JP3009101B2 - card - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a card, and more particularly to a card having a complicated image such as a face photograph mainly using a sublimation transfer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many cards such as an identification card, a driver's license, and a membership card have been used, and these cards record various kinds of information for clarifying the identity of the owner.
Especially in the case of an ID card, a face photograph is the most important.

[0003]

The classical method of giving a face photograph to various cards is to attach the face photograph to a predetermined portion of the card base using an adhesive. However, there are drawbacks that the operation is very complicated and that the surface of the card becomes uneven and the smoothness is lost.
As a method to solve the disadvantages of the above method of attaching a face photograph,
An image forming method using a sublimation transfer method has been developed.

In this sublimation transfer method, a sublimation type thermal transfer sheet provided with a layer containing a dye which is sublimated and transferred by heat is superposed on a surface of a substrate film and a card substrate, and heated by a thermal head from the back of the sublimation transfer sheet. This is a method of reproducing a face photograph on a card base material, and has the advantage that it can be performed with a simple thermal transfer printer. However, when the above-described sublimation transfer method is used, the card base material is required to have a sufficient dyeing property with respect to the sublimable dye.

On the other hand, most of the conventional card base materials do not have sufficient dyeing properties for sublimable dyes, so that an image cannot be formed as it is. As a method for solving such a drawback, a method has been performed in which a polyester resin layer having good dyeability of a sublimable dye is previously formed as a dye receiving layer on the surface of a card base material. The formation of the dye receiving layer is not only complicated, but also has a drawback that the card base material is liable to cause curling and peeling of the dye receiving layer.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a dye-receiving sheet useful as a card base or the like, in which an image such as a face photograph can be immediately formed by a sublimation transfer method without having to previously provide a dye-receiving layer. An object of the present invention is to provide a card manufacturing method and a card using a receiving sheet.

[0007]

The above object has been achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention forms an image composed of a sublimable dye on the surface of a card base material mainly composed of polyvinyl chloride, and forms a transparent resin and wax on the surface of the image via an adhesive layer containing an ultraviolet absorber. From a mixture with
That the protective layer (hereinafter simply referred to as "protective layer" or "transparent protective layer" Toi
The card is characterized in that the card may be provided.

[0008] By forming at least the dye receiving surface of a dye receiving sheet mainly composed of a polyvinyl chloride resin with polyvinyl chloride containing a specific amount of a plasticizer, the dye receiving sheet can be used as it is without forming any dye receiving layer. Thus, an arbitrary image can be easily formed by the sublimation transfer method.

[0009]

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments. In the present invention, the polyvinyl chloride resin itself used for forming the dye receiving sheet may be a known one. In the present invention, when preparing a dye-receiving sheet useful for card bases and the like from polyvinyl chloride in a conventional manner, at least the dye-receiving surface is provided with 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of polyvinyl chloride. By inclusion, it has been found that the dye receiving surface has sufficient dyeability for sublimable dyes.

The plasticizers used in the present invention include dibutyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate, and di (2
-Ethylhexyl), dinonyl phthalate, dilauryl phthalate, butyllauryl phthalate, butylbenzyl phthalate, di (2-ethylhexyl) adipate, di (2-ethylhexyl) sebacate, tricresyl phosphate, tri (2- Conventionally known plasticizers such as ethylhexyl), polyethylene glycol ester and epoxy fatty acid ester can be used.

The amount of these plasticizers used is 0.1 to 10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of polyvinyl chloride forming the dye receiving surface, and a particularly preferred range is 3 to 5 parts by weight. If the amount of the plasticizer is too small, the dyeing property for the sublimable dye is insufficient, while if too large, the rigidity of the dye-receiving surface becomes insufficient and the dye-receiving surface becomes soft, and the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet is directly transferred during thermal transfer. Abnormal transcription occurs,
Further, bleeding occurs in the printed image during storage, and a clear image cannot be obtained, which is not preferable.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned plasticizer, 0.1 to 5 parts by weight of a lubricant per 100 parts by weight of polyvinyl chloride forming a dye-receiving surface is contained, so that a plasticizer is added. Is contained in polyvinyl chloride in a relatively large amount, for example, in a proportion of 5 to 10 parts by weight,
It has been found that there is no blocking of the thermal transfer sheet at the time of transfer, and that the dye receiving surface obtained is further improved in dyeing properties with a sublimable dye.

As such a lubricant, any conventionally known lubricant such as fatty acid, fatty acid amide, wax, paraffin and the like can be used. If the amount of these lubricants is too small, the effect of the addition will be ineffective, and if the amount is too large, the resulting dye-receiving surface will be undesirably rough. or,
By using these lubricants, not only the dyeability of the sublimation dye is improved, but also the fusion between the sublimation-type thermal transfer sheet and the dye-receiving surface is reduced even when a relatively high temperature is used during sublimation transfer. High-density images can be formed more efficiently.

The dye receiving surface of the dye receiving sheet as described above has a further appropriate softening point, for example, 70 ° C. or less according to JIS K6734,
It is preferable to prepare so as to have a softening point of preferably 50 to 70 ° C. These softening points can be adjusted by the amounts of the above-mentioned plasticizers and lubricants. When the softening point exceeds 70 ° C., the dyeing property of the dye is insufficient, so that a high-density image cannot be formed, embossing becomes difficult, and
If the softening point is too low, the embossing process is easy, but bleeding occurs in the image and the image storability becomes insufficient.

The main components of the dye receiving surface of the dye receiving sheet of the present invention are as described above.
Further, coloring pigments, white pigments, extenders, fillers, ultraviolet absorbers, antistatic agents, heat stabilizers, antioxidants, fluorescent brighteners and the like can be optionally used. The dye receiving sheet of the present invention is obtained by blending the above-mentioned necessary components and forming the blend into a sheet having a thickness of, for example, about 0.05 to 1 mm by a known forming method such as a calendering method or an extrusion method. The present invention encompasses both a sheet obtained before cutting to a so-called card size and a sheet cut to a card size.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the basic form of a preferred dye receiving sheet 1 of the present invention, which is a sheet having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm. A dye layer 2 of a known sublimation type thermal transfer sheet A is superposed on the surface of the dye receiving sheet 1 and heated from a back surface of the sublimation type thermal transfer sheet A by a thermal head 3 or the like, so that the dye receiving sheet 1 A desired image 4 is formed on the surface.
Needless to say, such a dye-receiving sheet may be formed in advance with the necessary embossed pattern 5 or other printed pattern 6 on its surface, or provided with these embossed pattern 5 or printed pattern 6 after sublimation transfer. You may.

In particular, the image formed by the method of the present invention can be embossed directly on the image surface, unlike a conventional photographic image stuck thereon, so that it is more excellent in anti-counterfeiting properties. Further, to improve the durability of these images, a transparent protective layer 7
The formed on the entire surface or part.

The example shown in FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a dye receiving sheet 11 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The dye receiving sheet 11 of this example has a plurality of polyvinyl chloride sheets (three sheets in this example). A) a center core 12 containing a white pigment (eg, a white hard polyvinyl chloride resin having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.8 mm or the like, but not limited to the polyvinyl chloride resin); It is obtained by laminating transparent polyvinyl chloride layers 13, 13 '.

By laminating a plurality of polyvinyl chloride sheets in this manner, the curl of the dye receiving sheet during image formation or at other times can be prevented well, and in particular, as shown in FIG. Transparent layers 13.1 on both sides
By laminating 3 ', good anti-curl properties can be obtained. Further, by forming at least the dye receiving surface as the transparent layer 13, the image has a good depth and three-dimensional appearance, and since it does not contain a pigment, it has a high luster and does not feel grainy.

At least one of the transparent layers 13, 13 '(the dye receiving surface) contains a specific amount of a plasticizer (and a lubricant) as described above, and has a good dyeing property for the dye. ing. In this example, the center core 12 does not necessarily need to contain a predetermined amount of plasticizer, and various print patterns 14 can be formed in advance between the center core 12 and the transparent layer 13.13 ′. . In this example, the center core 12 is sandwiched by the transparent layers 13 and 13 ', but these transparent layers may be provided on only one side.

The characteristic portion of the dye receiving sheet of the present invention has been described above. When the dye receiving sheet of the present invention is used as a card base material, other recording, for example, magnetic recording, is performed on the surface thereof before or after. A recording layer, an optical memory, a signature, an IC memory, a bar code, and the like can be provided.

Next, the card manufacturing method of the present invention using the dye receiving sheet as a card base will be described. The method of the present invention is basically the same as that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. However, when a card is formed using a sublimable thermal transfer sheet, formation of a gradation image such as a face photograph or scenery is not performed. Although easy and beautiful, images such as characters and symbols such as barcodes have a problem that the density and sharpness are insufficient, and that OCR characters and barcodes readable by infrared rays cannot be formed.

In the present invention, such a drawback can be solved by using a thermal transfer sheet of a molten ink transfer type in addition to a thermal transfer sheet of a sublimation type. The configurations of the sublimation type thermal transfer sheet and the fusion type thermal transfer sheet are the same as those of the sublimation type thermal transfer sheet and the fusion type thermal transfer sheet of the composite thermal transfer sheet of a preferred embodiment described later, respectively, and thus description thereof is omitted here. I do.

The above two types of thermal transfer sheets may be different from each other. However, this method has a problem that the operation is complicated. Therefore, a sublimation-type heat transfer sheet is placed on one continuous base film. It is preferable to use a thermal transfer sheet in which a thermal transfer layer and a thermal transfer layer of the molten ink transfer type are provided in a plane-sequential manner. According to such a composite thermal transfer sheet, a gradation image such as a face photograph and a monotone image such as characters and symbols can be simultaneously and satisfactorily formed. The configuration of the composite thermal transfer sheet is also the same as the configuration of the composite thermal transfer sheet including a protective layer described later, and thus the details are omitted.

Further, even when the composite type thermal transfer sheet is used, there is a problem that the durability of an image is insufficient in applications requiring various durability such as an ID card, particularly, abrasion resistance. In the present invention, such a problem can be solved by laminating a transparent protective layer on the surface of an image as shown in FIG. Lamination of the protective layer can be performed by applying and drying a transparent paint, laminating a transparent film, and further using a thermal transfer sheet for the protective layer. The configuration of the protective layer thermal transfer sheet is also the same as that of the protective layer portion of the composite thermal transfer sheet described later, and the description is omitted here.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a thermal transfer sheet is used which is provided with a sublimable dye layer of at least one color, a heat-meltable ink layer of at least one color, and a release protective layer on a base film in a sequential manner. By doing so, the gradation image, the monotonic image and the transparent protective layer can be formed on the same thermal transfer sheet.

Next, a particularly preferred embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the composite thermal transfer sheet of the preferred embodiment,
FIG. 6 is a plan view thereof. In the composite thermal transfer sheet of this embodiment, a sublimation dye layer 2Y, 2M and 2C composed of yellow, magenta and cyan hue regions, a black heat-fusible ink layer 3 and a release protection layer 4 are formed on a base film 1. They are formed in a plane-sequential manner.

First, the common part will be described. As the base film 1 of the composite thermal transfer sheet, the same base film as used in the conventional thermal transfer sheet can be used as it is, and other materials can be used. And is not particularly limited. Specific examples of preferred base film 1 include, for example, glassine paper, condenser paper,
Thin paper such as paraffin paper is useful, and in addition, for example, plastics such as polyester, polypropylene, cellophane, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, nylon, polyimide, polyvinylidene chloride, ionomer, and the like. A base film composited with the paper is exemplified. The thickness of the substrate film 1 can be appropriately changed depending on the material so that the strength and heat resistance are appropriate, but the thickness is preferably 3 to 100 μm.
It is.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a back layer, which has a function of preventing adhesion of a thermal head of a printer. This layer 6 is also unnecessary when the heat resistance and the slip property of the base film 1 are good. Reference numeral 7 denotes an adhesion improving layer, which has an effect of improving the adhesion of the sublimable dye layer 2 and the release layer 5 to the base film 1. In addition, the adhesion improving layer 7
It has an effect of improving the adhesiveness between the peeling protective layer 4 and the base film 1 and improving the breakage of the foil of the peeling protective layer 4. This layer 7
If the adhesiveness between the base film 1 and the release protective layer 4 is poor without providing the protective film 4, the protective layer 4 other than the heated portion is peeled off together with the protective layer 4 in the heated portion during thermal transfer, and the foil is cut poorly. .

The adhesion improving layer 7 may be any as long as the adhesion between the base film 1 and the dye layer 2, the release layer 5 and the release protective layer 4 can be further strengthened. For example, polyurethane resin, acrylic polyol resin, It is formed by coating or drying a vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer or the like alone or as a mixture. If necessary, a reactive curing agent such as polyisocyanate may be added, and a titanate or silane coupling agent may be used. 2 if necessary
More than one layer may be stacked.

Numerals 8 and 8 'denote a heat-sensitive adhesive layer, which has an effect of facilitating transfer of the hot-melt ink layer 3 and / or the release protective layer 4 to the dye receiving sheet. Since the dye receiving sheet is made of polyvinyl chloride, the heat-sensitive adhesive layers 8, 8 'have good adhesive properties with the vinyl chloride resin, such as acrylic resin, vinyl chloride resin, and vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate. By applying and drying a solution of a resin having good adhesiveness when heated, such as a copolymer resin, an acrylic / vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, a polyester resin, and a polyamide resin, preferably about 0.5 to 10 μm Formed to a thickness of Among these resins, those having good adhesiveness to vinyl chloride resin and good foil breaking are vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, acryl / vinyl chloride /
These are vinyl acetate copolymers, acrylic resins, and polyamide resins.

Next, each thermal transfer layer will be described. The dye layer 2 is a layer in which a sublimable dye is carried on the base film 1 (adhesion improving layer 7) with an optional binder resin. As the dye to be used, any dye conventionally used in a sublimation type thermal transfer sheet can be effectively used in the present invention, and is not particularly limited. For example, some preferred dyes include, as red dyes, MS Red G, Macrolex
Red Violet R, Ceres Red 7B, Samaron Red HBSL, SK
Rubin SEGL and the like, and as the yellow dye, Holon Brilliant Yellow S-6GL, PTY-52, Macrolex Yellow S-6G, etc., and as the blue dye, Kayaset Blue 714, wax Sorin Blue AP-FW,
Holon Brilliant Blue SR, MS Blue 100, Daito Blue No. 1 and the like.

As the binder for supporting the dye as described above, any of those conventionally known can be used. Preferred examples thereof include ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl hydroxycellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, and cellulose acetate. Cellulose resins such as cellulose acetate butyrate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl pyrrolidone,
Examples thereof include vinyl resins such as polyacrylamide, and polyvinyl acetal and polyvinyl butyral are particularly preferable in terms of heat resistance, heat transfer properties of dyes, and the like. The dye layer 2 is basically formed from the above-described materials, but may further include various conventionally known additives as necessary.

Such a dye layer 2 is preferably prepared by adding the above-mentioned dye, binder resin and other optional components in an appropriate solvent and dissolving or dispersing each component to prepare an ink for forming a dye layer. Is formed on the base film 1 by a gravure printing method or the like and dried. Of course, the printing may be performed in a single color, but for the purpose of the present invention, a multicolor printing of three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan or four colors including black is preferable so that a color image can be formed.

The dye layer 2 thus formed has a thickness of 0.2
The dye in the dye layer 2 has a thickness of 5 to 90% by weight, preferably 10 to 70% by weight of the dye layer. It is preferably present in an amount. The hot-melt ink layer 3 is formed adjacent to the dye layer 2 from an ink containing necessary materials. The ink for forming the hot-melt ink layer comprises a colorant and a vehicle, and may further contain various additives as necessary. The colorant is preferably an organic or inorganic pigment or dye having good properties as a recording material, for example, a colorant having a sufficient coloring density and not discoloring by light, heat, temperature, or the like. As the colorant, cyan, magenta, yellow and the like can be used, but for the purpose of the present invention, a black colorant capable of printing clear characters and symbols at high density is preferable.

As the vehicle, a mixture containing wax as a main component and other derivatives of wax, such as drying oil, resin, mineral oil, cellulose and rubber, is used. Representative examples of the wax include microcrystalline wax, carnauba wax, and paraffin wax. In addition, Fischer-Tropsch wax, various low molecular weight polyethylenes, wood wax, beeswax, whale wax, Ibota wax,
Wool wax, shellac wax, candelilla wax,
Petrolactam, partially modified wax, fatty acid ester,
Various waxes such as fatty acid amides are used.

However, it is more preferable to use the following resin binder from the viewpoints of adhesion to a polyvinyl chloride dye receiving sheet and scratch resistance. Acrylic resin Acrylic resin + Chloride rubber Acrylic resin + Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin Acrylic resin + Cellulose resin Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin

The method for forming the hot-melt ink layer 3 on the base film 1 or on the release layer 5 previously provided on the base film 1 includes, in addition to a hot melt coat, a hot lacquer coat,
A gravure coat, a gravure reverse coat, a roll coat, a method of applying the above-mentioned ink by various means, and the like can be mentioned. The thickness of the ink layer to be formed should be determined so as to balance the required density with the thermal sensitivity. For example, the thickness of the ink layer is usually preferably in the range of about 0.2 to 10 μm.

Prior to the formation of the hot-melt ink layer,
In order to facilitate the peeling of the ink layer, it is preferable to form a peeling layer 5 on the surface of the adhesion improving layer 7 of the base film 1. The release layer 5 is formed from a release agent such as waxes, silicone wax, silicone resin, fluorine resin, acrylic resin, cellulose resin, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin, and nitrified cotton resin as described above. The forming method may be the same as the method for forming the sublimable dye layer or the hot-melt ink layer, and the thickness of about 0.1 to 5 μm is sufficient.
If a matte print or matte protective layer is desired after transfer, the release layer 5 can be made to contain various particles to form a matte surface. The layers 5 to 8 are not essential in the present invention, but when the adhesion improving layer 7 is provided, the release layer 5 is preferably provided.

On the adhesion improving layer 7, a release protective layer 4 made of a wax-containing transparent resin layer and a heat-sensitive adhesive layer 8 'are provided in a releasable manner. Peeling the protective layer 4 provided on the adhesive improving layer 7 you formed from a mixture of transparent resin and the wax. Examples of the transparent resin include a polyester resin, a polystyrene resin, an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin, a modified cellulose resin, a polyvinyl acetal resin, a silicone resin, a fluorine resin, and the like. Particularly preferred are an acrylic resin, a silicone resin, and a fluorine resin. . These resins have excellent transparency and form a relatively tough film. In addition, film breakage during transfer is sufficient. However, since the lubricity is insufficient, it is easily damaged by surface friction. In the present invention, the lubricity of the protective layer 4 is improved by mixing wax with these transparent resins.

Representative examples of the wax used in the present invention include microcrystalline wax, carnauba wax, paraffin wax and the like. In addition, Fischer-Tropsch wax, various low molecular weight polyethylenes, wood wax, beeswax, whale wax, Ibota wax, wool wax, shellac wax, candelilla wax, petrolactam,
Various waxes such as partially modified waxes, fatty acid esters, and fatty acid amides are used.

The amount of the wax used is determined by the amount of the transparent resin 1
The amount is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 20 parts by weight per 00 parts by weight. If the amount of the wax is too small, the abrasion resistance of the protective layer 4 becomes insufficient. It is not preferable because transparency becomes insufficient.

The method of mixing the above transparent resin and wax is as follows:
There is no particular limitation on the mixing method, such as a method of melting and mixing both, and a method of dissolving and mixing in an appropriate organic solvent that dissolves both. It is particularly preferable to use a transparent resin as a dispersion (or an emulsion), while using wax as a solution or a dispersion (an emulsion), and to mix both. After using such a dispersion liquid (emulsion liquid) and applying it to a base film, drying is performed at a relatively low temperature to form a film so that at least a part of these resin particles remains. The coating thus formed has a rough surface due to the remaining resin particles and is partially cloudy, but the surface becomes smooth by heat and pressure during thermal transfer and can be transferred as a transparent coating.

As a method for forming the release protective layer 4, a method of applying and drying an ink composed of the above resin and wax by a gravure coat, a gravure reverse coat, a roll coat and other various means can be mentioned. When the release protection layer 4 is formed from a mixed dispersion of a resin and a wax, drying after coating may be performed at a temperature lower than the melting point of the resin particles, for example, at a relatively low temperature of about 50 to 100 ° C. preferable. By drying at such a temperature, the film is formed with the resin particles remaining, so that the film breakage of the protective layer 4 during thermal transfer is significantly improved, and the smoothness of the protective layer is maintained.

The release protective layer 4 may contain substantially transparent inorganic or organic fine particles. By mixing such fine particles, it is possible to further improve the breaking of the foil and the abrasion resistance of the peeling protective layer. Further, the surface gloss of the protective layer 4 can be suppressed, and a matte surface can be obtained. Preferred examples of such fine particles include silica,
Teflon powder, nylon powder and the like having relatively high transparency can be used. The added amount of these fine particles is preferably 1 to 30% by weight based on the resin of the protective layer 4. If the amount is too large, the transparency and durability of the protective layer will be reduced. The release protective layer 4 and / or the heat-sensitive adhesive layer 8 'may contain additives such as an ultraviolet absorber, an antioxidant, or a fluorescent whitening agent so that the gloss of various images to be coated can be improved. Light resistance, weather resistance, whiteness and the like can be improved.

The image to be protected by using the thermal transfer sheet including the protective layer as described above can be a gradation image formed on the dye receiving sheet by a sublimation type thermal transfer method, or a character or bar code by a fused ink type thermal transfer method. Monotone images such as symbols are preferred, but not limited to these images. Particularly when applied to a sublimation transfer image, the protective layer of the image is formed, and the dye forming the image is recolored by heat during transfer, so that the image is further sharpened. There is.

As described above, the composite thermal transfer sheet is provided, but the forming method is not limited to these methods, and the order of forming the sublimable dye layer, the hot-melt ink layer, the release protective layer and the like is not particularly limited. . Further, the sublimable dye layer, the hot-melt ink layer, and the release protection layer may be provided in a pattern at a specific position of the base film corresponding to a place where a transfer image of the transfer-receiving material is to be formed. As shown in FIG. 7, the sublimable dye layer 2, the heat-meltable ink layer 3, and the release protective layer 4 can be applied to specific positions corresponding to the portions of the material to be transferred where the transfer images are to be formed. By doing so, the background of the dye receiving sheet can be prevented, and the unused portions of these layers can be removed, which is economical.

An example of manufacturing a card using the composite thermal transfer sheet will be described with reference to FIG. First, the card base material 9
The yellow layer 2Y of the thermal transfer sheet is superimposed on the surface of the thermal transfer sheet, and the yellow image 2Y is transferred by a thermal printer operating according to a color separation signal. Similarly, a magenta image 2
M and cyan image 2C are transferred to obtain a desired color image 10
To form

Next, desired characters, symbols and the like 3 are similarly printed using the heat-meltable ink layer 3. Further, the protective layer 4 is transferred onto the color image 10 and / or the image 3 such as a character by using the transfer protective layer 4 to form the protective layer 4. Thus, a desired card is obtained. In the above transfer, the thermal printer may be set separately (preferably continuously) for sublimation transfer, for hot-melt ink transfer, and for protection layer transfer. The printing energy may be appropriately adjusted by each of the printers.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment using the composite thermal transfer sheet, the present invention is not limited to this example, and it is natural that the gradation image, the monotonic image, and the protective layer may be formed separately. is there.

[0050]

Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples and comparative examples. In the following description, parts and% are based on weight unless otherwise specified. Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 According to the compositions shown in Table 1 below, the dye receiving sheets (white card substrates) of the present invention and Comparative Examples (thickness 0.2 mm, size 10
× 20 cm).

Table 1 PVA: polyvinyl chloride (degree of polymerization 800) compound containing about 10% of additives such as stabilizers Pigment: titanium oxide plasticizer: DOP lubricant: stearamide

3 containing each of the three sublimable dyes of the following composition:
A color ink was prepared.Yellow ink Disperse dye (Macrolex Yellow 6G, CIDisperse Yellow 201, manufactured by Bayer AG) 5.5 parts Polyvinyl butyral resin (Eslec BX-1, manufactured by Sekisui Chemical) 4.5 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (1/1 by weight) 89.0 Department Magenta ink Magenta disperse dye (C.I.Disperse Red 60) as dye
 Same as yellow ink except using.Cyan ink Cyan disperse dye (C.I.Solvent Blue 63) is used as the dye.
Same as yellow ink except used.

A heat-resistant slip layer (thickness: 1 μm) was formed on the back surface of the above ink composition by a gravure coating method.
And adhesive improving layer made of polyurethane resin on the surface on the surface of the thickness 4.5μm polyester film that is formed (thickness 0.5 [mu] m), as the coating amount of about 3 g / m ^2, respectively yellow, Magenta and cyan were repeatedly applied and dried to a width of 15 cm sequentially in the order of magenta and cyan to form a thermal transfer sheet including sublimable dye layers of three colors.

The above-described sublimation thermal transfer sheet is superimposed on the surface of the card substrate, and thermal energy is applied by a thermal head connected to an electric signal obtained by color separation of a face photograph, and sublimation transfer is performed in the order of cyan, magenta and yellow. Was performed to form a full-color face photograph. Next, a release layer ink having the following composition was applied to the surface of the same polyester film as described above by a gravure coating method at a ratio of 1 g / m ^{2 on} a solid content basis and dried to form a release layer.

Ink for release layer 20 parts Acrylic resin 100 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Next, the following ink is applied to the surface of the release layer by a gravure coating method so as to have an application amount of about 3 g / m ² and dried. Thus, a heat-fusible ink layer was formed to prepare a heat-fusible thermal transfer sheet.

Hot-melt ink Acrylic / vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin 20 parts Carbon black 10 parts Toluene 35 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 35 parts

The sublimation thermal transfer sheet was superimposed on the image blank of the card on which the face photograph was formed, and characters such as numerals, kanji, and symbol images such as bar codes were formed. The color density, clarity, and blocking state of the transfer sheet at the time of sublimation transfer were examined for the face photographs of the cards of the present invention and the comparative examples obtained above, and the results in Table 2 below were obtained.

Table 2

* 1: The dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet is partially transferred as it is, and the resolution is extremely poor. * 2: Blurring occurs in the image, resulting in poor resolution. The color development densities were compared with the naked eye. The highest density was indicated by ◎, the medium density was indicated by 、, and the poor density was indicated by x. The sharpness was compared with the naked eye, and the sharpest was represented by ◎, the medium one was represented by ○, and the poor one was represented by ×. Regarding the blocking resistance, ◎ indicates that the transfer sheet was easily peeled off after sublimation transfer, ○ indicates that the transfer sheet was slightly difficult, and X indicates that the dye layer itself was difficult to peel and transferred to the card substrate.

Examples 8 to 14 and Comparative Examples 4 to 6 A white card base core (0.2 m thick) having the following composition
m, size 30 × 30 cm). Polyvinyl chloride (polymerization degree: 800) compound containing about 10% of additives such as stabilizers 100 parts White pigment (titanium oxide) 15 parts Next, a transparent sheet (thickness 0.15
mm) and thermocompression-bonded to both surfaces of the white core to prepare card base materials of Examples and Comparative Examples.

Table 3 When a gradation image and a monotone transfer image were formed on the surface of the card substrate in the same manner as in Example 1, and the same performance was examined,
The same results as in Table 2 were obtained.

Examples 15 to 19 and Comparative Examples 7 to 8 A white card base core (having a thickness of 670 μm) was prepared according to the following composition.
m, size 30 × 30 cm). Polyvinyl chloride (degree of polymerization 800) compound containing about 10% of additives such as stabilizers 100 parts White pigment (titanium oxide) 15 parts

Next, a transparent sheet (thickness: 60 μm) having a softening temperature (JIS K 6734) shown in Table 4 below was prepared, and thermocompression bonded to both surfaces of the white core to prepare card base materials of Examples and Comparative Examples. Then, gradation and monotone images were formed on the surfaces of the respective card substrates in the same manner as in Example 1, and the performance was examined in the same manner. The results shown in Table 4 below were obtained.

Table 4 I: Softening temperature II: Abnormal transfer III: Dyeability IV: Bleeding of image after printing V: Suitability for embossing

Example 20 A 4.5 μm thick polyester film having a heat-resistant slip layer formed on the back surface and an adhesion improving layer (0.1 μm thick) made of a polyester-based resin formed on the surface was formed as follows. The release protective layer was formed by applying and drying a gravure coating method at a ratio of 4 g / m ² on a solid content basis using the ink for the release protective layer having the composition. Ink for release protective layer Acrylic resin (BR-83, manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.) 20 parts Polyethylene wax 1 part Methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts Toluene 50 parts Next, on the surface of the release protective layer, an adhesive layer ink having the following composition Was applied and dried at a rate of 1 g / m ² on a solid basis to form an adhesive layer, thereby forming a protective layer thermal transfer sheet.

Adhesive Layer Ink Acrylic / vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer (HS-32G, manufactured by Showa Ink Co., Ltd.) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Next, an example was conducted using the above protective layer thermal transfer sheet. The protective layer was transferred to the surface of the image of the card obtained in 1 by a thermal transfer method.

Example 21 The following inks were used in place of the release protective layer and the adhesive layer of Example 20.
Create a protective layer thermal transfer sheet using
The surface of the image of the card obtained in Example 1 was thermally transferred to the surface.
The protective layer was transferred.Ink for release protection layer (Dry coating amount 2g / m^TwoAcrylic resin (Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., BR-85) 20 parts Polyethylene wax 1 part Fine particle silica (Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., R-972) 1 part Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Ink for adhesive layer (Dry coating amount 1 g / m^Two) Nylon resin (manufactured by Toa Gosei Chemical Co., Ltd., FS175) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts

Comparative Example 9 A protective layer was formed by using the following ink in place of the release protective layer of Example 20, and a thermal transfer sheet for protective layer of Comparative Example was prepared without forming an adhesive layer. The protective layer was transferred to the surface of the image of the card obtained in Example 1 by a thermal transfer method. Ink for release protective layer (coating amount 4 g / m ² when dried) Polyvinyl butyral resin (Eslec BX-1 manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts Toluene 50 parts

Comparative Example 10 A protective layer and an adhesive layer were formed by using the following inks in place of the peeling protective layer and the adhesive layer of Example 20, and a thermal transfer sheet of the protective layer of the comparative example was prepared. The protective layer was transferred to the surface of the image of the card obtained in Example 1 by a thermal transfer method. Ink for release protective layer (4 g / m ² when dried) Polystyrene resin (TP-SX301, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo KK) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts Toluene 50 parts

Ink for adhesive layer (coating amount 1 g / m ² ) Ethylene / ethyl acrylate resin (A-704, manufactured by Du Pont-Mitsui Polychemicals Co., Ltd.) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts

Comparative Example 11 The card of Example 1 without a protective layer. Example 20 above
The transferability of the protective layer and the abrasion resistance of the obtained images in Comparative Examples 9 to 11 and Comparative Examples 9 to 11 were evaluated, and the results in Table 5 below were obtained. Table 5

Protective layer transferability : A: Good adhesion to the card surface, and the protective layer is sharply cut. C: good adhesion to the card surface, but the protective layer is poorly cut and the edges are disturbed. X: Poor adhesion to the card surface and poor transfer.

Abrasion resistance : It was evaluated by visual observation with a gate suitability tester (manufactured by Tateishi Electric Co., Ltd .: NAW2) through a gate 1000 times and 3000 times. A: Neither bleeding of the dye image nor fogging of the protective layer is caused by friction. ：: No bleeding of the dye image due to friction occurred, but the protective layer was slightly clouded due to scratches. Δ: The dye image bleeds due to friction, and the slipping property was insufficient, and the protective layer was fogged due to scratches, making it difficult to observe the image. X: The dye image bleeds due to friction and became unobservable.

Example 22 A three-color ink containing the same sublimable dye as used in Example 1 was prepared, and this ink composition was subjected to a gravure coating method to form a heat-resistant slip layer (1 μm thick) on the back surface.
A 6.0 μm thick polyester film (trade name “Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) having an adhesion improving layer (0.5 μm thick) made of a polyurethane resin formed on the surface.
(Alternatively, a polyester film which has been subjected to an easy adhesion treatment may be used in advance.) A coating amount of about 3 g / m
^In order to obtain 2, sublimation dye layers of three colors were formed by repeatedly applying and drying a 15 cm width in the order of yellow, magenta and cyan, respectively. In addition, the above three colors were set as one set, and a space of 30 cm was provided between each set.

Next, one adjacent to the set of dye layers
The same hot-melt ink as used in Example 1 was applied by a gravure coating method and dried to form a hot-melt ink layer with a width of 5 cm and an application amount of about 0.5 g / m ² . . Next, the uncoated portion of the base film (width 15c)
m), the following ink was applied at a rate of 1 g / m ^{2 on} a solid content basis and dried to form a transferable protective layer.

Separation protective layer ink Acrylic resin 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts Toluene 50 parts Polyethylene wax 1 part Next, on the surface of the hot-melt ink layer and the transferable protective layer,
An ink having the following composition was applied and dried at a rate of 3 g / m ^{2 on} a solid basis to form an adhesive layer, thereby obtaining a composite thermal transfer sheet including a sublimation dye layer, a fusible ink layer and a protective layer.

Adhesive layer ink Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer 10 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts

100 parts of a polyvinyl chloride (polymerization degree: 800) compound containing about 10% of additives such as a stabilizer, 10 parts of a white pigment (titanium oxide) and 0.5 part of a plasticizer (DOP)
The sublimable dye layer of the above composite thermal transfer film is superimposed on the surface of the card substrate consisting of a part, and a thermal head connected to an electric signal obtained by color-separating the face photograph is applied to form a full-color face photograph. Then, the characters and symbols were transferred and formed using the hot-melt ink layer, and then the transferable protective layer was transferred to each image portion using the protective layer to obtain a card having a face photograph and various necessary information. . When the surface of the card was rubbed 100 times with gauze impregnated with isopropyl alcohol, the gauze did not contaminate at all. On the other hand, when the protective layer was not transferred, the gauze was significantly contaminated with blackish brown.

[0079]

According to the present invention as described above, a specific amount of a plasticizer (and a lubricant) is contained in the dye-receiving surface of a polyvinyl chloride dye-receiving sheet, so that any special surface is added to the surface. Since an arbitrary image can be formed by a sublimation transfer method without forming a dye receiving layer, the complexity of attaching a face photograph and forming a dye receiving layer is eliminated. In a preferred embodiment, by forming the dye receiving sheet into a laminated type, excellent images can be formed and curling can be effectively prevented. Further, according to the method of the present invention, a card can be easily provided, a gradation image and a minor image can be simultaneously formed, and a transparent protective layer can be easily applied to these images.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a dye receiving sheet of the present invention and a cross section after image formation.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of the dye receiving sheet of the present invention and a cross section after image formation.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of the dye receiving sheet of the present invention and a cross section after image formation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of the composite thermal transfer film used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a card created by the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of another example of the composite thermal transfer film. FIG. 7 shows an example in which the sublimable dye layer 2, the heat-meltable ink layer 3, and the transferable protective layer are separately applied to specific positions corresponding to the portions of the transfer material on which the transfer image is to be formed.

[Description of References] FIGS. 1 to 3 : A: Sublimation thermal transfer sheet 1: Dye receiving sheet (card base material) 2: Dye layer 3: Thermal head 4: Transfer image 5: Emboss pattern 6: Print pattern 7: Transparent protection Layer 11: Dye receiving sheet (card base material) 12: Center core 13, 13 ': Transparent layer FIGS. 4 to 7 1: 1: Base film 2: Sublimable dye layer 3: Hot-melt ink layer 4: Protective layer 5: release layer 6: back layer 7: adhesion improving layer 8: heat-sensitive adhesive layer 9: card base material 10: color image

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A 63-194765 (JP, U) JP-A 62-73969 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B42D 15/10 501 B41M 5/38

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An image made of a sublimable dye is formed on the surface of a card base material mainly composed of polyvinyl chloride, and a transparent resin is formed on the surface of the image via an adhesive layer containing an ultraviolet absorbent.
A card having a protective layer made of a mixture of fat and wax .