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.

A printing device is configured to print a multi-layer thermal printing medium. The printing device includes a thermal head and a controller. The thermal head has a heat generating elements configured to form images on a heat sensitive multi-layer. The controller is configured to perform detecting whether a viewing direction of the heat sensitive multi-layer is a thickness direction to view from a second surface toward a first surface or a direction opposite the thickness direction to view from the first surface toward the second surface. The controller is configured to further perform creating print data to be applied to each of the heat generating elements. The created print data is such that color development states of a first color and a second color according to the detected viewing direction are differentiated from color development states of the first color and the second color according to an undetected viewing direction.

A printing device is configured to print a multi-layer thermal printing medium. The printing device includes a thermal head and a controller. The thermal head has a heat generating elements configured to form images on a heat sensitive multi-layer. The controller is configured to perform detecting whether a viewing direction of the heat sensitive multi-layer is a thickness direction to view from a second surface toward a first surface or a direction opposite the thickness direction to view from the first surface toward the second surface. The controller is configured to further perform creating print data to be applied to each of the heat generating elements. The created print data is such that color development states of a first color and a second color according to the detected viewing direction are differentiated from color development states of the first color and the second color according to an undetected viewing direction.

An example system for thermal energy determination can include a first controller comprising a processor and a non-transitory machine-readable medium (MRM) communicatively coupled to the processor. The non-transitory MRM can include instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to receive relative humidity information of an environment of a thermal printing device, determine a colormap to a print media of the thermal printing device based on the relative humidity, and determine a particular thermal energy to apply to the print media based on the determined colormap.

A printing apparatus including: a thermal head; a capacitor capable of being charged and discharged; a detection unit configured to detect a voltage of the capacitor; a battery accommodation part configured to accommodate a dry-cell battery configured to supply electric power for charging the capacitor; a charging unit configured to charge the capacitor by the electric power of the dry-cell battery; and a controller configured to: execute charging control of controlling the charging unit to charge the capacitor by the electric power of the dry-cell battery, and execute printing control of performing printing on a printing medium by driving the thermal head only with the electric power charged in the capacitor, depending on the voltage detected by the detection unit.

A printer includes a thermal head including a plurality of heat generating elements configured to apply energy to a recording medium, and a controller configured to perform control of periodically supplying the power to the plurality of heat generating elements. The recording medium includes a first color developing portion configured to develop a first color and a second color developing portion configured to develop a second color. The controller is configured to periodically supply the power to the plurality of heat generating elements, set an average cycle for supplying the power to a first average cycle, in a case of causing the first color developing portion to develop the first color, and set an average cycle for supplying the power to a second average cycle longer than the first average cycle, in a case of causing the second color developing portion to develop the second color.

A data processing apparatus includes a plurality of heat-generating elements configured to apply different heating energies to a print medium in which a plurality of color development layers which develop colors different from each other upon receipt of the different heating energies are laminated. In addition, a printing apparatus includes: an obtaining unit configured to obtain a heat-generating characteristic of each of the plurality of heat-generating elements; and a deriving unit configured to derive a correction value for correcting print data based on a color development heating characteristic of each of the plurality of color development layers and the heat-generating characteristic of each heat-generating element, the print data causing each heat-generating element to generate the heating energy based on image data corresponding to a pixel.

The thermal printer includes a heating element, and a voltage supply circuit that supplies a drive voltage and a test voltage to the heating element. The voltage supply circuit includes a drive voltage supply circuit that is coupled to the heating element and that turns ON the supply of the drive voltage to the heating element, a test voltage supply circuit that is coupled to the heating element and that turns ON the supply of the test voltage to the heating element, a drive voltage stop circuit setting the supply of the drive voltage of the drive voltage supply circuit OFF, and a test voltage stop circuit setting the supply of the test voltage of the test voltage supply circuit OFF.

A printing apparatus including: a thermal head; a capacitor capable of being charged and discharged; a detection unit configured to detect a voltage of the capacitor; a battery accommodation part configured to accommodate a dry-cell battery configured to supply electric power for charging the capacitor; a charging unit configured to charge the capacitor by the electric power of the dry-cell battery; and a controller configured to: execute charging control of controlling the charging unit to charge the capacitor by the electric power of the dry-cell battery, and execute printing control of performing printing on a printing medium by driving the thermal head only with the electric power charged in the capacitor, depending on the voltage detected by the detection unit.

A printing apparatus includes a thermal head in which a plurality of heating elements is arranged in a main scanning direction, a moving mechanism configured to relatively move a print medium with respect to the thermal head in a sub-scanning direction crossing the main scanning direction, a controller configured to control the thermal head and the moving mechanism, and a storage unit configured to store first print data in which pixels are arranged in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, the pixels including print pixels indicating pixels with which corresponding dots are formed on the print medium by heat generated by the heating elements and non-print pixels with which no dot is formed on the print medium, the first print data being for printing a first print image represented by the print pixels. The controller executes generation processing and control processing.