Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of recording image information and additional information added separately from the image information to a photographic printing medium is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes: image information acquisition means for acquiring the image information, additional information acquisition means for acquiring the additional information, and recording means for recording the image information acquired by the image information acquisition means and the additional information acquired by the additional information acquisition means to the photographic printing medium, wherein the recording means can record the additional information by applying a transparent material that absorbs light of a specific wavelength to the area that does not absorb the light on a recording surface of the photographic printing medium.

Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided which uses, as a print head, a thermal head having heating elements arrayed in a line perpendicular to the traveling direction of a printing medium. Correspondingly pixel data, at either end, or near the end, of each line of image data going to be printed, data on heat storage in the thermal head (108) is calculated for each line on the basis of data on heat storage in the print head for a preceding line, and the data on heat storage in the print head for each line is compared with predetermined-temperature data. When any of the stored-heat data is larger than the predetermined-temperature data, energy to the heating element (113) is decreased. The image data is printed on the printing medium (104) with the energy for application to the heating element (113) being kept decreased.

Abstract: A printing apparatus includes an image transfer unit thermally transferring a plurality of color materials onto a recording medium to superimpose images in respective color materials, a medium conveyance unit conveying the recording medium through the image transfer unit using a stepper motor, a synchronism loss detection sensor detecting a loss of synchronism with the stepper motor, a reference position detection sensor detecting that the recording medium is located at a predetermined reference position, and a conveyance control unit making the medium conveyance unit repeat a forward conveyance and a reverse conveyance of the recording medium and, if the loss of synchronism is detected in the repeating process, making the image transfer unit resume the color printing on the recording medium through positioning the recording medium to the reference position and conveying the recording medium from the reference position to the transfer start position.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium, and method of manufacturing the same, is provided with excellent recording performance by employing a granular magnetic layer having a specified composition. A magnetic recording medium according to the present invention comprises a nonmagnetic underlayer, a granular magnetic layer, a protective film, and a liquid lubrication layer sequentially laminated on a nonmagnetic substrate. The granular magnetic layer consists of ferromagnetic crystal grains containing cobalt and nonmagnetic grain boundary region surrounding the ferromagnetic crystal grains. The ferromagnetic crystal grains contain platinum in the range of 15 at % to 17 at %.

Abstract: A method of producing a perpendicular magnetic recording medium with a magnetic recording layer formed from ferromagnetic crystal grains and oxide-including non-magnetic crystal grain boundaries and provided on a non-magnetic substrate. The method is initiated by forming the magnetic recording layer by a reactive sputtering method using rare gas containing 2% by volume to 10% by volume (both inclusively) of oxygen gas at an initial stage of film formation. The method continues by successively forming the magnetic recording layer by reactive sputtering while reducing the concentration of the oxygen gas. The method may further include forming an undercoat layer of Ru or a Ru-alloy under the magnetic recording layer. In this manner, a granular magnetic layer having high characteristic coercive force (Hc) can be formed, while reducing the amount of expensive Pt or Ru required.

Abstract: A printing apparatus includes an image transfer unit thermally transferring a plurality of color materials onto a recording medium to superimpose images in respective color materials, a medium conveyance unit conveying the recording medium through the image transfer unit using a stepper motor, a synchronism loss detection sensor detecting a loss of synchronism with the stepper motor, a reference position detection sensor detecting that the recording medium is located at a predetermined reference position, and a conveyance control unit making the medium conveyance unit repeat a forward conveyance and a reverse conveyance of the recording medium and, if the loss of synchronism is detected in the repeating process, making the image transfer unit resume the color printing on the recording medium through positioning the recording medium to the reference position and conveying the recording medium from the reference position to the transfer start position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of recording image information and additional information added separately from the image information to a photographic printing medium is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes: image information acquisition means for acquiring the image information, additional information acquisition means for acquiring the additional information, and recording means for recording the image information acquired by the image information acquisition means and the additional information acquired by the additional information acquisition means to the photographic printing medium, wherein the recording means can record the additional information by laminating a first transparent material that absorbs light of a specific wavelength and a second transparent material that does not absorb the light on a recording surface of the photographic printing medium.

Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided which uses, as a print head, a thermal head having heating elements arrayed in a line perpendicular to the traveling direction of a printing medium. Correspondingly pixel data, at either end, or near the end, of each line of image data going to be printed, data on heat storage in the thermal head (108) is calculated for each line on the basis of data on heat storage in the print head for a preceding line, and the data on heat storage in the print head for each line is compared with predetermined-temperature data. When any of the stored-heat data is larger than the predetermined-temperature data, energy to the heating element (113) is decreased. The image data is printed on the printing medium (104) with the energy for application to the heating element (113) being kept decreased.

Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided which uses, as a print head, a thermal head having heating elements arrayed in a line perpendicular to the traveling direction of a printing medium. Correspondingly pixel data, at either end, or near the end, of each line of image data going to be printed, data on heat storage in the thermal head (108) is calculated for each line on the basis of data on heat storage in the print head for a preceding line, and the data on heat storage in the print head for each line is compared with predetermined-temperature data. When any of the stored-heat data is larger than the predetermined-temperature data, energy to the heating element (113) is decreased. The image data is printed on the printing medium (104) with the energy for application to the heating element (113) being kept decreased.

Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided which uses, as a print head, a thermal head having heating elements arrayed in a line perpendicular to the traveling direction of a printing medium. Correspondingly pixel data, at either end, or near the end, of each line of image data going to be printed, data on heat storage in the thermal head (108) is calculated for each line on the basis of data on heat storage in the print head for a preceding line, and the data on heat storage in the print head for each line is compared with predetermined-temperature data. When any of the stored-heat data is larger than the predetermined-temperature data, energy to the heating element (113) is decreased. The image data is printed on the printing medium (104) with the energy for application to the heating element (113) being kept decreased.

Abstract: A thermal head printer includes a platen, a thermal head having a heating element, a heating-value arithmetic unit, a heating-value comparator, an excess-value counter, and a heating-value controller. The thermal head printer performs a printing operation by conveying a recording medium between the platen and the thermal head and heating the heating element on the basis of image data to be printed. The heating-value arithmetic unit calculates heating values for the heating element corresponding to the image data. The heating-value comparator compares each calculated heating value with a reference heating value of the heating element. The excess-value counter counts the number of calculated heating values that exceed the reference heating value so as to determine an excess-value number. The heating-value controller limits the heating values of the heating element if the excess-value number exceeds a reference number.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium exhibiting low noise and having a sufficiently high coercive force includes a magnetic layer having a granular structure including ferromagnetic crystal grains with a hexagonal closed packed structure and a nonmagnetic grain boundary region of mainly an oxide intervening between the crystal grains. An underlayer has a body-centered cubic lattice structure. A nonmagnetic intermediate layer with the hexagonal closest packed structure includes Ru, Os, and/or Re, which are provided between the magnetic layer and the underlayer. A degree of mismatching ?=|d1?d2|/d1 is at most 10%, for instance, in a range from 2.5% to 7.0%, where d1 is a spacing of lattice planes of the crystal grains in the magnetic layer and d2 is a spacing of the lattice planes of the crystal grains in the intermediate layer.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of recording image information and additional information added separately from the image information to a photographic printing medium is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes: image information acquisition means for acquiring the image information, additional information acquisition means for acquiring the additional information, and recording means for recording the image information acquired by the image information acquisition means and the additional information acquired by the additional information acquisition means to the photographic printing medium, wherein the recording means can record the additional information by laminating a first transparent material that absorbs light of a specific wavelength and a second transparent material that does not absorb the light on a recording surface of the photographic printing medium.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of recording image information and additional information added separately from the image information to a photographic printing medium is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes: image information acquisition means for acquiring the image information, additional information acquisition means for acquiring the additional information, and recording means for recording the image information acquired by the image information acquisition means and the additional information acquired by the additional information acquisition means to the photographic printing medium, wherein the recording means can record the additional information by applying a transparent material that absorbs light of a specific wavelength to the area that does not absorb the light on a recording surface of the photographic printing medium.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium has a non-magnetic under-layer, a magnetic layer, a protective film and a liquid lubricant layer sequentially laminated on a non-magnetic substrate. The magnetic layer has a multi-layer structure laminated with two or more magnetic layer components, each of the magnetic layer components having ferromagnetic grains and non-magnetic grain boundaries surrounding the grain. The resulting magnetic recording medium has a granular magnetic layer exhibiting very high Hc accompanying high density of magnetic recording, while decreasing the amount of platinum needed for attaining the high Hc, and reducing media noise accompanying the high recording density.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium for perpendicular magnetic recording system includes a nonmagnetic substrate and layers sequentially laminated on the substrate. The layers include a seed layer comprised of a metal or an alloy with a face centered cubic crystal structure, a nonmagnetic underlayer of a metal or an alloy with a hexagonal closest packed crystal structure, a magnetic layer having a granular structure including ferromagnetic crystalline grains with a hexagonal closest packed structure and nonmagnetic grain boundary region of mainly oxide surrounding the crystalline grains, a protective layer, and a liquid lubricant layer.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium for perpendicular magnetic recording system includes a nonmagnetic substrate and layers sequentially laminated on the substrate. The layers include a seed layer comprised of a metal or an alloy with a face centered cubic crystal structure, a nonmagnetic underlayer of a metal or an alloy with a hexagonal closest packed crystal structure, a magnetic layer having a granular structure including ferromagnetic crystalline grains with a hexagonal closest packed structure and nonmagnetic grain boundary region of mainly oxide surrounding the crystalline grains, a protective layer, and a liquid lubricant layer.

Abstract: A nonmagnetic foundation layer is made to have a body-centered cubic crystal structure with a preferred crystal orientation plane being the bcc (110) plane. A nonmagnetic intermediate layer, provided between the foundation layer and a granular magnetic layer, has a hexagonal close-packed structure with the hcp (100) plane or the hcp (200) plane being the preferred orientation plane. Furthermore, the crystal lattice misfit amount between the nonmagnetic intermediate layer 3 and the granular magnetic layer is made to be not more than 10% for each of an a-axis and a c-axis. As a result, epitaxial growth of ferromagnetic crystals in the granular magnetic layer, which has an hcp structure, is promoted, and hence the crystallinity of the magnetic layer is increased, and thus it becomes possible to simultaneously realize an increase in coercivity and a reduction in noise. Depositing the layers on an unheated substrate yields reduces manufacturing costs.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium facilitates preventing a film inflation from occurring in an environmental condition range between ?40° C. and 80° C. and an 80% relative humidity. The magnetic recording medium includes a plastic substrate and an undercoating layer on the plastic substrate. The undercoating layer is provided with a columnar structure, which prevents water (moisture) between the plastic substrate and the undercoating layer from aggregating and, therefore, the film inflation from occurring.

Abstract: A thermal head printer includes a platen, a thermal head having a heating element, a heating-value arithmetic unit, a heating-value comparator, an excess-value counter, and a heating-value controller. The thermal head printer performs a printing operation by conveying a recording medium between the platen and the thermal head and heating the heating element on the basis of image data to be printed. The heating-value arithmetic unit calculates heating values for the heating element corresponding to the image data. The heating-value comparator compares each calculated heating value with a reference heating value of the heating element. The excess-value counter counts the number of calculated heating values that exceed the reference heating value so as to determine an excess-value number. The heating-value controller limits the heating values of the heating element if the excess-value number exceeds a reference number.