A thermal printer includes heating elements that generate heat according to amounts of applied energy, an energy applier that applies energy to the heating elements, a memory that stores a gradation table where energy levels to be applied to the heating elements are set for gradation levels based on a relationship between dot area ratios of an image and the amounts of energy applied to the heating elements, and a controller that transfers control data multiple times to the energy applier based on the gradation table to control the amounts of energy to be applied by the energy applier to the heating elements, each of the control data corresponding to different amounts of energy.

A high speed tabletop and industrial printer is disclosed with integrated high speed RFID encoding and verification at the same time. The industrial printer simultaneously prints on and electronically encodes/verifies RFID labels, tags, and/or stickers attached to a continuous web. The industrial printer comprises a lighted sensor array for indexing the printing to the RFID tags; and a cutter powered from the industrial printer for cutting the web that the RFID tags are disposed on. The industrial printer comprises two RFID reader/writers that are individually controlled. Specifically, one of the RFID reader/writers comprises the ability to electronically encode the RFID tags while the web is moving; and the second RFID reader/writer uses an additional RFID module and antenna on the printer for verifying the data encoded to the RFID tags.

The present invention relates generally to a printing system, and more specifically to an ordering of color-forming layers in a direct thermal printing medium. The present invention provides a direct thermal print medium with an ordering of the color layers that improves the perceived image sharpness and color uniformity of prints.

The present invention relates generally to a printing system, and more specifically to an ordering of color-forming layers in a direct thermal printing medium. The present invention provides a direct thermal print medium with an ordering of the color layers that improves the perceived image sharpness and color uniformity of prints.

A printing system for printing images formed of pixels on a substrate, the system comprising a print system arranged where printheads traverse a substrate, the print system arranged to receive a sequence of print actuation requests in order to print each pixel of an image upon the substrate, the print system having an acceptable rate for the sequence of print actuation requests, the system configured whereby if presented with an actuation period of less than the minimum actuation period then the presented rate of print actuation requests is adjusted by altering the actuation event and/or the discarding of stripe data, to minimise print defects.

A printing system for printing images formed of pixels on a substrate, the system comprising a print system arranged where printheads traverse a substrate, the print system arranged to receive a sequence of print actuation requests in order to print each pixel of an image upon the substrate, the print system having an acceptable rate for the sequence of print actuation requests, the system configured whereby if presented with an actuation period of less than the minimum actuation period then the presented rate of print actuation requests is adjusted by altering the actuation event and/or the discarding of stripe data, to minimise print defects.

An image processing apparatus that generates overcoat transfer data for transferring an overcoat onto an image formed on a recording sheet, generates a line image to be added to the overcoat, and converts the line image into a drawing part to be added to the overcoat. The drawing part includes an outline part and an area inside the outline part, the outline part is formed from pixels having a first glossiness, the area inside the outline part is formed as a mixed pattern part in which pixels having the first glossiness and pixels having a second glossiness higher than the first glossiness are mixed, and the area outside the outline part is formed from pixels having the second glossiness.

An image processing apparatus that generates overcoat transfer data for transferring an overcoat onto an image formed on a recording sheet, generates a line image to be added to the overcoat, and converts the line image into a drawing part to be added to the overcoat. The drawing part includes an outline part and an area inside the outline part, the outline part is formed from pixels having a first glossiness, the area inside the outline part is formed as a mixed pattern part in which pixels having the first glossiness and pixels having a second glossiness higher than the first glossiness are mixed, and the area outside the outline part is formed from pixels having the second glossiness.

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.

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.