A printing apparatus includes a print head having a heat generation element, a generation unit that generates print data for driving the heat generation element to form an image on a print medium and a drive unit that drives the heat generation element on a basis of the print data generated by the generation unit. The print medium includes a laminate of a plurality of image forming layers that generate develop mutually different colors by receiving heat. The generation unit generates the print data depending on a type of the print medium among a plurality of print medium types that differ from each other in order of lamination of the plurality of image forming layers.

An image forming apparatus includes a printhead configured to add energy to an image material; and a control unit configured to output, based on image data, a signal pattern for controlling energy to be added by the printhead to the image material including a plurality of color development layers that have different color development characteristic and develop colors in accordance with the added energy. When causing at least two of the plurality of color development layers to develop colors, the control unit generates, based on at least two signal patterns generated to cause the at least two color development layers to develop colors, a signal pattern of an OR of the at least two signal patterns and outputs the signal pattern.

An object is to provide a thermal transfer printer having an inexpensive configuration and capable of making a tension given to an ink ribbon as constant as possible, even when a secular change and an environmental change occur in a DC motor used as a supply motor and a winding motor. A supply motor control unit controls a supply motor of an ink ribbon supply unit. A winding motor control unit controls a winding motor of an ink ribbon winding unit. A remaining amount detection unit detects a remaining amount of an ink ribbon. A variable calculation unit acquires parameters for an armature current, an applied voltage, and a rotational speed of each of the supply motor and the winding motor, and calculates variables to be used for controlling the supply motor and the winding motor on the basis of the acquired parameters.

A thermal printer includes a thermal head in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line, and a processor that executes a printing process of energizing the thermal head successively a predetermined number of times so at to print a printing data by causing a predetermined voltage to be applied to the thermal head the predetermined number of times in accordance with and in synchronization with strobe pulses in a strobe signal, a strobe width of each strobe pulse in the strobe signal defining a duration during which the thermal head is being applied with the predetermined voltage, wherein among the strobe pulses for the predetermined number of times of energizing the thermal head, a strobe width of at least one predetermined strobe pulse is set to be always shorter than a strobe width of another predetermined one of the strobe pulses.

There is provided an image recording apparatus including: a head; a driving element; a controller configured to output, to the driving element, a driving signal having a first voltage level or a second voltage level greater than the first voltage level; and a moving mechanism causing one of the recording medium and the head to move relative to the other of the recording medium and the head. The controller sets the voltage level of the driving signal to be the first voltage level in a case that the controller causes the head to move relative to the recording medium at the first velocity; and the controller sets the voltage level of the driving signal to be the second voltage level in a case that the controller causes the head to move relative to the recording medium at the second velocity.

A printer comprising a printhead configured to selectively cause a mark to be created on a substrate provided adjacent to the printer, the printhead having a first configuration in which the printhead is spaced apart from the printing surface and a second configuration in which the printhead is configured to press the substrate against a printing surface during a printing operation. The printer further comprises a printhead drive assembly configured to cause movement of the printhead towards and away from the printing surface between the first and second configurations, the printhead drive assembly comprising a permanent magnet and an electromagnet. When the electromagnet is in a first condition, an attractive magnetic force is generated between the permanent magnet and the electromagnet, and when the electromagnet is in a second condition, a repulsive magnetic force is generated between the permanent magnet and the electromagnet, each of said attractive and repulsive magnetic forces being configured to one of urge the printhead away from and towards the printing surface. The printhead drive assembly is configured such that, when the printhead is in each of the first and second configurations, it is retained in that configuration by the printhead drive assembly when the electromagnet is in the first condition, the printhead being retained in one of the first and second configurations by said attractive magnetic force generated between the permanent magnet and the electromagnet.

An example system for a thermal printing device may comprise a printhead comprising a heat source, where the printhead is to transmit heat from the heat source onto a thermally activated print medium to form markings on a plurality of regions of the thermally activated print medium to form a pixel, and a controller to determine a plurality of voltage pulse patterns prior to formation of the markings on the plurality of regions, determine which of the plurality of regions the plurality of voltage pulse patterns are to activate prior to formation of the markings on the plurality of regions, where the plurality of regions comprise regions with overlapping color layers onto which markings are to be formed with an individual pulse pattern of the plurality of voltage pulse patterns, and send a voltage pulse pattern information to the printhead.

An image forming apparatus comprises a printhead configured to add energy to an image material including a plurality of color development layers that have different color development characteristics and develop colors in response to heat; and a control unit configured to output, based on image data, signal patterns corresponding to the plurality of color development layers and at least one signal pattern corresponding to a color reproduced by causing at least two of the plurality of color development layers to develop colors used to control the energy to be added to the image material by the printhead.

In some examples, a system may include a thermal print head including a plurality of print head elements to heat a print medium. The system may include a controller to determine a tri-color tuple of a pixel of an image to be printed; determine an input temperature at a specific print head element, of the plurality of print head element s, printing the pixel on thermal print medium; and determine a voltage pulse pattern for printing the tri-color tuple at the input temperature based on a previously printed pixel.

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.