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(11) | EP 1 063 096 A3 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Ink jet printer for photofinishing |
| (57) An ink jet printer (10) for making photographic prints includes at least one paper
supply (12, 12', 58, 58') for holding a supply of print paper and a sheet paper transport
belt (30, 31) arranged to receive sheets of print paper (25) from the at least one
paper supply and transport the sheets through the printer. A back printer (26) is
located between the at least one paper supply and the paper transport belt for applying
back prints to the print paper. A full print width color ink jet print head (36) located
over a first portion of the transport belt (30) for printing an image on a paper sheet.
A linear image sensor (46) located in front of the ink jet print head detects the
edges of the paper sheet being transported under the print head and a controller (54)
connected to the paper sensor generates a digital mask representing the area of the
paper and applies the digital mask to a digital image being printed, thereby preventing
overspill printing onto the belt. A paper dryer (48) is located over a second portion
of the transport belt (31), the paper dryer including a source of flowing air (50)
for drying the ink image on the paper. |