Basic Study on Transient Temperature Response of Papers in a Thermal Transfer Printer

This study describes temperature response of papers in a thermal transfer printer. Thermal transfer printer produces an image by heating heat sensitive papers using a thermal head. The print quality of the thermal printing is highly dependent on a temperature response of the paper. Our research targets to develop a control technique of temperature of the printing paper to improve the print quality of the thermal transfer printer. In this report, our special attention is paid to investigate the temperature response of a paper when the heat is applied by the thermal head. The temperature transient in the paper is measured while changing the type of the paper. Moreover, in order to investigate a relationship between thermophysical properties of papers and the temperature response, the thermophysical properties are measured. A thermal network analysis is additionally performed and the effects of a contact resistance between the paper and the thermal head are also investigated. It is found that transient temperature response of the printing paper is strongly dependent on a type of the printing paper and the level of an input heat. A change of the temperature response is caused by the difference of thermophysical properties of the paper and a variation of a contact resistance between the paper and the thermal head.