Abstract: A printer includes a device for placing the leading edge of a paper sheet at an initial printing position, and a lifting device for raising and lowering a printing head so that the printing head compresses the leading edge of the paper sheet, thereby printing without margins on the paper sheet.

Abstract: A thermal transfer color printer (100) utilizes a single print head (102) positioned outside a carousel (104) of monochrome ink ribbons (106) each stretched between a pair of spaced-apart spools (108, 110) mounted around the periphery of the carousel. A spool spacing (112) provides sufficient clearance for the thermal print head to be positioned between to spools to contact the ribbon. A media drum (116) is positioned coaxially within the carousel. The carousel has a media opening (122) through which a print medium (118) enters and exits a medium clamp (144) attached to the media drum. To print a particular color, the carousel is rotated such that the media opening is adjacent to a media supply, and a print medium is guided from the media supply into the medium clamp. The media drum is rotated to close the medium clamp and position a leading edge (138) of the print medium adjacent to the print head.

Abstract: A thermal transfer printer which has a drum around which paper is conveyed and a thermal transfer head for heat-pressing an ink ribbon on a paper sheet to print pictures and characters. The printer includes a roller movably installed and spaced from the drum by a predetermined distance, a belt circumscribing the drum and roller for conveying the paper sheet, clamps installed on either side of the belt for clamping the end of the paper sheet to the belt and having flanges with through holes on one end of the clamps, and a clamping release mechanism for releasing the clamping action of the clamps. In the method, the paper sheet is conveyed in a first direction and at a first speed for successively printing different colors and conveyed in a second opposite direction at a second speed faster than the first speed to prepare for printing of the next color. As a result, printing time is minimized.

Abstract: A medical image forming method including, the steps of superposing a three-primary-color thermal transfer sheet and an image receiving sheet, the thermal transfer sheet having a base film and three color dye layers of yellow, magenta, and cyan, each of the dye layer; being composed of a dye and a binder, the image receiving sheet having a dye accepting layer heating the rear surface of the thermal transfer sheet with a heating device in an image shape; and driving and controlling the heating device with a control unit so as to form a full color image on the image receiving sheet. The control unit is adapted to compensate tones of the image so that chromaticity values thereof formed on the image receiving sheet are in a region defined by four points of (a*=0, b*=0), (a*=20, b*=-5), (a*=18, b*=15), and (a*=0, b*=15) when an achromatic color signal is input and L*=80.

Abstract: A video printer for printing a plurality of kinds of images having different image formats, consisting of an image memory for storing image data of one image portion of an input image signal, an image data processing unit for converting image data from the image memory into image printing data, an image printing unit for executing an image printing based on image printing data from the image data processing unit, an input image format decision unit for deciding an image format of an image signal inputted to the image memory, an image format decision unit for deciding an image printing format determined by either an image printing sheet or an ink sheet set to the image printer, an operating portion for inputting an instruction of an operator, and a system controller for controlling the image memory or the image data processing unit so that the image signal inputted to the image memory is printed to match the image printing format, based on an input signal decision signal from the input image format decision un