JPH08118830A - Thermal transfer recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a thermal transfer recording medium having a good transfer sensitivity (forming a high-sharpness printing image) and forming a printing image having a high-brightness metallic luster even in the printing using paper of a low surface smoothness as a transfer medium. CONSTITUTION: In a thermal transfer recording medium at least provided with a hot melt ink layer 2, a metallized layer 3, and an adhesive layer 4 in this order on one surface of a substrate 1, the adhesive layer 4 is made of a wax having a melting point of 70-120 deg.C, and the adhesive layer 4 has a thickness of 1.0-3.0μm.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording medium used in a thermal transfer recording device such as a thermal transfer recording printer or a facsimile equipped with a print head such as a thermal head, and more particularly to a printed image (characters, images, etc.) having metallic luster. )
The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording medium for forming.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a thermal transfer recording medium for forming an image having a metallic luster has been known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-30288 discloses a thermal transfer in which a heat-meltable release layer, a vapor deposition anchor layer, a metal vapor deposition layer and a heat-melting adhesive layer are provided in this order on one surface of a substrate. A recording medium is described.

When paper is used as a material to be transferred in such a thermal transfer recording medium, it is common to use a thermal transfer recording medium provided with an adhesive layer made of a wax material having a low melting point in consideration of transfer sensitivity. It was target. The thickness of the adhesive layer is 0.5 μm in order to improve the sharpness of printing.
It was generally light and thin.

[0004]

Using the thermal transfer recording medium of the prior art, for example, Beck smoothness of 50 is obtained.
When a print image is transferred to a smooth paper having a small surface unevenness as described above, the print image may exhibit a high-luminance metallic luster without being affected by the unevenness of the paper surface. However, for example, when a printed image is transferred to a paper having a Beck's smoothness of less than 50 and having large surface irregularities, as shown in FIG.
Since the transferred image is influenced by the unevenness of the surface of the paper 8 whose surface is not smooth, the shape of the metal vapor deposition layer 13 in the printed image is disturbed and the surface becomes uneven. Could not have a high brightness metallic luster. Here, in FIG. 3, the shape of the irregularities on the surface of the paper 8 is shown regularly, but in reality it is irregular (the same applies to FIG. 2 below).

According to the present invention, even when a paper having a low surface smoothness is printed as a transferred material, the transfer sensitivity is good (a high-definition printed image can be formed) and the metallic luster of high brightness is obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer recording medium capable of forming a printed image.

[0006]

The present invention provides a thermal transfer recording medium in which at least a heat-fusible ink layer, a metal vapor deposition layer and an adhesive layer are provided in this order on one surface of a substrate. Is a wax, and the melting point of the wax is in the range of 75 to 120 ° C., and the thickness of the adhesive layer is in the range of 1.0 to 3.0 μm. 1 invention).

Further, according to the present invention, the adhesive layer is formed by forming the wax into an aqueous emulsion and applying the wax on the metal vapor deposition layer and drying the wax (second invention). Regarding

[0008]

According to the first invention, in the thermal transfer recording medium in which at least the heat-meltable ink layer, the metal vapor deposition layer and the adhesive layer are provided in this order on one surface of the substrate, the adhesive layer Is a wax, and the melting point of the wax is in the range of 75 to 120 ° C. and the thickness of the adhesive layer is in the range of 1.0 to 3.0 μm. Even when printing on paper having a low surface smoothness, transfer sensitivity is good (a high-definition image can be formed), and an image having a high-luminance metallic luster can be formed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the adhesive layer is formed by forming the wax into an aqueous emulsion and applying the wax on the metal vapor deposition layer and drying it. Since it is possible to obtain a thermal transfer recording medium provided on the vapor-deposited layer, even when printing on a paper having a low surface smoothness by using the thermal transfer recording medium, a metallic luster of higher brightness is obtained. An image having can be formed.

In the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention, the heat-meltable ink layer is composed of one layer of a release layer, a coloring layer and a vapor deposition anchor layer or a layer in which two or more layers are laminated. That is, (1) one layer selected from a release layer, a coloring layer, and a vapor deposition anchor layer, (2) a release layer, a coloring layer,
A layer in which two kinds selected from vapor deposition anchor layers are laminated (on one surface of the substrate in this order), (3) a release layer, a coloring layer, and a vapor deposition anchor layer (in one of Examples of the heat-meltable ink layer include a layer laminated on the surface). Further, a protective layer may be provided between the release layer and the colored layer in order to maintain the fastness after printing.

The layer structure is selected according to the purpose of the thermal transfer recording medium.

Since the heat-meltable ink layer is composed of a release layer, the release layer is melted by a heat signal from a thermal head or the like at the time of thermal transfer, and the transfer layer (heat-meltable ink layer, metal vapor deposition) of the heating portion Layer) and the adhesive layer) can be easily separated from the substrate.

By forming the heat-fusible ink layer as a colored layer, an image having metallic luster of each color can be formed. Further, the colored layer is preferably transparent from the viewpoint of forming an image having a high-luminance metallic luster.

Since the heat-fusible ink layer is composed of a vapor deposition anchor layer, the vapor deposition anchor layer functions as a vapor deposition surface during vapor deposition in the process of manufacturing a thermal transfer recording medium, and during vapor transfer, the vapor deposition anchor layer is vapor deposited on the metal vapor deposition layer. The anchor layer is located and functions as a protective layer for the metal deposition layer.

Of course, the above-described combined effect can be imparted to the thermal transfer recording medium by appropriately laminating the release layer, the coloring layer and the vapor deposition anchor layer.

The thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a substrate, 2 is a hot-melt ink layer, 3 is a metal vapor deposition layer, 4 is an adhesive layer, 5 is a release layer, and 6 is a layer.
Indicates an adhesive layer, and 7 indicates a vapor deposition anchor layer. In this embodiment, the hot-melt ink layer 2 is composed of a release layer 5, an adhesive layer 6 and a vapor deposition anchor layer 7 which are laminated.

The adhesive layer 4 is made of wax, and the melting point of the wax is in the range of 75 to 120 ° C., especially 80 to 1
Within the range of 10 ° C., and the thickness of the adhesive layer is 1.0 to
It is in the range of 3.0 μm, especially in the range of 1.0 to 2.0 μm.

When the melting point of the wax and the layer thickness are within the above-mentioned ranges, as shown in FIG. 2, when the paper 8 having a low surface smoothness is printed as a transfer target, the adhesive layer 14 is used.
Is slightly deformed under the influence of the unevenness of the surface of the paper 8 having a low surface smoothness, but since the adhesive layer 14 forms a suitable cross-linking state, the metal vapor deposition layer 13 is affected by the deformation of the adhesive layer 14. It is possible to form a printed image having a high-luminance metallic luster without receiving the image.

When the layer thickness of the adhesive layer is smaller than the above range,
When a paper having a low surface smoothness is used as the transfer target, the metal vapor deposition layer 13 is formed in a crosslinked state, but the metal vapor deposition layer 13 is affected by the deformation of the adhesive layer 14. If the layer cannot be formed and the layer thickness is thicker than the above range, it is difficult to form a high-definition printed image because the printing is hardly cut off at the time of thermal transfer.

When the melting point of the wax is lower than the above range, the adhesive layer cannot easily form a suitable cross-linked state because the adhesive layer easily penetrates into the irregularities on the surface of the paper.
It is not possible to form an image having a high-luminance metallic luster, and if the melting point of the wax is higher than the above range, the transferability of the print at the time of thermal transfer becomes poor and a high-definition image cannot be formed. .

As the wax which is the main material of the adhesive layer of the present invention, polyethylene wax, polypropylene wax, microcrystalline wax, montan wax, sazol wax, ester wax, carnauba wax and the like are preferable, and polyethylene wax and carnauba wax are preferable. Among these, one kind or a mixture of two or more kinds can be used.

The adhesive layer of the present invention may further contain a resin in order to stabilize the cross-linked state of the layer.

The above-mentioned resin is preferably ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin, hydrocarbon resin, petroleum resin, rosin resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, ethylene. −
Ethyl acrylate copolymer resin is more preferred.

The mixing ratio of the resin with respect to the wax in the adhesive layer is 20% by weight or less, especially 5 to 5.
It is preferably within the range of 10% by weight.

In order to improve the so-called breakage of the adhesive layer or to impart blocking resistance to the adhesive layer,
Additives (aqueous dispersion) such as silica, talc, calcium carbonate, precipitable barium sulfate, alumina, clay, magnesium carbonate, carbon black, tin oxide and titanium oxide may be added.

A suitable solvent such as alcohol or water is added to an aqueous emulsion of the wax and the resin (the resin may not be used) and stirred (if necessary, the additive (aqueous dispersion)). Can be used), and this can be applied on the metal vapor deposition layer and dried to form an adhesive layer. The aqueous emulsion can be prepared by a method in which a wax and a resin are heated and dissolved, and an emulsifier and water are added to prepare.

The wax and the resin (the resin may not be used in some cases) are dissolved in an appropriate solvent (the above additives are dissolved or dispersed together if necessary), which is applied onto the metal vapor deposition layer and dried. A method of forming an adhesive layer can be used, but after the wax is made into an aqueous wax emulsion, it is dissolved or dispersed in an appropriate solvent together with the resin (if necessary, the additives are dissolved or dispersed together) and It is more preferable to use a method of forming an adhesive layer by coating on the metal vapor deposition layer and drying.

Further, it is preferable that the material constituting the adhesive layer and the resin of the vapor deposition anchor layer are incompatible.

The substrate 1 may be any one that can withstand the heat at the time of thermal transfer, and any film or sheet generally used as a support for a thermal transfer recording medium can be used. For example, a polyester film or polyamide. Examples include thin films such as films, plastic films such as polycarbonate films, and condenser paper.

The thickness of the base material is preferably about 2 to 12 μm from the viewpoint of obtaining suitable thermal conductivity and strength.

The colored layer 2 is provided to obtain a metallic luster of various hues, and contains a binder resin (the resin here includes an elastomer, the same applies hereinafter) and a pigment as main components.

The colored layer usually comprises 5 to 50 parts by weight of pigment, 20 to 95 parts by weight of resin, 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of dispersant, and 0 to 40 parts by weight of wax.

The binder resin is one of thermoplastic resins such as polyester resin, polyurethane resin, epoxy resin, acrylic resin, polyamide resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polystyrene resin, hydrocarbon resin, ketone resin and rosin resin. It is preferable to use one kind or two or more kinds.

At least one kind of the binder resin used here is preferably the same kind of resin as at least one kind of the resin constituting the resin component of the vapor deposition anchor layer. That is, the colored layer contains one or more selected from the group consisting of polyester resin and acrylic resin corresponding to the resin used for the vapor deposition anchor layer. From the viewpoint of the adhesiveness, the total content of the same type of resin as those of the vapor deposition anchor layer is preferably within the range of 40 to 90% by weight based on the total components of the colored layer.

Here, examples of the polyester resin include a saturated copolymerized polyester resin, an unsaturated polyester resin, and a thermoplastic polyester elastomer. Examples of the acrylic resin include acrylic acid resin, acrylic acid ester resin, methacrylic acid resin, methacrylic acid ester resin, acrylonitrile resin, acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer resin, acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene copolymer resin and the like.

As the pigment, either an organic pigment or an inorganic pigment can be used. A dye may be used in combination for adjusting the hue. The content of the pigment in the colored layer is appropriately within the range of about 5 to 50% by weight.

As the pigment, for example, a yellow pigment, a magenta pigment, a cyan pigment and a mixed pigment of one kind or two or more kinds thereof can be appropriately used. It is preferable that these color pigments have good transparency.

Examples of the yellow pigment include disazo yellow HR, naphthol yellow S, Hansa yellow 5G, Hansa yellow 3G, Hansa yellow G, Hansa yellow GR, Hansa yellow A, Hansa yellow RN, Hansa yellow R, benzidine yellow, benzidine. One or more of yellow G, benzidine yellow GR, permanent yellow NCG, and quinoline yellow lake are used.

Examples of the magenta pigment include quinacridone red, permanent carmine F5B, permanent red 4R, brilliant fast scarlet, brilliant carmine BS, permanent carmine FB, resole red, permanent red F5R, brilliant carmine 6B, pigment scarlet 3
One or more of B, rhodamine lake B, rhodamine lake Y, and alizarin lake are used.

Examples of the cyan pigment include Victoria blue lake, metal-free phthalocyaninine blue, phthalocyaninine blue, and fast sky blue.
One kind or two or more kinds are used.

Examples of waxes include natural waxes such as wood wax, beeswax, lanolin, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, montan wax, ceresin wax; petroleum waxes such as paraffin wax and microcrystalline wax; oxidation wax, ester wax, Synthetic wax such as low molecular weight polyethylene wax, Fischer-Tropsch wax, α-olefin-maleic anhydride copolymer wax, lauric acid,
Higher fatty acids such as myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and behenic acid; higher fatty alcohols such as stearyl alcohol and docosanol; higher fatty acid monoglycerides, fatty acid esters of sucrose, fatty acid esters of sorbitan; oleylamide, etc. One or more of the amides and bisamides can be used.

The binder resin and the wax used as the case requires are dissolved in an appropriate solvent, and the pigment is mixed with a dispersant in the solvent to disperse it, and then the pigment is applied onto a substrate and dried to form a colored layer.

The coating amount (dry coating amount, hereinafter the same) of the colored layer is preferably in the range of 0.2 to 1.0 g / m ² . If the coating amount of the coloring layer is less than 0.2 g / m ² , the color of the coloring layer is light and the desired hue tends to be unobtainable, while if it exceeds 1.0 g / m ² , the transferability is poor. However, there is a tendency that an image having a clear metallic luster color cannot be obtained.

As the metal of the metal vapor deposition layer 3, amylnium, zinc, tin, nickel, chromium, titanium, copper, silver,
Although simple substances such as gold and platinum, mixtures, alloys and the like can be used, usually aluminum is preferably used. The metal vapor deposition layer can be formed by a physical vapor deposition method such as a vacuum vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method or a chemical vapor deposition method.

The thickness of the vapor-deposited metal layer is preferably in the range of 100 to 800 angstrom from the viewpoint of obtaining a high-luminance metallic luster.

The vapor deposition anchor layer 5 is a transparent layer mainly composed of a thermoplastic resin and is preferably provided in the present invention.

Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyester resin, acrylic resin, styrene resin, hydrocarbon resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, urethane resin, and epoxy resin, and one or two of these may be used. The above can be mixed and used.

It is preferable that at least one kind of resin constituting the resin component of the vapor deposition anchor layer and at least one kind of binder resin of the coloring layer are the same kind of resin. The vapor deposition anchor layer preferably contains 40% by weight or more of the same kind of resin as the binder resin of the colorant.

The vapor-deposited anchor layer may contain additives depending on the purpose, and examples of the additives include a lubricant, an antistatic agent, an antiaging agent, and a surface for blocking prevention. Examples include modifiers.

The above resin is dissolved in an appropriate solvent (the above additives are dissolved or dispersed together if necessary), and this is applied onto the colored layer and dried to form a vapor deposition anchor layer.

The coating amount of the vapor deposition anchor layer is 0.2 to 1.
It is preferably within the range of 5 g / m ² . If the coating amount of the vapor deposition anchor layer is less than 0.2 g / m ² , if the colored layer has irregularities, the entire colored layer cannot be sufficiently covered and the surface of the vapor deposition anchor layer is uniform. Since the properties and smoothness cannot be maintained, it tends to be difficult to obtain a high-luminance metal vapor deposition layer. On the other hand, when the coating amount of the vapor deposition anchor layer exceeds 1.5 g / m ² , transferability of the vapor deposition anchor layer,
The sharpness tends to be poor, and it tends to be difficult to obtain an image having a clear metallic luster color.

Further, it is preferable that the resin of the vapor deposition anchor layer and the material constituting the adhesive layer are incompatible. When the resin of the vapor deposition anchor layer and the material of the adhesive layer are compatible with each other, the resin of the vapor deposition anchor layer and the material of the adhesive layer are softened and mixed with each other when thermally transferred to deform the metal vapor deposition layer. Therefore, there are cases where it is not possible to obtain a printed image having a clear metallic luster color. .

The release layer 6 contains wax and / or a thermoplastic resin (including an elastomer; the same applies hereinafter) as a main component, and is preferably provided in the present invention.

Examples of the wax include wood wax,
Natural wax such as beeswax, lanolin, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, montan wax, ceresin wax; petroleum wax such as paraffin wax and microcrystalline wax; oxidation wax, ester wax, low molecular weight polyethylene wax, Fischer-Tropsch wax, α- Synthetic waxes such as olefin-maleic anhydride copolymer waxes; higher fatty acids such as lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, behenic acid; higher aliphatic alcohols such as stearyl alcohol and docosanol; higher fatty acid monoglycerides, sucrose One or more of esters such as fatty acid ester and fatty acid ester of sorbitan; amides such as oleylamide and bisamides can be used.

Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyester resin, polyamide resin, polyurethane resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-maleic acid terpolymer. , Polyvinyl butyral, α-olefin-maleic anhydride copolymer, ethylene- (meth) acrylic acid ester copolymer, low molecular weight styrene resin, ethylene-styrene copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, petroleum resin, rosin One type or two or more types of resin, terpene resin, polypropylene resin, ionomer resin and the like can be used.

The coating amount of the release layer is 0.2 to 1.5 g / m.
^2. Above all, it is preferably within the range of 0.4 to 1.0.

The thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention can exhibit a high-luminance metallic luster even when an image is transferred to a paper having a large surface irregularity (for example, a paper having a Bekk smoothness of less than 50). Even a smooth paper having small surface irregularities can exhibit a high-luminance metallic luster and can be suitably used.

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.

Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6 A heat resistant stick layer was provided on one surface, and the thickness was 4.5 μm.
Using a polyethylene terephthalate film of m as a base material, a coating liquid having the following formulation was applied to the surface opposite to the stick layer and dried to form a release layer having a coating amount of 0.5 g / m ² .

Component weight% Paraffin wax (melting point 73 ° C.) 5 Carnauba wax (melting point 83 ° C.) 3 Diacarna 30 2 (α-olefin-maleic anhydride copolymer wax manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei Co., melting point 73 ° C.) Isopropyl Alcohol 20 Toluene 70 Next, a coating solution having the following formulation was applied onto the release layer and dried to form a colored layer having a coating amount of 0.5 g / m ² .

Component Weight% Elitel UE3380 5 (Polyester resin manufactured by Unitika Ltd., weight average molecular weight 7,000, softening point 82 ° C.) Alcon P-902 (hydrocarbon resin manufactured by Arakawa Chemical Co., Ltd.) Colortex Yellow K-255 2 (Sanyo Dyes Co., Ltd. Processed Pigment) Color Tech Red K-453 1 (Sanyo Dyes Co., Ltd. Processed Pigment) Toluene 20 Methyl Ethyl Ketone 70 Further, a coating solution having the following formulation is provided on the colored layer. After coating and drying, a vapor deposition anchor layer having a coating amount of 0.5 g / m ² was formed.

Component Weight% Dianal BR-60 20 (Acrylic resin manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., weight average molecular weight 80,000, softening point 75 ° C.) Toluene 80 Further, a thickness is formed on the above vapor deposition anchor layer by a vacuum vapor deposition method. A 500 Å thick aluminum vapor deposition layer was provided.

Further, a coating solution having the formulation shown in Table 1 was applied onto the vapor-deposited aluminum layer and dried to give a coating amount of 0.5.
An adhesive layer of g / m ² was formed.

The following items were evaluated for each of the obtained thermal transfer recording media. The results are shown in Table 1.

(1) Transferability A bar code printer (B30 manufactured by Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd.) was used to print on an image receptor under the following printing conditions, and the transferability was visually evaluated.

<Printing conditions> Printing speed: 2 inch / sec. Receptor: Aluminum vapor-deposited polyethylene terephthalate film Printing energy: -1V, ± 0V, + 1V <Evaluation criteria> Printing energy is -1V, ± 0V, + 1V
In the case of (the set value of the printing energy in the printer used, the printing energy increases in this order), whether or not the transfer is sufficient was evaluated based on the following criteria. A: A 1-dot printed image is transferred at -1V. B: A 1-dot printed image is transferred at ± 0V. C: 1 dot printed image is transferred at + 1V. D: 1 dot printed image is not transferred at + 1V.

A and B are within the practical range.

(2) Metallic luster Printing was carried out under the same printing conditions as in (1) above (however, the printing energy was +1 V), and the metallic luster was visually evaluated.

<Evaluation Criteria> A: High brightness metallic luster. Δ: There is a slight metallic luster. X: There is no metallic luster.

◯ is in the practical range.

[0073]

[Table 1]

[0074]

According to the first invention, in a thermal transfer recording medium in which at least a heat-meltable ink layer, a metal vapor deposition layer and an adhesive layer are provided in this order on one surface of a substrate, the adhesive layer is Since the melting point of the wax is in the range of 75 to 120 ° C. and the thickness of the adhesive layer is in the range of 1.0 to 3.0 μm, the surface of the thermal transfer recording medium is used. Even when printing on paper having low smoothness, the transfer sensitivity is good (a high-definition image can be formed), and an image having a high-luminance metallic luster can be formed.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the adhesive layer is formed by making the wax an aqueous emulsion and applying the wax on the metal vapor deposition layer and drying it. Since it is possible to obtain a thermal transfer recording medium provided on the vapor-deposited layer, even when printing on a paper having a low surface smoothness by using the thermal transfer recording medium, a metallic luster of higher brightness is obtained. An image having can be formed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of a thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a printed image state when printing is performed on paper having a non-smooth surface (large unevenness) using the thermal transfer recording medium according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a printed image state when printing is performed on paper having a non-smooth surface (large unevenness) using a thermal transfer recording medium according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Base Material 2 Thermal Melt Ink Layer 3 Metal Vapor Deposition Layer 4 Adhesive Layer 5 Release Layer 6 Coloring Layer 7 Vapor Deposition Anchor Layer 8 Paper with a Smooth Surface 13 Metal Vapor Deposition Layer in the Image 14 Adhesive Layer in the Image 15 Mark Release layer in image 16 Colored layer in image 17 Deposition anchor layer in image

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. In a thermal transfer recording medium in which at least a heat-meltable ink layer, a metal vapor deposition layer and an adhesive layer are provided in this order on one surface of a substrate, the adhesive layer is made of wax, A thermal transfer recording medium having a melting point of 75 to 120 ° C. and a thickness of the adhesive layer of 1.0 to 3.0 μm. 2. The thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer is formed by forming the wax into an aqueous emulsion, applying the wax onto the metal vapor deposition layer, and drying the wax.