JP2001205948A - Thermal transfer recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal transfer recording medium having an adhesive force between surface to be adhered by using an adhesive layer and adjustable by a thickness of the adhesive layer to be transferred in the medium having a thermal transfer ink layer and the adhesive layer sequentially surface coated separately in a longitudinal direction in the medium having the ink layer to be transferred to at least one surface of a base material by heat fusion transferring or heat adhesive thin film release transferring and the adhesive layer. SOLUTION: The thermal transfer recording medium comprises the thermal transfer ink layer and the adhesive layer sequentially surface coated separately in the longitudinal direction of the medium in such a manner that a length along the longitudinal direction of the adhesive layer is substantially twice or more as long as the length of an effective image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium having a heat-sensitive transfer ink layer on at least one surface of a base material, wherein printing is performed in advance on the surface of an intermediate transfer medium having at least a transferable image-receiving layer. The present invention relates to a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium used in a method of forming an image by transferring an image receiving layer of an intermediate transfer medium to a target image receiving body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A method of using an intermediate transfer medium in thermal transfer recording is already known, but in this method, a high-resolution image can be obtained as compared with printing directly on a target image receiving body. There are advantages such as being able to print on a non-smooth image receiver, but when the intermediate transfer medium on which the image has been finally transferred is transferred to the target image receiver, the intermediate transfer medium is It is necessary to provide a primer layer so that the adhesion to the surface and the printed thermal transfer ink layer is improved. However, in the image receiving body, the pre-processing may not be performed. Also, even when possible, it often takes a lot of time and effort. Therefore, using a thermal transfer recording medium having a thermal transfer ink layer and an adhesive layer,
After transferring the heat-sensitive transfer ink layer to the intermediate transfer medium, the adhesive layer is transferred with an area larger than the effective image area, and then the image-receiving layer of the intermediate transfer medium to which the heat-sensitive transfer ink layer and the adhesive layer have been transferred is subjected to an image receiving operation. A method of transferring to the body has been used.

[0003] By the way, when paper is used for the transfer object,
Since paper is made of fiber, an adhesive layer having a sufficient thickness is necessary to have sufficient adhesive strength. For example, for high quality paper distributed in Japan, at least 4
For example, bond papers such as Alaska White which are distributed overseas with a thickness of at least 6 μm require an adhesive layer of about 6 μm.

[0004] However, a thermal transfer recording medium is generally produced by a coating method using a gravure printing method, but it is extremely difficult to print a thick adhesive layer of 4 µm or more simultaneously with printing of a thermal transfer ink layer. In particular, in the gravure printing method, it is necessary to increase the depth of the intaglio plate in order to increase the printing thickness, and the limit of the printing thickness is naturally determined. There was a problem that the surface became rough.

[0005] Even if a thick adhesive layer can be provided on the thermal transfer recording medium by any method, this time,
At the time of thermal transfer from a thermal transfer recording medium to an intermediate transfer medium by a thermal head or the like, the adhesive layer is too thick, so the foil is not cut well. For example, burrs are generated at the edge of the transfer area of the adhesive layer or dust is generated. In the worst case, there is a problem that the adhesive layer is not transferred from the thermal transfer recording medium to the intermediate transfer medium.

Further, a large amount of heat energy is applied to a thermal head to thermally soften a thick adhesive layer (in the case of thermal adhesive thin film peeling transfer) or to thermally fuse (in the case of thermal melt transfer). As a result, there is a problem that the life of the thermal head is significantly reduced.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has been made by heat-sensitive sublimation transfer to at least one surface of a substrate by heat.
A heat-sensitive transfer recording medium in which a heat-sensitive transfer ink layer for hot-melt transfer or heat-adhesive thin film peel-transfer and an adhesive layer for hot-melt transfer or heat-adhesive thin film peel-transfer with heat are separately applied in the longitudinal direction in a face-to-face manner. The present invention provides a thermal transfer recording medium in which the adhesive force between the surfaces to be adhered using the adhesive layer can be adjusted by the thickness of the transferred adhesive layer.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems The invention described in claim 1 is:
On at least one surface of the base material, a heat-sensitive sublimation transfer by heat, a heat-sensitive transfer ink layer to perform hot-melt thin-film transfer, or a heat-adhesive thin-film peel-transfer, and an adhesive layer to heat-heat-transfer transfer, or heat-adhesive thin-film peel-transfer by heat. Wherein the thermal transfer ink layer and the adhesive layer are separately applied face-to-face in the longitudinal direction of the thermal transfer recording medium, and the length of the adhesive layer along the longitudinal direction. Is at least twice the effective image length.

The invention according to claim 2 is the thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the adhesive layer is 2 μm or less.

[0010] The invention described in claim 3 is the thermal transfer recording medium according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the adhesive layer is either transparent or white.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail. The configuration of the thermal transfer recording medium used in the present invention is basically shown in FIGS. FIG. 3 illustrates a thermal transfer recording method. A thermal transfer ink layer 1 and an adhesive layer 2 that are melted or softened and transferred by heat on a substrate 3 are provided, and the thermal transfer ink layer 1 and the adhesive layer 2 are
They are painted in the longitudinal direction in a plane-sequential manner. Further, the length of the longitudinal adhesive layer is provided to be at least twice the effective image length.

After transferring the thermal transfer ink layer 1 to the intermediate transfer medium having at least an image transferable layer using the thermal transfer recording medium used in the present invention within the effective printing area S in FIG. Is superimposed on the image portion formed by the heat-sensitive transfer ink layer 1 on the intermediate transfer medium at an appropriate number of times two or more times according to the state and properties of the target image receiving body with an area equal to or more than the effective image area S. Perform thermal transfer.

Next, the thermal transfer ink layer 1 may be a single color such as black, three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and four colors obtained by adding black to the three colors. As the component, various known pigments can be used as the pigment, and examples thereof include carbon black, azo-based, phthalocyanine-based, quinacridone-based, thioindigo-based, anthraquinone-based, and isoindolinone-based pigments. These can be used in combination of two or more kinds, and a known dye may be added for hue adjustment.

Examples of the binder resin include butyral resin, polyamide resin, polyethyleneimine resin, sulfonamide resin, polyester polyol resin, petroleum resin, styrene, α-methylstyrene, 2-methylstyrene, chlorostyrene, vinylbenzoic acid, and sodium vinylbenzenesulfonic acid. Styrene and its derivatives such as aminostyrene, their homopolymers and copolymers, methacrylates such as methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, and hydroxyethyl methacrylate; and methacrylic acid, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate,
Acrylates such as butyl acrylate and α-ethylhexyl acrylate, and acrylic acid, butadiene,
Dienes such as isodiene and isoprene, acrylonitrile, vinyl ethers, maleic acid and maleic acid esters, maleic anhydride, cinnamic acid, vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate and other vinyl monomers alone or other monomers Can be used. These resins can be used as a mixture of two or more kinds.

As a releasing agent and a softening agent, for example, higher fatty acids such as palmitic acid and stearic acid, metal salts of fatty acids such as zinc stearate, fatty acid esters or partially saponified products thereof, fatty acid derivatives such as fatty acid amides, higher alcohols , Derivatives such as esters of polyhydric alcohols, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, montan wax, beeswax, wood wax, candelilla wax, etc., having a viscosity average molecular weight of about 1,000 to 10,000.
Polyolefins such as low molecular weight polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, etc. of about 0, or olefin, α
-Low molecular weight copolymers of olefins with organic acids such as maleic anhydride, acrylic acid and methacrylic acid, vinyl acetate, etc., low molecular weight oxidized polyolefins, halogenated polyolefins, lauryl methacrylate, stearyl methacrylate, etc. Methacrylic acid esters, methacrylic acid esters alone or copolymers with vinyl monomers such as styrene, low molecular weight silicone resins such as polydimethylsiloxane and polydiphenylsiloxane, and silicone-modified organic substances.
One or more types can be selected and used.

The thickness of the thermal transfer ink layer 1 is 1 μm in consideration of the density of the transferred image and the reproducibility of dots.
m or less is suitable.

Next, the adhesive layer 2 will be described. Examples of the resin used for the adhesive layer 2 include cellulose derivatives such as nitrocellulose, ethylcellulose and cellulose acetate propionate; styrene resins such as polystyrene and poly α-methylstyrene; and acrylics such as polymethyl methacrylate and polyethyl acrylate. Resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl resin such as polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, polyester resin, polyamide resin, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, petroleum resin, ionomer, ethylene acrylic Synthetic resins such as acid copolymers, ethylene-acrylate copolymers, rosin, rosin-modified maleic resin, ester gum, polyisobutylene rubber, butyl rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, butadiene acrylonitrile Rubber, polyamide resins, derivatives of natural resins and synthetic rubber polychlorinated olefins such like. The adhesive layer 2 can be formed of a composition comprising one or more of the above materials.

The thickness of the adhesive layer 2 is desirably 2 μm or less in consideration of gravure printing aptitude, transferability such as generation of burrs, and applied energy relating to the life of the thermal head.

The adhesive layer 2 is transferred to an intended image receiving body after being transferred to the intermediate transfer medium. At that time, the adhesive layer 2 becomes a base of an image formed by the thermal transfer ink layer. Therefore, the color of the adhesive layer 2 is desirably transparent or white.

The substrate 3 is made of paper such as condenser paper, a polyester film, a polystyrene film, a polypropylene film, a cellophane, or the like, from the viewpoints of ease of forming and handling the thermal transfer ink layer 1 and mechanical strength. Among them, polyester films (specifically, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PEN (polyethylene naphthalate), etc.) are preferable because of their high heat resistance. The thickness of the substrate is preferably 2 to 50 μm from the viewpoint of mechanical strength, ease of handling or availability, but in order to expect a higher effect of the present invention (thermal conductivity, heat transfer coefficient, heat storage performance). 2 to 16 μm
Is more preferred. In addition, the base material 3 is used for the thermal transfer recording medium.
In order to improve the heat resistance and the slipperiness of the substrate, it can be said that it is preferable to provide the back coat layer 4 on the surface of the substrate on which the ink layer is not provided.

[0021]

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

<Thermal Transfer Recording Medium> As the base material of the thermal transfer recording medium, each of the following thermal transfer ink layers (yellow, magenta, cyan) and an adhesive layer were applied to a polyester film 5.5 μm using a gravure printing machine. Samples were prepared side by side and separately at a drying temperature of 90 ° C.

The heat-sensitive transfer recording medium is separately applied in the longitudinal direction in a plane-sequential manner. The ink layer has an area equivalent to the effective image area, the adhesive layer has an area three times as large as the effective image area, and the length in the longitudinal direction is the image area. Is three times the longitudinal length. The dry thickness of the ink layer of each color was 1 μm, the dry thickness of the adhesive layer was 1.5 μm, and the adhesive layer was colorless and transparent.

(Yellow ink layer ink) Disazo yellow pigment 7.0 parts Butyral resin 10.0 parts Acrylic resin 5.0 parts Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin 3.0 parts Carnauba wax 5.0 parts・ Toluene 60.0 parts ・ Isopropyl alcohol 10.0 parts

(Magenta ink layer ink) Monoazo red pigment 8.0 parts Butyral resin 10.0 parts Acrylic resin 5.0 parts Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin 3.0 parts Carnauba wax 5.0 parts・ Toluene 60.0 parts ・ Isopropyl alcohol 10.0 parts

(Cyan ink layer ink)-Phthalocyanine blue pigment 8.0 parts-Butyral resin 10.0 parts-Acrylic resin 5.0 parts-Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin 3.0 parts-Carnauba wax 5.0 parts・ Toluene 60.0 parts ・ Isopropyl alcohol 10.0 parts

(Adhesive layer ink)-18.0 parts of polyester resin-2.0 parts of acrylic resin-40.0 parts of methyl ethyl ketone-40.0 parts of toluene

<Intermediate transfer medium> The base material is 16 μm thick.
m on a surface of a polyethylene terephthalate film having the following composition, coated with a Mayer bar coater, dried, and dried to form a 4 μm-thick image-receiving layer on a substrate. An intermediate transfer medium was prepared.

(Image receiving layer)-Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-vinyl alcohol copolymer resin 8.0 parts-Butyral resin 7.0 parts-Polyester resin 3.0 parts-Silicone powder 0.3 parts-MEK 45.0 parts・ Toluene 36.7 parts

The thermal transfer recording medium and the intermediate transfer medium obtained as described above are image-transferred onto the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer medium using a thermal transfer printer, and further transferred onto the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer medium. The adhesive layer was superimposed three times on the same screen and transferred onto the entire screen. Then, the intermediate transfer medium to which the ink image and the adhesive layer were transferred was combined with a commercially available copy sheet, and the image receiving layer was transferred by a heat roller at 160 ° C. to obtain an image transfer product.

[Comparative Example 1] The ink layer and the adhesive layer were coated separately in the longitudinal direction in the same manner as in the example with the same prescription.
A heat-sensitive transfer recording medium having an area equivalent to the effective image area and an intermediate transfer recording medium having the same formulation as in the examples were prepared.

The image of the thermal transfer recording medium and the intermediate transfer medium obtained as described above is transferred to an image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer medium by using a thermal transfer printer, and further transferred onto the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer medium. The adhesive layer was superimposed once on the same screen and transferred over the entire surface.

Then, the intermediate transfer medium to which the ink image and the adhesive layer were transferred was combined with a commercially available copy paper, and the image receiving layer was transferred by a heat roller at 160 ° C. However, the adhesive layer was thin and could not be transferred uniformly due to the effect of paper fibers.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2 The dry thickness of the adhesive layer of the thermal transfer recording medium was 4.5 μm, and the other components were separately applied in the longitudinal direction in the same manner as in the example, and the ink layer and the adhesive layer were adhered. As the layer, a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium having an area equivalent to the effective image area and an intermediate transfer recording medium having the same formulation as in the examples were produced.

The thermal transfer recording medium and the intermediate transfer medium obtained as described above are transferred to an image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer medium by using a thermal transfer printer, and further transferred onto the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer medium. An attempt was made to transfer the entire surface of the adhesive layer once over the same screen, but the dry thickness of the adhesive layer was so large that transfer was not possible with the same energy as in the example. Further, transfer was attempted with a high transfer energy, but although transfer was successful, burrs occurred.

[0036]

According to the present invention, after using the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention, an image is appropriately transferred to an intermediate transfer medium having a transferable image-receiving layer by a thermal transfer ink layer, the adhesive layer is converted to a substantially effective image. In the area equal to or larger than the area, the thermal transfer to the intermediate transfer medium is performed two or more appropriate times according to the state and properties of the target image receiving body, and then the thermal transfer ink layer and the adhesive layer are transferred to the intermediate transfer medium. By transferring the image receiving layer to the target image receiving member, even if the target image receiving member is a fibrous material such as paper, which is not flat, an image can be transferred by the adhesive layer having a sufficient thickness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing a cross section of one embodiment of a thermal transfer recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing a basic configuration of one embodiment of a thermal transfer recording medium according to the present invention. here,
S is the effective image area.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view schematically showing a thermal transfer recording method using one embodiment of the thermal transfer recording medium according to the present invention. Here, a is at least twice the effective image length.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Thermal transfer ink layer 2 ... Adhesive layer 3 ... Base material 4 ... Back coat layer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A heat-sensitive transfer ink layer for transferring heat-sensitive sublimation transfer, heat-melt transfer or heat-adhesive thin film by heat to at least one surface of a substrate, and heat-melt transfer or heat-adhesive thin film peel transfer by heat. A thermal transfer recording medium provided with an adhesive layer, wherein the thermal transfer ink layer and the adhesive layer are separately applied in a longitudinal direction of the thermal transfer recording medium in a longitudinal direction, and furthermore, a longitudinal direction of the adhesive layer is provided. Characterized in that the length along the line is at least twice the effective image length. 2. The thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the adhesive layer is 2 μm or less. 3. The heat-sensitive transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer is transparent or white.