Abstract:
A memory element mounting method includes: a disposing step of disposing a memory element at a sheet of paper that is composed of plural layers including a first layer serving as a base and a second layer serving as a surface with a thermoplasticity; and a surface treatment step of melting at least the surface of the sheet of paper with the memory element disposed thereat and processing the molten surface of the sheet of paper into a predetermined surface shape. Since the memory element is mounted on the sheet of paper during the surface treatment of the sheet of paper rather than during production of the sheet of paper, the memory element can be mounted on the sheet of paper as required.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a memory element mounting method for mounting a memory element on a sheet of paper and an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet of paper.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     It is common practice to attach bar codes, which represent commodity codes, to commodities and identify each commodity by reading the attached bar code with a bar-code reader (scanner). Associating each commodity with information about the commodity facilitates management of distribution, inventory and selling of commodities.  
         [0005]     However, bar codes can provide only limited amounts of information. In addition, since the bar-code information is obtained by reading the bar-code configuration, bar codes are vulnerable to dirt, and the areas of commodities in which bar codes can be attached are restricted. To avoid such disadvantages, in recent years, wireless microchips (that is, IC tags) attached to commodities have become utilized, instead of the bar codes. The IC tags have advantages that one with an adequate data capacity can be chosen according to the purpose thereof and that, since the information is obtained from the IC tag using a radio wave, the IC tag can be disposed inside the commodity package. In addition, there have been developed inexpensive IC tags of various shapes, and IC tags that is supplied with power through an antenna and can be used semipermanently without a battery. Thus, it is expected that IC tags will be attached to all the commodities and widely used for a variety of purposes, not only for the commodity management purpose.  
         [0006]     In the field of printing, there has been proposed a technique that attaches an IC tag to a sheet of paper for commodity management or print processing control.  
         [0007]     In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-287170, there is described a technique that attaches an IC label, in which the image ID, correction information required for image correction or the like is recorded, to the back of a photograph and utilizes the information when placing a repeat order for photograph printing. According to this technique, a repeat order can be easily placed only by bringing the photograph to a photo studio. However, there is a possibility that the IC label may peel off the photograph by a finger scratching the IC label when a user sees the photograph or by the photograph rubbing against another photograph, for example.  
         [0008]     Besides, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-286683, there is described a technique that previously embeds an IC element, in which information about a printing procedure is recorded, in a sheet of paper and conducts printing in accordance with the information. In recent years, a microchip that has a length of 0.4 mm, a width of 0.4 mm and a thickness of 0.06 mm (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.) has been developed. If such a small IC element is embedded in a sheet of paper, the IC element is not obtrusive when a user sees the print image, and it is possible to eliminate the disadvantage that the IC element peels off.  
         [0009]     Here, according to the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-286683, printing is conducted using the sheet of paper in which an IC element is previously embedded. Therefore, there are problems that the IC element may be cut away when cutting the sheet of paper to the size of the print image and that the IC element is wasted if a print requires no IC element.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a memory element mounting method and an image forming apparatus for mounting a memory element on a sheet of paper as required.  
         [0011]     A memory element mounting method according to the present invention includes: 
        a disposing step of disposing a memory element at a sheet of paper that is composed of plural layers including a first layer serving as a base and a second layer serving as a surface with a thermoplasticity; and     a surface treatment step of melting at least a surface of the sheet of paper at which the memory element is disposed in the disposing step and processing the molten surface of the sheet of paper into a predetermined surface shape.        
 
         [0014]     Typically, it is preferred that the memory element mounting method according to the present invention further includes: 
        an image forming step of forming a toner image on the second layer,     in which the surface treatment step doubles as a fixing step of integrating the toner image on the second layer with the second layer so that the toner image constitutes a portion of the surface of the sheet of paper.        
 
         [0017]     In recent years, there has been proposed an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms a toner image on a sheet of paper, sets the toner image, and melts the toner and the surface of the sheet of paper to flatten the surface of the sheet of paper, thereby fixing the toner image on the sheet of paper. Using such an electrophotographic image forming apparatus can produce an image of a high quality comparable to the quality of pictures output by a conventional wet image forming apparatus.  
         [0018]     According to the memory element mounting method according to the present invention, the memory element is mounted on the sheet of paper by melting the surface of the sheet of paper on which the memory element is disposed and conducting a surface treatment of the sheet of paper. Therefore, the memory element can be mounted on the sheet of paper during the process of producing the sheet of paper or can be mounted on the previously produced sheet of paper as required.  
         [0019]     In particular, according to the typical memory element mounting method according to the present invention, since one step doubles as the fixing step of fixing the toner image and the surface treatment step of mounting the memory element, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus described above can be used to mount the memory element on the sheet of paper without the need for any additional complicated step. In addition, since the position at which the memory element is to be disposed can be determined according to the size of the image to be formed on the sheet of paper, it is possible to avoid the disadvantage that the memory element is cut away when cutting the sheet of paper.  
         [0020]     Furthermore, in the memory element mounting method according to the present invention, it is preferred that the disposing step is a step of disposing the memory element on the second layer, and 
        the surface treatment step is a step of integrating the memory element on the second layer with the second layer so that the memory element constitutes a portion of the surface of the sheet of paper.        
 
         [0022]     The memory element can be easily mounted on the sheet of paper by melting the second layer on which the memory element is disposed and integrating the memory element with the second layer.  
         [0023]     Furthermore, in the memory element mounting method according to the present invention, it is preferred that the disposing step is a step of embedding the memory element in the second layer.  
         [0024]     According to the preferred memory element mounting method, since the memory element can be deeply embedded in the sheet of paper, it is possible to avoid the disadvantage that the memory element is undesirably seen through the sheet of paper, and thus, it is possible to prevent the memory element from affecting the image formed on the sheet of paper.  
         [0025]     Furthermore, in the memory element mounting method according to the present invention, it is preferred that the disposing step is a step of embedding the memory element in the first layer.  
         [0026]     Since the memory element is embedded in the first layer, the thickness of the second layer can be reduced, and thus, the total thickness of the sheet of paper can be reduced. In addition, since an image can be formed at the area over the memory element having been previously mounted, it is possible to prevent the image from being affected by mounting of the memory element, and the sheet of paper can be utilized efficiently.  
         [0027]     In addition, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes: 
        a toner image forming section that forms a toner image on a surface of a sheet of paper that is composed of plural layers including a first layer serving as a base and a second layer serving as the surface with a thermoplasticity;     a disposing section that disposes a memory element at the sheet of paper; and     a surface treatment section that melts at least the surface of the sheet of paper at which the memory element is disposed in the disposing step and processes the molten surface of the sheet of paper into a predetermined surface shape.        
 
         [0031]     The image forming apparatus according to the present invention can form an image on a sheet of paper with a memory element mounted on the sheet of paper as required.  
         [0032]     Here, as for the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, only a basic configuration thereof has been described above. However, this is intended simply to avoid redundancy, and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the basic configuration but can have various configurations corresponding to the various implementations of the memory element mounting method described above.  
         [0033]     According to the present invention, there are provided a memory element mounting method and an image forming apparatus for embedding a memory element in a sheet of paper as required. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0034]      FIG. 1  shows a print system to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied;  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  illustrates a procedure of mounting an IC tag on a sheet of paper according to a memory element mounting method according to the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0036]      FIG. 3  shows a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  illustrates a procedure of mounting an IC tag on a sheet of paper according to a memory element mounting method according to the second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0038]      FIG. 5  shows a printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0039]      FIG. 6  illustrates a procedure of mounting an IC tag on a sheet of paper according to a memory element mounting method according to the third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0040]      FIG. 7  shows a configuration of an IC tag mounting section;  
         [0041]      FIG. 8  shows a printer according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0042]      FIG. 9  illustrates a procedure of mounting an IC tag on a sheet of paper according to a memory element mounting method according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0043]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram showing an order acceptance system that accepts an order from a user, prints out an image and calculates the printing fee. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0044]     In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described.  
         [0045]      FIG. 1  shows a print system according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.  
         [0046]     A print system  10  shown in  FIG. 1  has a printer  100  and an acceptance device  200 .  
         [0047]     The acceptance device  200  is to accept a printout order from a user. The acceptance device  200  has a scanner  201  that optically reads a photograph image recorded on a photographic film and produces image data, a small recording medium drive  202  that reads image data, which represents an image taken with a digital camera or the like and is recorded on a small recording medium, from the small recording medium, and an image processing section  203  that receives image data from the scanner  201  or the small recording medium drive  202  and makes a correction, such as tone correction and white balance correction, on the image data. The corrected image data is transferred to the printer  100 .  
         [0048]     The printer  100  is an electrophotographic printer, which forms an electrostatic latent image, develops the latent image with toner to form a toner image, and finally transfers and fixes the toner image onto a sheet of paper, thereby producing an image constituted by the fixed toner image on the sheet of paper. Specifically, the printer  100  has developing devices for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (B) and can print not only a monochrome image but also a full-color image composed of the images of the above-described four colors. In addition, if a sheet of paper with a thermoplastic resin layer applied on the surface is loaded to the printer  100 , the printer  100  can make a surface treatment by melting the resin layer, thereby producing an image of high quality comparable to that of photographs. In addition, when printing out an image other than a test image for maintenance or the like, the printer  100  mounts an IC tag on a sheet of paper and writes information or the like about the image to the IC tag. In the following, processings by various components of the printer  100  will be schematically described.  
         [0049]     The printer  100  has a control section  110  including a laser light modulation section  111  that modulates laser light emitted by a laser in accordance with image data transmitted from the reception device  200 , an image forming section  120  that transfers a toner image onto a sheet of paper fed through a predetermined feeding path, and the like.  
         [0050]     The image forming section  120  has an exposure section  121 , an image carrying roll  122 , an electrification roll  123 , a development unit  124 , a cleaner  125 , an intermediate transfer section  126  and a secondary transfer roll  127 .  
         [0051]     The surface of the image carrying roll  122  rotating in the direction of the arrow A is electrified by the electrification roll  123 , and the exposure section  121 , described later, scans the electrified surface of the image carrying roll  122  with laser light modulated in accordance with the image data transmitted from the acceptance device  200  for exposure. In this way, an electrostatic latent image of a predetermined surface potential is formed on the surface of the image carrying roll  122 .  
         [0052]     The exposure section  121  incorporates an optical system composed of a light source (not shown), such as a semiconductor laser, a polygon mirror, a reflection mirror, various lenses and the like that is appropriately arranged for guiding the laser light from the light source in accordance with the image data received from the acceptance device  200  onto the image carrying roll  122  for scan exposure. The exposure section  121  thus arranged writes the electrostatic latent image onto the image carrying roll  122 .  
         [0053]     The development unit  124  incorporates developing devices  124 Y,  124 M,  124 C and  124 B for the colors of Y, M, C and B located at positions 90 degrees apart. The developing devices  124 Y,  124 M,  124 C and  124 B each adopt the so-called magnetic brush development and house a two-component developer containing toner and a carrier. The development unit  124  rotates in the direction of the arrow B on a 90-degrees basis to make any of the developing devices  124 Y,  124 M,  124 C and  124 B face close to the image carrying roll  122  at a predetermined short distance. Then, the developing device facing close to the image carrying roll  122  makes the toner adhere to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the image carrying roll  122  by the action of the magnetic brush effect, thereby forming a toner image of the color of the developing device on the surface of the image carrying roll  122 .  
         [0054]     The intermediate transfer section  126  has an intermediate transfer belt  126   a  that is stretched in a loop by stretching rolls  126   b  disposed in the loop in such a manner that the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  can move in the direction of the arrow C. In addition, at a primary transfer position where the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  and the image carrying roll  122  face each other at the shortest distance, a primary transfer roll  126   c  is disposed, which applies a transfer voltage to the intermediate transfer belt  126   a . The toner images formed on the surface of the image carrying roll  122  by the developing devices  124 Y,  124 M,  124 C and  124 B in the development unit  124  are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  at the transfer voltage applied at the primary transfer position.  
         [0055]     In the case of forming a color image, the exposure section  121  first forms an electrostatic latent image for yellow (Y) on the surface of the image carrying roll  122 . Then, the development unit  124  rotates to make the yellow-color developing device  124 Y face close to the image carrying roll  122  and make the toner in the yellow-color developing device  124 Y adhere to the image carrying roll  122 , thereby forming an yellow toner image on the surface of the image carrying roll  122 . Then, the yellow toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt  126   a . Then, the cleaner  125  removes the remaining toner from the surface of the image carrying roll  122 , and the exposure section  121  forms an electrostatic latent image for magenta (M) on the surface of the image carrying roll  122 . Then, the development unit  124  rotates 90 degrees to make the magenta-color developing device  124 M face close to the image carrying roll  122  and make the toner in the magenta-color developing device  124 M adhere to the surface of the image carrying roll  122 , thereby forming a magenta toner image on the surface of the image carrying roll  122 . The magenta toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt  126   a , overlaying the previously formed yellow toner image. Then, through the same operations, a cyan (C) toner image and a black (B) toner image are successively transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt  126   a . In this process, the stretching rolls  126   b  that move the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  is controlled by the control section  110  so that the toner images of the four colors successively transferred and overlaying each other are precisely aligned.  
         [0056]     Besides, in the case of forming a monochrome image, only the black (B) toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  in the same manner as described above.  
         [0057]     The toner images transferred on the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  through the operations described above are further transferred onto a sheet of paper fed from a medium supply section  130 , described later, by the secondary transfer roll  127  disposed facing one of the stretching rolls  126   b  with the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  interposed therebetween. As a result, a color or monochrome toner image is formed on the surface of the sheet of paper.  
         [0058]     Now, the medium supply section  130  in the printer  100  which supplies a sheet of paper to the image forming section  120  described above will be described.  
         [0059]     The medium supply section  130  has a roll paper housing section  131  in which a long roll of paper  310  is loaded.  
         [0060]     The roll paper  310  is drawn from the roll paper housing section  131  by a positioning roll  101  disposed close to a roll paper outlet slot of the roll paper housing section  131  and fed to a roll paper cutter  134  disposed downstream of the positioning roll  101  in the medium feeding path. Then, the roll paper  310  is positioned by the positioning roll  101  and cut into a predetermined length by the roll cutter  134 . The positioning roll  101  is controlled by the control section  110  so as to position the roll paper  310  according to the cut length.  
         [0061]     A cut sheet of recording paper from the roll paper housing section  131  is fed through a feeding path formed by feeding rolls  102  disposed at various positions in the printer  100  by the feeding rolls  102 .  
         [0062]     In addition, the medium supply section  130  has a sheet cassette  132  that houses recording sheets of paper  300 . A recording sheet  300  is drawn from the sheet cassette  132  by a feeding roll  102  disposed close to a recording sheet outlet slot of the sheet cassette  132  and fed downstream along the feeding path.  
         [0063]     The feeding path from the roll paper cutter  134  and the feeding path from the sheet cassette  132  merge into one path at a downstream point, and a print head  135  that conducts printing on a blank area of the fed recording paper is disposed over the path. In this example, the print head prints the date of shooting of the image or the like.  
         [0064]     Once the print head  135  completes printing on the blank area, the recording paper is fed by a resist roll  103  disposed downstream of the print head  135  to the secondary transfer roll  127  of the image forming section  120  described above, which is located further downstream along the feeding path, in a timed manner as described later. Then, the secondary transfer roll  127  transfers the color or monochrome toner image previously formed on the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  onto the fed recording paper.  
         [0065]     As described above, in the case where a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt  126   a , the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  makes four rotations in the direction of the arrow C, and the four toner images of the colors of Y, M, C and B are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt  126   a  one by one for each rotation. According to this embodiment, in the case where a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt  126   a , the resist roll  103  feeds the sheet of paper to the secondary transfer roll  127  in such a timed manner that the sheet of paper arrives at the secondary transfer roll  127  when the color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt  126   a , which is composed of the four toner images transferred thereto, faces the secondary transfer roll  127  for the first time. The resist roll  103  is controlled by the control section  110  so as to feed the sheet of paper in such a timed manner.  
         [0066]     The sheet of paper with the toner image transferred thereon through the procedure described above is placed on a feeding belt  104  disposed downstream of the secondary transfer roll  127  and fed to a primary fixing section  140  disposed further downstream along the feeding path. The sheet of paper with the toner image transferred thereon is heated and pressured in the primary fixing section  140 , and the toner image is fixed to the sheet of paper by the heating and pressurization. The combination of the image forming section  120  and the primary fixing section  140  is an example of a toner image forming section of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Here, the image obtained by the primary fixing section  140  fixing the toner image has a quality comparable to that of images produced by color copier or the like, although the quality is inferior to the high quality of photographic images or the like.  
         [0067]     The sheet of paper having been subject to the processing in the primary fixing section  140  is fed to an IC tag mounting section  411 .  
         [0068]     The IC tag mounting section  411  is an example of a disposing section of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In response to an instruction from the control section  110 , the IC tag mounting section  411  disposes a small IC tag on the fed sheet of paper. A method of disposing the IC tag will be described in detail later. The sheet of paper with the IC tag disposed thereon is fed to a secondary fixing section  170 . Here, in the case of printing out a test image for maintenance or the like, the control section  110  instructs the IC tag mounting section  411  not to dispose any IC tag on the sheet of paper, and thus, the sheet of paper passes through the IC tag mounting section  411  without being processed and is fed to the secondary fixing section  170 .  
         [0069]     The secondary fixing section  170  is to conduct a surface treatment of sheets of paper and is composed of heating and pressurizing rolls  171  that heat and pressurize a fed sheet of paper, a secondary fixing belt  172  that circularly moves and a cooler  173  that cools the sheet of paper heated by the heating and pressurizing rolls  171 . The secondary fixing section  170  is an example of a surface treatment section of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.  
         [0070]     Here, in the description of this example, it is supposed that the secondary fixing section  170  conducts a surface treatment for smoothing and glossing the surface of the toner image, and the secondary fixing belt  172  has a smooth glossy surface. However, alternatively, the secondary fixing section  170  may conduct a mat treatment for tarnishing the surface of the toner image to give a certain visual effect to a person who sees the image. In such a case, the secondary fixing belt of the secondary fixing section has a textured surface intended to tarnish the surface of the toner image. Furthermore, the secondary fixing section may process the surface of the toner image into a relief-like surface with predetermined projections and depressions. In such a case, the secondary fixing belt of the secondary fixing section has a surface with projections and depressions intended to process the surface of the toner image into a desired relief-like surface.  
         [0071]     In the secondary fixing section  170 , the heating and pressurizing rolls  171  heats the toner image fixed to the sheet of paper in the primary fixing section  140  to melt the same, and the surface of the molten toner image is pressed to the smooth glossy surface of the secondary fixing belt  172 . Then, the sheet of paper, stuck to the glossy surface of the secondary fixing belt  172 , is fed downstream, and the sheet of paper stuck to the glossy surface is cooled by the cooler  173  disposed downstream of the heating and pressurizing rolls  171 . Thus, the molten toner image on the sheet is set. Then, the sheet is further fed downstream, and as the secondary fixing belt  172  turns back, the sheet peels off the secondary fixing belt  172  by the action of the rigidity of the sheet itself.  
         [0072]     Here, since a thermoplastic resin layer is formed on the surface of the sheet of paper as described above, on the surface of the sheet of paper having experienced the processing in the primary fixing section  140 , the toner image is fixed on the resin layer. If the sheet of paper in this state is subject to the processing by the secondary fixing section  170 , the resin layer and the toner image are molten together, mixed with each other, pressed to the glossy surface of the secondary fixing belt  172  and set with being uniformly flattened. In this process, if an IC tag has been disposed on the sheet of paper, the surface of the sheet is flattened so that the bump formed by the IC tag is made flush with the surrounding areas. Such a process conducted by the secondary fixing section  170  provides a high quality image with a gloss comparable to that of picture images.  
         [0073]     The sheet of paper having passed through the secondary fixing section  170  is fed to an information recording section  420 .  
         [0074]     The information recording section  420  writes information to the IC tag mounted on the sheet of paper. In this example, information written by the information recording section  420  includes the image ID of the image formed on the sheet, the print size, the date of photograph of the image, and various image forming parameters set by the operator, for example. Here, a sheet of paper with no IC tag mounted thereon passes through the information recording section  420  without being processed.  
         [0075]     The sheet of paper having passed through the information recording section  420  is fed to an XY cutter unit  180 .  
         [0076]     The XY cutter unit  180  has a first cutter  181  that cuts the fed sheet of paper widthwise and a second cutter  182  that cuts the sheet lengthwise, and the first cutter  181  and the second cutter  182  are arranged in series in the feeding path. In addition, positioning rolls  101  are disposed between the first cutter  181  and the second cutter  182  and downstream of the second cutter  182  and position the sheet of paper with respect to the XY cutter unit  180 . The positioning of the sheet of paper by the positioning rolls  101  is conducted under the control of the control section  110 .  
         [0077]     Besides, cutting of the sheet of paper by the XY cutter unit  180  is achieved based on settings by the operator so as to meet requests from a customer. For example, in the case where the sheet of paper fed to the XY cutter unit  180  is one cut from the long roll of paper  130  has a bigger size than a specified print size, the XY cutter unit  180  cuts the sheet of paper to the specified print size. Alternatively, for example, in the case where the sheet of paper fed to the XY cutter unit  180  is a cut sheet of paper supplied from the sheet cassette  132 , the sheet of paper is fed to a sorter  190 , described later, without being cut by the XY cutter unit  180 . Alternatively, for example, in the case of printing an image on a sheet of paper of predetermined dimensions, such as a postcard, the sheet of paper is fed to the sorter  190 , described later, without being cut.  
         [0078]     The sheets of paper having been subject to processings including fixing and cutting described above are fed to the sorter  190  disposed at the downstream end of the feeding path and stacked therein. The sheets of paper are stacked in the sorter  190  in the following manner, for example. That is, once a batch of sheets of paper for one roll of film is stored in a storage section at a predetermined storing position, the sorter  190  rotates to position an empty storage section at the storing position. Then, a next batch of sheets of paper is stored in the empty storage section. In this way, all the batches of sheets of paper are stored in the storage sections on a batch basis. Here, the operation of the sorter  190  is controlled by the control section  110 .  
         [0079]     The series of image forming processings described above allows formation of a high quality image on a sheet of paper.  
         [0080]     Here, a characteristic of the print system  10  according to this embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 1  lies in a series of processings for embedding an IC tag to a sheet of paper.  
         [0081]      FIG. 2  illustrates a procedure of mounting an IC tag on a sheet of paper according to a memory element mounting method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the following, with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the memory element mounting method according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.  
         [0082]     A sheet of paper  300  is composed of a base  301  and a thermoplastic resin layer  302  covering the surface of the base  301 . The base  301  is an example of a first layer according to the present invention, and the resin layer  302  is an example of a second layer according to the present invention. First, in the image forming section  120  shown in  FIG. 1 , a toner image  500  is formed on the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 11  of  FIG. 2 ).  
         [0083]     Then, in the primary fixing section  140  shown in  FIG. 1 , the toner image  500  is fixed to the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 12  of  FIG. 2 ). A combination of the processings shown in parts S 11  and S 12  is an example of a toner image forming step of the memory element mounting method according to the present invention.  
         [0084]     The sheet of paper  300  having been subject to the primary fixing is fed to the IC tag mounting section  411 . In the IC tag mounting section  411 , an IC tag carrier  4111  carries an IC tag  600  to the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 13  of  FIG. 2 ). The IC tag  600  is an example of a memory element according to the present invention.  
         [0085]     The IC tag carrier  4111  disposes the IC tag  600  on the resin layer  302  of the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 14  of  FIG. 2 ). The processing shown in part S 14  of  FIG. 2  is an example of a disposing step of the memory element mounting method according to the present invention.  
         [0086]     The sheet of paper  300  with the IC tag  600  disposed thereon is fed to the secondary fixing section  170 . In the secondary fixing section  170 , the heating and pressurizing rolls  171  melt the resin layer  302  of the sheet of paper  300  and the toner image  500  thereon. Then, the sheet of paper  300  is pressed to the secondary fixing belt  172  to gloss the surface of the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 15  of  FIG. 2 ). At this time, to prevent the IC tag  600  from projecting from the surface of the sheet of paper  300 , the surface of the sheet of paper  300  is uniformly flattened. This surface treatment processing of the sheet of paper  300  is an example of a surface treatment step of the memory element mounting method according to the present invention and is also a fixing step of the memory element mounting method according to the present invention.  
         [0087]     The sheet of paper  300  having been subject to the surface treatment processing is cooled by the cooler  173  and fed to the sorter  190  through the information recording section  420 .  
         [0088]     As described above, according to the memory element mounting method according to the present invention, the IC tag  600  can be mounted on the sheet of paper  300  only if necessary, so that it is possible to prevent the IC tag  600  from being wasted. In addition, since the secondary fixing section  170  conducts the surface treatment processing and the encapsulation of the IC tag, the IC tag  600  can be mounted on the sheet of paper using a conventional printer without needing any additional steps.  
         [0089]     So far, the first embodiment of the present invention has been described. Now, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The following description will be focused on differences from the first embodiment, and redundancy of description will be avoided.  
         [0090]      FIG. 3  shows a printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0091]     The printer according to this embodiment shown in  FIG. 3  is configured substantially the same as the printer according to the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , except that it has an IC tag mounting section  412  instead of the IC tag mounting section  411  shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0092]      FIG. 4  illustrates a procedure of mounting an IC tag on a sheet of paper according to a memory element mounting method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0093]     First, as in the first embodiment, in an image forming section  120  shown in  FIG. 3 , a toner image  500  is formed on a sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 21  of  FIG. 4 ), and in a primary fixing section  140 , the toner image  500  is fixed to the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 22  of  FIG. 4 ).  
         [0094]     Then, the sheet of paper  300  is fed to the IC tag mounting section  412 . In the IC tag mounting section  412 , a heater  4121  heats a portion  302 A of a resin layer  302  of the sheet of paper  300  to melt the portion  302 A (as shown in part S 23  of  FIG. 4 ).  
         [0095]     Then, an IC tag carrier  4122  carries an IC tag  600  (as shown in part S 24  of  FIG. 4 ) and disposes the IC tag  600  on the molten portion  302 A of the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 25  of  FIG. 4 ). At this time, the IC tag  600  is embedded in the molten portion  302 A of the resin layer  302  close to the boundary between the base  301  and the resin layer  302 .  
         [0096]     The sheet of paper  300  with the IC tag  600  disposed therein is fed to a secondary fixing section  170  and is subject to a surface treatment therein (as shown in part S 26  of  FIG. 4 ).  
         [0097]     In this way, according to the memory element mounting method according to this embodiment, the IC tag  600  can be deeply embedded in the resin layer  302  to a depth close to the boundary between the resin layer  302  and the base  301 . Therefore, it is possible to eliminate a disadvantage that the IC tag  600  is undesirably seen through the sheet of paper  300 .  
         [0098]     So far, the second embodiment of the present invention has been described. Now, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The following description will be focused on differences from the first and second embodiments, and redundancy of description will be avoided.  
         [0099]      FIG. 5  shows a printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0100]     The printer according to this embodiment shown in  FIG. 5  is also configured substantially the same as the printer according to the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , except that it has an IC tag mounting section  413  instead of the IC tag mounting section  411  shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0101]      FIG. 6  illustrates a procedure of mounting an IC tag on a sheet of paper according to a memory element mounting method according to the third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0102]     First, as in the first and second embodiments, a toner image  500  is formed on a sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 31  of  FIG. 6 ), and the toner image  500  is fixed to the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 32  of  FIG. 6 ).  
         [0103]     Then, an IC tag  600  is disposed on the sheet of paper  300 . The IC tag  600  is embedded in a base  301  rather than a resin layer  302  in this embodiment, while the IC tag  600  is disposed on the resin layer  302  of the sheet of paper  300  in the first and second embodiments.  
         [0104]     Here, putting aside the description of  FIG. 6 , a configuration of the IC tag mounting section  413  according to this embodiment will now be described.  
         [0105]      FIG. 7  shows a configuration of the IC tag mounting section.  
         [0106]     The IC tag mounting section  413  according to this embodiment has an IC tag insertion section  4131  that inserts the IC tag  600  into the base  301  of the sheet of paper  300  and a presser plate  4136  that holds the sheet of paper  300 .  
         [0107]     Part (A) of  FIG. 7  is a side view of the IC tag insertion section  4131 . IC tags  600  are stuck on a tape  601  in series and supplied to an IC tag insertion needle  4132 A by the action of a tape feeding section  4134 . The part of the tape  601  that has released IC tags  600  is collected by being wound by a tape winding section  4133 .  
         [0108]     Part (B) of  FIG. 7  is a top view of the IC tag insertion section  4131 . The IC tag insertion section  4131  has an IC tag insertion block  4132  having the IC tag insertion needle  4132 A shown also in part (A), an IC tag insertion piston  4132 B and an IC tag setting claw  4132 C, and an adhesive injection block  4135  having an adhesive injection needle  4135 A, an adhesive injection piston  4135 B, an adhesive replenishment piston  4135 C and an adhesive reservoir  4135 D.  
         [0109]     When the sheet of paper  300  is fed to the IC tag mounting section  413 , the presser plate  4136  first holds the sheet of paper  300 . Then, the IC tag setting claw  4132 C sets an IC tag  600  stuck on the tape  601  into the IC tag insertion needle  4132 A.  
         [0110]     Once the IC tag  600  is set, the IC tag insertion block  4132  is moved to insert the IC tag insertion needle  4132 A into the base  301  of the sheet of paper  300 . Furthermore, the IC tag insertion piston  4132 B inserts the IC tag  600  into the base  301 .  
         [0111]     Then, the adhesive injection block  4135  is moved to insert the adhesive injection needle  4135 A into the base  301 , and the adhesive injection piston  4135 B injects an adhesive into the base  301 .  
         [0112]     Now, description of  FIG. 6  will be reverted to.  
         [0113]     As shown in part S 33  of  FIG. 6 , the IC tag mounting section  413  inserts the IC tag  600  and injects an adhesive  610  into the base  301  of the sheet of paper  300 . The adhesive  610  serves as a sealant for preventing dropping of the IC tag  600  and is preferably a one-component adhesive, such as a poly acetate vinyl resin, a polyvinyl alcohol resin and a cellulose adhesive.  
         [0114]     The sheet of paper  300  with the IC tag  600  disposed therein is fed to a secondary fixing section  170 , in which the sheet of paper  300  is subject to a surface treatment (as shown in part S 34  of  FIG. 6 ).  
         [0115]     In this way, according to the memory element mounting method according to this embodiment, since the IC tag  600  is embedded into the base  301  rather than the resin layer  302 , the resin layer  302  can be thinner than the IC tag  600 , so that the total thickness of the sheet of paper  300  can be reduced.  
         [0116]     So far, the third embodiment of the present invention has been described. Now, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The following description will be focused on differences from the first to third embodiments, and redundancy of description will be avoided.  
         [0117]      FIG. 8  shows a printer according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0118]     The printer according to this embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  is configured substantially the same as the printer according to the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , except that the IC tag mounting section is located at a different position. In the printer according to this embodiment, an IC tag mounting section  414  is located upstream of an image forming section  120 , and an IC tag is disposed on a sheet of paper before a toner image is formed on the sheet of paper.  
         [0119]      FIG. 9  illustrates a procedure of mounting an IC tag on a sheet of paper according to a memory element mounting method according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0120]     According to the memory element mounting method according to this embodiment, an IC tag is embedded into a sheet of paper  300  before a toner image is formed on the sheet of paper  300 . First, the sheet of paper  300  is fed from a medium supply section  130  to the IC tag mounting section  414 , and a heater  4141  of the IC tag mounting section  414  heats a portion  302 B of a resin layer  302  of the sheet of paper  300  to melt the portion  302 B (as shown in part S 41  of  FIG. 9 ).  
         [0121]     Then, an IC tag  600  is carried by an IC tag carrier  4142  (as shown in part S 42  of  FIG. 9 ) and embedded in the molten portion  302 B close to the boundary between the resin layer  302  and the base  301  (as shown in part S 43  of  FIG. 9 ).  
         [0122]     The sheet of paper  300  with the IC tag  600  embedded is fed to an image forming section  120 , and a toner image  500  is formed on the resin layer  302  (as shown in part S 44  of  FIG. 9 ).  
         [0123]     The sheet of paper  300  therein is fed to a primary fixing section  140 , in which a toner image  500  is fixed onto the sheet of paper  300  (as shown in part S 45  of  FIG. 9 ).  
         [0124]     The sheet of paper  300  with the toner image  500  fixed thereto is fed to a secondary fixing section  170 , in which the sheet of paper  300  is subject to a surface treatment (as shown in part S 46  of  FIG. 9 ).  
         [0125]     In this way, according to the memory element mounting method according to this embodiment, since the toner image  500  is formed on the sheet of paper with the IC tag  600  previously embedded therein, it is possible to avoid degradation of the toner image  500  by mounting of the IC tag  600 , so that a high quality image can be formed.  
         [0126]     So far, the fourth embodiment of the present invention has been described.  
         [0127]     In the following, exemplary utilization of information recorded in the IC tag  600  will be described.  
         [0128]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram showing an order acceptance system that accepts an order from a user, prints out an image and calculates the printing fee.  
         [0129]     An order acceptance system  1  is composed of an acceptance device  200  that accepts an order from a user shown also in  FIGS. 1, 3 ,  5  and  8 , a printer  100  that prints out an image, an order DB  30  that stores order data representing details of the order, and a pricing device  20  that reads information recorded in an IC tag  600  ( 600 A,  600 B,  600 C) and calculates the printing fee.  
         [0130]     Once a roll of film or a small recording medium is loaded to the acceptance device  200 , and an order for printout of a photographed image is placed, order data representing details of the order is sent to and stored in the order DB  30 . In addition, the acceptance device  200  produces image data representing the photographed image, and the image data is sent to the printer  100 .  
         [0131]     The printer  100  prints out an image based on the image data sent from the acceptance device  200 . In the following description of this example, it is supposed that the printer  100  prints out a normal print image  300 B, an enlarged print image  300 C and an index image  300 A that contains an index of all the print images. On the normal print image  300 B and the enlarged print image  300 C, there are mounted the IC tags  600 B and  600 C, respectively, in which the image ID, the print size, the date of photograph, various previously-set image forming parameters and the like are recorded. On the index image  300 A, there is mounted the IC tag  600 A in which image IDs of all the print images and the like are recorded.  
         [0132]     The operator loads the printed index image  300 A, normal print image  300 B and enlarged print image  300 C into the pricing device  20 .  
         [0133]     The pricing device  20  is composed of an IC tag reading section  21  that reads information recorded in the IC tag  600 , a pricing processing section  22  that calculates the printing fee, a slip printing section  23  that outputs a slip, a display section  24  that displays an image or an error notification, and a price DB  25  that stores a correspondence between print sizes and surface treatment types and their respective prices.  
         [0134]     Once a print image is loaded into the pricing device  20 , first, the IC tag reading section  21  reads the information recorded in the IC tag  600 . The pricing processing section  22  compares the “image IDs of all the print images” recorded in the IC tag  600 A on the index image  300 A with the “image IDs” recorded in the IC tags  600 B and  600 C on the other print images  300 B and  300 C to confirm that a complete set of print images is prepared and that any print image under another order is not included. If the confirmation of these items fails, the display section  24  displays an error notification. If the confirmation of these items succeeds, the pricing processing section  22  calculates the printing fee based on the “print size” and “surface treatment type” recorded in the IC tags  600 B and  600 C and the prices stored in the price DB  25 . The calculated printing fee and the details of the order are printed by the slip printing section  23 .  
         [0135]     In this way, using the information recorded in the IC tag allows easy and accurate calculation of the printing fee. In addition, since the information recorded in the IC tag is used to confirm the details of the order, a complicated confirmation can be omitted, and missing of a print image or inclusion of a print image under another order can be prevented with reliability.  
         [0136]     Here, in the example described above, information, such as the image ID or the date of photograph, is recorded in the IC tag. However, the memory element according to the present invention may store the following information: 
    1. information about photographic conditions (whether the flash lamp is used or not, the Ev value, the shutter speed, the F number, the photographing mode, the model of the camera, information about lenses, the object distance, the date of photograph, or the Exif information);     2. information about the object (the name of the object, and the place of photograph);     3. information about image processing (details of the processing, and correction information); and     4. information about the order (the order number, the customer name, details of the order and the price). 
 
 For example, the information about photographic conditions and the information about the object can be utilized when seeing the image, the information about image processing can be utilized when a similar order is to be placed again, and the information about the order can be utilized when pricing. 
   
 
         [0141]     In addition, in the example described above, the information recorded in the IC tag is used by the pricing device. However, the information recorded in the memory element according to the resent invention may be used not only by the pricing device but also for placing a repeat order or controlling the image forming process.  
         [0142]     In addition, in the example described above, the sheet of paper used is composed of a base and a resin layer. However, the sheet of paper according to the present invention may be composed of three or more layers, as far as it includes a first layer serving as a base and a thermoplastic second layer constituting the surface of the sheet.  
         [0143]     Furthermore, an ink jet printer may be disposed downstream of the secondary fixing section, and an antenna may be recorded on the sheet of paper and connected to the IC tag. Connecting the antenna to the IC tag can improve the sensitivity of the IC tag.