Apparatuses and embodiments related to compensated laser cutting of labels. A computer system receives an image of a label, and rasterizes the image. The computer system determines how much of each type of printer ink of a label printer to deposit at each pixel location of the image. The computer system determines which pixels intersect a cut line, and determines the characteristics of the ink of the pixels, such as the quantity or thickness of the ink at the pixel locations. The computer system determines laser data including power, cut speed, and/or frequency of a laser that is tuned to accurately cut through the ink that forms the image, the material(s) of the label, and the adhesive that removably adheres the label to base material(s), but to not excessively damage the base material(s). A laser cutting system uses the laser data to control a laser.

A stand-alone apparatus for cutting a web of media or tag stock into individual units for use downstream of a printer. The apparatus may cut vinyl, plastic, or RFID stock material in both back and forth directions. The apparatus comprises a housing, a carriage assembly and a movable cutter assembly. The cutter assembly is easily interchangeable and comprises a cutting element such as a wheel blade, and a pressure adjusting element for adjusting the amount of pressure applied by the cutting element to the stock material. Alternatively, the cutter assembly may be manufactured with a predetermined pressure load, but still permit an operator to adjust the depth of cut. The apparatus may be powered by and or in hardline or wireless communication with a printer, or may further comprise a computer microprocessor, memory and user interface to function wholly independent from a printer.

A stand-alone apparatus for cutting a web of media or tag stock into individual units for use downstream of a printer. The apparatus may cut vinyl, plastic, or RFID stock material in both back and forth directions. The apparatus comprises a housing, a carriage assembly and a movable cutter assembly. The cutter assembly is easily interchangeable and comprises a cutting element such as a wheel blade, and a pressure adjusting element for adjusting the amount of pressure applied by the cutting element to the stock material. Alternatively, the cutter assembly may be manufactured with a predetermined pressure load, but still permit an operator to adjust the depth of cut. The apparatus may be powered by and or in hardline or wireless communication with a printer, or may further comprise a computer microprocessor, memory and user interface to function wholly independent from a printer.

A printing apparatus configured to print on a continuous sheet to be cut into a plurality of cut sheets at a plurality of cutting positions while being conveyed, includes a conveyance mechanism configured to convey the continuous sheet, and a print head provided so as to face a conveyance path for the continuous sheet in the conveyance mechanism and configured to sequentially print a plurality of cutting marks indicating the plurality of cutting positions on the continuous sheet being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, in which, from between front end portions and rear end portions of each of the pages in a conveyance direction of the continuous sheet in the conveyance mechanism when printing by the print head is performed, the print head prints the cutting marks on the rear end portions for a plurality of pages on the continuous sheet corresponding to the plurality of cut sheets.

To provide a printing apparatus and a conveyance apparatus that are capable of preventing a cut position to be cut by a cutting unit from deviating, in a printing apparatus in which printing is performed by a printing unit on a printing medium that is conveyed by a conveyance unit and the printing medium is cut by a cutting unit while being conveyed by the conveyance unit and a conveying force apply unit, the sconveying force apply unit is arranged on an outer side relative to the cutting unit and configured to apply a conveying force to the printing medium in a direction outward in a width direction from an upstream to a downstream in a conveyance direction.

An image recording apparatus includes an operation panel, a sheet conveyor, a print head, a cutting device, and a sheet discharge port. The operation panel is disposed at a first-side face of a housing in a particular direction that extends from a first side to a second side of the image recording apparatus. The sheet conveyor is configured to convey a sheet along a conveyance path in a conveyance direction. The print head is disposed downstream of the sheet conveyor in the conveyance direction. The cutting device has a cutter for cutting the sheet. The sheet discharge port is open at the first-side face of the housing. At least a part of the sheet passes through the sheet discharge port when the sheet is discharged from the conveyance path. The cutter positioned below the operation panel is exposed to an outside of the housing through the sheet discharge port.

An image recording apparatus includes an operation panel, a sheet conveyor, a print head, a cutting device, and a sheet discharge port. The operation panel is disposed at a first-side face of a housing in a particular direction that extends from a first side to a second side of the image recording apparatus. The sheet conveyor is configured to convey a sheet along a conveyance path in a conveyance direction. The print head is disposed downstream of the sheet conveyor in the conveyance direction. The cutting device has a cutter for cutting the sheet. The sheet discharge port is open at the first-side face of the housing. At least a part of the sheet passes through the sheet discharge port when the sheet is discharged from the conveyance path. The cutter positioned below the operation panel is exposed to an outside of the housing through the sheet discharge port.

Disclosed are various embodiments of systems and methods that facilitate printer calibration. According to certain embodiments, calibration methods comprise a printer printing a calibration target and cutting a calibration target using an inline slitter. The printer then determines a calibration offset based on the position of the cut on the calibration target. The printer can then be calibrated according to gross amounts on the slitter and fine amounts at an ink applicator.

A mechanism is described herein to drive slitter and cutter waste in a direction that allows for a more advantageous use of the waste collection bin's volume. The waste drive mechanism allows for at least one armature that drives the waste in a desired direction. The armature is made from a material that is flexible, with a curved shape to allow a pre-loaded force against a contact surface of the waste collection bin. The pre-loaded flexible armature against a contact surface of the collection bin provides sufficient force to drive the waste it in a desired direction, allowing for a more consistent use of the waste collection bin spatial volume.

A trimming device includes: a moving unit including a transport unit that transports a booklet which includes one or more sheets and which is folded in half at a center portion of the booklet, with a folded portion of the booklet at a front, a correction unit that corrects a posture of the booklet in response to a leading end of the booklet transported by the transport unit abutting against the correction unit, the correction unit being capable of advancing to an abutting position on a path of the booklet and retracting from the path, and an upper guide unit that extends at least between the transport unit and the correction unit, the upper guide unit that guides an upper surface of the booklet, the moving unit being movable in a transport direction between (i) a predetermined upstream position and (ii) a downstream position downstream of the upstream position in the transport direction; a lower guide unit that guides a lower surface of the booklet transported by the transport unit; and a cutting unit that cuts a downstream fore edge portion of the booklet in the transport direction, the cutting unit being capable of advancing to the path of the booklet and retracting from the path of the booklet. The upper guide unit is configured such that a gap between the upper guide unit and the lower guide unit widens in accordance with a thickness of the booklet to allow the booklet to pass through the gap.