EP0545893B1 - Image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing - Google Patents
Image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0545893B1 EP0545893B1 EP93100728A EP93100728A EP0545893B1 EP 0545893 B1 EP0545893 B1 EP 0545893B1 EP 93100728 A EP93100728 A EP 93100728A EP 93100728 A EP93100728 A EP 93100728A EP 0545893 B1 EP0545893 B1 EP 0545893B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- image
- layer
- thermal transfer
- sheet
- intermediate layer
- 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.)
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Classifications
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- 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
- B41M5/40—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used characterised by the base backcoat, intermediate, or covering layers, e.g. for thermal transfer dye-donor or dye-receiver sheets; Heat, radiation filtering or absorbing means or layers; combined with other image registration layers or compositions; Special originals for reproduction by thermography
- B41M5/42—Intermediate, backcoat, or covering layers
- B41M5/44—Intermediate, backcoat, or covering layers characterised by the macromolecular compounds
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- 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
- B41M5/40—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used characterised by the base backcoat, intermediate, or covering layers, e.g. for thermal transfer dye-donor or dye-receiver sheets; Heat, radiation filtering or absorbing means or layers; combined with other image registration layers or compositions; Special originals for reproduction by thermography
- B41M5/41—Base layers supports or substrates
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
- B41M2205/00—Printing methods or features related to printing methods; Location or type of the layers
- B41M2205/02—Dye diffusion thermal transfer printing (D2T2)
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
- B41M2205/00—Printing methods or features related to printing methods; Location or type of the layers
- B41M2205/06—Printing methods or features related to printing methods; Location or type of the layers relating to melt (thermal) mass transfer
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
- B41M2205/00—Printing methods or features related to printing methods; Location or type of the layers
- B41M2205/32—Thermal receivers
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- 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
- B41M5/50—Recording sheets characterised by the coating used to improve ink, dye or pigment receptivity, e.g. for ink-jet or thermal dye transfer recording
- B41M5/52—Macromolecular coatings
- B41M5/5254—Macromolecular coatings characterised by the use of polymers obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, e.g. vinyl polymers
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- 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
- B41M5/50—Recording sheets characterised by the coating used to improve ink, dye or pigment receptivity, e.g. for ink-jet or thermal dye transfer recording
- B41M5/52—Macromolecular coatings
- B41M5/5263—Macromolecular coatings characterised by the use of polymers obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
- B41M5/5272—Polyesters; Polycarbonates
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an improvement in image-receiving sheets for thermal transfer printing which are adapted for printing images thereon by transfer of a sublimable dye of a thermal transfer sheet by application of heat from a thermal head in accordance with image signals. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved image-receiving sheet with a two-layered intermediate layer for thermal transfer printing.
- Thermal printing systems in which printed images are obtained upon reception of input signals are made up of a relatively simple apparatus and are inexpensive and low in noises, so that they have increasing utility in various fields such as facsimiles, terminal printers for electronic computers, printers for measuring instruments, video printers, and the like.
- a recording medium generally used in these thermal printing systems is a so-called color-developing, heat-sensitive recording paper having a recording layer which undergoes a physical or chemical change by application of heat to form a color.
- the recording paper of the color developing type has disadvantages in that it is liable to undesirably develop the color during the process of fabrication or during storage.
- the image printed on the paper is poor in storage stability and is apt to fade on contact with organic solvents or chemicals.
- thermosensitive recording paper a thermal transfer printing system in which a recording medium utilizing a dye or colorant is used instead of the color-developing thermosensitive recording paper.
- a colorant or colored dye is caused to melt, evaporate or sublimate by application of heat and transferred on a recording paper, thereby forming a record image by adhesion, adsorption or reception of the dye on the recording paper.
- a mechanism as is shown in Fig. 2.
- a thermal transfer sheet 201 having a dye layer on a substrate and a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet 203 set on a platen roller 202 are superposed and heated from the non-faced side of the thermal transfer sheet 201 by a heating means 204 such as a thermal head.
- the thermal head 204 is controlled with electric signals corresponding to image information.
- the dye of the thermal transfer sheet is transferred on an image-receiving layer.
- a thermal transfer sheet used is a sheet which has been coated or printed, as shown in Fig. 3, a start mark 301 and dyes including yellow 302, magenta 303 and cyan 304, and also including a black dye, if necessary.
- This sheet is superposed on a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet and the yellow, magenta and cyan dyes are successively heated according to the respective color-separated image signals to make an image in which the three colors are superposed.
- a natural color, photographic image is formed.
- a known thermal transfer image-receiving sheet used in this type of printing system is one which has an image-receiving layer obtained by coating onto a paper substrate such as high-quality paper a coating of a dispersion of finely powdered silica or calcium carbonate in a binder such as a thermoplastic polyester resin.
- the image-receiving layer is formed on the substrate, such as wood free paper, whose smoothness is low, it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory printed image.
- the substrate such as wood free paper
- missing transfer portions are liable to occur at half-tone to low-tone portions.
- images such as of symbols, letters and figures are substantially solid and thus the missing transfer portions are not conspicuous, missing transfer portions on photographs or colored solid images will undesirably tend to become marked and produce vital deficiencies. Accordingly, there is a strong demand for eliminating such deficiencies.
- the method (1) has a problem that the productivity lowers because it comprises the step in which the intermediate layer which has been kept as softened or plastic is brought into close contact with mirror-like finished chromium plated metal drum for heating and drying.
- the method (2) involves the problem that a soft resin such as MBR, polyurethane, polybutadiene, SBR or the like, which has been formulated so as to improve the adhesiveness, is liable to block when wound up after coating and drying. Additionally, the resin dissolves in an organic solvent of the coating solution forming an image-receiving layer, so that the image-receiving layer cannot be formed uniformly, thus causing a lowering of an optical density of the printed image.
- a soft resin such as MBR, polyurethane, polybutadiene, SBR or the like
- An object of the invention is to provide an improved image-receiving sheet with a two-layered intermediate layer for thermal transfer printing which is free from the foregoing problems which are found on the known image-receiving sheet and which enables one to form beautiful printing images of high optical density without involving the known problem relating to a transfer missing portion.
- Another object of the invention is to provide an improved image-receiving sheet with a two-layered intermediate layer which is capable of forming images of high quality having good gradation and which is free from the known problem relating to a missing transfer portion even upon using as a base sheet various paper sheets made primarily of pulp fibers.
- the present inventors have made intensive studies in order to achieve the above objects and, as a result, found that when a base sheet is first formed with an intermediate layer made primarily of a resin insoluble in organic solvents and then with an image-receiving layer made chiefly of a resin soluble in organic solvents, the smoothness and the anti-blocking properties are significantly improved. And this results in making printed images beautiful without causing any missing transfer portion and making the printed images to have an excellent optical density.
- the present invention has been accomplished based on the above findings.
- the present invention relates to an image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing which comprises (a) an intermediate layer and (b) an image-receiving layer formed on a substrate in this order, characterised in that said intermediate layer (a) comprises (a-i) a lower layer and (a-ii) an upper layer formed on said lower layer (a-i), said image-receiving layer (b) being comprised primarily of a resin soluble in an organic solvent, said lower layer (a-i) being comprised primarily of a resin insoluble in an organic solvent, said resin being formed from a polymer latex satisfying the following requirements (1) and (2): (1) compositional constituents: aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer 20-70 wt.-% unsaturated acid monomer 0.5-15 wt.-% other olefinic monomer 15-79.5 wt.-% (2) gel content: 85-100 wt.-% and containing hollow particles in an amount of not less than 50 wt.-% of the total solids
- Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing according to the invention.
- 101 denotes a substrate
- 102 denotes the above-mentioned intermediate layer
- 103 denotes an image-receiving layer.
- the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer of the image-receiving sheet according to the present invention contains as its primary component resins which are insoluble in organic solvents.
- Monomer Composition (A) Aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer wt% 20 - 70 (B) Unsaturated acid monomer 0.5 - 15 wt% (C) Olefinic monomer other than said aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer 15 - 79.5 wt% Gel Content: 85 - 100 wt%
- the aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer (A) is generally selected from those having from 4 to 10 carbon atoms. Specific examples include 1,3-butadiene, 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, halogen-substituted butadienes, substituted linear conjugated pentadienes, linear or branched conjugated hexadienes, and the like.
- the aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer should be contained in an amount of from 20 to 70 wt% of the copolymer latex. When the content is less than 20 wt%, the resultant resin becomes hard and brittle and exhibits poor film forming properties and adhesion strength. Over 70 wt%, the resultant resin becomes too soft even when the gel content is over 85 wt%, tending to cause sticking on rolls during the course of coating or blocking.
- the unsaturated acid monomer (B) includes, for example, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, itaconic acid, dicarboxylic acid anhydrides, dicarboxylic acid monoalkyl esters, and the like.
- the unsaturated acid monomer is contained in an amount of from 0.5 to 15 wt% of the copolymer latex. If the content is less than 0.5 wt%, the mechanical stability of the copolymer latex lowers, whereas over 15 wt%, the latex tends to undesirably become too viscous.
- the olefinic monomer (C) other than the aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer (A) and the unsaturated acid monomer (B) includes, for example, aromatic vinyl monomers such as styrene, alpha-methylstyrene, dimethylstyrene vinyl toluene and the like, acrylates monomers such as methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate and the like, methacrylate monomers such as methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate and the like, unsaturated nitrile monomers such as acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile and the like, and acrylamide, N-methylolacrylamide, glycidyl acryl
- the gel content of the copolymer latex should be controlled in a range of from 85 to 100 wt%.
- the gel content may be influenced depending upon the monomer composition, the yield of emulsion polymerization, the polymerization temperature and the like, it should be controlled over 85 wt% by controlling an amount of a chain transfer agent such as carbon tetrachloride, dodecyl mercaptan, octyl mercaptan or the like or by appropriately using a crosslinking agent such as methylenebisacrylamide, divinylbenzene, diallyl phthalate or the like.
- a chain transfer agent such as carbon tetrachloride, dodecyl mercaptan, octyl mercaptan or the like
- a crosslinking agent such as methylenebisacrylamide, divinylbenzene, diallyl phthalate or the like.
- gel content used herein is a value determined according to the following procedure.
- a latex is allowed to stand on a glass plate at room temperature (in a air-dried condition) over 24 hours, after which it is dried in vacuum for 2 to 3 hours to obtain an about 1 mm thick latex film.
- About 0.5 g of the thus obtained film is accurately weighed and immersed in 50 ml of toluene at room temperature for 24 hours.
- the toluene solution is passed through a 200 mesh stainless steel screen to collect an insoluble matter, followed by drying it at 135°C for 3 hours and measuring the weight. Then, the ratio (wt%) to the weight prior to the immersion in the toluene solution is calculated as the gel content.
- the above specific type of copolymer latex should preferably be contained in the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer in an amount of not less than 60 wt%, more preferably not less than 70 wt%, of the total solid of the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer in order to obtain a desired high optical density for images as printed.
- the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer may further contain various additives including pigments such as silica, alumina, clay, calcium carbonate and plastic pigments, lubricants, fluorescent dyes, and other adhesives in amounts not impeding the effects of a resin insoluble in organic solvents.
- pigments such as silica, alumina, clay, calcium carbonate and plastic pigments, lubricants, fluorescent dyes, and other adhesives in amounts not impeding the effects of a resin insoluble in organic solvents.
- the heat insulating properties and cushioning properties lower, causing the optical density to lower with an increasing number of missing transfer portions. It has been found that when hollow particles are contained in the resin, the heat-insulating properties of the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer can be remarkably improved together with an attendant remarkable improvement in the optical density for images as printed.
- the hollow particles useful for this purpose are, for example, those described below.
- thermoplastic materials such as vinylidene chloride-acrylonitrile copolymers
- a volatile expanding agent such as propane, n-butane, iso-butane or the like
- Matsumoto Microsphere F-30TM produced by Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku Co., Ltd.
- Hard resins such as acryl-styrene copolymers are used as a shell in which water is contained and is flown away upon drying to form hollow polymer particles.
- Ropaque OP-84JTM acryl-styrene copolymer
- Rohm & Haas Japan Kabushiki Kaisha commercially available product: Ropaque OP-84JTM (acryl-styrene copolymer), produced by Rohm & Haas Japan Kabushiki Kaisha.
- the above hollow particles have a size of 0.1 to 200 micrometers.
- those hollow particles having a size of from 0.1 to 20 micrometers are used.
- the size is less than 0.1 micrometer, satisfactory heat-insulating effects cannot be expected. Over 20 micrometers, the smoothness of the image-receiving layer lowers. In this connection, however, the hollow particles obtained by thermal expansion of thermally expandable plastic materials have the cushioninig action and are flexible, so that they are usable when the size is not larger than 100 micrometers.
- the above-mentioned hollow particles are all soluble in organic solvents such as methyl ethyl ketone and should be used after dispersion in an organic solvent-resistant resin used as an binder.
- the hollow particles are used in an amount of not less than 50 wt% of the total solids in the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer.
- the intermediate layer of the image-receiving sheet according to the present invention has a two-layered structure comprising the main constituent layer and the protective layer.
- the protective layer is disposed on the main constituent layer comprised of the hollow particles.
- the protective layer serves not only to smooth the surface of the main constituent layer comprised of the hollow particles but also to provide the resulting image-receiving sheet with a desirable flexibility.
- the protective layer is formed of an organic solvent-resistant resin.
- the organic solvent-resistant resin by which the protective layer is constituted are copolymer latices having specific monomer composition and gel content.
- resins having good film-forming properties and capable of inhibiting organic solvents from infiltrating may be used including, for example, hydrophilic polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol, casein, starch and the like, acrylic esters, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, carboxyl group-containing polyethylene, and the like.
- the copolymer latices and the hydrophilic polymers including polyvinyl alcohol, casein, starch and the like are preferred because of good synergistic effects with the hollow particles contained in the main constituent layer.
- the thickness of the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer is generally in the range of from 10 to 50 micrometers, preferably from 15 to 30 micrometers.
- dry coating of the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer is in the range of from 1 to 10 g/m 2 , and preferably, from 2 to 6 g/m 2 .
- the thickness is in the range of from 5 to 50 micrometers, preferably from 10 to 30 micrometers.
- the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer may further comprise microcapsules which contain a core substance having the plasticizing action on an image-receiving layer made primarily of a resin soluble in organic solvent, e.g. esters such as phosphoric esters, (tere)phthalic esters, adipic esters and the like, polyesters in the form of oligomers of dibasic acids and glycols or glycerine, epoxy fatty acid esters, and the like.
- the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet obtained in this case is improved in the receptivity of sublimable dyes without involving any missing transfer portion and has a high optical density for images as printed.
- the wall of the capsule used above should permit thermal transmission of the core substance through the capsule wall when heated at the time of printing.
- the capsule wall is desired to be made of polyurethane or polyurea.
- the substrate 101 there may be used, for example, a synthetic paper, a wood free paper, a No.1 grade coated paper, a coated paper, a cast coated paper, polymer films, and composite sheets of these papers and films.
- the smoothness of paper sheet is measured by means of a measuring instrument such as a specular reflection smoothness tester, a Bekk smoothness tester, a Parker Print Surf or the like.
- a measuring instrument such as a specular reflection smoothness tester, a Bekk smoothness tester, a Parker Print Surf or the like.
- the measurement with an air leakage-type Bekk smoothness tester or Parker Print-Surf is greatly influenced by air permeability of the substrate sheet. It has been found difficult to establish a correct interrelation between a measurement and an actual smoothness for various substrate sheets whose properties greatly differ from one another.
- the smoothness of a paper substrate sheet used in the practice of the present invention should be determined using a specular reflection smoothness tester.
- a paper substrate sheet having not less than 6%, preferably not less than 7%, when measured at a pressure of 20 kg/cm 2 (a greater value leading to a better smoothness) is used, an intermediate layer having desired characteristics can be very efficiently formed.
- the paper-base substrates are not critical with respect to the type provided that the above requirements for the surface are satisfied.
- Examples of the paper-base substrate includes gloss, dull and mat-type coated papers such as No.1 grade coated papers, coated papers, lightweight coated papers, finely coated papers, cast coated papers and the like, and non-coated papers such as wood free papers, medium papers, super calendered papers and the like.
- the image-receiving layer of the image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing according to the invention is formed primarily of resins soluble in organic solvents.
- the organic solvent-soluble resins are those below mentioned.
- polyester resins and vinylchloride-(meth)acrylic ester copolymers are preferred because of their good transferability in dye stuffs and of their light fastness of transferred dye stuffs.
- additives may be added to the image-receiving layer, if necessary.
- additives include mineral pigments such as, for example, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, aluminium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, finely powdered silica and the like and organic white pigments such as plastic pigments in order to improve whiteness and thermal fusion properties, modified silicon resins, solid waxes, polyethylene waxes, amide waxes, calcium silicate, and the like.
- UV absorbers and light stabilizers may be added in amounts not impeding the effects of the invention.
- the image-receiving layer may be formed by applying a coating composition for the image-receiving layer onto the surface of the protective layer of the intermediate layer, which has been previously formed on a substrate, in a dry thickness of from 1 to 15 micrometers, preferably from 2 to 10 micrometers by any known coating apparatus such as, for example, a bar coater, a gravure coater or the like, and drying the coating composition applied.
- a coating composition for the image-receiving layer onto the surface of the protective layer of the intermediate layer, which has been previously formed on a substrate, in a dry thickness of from 1 to 15 micrometers, preferably from 2 to 10 micrometers by any known coating apparatus such as, for example, a bar coater, a gravure coater or the like, and drying the coating composition applied.
- An image-receiving sheet with a two-layered intermediate layer for thermal transfer printing was prepared in the following manner.
- a paper stock comprised of 30 parts of bleached NKP and 70 parts of bleached LKP to which 0.4 parts of a rosin size, 10 parts of talc and 2.3 parts of aluminium sulfate were added was prepared and subjected to paper making by means of a Fourdrinier paper machine at a rate of 600 m/minute in such a way that a dry weight was 101 g/m 2 , followed by coating a oxidized starch solution having a concentration of 6% by the use of a size press in an amount of 50 ml/m 2 , drying and winding-up.
- the resultant base paper sheet was subjected to supercalendering under the following conditions.
- the base paper sheet was found to have a Cobb water absorption (5 second value) of 10.4 g/m 2 and a smoothness of 13% as determined by the specular reflection smoothness tester at a pressure of 20 kg/cm 2 .
- the coating composition thus obtained was applied onto the surface of the base paper sheet obtained in the above in an amount to provide a thickness of 25 micrometers when dried, followed by drying, to thereby obtain a coated paper sheet.
- the resultant coated paper sheet was subjected to supercalendering under the following conditions.
- Supercalendering conditions linear pressure 60 kg/cm surface temperature of a chrominum-plated metal roll 25°C running paper speed 5 m/minute number of nips for running paper 2
- the coated paper sheet obtained after the supercalendering treatment was found to have a Cobb water absorption (5 second value) of 12.3 g/m 2 and a smoothness (under a pressure of 20 kg/cm 2 ) of 16% when determined by a specular reflection smoothness tester.
- a two-layered intermediate layer was formed in the following manner on the surface of the coated paper sheet obtained in the above.
- thermally expandable hollow particles (trademark name: Matsumoto Microsphere F-30, produced by Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku Co., Ltd.) whose shell walls have a softening temperature of from 80 to 85°C and 30 parts of a modified styrene-butadiene latex (trademark name: JSR-0696, produced by Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd.) were agitated with a mixer, to which water was added so as to obtain a 45% coating composition.
- a modified styrene-butadiene latex (trademark name: JSR-0696, produced by Japan Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd.) were agitated with a mixer, to which water was added so as to obtain a 45% coating composition.
- the resultant coating composition was applied onto the surface of the coated paper sheet obtained in the above, by means of a wire bar in an amount of 3.5 g/m 2 on a dry weight basis, followed by drying at 120°C for 1 minute. After the drying, the thermally expandable hollow particles were individually expanded to 30 to 70 times larger, whereby the lower layer was formed.
- a coating composition comprising polyvinyl alcohol (trademark name: PVA-110, produced by Kuraray Co., Ltd.) was applied onto the surface of the lower layer formed in the above by means of a wire bar in an amount of 3.5 g/m 2 on a dry weight basis, followed by drying, whereby the upper layer was formed.
- PVA-110 polyvinyl alcohol
- an intermediate layer comprising the lower layer as the main constituent layer and the upper layer as the protective layer was formed on the surface of the coated paper sheet.
- a polyester resin (trademark name: Vylon 200, produced by Toyobo Co., Ltd.), 0.5 parts of an amino-modified silicon (trademark name: KF-393, produced by The Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.), and 0.5 parts of an epoxy-modified silicon (trademark name: X-22-343, produced by Shin-Etsu Chem. Co., Ltd.) were added to methyl ethyl ketone/toluene (ratio by weight of 1:1) while agitating with a mixer, to thereby obtain a coating composition for the image-receiving layer having a solid content of 15%.
- the coating composition obtained in the above was applied onto the surface of the upper layer of the intermediate layer in an amount to provide a thickness of 7 micrometers when dried by means of a wire bar, followed by drying.
- the resultant was subjected to supercalendering under the following conditions, to thereby form an image-receiving layer on the surface of the upper layer of the intermediate layer.
- Supercalendering conditions linear pressure 90 kg/cm surface temperature of a chrominum-plated metal roll 70°C running paper speed 5 m/minute number of nips for running paper 2
- a thermal transfer sheet was prepared in the following manner.
- a sublimable disperse dye (trademark name: Kayaset Blue 714, produced by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) and 60 parts by weight of polyvinyl butyral were added to methyl ethyl ketone/toluene (ratio by weight of 1:1) while agitating with a mixer to obtain an ink composition having a solid content of 10%.
- a sublimable disperse dye trademark name: Kayaset Blue 714, produced by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.
- the ink composition obtained in the above was applied onto a 4.5 micrometer thick PET film, whose back side had been subjected to heat-resisting treatment, in an amount of 1 g/m 2 on a dry weight basis by means of a wire bar, followed by drying.
- the thermal transfer sheet obtained in the above was superposed on the image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing obtained in the above, followed by printing under conditions of an output power of 1 W/dot, a pulse width of 0.3 to 4.5 msec., and a dot density of 3 dots/mm for evaluation.
- the evaluated results are shown in Table 1.
- An image-receiving sheet with a two-layered intermediate layer for thermal transfer printing was prepared in the following manner.
- a paper stock comprised of 30 parts of bleached NKP and 70 parts of bleached LKP to which 0.4 parts of a rosin size, 10 parts of talc and 2.3 parts of aluminium sulfate were added was prepared and subjected to paper making by means of a Fourdrinier paper machine at a rate of 600 m/minute in such a way that a dry weight was 101 g/m 2 , followed by coating a oxidized starch solution having a concentration of 6% by the use of a size press in an amount of 50 ml/m 2 , drying and winding-up.
- the resultant base paper sheet was subjected to supercalendering under the following conditions.
- the base paper sheet was found to have a Cobb water absorption (5 second value) of 10.4 g/m 2 and a smoothness of 13% as determined by the specular reflection smoothness tester at a pressure of 20 kg/cm 2 .
- a two-layered intermediate layer was formed in the following manner on the surface of the base paper sheet obtained in the above.
- the resultant coating composition was applied onto the surface of the base paper sheet obtained in the above by means of a wire bar in an amount to provide a thickness of 20 micrometers when dried, followed by drying, whereby the lower layer was formed on the surface of the base paper sheet.
- a coating composition comprising polyvinyl alcohol (trademark name: PVA-110, produced by Kuraray Co., Ltd.) was applied onto the surface of the lower layer by means of a wire bar in an amount of 3.5 g/m 2 on a dry weight basis, followed by drying, whereby the upper layer was formed.
- PVA-110 polyvinyl alcohol
- an intermediate layer comprising the lower layer as the main constituent layer and the upper layer as the protective layer was formed on the surface of the base paper sheet.
- a polyester resin (trademark name: Vylon 200, produced by Toyobo Co., Ltd.), 0.5 parts of an amino-modified silicon (trademark name: KF-393, produced by The Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.), and 0.5 parts of an epoxy-modified silicon (trademark name: X-22-343, produced by Shinetsu Chem. Ind. Co., Ltd.) were added to methyl ethyl ketone/toluene (ratio by weight of 1:1) while agitating with a mixer, to thereby obtain a coating composition for the image-receiving layer having a solid content of 15%.
- the coating composition obtained in the above was applied onto the surface of the upper layer of the intermediate layer in an amount to provide a thickness of 7 micrometers when dried by means of a wire bar, followed by drying.
- the resultant was subjected to supercalendering under the following conditions, to thereby form an image-receiving layer on the surface of the upper layer of the intermediate layer.
- Supercalendering conditions linear pressure 90 kg/cm surface temperature of a chrominum-plated metal roll 70°C running paper speed 5 m/minute number of nips for running paper 2
- a thermal transfer sheet was prepared in the following manner.
- a sublimable disperse dye (trademark name: Kayaset Blue 714, produced by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) and 60 parts by weight of polyvinyl butyral were added to methyl ethyl ketone/toluene (ratio by weight of 1:1) while agitating with a mixer to obtain an ink composition having a solid content of 10%.
- a sublimable disperse dye trademark name: Kayaset Blue 714, produced by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.
- the ink composition obtained in the above was applied onto a 4.5 micrometer thick PET film, whose back side had been subjected to heat-resisting treatment, in an amount of 1 g/m 2 on a dry weight basis by means of a wire bar, followed by drying.
- the thermal transfer sheet obtained in the above was superposed on the image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing obtained in the above, followed by printing under conditions of an output power of 1 W/dot, a pulse width of 0.3 to 4.5 msec., and a dot density of 3 dots/mm for evaluation.
- the evaluated results are shown in Table 1.
- Example 1 The procedures of Example 1 were repeated, except that the upper layer of the intermediate layer was not formed and after the formation of the lower layer, an image-receiving layer was formed directly on the lower layer, to thereby obtain an image-receiving sheet with a single-layered intermediate layer for thermal transfer printing.
- Example 2 The procedures of Example 2 were repeated, except that the upper layer of the intermediate layer was not formed and after the formation of the lower layer, an image-receiving layer was formed directly on the lower layer, to thereby obtain an image-receiving sheet with a single-layered intermediate layer for thermal transfer printing.
- the image-receiving sheet was evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The evaluated results are shown in Table 1.
- the resistance was evaluated by visual observation and measurement of a sheet thickness.
- the intermediate layer and a black drawing paper were superposed and passed twice through a supercalender at a linear pressure of 50 kg/cm, after which the layer and the paper were separated from each other to observe the respective surfaces.
- the optical density of cyan color transferred onto the image-receiving layer was evaluated by the use of a reflection densitometer (Macbeth RD914).
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Thermal Transfer Or Thermal Recording In General (AREA)
Description
said lower layer (a-i) being comprised primarily of a resin insoluble in an organic solvent,
said resin being formed from a polymer latex satisfying the following requirements (1) and (2):
(1) | compositional constituents: | |
aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer | 20-70 wt.-% | |
unsaturated acid monomer | 0.5-15 wt.-% | |
other olefinic monomer | 15-79.5 wt.-% | |
(2) | gel content: | 85-100 wt.-% |
Monomer Composition: | |
(A) Aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer wt% | 20 - 70 |
(B) Unsaturated acid monomer | 0.5 - 15 wt% |
(C) Olefinic monomer other than said aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer | 15 - 79.5 wt% |
Gel Content: | 85 - 100 wt% |
It has been found that when hollow particles are contained in the resin, the heat-insulating properties of the main constituent layer of the intermediate layer can be remarkably improved together with an attendant remarkable improvement in the optical density for images as printed.
Supercalendering conditions: | |
linear pressure | 200 kg/cm |
surface temperature of chrominum-plated metal roll | 25°C |
running speed of paper | 250 m/minute |
number of nips for running paper | 4 |
Supercalendering conditions: | |
linear pressure | 60 kg/cm |
surface temperature of a chrominum-plated metal roll | 25°C |
running paper speed | 5 m/minute |
number of nips for running paper | 2 |
Supercalendering conditions: | |
linear pressure | 90 kg/cm |
surface temperature of a chrominum-plated metal roll | 70°C |
running paper speed | 5 m/minute |
number of nips for running paper | 2 |
Supercalendering conditions: | |
linear pressure | 200 kg/cm |
surface temperature of chrominum-plated metal roll | 25°C |
running speed of paper | 250 m/minute |
number of nips for running paper | 4 |
Supercalendering conditions: | |
linear pressure | 90 kg/cm |
surface temperature of a chrominum-plated metal roll | 70°C |
running paper speed | 5 m/minute |
number of nips for running paper | 2 |
- A
- no problem
- E
- no practical utility with a great number of defects
- A
- little black fibers of the drawing paper transferred to the intermediate layer, and no practical problem
- E
- the intermediate layer and the drawing paper bonded together
- A
- maximum value not less than 1.4
- B
- maximum value of from 1.2 to 1.4
- C
- maximum value of less than 1.2
- AA
- very excellent image quality with no missing transfer portion(s)
- A
- little missing transfer portions observed with excellent image quality
- B
- slight missing transfer portions observed with good image quality
- C
- missing transfer portions observed but with no practical problem on image quality
- D
- many missing transfer portions observed with poor image quality
- E
- a great number of missing transfer portions observed with practically unacceptable image quality
Example 1 | Example 2 | |
Base Sheet | wood free paper | same as in Example 1 |
smoothness (%) | 13 | |
water absorption degree (g/m ) | 10.4 | |
Intermediate layer: | ||
(i) main constituent of the lower layer (the main constituent layer) | (a) JSR-0696 (1) added ratio: 30 weight parts | (a) JSR-0696 (1) added ratio: 20 weight parts |
(b) Micro sphere F-30 (2) added ratio: 70 weight parts | (b) Ropaque OP-84J (4) added ratio: 80 weight parts | |
(ii) main constituent of the upper layer (the protective layer) | polyvinyl alcohol (3) | polyvinyl alcohol (3) |
Resistance to solvents | A | A |
Anti-blocking property | A | A |
Optical density | A | A |
Image quality | A | B |
Comparative Example 1 | Comparative Example 2 | |
Base Sheet | same as in Example 1 | same as in Example 1 |
smoothness (%) | ||
water absorption degree (g/m ) | ||
Intermediate layer: | ||
(i) main constituent of the lower layer (the main constituent layer) | same as in Example 1 | same as in Example 2 |
(ii) main constituent of the upper layer (the protective layer) | none | none |
Resistance to solvents | E | E |
Anti-blocking property | A | A |
Optical density | C | C |
Image quality | E | E |
(1) composition: styrene - 46wt.%, butadiene - 38wt.% gel content: 83wt.% (2) the trademark name of the product by Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku Co., Ltd. (3) product under the trademark name of PVA-110 by Kuraray Co., Ltd. (4) the trademark name of the product by Rohm & Haas Japan Kabushiki Kaisha |
Claims (4)
- An image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing which comprises (a) an intermediate layer and (b) an image-receiving layer formed on a substrate in this order, characterized in that said intermediate layer (a) comprises (a-i) a lower layer and (a-ii) an upper layer formed on said lower layer (a-i), said image-receiving layer (b) being comprised primarily of a resin soluble in an organic solvent,
said lower layer (a-i) being comprised primarily of a resin insoluble in an organic solvent,
said resin being formed from a polymer latex satisfying the following requirements (1) and (2):(1) compositional constituents: aliphatic conjugated diolefinic monomer 20-70 wt.-% unsaturated acid monomer 0.5-15 wt.-% other olefinic monomer 15-79.5 wt.-% (2) gel content: 85-100 wt.-% - An image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing according to claim 1, wherein the lower layer of the intermediate layer further contains a binder resin.
- An image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a paper sheet made primarily of pulp fibers.
- An image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing according to claim 3, wherein the paper sheet has a smoothness of not less than 6% and a water absorption of from 1 to 30 g/m2 when determined by the following procedures:
- smoothness:
- a value measured by a specular reflection smoothness tester at a pressure of 20 kg/cm2; and
- water absorption::
- a 5 second value determined according to "a test method for water absorption of paper and paperboard (Cobb's method)" prescribed in JIS P-8140.
Applications Claiming Priority (9)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP186096/87 | 1987-07-24 | ||
JP62186096A JPH0832487B2 (en) | 1987-07-24 | 1987-07-24 | Image receiving sheet for thermal transfer recording |
JP186095/87 | 1987-07-24 | ||
JP62186095A JPH0825339B2 (en) | 1987-07-24 | 1987-07-24 | Image receiving sheet for thermal transfer recording |
JP259968/87 | 1987-10-15 | ||
JP62259968A JPH0635212B2 (en) | 1987-10-15 | 1987-10-15 | Image receiving sheet for thermal transfer recording |
JP115065/88 | 1988-05-11 | ||
JP63115065A JP2575177B2 (en) | 1988-05-11 | 1988-05-11 | Heat transfer sheet |
EP88111947A EP0300505B1 (en) | 1987-07-24 | 1988-07-25 | Image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing |
Related Parent Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP88111947A Division EP0300505B1 (en) | 1987-07-24 | 1988-07-25 | Image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing |
EP88111947.3 Division | 1988-07-25 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0545893A1 EP0545893A1 (en) | 1993-06-09 |
EP0545893B1 true EP0545893B1 (en) | 1998-12-30 |
Family
ID=27470224
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP93100728A Expired - Lifetime EP0545893B1 (en) | 1987-07-24 | 1988-07-25 | Image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing |
EP88111947A Expired - Lifetime EP0300505B1 (en) | 1987-07-24 | 1988-07-25 | Image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing |
Family Applications After (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP88111947A Expired - Lifetime EP0300505B1 (en) | 1987-07-24 | 1988-07-25 | Image-receiving sheet for thermal transfer printing |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (2) | EP0545893B1 (en) |
DE (3) | DE3884877T2 (en) |
Families Citing this family (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5318943A (en) * | 1991-05-27 | 1994-06-07 | Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. | Thermal transfer image receiving sheet |
EP0537485B1 (en) * | 1991-10-04 | 1996-11-13 | Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company | New thermal dye transfer receptors |
US5762743A (en) * | 1995-05-15 | 1998-06-09 | Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. | Image forming kit and image receiving sheet |
JPH10193805A (en) * | 1996-12-27 | 1998-07-28 | Dainippon Printing Co Ltd | Thermal transfer image receiving sheet and its manufacture |
DE10064171B4 (en) * | 2000-12-22 | 2004-05-27 | Felix Schoeller Jr. Foto- Und Spezialpapiere Gmbh & Co. Kg | Substrate for imaging materials |
US7034856B2 (en) | 2001-12-07 | 2006-04-25 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Receiving cloth for thermal transfer recording, and method of thermal transfer recording using the cloth |
EP1655144B1 (en) | 2003-08-05 | 2008-05-21 | Oji Paper Co., Ltd. | Thermal transfer receptive sheet, process for producing the same and method of image forming therewith |
US7223513B2 (en) * | 2004-08-25 | 2007-05-29 | Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Inc. | Thermal transfer image receiving sheet and manufacturing method of thermal transfer image receiving sheet |
GB0424878D0 (en) * | 2004-11-10 | 2004-12-15 | Innovia Films Ltd | Innovia films case A100 |
JP4490382B2 (en) * | 2006-02-28 | 2010-06-23 | 富士フイルム株式会社 | Thermal transfer image-receiving sheet and method for producing the same |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS57116692A (en) * | 1981-01-13 | 1982-07-20 | Ricoh Co Ltd | Thermal recording sheet |
JPS61144394A (en) * | 1984-12-18 | 1986-07-02 | Dainippon Printing Co Ltd | Heat transferred sheet |
JPS61192595A (en) * | 1985-02-20 | 1986-08-27 | Ricoh Co Ltd | Thermal transfer medium |
JPH0710630B2 (en) * | 1985-06-24 | 1995-02-08 | 大日本印刷株式会社 | Heat transfer sheet |
-
1988
- 1988-07-25 DE DE88111947T patent/DE3884877T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-07-25 DE DE3856292T patent/DE3856292T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-07-25 EP EP93100728A patent/EP0545893B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-07-25 DE DE198888111947T patent/DE300505T1/en active Pending
- 1988-07-25 EP EP88111947A patent/EP0300505B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE3884877D1 (en) | 1993-11-18 |
EP0300505A2 (en) | 1989-01-25 |
DE3856292T2 (en) | 1999-06-02 |
EP0545893A1 (en) | 1993-06-09 |
EP0300505B1 (en) | 1993-10-13 |
DE3856292D1 (en) | 1999-02-11 |
DE3884877T2 (en) | 1994-03-17 |
EP0300505A3 (en) | 1990-05-30 |
DE300505T1 (en) | 1989-07-13 |
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