfer printing process, has two parallel housing halves, one of which has vertically projecting pins onto which the other housing half can be pushed, and then maintained in position by friction. When the cassette is open, the tape, which is conventionally wound on a tape core, can be pushed onto the cores or core pairs of the cassette, and thereby become simultaneously non-rotationally connected to the cores. The connecting pins for the two housing halves advantageously simultaneously form deflector elements for the tape.

Abstract: A label printer for printing labels can typically have a pressure roller and a corresponding print head, which print head can have a support, a spring base plate, and a spring disposed between the support and the spring base plate to bias the print head into engagement with the pressure roller. The spring base plate can be rotationally mounted on a bearing shaft which is preferably parallel to the pressure roller, and the free end of the bearing shaft can be flattened over a portion of its length to form two parallel key surfaces for engaging with a locking element that adjusts the biasing force of the spring by engaging and positioning the spring base plate.

Abstract: To conserve relatively expensive printing ribbon, in particular a thermal transfer ribbon, when a portion of the medium which is not to be printed, e.g.

Abstract: A thermal printer is equipped with apparatus for allowing the thermal printer to be quickly and easily adapted to the type of paper currently being used without the need for testing and adjusting to obtain an essentially optimum print quality. The printer can also be equipped with a temperature sensor, attached to the thermal print head and connected to the computer control to essentially also produce printed images of uniformly high quality regardless of temperature fluctuations of the thermal print head. The necessary information for providing the adjustment values for producing the high quality print can be stored in a read/write memory connected to the processor.

Abstract: A connecting element for a printer housing has housing parts which are connected to one another by at least one connecting element, into which connecting element is integrated a locator device in the form of a T-slot for anchoring peripheral devices to the housing of the printer. Peripheral devices can be detachably connected to the locator device either directly or indirectly by means of an anchor plate.

Abstract: To be able to set up and operate a printer with a control panel in any position, the printer housing or similar structure of the printer contains a panel receptacle for holding a removable control panel, whereby the latter is connected to the control components of the printer by means of a cable, or at least a wireless infrared transmitter, and that the control panel is fixed at least in the direction of withdrawal in the panel receptacle by means of at least one magnet.

Abstract: A label for use as a price tag on products has a printable recording medium which can be attached by adhesive to a carrier foil. The adhesive attachment can be provided by means of a laminated material having an adhesive action. To create a label which, by means of its adhesive layer, properly adheres to the product to be labelled, and which, after removal from the product, leaves behind no adhesive residue, the laminated material can be made to have an intermediate layer coated on both sides with adhesive, and which intermediate layer is configured to exert a stronger adhesive force on adhesive than the products to be labelled will exert on the adhesive. Further, the adhesive deposited on the side of the intermediate layer facing the carrier foil preferably has a lower adhesive strength than the adhesive deposited on the side of the intermediate layer facing the recording medium.

Abstract: A printer having a spring-loaded print head which can be pressed against a counterpressure roller, wherein an active strand of a printing ribbon and a medium to be printed run between the print head and the counterpressure roller, can be configured such that the printing ribbon is unwound from a first spool and is wound up on a second spool, can preferably have a slip clutch disposed between the drive of the second spool and the second spool and/or between a drive and a drive roller in contact with the medium to be printed, and the slip clutch can be disposed in a wheel with a concentric shaft. Between the shaft and the wheel there can be at least one pair of axially spring-loaded friction discs.

Abstract: An electronic article surveillance system for detecting articles carrying or containing magnetically responsive markers is disclosed, which system comprises a transmitting antenna in the form of a large loop of current-carrying material through which the articles are passed, and one or more receiving antenna units, which detect the electromagnetic response of the markers to an interrogating electromagnetic field generated by the transmitting antenna.

Abstract: A method of modifying the magnetic properties of a thin film of a magnetically active material is provided which comprises forming surface modulations on the material in order to partition it into regions which display at least some degree of mutual magnetic independence. The resulting modified thin film may be used as a marker or tag in an anti-pilferage or article location system. The surface modulations formed on the material in the anti-pilferage or article location marker serve to enhance the response of the marker when used in an anti-pilferage or article location system.

Abstract: A continuous strip of tickets formed from a flexible material is disclosed including a plurality of ticket sections of a predetermined length interconnected with one another with the plurality of ticket sections being separated from one another by separation lines. The separation lines extending in a feed direction of the continuous strip from respective edges of the strip towards a center line thereof with first ends of the separation lines being spaced from the respective edges of the strip and second ends of the separation lines being spaced a predetermined spacing from one another with the second ends being forward of the first ends in the feed direction of the strip-and extending substantially transverse to the feed direction of the continuous strip.

Abstract: An electronic article surveillance system is provided having a transmitter for generating two alternating magnetic fields by way of a single transmitter coil fed with a transmitter signal current, and a receiver that detects harmonics and intermodulation products of the alternating magnetic fields by way of a receiver coil that generates a receiver signal current. The receiver comprises a wide-bandwidth phase detector locked on to a frequency p.f.sub.2 .+-.q.f.sub.1, where p and q are positive integers, one of which may be zero, and a digital signal processor adapted to carry out a full time-domain analysis of the waveform of the receiver signal current, and wherein the transmitter signal current corresponds to the linear super position of two alternative currents with a relatively low frequency f.sub.1 and high frequency f.sub.2 respectively.

Abstract: An apparatus for printing labels can have a printing area, a deflector area designed as a shaft or an edge located behind the printing area in the transport direction of the labels, around which deflector the carrier strip can be guided, and where the labels, on account of their stiffness, can be detached from the carrier strip, while the adhesive glue remains on the underside of the label. In addition, the printing apparatus can also have a supporting apparatus with a contact area near the output opening for the labels, against which supporting area the labels, output via the output opening, come into contact with their underside. The contact area of the support apparatus can preferably be formed by the exposed surfaces of balls mounted so that they can rotate in at least one retaining strip, so that during the label output, the labels preferably do not stick to the support apparatus, as such sticking would significantly interfere with the output of the labels.

Abstract: A tag or marker is disclosed which comprises a substrate; an `active` magnetic material which is a soft magnetic material having a high magnetic permeability and a low coercive force; and a deactivating material which is a hard or semi-hard magnetic material having a moderate or high coercive force and a moderate magnetic permeability, whereby the deactivating material, when subjected to a sufficiently high magnetising force, is able to clamp the magnetic properties of the `active` material so as to deactivate the `active` material. The tag or marker is characterised in that the deactivating material is formed by an electrodeposition process, and in that the deactivating layer is nickel.

Abstract: This invention relates to a marking strip for identifying airline luggage with a main part and a control section adjacent to it in the longitudinal direction, separated by a parting cut, whereby the control section and an adjacent area of the main part have an adhesive coating on the reverse side which is covered by a silicone-coated backing strip, which is firmly connected to the main part and is interrupted at some distance from the parting cut of the label strip at a parting line. The backing strip is thereby glued in one step directly during joining to the marking strip to a strongly adhesive area formed on the backing strip. There is no need for an additional coating to fasten the backing strip.

Abstract: An electronic article surveillance system is provided that comprises a core-wound drive coil which produces an AC magnetic interrogation field, and a detection coil provided on one side with at least one element of a screening material, which detection coil detects an AC magnetic response field generated by a magnetically active tag or marker which is subjected to the interrogation field when the tag or marker comes in proximity with the detection coil. The screening material may take the form of an open-ended electrically conductive box having an insulating gap along its length, or a laminate consisting of a plurality of metal foils interleaved with an electrically insulating material. The invention provides well-defined flux control for the detection coil which preventsinterference from unwanted external magnetic fields.

Abstract: A portable printer is disclosed in which the printer comprises a housing; a printing unit; means for supplying to said printing unit a substrate onto which indicia are to be printed; and means for inputting data to control the nature of the indicia printed at said printing unit, characterized in that said housing includes a main frame which serves to support the functional components of the printer; and a protective housing which fits over said frame.