Patent ID: 7331728

Claim:
A printer comprising: (i) a print head which is linearly moved along a print medium to print on the print medium; (ii) a platen which supports the print medium and is located opposite to the print head, and which includes: a first end portion located at one end of the platen in a moving direction of the print head; a second end portion located at another end of the platen in the moving direction of the print head; an intermediate portion located between the first and second end portions; a main body including two ends which are separated from each other in the moving direction of the print head; and a beam which extends between the two ends of the main body and which has a stiffness higher than a stiffness of the main body, wherein a part of the beam corresponding to the intermediate portion is spaced apart from the main body to form a hole between the beam and the main body extending in the moving direction of the print head; and (iii) a plurality of spring members which support the first and second end portions of the platen so as to be elastically deformable in a moving direction of movement of the platen toward or away from the print head, wherein the print head includes a roller which presses the print medium against the platen to keep a distance between the print head and the print medium constant, and a section modulus of the intermediate portion of the platen is smaller than a section modulus of each of the first and second end portions of the platen, whereby the intermediate portion of the platen is deformable and more easily warped than the first and second end portions of the platen.