Laser beam-induced color printing

Details Laser beam-induced color printing Laser beam-induced color printing

1990-05-22

1992-10-20

Fuller, Benjamin R.

Recorders

Performance of multiple functions of steam and gas engines

Pressure responsive element

346 76L, G01D 940, G01D 1514, G01D 1516

Patent

active

051574128

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to a method and system for laser beam induced color printing using micro encapsulated colorants or coloring forming agents.
GB-A-2 173 452 discloses an apparatus and a method for laser printing. A printing medium, for example a sheet of paper, is thereby employed whose surface is coated with what are referred to as micro-capsules. A special paper is thus required here in order to carry out the color printing.
These micro-capsules contain an ink employed as printing ink. As soon as such a micro-capsule is struck by the radiation of a laser of the printing equipment, this capsule is broken insofar as the incident laser beam has a certain, prescribed minimum energy. It can be provided that the ink contained in the capsule is absorbent for this laser emission such that the laser beam energy is absorbed by this ink. An alternative thereto is that the material of the wall of the capsule has such laser emission absorption. As an auxiliary, it can be provided that a respective micro-capsule additionally contains an absorber substance.
The absorbed laser emission energy effects that a respective micro-capsule bursts and the colored ink contained therein thus proceeds onto the paper as printing ink. A reinforcing effect in view of the effectiveness of the laser emission can be provided, namely, that a respective micro-capsule (additionally) and/or the material of the wall of the micro-capsule contains a substance that allows such a chemical reaction to occur upon incidence of the laser emission that effects or at least promotes the bursting of the capsules.
Such a laser printing method can be implemented in such fashion without employing printing character masks that the individual letters are composed matrix-like point-by-point by the correspondingly driven, focussed laser beam.
Multi-color printing employs micro-capsules that, arranged appropriately distributed, contain one of the respective printing inks provided. The colorants cyan, magenta and yellow and, potentially black in addition are therefore usually employed for this purpose.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,948 discloses a multi-color printing method with micro-capsules wherein it is provided that the micro-capsules of a respective color are arranged in a row. Dependent on whether a pure color or a secondary color is to be printed, one or more of these neighboring rows must then be impinged by the printing laser beam for a printing point in multi-color printing.
The earlier patent application that does not enjoy prior publication discloses a laser transfer printing method wherein the micro-capsules having the various colorants are situated as a layer on an inking ribbon similar to an inking ribbon disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,380 having micro-capsules with uniform printing colorant for black-white printing.
The problem of exact congruency of the chromatic images of the various primary colors exists for multi-color printing in the appertaining, known apparatus and methods, namely in order to achieve a sharp image and/or printed points with correct secondary color. The mutual adjustment of a plurality of laser beam sources is thereby a problem.
Given the otherwise advantageous employment of a static distribution of the micro-capsules of different colors, it is not possible to identify the different colors or, respectively, the positions of their capsules. In this case, three different laser wavelengths are employed for which absorber substances matching the different wavelengths must be selectively present in the capsules.
An object of the present invention is to specify a principle with which laser beam-induced color printing can be implemented without lasers of different wavelengths having appertaining absorber materials being necessary (and having to be correspondingly adjusted).
In a first modification, this object is achieved by a laser beam induced color printing system using a laser beam source of only one wavelength for producing a focussed laser beam, the micro-capsules of a respective color also containing a means having

REFERENCES:
patent: 3351948 (1967-11-01), Bonn
patent: 3842195 (1974-10-01), Takahashi et al.
patent: 4149887 (1979-04-01), Levy

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