EP0268202B1 - Thermal transfer ink - Google Patents

Thermal transfer ink Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0268202B1
EP0268202B1 EP19870116658 EP87116658A EP0268202B1 EP 0268202 B1 EP0268202 B1 EP 0268202B1 EP 19870116658 EP19870116658 EP 19870116658 EP 87116658 A EP87116658 A EP 87116658A EP 0268202 B1 EP0268202 B1 EP 0268202B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
viscosity
solvent
resin
wax
ink
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19870116658
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0268202A3 (en
EP0268202A2 (en
Inventor
Shinichiro Yamaguchi
Koichi Sakai
Hiroshi Yashima
Masanori Minato
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Kao Corp
Original Assignee
Kao Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Kao Corp filed Critical Kao Corp
Publication of EP0268202A2 publication Critical patent/EP0268202A2/en
Publication of EP0268202A3 publication Critical patent/EP0268202A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0268202B1 publication Critical patent/EP0268202B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/26—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/26—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used
    • B41M5/382—Contact thermal transfer or sublimation processes
    • B41M5/392—Additives, other than colour forming substances, dyes or pigments, e.g. sensitisers, transfer promoting agents

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a thermal transfer ink necessary to a thermal transfer printer which is expanding the fields of application thereof because it is inexpensive, generates little noise, and is easy to handle.
  • Waxes such as paraffin and carnauba wax are predominantly used as the binders of conventional thermal transfer inks, which have a significantly low melt viscosity.
  • a clear print having a gloss peculiar to thermal transfer can be obtained.
  • various requirements involving printing on a paper having a less surface smoothness printing giving a fast print, printing at a high speed, and repeated printing.
  • the conventional ink constituted of wax alone cannot cope with the requirements. Therefore, investigations on inks comprising a resin as the main component are being made in various fields.
  • Known resins include one which promises application to the printing on a paper having a rough surface because of its high cohesive force and high capability of forming film, one which promises application to the printing giving a fast print because of its high strength, one which promises application to the printing with a high transfer sensitivity because of its amorphousness, and one which promises application to the repeated printing because of its strong adhesion.
  • a possibility of application of a resin to a thermal transfer has been developed.
  • resins have a very high melt viscosity as compared with waxes. This tendency is particularly remarkable when they are formed into an ink. In the thermal transfer system, this melt viscosity is an important factor determining formation of a transferred image, thus directly influencing the quality of a print.
  • a resin ink has a low viscosity comparable to that of a wax ink in a heat-molten state, a sufficient contact area is secured, thus achieving printing with a high coverage.
  • an ink containing a resin having a melting point suitable for thermal transfer as the main component does not generally have a low viscosity comparable to that of a wax when thermal transfer is carried out.
  • a colouring material layer which comprises 5-30 parts of weight of a resin (polyvinyl butyral) and 40 - 80 parts by weight, preferably 50 parts by weight of a viscosity depressant, (bee's wax).
  • the colouring material, according to JP-A-60-115487 has a viscosity of 100 to 1000 Pa ⁇ s.
  • thermal transfer material containing a thermal transfer layer said layer containing 12-30 wt% of a wax with a melt viscosity of 150-200 mPa.s and 0.5-5 wt% of a resin with a melt viscosity of 150-200 mPa.s.
  • an ink composition for thermal transfer which comprises 100 parts by weight of a resin having a melt viscosity of 10 to 1,000 Pa ⁇ s (10,000 to 1,000,000 cps), measured at 120° C and 5 to 250 parts by weight of a viscosity depressant having a melt viscosity of 10 ⁇ 3 to 0.6 Pa ⁇ s (1 to 600 cps), measured at 120° C, and being insoluble in a solvent usually used for inks added during the preparation of the ink composition, or so partially soluble in a solvent that not more than 1 gram of the viscosity depressant may be soluble in 100 grams of the solvent at 40° C, said viscosity depressant being selected from a resin, a wax, a higher fatty acid, a higher alcohol and a synthetic ester compound, whereby the ink composition contains after drying of
  • the insoluble portion of the depressant stands in the form of fine particles in the emulsion or the slurry. It may contain the solvent in a conventional amount and a colouring matter.
  • the ink composition for thermal transfer of the present invention is obtained by a process wherein a resin is admixed with a slurry consisting of a solvent and a viscosity depressant being insoluble in said solvent or so partially soluble in the solvent that not more than 1 gram of said viscosity depressant is soluble in 100 grams of the solvent at 40° C, said viscosity depressant being selected from the group consisting of a resin, a wax, a higher fatter acid, a higher alcohol and a synthetic ester compound, wherein the ink composition comprises 100 parts by weight of said resin having a melt viscosity of 10 to 1,000 Pa ⁇ s (10,000 to 1,000,000 cps), measured at 120° C and 5 to 250 parts by weight of said viscosity depressant having a melt viscosity of 10 ⁇ 3 to 0.6 Pa ⁇ s (1 to 600 cps), measured at 120° C and whereby the ink composition contains after drying only traces of said solvent.
  • the insoluble portion of the viscosity depressant is in form of fine particles in the emulsion of the slurry.
  • the thermal transfer ink of the present invention is applied to a base with a conventional means such as a gravure coater and dried to obtain a thermal transfer ink sheet without the need of paying attention to the compatibility of a high-viscosity resin with a viscosity depressant such as a wax.
  • any combination of a high-viscosity base resin and a viscosity depressant such as a wax is possible, and any high-viscosity resin can be used as the thermal transfer ink binder.
  • a resin which can be used as the base binder in the present invention has a melt viscosity of 10 to 1,000 Pa ⁇ s (10,000 to 1,000,000 cps), measured at 120° C.
  • a resin include polyester, polyamide, acrylic, polystyrene, polystyrene-acrylic, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl butyral, epoxy, ethylene-vinyl acetate, polyurethane and polycarbonate resins, and mixtures thereof, said resins having melting points of 60 to 120° C.
  • the viscosity depressant having a low viscosity which can be used in the present invention is at least one member selected from the group consisting of resins, waxes, higher fatty acids, higher alcohols, and synthetic esters, which have a melt viscosity of 10 ⁇ 3 to 0.6 Pa ⁇ s (1 to 600 cps), measured at 120° C, and being insoluble in a solvent to use or so partially soluble in the solvent that more than 1 gram of the viscosity depressant may not be soluble in 100 grams of the solvent at 40° C.
  • resins More preferred are resins, waxes, higher fatty acids, higher alcohols, and synthetic esters which have a melt viscosity of 10 ⁇ 3 to 0.4 Pa ⁇ s (1 to 400 cps) at 120° C.
  • any resin can be used as the low-viscosity resin in the present invention in so far as it has a low viscosity.
  • resins include polyethylene, polyester, ketone, ethylene- ⁇ -olefin copolymer ⁇ -olefin-maleic anhydride copolymer resins.
  • waxes can be mentioned as the wax that may be used in the present invention.
  • the waxes include natural plant waxes such as carnauba wax, candelilla wax, ouricury wax, sugarcane wax, and Japan wax; natural animal waxes such as bees-wax, spermaceti, Chineses wax, and wool wax; petroleum waxes such as paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, oxidized paraffin wax, and oxidized microcrystalline wax; mineral waxes such as montan wax, ozokerite, ceresine, and lignite wax; synthetic waxes such as ketone wax, Fischer-Tropsch wax, castor wax, opal wax, Armor wax, and Acra wax; and modifications thereof.
  • Any higher fatty acid which is usually used can be used in the present invention.
  • Examples of such a higher fatty acid include palmitic acid, stearic acid, margaric acid, and behenic acid.
  • Any higher alcohol can be used in the present invention.
  • Examples of such a higher alcohol include palmityl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, margaryl alcohol, myricyl alcohol, and eicosanol.
  • Examples of synthetic esters that may be used in the present invention include monoesters synthesized from the above-mentioned higher fatty acid and higher alcohol, diesters synthesized from a bifuctional dicarboxylic acid and the above-mentioned higher alcohol, and diesters synthesized from a bifunctional diol and the above-mentioned higher fatty acid.
  • Any solvent which is usually used in an ink or a coating can be used in the present invention.
  • a solvent include alcohols such as ethanol and isopropyl alcohol; ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone and methyl isobutyl ketone; aromatic solvents such as toluene and xylene; and water. These solvents may be used in mixture if necessary.
  • a thermal transfer ink sheet can be produced from the thermal transfer ink of the present invention by applying at least one layer of the thermal transfer ink of the present invention to a base or a coating layer on a base and drying it.
  • a combination of the thermal transfer ink layer with a top coat, a resistance layer for heating by passing electricity therethrough, or an electrically conductive layer may be employed.
  • the thermal transfer ink of the present invention is usually applied to a base with a coater or a printer.
  • a viscosity depressant added is not soluble in a solvent used at all, the interaction between precipitated particles becomes so strong that the structural viscosity is increased, whereby problems of separation of the ink from the gravure meshes in coating or printing and levelling just after the application are presented. Thus, any clean coating film can hardly be obtained.
  • a viscosity depressant to be added is at least partially soluble in a solvent used, so that the structural viscosity can be suppressed. As a result, good applicability or printability is attained.
  • a thermal transfer ink (1) of a solvent type comprising a polyester resin having a softening point of 90° C (melt viscosity at 120° C: 23 Pa s (23,000 cps) as the main component and having the following composition was prepared:
  • a solution of a carnauba wax slurry (1) in toluene was prepared.
  • this slurry may be one prepared by completely dissolving carnauba wax in hot toluene and cooling the solution, or a slurry prepared by adding a fine carnauba wax powder and, if necessary, dispersing the mixture.
  • the obtained thermal transfer ink sheet was evaluated as regards obtained prints by using a commercially available thermal transfer printer.
  • the evaluation results are summarized in Table 1. It can be understood from the results that, with an increase in the amount of the carnauba wax slurry, a viscosity lowering effect was developed, whereby a thermally transferred image having a transfer rate and a resolution comparable to those of a wax ink was obtained while keeping the features of the resin, such as fastness.
  • a thermally transferred image was obtained under the same conditions as those of Example 1 by using the ink (1).
  • Table 1 Ink Resolution Transfer rate Fastness Comp. Ex. 1 Ink (1) x x O Ex. 1 Ink (2) x O O Ink (3) O O O Ink (4) O O O
  • Solution type inks each comprising as the main component a polymide resin having a softening point of 86° C (melt viscosity at 120° C: 17,5 Pa ⁇ s (17,500 cps), a polystyreneacrylic resin having a softening point of 102° C (melt viscosity at 120° C: 50 Pa ⁇ s (50,000 cps), or a polystyrene resin having a softening point of 78° C (melt viscosity at 120° C: 11 Pa ⁇ s (11,000 cps) (in a 1/1 solvent mixture of toluene and methyl ethyl ketone) were admixed with 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50%, based on the resin, of a mixed slurry composed of polyethylene wax (melt viscosity at 120° C: 3 ⁇ 10 ⁇ 2 Pa ⁇ s (30 cps) and carnauba wax prepared at a ratio of 1:1 in
  • a slurry of paraffin wax having a melting point of 105° C (melt viscosity at 120° C: 0.023 Pa ⁇ s) in toluene was prepared.
  • the same polyester resin as that described in Example 1 was admixed with 30%, based on the weight of the resin, of the slurry.
  • the evaluation of the obtained prints was made in the same manner as that of Example 1 to obtain results as shown in Table 3.
  • a polyamide resin having a softening point of 106° C (melt viscosity at 120° C: 120 Pa ⁇ s) was emulsified by the ordinary method to prepare an emulsion ink.
  • a modified micro-crystalline wax having a melting point of 87° C (melt viscosity at 120°: 0.004 Pa ⁇ s) was emulsified with a common emulsifier to prepare an emulsion. 20%, based on the weight of the resin, of the emulsion was added to the above-mentioned emulsion ink. Evaluation of the obtained prints was made in the same manner as that of Example 1 to obtain results as shown in Table 3.
  • Example 2 The same resin ink as that used in Example 1 was admixed with 30%, based on the resin, of a polyester resin having a melting point of 78° C (melt viscosity at 120° C: 2.3 Pa ⁇ s) to prepare an ink. Evaluation of the obtained prints was made in the same manner as that of Example 1 to obtain results as shown in Table 3.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Inks, Pencil-Leads, Or Crayons (AREA)
  • Thermal Transfer Or Thermal Recording In General (AREA)
  • Impression-Transfer Materials And Handling Thereof (AREA)
EP19870116658 1986-11-19 1987-11-11 Thermal transfer ink Expired - Lifetime EP0268202B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP276305/86 1986-11-19
JP27630586A JP2644999B2 (ja) 1986-11-19 1986-11-19 熱転写用インク

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0268202A2 EP0268202A2 (en) 1988-05-25
EP0268202A3 EP0268202A3 (en) 1989-11-29
EP0268202B1 true EP0268202B1 (en) 1993-06-09

Family

ID=17567599

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19870116658 Expired - Lifetime EP0268202B1 (en) 1986-11-19 1987-11-11 Thermal transfer ink

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0268202B1 (es)
JP (1) JP2644999B2 (es)
KR (1) KR920003247B1 (es)
DE (1) DE3786144T2 (es)
ES (1) ES2041254T3 (es)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2823124B2 (ja) 1988-05-19 1998-11-11 フジコピアン株式会社 熱転写用インク
JP2567039B2 (ja) * 1988-06-17 1996-12-25 キヤノン株式会社 倍密記録方法
JPH0238470A (ja) * 1988-07-29 1990-02-07 Dainippon Printing Co Ltd インキ組成物及びその製造方法
JPH0248628A (ja) * 1988-08-11 1990-02-19 Toshiba Corp 内視鏡装置
US5401606A (en) * 1993-04-30 1995-03-28 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Laser-induced melt transfer process
US5757313A (en) * 1993-11-09 1998-05-26 Markem Corporation Lacer-induced transfer printing medium and method
US5739189A (en) * 1995-12-18 1998-04-14 Ncr Corporation Low energy thermal transfer formulation
GB2324163B (en) * 1997-04-11 2002-03-20 Ncr Int Inc Thermal transfer medium

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3315249C2 (de) * 1983-04-27 1987-01-22 Renker GmbH & Co KG, 5160 Düren Wärmeempfindliches Aufzeichnungs/Übertragungsmaterial sowie Verfahren zu dessen Herstellung
JPS60115487A (ja) * 1983-11-29 1985-06-21 Konishiroku Photo Ind Co Ltd 感熱転写記録媒体
JPS60178091A (ja) * 1984-02-24 1985-09-12 Fujitsu Ltd 熱転写記録用インクシ−ト
JPS60183195A (ja) * 1984-02-29 1985-09-18 Fujitsu Ltd 熱転写記録用インクシ−ト

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES2041254T3 (es) 1993-11-16
DE3786144T2 (de) 1993-12-02
KR920003247B1 (ko) 1992-04-25
JPS63128992A (ja) 1988-06-01
JP2644999B2 (ja) 1997-08-25
EP0268202A3 (en) 1989-11-29
EP0268202A2 (en) 1988-05-25
KR880006333A (ko) 1988-07-22
DE3786144D1 (de) 1993-07-15

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