Tape for tape printer
A roll sheet has a release paper as a base sheet. A recording paper is attached to the release paper via an adhesive layer so that the recording paper can be peeled off from the release paper. First and second peel-away areas are formed on both side edges of the roll sheet in the widthwise direction thereof by peeling off both widthwise edges of the recording paper from the release paper to allow the release paper to be exposed at the both side edges of the roll sheet. Sensor marks are printed on the release paper as being entirely shifted from the peel-away areas. This ensures that the roll sheet has a uniform thickness over the entire area of each sensor mark, thereby ensuring that each sensor mark has uniformities in its reflectivity and transmittance with respect to incident light.
1. A tape, the tape comprising:
a release layer, which is elongated to extend in a lengthwise direction and which has a pair of side edges that extend along the lengthwise direction, the pair of side edges being separate from each other in a widthwise direction that is substantially perpendicular to the lengthwise direction, the release layer having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, an entire area of the second surface including a pair of non-recording regions and a recording region, the pair of non-recording regions extending along both side edges of the second surface, the recording region being located between the pair of non-recording regions, a plurality of sensor marks being formed on the first surface, the sensor marks being arranged in the lengthwise direction, an entire part of each sensor mark being located on the first surface at a region that corresponds to the recording region and that is shifted offset from the pair of non-recording regions; and
a recording medium provided over the recording region of the second surface of the release layer via an adhesive layer, the recording medium being able to be peeled off from the release layer;
wherein the release layer has a trailing end line, the trailing end line extending in the widthwise direction, the lengthwise direction extending from the trailing end line substantially perpendicularly thereto, the release layer being rolled up together with the recording medium to form a roll with the trailing end line being located at an innermost part of the roll with the printing medium facing inward and the first surface of the release layer facing outward, the tape being unwound by a tape printer and fed in the lengthwise direction when the tape is mounted in the tape printer, wherein a folding line is defined at a distance away from the trailing end line in the lengthwise direction, the folding line extending in the widthwise direction, an end portion being defined between the trailing end line and the folding line, a next-to-end portion being defined next to the end portion in the lengthwise direction to have a length the same as the end portion along the lengthwise direction, the tape being folded at the folding line, with the release layer in the end portion facing the release layer in the next-to-end portion to prevent the sensor marks on the release layer in the end portion and in the next-to-end portion from being exposed.
2. The tape as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sensor marks are arranged on the first surface of the release layer by a fixed interval along the entire length of the release layer in the lengthwise direction, and
wherein when the tape is folded at the folding line, the sensor marks in the next-to-end portion are arranged as being shifted from the sensor marks in the end portion in the lengthwise direction.
3. The tape as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each sensor mark has a length along the lengthwise direction, and the sensor marks are arranged with a spacing, defined between each two adjacent sensor marks, the spacing having another length along the lengthwise direction, the another length being greater than or equal to the length of the sensor mark.
4. The tape as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the recording medium includes a plurality of labels, which are arranged along the lengthwise direction and which are able to be peeled off from the release layer independently from one another, the plurality of labels including an end label that is next to the trailing end line, a sensor mark being formed on the release layer at a location that corresponds to each label, the folding line being located at a position that is on the end label in the lengthwise direction.
5. The tape as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the end label has a center line with respect to the lengthwise direction, the center line extending in the widthwise direction, the folding line being located on an opposite side of the trailing end line with respect to the center line in the lengthwise direction.
6. The tape as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the end label has a center line with respect to the lengthwise direction, the center line extending in the widthwise direction, the folding line being located on the same side of the trailing end line with respect to the center line.