Thermally printable medium, method for producing the thermally printable medium, use of the thermally printable medium, and system comprising a thermal printing device and a thermally printable medium

Abstract

A thermally printable medium comprises a printing substrate and a printing ink film. The printing substrate has at least one printing area. The printing ink film covers the printing area. The printing area is heat-printable. The printing ink film is affixed to the printing substrate outside the printing area.

Description

The invention relates to a thermoprinting medium which can be printed by means of a thermal transfer process.Thermal printing is usually available as direct thermal printing or thermal transfer printing, which are each suitable for different application purposes.In direct thermal printing, a thermosensitive special paper, for example, is guided along a heating strip. The heating bar heats specific positions on the special paper, so that the special paper colors at these locations. By moving the special paper, a complete printed image is thus produced. That is, the special paper used for direct thermal printing itself has the coloring properties. However, this also results in external influences such as light, heat and moisture changing the printing result over time. Thus, printing media of direct thermal printing have a reduced durability. Examples of printable film materials in the direct thermal printing process are: cashing rolls. However, other materials are also conceivable.In contrast, thermal transfer printing does not use a material which self-changes color under the influence of heat. Instead, an additional color film is introduced into the thermal transfer printer. During the printing operation, the film to be printed and the color film are guided by two conveying systems in such a way that they lie one above the other and are guided together past the heating strip. In the process, the color material melts on the color film and adheres to the film to be printed. The film to be printed and the color film are then separated. Since the film to be printed itself has no coloring properties and later solar radiation or other thermal influences do not cause any further discoloration, the print result by means of a transfer printing process is more stable compared to thermal direct printing. However, the thermal transfer printing process is more expensive and more expensive to implement, since an additional film is needed and the machine equipment comprises two materials. In addition, in the device, there must be high precision in the alignment of the films and of the print head (e.g. heating strip) with the conveying systems, so that these are guided exactly one above the other and a desired print result is achieved. Examples of film materials to be printed in the thermal transfer printing process are: PET, PP, PE films (black, white or colored). Examples of colour foils in the thermal transfer printing process are: black, white or coloured TTR colour tapes. However, other materials are also conceivable for thermal transfer printing.Thus, both printing methods have advantages and disadvantages. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermoprinting medium which combines the advantages of the direct thermal printing process with the advantages of the thermal transfer process.Summary of the InventionThis object is achieved by the thermoprinting medium having the features of claim 1, the method for producing a thermoprinting medium having the features of claim 7, the use of the thermoprinting medium having the features of claim 10 and the system for printing the thermoprinting medium having the features of claim 11. Further advantageous embodiments and further developments are the subject matter of the claims that follow.A thermoprinting medium has a printing substrate and an ink sheet. The print substrate has at least one print area. The ink sheet covers the printing area. The printing area is printable by heat. The ink sheet is fixed to the printing substrate outside the printing area.According to one aspect of the present invention, the ink sheet is fixed to the printing substrate with an adhesive.In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the print substrate comprises a substrate material and a face material. The support material and the upper material are connected to each other, and the upper material has the pressure region and is detachable from the support material. The upper may be a label.According to one aspect of the present invention, the print substrate has a belt-shaped shape, and a plurality of print regions are provided.According to a further aspect of the present invention, the thermoprinting medium is in roll form.The production of the thermoprinting medium comprises the provision of the printing substrate, the provision of the printing ink film and the fixing of the printing ink film on the printing substrate.According to an aspect of the present invention, the manufacturing further includes dividing the printing substrate into a plurality of printing regions.According to one aspect of the present invention, the production also comprises applying the adhesive to the printing substrate and / or the printing ink film.The thermoprinting medium is used for printing with a thermal transfer printing device or printing with a thermal direct printing device. The present invention thus also provides a system comprising the thermoprinting medium and the thermal transfer printing device or the thermal direct printing device.Brief Description of the DrawingsFIG. 1 shows a thermoprinting medium according to a first embodiment and a cross section of the thermoprinting medium; FIG. 2 shows a thermoprinting medium according to a second embodiment; FIG. 3 shows a step of a manufacturing method for the thermoprinting medium; FIG. 4 shows a further step of the production method for the thermoprinting medium; FIG. 5 shows a further step of the production method for the thermoprinting medium; FIG. 6 shows an alternative manufacturing method for a thermoprinting medium according to a third embodiment and a cross section thereof; FIG. 7 shows a use of the thermoprinting medium and a system of thermoprinting medium and thermoprinting device; and Fig. 8 shows a printed thermoprinting medium.Detailed Description of the EmbodimentsHereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.(First Embodiment)FIG. 1 shows in the upper part a single thermoprinting medium 1 according to a first embodiment. The thermoprinting medium 1 has a print substrate 2, an ink sheet 3 and an adhesive 5.The print substrate 2 is rectangular and has a carrier material 21 and a top material 22. The outer material 22 is connected to the carrier material 21, wherein the outer material 22 can be removed from the carrier material 21. The outer material 22 is, for example, a self-adhesive label which can be dispensed from the carrier material 21. Here, the upper material 22 can only cover a part of the carrier material 21 and can be rectangular.The ink sheet 3 is, for example, a wax, a wax-resin mixture, or a resin. The ink sheet 3 can release ink particles by heating or heating it on a material to which the ink particles adhere. According to the first embodiment, the ink particles of the printing ink film 3 can be transferred to the outer material 22 by means of heat or can be melted there.The ink sheet 3 is fixed on the printing substrate 2. According to the first embodiment, an adhesive 5 is used for fixing the ink sheet 3 on the print substrate 2. The adhesive 5 can be, for example, an adhesive that bonds to both the outer material 22 of the printing substrate 2 and the printing ink film 3. The adhesive 5 is partially applied to the outer material 22, so that the outer material 22 is not completely covered with the adhesive 5. The adhesive 5 fixes the ink sheet 3 on the print substrate 2, more specifically, on the upper material 22 of the print substrate 2 such that the ink sheet 3 at least partially covers the upper material 22 at locations where no adhesive 5 is located. According to the first embodiment, the adhesive 5 is located on two opposite sides of the rectangular upper 22 and has a strip shape. The ink sheet 3 has a rectangular shape and is fixed to the adhesive 5 with two sides of the rectangular shape. This produces a central region at which the ink sheet 3 covers the outer material 22, but is not fixed to this region. The ink sheet 3 spans a print area 4 of the print substrate 2.A region where the ink sheet 3 only covers the upper 22 but is not fixed thereto is referred to as a printing region 4. The print area 4 is the area which can be printed by a thermal printing device 6, since in this area, on the one hand, the printing ink film 3 covers the outer material 22 and, on the other hand, the printing ink film 3 can be completely removed, since it is not fixed within this area. At positions where the adhesive 5 fixes the ink sheet 3, the ink sheet 3 can be removed, but the ink particles adhere to the adhesive 5. A printing operation in this region would thus be unusable, since all ink particles adhere in this region. The printing range may therefore be any range on the upper material 22, and is not limited to specific ranges, but excludes any ranges where printing by the adhesive 5 is unusable.According to the first embodiment, a punching or perforation 23 is additionally provided within the upper material 22. As a result, the upper material 22 is divided into three sections. Two adhesive portions 24 comprise the areas with the adhesive 5 and one printing area portion 25 comprises the printing area 4.The cross-sectional view in FIG. 1 schematically shows the lamination of carrier material 21, upper material 22 with its sections 24 and 25, adhesive 5 and printing ink film 3 in a Z-direction, wherein the thickness of each layer does not correspond to the real thickness ratios, but is purely schematic in order to illustrate the construction of the thermoprinting medium.(Use)The use of the thermoprinting medium 1 according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 7.The thermoprinting medium 1 can be placed or inserted or introduced into a thermoprinting device 6. The thermal printing device 6 can be, for example, a thermal transfer printing device or a thermal direct printing device. The thermoprinting medium 1 is guided in the thermoprinting device 6 by way of a roller system 61 to a heating element 62 and along it. The heating element 62 can have, for example, a multiplicity of individually controlled heating points. The heating points are controlled in such a way that only the heating points heat up at which printing is to take place in the printing region 4 of the upper material 22. At the heated points, the ink particles of the printing ink film 3 pass over to the outer material 22 or remain adhering there. As the thermoprinting medium 1 is guided along the heating element 62, a print result is gradually obtained on the upper material 22.After the printing process, the printing ink film 3 can be removed from the thermoprinting medium 1. The ink sheet 3 either releases from the adhesive 5 or is separated or torn from the adhesive 5. In the thermoprinting medium 1, therefore, the base material 21, the upper material 22 with the two adhesive sections 24 and the printing area section 25 and the adhesive 5 remain, and a part of the ink sheet 3 and ink particles of the ink sheet 3 can adhere to the adhesive 5.The punching or perforation 23 in the outer material 22 can then separate the print area section 25 of the outer material 22 from the carrier material 21. Since no adhesive 5 is present in the printing area section 25, only ink particles on which the thermal printing device 6 has actually printed are present in the printing area section 25. Since the outer material 22 according to the first embodiment is also a self-adhesive label, a printed label can thus be applied or glued on according to the desired use.According to the use of the thermoprinting medium 1, the thermoprinting device 6 and the thermoprinting medium 1 form a system 7 for printing a thermoprinting medium 1.Fig. 8 also shows the thermoprinting medium 1 in a printed state, with the ink sheet 3 removed from the printing substrate 2. In the state shown in FIG. 8, the upper 22 may be dispensed along the punching or perforation 23. It can also be seen on the printing ink film 3 at which locations the printing ink film 3 has been heated and where the ink particles of the printing ink film 3 have transferred to the outer material 22.(Second Embodiment)According to a second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the thermoprinting medium 1 has a printing substrate 2 having a ribbon-shaped shape. On the print substrate 2, a plurality of print areas 40 to 4n are formed.The printing areas 40 to 4 nhaving a rectangular shape are arranged on the printing substrate 2 one after another along a longitudinal extension of the belt-shaped shape of the printing substrate 2. The longitudinal extension extends in a Y direction. Each print area 40 to 4nis separated from another print area 40 to 4nand is covered by a separate rectangular ink sheet 30 to 3n. Each ink sheet 30 to 3nis fixed to the upper material 22 by means of an adhesive 5. The adhesive 5 may be separate for each separate ink sheet 30 to 3n or form a continuous portion. According to the second embodiment, for each separate ink sheet 30 to 3n, two strips of adhesives 50 to 5n are provided, which are arranged along the long edge of the ribbon-shaped form of the thermoprinting medium 1 on opposite sides of the separate ink sheets 30 to 3n and also on opposite sides of the printing areas 40 to 4n.By the belt-shaped configuration of the thermoprinting medium 1, the thermoprinting medium 1 can be continuously introduced into a thermoprinting device 6. This enables a continuous printing operation without manual subsequent positioning after each thermoprinting medium 1. In addition, the thermoprinting medium 1 can thereby also be rolled up in a space-saving manner and integrated into a roller system 61.The thermoprinting medium 1 according to the second embodiment can be used in the same manner as the thermoprinting medium 1 according to the first embodiment.It is also noted that the pressure regions 40 to 4 ndo not necessarily have to be separate from one another. The print areas 40 to 4n can also be connected, for example, along a perforation line. The pressure regions 40 to 4 nmay also have different shapes and sizes.(Method)A method for producing the thermoprinting medium 1 will be described below.As a first step in the manufacturing method, the print substrate 2 is provided. The print substrate 2 according to one of the preceding embodiments includes the base material 21 and the upper material 22, which are connected to each other. At this time, the carrier material 21 and the printing substrate 2 are bonded to each other over their entire surface and form, for example, a label material as a raw material.The print substrate 2 is provided with an adhesive 5 in a second step. The adhesive 5 is applied, for example, on two opposite sides along the longitudinal extension of the printing substrate 2, as shown in FIG. 3. The adhesive 5 is thus disposed on each of left and right sides in an X direction and extends along the Y direction. The adhesive 5 can be suitably selected according to the materials used. The manner of application can also be freely chosen. The adhesive 5 is applied in strip form in the previous embodiments. This shape can be adjusted according to the application.After the application of the adhesive 5, in the next step, as shown in Fig. 4, the ink sheet 3 is laid over the printing substrate 2 while being bonded to the printing substrate 2 by the adhesive 5. This step already produces a thermoprinting medium 1.In order to ensure easy detachment of the outer material 22, a punching follows in the next step, in which the outer material 22 and the printing ink film 3 are separated into individual sections. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5 above, a plurality of ink films 30 to 3 n, a plurality of printing regions 40 to 4 n, and a plurality of adhesives 50 to 5 nare formed. With the removal of the excess ink sheet 3, as shown in FIG. 5 below, the substrate 21 around the printing areas 40 to 4n and the adhesives 50 to 5n are exposed. As a result, the upper material 22 can be easily pulled off or dispensed in each case.However, according to the above method, it is not necessary that the support material 21 be exposed. Despite complicated handling, the outer material 22 can nevertheless be printed and pulled off or dispensed from the carrier material 21.Further, it is possible to modify the method. For example, the adhesive 5 can also be applied to the printing ink film 3. Subsequently, the printing substrate 2 is fixed on the ink sheet 3.Further, punching may be performed between the steps for intermediates described above, respectively. For example, the outer material 22 can first be punched and then the adhesive 5 applied. In this case, it is also possible to apply the adhesive 5 to the exposed carrier material 21 instead of to the upper material 22.(Alternative Method)Alternatively to the above-described method, a thermoprinting medium 1 according to a third embodiment shown in FIG. 6 above may be manufactured by another method.According to the thermoprinting medium 1 of the third embodiment, the ink sheet 3 is not fixed to the printing substrate 2 by means of an adhesive 5. In this embodiment, the ink sheet 3 is directly applied to the upper material 22 of the printing substrate 2 because no adhesive 5 is applied therebetween. The printing ink film 3 has an extension according to which the printing substrate 2 is exposed from the printing ink film 3 at least on two opposite sides.The fixing of the ink sheet 3 is made by a fixing portion 500. The fixing portion 500 is, for example, an adhesive film. The fixing portion 500 according to the third embodiment is applied in a strip form on opposite sides of the longitudinal extent of the print substrate 2, that is to say on the left and right sides in the X direction. The fixing section 500 overlaps both the printing ink film 3 and the printing substrate 2, which is possible since the printing ink film 3 has a smaller area than the printing substrate 2 or the printing substrate 2 is exposed around the printing ink film 3. The fixing portion 500 then adheres to the surface of the ink sheet 3 and the printing substrate 2 from above in the Z direction, respectively.In other words, this embodiment can be understood as if the printing ink film 3 were fixed to the printing substrate 2 by means of an adhesive tape. As shown in FIG. 6 below, the area between the fixing portions 500 is printable by a thermal printing device 6. In a case where the fixing portion 500 is thin enough, the fixing portion 500 may also protrude into the printing region 4 or cover it, provided that the heat generation is sufficient for printing with the ink sheet 3 through the fixing portion 500.The thermoprinting medium 1 according to the third embodiment can also be punched or perforated in order to form a plurality of printing regions 40 to 4 naccording to the second embodiment.Moreover, the thermoprinting medium 1 according to the third embodiment can also be used like the thermoprinting media 1 of the first and second embodiments.(Advantages)The thermoprinting medium 1 according to the above-described embodiments has the following advantages.The ink sheet 3 is fixed on the printing substrate 2. The thermoprinting medium 1 is thus a printable medium with an integrated ink film 3.The thermoprinting medium 1 can be printed both in a thermal transfer printing device and in a thermal direct printing device. When used in a thermal transfer printing device, therefore, no printing ink film roll is necessary, which must first be inserted and aligned. The ink sheet 3 on the thermoprinting medium 1 is already aligned after application, which is why less equipment outlay on the machine arises here and the printing process can be started more quickly.The direct thermal printing device does not have any additional ink film rolls, since there no ink film 3 is necessary with the special paper used. The special paper is not resistant to external influences, however. For this purpose, a transfer printing method is required which can provide more stable results compared to the direct thermal printing.Direct thermal printing devices are usually designed very compact, so that they can be carried along on the body of a user. The provision of an additional roller system 61 for an ink film roller is thereby made more difficult. With the thermoprinting medium 1 according to the previous embodiments, thermal transfer printing can be performed in a thermal direct printing device. Consequently, the compactness of the thermal direct printing apparatus can be utilized and at the same time, a stable and external-resistant printed product can be obtained.The thermoprinting medium 1 according to the preceding embodiments is thus a thermohybrid label which can be used universally in different thermoprinting devices 6 with little preparation effort.(Modifications)Shapes and positions described above are not limited to the shapes and positions. For example, the printing substrate 2, the ink sheet 3, the printing area 4, and the adhesive 5 may have any shape and arrangement as long as the ink sheet 3 is fixed to the printing substrate 2 such that the printing area 4 is covered by the ink sheet 3.The individual print areas 40 to 4n can be separated by punching, perforation, cutting or other means which separate the print areas from one another (for example also a purely optical separation by a marking).The adhesive 5 can be applied both in a planar and punctiform manner. In addition, the adhesive 5 can be selected as any desired adhesive or adhesive which can fix the printing ink film 3 and the printing substrate 2 to one another. In addition, the adhesive 5 and the fixing portion 500 may be combined with each other as desired.The embodiments describe the face material 22 as a label. The face material 22 may also be other than a label. In addition, the print substrate 2 can consist only of the outer material 22. The face stock 22 need not be self-adhesive or adhesive in any other form.In the embodiments described above, the outer material 22 and the printing ink film 3 lie flush on one another. However, this is not necessary as long as a part of the ink sheet 3 overlaps the upper material 22, so that a printable area is formed.Moreover, it is possible to use the thermoprinting medium 1 in another thermoprinting device. In this case, no roller system 61 and no heating strip 62 need be used. For example, a heated punch can also be used.(List of Reference Numerals)1 Thermoprinting medium 2 Print substrate 21 Carrier material 22 Upper material 23 Perforation 24 Adhesive section 25 Print area section 3 Ink sheet 30 to 3 n Vielzahl of ink sheets 4 Print area 40 to 4 n Vielzahl of print areas 5 Adhesive 50 to 5 n Vielzahl of adhesives 500 Fixing section 6 Thermoprinting device 61 Roller system 62 Heating element 7 System

Claims

Thermoprinting medium (1) comprising: a printing substrate (2) and an ink film (3, 30-3n), wherein the printing substrate (2) comprises at least one printing region (4, 40-4n), the printing region (4, 40-4n) is covered by the ink film (3, 30-3n) and can be printed by means of heat, and the ink film (3, 30-3n) is fixed to the printing substrate (2) outside the printing region (4, 40-4n).The thermoprinting medium (1) according to claim 1, further comprising: an adhesive (5, 50-5n) for fixing the ink sheet (3, 30-3n) to the printing substrate (2).The thermoprinting medium (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the printing substrate (2) comprises a support material (21) and a top material (22), the support material (21) and the top material (22) are connected to each other, the top material (22) comprises the printing area (4, 40-4n) and is detachable from the support material (21).The thermoprinting medium (1) of claim 3, wherein the face stock (22) is a label.The thermoprinting medium (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the printing substrate (2) has a belt-shaped shape, a plurality of printing regions (40-4n) are provided.Thermoprinting medium (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the thermoprinting medium (1) is present in roll form.A method for producing a thermoprinting medium (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: providing a printing substrate (2), providing an ink sheet (3, 30-3n), and fixing the ink sheet (3, 30-3n) on the printing substrate (2).The method according to claim 7 for producing a thermoprinting medium (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: dividing the printing substrate (2) into a plurality of printing regions (40-4n).Method according to Claim 7 or Claim 8 for producing a thermoprinting medium (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the adhesive (5, 50-5n) is applied to the printing substrate (2) and / or the ink film (3, 30-3n).Use of a thermoprinting medium (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6 for printing with a thermoprinting device (6).A system for printing a thermoprinting medium (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: a thermoprinting device (6) and the thermoprinting medium (1).

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