Platen-drive thermal dye printer with cone shaped scuff rollers transporting the receiver in reciprocating directions

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention as disclosed herein overcomes the problems set forth above.
The invention uses at least one conical shaped scuff roller at one end of a platen roller to transport the precut dye receiver media and is configured in such a way that the scuff roller presses the back surface of the dye receiver media against the guiding plate in the non-imaging margin of the dye receiver media.
The invention uses a smooth guiding plate and platen thus, preventing scratches on the front surface of the receiver media.
The invention is not subject to costly receiver transport mechanism failures, in that it uses the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation of the platen to provide perfect alignment of the receiver media and printer head.
The invention contemplates the use of an elastomer layer on the conical scuff roller which assists in the alignment of the dye receiver media to the same guide wall in both the forward and reverse directions.
More importantly, the invention provides a smoother transport during printing.
This occurs because the platen is always the master driver during printing.
The conical scuff roller is used only to steer the dye receiver media.
Additionally, the invention contemplates the use of two conical scuff rollers positioned in the front and rear of the printer head when using longer dye receiver media.
The invention has a linear dye receiver media transport path with a printing speed range from between 2.
5 ms-40 ms line time at resolutions in the range between 150-600 dpi.
As a result, the invention as disclosed herein is able to deliver a thermal dye printer mechanism with both a forward printing and reverse action for providing picking, transport during picking, and ejection of the dye receiver media.
The printer mechanism is lower in cost and smaller in size.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description in which the preferred embodiments have been set forth in conjunction with the accompanying drawings