The present invention embraces printers such as hand-held printers and mobile/portable printer. One exemplary embodiment includes “print as you glide” (PAYG) devices. Such printers may comprise a modular print engine that is removable from the printer and may allow a user to easily access and load the ribbon in the mobile print engine. The modular print engine may comprise a modular print head and an encoder that may determine the movement of the print head relative to a stationary media. When a printer is pressed against the media, the print head's burn line may be resting on the media. When the printer is stationary relative to the media, the encoder may not trigger the printing. Once PAYG is being slid or glided across the media, the encoder may start to rotate and then send a signal to a processor, causing the printer to start printing.

A printer includes, a printing portion configured to print on a print medium, a ribbon roll up shaft configured to roll up an ink ribbon used in the printing portion, a ribbon supply shaft provided movably between a first position and a second position with respect to the ribbon roll up shaft, the ribbon supply shaft configured to hold the ink ribbon to be supplied to the printing portion, and a ribbon supply shaft lock mechanism to be brought into a lock state where rotation of the ribbon supply shaft is regulated when the ribbon supply shaft is placed at the first position, and into a non-lock state where the rotation of the ribbon supply shaft is permitted when the ribbon supply shaft is placed at the second position.

A cartridge reduces a movement amount of a center of gravity of a cartridge accompanied by the progress of the winding of an ink ribbon. The cartridge to be installed in a tape printing device includes a platen roller, a paying-out core on which an ink ribbon is wound, and a winding core that winds up the ink ribbon paid out from the paying-out core. When seen from a rotational axis direction parallel to a rotational axis of the paying-out core and a rotational axis of the winding core, the paying-out core and the winding core are arranged to at least partially overlap an imaginary line that passes through a center of the platen roller and extends in a longitudinal direction of the cartridge.

A cartridge reduces a movement amount of a center of gravity of a cartridge accompanied by the progress of the winding of an ink ribbon. The cartridge to be installed in a tape printing device includes a platen roller, a paying-out core on which an ink ribbon is wound, and a winding core that winds up the ink ribbon paid out from the paying-out core. When seen from a rotational axis direction parallel to a rotational axis of the paying-out core and a rotational axis of the winding core, the paying-out core and the winding core are arranged to at least partially overlap an imaginary line that passes through a center of the platen roller and extends in a longitudinal direction of the cartridge.

A tape cassette includes a box-like housing, a tape mounted within the housing, a hole and a first indicator portion. The housing includes a top wall having a top surface, a bottom wall having a bottom surface and opposing the top wall, and a front wall having a specified height and being formed along peripheries of the top wall and the bottom wall. The hole is provided in the front wall. The first indicator portion includes at least one first aperture and indicates a first element among a plurality of elements of a type of the tape. The first indicator portion is provided in a portion, spaced from the front wall, of the bottom wall. The hole and the one first aperture is located to intersect a virtual line orthogonal to the front wall when viewing along a vertical direction orthogonal to the top wall and the bottom wall.

A tape cassette includes a box-like housing, a tape mounted within the housing, a hole and a first indicator portion. The housing includes a top wall having a top surface, a bottom wall having a bottom surface and opposing the top wall, and a front wall having a specified height and being formed along peripheries of the top wall and the bottom wall. The hole is provided in the front wall. The first indicator portion includes at least one first aperture and indicates a first element among a plurality of elements of a type of the tape. The first indicator portion is provided in a portion, spaced from the front wall, of the bottom wall. The hole and the one first aperture is located to intersect a virtual line orthogonal to the front wall when viewing along a vertical direction orthogonal to the top wall and the bottom wall.

A cartridge configured to be mounted on a tape printer, the cartridge includes a ribbon roll around which an ink ribbon is wound, and a cartridge case configured to accommodate a tape roll around which a tape is wound and that accommodates the ribbon roll, in which the cartridge case includes a third case portion, a first case portion that constitutes a tape roll accommodating portion accommodating the tape roll between the first case portion and the third case portion, and a second case portion that is separated from the first case portion and accommodates the ribbon roll between the second case portion and the third case portion, and the first case portion is configured to open and close the tape roll accommodating portion.

A cartridge configured to be mounted on a tape printer, the cartridge includes a ribbon roll around which an ink ribbon is wound, and a cartridge case configured to accommodate a tape roll around which a tape is wound and that accommodates the ribbon roll, in which the cartridge case includes a third case portion, a first case portion that constitutes a tape roll accommodating portion accommodating the tape roll between the first case portion and the third case portion, and a second case portion that is separated from the first case portion and accommodates the ribbon roll between the second case portion and the third case portion, and the first case portion is configured to open and close the tape roll accommodating portion.

A cartridge configured to be mounted on a tape printer, the cartridge including a cartridge case in which the cartridge case includes a third case portion, a first case portion configured to accommodate a tape roll, and a second case portion and a fourth case portion that are separate from the first case portion, and a tape feed port through which a tape fed from the tape roll is fed out of the cartridge case, and a tape insertion port into which the tape pulled out from the tape roll is configured to be inserted in a first direction from one end portion in a width direction of the tape, so that a leading edge of the tape comes out of the cartridge case from the tape feed port, are provided between the second case portion and the fourth case portion.

A cartridge configured to be mounted on a tape printer, the cartridge including a cartridge case in which the cartridge case includes a third case portion, a first case portion configured to accommodate a tape roll, and a second case portion and a fourth case portion that are separate from the first case portion, and a tape feed port through which a tape fed from the tape roll is fed out of the cartridge case, and a tape insertion port into which the tape pulled out from the tape roll is configured to be inserted in a first direction from one end portion in a width direction of the tape, so that a leading edge of the tape comes out of the cartridge case from the tape feed port, are provided between the second case portion and the fourth case portion.