A thermal head according to the present disclosure includes a substrate, a plurality of heat generating portions, a plurality of first electrodes, and a second electrode. The plurality of heat generating portions are located on the substrate. The plurality of first electrodes are located on the substrate and respectively connected to the plurality of heat generating portions. The second electrode is located on the substrate and is located across the plurality of first electrodes. The second electrode includes protruding portions protruding in a first direction from the second electrode toward corresponding ones of the first electrodes and being in contact with the corresponding ones of the first electrodes.

A print device includes a head unit holding a heat sink, a head holding member holding the head unit, a platen roller, a support shaft supporting the head holding member to pivot between a close position and a separated position, an urging member, and an adjustment mechanism including an adjustment shaft and an eccentric cam. The separated position is a position where the print head is separated from the platen roller than the close position. The urging member urges the head unit and applies a pressing load pressing the print head against the platen roller. The eccentric cam rotates around the adjustment shaft and coming into contact with the head holding member in a state of being offset with respect to the adjustment shaft. The adjustment mechanism adjusts a position of heating elements of the heat sink with respect to the platen roller by rotating of the eccentric cam.

In accordance with an embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprises a thermal head including a plurality of heat generation elements and configured to form an image on a sheet using heat generated by the heat generation element; a health check section configured to diagnose conditions of the heat generation elements; and a control section configured to control the health check section to execute a health check processing when the thermal head is not executing a job of forming an image and diagnose conditions of remaining heat generation elements in a next health check processing when the health check processing is interrupted.

A thermal printhead includes a substrate, a resistor layer with heat generation portions supported by the substrate and aligned in a primary scanning direction, a wiring layer supported by the substrate to form a conductive path to the heat generation portions, an insulating layer interposed between the substrate and the resistor layer, and a reflection layer located opposite to the heat generation portions with respect to the insulating layer. The reflection layer overlaps with the heat generation portions as viewed in a thickness direction of the heat generation portions and has a greater heat reflectivity than the insulating layer.

A printing device includes: a thermal head; and a processor. The thermal head includes a heating element. The processor is configured to perform: (a) creating; and (b) driving. The (a) creating creates print data based on image data representing an image to be printed on a printing medium. The (b) driving drives the heating element to apply heat to the printing medium according to the print data. The processor is configured to further perform: (c) determining. The (c) determining determines whether to create a plurality of labels for lamination using at least one printing medium including a first printing medium. The first printing medium is transparent and includes a plurality of heat-sensitive layers laminated together. Each of the plurality of heat-sensitive layers is configured to develop a different color when heat is applied from the heating element. The (c) creating is performed in accordance with a determination result in (a).

An asymmetric thermal print head includes a print head body and a plurality of print elements supported on the print head body. The print elements are aligned along a first axis. Each print element includes a heater portion having a burn width measured along the first axis corresponding to a first print resolution, and a burn length measured along a second axis, which is perpendicular to the first axis, corresponding to a second print resolution. The second print resolution is higher than the first print resolution. One or more control circuits are configured to individually activate the print elements.

According to one embodiment, a thermal print head includes a heat sink, a head substrate having a plurality of heat generating elements placed on the heat sink and disposed in a primary scanning direction, a circuit board placed on the heat sink so as to be adjacent to the head substrate in an auxiliary scanning direction and provided with a connection circuit, and a control element electrically connected to the heat generating element via a first bonding wire and electrically connected to the connection circuit via a second bonding wire, wherein a plurality of first bonding wires is disposed in parallel in the primary scanning direction, and among the first bonding wires, the first bonding wire having a length of at least 2 mm or more is a metal wire having a Young's modulus greater than that of gold.

According to one embodiment, a thermal print head includes a heat sink; a head substrate placed on the heat sink and having a plurality of heat generating elements arranged in a primary scanning direction; a circuit board placed on the heat sink so as to be adjacent to the head substrate in an auxiliary scanning direction and provided with a connection circuit; and a control element electrically connected to the heat generating element via a first bonding wire and electrically connected to the connection circuit via a second bonding wire, in which at least one of the first bonding wire and the second bonding wire includes any of a copper wire, a copper alloy wire, and a wire mainly made of copper and coated with a metal different from copper.

A thermal print head includes a head substrate (11) having a main surface (11a) on which a convex part (12) is formed, a resistor layer (21) that is formed on the main surface (11a) and the convex part (12), a wiring layer (22) that covers the resistor layer (21) such that the resistor layer (21) is exposed at a heat generating part (20) formed at a part of the convex part (12), and a protective layer (25) that is formed on the main surface (11a) of the head substrate (11) and covers the resistor layer (21) and the wiring layer (22). The resistor layer (21) has a main resistor layer that contains tantalum, and at least one of a first sub-resistor layer that contains tantalum nitride and is stacked below the tantalum layer and a second sub-resistor layer that contains tantalum nitride and is stacked on the tantalum layer. The nitrogen content of tantalum nitride contained in the first sub-resistor layer and the second sub-resistor layer exceeds a predetermined value such that the tantalum nitride is deposited in a stable structure.

A thermal head of the present disclosure includes a substrate; a heat generating section disposed on the substrate; an electrode which is disposed on the substrate and is connected to the heat generating section; a protective layer covering the heat generating section and the electrode, the protective layer having a surface provided with a depression portion; at least one particle of metal disposed inside the depression portion; and an oxide layer covering the at least one particle, the oxide layer being formed of oxides of the metal. A surface of the oxide layer is exposed to an outside and is located in a deeper position of the depression portion than the surface of the protective layer around the depression portion.