A thermosensitive recording medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a recording layer that includes a coloring compound having electron-donating property, a developer having electron-accepting property, a photothermal conversion agent, and a polymer material; and a protective member that is stacked on the recording layer, and has a convexo-concave shape in a plane.

An optical apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is an apparatus that performs one or both of writing and erasing of information with respect to a reversible recording medium. This optical apparatus includes a plurality of laser devices varying in emission wavelength in a near infrared region (700 nm to 2500 nm), an optical system that multiplexes laser beams outputted from the plurality of laser devices, and a scanner unit that scans a multiplexed light beam obtained by multiplexing by the optical system, on the reversible recording medium.

An image recording apparatus includes a light source, a switching drive circuit configured to control an electric current for causing the light source to emit a light beam, a moving part configured to move one of a recording target on which an image is to be recorded by the light beam and a light emitting position at which the light beam is emitted relative to another one of the recording target and the light emitting position, and a controller configured to control a light emission timing of the light source and a relative moving speed of the moving part based on image information. The drive circuit includes a switching circuit configured to turn on and off a switching element. The controller is configured to change a switching frequency of the switching element according to at least one of the light emission timing and the relative moving speed.

An image recording apparatus includes: a laser emitting device configured to emit laser beams emitted from a plurality of laser light-emitting elements; an optical fiber array including a plurality of optical fibers provided corresponding to the laser light-emitting elements and configured to guide the laser beams emitted from the laser light-emitting elements to a recording object that relatively moves with respect to the laser emitting device, laser emitting portions of the respective optical fibers being arrayed in an array form in a predetermined direction; and an image recording unit configured to control the laser emitting device so as to irradiate the recording object which relatively moves with respect to the laser emitting device in a direction different from the predetermined direction, with laser beams via the optical fiber array, to heat the recording object and record an image.

An optical apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is an apparatus that performs one or both of writing and erasing of information with respect to a reversible recording medium. This optical apparatus includes a plurality of laser devices varying in emission wavelength in a near infrared region (700 nm to 2500 nm), an optical system that multiplexes laser beams outputted from the plurality of laser devices, and a scanner unit that scans a multiplexed light beam obtained by multiplexing by the optical system, on the reversible recording medium.

Embodiments of the present invention feature apparatus and methods for manufacturing a personalized identification document including one or more dyes and/or pigments embedded in the substrate.

This invention is a novel method for tactile printing which comprises of a low power energy source to heat temperature sensitive elements within a medium such as microcapsule paper.

According to an embodiment, a laser processing apparatus, that perform laser processing on an object with laser light, includes a plurality of optical heads. The optical heads each includes a laser head unit that emits a plurality of laser light beams in an arranged manner in a predetermined direction, and an optical system that focuses the emitted plurality of laser light beams on the object conveyed relatively with respect to the laser head unit in a conveying direction intersecting the predetermined direction. The optical heads each includes a first optical head group and a second optical head group in which the optical heads are adjacent to each other in the predetermined direction. The first optical head group and the second optical head group are adjacent to each other in the conveying direction and arranged while being shifted from each other by a predetermined length in the predetermined direction.

A printing apparatus, including a laser to treat a substrate by at least partially carbonizing said substrate, where tar-like compounds are formed in the substrate as reaction products of the carbonizing, and an electromagnetic radiator irradiates the reaction products in the substrate to cause at least the tar-like compounds to polymerize and interlink. Further embodiments relate to a printing apparatus, including a laser to treat a substrate, where reaction products are formed in the substrate, and a compressor compresses at least the reaction products in the substrate. An embodiment also relates to a printing method, including at least partially carbonizing a substrate with a laser, forming tar-like compounds as reaction products of the carbonizing in said substrate; compressing the reaction products onto the substrate; and supplying energy to the reaction products that are pressed onto the substrate.

A printing apparatus, including: a feed, a printer, a controller configured to control operation of the printer, and a print quality sensor configured to acquire print quality information, where the controller is configured to adapt operation of the printer based on the print quality information. Further embodiment relates to a printing method, including the steps of: printing on a substrate in a printing operation; acquiring print quality information; and adaptation of the printing operation based on the print quality information.