Tape printer, tape printing system, ink ribbon cassette for a tape printer, method of loading a tape cassette and an ink ribbon cassette into a tape printer, and tape cassette for a tape printer

A tape printer for use with a tape cassette and an ink ribbon cassette, the printer comprising a housing and a printhead having a line of printing elements thereon, wherein said printer comprises at least one cassette receiving portion in said housing for receiving the tape cassette and the ink ribbon cassette, such that the cassettes are receivable in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the line of printing elements on the printhead when the printhead is in a printing position.

REFERENCE RELATED TO APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase of international application no. PCT/IB2005/000919, filed Mar. 23, 2005, and claims priority to GB 0406642.9, filed Mar. 24, 2004.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a tape printer. Particularly but not exclusively, the invention relates to a handheld tape printer for use with a cassette housing a print receiving medium and a separate cassette housing a print forming medium, such as an image transfer tape.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Known tape printers may be divided into two types: tape printers for use with a cassette which houses both a print receiving medium (hereinafter referred to as a tape which may be a continuous tape or may comprise a web carrying die cut labels) and a print forming medium (hereinafter referred to as an ink ribbon); and tape printers which are arranged for use with a cassette housing the tape and a separate cassette housing the ink ribbon. The advantage of the latter arrangement is that the ink ribbon cassette may be replaced with another cassette containing ink ribbon of either the same or a different type without replacing the tape cassette. This is advantageous in, for example, multicolored printing in which the ink ribbon cassette may be replaced with another cassette containing ink ribbon of a different color. Alternatively, the tape cassette may be replaced without replacing the ink ribbon cassette. This feature is advantageous if a different type of tape is required, such as a tape of a different width or a tape comprising a different material. Furthermore, a single ink ribbon cassette may be used for a plurality of tape cassettes with the ink ribbon in the ink ribbon cassette being longer than the tape in the tape cassette.

In this specification, systems which use a cassette containing both the tape and ink ribbon are referred to as D1-type systems and systems which use separate tape and ink ribbon cassettes are referred to as D2-type systems.

The most common arrangement for both D1 and D2 type systems comprises a tape printer having a cassette receiving portion in an upper surface thereof. The cassette receiving portion houses a printhead and a platen.

In known D1-type systems the cassette housing the tape and ink ribbon is inserted into the receiving portion from a top side in a direction which is parallel to an axis of rotation of the platen and also parallel to a line of print elements on the printhead such that when the cassette is received by the cassette receiving portion, the tape and the ink ribbon pass in overlap between the printhead and platen with the ink ribbon on the same side of the tape as the printhead. On receiving the cassette in the cassette receiving portion, the printhead and/or the platen roller are moveable so as to pinch the ink ribbon and tape therebetween for printing.

In known D2-type arrangements the printer comprises a cassette receiving portion for receiving the tape cassette and the ink ribbon cassette. The cassette receiving portion houses a platen and a printhead and the tape cassette and the ink ribbon cassette are inserted from a top side in a direction parallel to an axis rotation of the platen and also parallel to a line of printing elements on the printhead. When received in the cassette receiving portion, the tape and the ink ribbon pass in overlap between the printhead and the platen with the printhead and/or the platen being moveable so as to pinch the tape and ink ribbon therebetween for printing.

A disadvantage of this type of vertical loading arrangement is that the tape and/or ink ribbon may catch on elements of the printer such as the printhead and/or platen thus damaging the tape and/or ink ribbon. Furthermore, the cassettes used in such arrangements have portions of the tape/ink ribbon extending outside the housing of the cassette. Accordingly, the tape and/or ink ribbon may be damaged during storage as well as during use.

A D1-type arrangement which seeks to solve the above identified problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,657. This patent discloses a printer for use with a cartridge housing an ink ribbon and tape. A platen is provided in the cassette which co-operates with the tape and ink ribbon, the tape being disposed on a side closest to the platen relative to the ink ribbon. The printer has an opening on a side thereof for receiving the cassette which may be laterally inserted into the printer. When laterally inserted into the printer, the platen of the cassette operates with a printhead in the printer and a gear on the platen co-operates with a gear in the printer for advancing the tape and ink ribbon.

WO 99/44834 discloses a D2-type printer in which an ink ribbon cassette is laterally insertable in a side thereof. The tape is supplied as a spool which is insertable in a spool receiving portion from a top side of the printer. The printer houses a printhead and a platen for co-operation with the tape and ink ribbon which pass therebetween. In the arrangement disclosed in WO 99/44834 the platen and printhead are arranged such that the axis of rotation of the platen and a line of print elements on the printhead are parallel to the direction of insertion of the ink ribbon cassette. Accordingly, the above described problem of the ink ribbon catching the platen and/or the printhead remains in this arrangement. Furthermore, as the tape is not housed in a cassette it may be damaged during storage and use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aim of the embodiments described hereinafter is to solve the problems outlined above.

According to the invention there is provided a tape printer for use with a tape cassette and an ink ribbon cassette, said printer comprising a housing and a printhead having a line of printing elements thereon, wherein said printer comprises at least one cassette receiving portion in said housing for receiving the tape cassette and the ink ribbon cassette, such that the cassettes are receivable in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the line of printing elements on the printhead when the printhead is in a printing position.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a tape printing system comprising a tape printer as defined above in combination with a tape cassette housing a supply of tape and an ink ribbon cassette housing a supply of ink ribbon.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an ink ribbon cassette for a tape printer, said cassette comprising a body having an ink ribbon supply portion housing an ink ribbon supply spool, an ink ribbon take-up portion housing an ink ribbon take up spool, and a member connecting said two portions, wherein an opening is provided in the body between the ink ribbon supply portion and the ink ribbon take up portion which extends over the entire width of the cassette body from a rear side to a front side in a direction perpendicular to axes of rotation of said spools, with ink ribbon passing from said ink ribbon supply portion to said ink ribbon take-up portion across said opening, said ink ribbon cassette further comprising a gear coupled to said ink-ribbon take-up spool at an upper or a lower portion thereof for coupling with a drive gear in a tape printer.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of loading a tape cassette and an ink ribbon cassette into a tape printer, said tape printer comprising a printhead having a line of printing elements thereon, said method comprising the step of inserting said tape cassette and said ink ribbon cassette into said tape printer in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the line of printing elements on the printhead when the printhead is in a printing position.

Embodiments of the invention solve the above identified problems by providing a tape printer for use with a tape cassette and an ink ribbon cassette, in which the tape cassette and ink ribbon cassette are laterally insertable into the printer in a direction which is perpendicular to an axis of rotation of a platen and a line of print elements on a printhead within the printer. Accordingly, embodiments provide a D2-type system in which the tape cassette and ink ribbon cassette are loadable into the printer without the possibility of the tape and ink ribbon catching on elements of the printer such as the printhead and/or platen. Embodiments of the invention are user friendly and allow easy loading and unloading of cassettes into a tape printer. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention have the advantage over D1-type arrangements in that the tape cassette or the ink ribbon cassette can be replaced individually according to the requirements of a user.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a tape cassette for a tape printer, the tape cassette comprising a body having a base, a top, and sides extending from the base to the top, the body housing a roll of print receiving medium having an axis of rotation extending in a first direction, the body having a guide member on each of two opposing sides extending along said sides in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction for guiding the tape cassette into a tape printer in the second direction.

The two elongate guide members aid in both guiding the tape cassette into the tape printer and also aligning the tape cassette with a print head of the tape printer. The guide members also prevent movement of the cassette when inserted into the tape printer for better quality printing. The provision of an elongate guide member on opposing sides prevents rotational movement of the cassette.

Preferably, the tape cassette further comprises a supply spool extending in a first direction, the roll of print receiving medium being mounted on the supply spool. The tape cassette may also comprise a platen extending in the first direction and mounted in an opening of the body for cooperation with a print head of a tape printer in use.

Advantageously, the guide members should be adapted to prevent movement of the cassette in both vertical and horizontal directions when inserted into the tape printer. One such arrangement is provided by guide members comprising a first elongate member disposed in a plane perpendicular to the side walls of the cassette and a second elongate member disposed in a plane parallel to the side walls so as to prevent movement in both vertical and horizontal directions when the cassette is inserted in a printer. The guide members thus have a substantially T-shaped cross-section. With such an arrangement the cassette is very precisely positioned in the cassette-receiving bay relative to the print head for high quality printing.

In the drawings, like parts are labelled with the same reference numeral. Furthermore, it is to be noted that the drawings are only schematic. In particular, the drawings show the cassette receiving part of printers according to embodiments of the invention. For clarity, other parts of the printer such as a keyboard and a display have not been illustrated. It is intended that the cassette receiving parts illustrated may be incorporated into a hand held printer or into a PC printer. For example, in one embodiment, the portion of the printer comprising the keyboard and display extends from a side of the cassette receiving part opposite the cutter mechanism in the illustrated embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 to 3show schematic diagrams of a D2-type printing system according to a first embodiment of the invention. The printing system comprises a printer2, a tape cassette4(an embodiment of which is illustrated in more detail inFIGS. 24 to 26and described later) and an ink ribbon cassette6(an embodiment of which is illustrated in more detail inFIGS. 27 to 29and described later). The printer2has a housing comprising two parts which are rotatable relative to each other. In the illustrated embodiment the housing comprises a cover10which is rotatable relative to a body12of the printer2. The cover10may be a cover. An opening8on a side of the body12is provided for laterally inserting the tape cassette4. The tape cassette4further comprises a platen roller11. The cover10comprises a printhead14mounted thereon. When in an open position as illustrated inFIG. 2a, the cover10is arranged to receive the ink ribbon cassette6. Closing the cover10having the ink ribbon cassette6mounted thereon brings the printhead14into engagement with the platen11mounted in the tape cassette4with ink ribbon and tape disposed therebetween. The closing operation is illustrated inFIGS. 3aand3b. A cutter16is provided on a side of the tape printer2adjacent to a tape exit18for cutting a label.

In an alternative arrangement the tape cassette is received in the cover and the ink ribbon cassette is received in the body of the printer. In such an arrangement, the printhead is provided in the body of the printer.

An embodiment of the tape cassette is illustrated inFIGS. 24 to 26. The tape cassette4comprises a housing which has an upper side5, a lower side7and lateral sides9,11,13,15. The lower side7and the lateral sides9,11,13,15are integral and the upper side5is attachable thereto for easy construction. The lower side7has a curved wall17on an inner surface thereof for receiving the tape19therein. Two opposed lateral sides9,11have guide members21thereon for guiding the tape cassette on insertion into the printer to provide good alignment of the cassette with the printhead in the printer. A tape supply spool23is provided within said housing and carries a supply of tape19. The upper and lower sides have a through hole25positioned to correspond to the position of the spool23when loaded in the housing. One of said sides15has an opening27providing a tape exit at a corner of the housing. Adjacent the tape exit, a platen29is disposed for cooperation with the printhead14in the printer2. The platen is mounted adjacent said opening between said upper and lower sides for rotational motion with the axis of rotation of said platen being perpendicular to said upper and lower surfaces and also perpendicular to the direction of insertion of said cassette4into said printer2. The tape is arranged to pass from said supply spool and around a portion of said platen such that a portion of tape disposed in the platen is exposed in the opening in the housing for printing thereon.

An embodiment of the ink ribbon cassette is illustrated inFIGS. 27 to 29. The ink ribbon cassette6comprises a housing having a front and rear parts31,33which are attachable to each other for easy manufacture. The housing has an ink ribbon supply portion20, an ink ribbon take-up portion22and an opening24therebetween. The ink ribbon supply portion20houses an ink ribbon supply spool35while the ink ribbon take up portion22houses an ink ribbon take up spool37. The ink ribbon supply spool35carries a supply of ink ribbon39. The ink ribbon39passes through a slit41in the ink ribbon supply portion20of the housing and across the opening24between the ink ribbon supply portion20and the ink ribbon take-up portion22of the housing. The ink ribbon passes through a slit43in the ink ribbon take-up portion22of the housing to the ink ribbon take-up spool37housed therein. The ink ribbon supply portion20of the housing and the ink ribbon take-up portion22of the housing are connected at upper and lower sides by upper and lower cross members26,28. In the particular embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2, the upper cross member28is integral with an upper surface30of the housing. The upper surface passes over the opening24between the two portions20,22of the housing and provides extra strength to prevent the cross members snapping during handling. A lower surface45may also be provided, as shown inFIGS. 27 to 29, passing under the opening24between the two portions of the housing to add further strength to the housing of the cassette. The cross members26,28form a substantially rectangular window with sides of the ink ribbon supply portion20and ink ribbon take-up portion22of the housing. The opening24in the body of the cassette extends over the entire width of the cassette body from a rear side to a front side in a direction perpendicular to axes of rotation of the spools35,37. The ink ribbon39passes across the substantially rectangular window whereby in use the print head14in the printer2passes through the opening24in the housing and cooperates with the ink ribbon in the window for printing.

The housing of the ink ribbon cassette further comprises a locking mechanism32as shown inFIG. 2bwhich cooperates with the housing of the printer to hold the cassette6in place. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2, the locking mechanism32comprises an opening in the side of the cassette housing which cooperates with a projection34mounted on the housing of the printer2to form a snap-fit holding feature. In the illustrated embodiment, the projection is mounted on the cover10of the printer2for holding the cassette6in a cassette receiving portion in the cover of the printer.

The ink ribbon cassette further comprises a gear23coupled to said ink-ribbon take-up spool37at a lower portion thereof for coupling with a drive gear in a tape printer for printing. The ink ribbon cassette further comprises a gear25coupled to said ink-ribbon supply spool35at a lower portion thereof for coupling with a drive gear in a tape printer. This mechanism allows for rewinding of the ink ribbon and also can be utilized to pre-tension the ink ribbon prior to printing. The ink ribbon cassette further comprises two sprockets47,49with flanges51,53, the sprockets being coupled to the ink-ribbon supply spool35and the ink ribbon take up spool37respectively. The sprockets are biased by helical springs55,57to form a rewind brake.

The cassette receiving portion of the cover comprises two cavities36,38with a printhead mounting portion40therebetween. The print head mounting portion40passes from a lower surface of the cover10to a position spaced apart from the upper surface of the cover10. A gap is therefore provided between the print head mounting portion40and the upper surface of the cover10for accommodating the upper surface30of the ink ribbon cassette6. In an alternative embodiment in which an ink ribbon cassette is provided with a lower surface, a gap is also provided between the print head mounting portion and the lower surface of the cover for accommodating the lower surface of the ink ribbon cassette.

The print head14is mounted on the print head mounting portion40. When the ink ribbon cassette6is inserted in the cassette receiving portion, the ink ribbon supply portion20of the cassette housing is accommodated in one of the cavities36of the cassette receiving portion and the ink ribbon take-up portion22of the cassette housing is accommodated in the other one of the cavities38of the cassette receiving portion. The print head mounting portion40passes through the opening24between the two portions of the cassette20,22whereby the printhead14is disposed against the ink ribbon in the window of the cassette housing. The snap-fit mechanism32,34holds the cassette6in the cassette receiving portion in this position. When the cover10is closed as illustrated inFIGS. 3aand3b, the printhead14cooperates with the platen in the tape cassette4with the tape and ink ribbon disposed therebetween for printing.

The tape passes though a tape exit18comprising an opening in a side of the body12of the printer2and after printing a printed label is cut from the tape by operation of a cutting mechanism16located adjacent the tape exit18.

FIGS. 4 to 7show schematic diagrams of a D2-type printing system according to a second embodiment of the invention. The printing system comprises a similar structure to that of the first embodiment. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the ink ribbon cassette106is not mounted directly in the cover10carrying the printhead14, but rather is mounted in an ink ribbon cassette holder42which moves together with the cover10when opening the cover, but with limited rotation relative to the cover. When closing the cover10, the ink ribbon cassette holder42holding the ink ribbon cassette106is engaged by the cover10and is pushed into a closed position with the printhead14passing through an opening in the holder42and ink ribbon cassette106to co-operate with the platen roller in the tape cassette4.

FIGS. 4 and 5illustrate two views of the printer2with a tape cassette4and an ink ribbon cassette106mounted therein.FIG. 6illustrates how the ink ribbon cassette106is mounted in the printer2.

The ink ribbon cassette106is similar in structure to that previously described in relation to the first embodiment. The housing has the same two portion structure with an opening therebetween. In the embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 6aand6b, the cassette has an upper surface30extending over the opening between the two housing portions and a lower surface44extending below the opening between the two housing portions. One or more alignment members46are provided on the housing of the cassette for cooperation with alignment members48in the ink ribbon cassette holder of the printer for correctly aligning the ink ribbon cassette. In the illustrated embodiment, the alignment members46comprise grooves in the upper and lower surfaces of the cassette which cooperate with ribs48in the cassette holder in the printer. An alternative would be to provide ribs on the cassette and grooves in the cassette holder.

The ink ribbon cassette holder comprises an upper surface50, a lower surface52and two wall portions54disposed therebetween on one side of the holder. An opening is provided between the two wall portions on said one side through which the printhead passes when the cover is closed. In another embodiment two further wall portions may be provided on an opposite side of the holder to said wall portions54, with an opening therebetween through which the printhead may pass when the cover is closed. The cassette holder42is mounted in the body12of the printer for limited rotation relative to the body whereby when the cover10is opened the cassette holder rotates though an angle less than the angle through which the cover rotates. The cassette holder54and the cover10are mounted on a common axis for rotation. The cover10can rotate through an angle of up to approximately 90° but more usually up to 70° and more usually still up to 50°. The holder54can rotate though an angle of up to 45° but more usually up to 35° and more usually still up to 25°, i.e. approximately half the angle though which the cover rotates.

The cover10has a similar structure to that previously described in relation to the first embodiment. That is, the cover10comprises a receiving portion having two cavities36,38with a print head support portion40therebetween. A gap is provided between the print head mounting portion and the lower surface of the cover for accommodating the lower surface of the ink ribbon cassette holder and the lower surface of the ink ribbon cassette106. Another gap is provided between the print head mounting portion and the upper surface of the cover for accommodating the upper surface of the ink ribbon cassette holder and the upper surface of the ink ribbon cassette106.

FIGS. 7aand7bshow the operation of closing the cover10.FIG. 7ashows the printer in an open position. On closing, the cover is rotated in a clockwise direction thus causing the print head14mounted on the print head mounting portion40to pass though the opening in the cassette holder42and the opening in the ink ribbon cassette106. As the cover10is rotated it cooperates with the cassette holder42thereby receiving the cassette holder and the cassette in the receiving portion and pushing the cassette within the holder into its printing position. In this closed position shown inFIG. 7b, the print head cooperates with the platen in the tape cassette4with the tape and ink ribbon disposed therebetween. The cover10holds the ink ribbon cassette106in this position after closing.

While the first embodiment is more simple in design and construction than the second embodiment and is therefore easier and cheaper to manufacture, the holder of the second embodiment may provide improved alignment of the ink ribbon cassette when in the printing position thereby improving print quality. The second embodiment may also provide an easier and more user friendly arrangement for loading the ink ribbon cassette into the printer.

FIG. 8shows the embodiment ofFIGS. 4 to 7with an alternate cutting unit116which is more compact.

FIGS. 9 to 15show schematic diagrams of a D2-type printing system according to a third embodiment of the invention. The printing system comprises a tape cassette4, a tape printer and an ink ribbon cassette206. The tape printer has an opening8in a side thereof for laterally inserting the tape cassette4. The tape printer has another opening58for lateral insertion of the ink ribbon cassette206. The tape printer further comprises a printhead14mounted on a rotatable mechanism60for rotating the printhead into a printing position via a lever56mounted for rotation on the printer. The printhead14passes through an opening in the ink ribbon cassette206to co-operate with the platen mounted in the tape cassette4such that the tape and ink ribbon are disposed therebetween.

The structure of the tape cassette4and the ink ribbon cassette206is similar to that described previously in the first and second embodiments.

The printer differs from those described in the first and second embodiments in that the ink ribbon cassette206is not mounted in a cover but rather is mounted directly in the body of the printer. The housing of the printer does not comprise two parts which are rotatable relative to each other, but rather comprises a single body12. An ink ribbon cassette receiving portion58is provided in the body. This is similar in structure to the ink ribbon cassette holder described in relation to the second embodiment and is illustrated inFIGS. 11 and 12.

FIGS. 11 and 12illustrate the rotatable mechanism60on which the printhead14is mounted. In a first position illustrated inFIGS. 11 and 12, the printhead14is positioned on an opposite side of said ink ribbon cassette receiving portion58to the tape cassette receiving portion8. After inserting the ink ribbon cassette206into the receiving portion in the printer, the mechanism60is rotated in a clockwise direction by a lever56whereby the printhead14mounted on an arm62of the mechanism60passes through the opening in the ink ribbon cassette as shown inFIG. 13to cooperate with the platen in the tape cassette4with the tape and ink ribbon disposed therebetween. In the printing position, the rotatable mechanism holds/clamps the ink ribbon cassette in position as shown inFIGS. 14 and 15.

As the third embodiment does not comprise a two part housing as compared with the first and second embodiments it may be easier and cheaper to manufacture. Furthermore, as the ink ribbon cassette receiving portion is fixed rather than movable relative to the body of the printer in the third embodiment, this may aid in more consistent alignment.

FIGS. 16 to 23show schematic diagrams of a D2-type printing system according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. The fourth embodiment is similar in construction to the third embodiment, the difference being in the structure of the mechanism on which the printhead14is mounted. In the third embodiment, the printhead is mounted on a rotatable mechanism60. In contrast, in the fourth embodiment the printhead is mounted on a mechanism64which moves along a straight line in a direction which is perpendicular to a line of printing elements on the printhead and which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the platen in the tape cassette when the tape cassette is loaded in the printer. The mechanism comprises a lever64which is moveable in and out of an opening in the tape printer body12. After inserting the ink ribbon cassette306and tape cassette4into the printer, pushing the lever64in an inwards direction causes the printhead14to pass though an opening in the ink ribbon cassette306and co-operate with the platen in the tape cassette with the tape and ink ribbon disposed therebetween.

FIGS. 16 and 17show two general views of the printing system in its printing arrangement with the tape cassette4and the ink ribbon cassette306mounted in the printer and the printhead mechanism64in its locked printing position.

FIGS. 18 to 23show in more detail the procedure for inserting the ink ribbon cassette. First, as illustrated inFIGS. 18 and 19, the handle/lever64on which the printhead14is mounted is moved from its locked position in which the printhead is in its printing position to a position on an opposite side of the ink ribbon cassette receiving portion304from said tape cassette receiving portion8. The ink ribbon cassette306can then be inserted into the ink ribbon cassette receiving portion304. After inserting the ink ribbon cassette306, the printhead mechanism64is actuated by a user whereby the printhead14is moved into a printing position and is locked in position by a locking mechanism. In this position, the print head mechanism64also holds the ink ribbon cassette in position. The printhead can be locked in position with a push lock system.

The ink ribbon cassette may be similar in structure to that previously described. The cassette306illustrated inFIGS. 19 to 23is of a modified design. However, the cassette still comprises a housing having a two portion structure with an opening therebetween as previously described.

The fourth embodiment has a more simple printhead mechanism than the third embodiment and may therefore be easier and cheaper to manufacture. Furthermore, as there are no tortional forces on the printhead mechanism during use then there is less likelihood of damage to the mechanism over a period of time. However, as the lever64in the fourth embodiment extends from the body of the printer in the position illustrated inFIGS. 18 and 19, then the lever may become damaged e.g. if the printer is dropped.

In a fifth embodiment not illustrated, a printer may be provided with a housing comprising a single opening through which both the ink ribbon cassette and the tape cassette may be inserted. In such an arrangement, a fixed printhead may be provided in the printer. An ink ribbon cassette similar to that illustrated inFIG. 2ais loaded into the printer first in a lateral direction whereby the printhead in the printer passes through the opening in the cassette and cooperates with the ink ribbon. A tape cassette similar to that previously described is subsequently inserted through the same opening until the platen in the tape cassette cooperates with the printhead with the ink ribbon and tape disposed therebetween. In a modification of this loading procedure, the ink ribbon is partially inserted and then the tape cassette actually pushes the ink ribbon cassette into its printing position when the tape cassette is inserted. In another alternative, the ink ribbon cassette may be attached to the tape cassette prior to insertion of the combined tape and ink ribbon cassettes in a similar manner to that described above.