Apparatus and method for thermal printing of finely detailed ima

Details Apparatus and method for thermal printing of finely detailed ima Apparatus and method for thermal printing of finely detailed ima

1991-09-20

1993-08-31

Reinhart, Mark J.

Recorders

Thermal recording

358298, B41J 248

Patent

active

052413284

ABSTRACT:
There are disclosed an apparatus and a method for thermal printing by dye transfer of a high definition image on a receiver element such as a full color slide transparency. This new thermal printing apparatus includes a laser, means to scan a finely focused spot of light from the laser along a line, means to position a dye donor element and a closely adjacent receiver element (side transparency) to be scanned by the laser light spot, and laser drive and control logic (LDCL) means for turning the laser full-on to an optimum power level for a time determined by high speed print data in the form of data words. The method according to the invention includes the step of applying to a dye donor element thermal energy from a laser at a power level at which the dye ablates rather than sublimes. The laser is driven at an optimum power-on level and the length of time the laser is on determines the amount of dye transferred to a receiver element as a dye pixel. This substantially improves the linearity of tone scale of the dye pixels printed on the receiver element over a wide range of exposures and densities. A slide transparency image made in this way nearly equals and, in some cases, may exceed the visual quality of an image made by photography.

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