A security-enhanced document includes a substrate and variable indicia comprising ink having a signal. The variable indicia is of a specific type and is applied to the substrate using a specific application technique. At least one other printed portion, which is a back of the document, has background ink noise, and the type of ink of the back of the document is of the same type of ink applied to the substrate using the same application technique as the ink of the variable indicia. The document also includes a scratch-off-coating applied over the variable indicia. The document has a signal-to-noise ratio of the ink of the variable indicia relative to the background ink noise of the back of the document that is not appreciable, thereby making the variable indicia unreadable with reference to the back of the document when the scratch-off-coating remains intact.

A printing apparatus heats a print medium in which color development layers that develop colors in accordance with heating are stacked in correspondence with a plurality of color. The apparatus includes a drive unit configured to drive each of heating elements of a printhead using a first pulse for preheating a predetermined color development layer, and a second pulse applied after the first pulse to cause the predetermined color development layer to develop the color, and a pulse control unit configured to, when developing a specific color, perform a control in which a pulse width of the first pulse is increased and/or a control in which the number of times of application of the second pulse is increased such that another color development layer that is not used to reproduce the specific color does not develop the color.

A thermal printer includes: a roll sheet receiving portion; and a delivery slot through which a portion of the recording sheet drawn from the roll sheet is delivered to an outside of the thermal printer; a printing unit including: a thermal head; and a platen roller configured to convey the recording sheet toward the delivery slot while sandwiching the recording sheet between the thermal head and the platen roller; a flap provided on a portion of the casing between the printing unit and the roll sheet receiving portion so as to be pivotable about a first axis, and configured to press the roll sheet in a direction of separating away from the delivery slot through abutment against an outer peripheral surface of the roll sheet; and an urging member configured to urge the flap about the first axis in the direction of separating away from the delivery slot.

A printer includes a thermal head, an electrical connector capable of being connected to and disconnected from the thermal head, and a head cover of the thermal head. The head cover moves between a first position and a second position different from the first position to connect and disconnect the thermal head and the electrical connector.

A printer includes a thermal head, an electrical connector capable of being connected to and disconnected from the thermal head, and a head cover of the thermal head. The head cover moves between a first position and a second position different from the first position to connect and disconnect the thermal head and the electrical connector.

Disclosed is a label printer, having a printhead and a counter-element to the printhead, wherein a carrier tape is led between the printhead and the counter-element; a drive mechanism for the carrier tape having a driven carrier tape drawing roller; and at least one non-driven carrier tape pressure roller that is associated with the carrier tape drawing roller, wherein, the carrier tape drawing roller and the respective carrier tape pressure roller are arranged after the printhead and the counter-element, wherein the drive mechanism for the carrier tape comprises a further driven carrier tape drawing roller and a further non-driven carrier tape pressure roller associated with the further carrier tape drawing roller is provided, with the further carrier tape drawing roller and the further carrier tape pressure roller, arranged in front of the printhead and the counter-element.

A printing apparatus includes: a roll sheet container that contains a roll sheet around which a recording sheet is wound; a first sheet guide that makes contact with a first surface of the recording sheet; a second sheet guide that makes contact with a second surface of the recording sheet; and a transport roller that transports the recording sheet. The first and second sheet guides are disposed so as to face each other to form a sheet route along which the recording sheet is to pass. The transport roller transports the recording sheet that passed along the sheet route. The second sheet guide includes: a projection that protrudes toward the roll sheet container; and a pushing section that extends from the projection along an outer circumference of the roll sheet and in a direction away from the first sheet guide.

A printing apparatus includes: a roll sheet container that contains a roll sheet around which a recording sheet is wound; a first sheet guide that makes contact with a first surface of the recording sheet; a second sheet guide that makes contact with a second surface of the recording sheet; and a transport roller that transports the recording sheet. The first and second sheet guides are disposed so as to face each other to form a sheet route along which the recording sheet is to pass. The transport roller transports the recording sheet that passed along the sheet route. The second sheet guide includes: a projection that protrudes toward the roll sheet container; and a pushing section that extends from the projection along an outer circumference of the roll sheet and in a direction away from the first sheet guide.

A printer includes: a first connector to be used to input electric power supplied from an outside; a second connector to which a communication terminal is to be connected, and which is to be used to output at least a part of the electric power to the connected communication terminal; a printing control unit configured to control operation of a printing unit configured to perform printing on recording paper; and an adjustment unit configured to adjust a maximum amount of the electric power to be output from the second connector, of the electric power supplied from the outside, to a first amount of power when the printing unit is not under a printing operation, and adjust the maximum amount of the electric power to be output from the second connector to a second amount of power when the printing unit is under the printing operation, the second amount of power being smaller than the first amount of power.

An image forming apparatus includes a print head including heating elements for applying a thermal energy to an imaging material, an operation unit configured to operate the plurality of heating elements of the print head by using a first pulse for preheating the color developing layers and a second pulse for developing the colors of the color developing layers, and a generation unit configured to, in a case where a spatial frequency of the image to be recorded based on image data for forming an image on the imaging material is lower than a predetermined frequency, generate the first pulse so that a temperature to be applied to the imaging material by the first pulse is lower than a temperature to be applied to the imaging material in a case where the spatial frequency of the image data is equal to or higher than the predetermined frequency.