A drawing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a storage, an operation section, and a drawing section. The storage stores a characteristic function that derives output setting values of light sources on the basis of drawing coordinates, an absorbance correlation value, and gradation values in a leuco color space. The operation section derives the output setting values by inputting, to the characteristic function, the drawing coordinates, gradation values of leuco image data described in the leuco color space, and an absorbance correlation value obtained by measuring the recording medium. The drawing section includes the light sources, and controls output of the light sources on the basis of the output setting values derived by the operation section to thereby perform drawing on the recording medium.

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 apparatus heats a print medium in which color development layers that develop colors in accordance with heating are stacked in correspondence with a plurality of color. The apparatus includes a drive unit configured to drive each of heating elements of a printhead using a first pulse for preheating a predetermined color development layer, and a second pulse applied after the first pulse to cause the predetermined color development layer to develop the color, and a pulse control unit configured to, when developing a specific color, perform a control in which a pulse width of the first pulse is increased and/or a control in which the number of times of application of the second pulse is increased such that another color development layer that is not used to reproduce the specific color does not develop the color.

A gimmick expression medium producing method forms a gimmick expression medium 300. The gimmick expression medium 300 includes a retroreflective medium 1. A printing medium 301 placed on the retroreflective medium 1 includes a light-transmission layer 302. A gimmick print 303 which varies color of reflective light of the retroreflective medium 1 to produce a gimmick effect is printed on the light-transmission layer 302. The printing medium 301 is provided with a light-blocking layer 304 which partially blocks reflective light reflected by the retroreflective medium 1. The light-blocking layer 304 is composed of a white printing layer, and a reflection picture print 305 is printed on the light-blocking layer 304. The reflection pattern printing 305 and the gimmick print 303 are placed in adjacent to each other using a stripe-shaped (or dot-shaped) lattice pattern 306, printing which can be seen on a printed matter under normal illumination and printing which can be seen under light source such as flash light can be printed at one time (one-pass) by the same printer.

An apparatus is configured to heat a print medium in which a plurality of color development layers that develop colors in accordance with heating are stacked in correspondence with a plurality of colors so as to form an image on the medium by causing a desired color development layer in the plurality of color development layers to independently develop the color. The apparatus includes a printhead, an input unit configured to receive a print job, a generation unit configured to generate image data and cut information for specifying a cut position, a second generation unit configured to generate first and second pulses for driving the print head, and a drive unit configured to drive the print head to form an image on the medium and apply heat beyond a melting point to melt the medium so as to cut the medium.

A reversible recording medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first recording layer to be colored in a first color, a second recording layer to be colored in a second color, the second color being different from the first color, and a first intermediate layer provided between the first recording layer and the second recording layer, the first intermediate layer including a plurality of layers respectively containing materials different from each other.

A recording medium includes a substrate and an ink-receiving layer as the top layer. The ink-receiving layer contains inorganic particles. The inorganic particles contain cationized colloidal silica, alumina hydrate, and fumed alumina. A content of the cationized colloidal silica is 5% or more by mass and 25% or less by mass based on a content of the inorganic particles. The mass ratio of the alumina hydrate to the fumed alumina (alumina hydrate content:fumed alumina content) is from 95:5 to 55:45.

A recording medium includes a substrate, and a first and a second ink receiving layer over the substrate in this order from the side close to the substrate. The first ink receiving layer contains fumed silica, alumina, and zirconium compound. In the first ink receiving layer, the mass ratio of the fumed silica to the alumina is in the range of 40:60 to 60:40. The zirconium compound content in the first ink receiving layer is in the range of 0.1% by mass to 3.0% by mass relative to the total mass of the first ink receiving layer. The second ink receiving layer contains inorganic particles including at least one of fumed silica and alumina. In the second ink receiving layer, the fumed silica or the alumina accounts for 80% by mass or more of the inorganic particles in the second ink receiving layer.

A color laser markable article includes a color laser markable layer provided on a support, the laser markable layer including an infrared absorbing compound; a leuco-dye; and an acid generating compound, wherein the acid generating compound has a structure according to Formulae (I) or (II): ##STR00001##
wherein R1 and R3 independently represent an optionally substituted alkyl group, an optionally substituted (hetero)cyclic alkyl group, an optionally substituted (hetero)aryl group, an optionally substituted aralkyl group, an optionally substituted alkoxy group, an optionally substituted (hetero)cyclic alkoxy group, or an optionally substituted (hetero)aryl group; R2, R4 and R5 independently represent an optionally substituted alkyl, an optionally substituted (hetero)cyclic alkyl group or an optionally substituted aralkyl group; and R1 and R2, R4 and R5, R3 and R4, and R3 and R5 may represent the necessary atoms to form a ring.

A method of forming an image on a substrate by applying energy, involves a substrate in or on which there are at least two different color-change agents, i.e. a first color-change agent capable of giving rise to at least two different colors; and a second color-change agent capable of giving rise to at least one different color than achievable with the first color change agent. A preferred embodiment of the invention is a multi-layer laminate comprising, in order, a layer comprising the first agent, a barrier layer, and a layer comprising the second agent.