Abstract:
A print medium web comprising a tag printing area, an insertion tab area, and a perforation extending along a length of said print medium web, said perforation dividing said print medium web into said tag printing area and said insertion tab area.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims benefit from Japanese Patent Application JP 2006-011392, filed on Jan. 19, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a device for producing tags on which patient identification information such as the patient name, patient identification number, and patient blood type is printed and which are inserted to the tag holding part of a patient wristband, to a system for producing such tags, and to a print medium used for printing such tags. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    Patient wristbands (medical wristbands) that have a display part on which patient identification information is written and a band that is wrapped around the patient&#39;s wrist or ankle are used in hospitals, for example, to identify each patient and help prevent medical errors. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2001-137017. 
         [0006]    When the patient identification information is written or printed directly on the patient wristband, the printed portion can be easily soiled or damaged, and if a printing error occurs the entire wristband is wasted. One way to prevent such problems is to use a transparent wristband with a tag storage unit (pocket) for holding the tag printed with the patient identification information so that the information is visible from outside the pocket. The printed tag is then inserted to this pocket and the pocket is then closed and sealed with the tag inside. 
         [0007]    So that the outside end of the tag is not exposed from the insertion opening to the pocket, the tag must be inserted all the way into the pocket. However, the opening to the tag pocket is sized to match the tag, the opening is therefore tight and inserting the tag to the pocket can be difficult. As a result, some people are unable to insert the tag all the way into the pocket without using tweezers, for example. 
         [0008]    The invention provides a device for producing tags that can be easily inserted all the way into the tag pocket of a patient wristband having a tag pocket, a system for producing tags for patient wristbands, and a print medium used to print the tags. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    A patient wristband tag production apparatus according to a preferred aspect of at least one embodiment of the invention prints and produces tag precursors using a print medium web. Each tag precursor has a printed tag part on which patient identification information is printed and which is stored in a tag storage part of a patient wristband, and an insertion tab part that is detachably connected to the printed tag part and is used for inserting the printed tag part into the tag storage part. The width of the print medium web is divided by a perforation running the length of the web into a tag printing area that becomes the printed tag part and an insertion tab area that becomes the insertion tab part. The patient wristband tag production apparatus has a printing unit; an information acquisition unit for acquiring the patient identification information; a printing control unit for printing the acquired patient identification information in the tag printing area while advancing the print medium; and a cutter for cutting across the print medium width to sever the portion of the print medium printed by the printing unit as the tag precursor. 
         [0010]    This aspect of the invention produces tags with an insertion tab. More specifically, this aspect of the invention produces tag precursors having a printed tag part on which patient identification information is printed, and an insertion tab part that is contiguous to the printed tag part, can be separated from the printed tag part by a perforation, and can be torn away from the printed tag part at the perforation after being used to insert the printed tag part to the tag storage part (pocket) of the wristband. The insertion tab part can therefore be held between the fingers to insert the printed tag part to the pocket of the patient wristband without the fingers that are holding the insertion tab part catching on the opening to the pocket, and the printed tag part can be easily inserted all the way into the pocket. After insertion the printed tag part is held firmly in one hand while the insertion tab part sticking out from the pocket is torn off at the perforation by the other hand, leaving only the printed tag part as a tag inside the tag storage part (pocket) of the wristband. 
         [0011]    Because the tag precursors are produced by cutting across the width of the print medium web with a cutter after the tag portion is printed, as many tags as needed can be easily and conveniently printed and produced. More specifically, if the tag precursors are produced without using a cutter, the print medium must have a grid of perforations running lengthwise and widthwise so that the printed tag precursors can be separated from the unprinted medium. In a typical hospital where the number of patients admitted at any one time is not large, the number of tag precursors required at any one time may be as few as one and is typically less than a full sheet, and a complete sheet is not used at any one time. If only one tag precursor is printed, for example, the paper must be advanced after printing so that the printed tag can be separated at the perforation, and the paper must then be reversed after the printed tag is torn off. This easily results in misalignment of the printing position in the sheet feeding direction when the next tag is printed, and results in the next tag precursor being printed on both sides of the perforation between two adjacent tags. 
         [0012]    If tag precursors of different sizes are printed, printing stock must also be available for each different size of tag. Furthermore, because the tags are printed and torn off in units of less than a full sheet at one time, it is difficult to print appropriately to the remaining part of the sheet. If perforated sheets are used, either the unused portion of a partially printed sheet is thrown away or the patient identification information is handwritten on the remain tags, and this is inconvenient and error prone. Alignment errors also occur easily when single sheet media is used, and a single tag may be printed across the perforation separating two tags. 
         [0013]    If a paper cutter is used as in this invention, however, the print medium can be cut at the desired lengthwise position and a single print medium can be used to print tags of different sizes with no alignment errors or media waste. 
         [0014]    A patient wristband tag production apparatus according to another aspect of the invention selectively prints and produces first information tag precursors and second information tag precursors using a print medium web. Each first information tag precursor and second information tag precursor having a printed tag part on which patient identification information is printed and which is stored in a tag storage part of a patient wristband, and an insertion tab part that is detachably connected to the printed tag part and is used for inserting the printed tag part into the tag storage part. The width of the print medium web is divided by a first perforation running the length of the web into a first tag printing area that becomes the printed tag part of the first information tag precursor and a first insertion tab area that becomes the insertion tab part of the first information tag precursor, and is divided by a second perforation running the length of the web into a second tag printing area that becomes the printed tag part of the second information tag precursor and a second insertion tab area that becomes the insertion tab part of the second information tag precursor. The patient wristband tag production apparatus has a printing unit; an information acquisition unit for acquiring the patient identification information as the first information or the second information; a printing control unit for printing the first information in the first tag printing area while advancing the print medium when the first information is acquired, and printing the second information in the second tag printing area while advancing the print medium when the second information is acquired; and a cutter for cutting across the print medium width to sever the portion of the print medium printed by the printing unit as the first information tag precursor or the second information tag precursor. 
         [0015]    This aspect of the invention uses a single print medium to selectively produce first information tag precursors and second information tag precursors. More specifically, when the first information is acquired, the first information is printed in the first tag printing area to produce a first information tag precursor having a printed tag part where the first information is printed and an insertion tab part that is contiguous to and can be separated from the printed tag part by means of the first perforation. When the second information is acquired, the second information is printed in the second tag printing area to produce a second information tag precursor having a printed tag part where the second information is printed and an insertion tab part that is contiguous to and can be separated from the printed tag part by means of the second perforation. Two types of print media, specifically print media for producing the first information tag precursors and print media for producing the second information tag precursors, are therefore not needed to produce tag precursors of different sizes, for example, and it is not necessary to change the print medium in order to produce different types of tags. 
         [0016]    Furthermore, the insertion tab part of the first information tag precursor can be held in the fingers to insert the printed tag part in the tag storage part (pocket) of a first information wristband, and the printed tag part can be easily inserted all the way into the tag pocket without the fingers that are holding the insertion tab part catching on the opening to the pocket. The inserted printed tag part can then be held firmly in one hand while the insertion tab part is torn off at the first perforation so that only the printed tag part is left as the tag in the wristband pocket. The insertion tab part of the second information tag precursor can likewise be held in the fingers to insert the printed tag part in the tag storage part (pocket) of a second information wristband, and the printed tag part can be easily inserted all the way into the tag pocket without the fingers that are holding the insertion tab part catching on the opening to the pocket. The inserted printed tag part can then be held firmly in one hand while the insertion tab part is torn off at the second perforation so that only the printed tag part is left as the tag in the wristband pocket. 
         [0017]    The first tag printing area and the second tag printing area are also preferably printed offset to different sides of the paper width. 
         [0018]    In this case, the first information is printed on both sides of the second perforation, and the second information is printed on both sides of the first perforation. On the other hand, if the first tag printing area and second tag printing area are on the same side of the paper width, the first information is printed on both sides of the second perforation but the second information is printed on only one side of the second perforation (when the first tag printing area is larger than the second tag printing area). Therefore, if the width of the second tag printing area is greater than half the full width of the print medium, the gap between the first perforation and the second perforation is greater than if the first tag printing area and second tag printing area are located at the same widthwise side of the print medium. It is therefore possible to prevent accidentally tearing of the printed tag part in two at the other perforation when the insertion tab part is torn off at one perforation after inserting the tag precursor to the tag pocket. 
         [0019]    Further preferably, the printing control unit prints the second information with the top and bottom rotated approximately 180 degrees to the first information. 
         [0020]    This arrangement enables holding the insertion tab parts to insert the printed tag parts of the first information tag precursor and second information tag precursor to the wristband pocket so that the tops and bottoms of the first information and second information are not opposite from each other when the tags are used in the wristbands. More specifically, by rendering the first tag printing area and second tag printing area on opposite sides of the paper width, the side where the first insertion tab area connects to the first tag printing area and the side where the second insertion tab area connects to the second tag printing area are opposite to each other. If the second information is then printed in the same orientation as the first information, the tops and bottoms of the first information and second information will be reversed when the printed tag part is inserted to the tag pocket by holding the insertion tab part. This aspect of the invention prevents this by reversing the printing orientation of the first and second information. 
         [0021]    If the tag storage unit (pocket) has an insertion opening on both ends in the tag insertion direction so that the printed tag part can be inserted from either direction, the second information can be printed in the same direction as the first information even if the first tag printing area and second tag printing area are on different sides of the paper width. This is because the first information tag precursor can be inserted to the tag pocket from the insertion opening on one end and the second information tag precursor can be inserted to the tag pocket from the insertion opening on the other end. 
         [0022]    In another aspect of the invention, the print medium is rendered so that the size of the first tag printing area measured across the paper width is different from the size of the second tag printing area measured across the paper width. 
         [0023]    In this case, the first information is preferably patient identification information for adult patients and the second information is patient identification information for child patients. 
         [0024]    This aspect of the invention enables selectively producing an adult patient tag precursor when the patient is an adult and a child patient tag precursor when the patient is a child using a single print medium. 
         [0025]    Because of differences in body size, the tags for adult patients are generally large and the tags for child patients are small. As a result, the size of the first tag printing area that is used for adult patients is longer when measured across the paper width than the size of the second tag printing area that is used for child patients. Of course if the tags for child patients are large and the tags for adult patients are small, this correlation is reversed and the width of the second tag printing area is longer than the width of the first tag printing area. 
         [0026]    A patient wristband tag production system according to another aspect of the invention includes the patient wristband tag production apparatus of the invention and an information supplying means that is linked to the patient wristband tag production apparatus and supplies the patient identification information to the information acquisition unit. 
         [0027]    The information supplying means in this system supplies the patient identification information that is used to produce the tag precursors having a printed tag part on which the supplied patient identification information is printed and an insertion tab part. The patient identification information can thus be provided by the information supplying means to produce a tag precursor that can be easily inserted all the way into the tag storage unit (pocket) of the patient wristband. 
         [0028]    Another aspect of the invention is the print medium used in the patient wristband tag production apparatus of the invention. 
         [0029]    The print medium can thus be supplied to the patient wristband tag production apparatus of the invention to produce tag precursors that can be easily inserted all the way into the tag storage unit (pocket) of the patient wristband. 
         [0030]    Another aspect of the invention is a patient wristband tag production method having steps of printing a tag precursor using a print medium web by means of a printing unit, acquiring the patient identification information by means of an information acquisition unit, printing the acquired patient identification information in the tag printing area while advancing the print medium by means of a printing control unit, and cutting the print medium across the paper width by means of a cutter. The tag precursor has a printed tag part that is stored in a tag storage part of a patient wristband, and an insertion tab part that is detachably connected to the printed tag part and is used for inserting the printed tag part into the tag storage part. The width of the print medium web is divided by a perforation running the length of the web into a tag printing area that becomes the printed tag part and an insertion tab area that becomes the insertion tab part. 
         [0031]    A patient wristband tag production method according to another aspect of the invention has steps of printing a first information tag precursor and a second information tag precursor using a print medium web, acquiring the patient identification information as the first information or the second information by means of an information acquisition unit, printing the first information in the first tag printing area while advancing the print medium when the first information is acquired and printing the second information in the second tag printing area while advancing the print medium when the second information is acquired by means of a printing control unit, and cutting the print medium across the paper width by means of a cutter. Each first information tag precursor and second information tag precursor has a printed tag part that is stored in a tag storage part of a patient wristband, and an insertion tab part that is detachably connected to the printed tag part and is used for inserting the printed tag part into the tag storage part. The width of the print medium web is divided by a first perforation running the length of the web into a first tag printing area that becomes the printed tag part of the first information tag precursor and a first insertion tab area that becomes the insertion tab part of the first information tag precursor, and is divided by a second perforation running the length of the web into a second tag printing area that becomes the printed tag part of the second information tag precursor and a second insertion tab area that becomes the insertion tab part of the second information tag precursor. 
         [0032]    Yet further preferably, the first tag printing area and the second tag printing area are printed offset to different sides of the paper width by the printing control unit. 
         [0033]    In another aspect of the invention the second information is printed with the top and bottom rotated approximately  180  degrees to the first information by the printing control unit. 
         [0034]    Other objects and attainments together with a fuller understanding of the invention will become apparent and appreciated by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0035]      FIG. 1A  shows a patient wristband from the side, and  FIG. 1B  is a plan view of the patient wristband with a tag precursor inserted in the pocket. 
           [0036]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a system for producing tags for patient wristband according to the present invention. 
           [0037]      FIG. 3  shows an exemplary table of patient information. 
           [0038]      FIG. 4  shows an example of the roll paper used in the wristband tag production system according to the invention and a tag precursor produced by the invention. 
           [0039]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a printer rendering the wristband tag production system of the invention. 
           [0040]      FIGS. 6A-6C  describes the procedure for inserting and storing the printed tag part of the tag precursor in the tag pocket of the patient wristband. 
           [0041]      FIG. 7A  shows an adult patient wristband and an adult tag precursor that is inserted to the tag pocket, and  FIG. 7B  shows a child patient wristband and a child tag precursor that is inserted to the tag pocket. 
           [0042]      FIG. 8  shows the roll paper used in a patient wristband tag production system according to another aspect of the invention and an adult patient tag precursor and child patient tag precursor produced from this roll paper. 
           [0043]      FIG. 9  shows a variety of other small tags and labels that can be printed using the perforations of the roll paper used in a patient wristband tag production system according to another aspect of the invention. 
           [0044]      FIG. 10  shows examples of printed matter produced while ignoring the perforations in the roll paper used in a patient wristband tag production system according to another aspect of the invention. 
           [0045]      FIG. 11  shows a variation of the roll paper used in a patient wristband tag production system according to another aspect of the invention and samples of the adult patient tag precursor and child patient tag precursor produced from this roll paper. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0046]    Preferred embodiments of the roll paper (print medium) and patient wristband tag production system according to the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying figures. This patient wristband tag production system uses roll paper to produce tag precursors having a printed tag part, on which patient identification information such as the patient name is printed and which is inserted to and kept in the tag holding part (“tag pocket” below) of the patient wristband, and an insertion tab part for inserting the printed tag part to the tag pocket. The patient wristband to which the printed tag part is inserted is described first below. 
         [0047]    As shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  a patient wristband  1  displays patient identification information in order to prevent patient identification errors, and has a wrist strap  2  and a fastening means such as a snap  3  located at one end of the wrist strap  2  for fastening the two ends of the wrist strap  2  together. The wrist strap  2  includes a tag holding part (referrred to as a “tag pocket” hereinafter)  11  for holding the printed tag part  5   a  (described further below) on which patient identification information is printed. The wrist strap  2  is wrapped and permanently secured in a ring around the patient&#39;s wrist or ankle, for example, by the snap  3 . 
         [0048]    As described in further detail below, the tag precursor  5  has a printed tag part  5   a  and a insertion tab part  5   b . The patient identification information printed on the printed tag part  5   a  may include the patient name, patient identification number, date of birth, hospital department, hospital building, attending physician name, blood type, a food allergy mark, and a barcode based on the patient ID number. 
         [0049]    The wrist strap  2  includes the tag pocket  11 , a belt  12  continuing from one end of the tag pocket  11 , and a strap fastener  13  that continues from the other end of the tag pocket  11  and includes the stud  26  and socket  27  of the snap  3 . 
         [0050]    The wrist strap  2  has a transparent top sheet  16  that is exposed to the outside (the side that is visible when the wrist strap  2  is on the patient&#39;s wrist), a belt backing sheet  17  that covers the underside (back) of the belt  12  and the belt  12  end side of the tag pocket  11 , and an opaque pocket backing sheet  18  covering the underside of the tag pocket  11  and strap fastener  13 . The top sheet  16 , belt backing sheet  17 , and pocket backing sheet  18  are layered together and welded around the outside edges of the wrist strap  2 . The top sheet  16  and pocket backing sheet  18  render the pocket-like tag holding part  11 . 
         [0051]    The printed tag part  5   a  stored in the tag pocket  11  is visible from the outside because the top sheet  16  is transparent, and the barcode (described further below) printed on the printed tag part  5   a  can be optically read using a barcode reader. Both sheets disposed on the underside of the wrist strap  2  can also be transparent. The sheets used in the wrist strap  2  are preferably waterproof and made from a medically safe polyurethane or other material. 
         [0052]    The belt  12  side end of the pocket backing sheet  18  overlaps the back of the tag pocket  11  side end of the belt backing sheet  17 , and this overlapping part is the insertion opening  21  to the tag pocket  11 . The insertion opening  21  can thus be easily opened to insert the printed tag part  5   a , and once inserted, the printed tag part  5   a  is prevented from accidentally falling out of the tag pocket  11 . More specifically, while the belt  12  side end of the pocket backing sheet  18  forming the insertion opening  21  can be easily separated from the top sheet  16 , the belt backing sheet  17  prevents the printed tag part  5   a  from accidentally falling out from the insertion opening  21 . The insertion opening  21  can also be heat sealed so that the tag pocket  11  is watertight when the patient wristband  1  is used. 
         [0053]    A series of holes  22  is formed along the length of the belt  12  so that the position where the snap  3  is closed can be adjusted according to the size of the patient&#39;s wrist. More specifically, the belt  12  is secured by the strap fastener  13  with the stud  26  of the strap fastener  13  passing through one of the holes  22 . The remaining unneeded portion of the belt  12  can be cut off with scissors. 
         [0054]    The strap fastener  13  has a stud-holding part  23  and a socket-holding part  24 . The stud-holding part  23  is contiguous to the end of the tag pocket  11  and has attached thereto the stud  26  part of the snap  3 . The socket-holding part  24  is contiguous to the stud-holding part  23 , has the socket  27  part of the snap  3  attached thereto, and can be freely folded back to the stud-holding part  23 . 
         [0055]    The snap  3  includes the stud  26  affixed to the stud-holding part  23  of the strap fastener  13 , and the socket  27  that is affixed to the socket-holding part  24  and receives the stud  26  from the open side. Though not shown in the figures, the stud  26  more specifically has a lip formed around the distal end of the stud, and the socket  27  has a receiver hole that prevents the stud  26  from leaving once the stud  26  is inserted into the socket  27 . 
         [0056]    After inserting the printed tag part  5   a  to the tag pocket  11 , the patient wristband  1  is wrapped around the patient&#39;s wrist with the outside (the top sheet  16  side) of the wristband visible. The stud  26  is then passed through the desired hole  22  in the belt  12 , the socket-holding part  24  is folded back to the stud-holding part  23  of the strap fastener  13  (so that the top of the socket-holding part  24  is no longer visible), and the stud  26  is snapped into the socket  27  to hold the patient wristband  1  permanently on the patient&#39;s wrist. To remove the patient wristband  1  when the patient leaves the hospital, the belt  12  can be simply cut with scissors. 
         [0057]    The patient wristband tag production system  31  (simply “tag production system” below) for producing the tag precursor  5  composed of the printed tag part  5   a  and insertion tab part  5   b  is described next below with reference to  FIG. 2  to  FIGS. 6A-6C . 
         [0058]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the tag production system  31  has a printer  32  (patient wristband tag production device) for printing on roll paper  50  while advancing the roll paper  50  from a roll paper compartment (see  FIG. 5 ), and a data storage system  33  for providing the patient identification information to the printer  32 . More specifically, the printer  32  has an interface  34  (data acquisition unit) for acquiring the patient identification information from the data storage system  33 , and stores the patient identification information acquired through the interface  34  to a print buffer, for example. The printer  32  and one of a plurality of personal computer terminals (second PC terminal  42 ) are located at a nursing station  47  in the hospital. Note that while the printer  32  gets the patient identification information from an external source in this embodiment of the invention, data input from a local input unit (such as a keyboard) could be processed by a print control unit having a CPU and memory to acquire the patient identification information. In this case a display for confirming the input data is preferably also disposed to the printer  32 . 
         [0059]    The data storage system  33  is composed of a first PC terminal  41  located in a hospital administration office  46 , the second PC terminal  42  located at the nursing station  47 , and a server  43  that stores a database  44  containing patient information for each hospital patient and is connected over a network  45  to the two PC terminals  41  and  42 . 
         [0060]    A hospital employee enters patient information for each hospital patient using the first PC terminal  41 , and the patient information is thus sequentially stored in the database  44  of the server  43 . A nurse uses the second PC terminal  42  to search the database  44  for the patient for whom a tag precursor  5  is required to get the patient information, and the patient identification information derived from the patient information is then passed to the printer  32 . The data storage system  33  could also be a stand-alone personal computer. In this case the patient information is entered in the personal computer connected directly to the printer  32  using a keyboard or removable storage media such as a floppy disk, and the patient identification information generated from the patient information is supplied to the printer  32 . 
         [0061]    As shown in  FIG. 3  the patient information entered for each patient from the first PC terminal  41  using a keyboard or other input device includes the patient name, address, telephone number, patient ID number, date of birth, hospital department, hospital building, attending physician, blood type, and any food allergies, and each patient record is stored in the database  44 . 
         [0062]    The second PC terminal  42  generates the print data based on specific information (the patient name, patient ID number, date of birth, hospital building, attending physician, blood type, and food allergies) to be printed on the printed tag part  5   a  from the located patient information, and supplies this print data as the patient identification information to the printer  32 . 
         [0063]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the roll paper  50  on which the patient identification information is printed is a paper tape wound onto a core. A perforation  51  running lengthwise from one end to the other end of the paper tape divides the paper widthwise into a first part  50   a  and a second part  50   b . As described in further detail below, the first part  50   a  is the tag printing area  61   a  that becomes a printed tag part  5   a  of the tag precursor  5 , and the second part  50   b  is the insertion tab area  61   b  that becomes an insertion tab part  5   b . The perforation  51  thus divides the roll paper  50  widthwise into a tag printing area  61   a  that becomes the printed tag part  5   a  and an insertion tab area  61   b  that becomes the insertion tab part  5   b.    
         [0064]    The width of the tag printing area  61   a  corresponds to the size of the tag pocket  11  of the patient wristband  1 , and the width of the insertion tab area  61   b  is only sufficient enough to enable being easily held by the fingers. The insertion tab part  5   b  of the tag precursor  5  can therefore be held with the tips of the fingers so that the printed tag part  5   a  can be easily inserted all the way into the tag pocket  11 , and once the printed tag part  5   a  is fully inserted only the insertion tab area  61   b  sticks out from the insertion opening  21  to the tag pocket  11  as described in further detail below. 
         [0065]    As shown in  FIG. 5  the printer  32  in this aspect of the invention is a color inkjet printer composed of a paper feed unit  71 , a printing unit  74 , a printing control unit  75 , and an automatic paper cutter  76 . 
         [0066]    The paper feed unit  71  holds the roll paper  50  so that paper can be delivered freely from the roll, and has supply rollers  72  and discharge rollers  73 , which are grip rollers, for intermittently feeding the roll paper  50  in the subscanning direction toward the paper exit  77 . The printing unit  74  has a plurality of inkjet heads (not shown in the figure) storing multiple colors of ink (black, cyan, yellow, and magenta in this aspect of the invention), and moves the inkjet heads by means of a carriage over the roll paper  50  in the main scanning direction while driving the inkjet heads to print to the roll paper  50 . The printing control unit  75  includes ink cartridges for supplying the different colors of ink to the plural inkjet heads, a CPU, memory such as ROM or RAM, and a gate array, and controls the printing unit  74 , interface  34 , the automatic paper cutter  76 , and other parts of the printer  32 . The automatic paper cutter  76  is located between the printing unit  74  and the discharge rollers  73 , and cuts the roll paper  50  widthwise to the paper. The printer  32  controls where the printing unit  74  prints across the width of the roll paper  50  by means of the printing control unit  75  controlling the movement of the inkjet head in the main scanning direction and the ink discharge timing. 
         [0067]    The printing control unit  75  gets the patient identification information from the interface  34 , controls the printing unit  74  to print the patient identification information in a predetermined direction at a predetermined position on the roll paper  50 , and then drives the automatic paper cutter  76  to cut the paper. The printing control unit  75  controls all printer  32  operations. 
         [0068]    The printer  32  prints the acquired patient identification information in the printed tag part  5   a  (first part  50   a ) of the roll paper  50  as shown in  FIG. 4 . After printing the patient identification information, the printed portion is advanced to the paper exit  77  side and the automatic paper cutter  76  cuts across the width of the paper at the trailing end of the printed portion. This produces the tag precursor  5  having a printed tag part  5   a  on which the patient identification information is printed and the insertion tab part  5   b  that is connected to the printed tag part  5   a  and can be easily separated from the printed tag part  5   a  by means of the perforation  51 . The necessary number of tag precursors  5  can thus be easily and conveniently produced as needed. 
         [0069]    The printed tag precursor  5  is then inserted and stored in the tag pocket  11  of the patient wristband  1  as described below and shown in  FIGS. 6A-6C . The nurse or other person holds the patient wristband  1  in their left hand, for example, with the insertion opening  21  (the back side of the wristband) facing up, holds the insertion tab part  5   b  of the tag precursor  5  with the right hand so that the printed side of the tag precursor  5  is facing away towards the top of the patient wristband  1 , and inserts the printed tag part  5   a  from the insertion opening  21  into the tag pocket  11  (see  FIG. 6A ). 
         [0070]    The printed tag part  5   a  is then inserted all they into the tag pocket  11 . As described above this leaves the trailing end of the printed tag part  5   a , that is, the perforation  51 , inside of the insertion opening  21  to the tag pocket  11  with only the insertion tab part  5   b  sticking out from the insertion opening  21  (see  FIG. 6B ). 
         [0071]    While firmly gripping the tag precursor  5  from both sides on the printed tag part  5   a  side of the perforation  51  with the left hand, the insertion tab part  5   b  is held with the right hand and torn off from the printed tag part  5   a  at the perforation  51  (see  FIG. 6C ). This leaves just the printed tag part  5   a  with the printed patient identification information inside the tag pocket  11  of the patient wristband  1 . 
         [0072]    The tag production system  31  of this aspect of the invention thus produces a tag precursor  5  that enables easily inserting the printed tag part  5   a  all the way into the tag pocket  11 . More specifically, the tag production system  31  produces a tag precursor  5  having a printed tag part  5   a  and a insertion tab part  5   b , the insertion tab part  5   b  can be held with the fingers to insert the printed tag part  5   a  into the tag pocket  11 , and the printed tag part  5   a  can be easily inserted all the way into the tag pocket  11  without the fingertips holding the insertion tab part  5   b  catching on the insertion opening  21  to the tag pocket  11 . After inserting the printed tag part  5   a , the insertion tab part  5   b  is left exposed from the insertion opening  21  to the tag pocket  11  so that the insertion tab part  5   b  can be easily separated from the printed tag part  5   a  at the perforation  51 , thus leaving the printed tag part  5   a  stored in the tag pocket  11  as an identification tag. 
         [0073]    A second embodiment of the tag production system of the invention is described next. The arrangement of this second embodiment of a tag production system is substantially the same as the first embodiment and includes a printer  32  and data storage system  33 . This embodiment differs in that adult patient tag precursors (first information tag precursors) for use with wristbands worn by adult patients, and child patient tag precursor (second information tag precursors) for use with wristbands worn by child patients, can be selectively produced. The second embodiment is described primarily with reference to this difference. 
         [0074]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  show examples of an adult patient wristband  101  and a child patient wristband  102 . The adult patient wristband  101  and child patient wristband  102  are substantially the same as the patient wristband  1  described in the first embodiment except that as shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B  the child patient wristband  102  is smaller than the adult patient wristband  101  due to the difference in wrist size. 
         [0075]    As a result, the tag pocket  112  of the child patient wristband  102  is also smaller than the tag pocket  111  of the adult patient wristband  101 . The child patient tag part  106   a  of the child patient tag precursor  106  that is stored in the tag pocket  112  of the child patient wristband  102  is therefore smaller and narrower than the adult patient tag part  105   a  of the adult patient tag precursor  105  that is stored in the tag pocket  111  of the adult patient wristband  101 . 
         [0076]    The data storage system  33  differentiates between adult patient identification information (first information) that is supplied to the printer  32  when the patient for whom a wristband is to be made is an adult and child patient identification information (second information) that is supplied to the printer  32  when the patient is a child. More specifically, the second PC terminal  42  determines the patient age from the date of birth information in the patient information acquired from the database  44 , and determines if the patient age is greater than or equal to a predetermined age standard (such as 13 years). If the patient age is greater than or equal to the age standard, the second PC terminal  42  supplies the identification information as adult patient identification information, and supplies the identification information as child patient identification information if the patient age is less than the age standard. Whether the patient is an adult or a child could, of course, be directly declared in the patient information when the patient information is entered at the first PC terminal  41 , and the second PC terminal  42  could reference this adult/child flag to differentiate between adult patient identification information and child patient identification information. 
         [0077]      FIG. 8  shows the roll paper  150  used in the tag production system  31  according to this second embodiment of the invention. As shown in the figure the roll paper  150  used in this embodiment has a first perforation  151  and a second perforation  152  both running along the entire length of the paper. The first perforation  151  and second perforation  152  are spaced to divide the paper width into a narrow first part  150   a , a wide second part  150   b , and a third part  150   c  of an intermediate width. 
         [0078]    As described more fully below the second part  150   b  and third part  150   c  render a first tag printing area  161   a  that becomes the adult patient tag part  105   a  of an adult patient tag precursor  105 , and the first part  150   a  renders a first insertion tab area  161   b  that becomes the insertion tab part  105   b  of the adult patient tag precursor  105 . Similarly, the first part  150   a  and second part  150   b  render a second tag printing area  162   a  that becomes the child patient tag part  106   a  of a child patient tag precursor  106 , and the third part  150   c  renders a second insertion tab area  162   b  that becomes the insertion tab part  106   b  of the child patient tag precursor  106 . 
         [0079]    The first perforation  151  thus divides the full width of the roll paper  150  into a first tag printing area  161   a  that becomes the adult patient tag part  105   a  of an adult patient tag precursor  105  and the first insertion tab area  161   b  that becomes the insertion tab part  105   b  of the adult patient tag precursor  105 , and the second perforation  152  divides the full width of the roll paper  150  into a second tag printing area  162   a  that becomes the child patient tag part  106   a  of a child patient tag precursor  106  and a second insertion tab area  162   b  that becomes the insertion tab part  106   b  of the child patient tag precursor  106 . The first tag printing area  161   a  and second tag printing area  162   a  are also shifted widthwise to the paper to render tag precursors of different lengths. 
         [0080]    The width of the first tag printing area  161   a  corresponds to the size of the tag pocket  111  of the adult patient wristband  101 , and the first insertion tab area  161   b  is just wide enough to be easily grasped with the fingers. The width of the second tag printing area  162   a  is sized to match the tag pocket  112  of the child patient wristband  102 , and the second insertion tab area  162   b  is wide enough to be easily grasped with the fingers. The size of the first tag printing area  161   a  across the width of the paper is also different from the size of the second tag printing area  162   a  with the second tag printing area  162   a  being smaller. 
         [0081]    When adult patient identification information is supplied from the data storage system  33 , the printer  32  prints the adult patient identification information in the first tag printing area  161   a  of the roll paper  150 . When child patient identification information is supplied, the printer  32  prints the child patient identification information in the second tag printing area  162   a  of the roll paper  150  while also rotating the child patient identification information approximately 180 degrees to the printed adult patient identification information. 
         [0082]    The automatic paper cutter  76  then cuts the trailing end of the printed portion across the paper width. As a result, adult patient tag precursors  105  having an adult patient tag part  105   a  where the adult patient identification information is printed and an insertion tab part  105   b  that is connected to and can be easily separated from the adult patient tag part  105   a  by the first perforation  151 , and child patient tag precursors  106  having a child patient tag part  106   a  where the child patient identification information is printed and a insertion tab part  106   b  that is connected to and can be easily separated from the child patient tag part  106   a  by the second perforation  152 , can be selectively produced from the same paper stock. Note that arrow  105   c  in  FIG. 8  points to where the tab is separated from the tag of the adult patient tag precursor  105 , and arrow  106   c  points to where the tab is separated from the tag of the child patient tag precursor  106 . 
         [0083]    This embodiment of the invention thus enables selectively producing both adult patient tag precursors  105  and child patient tag precursors  106  from the same roll paper  150 . More specifically, this aspect of the invention eliminates the need to use one type of roll paper to make adult patient tag precursors  105  and another type of roll paper to make child patient tag precursors  106 . 
         [0084]    In this case the adult patient identification information is printed across the second perforation  152  in the second part  150   b  and third part  150   c , and the child patient identification information is printed across the first perforation  151  in the first part  150   a  and second part  150   b.    
         [0085]    If the first tag printing area  161   a  and second tag printing area  162   a  are located on the same side of the paper width as described in another variation below, the adult patient identification information is printed on both sides of the second perforation  152  in the second part  150   b  and third part  150   c  and the child patient identification information is printed on one side of the second perforation  152  in only the third part  150   c.    
         [0086]    If the width of the second tag printing area  162   a  is greater than half the full width of the roll paper  150 , the gap between the first perforation  151  and second perforation  152  is greater than when the first tag printing area  161   a  and second tag printing area  162   a  are on the same side of the paper width. As a result, the printed tag part  105   a ,  106   a  will not be accidentally torn in two at the other perforation  152 ,  151  when the insertion tab part  105   b ,  106   b  is separated at one perforation  151 ,  152  after inserting the printed tag part  105   a ,  106   a  to the tag pocket  111 ,  112 . 
         [0087]    Furthermore, by rotating the child patient identification information approximately 180 degrees to the adult patient identification information, the printed tag parts  105   a ,  106   a  of the adult patient tag precursor  105  and child patient tag precursor  106  can be held by respective insertion tab parts  105   b ,  106   b  for insertion to the tag pocket  111 ,  112  without the adult patient identification information and child patient identification information being inverted in the pocket. 
         [0088]    As shown in  FIG. 9  the roll paper  150  in this embodiment of the invention can also be used to produce printed matter other than tag precursors  105  and  106 . More specifically, when a patient enters the hospital, a room name label  171 , a bed name label  172 , and an attending physician label  173  may also be printed in addition to the tag precursor  105 ,  106  for the patient wristband  101 ,  102 . 
         [0089]    Each of these other labels are of different sizes. However, the first perforation  151  and second perforation  152  in the roll paper  150  of this embodiment can be used to produce printed matter of three different sizes including large (second part  150   b ), medium (third part  150   c ), and small (first part  150   a ). The first part  150   a  could be used, for example, to produce the room name label  171 , the second part  150   b  to produce the bed name label  172 , and the third part  150   c  to produce the attending physician label  173 . Small printed matter of plural different sizes can thus be produced without using different types of print media and without changing and loading different print media to produce the different items. 
         [0090]    If the size of room name label  171  or other printed matter does not match the widths of the different parts  150   a ,  150   b ,  150   c  rendered by perforations  151  and  152  running lengthwise to the roll paper  150 , the perforations  151 ,  152  can also be ignored and the roll paper  150  used as plain roll paper to print the room name label  171 , bed name label  172 , and attending physician label  173  as desired, as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
         [0091]    Though not shown in the figures, it will also be obvious that the perforation  51  in the roll paper  50  used in the first embodiment can also be used or appropriately ignored to produce printed matter other than the tag precursor  5 . 
         [0092]      FIG. 11  shows a variation of the roll paper used in the second embodiment. Similarly to the roll paper  150  described above, a first perforation  251  divides the width of this roll paper  250  into a first printed tag area  261   a  that becomes the printed tag part  205   a  of an adult tag precursor  205  and a first insertion tab area  261   b  that becomes the insertion tab part  205   b  of the adult tag precursor  205 , and a second perforation  252  divides the width of the paper into a second printed tag area  262   a  (that is shorter than the first printed tag area  261   a ) that becomes the printed tag part  206   a  of a child tag precursor  206  and a second insertion tab area  262   b  that becomes the insertion tab part  206   b  of the child tag precursor  206 . This roll paper  250  differs from the roll paper  150  described above in that the first printed tag area  261   a  and second printed tag area  262   a  are offset towards the same long edge of the paper (to the same side across the width of the paper). 
         [0093]    When adult patient identification information is supplied, the printer  32  prints the adult patient identification information in the first printed tag area  261   a  of the roll paper  250 . When child patient identification information is supplied, the printer  32  prints the child patient identification information in the second printed tag area  262   a  of the roll paper  250 . As a result, the printer  32  can selectively produce both adult tag precursors  205  and child tag precursors  206  from the same paper stock. In this case the child patient identification information is printed in the same orientation as the adult patient identification information. Note that arrow  205   c  in the figure indicates where the tab is removed to produce adult tag precursors  205 , and arrow  206   c  indicates where the tab is removed to produce child tag precursors  206 . 
         [0094]    The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that it may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.