JPH0789296A - Heat transfer film - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a heat transfer film in which a gradation film having excellent durability and particularly wear resistance and a monotonous image can be simultaneously formed by a simple operation. CONSTITUTION:A heat transfer film comprises at least one color sublimable dye layer area 2 and at least one color heat-fusible ink layer area 3 sequentially provided on a base material film 1, wherein the area 3 has a release layer 5, a release OP layer 6 and a heat-fusible ink layer 3 sequentially laminated on one surface of the film 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a thermal transfer film,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a thermal transfer film capable of forming an image having excellent durability, which includes a photographic image and characters and symbols at the same time, such as an identification card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a thermal transfer method has been widely used as a simple printing method. In these thermal transfer methods, various images can be easily formed, and therefore, printed matter such as an identification card can be printed with a relatively small number of printed sheets.
It is designed to be used for creating D cards. When a color image such as a photograph of a face is preferable, a large number of yellow, magenta, and cyan (and black if necessary) colored thermal transfer layers are repeatedly provided on a continuous base film in a frame-sequential manner. A thermal transfer method using a long thermal transfer film is performed.

Such thermal transfer films can be roughly classified into a so-called melt ink transfer type thermal transfer film in which those thermal transfer layers are softened by heating and thermally transferred to a thermal transfer material in an image form, and a thermal transfer film in the thermal transfer layer. The dye is roughly classified into a so-called sublimation dye transfer type thermal transfer film in which the dye is sublimated (transferred by heat) and only the dye is image-wise transferred onto a heat transfer material.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When an ID card such as an identification card is produced using the heat transfer film as described above, in the case of a melt ink transfer type heat transfer film,
It is easy to form monotonous images such as letters and numbers,
There is a problem that it is difficult to form a gradation image such as a facial photograph. On the other hand, in the case of a sublimation transfer type thermal transfer film, on the contrary, a gradation image such as a facial photograph is excellent, but characters and symbols are not. Such images have insufficient density and sharpness, so that infrared readable OCR characters, bar codes, etc. cannot be formed, and therefore satisfactory images cannot be formed.

As a method of solving such a drawback, there is a method of using the above-mentioned melt ink transfer type heat transfer film and sublimation dye transfer type heat transfer film in combination.
Since this method has a problem that the operation is complicated, a thermal transfer film has been developed in which a sublimation type transfer layer and a melt ink transfer type transfer layer are provided in a surface sequential manner on one continuous substrate film. It was According to such a composite thermal transfer film, a gradation image such as a face photograph and a monotone image such as characters and symbols are favorably formed, but various durability, particularly abrasion resistance, such as an ID card is required. However, there is a problem in that the durability of the image is insufficient in the intended use.

As a method for solving such a problem,
There is a method of laminating a transparent film on the formed image surface. However, this method involves two steps and is complicated, and since it is laminated on the entire card, there is a problem that even unnecessary portions are laminated. However, there is a problem that a thin film cannot be used because of the laminating operation, and therefore the entire card becomes thick. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide a thermal transfer film capable of simultaneously forming a gradation image and a monotone image excellent in durability, particularly abrasion resistance, by a simple operation. .

[0007]

The above object can be achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention provides a substrate film and at least one sublimable dye layer region of at least one color.
The color heat-fusible ink layer regions are provided in a plane-sequential manner, and the heat-fusible ink layer region comprises a release layer, a peeling OP layer and a heat-fusible ink layer which are sequentially laminated on the substrate film surface. Is a thermal transfer film.

[0008]

Function: A sublimable dye layer region and a heat-fusible ink layer region are provided on a substrate film, and the heat-fusible ink layer region is sequentially laminated on the substrate film surface. Using a thermal transfer film composed of a heat-sensitive ink layer, a gradation image is formed in the sublimable dye layer area and a monotone image is formed in the heat-meltable ink layer area, and at the same time, peeling is performed on the surface of the monotone image.
By transferring the P layer, a monotone image having excellent abrasion resistance is simultaneously formed together with an excellent gradation image.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the accompanying drawings, which schematically show preferred embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a cross section of a thermal transfer film according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The thermal transfer film of this embodiment comprises a sublimable dye layer region 2 consisting of sublimable dye layers 2Y, 2M and 2C containing yellow, magenta and cyan dyes, a heat-fusible ink layer region 3 and a necessary film on a substrate film 1. The heat-meltable ink layer region 3 may be provided in accordance with the above, and the heat-meltable ink layer region 3 is sequentially laminated on the base film surface, the release layer 5, the peeling OP layer 6 and the heat-meltable ink layer. It is characterized by consisting of 7. When the heat-meltable ink layer region 3 is heated by a thermal head to form an image on the surface of the transfer material, the heat-meltable ink layer region 3
Is the interface between the release layer 5 and the release OP layer 6 or the release OP layer 6
Then, the heat-meltable ink layer 7 is transferred to the transfer material together with all or part of the peeling OP layer 6, and the peeling OP layer is positioned on the image surface formed of the formed ink layer.

Reference numeral 8 is a back heat-resistant layer, which has a function of preventing the thermal head of the printer from sticking, and 9 is a primer layer, which is a sublimable dye layer region 2 and a separation layer with respect to the base film 1. It has an effect of improving the adhesiveness of the mold layer 5, and 10 represents an adhesive layer, which facilitates the transferability of the heat-meltable ink layer 7 and / or the peeling OP layer 6 of the transferable protective layer region 4. Has the effect of These layers 8-10 are not essential to the invention. Further, the transferable protective layer region 4
Is an area transferred to the surface of the dye image formed by the dye sublimated from the dye layer 2 and / or the surface of the ink layer image formed by the transfer of the ink layer 7 in order to protect those images. Mold layer 5, release OP layer 6 and adhesive layer 10
It consists of Further, the peeling OP layer 6 and the adhesive layer 10
An ultraviolet blocking layer (not shown) containing an ultraviolet absorbent or an ultraviolet absorbing fine powder may be provided between and.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the thermal transfer film of the present invention, which is an example in which the dye layer region 2 is formed by double coating. In this case, 2Y, 2M and 2C are formed from an ordinary binder resin and a dye, and 2Y ', 2M' and 2C 'are formed from a binder resin and a dye having excellent releasability as described below, and a dye layer It is possible to improve the releasability between the dye layer surface and the material to be transferred during thermal transfer of the area 2.
FIG. 3 shows an example in which only the yellow layer in the dye layer region is formed into a two-layer structure in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and the dye concentration in the yellow layer cannot be increased by one coating. By having a two-layer structure, the dye concentration per unit area can be increased. Of course, the dye layers of other hues may have a two-layer structure.

Next, the thermal transfer film of the present invention will be described in more detail by the materials used and the forming method. As the base film 1 used in the present invention, the same base film as that used in the conventional thermal transfer film can be used as it is, and other materials can also be used and are not particularly limited. Specific examples of the preferable base film 1 include thin paper such as glassine paper, condenser paper, paraffin paper, and the like.
Examples include plastics such as polyester, polypropylene, cellophane, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, nylon, polyimide, polyvinylidene chloride and ionomer, and a base film in which these are combined with the preceding paper. The thickness of the base film 1 can be appropriately changed according to the material so that the strength, heat resistance and the like are appropriate, but the thickness is preferably 3 to 100 μm.

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

As the binder for carrying the dye as described above, any conventionally known binder can be used, and preferred examples include ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl hydroxycellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, cellulose acetate. , Cellulose-based 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, polyvinyl butyral, etc. are particularly preferable from the viewpoints of heat resistance and heat transferability of dyes. In the present invention, the following releasable graft copolymer can be used as a releasing agent or a binder in addition to the binder or in place of the binder. These releasable graft copolymers are obtained by graft-bonding at least one releasable segment selected from a polysiloxane segment, a fluorocarbon segment and a long chain alkyl segment to the polymer main chain.

The above-mentioned releasable copolymer can be synthesized by various methods, and one preferable method is that the functional group existing in the main chain after the main chain is formed is reacted with the functional group. Examples thereof include a method of reacting a releasing compound having a group. Examples of the releasable compound having the above functional group include the following compounds.

(A) Polysiloxane compound

[Chemical 1] In the above formula, part of the methyl group may be substituted with another alkyl group or an aromatic group such as a phenyl group.

(B) Carbon fluoride compound

[Chemical 2]

(C) Long-chain alkyl compounds Lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and other higher fatty acids and their acid halides, nonyl alcohol, capryl alcohol, lauryl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, Higher alcohols such as cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, linoleyl alcohol and ricinoleyl alcohol, higher aldehydes such as caprin aldehyde, laurin aldehyde, myristin aldehyde and stearaldehyde, higher amines such as decyl amine, lauryl amine and cetyl amine. The above examples are merely examples, and various other reactive releasing compounds can be obtained from Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. and any of them can be used in the present invention. Particularly preferred are monofunctional releasable compounds having one functional group in one molecule,
It is not preferable to use a polyfunctional compound having two or more functional groups because the resulting graft copolymer tends to gel.

The relationship between the functional releasing compound and the main chain polymer as exemplified above is represented by the following first formula in which the functional group of the releasing compound is X and the functional group of the main chain polymer is Y.
It looks like the table. Of course, the relationship between X and Y may be reversed,
They may be mixed and used, and are not limited to these examples as long as both react.

[0020]

[Table 1]

As another preferable production method, the functional releasable compound is reacted with a vinyl compound having a functional group capable of reacting with the functional group to prepare a monomer having a releasable segment, which is variously prepared. The desired graft copolymer can be obtained in the same manner by copolymerizing with the vinyl monomer. As still another preferable production method, a polymer having an unsaturated double bond in its main chain, such as an unsaturated polyester or a copolymer of a vinyl monomer and a diene compound such as butadiene, is added to the above exemplified compound (7). ) And a releasable vinyl compound described above are added and grafted. The above is an example of a preferable production method, and the present invention can use a graft copolymer produced by any other method.

In the present invention, a polymer particularly preferable in view of compatibility with the binder resin and / or affinity with the dye is a polyvinyl acetal resin, an acrylic resin, a vinyl resin, a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, a polyamide resin, or a main chain. It is a cellulose resin. In the present invention, excellent properties can be obtained by using polyvinyl acetal as the main chain of the graft copolymer that constitutes the above-mentioned release agent or releasable binder. The term "polyvinyl acetal" in this case should be broadly interpreted. That is, in the present invention, the case where the acetalized portion of polyvinyl acetal is formaldehyde is called polyvinyl formal, the case where the acetalized portion is acetaldehyde is called polyvinyl acetoacetal, and the case where the acetalized portion is butyraldehyde is polyvinyl butyral. Call. Therefore, when simply referred to as polyvinyl acetal, it is meant to include all of these acetals.

In the present invention, in order to produce the above-mentioned graft copolymer by grafting a polysiloxane segment on the above-mentioned main chain of polyvinyl acetal, for example, polysiloxane having a functional group is reacted with diisocyanate. It is obtained by producing a silicone chain for grafting and grafting the silicone chain for grafting onto polyvinyl acetal. Specifically, for example, in a solvent in which hexamethylene diisocyanate and dimethylpolysiloxane having a hydroxyl group at one end are mixed with methyl ethyl ketone and methyl isobutyl ketone in a ratio of 1: 1, a tin-based catalyst (for example, dibutyltin) is added. Add about 0.01 to 1.0% by weight, 50 to 10
A grafting silicone chain is produced at a reaction temperature of about 0 ° C. Then, the silicone chain for grafting and the polyvinyl acetal resin are reacted in a solvent in which methyl ethyl ketone and methyl isobutyl ketone are mixed at a ratio of 1: 1 to produce a silicone graft polyvinyl acetal resin.

As the main chain, polyvinyl acetoacetal and polyvinyl butyral are preferably used. The polyvinyl butyral is a polyvinyl butyral having the following structure, wherein the hydroxyl group content (m) is 5 to 40% by weight, preferably 14 to 36% by weight, and the degree of polymerization is 700 to
2,400, preferably 1,700 to 2,400 are preferred.

[Chemical 3] (1 (el), m and n are content ratios (% by weight) in the polymer) Examples of the polysiloxane chain to be grafted on the above-mentioned main chain are, for example, siloxanes having the following structures and whose molecules are 1,000 to 2, 500, preferably 1,500-2
000, the degree of polymerization of siloxane chain n = 3 to 48, preferably 8 to 18, and the modification rate to polyvinyl butyral which is the main chain is 0.1 to 40% by weight, preferably 1 to 1
It is preferably 0% by weight.

[0025]

[Chemical 4] However, R is a substituted or unsubstituted methylene group such as hexamethylene, and n is the degree of siloxane chain polymerization. or,
The modification rate is defined by the following formula.

When the above graft copolymer is used as a release agent for the dye layer, the content of the release segment in the release agent is such that the release segment accounts for 10 to 80% by weight in the graft copolymer. The range is preferable, and if the amount of the releasable segment is too small, the releasability becomes insufficient. On the other hand, if the amount is too large, the compatibility with the binder decreases and problems such as dye transferability occur. When the releasing agent is added to the dye layer, it can be used alone or as a mixture, and the addition amount is preferably 1 to 40 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin. If the addition amount is too small, the releasing effect is insufficient, and if it is too large, the migration of the dye in the dye layer and the film strength are reduced, and the discoloration of the dye in the dye layer and the storability of the thermal transfer film are also problems. Is not preferred. On the other hand, when the above graft copolymer is used as a binder for the dye layer, the content of the releasable segment in the binder resin is such that the amount of the releasable segment in the binder resin is 0.5 to 40% by weight. The range is preferable, and if the amount of the releasable segment is too small, the releasability of the dye layer becomes insufficient, while if it is too large, the dye migration and coating strength of the dye layer decrease, and the dye layer The discoloration of the dye inside and the storability problem of the heat transfer film are not preferable.

Further, in the present invention, when the dye layer is formed from the above-mentioned dye and binder resin, the dye layer can contain an appropriate amount of organic or inorganic fine powder.
Such fine powder not only improves suitability for forming a coating film when forming a dye layer, but also contributes to improving releasability during thermal transfer printing. In this respect, organic fine powder is preferable. Examples of the organic fine powder include polyolefin resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, fluorine resins, polyamide resins such as nylon resins, urelen resins,
Fine powders of styrene / acrylic crosslinked resin, phenol resin, urea resin, melamine resin, polyimide resin, benzoguanamine resin and the like are preferably used, and among them, polyethylene fine powder is most preferable. As the inorganic fine powder, for example, calcium carbonate, silica, clay, talc, titanium oxide, magnesium hydroxide, zinc oxide and the like are preferably used. The dye layer region 2 is basically formed of the above-mentioned materials, but if necessary, various conventionally known additives can be included.

The dye layer region 2 is preferably prepared by adding the dye, binder resin and other optional components to a suitable solvent to dissolve or disperse each component to prepare a dye layer forming ink. It is formed by printing and drying once or twice on the substrate film 1 by a gravure printing method or the like. Of course, this printing may be monochrome printing, but for the purpose of the present invention, yellow,
Multicolor printing with three colors of magenta and cyan or four colors with black added is preferred. The dye layer area 2 thus formed is 0.2 to 5.0 μm, preferably 0.4 to 2.0 μm.
The dye in the dye layer region 2 has a thickness of about μm.
5 to 90% by weight, preferably 10 to 70% by weight of the dye layer
It is preferably present in an amount of% by weight.

In the present invention, the heat-fusible ink layer region 3 is formed adjacent to the dye layer region 2 from a release layer ink, a release OP layer ink and an ink layer ink containing the necessary materials. First, the release layer 5 is formed on the surface of the base film. The release layer 5 is formed from a release agent such as waxes, silicone wax, silicone resin, fluororesin, acrylic resin, cellulose resin, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin, nitrification cotton resin, etc. which form the ink layer 7 described later. To do. The forming method may be the same as the forming method of the sublimable dye layer region 2, and the thickness thereof is about 0.1 to 5 μm. When a matte printing or matte OP layer is desired after transfer, various particles can be incorporated in the release layer to form a surface mat. The release OP layer 6 provided on the release layer 5 is formed of a resin having excellent transparency, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, etc., such as acrylic resin, polyester resin, polyurethane resin, or the like. The formation method is the same as in the case of the sublimable dye layer region 2, where a solution of a suitable resin is prepared, and this is applied by the coating method or the printing method as described above.
It may be formed in a thickness of about 0.2 to 10 μm. When forming these peeling OP layers, in order to facilitate film breakage during thermal transfer, a filler such as silica or alumina may be added therein to such an extent that transparency is not impaired.
In addition, waxes such as polyethylene wax may be added to the protective layer in order to provide abrasion resistance and slipperiness.

The heat-meltable ink layer 7 formed on the peeling OP layer 6 is composed of a colorant and a vehicle, and may further contain various additives as required. As the colorant, among organic or inorganic pigments or dyes,
A recording material having good characteristics, for example, a recording material having a sufficient coloring density and not discolored by light, heat, temperature or the like is preferable. As the colorant, cyan, magenta,
Yellow or 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 wax and a drying oil, a resin, a mineral oil, a derivative of cellulose, a rubber or the like is used. Typical examples of waxes include microcrystalline wax, carnauba wax, and paraffin wax. In addition, Fischer-Tropsch wax, various low molecular weight polyethylene, wood wax, beeswax, spermaceti, squid wax,
Wool wax, shellac wax, candelilla wax,
Petrolactam, partially modified wax, fatty acid ester,
Various waxes such as fatty acid amides are used. However, from the viewpoint of adhesiveness to a card and scratch resistance, it is more preferable to use the following resin binder for the black ink. Acrylic resin Acrylic resin + Chlorinated rubber Acrylic resin + Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin Acrylic resin + Cellulose resin Vinyl chloride / Vinyl acetate copolymer resin

As a method for forming the hot-melt ink layer 7 on the peeling OP layer 6 provided on the base film 1, in addition to hot melt coating, hot lacquer coating, gravure coating, gravure reverse coating, roll coating and many others. The method of applying the above-mentioned ink by the means described above may be mentioned. The thickness of the ink layer to be formed should be determined so that the required concentration and thermal sensitivity can be balanced, and for example, the thickness of the ink layer is usually preferably about 0.2 to 10 μm.

Further, the transferable protective layer region 4, which may be provided in the surface-sequential manner with respect to the heat-meltable ink layer region 3, first has a release layer 5 like the release layer of the heat-meltable ink layer region 3. And a release OP layer 6 is formed on the surface of the release layer 5 in the same manner. The forming material and forming method of each of these layers are the same as in the case of the heat-meltable ink layer region 3. Furthermore, the above-mentioned heat-meltable ink layer 7 and / or transferable protective layer region 4
An adhesive layer 10 may be provided on the surface of the peeling OP layer 6 in order to improve transferability of these layers. These adhesive layers 10 are preferably formed by applying and drying a resin solution having good adhesiveness under heat such as acrylic resin, vinyl chloride resin, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin, polyester resin, etc. It is formed to a thickness of about 0.1 to 5 μm. Further, in the transferable protective layer amount region 4, an ultraviolet blocking layer (not shown) containing an ultraviolet absorber or an ultraviolet absorbing ultrafine inorganic pigment is provided between the peeling OP layer 6 and the adhesive layer 10. Good. As the ultraviolet absorber, a commonly known organic ultraviolet absorber such as benzotriazole-based or benzophenone-based can be used, and as the inorganic ultraviolet absorber, known inorganic ultraviolet-rays such as ultrafine zinc oxide or ultrafine titanium oxide. Absorbents are preferably used. Acrylic resin as the resin forming these ultraviolet blocking layers,
Polyester resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate resin, polyurethane resin and the like are used. Furthermore, the above-mentioned organic or inorganic UV absorber may be added to the peeling OP layer and / or the adhesive layer, in which case the UV blocking layer also serves as the peeling OP layer and / or the adhesive layer. .

The thermal transfer film of the present invention is provided as described above, but the present invention is not limited to these methods, and the sublimable dye layer region, the heat-fusible ink layer region, the transferable protective layer region, etc. The formation order is not particularly limited. Further, the sublimable dye layer area, the heat-fusible ink layer area, and the transferable protective layer area may be provided in a pattern at specific positions of the base film corresponding to the positions where the transfer image of the transfer material is to be formed. For example, the sublimable dye layer region 2, the heat-fusible ink layer region 3 and the transferable protective layer region 4 can be separately applied to specific positions in correspondence with the place where the transfer image of the transfer material is to be formed. In this way, unused portions of these layers can be removed, which is economical.

The material to be transferred used for forming an image using the above-mentioned thermal transfer film is a plastic film such as a polyester sheet, a plastic film provided with a dye receiving layer or paper, and polyester fiber or polyamide. A woven or non-woven fabric made of synthetic fibers such as fibers, polypropylene fibers and vinylon fibers can be used, but in the present invention, a card substrate made of polyester resin, vinyl chloride resin or the like is preferable. When these card base materials do not have sufficient dyeability with sublimable dyes, a dye receiving layer made of a suitable resin is provided on the surface thereof, or a plasticizer, a lubricant, etc. are included in the resin. It is also possible to impart dye receptivity. Of course, these card base materials may be preliminarily provided with embossing, signature, IC memory, magnetic layer, other printing and the like.

An example of manufacturing a card using the thermal transfer film of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, a dye receiving layer 12 is provided on the surface of the card substrate 11 if necessary, and the dye layer 2Y of the thermal transfer film of the present invention is overlaid,
The yellow image 2Y is transferred by a thermal printer that operates according to the color separation signal. Similarly, the magenta image 2M and the cyan image 2C are transferred to the same area to form a desired color image 13. Next, using the hot-melt ink layer region 3, desired characters, symbols, etc. 14 are similarly printed. At this time, the heat-soluble ink layer region 3 is peeled off at the interface between the release layer 5 and the peeling OP layer 6, and the peeling OP layer 6 comes to be positioned on the surface of the image 14, so that various durability of the image 14 is improved. improves. Further, if necessary, the transfer protective layer region 4 is used to transfer the protective layer region 4 onto the color image 13 so that the color image 1 is obtained.
The peeling OP layer 6 can be formed on the three surfaces. In this way, desired cards having various durability can be obtained. Of course, the peeling OP layer 6 in the protective layer region may be further transferred onto the image 14. In the above transfer, the thermal printer may be set separately (preferably continuously) for sublimation transfer, heat-meltable ink transfer, and protective layer transfer, and these transfers are common. The printing energy may be appropriately adjusted by each printer.

[0037]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. In the text, parts and% are based on weight unless otherwise specified. Example 1 Various inks having the following compositions were prepared. Yellow ink (Y-1) dye (Foron Brilliant Yellow S-6GL) 3.0 parts Polyvinyl acetoacetal resin 2.0 parts Silicone graft polyvinyl acetoacetal resin 1.2 parts Polyethylene wax 0.2 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (weight ratio 1/1) 93.6 copies

Yellow ink (Y-2) dye (Foron Brilliant Yellow S-6GL) 3.0 parts Polyvinyl acetoacetal resin 3.2 parts Polyethylene wax 0.2 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (weight ratio 1/1) 93.6 Part magenta ink (M-1) Instead of yellow dye, magenta dye (MS Red G / Macrole
x Red Violet R = /) Same as the yellow ink (Y-1) except that it was used. Magenta ink (M-2) Instead of yellow dye, magenta dye (MS Red G / Macrole
x Red Violet R = /) Same as yellow ink (Y-2).

Cyan ink (C-1) Instead of the yellow dye, a cyan dye (Kayaset Blue 7
Same as Yellow Ink (Y-1) except that 14) was used. Cyan ink (C-2) Instead of yellow dye, cyan dye (Kayaset Blue 7
Same as Yellow Ink (Y-2) except that 14) was used. Ink for hot-melt ink layer Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin 60 parts Carbon black 40 parts Toluene 100 parts MEK 100 parts

Ink for peeling OP layer Acrylic resin (BR-83, manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon) 88 parts Polyethylene wax 11.5 parts Polyester 0.5 parts Optical brightener 0.5 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 150 parts Toluene 150 parts For release layer Ink polyurethane resin (Hydran AP-40, manufactured by Dainippon Ink) 70 parts Polyvinyl alcohol 30 parts Optical brightener 0.5 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 150 parts Toluene 150 parts

A heat-resistant slip layer (thickness: 1 μm) was formed on the back surface of each of the above dye inks by a gravure coating method,
A 6.0 μm-thick polyester film having a primer layer (0.5 μm thickness) made of polyurethane resin formed on the surface (trade name “Lumirror” Toray) (an alternative polyester film pre-bonded) Yellow (Y-1) and magenta (M-), respectively, so that the coating amount becomes about 3 g / m ^2.
1), cyan (C-1), yellow (Y-2), magenta (M-2), and cyan (C-2) in this order in the order of width 1
Repeated coating and drying on 5 cm, each dye layer becomes 2
A sublimable dye layer region of three colors having a layer structure (in each case, a layer containing a releasing binder is an upper layer) was formed. The above three colors were set as one set, and a space of 30 cm was provided between each set. Next, the release layer ink was applied to the above-mentioned blank portion at a rate of 1 g / m ^{2 based} on the solid content by a gravure coating method and dried to form a release layer. Next, the release OP layer ink (solid content reference 1 g / m ² ) and the heat-meltable ink layer ink (solid content reference 1 g / m ² ) are applied and dried on the release layer in the same manner and heat-melted. The thermal transfer film of the present invention as shown in FIG. 3 was formed except that the protective ink layer area was not formed and the transferable protective layer area was not formed in FIG.

Example 2 The following ink was prepared. Ink for adhesive layer (solid coating amount 1 g / m ² ) Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin 100 parts Optical brightener 0.5 part Toluene 150 parts MEK 150 parts Release OP layer ink (solid coating amount) 1 g / m ² ) Acrylic resin 77 parts Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin 19 parts Polyethylene wax 3.5 parts Polyester 0.5 parts Optical brightener 0.5 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 150 parts Toluene 150 parts

Ink for release layer (solid content coating amount: 0.01 g / m ² ) Polyurethane resin 70 parts Polyvinyl alcohol 30 parts Optical brightener 0.5 part Methyl ethyl ketone 150 parts Toluene 150 parts Each ink in Example 1 and the above An ink was used to form the thermal transfer film of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 in the same manner as in Example 1.

Example 3 In place of the fluorescent whitening agent used in Example 1, an ultraviolet absorber of 0.
A thermal transfer film of the present invention was formed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 5 parts were used. Example 4 Instead of the fluorescent whitening agent in Example 2, an ultraviolet absorber of 0.
A thermal transfer film of the present invention was formed in the same manner as in Example 2 except that 5 parts were used. Example 5 The dye layer region in Example 1 was changed to ink Y-1 and ink M.
-1 and Ink C-1 were used to form a thermal transfer film of the present invention in the same manner as in Example 1 except that it was formed in a one-layer structure (the coating amount was the same as in the case of a two-layer structure).

Example 6 Ink Y-2 and ink M were used in the dye layer region of Example 1.
-2 and Ink C-2 were used to form a thermal transfer film of the present invention in the same manner as in Example 1 except that it was formed in a single-layer structure (the coating amount was the same as in the case of a double-layer structure). Example 7 A thermal transfer film of the present invention was formed in the same manner as in Example 6 except that the transferable protective layer region was formed as in Example 2. Example 8 A thermal transfer film of the present invention was formed in the same manner as in Example 2 except that only the yellow dye layer had a two-layer structure as in Example 1. Example 9 In Example 7, in the transferable protective layer region of Example 2,
Further, a thermal transfer film of the present invention was formed in the same manner as in Example 7 except that an ultraviolet blocking layer was formed from the following ink between the peeling layer and the adhesive layer. Acrylic resin 20 parts Ultrafine zinc oxide (Zn-100, average particle size 0.05 μm, made by Sumitomo Cement) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (weight ratio 1/1) 80 parts (application amount 1.0 g / cm ² ).

Example of use Card comprising 100 parts of polyvinyl chloride (polymerization degree 800) compound containing about 10% of additives such as stabilizer, 10 parts of white pigment (titanium oxide) and 0.5 part of plasticizer (DOP) A sublimable dye layer region of the thermal transfer film of each of the above examples is superposed on the surface of the base material, and thermal energy is applied by a thermal head connected to an electric signal obtained by color-separating the face photograph to form a full-color face photograph. Then, the characters and symbols are transferred and formed using the heat-fusible ink layer area (if a transfer protection layer is further provided, the transferable protection layer area is transferred to each image portion), and a face photograph and various necessary information We got 8 kinds of cards with. When the surface of each card was rubbed 50 times with gauze impregnated with isopropyl alcohol, the gauze was not contaminated at all. In addition, the one in which the transferable protective layer area was transferred did not contaminate the gauze at all even after rubbing 100 times. On the other hand, in the case of the image formed by using the thermal transfer film which does not form the peeling OP layer and the transferable protective layer region, the gauze was immediately contaminated with blackish brown.

[0047]

According to the present invention as described above, a sublimable dye layer region and a heat-fusible ink layer region are provided on a substrate film, and the heat-fusible ink layer region is sequentially laminated on the substrate film surface. Using a thermal transfer film composed of a mold layer, a release OP layer and a heat-fusible ink layer, a gradation image is formed in the sublimable dye layer area.
By forming a monotone image in the heat-meltable ink layer region and transferring the peeling OP layer onto the surface of the monotone image, an excellent gradation image and a monotone image excellent in abrasion resistance are simultaneously formed.

[0048]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a thermal transfer film of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a thermal transfer film of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a thermal transfer film of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a card created according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Substrate film 2: Sublimable dye layer area 3: Hot melt ink layer area 4: Transferable protective layer area 5: Release layer 6: Release OP layer 7: Hot melt ink layer

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A sublimable dye layer region of at least one color and a heat-fusible ink layer region of at least one color are provided on a substrate film in a frame-sequential manner, and the heat-meltable ink layer region is
A thermal transfer film comprising a release layer, a release OP layer and a heat-fusible ink layer, which are sequentially laminated on the surface of a base film. 2. The thermal transfer film according to claim 1, further comprising transferable protective layer regions provided in a frame sequential manner. 3. The thermal transfer film according to claim 1, wherein the transferable protective layer region comprises a release layer, a release OP layer and an adhesive layer, which are sequentially laminated on the surface of the base film. 4. The thermal transfer film according to claim 1, wherein the sublimable dye layer region comprises a dye layer of at least three colors of yellow, magenta and cyan, and the hot-melt ink layer comprises a black ink. 5. The thermal transfer film according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the dye layers of three colors of yellow, magenta and cyan has a two-layer structure. 6. The thermal transfer film according to claim 1, wherein the binder of the dye layer contains a releasable binder.