JP2002178696A - Transfer film sheet and transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transfer method which obtains a transfer object which can be preserved for a long period and can transfer a beautiful color image not generating pattern trace of the transfer object and dotted traces of dye. SOLUTION: In the method for transferring the color image of transfer paper printed with a sublimatable dye ink to a display plate 1 such as a metal plate under heating/pressurization, a transfer film sheet 21 in which the color image 23 is transferred from the transfer paper to a transparent film sheet main body under heating/pressurization is manufactured, the transfer film sheet 21 is mounted on the display plate 1 having a receiving layer 3, and the transfer film sheet is heated/pressurized by a mounting tool 11 and a press tool 13 so that the color image 23 is transferred/formed in the receiving layer 3 of the display plate 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer film sheet impregnated with a sublimable dye and a method for transferring a color image using the film sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a color image is transferred to an object to be transferred such as a nameplate, a transfer paper on which a color image is printed with a sublimable dye ink is placed on the object to be transferred, and the transfer is performed by applying heat and pressure. Was performed. FIG. 5 shows this conventional general transfer method. Here, the transfer target includes nameplates, panels, stickers, display panels of instruments, exterior parts of electronic devices such as game machines and portable devices,
You can select various items such as decorative containers for daily goods.
Among these objects to be transferred, a metal display plate will be described, for example, and a configuration as shown in FIG. 6 is known.

FIG. 6 shows a display panel 1 on which a color image is formed with a sublimable dye. The illustrated display panel 1 has a transparent receiving layer 3 formed on an upper surface of a metal substrate 2 and a color image 4 for display is formed in the receiving layer 3 by a transfer method. As the metal substrate 2, various metal plates such as aluminum, brass, and iron can be selected, and these metal plates are subjected to surface treatment such as plating or painting for the purpose of rust prevention or decoration. The receiving layer 3 is provided for the purpose of forming an image therein, and is formed by printing or painting using a resin such as a polyurethane resin, a polyester resin, an epoxy resin, or an acrylic resin. Then, a color image 4 with a sublimable dye is transferred into the receiving layer 3 by a transfer method described later.
To form The receiving layer 3 has an ultraviolet absorber dispersed therein. Sublimation dyes have poor light fastness to ultraviolet light, and therefore, the light fastness is enhanced by dispersing an ultraviolet absorber.

FIG. 5 shows a method of transferring and forming a color image 4 in the receiving layer 3. That is, the metal substrate 2 on which the receiving layer 3 is formed is placed on the smoothly finished mounting tool 11,
The transfer paper 12 on which a color image has been formed is placed thereon by a printer or the like using a sublimable dye ink, and the transfer paper 12 is pressed by a pressing tool 13 that has been finished smoothly under heating. In this manner, the sublimable dye printed on the transfer paper 12 is vaporized by heating, and the vaporized dye permeates into the softened receiving layer 3 under pressure, and is vaporized into the receiving layer 3. A sublimable dye color image 4 is formed.

Here, the heating temperature varies depending on the type of resin forming the receiving layer 3. For example, when a polyurethane resin is used, the heating is performed at a temperature of about 180 ° C. Generally, it is preferable to heat the resin around the softening point of the resin used. The pressing force may be about 10 g / cm ² , and by applying a pressure for about 1 to 3 minutes, the sublimable dye penetrates to a considerably deep part of the receiving layer 3 and a clear color image 4 is formed.

It is also important that the sublimable dye penetrates as deep as possible into the receiving layer 3, and in that sense, the receiving layer 3
Must be at least 10 μm or more. If it is thinner than this, the permeated sublimable dye tends to escape, and a beautiful color image cannot be retained forever. Generally, the thickness of the receiving layer 3 is preferably formed in the range of 20 to 50 μm. Further, the pressing force and the pressurizing time also affect the penetration depth. Since the pressurizing force and the pressurizing time have a relationship with each other, it is preferable to appropriately set an optimal value.

A color image is formed on a transfer paper 12 using a sublimable dye ink such as magenta, yellow, cyan, or black.
Is formed by printing using an inkjet printer. This color image can be selected from a variety of color images such as photographic images, paintings, other pattern images, and color images composed of one color on the entire screen. Also, when printing is performed by a printer having a resolution of 1440 dpi or more, a very beautiful color image is formed.

The conventional technique described above uses a metal plate as an object to be transferred. However, in the case of a molded product using a plastic material, a color image is directly formed on the surface of the plastic material by the same method. And a color image-formed product is obtained.

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned conventional method has the following problems. As a first problem, since pressure is applied during the transfer, a fine uneven paper pattern of the transfer paper 12 is also transferred to the receiving layer 3 to impair the appearance of the surface. For this reason, conventionally, the receiving layer 3 was again transferred after the transfer.
Must be polished to increase the cost.

As a second problem, the receiving layer 3 is formed by a printing method or the like, but the surface thereof has gentle irregularities and the like, and the receiving layer has a thin portion and a thick portion, so that the pressing force becomes constant. This is not performed, and image unevenness occurs in a light portion and a dark portion in the transferred image.

As a third problem, since an image for transfer to be applied to the transfer paper 12 is formed by an ink jet printer or the like, the image is represented by a set of fine dot-like spots of the sublimable dye ink. Such fine dot-like spots may not be sufficiently mixed with adjacent sublimable dyes even after transfer, and the dot-like spots printed on the transfer paper 12 appear on the surface of the receiving layer 3 as they are. May come. Conventionally, in order to eliminate these dot-like spots, heat treatment is performed at 200 to 270 ° C. for 5 to 15 minutes under no pressure so as to promote mixing of the dyes and remove the dot-like spots. However, this method increases the number of steps and increases the cost.

A fourth problem is that the transfer paper 12 as a base for transferring a color image is easily exposed to light, and after a certain period of time, the color tone fades and the original color tone is not maintained. After the formation, it must be transferred to the object without a period. The general storage period of the transfer paper 12 is about one month at the longest, but it is necessary to use it within a shorter period in order to transfer a good color tone. For this reason, it was not possible to form and stock the transfer paper 12 collectively or to store it for a long period of time on a yearly basis.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a transfer product which can be stored for a long period of time and to obtain a pattern mark on the transfer target product. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer product and a transfer method capable of transferring a clear color image in which no dot mark of dye or dye is generated. In order to achieve this object, a transfer film sheet according to claim 1 of the present invention is formed by transferring a color image of a transfer paper formed by a sublimable dye ink to a transparent film sheet under heat and pressure. It is characterized by becoming.

According to the present invention, a transfer product such as a color image is transferred and formed on a transparent film sheet in advance under heat and pressure, so that the sublimable dye ink spontaneously releases even after a long time. The color tone does not fade. For this reason, the film sheet as the transfer material can be stored for a long period of time, and a clear color image can be transferred and formed on the transfer material at any time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the transfer film sheet according to the first aspect, the transparent film sheet has a thickness of 25 to 50 μm.

According to the present invention, since the transparent film sheet is formed to have a thickness of 25 to 50 μm, the thickness is just suitable for holding the sublimable dye ink in a permeated state.・ The thickness is just right to release the sublimable dye ink neatly and quickly when pressurized.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the transfer film sheet according to the first or second aspect, the transparent film sheet is made of polyethylene resin, polycarbonate resin,
1 or 2 selected from nitrocellulose resin, nitrofuron resin, acrylic resin and polypropylene resin
It is a film sheet formed of the above resin.

According to the present invention, the use of the above resin material as the material of the transfer film sheet allows deformation and deformation even when the sublimation dye ink is penetrated from the transfer paper by heating or when the transfer is performed to the receiving layer. It is possible to transfer and form a clear color image without shrinkage and without distortion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color image transfer method comprising:
In a method of transferring a color image of a transfer paper formed by a sublimable dye ink to an object under heat and pressure,
A color image is transferred from the transfer paper to a transparent film sheet under heat and pressure, and the film sheet on which the color image has been transferred is placed on an object on which a receiving layer is formed,
The film sheet is transferred to an object to be transferred by heating and pressing.

According to the present invention, a transfer film sheet in which the sublimable dye ink is infiltrated by heating and pressurizing is formed,
When transferring to a transfer object, heating and pressurizing again promote the release of the sublimable dye ink, so that a color image can be quickly transferred and formed on the transfer object. In addition, since the film sheet is glossy and has a smooth surface, no imprints or the like are generated on the transferred material. Further, the sublimable dye that has permeated into the film sheet is transferred to the transfer object again under heating and pressure, and is sufficiently mixed, so that no dot-like marks of the sublimable dye are generated.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the color image transfer method according to the fourth aspect, the surface of the receiving layer is polished to have a smooth surface.

According to the present invention, since the transfer is performed after the upper surface of the receiving layer is polished and finished to a smooth surface, it is possible to transfer a color image without unevenness.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a transfer film sheet and a transfer method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a transfer film sheet of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a method of forming the transfer film sheet, and FIG. 3 is a method of transferring the transfer film sheet to a display plate as an object to be transferred using the transfer film sheet. An explanatory diagram showing
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the display panel transferred and formed according to FIG. Since the same transfer device as that used in the conventional method is used, the description will be given with the same reference numerals. Also,
A display plate is used as the transfer object as in the conventional example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer film sheet 21 of the present invention allows a sublimable dye ink to penetrate under heat and pressure into a transparent film sheet main body 22 in a vaporized state to produce a color image. 23 are formed. As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer film sheet 21 has a transparent film sheet main body 22 mounted on the mounting tool 11 and an image formed by printing an image with a sublimable dye ink thereon.
2, and is formed by pressing the transfer paper 12 with the pressing tool 13. To transfer the image of the transfer paper 12 to the film sheet body 22, the film sheet body 22 is heated to a temperature near the softening point of the resin component contained therein, and the transfer paper 12 is pressed at a constant pressure. The sublimation dye ink printed on the transfer paper 12 is vaporized, and the vaporized sublimation dye ink penetrates into the film sheet body 22. The above-mentioned heating and pressurizing are necessary to make the sublimable dye penetrate deep inside the film sheet main body 22, weaken the intermolecular bonds of the film sheet main body 22, and vaporize the sublimable dye in the intermolecular gap. To make it easier to penetrate. When the film sheet main body 22 is returned to normal temperature after the transfer formation, the transfer film sheet 21 on which the color image 23 formed by the sublimable dye as shown in FIG. 1 is completed. As described above, the transfer film sheet 21 formed by infiltrating the sublimable dye by heating and pressing once has strong intermolecular bonds in the resin even when the temperature is returned to normal temperature. The components of the formed sublimable dye do not easily come off.

The film sheet body 22 as a material of the transfer film sheet 21 is made of a transparent polyethylene resin,
It is made of a resin component such as polycarbonate resin, nitrocellulose resin, nitrofuron resin, acrylic resin, and polypropylene resin, and has a glossy and smooth surface. The resin forming the film sheet main body 22 is not limited to the above-mentioned resins, and any other resin having a relatively high heat resistance can be selected. To improve. Note that a resin having water repellency, such as a fluorine-based resin, is not preferable. The film sheet body 22 is selected to have a thickness in the range of 25 to 50 μm. Here, when the thickness of the film sheet main body 22 becomes thinner than 25 μm, the paper pattern of the fine irregularities of the transfer paper 12 is largely transferred to the film sheet main body 22 side at the time of transfer, and the transfer film sheet 21 to be described later During the transfer, the uneven pattern may be transferred to the object to be transferred.

The transfer paper 12 is made of the same material as that described in the prior art, and forms a color image by printing using an ink jet printer or the like using a sublimable dye ink.

Next, a method of transferring and forming a color image on the display panel 1 as shown in FIG. 3 using the formed transfer film sheet 21 will be described. First, the display panel 1 is mounted on the mounting tool 11. This display plate 1 has a receiving layer 3 on which a color image is formed on the upper surface of a metal substrate 2. The metal substrate 2 can be selected from various metal materials such as aluminum, brass, and iron, and has been subjected to surface treatment such as plating or painting for the purpose of rust prevention or decoration. The receiving layer 3 is formed by printing or painting using a coating material in which an ultraviolet absorber is dispersed in polyurethane resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin, acrylic resin, or the like. Further, the upper surface 3a of the receiving layer 3 is finished to a glossy and smooth surface by polishing.

Next, the transfer film sheet 21 positioned on the display panel 1 is overlaid,
Further, in an environment in which the display plate 1 is heated at a constant temperature, the transfer is performed by pressing the whole with the pressing tool 13. The transfer conditions such as the heating temperature and the pressing force are the same as in the conventional method.

By adopting such a transfer method,
The vaporized sublimable dye forming the color image 23 of the transfer film sheet 21 permeates the receiving layer 3 as it is, and an image similar to the color image 23 formed on the transfer film sheet 21 is displayed on the display panel shown in FIG. The image is reproduced as a color image 23A in one receiving layer 3. Further, since the sublimable dye printed on the transfer film sheet 21 is sufficiently mixed with the color image 23A and is transferred under heat and pressure, the sublimable dye is mixed appropriately and a dot-like mark is formed. Does not occur at all.

Here, the thickness of the transfer film sheet 21 has a great influence on the quality of the transferred color image. As a result of various experiments, a thickness of 25 to 50 μm was found to be a suitable thickness range. If the thickness is less than 25 μm, the paper pattern of the transfer paper may be transferred to the transfer film sheet 21 and further transferred to the receiving layer 3 as described above. On the other hand, if the thickness is more than 50 μm, the sublimable dye ink remains in the transfer film sheet 21, causing a problem that the color tone of the color image formed on the receiving layer 3 lacks sharpness.

Further, since the upper surface 3a of the receiving layer 3 is polished and finished to a smooth surface, the transfer is performed at a constant pressing force on any portion of the upper surface 3a, so that unevenness in the transfer color tone does not occur. Further, since the smooth upper surface 3a of the receiving layer 3 is in contact with the smooth transfer film sheet 21, the smooth surface is maintained even after pressurization, and a smooth and clean surface is maintained.

Further, since this transfer method does not directly transfer from the transfer paper 12 to the receiving layer 3 of the display panel 1, it occurs when a color image is formed by a slight uneven pattern of the transfer paper 12 itself or an ink jet printer or the like. Dot marks do not appear on the receiving layer 3. Further, in the conventional method of directly copying from the transfer paper 12, it is necessary to transfer to the receiving layer 3 immediately after forming a color image on the transfer paper 12. This is because the sublimable dye ink printed on the transfer paper 12 is liable to be vaporized with the passage of time, and the sublimable dye ink is susceptible to ultraviolet rays, so that the sublimable dye ink easily deteriorates quickly. Therefore, in the present invention, since the transfer film sheet 21 is formed and stocked in a lump, and can be transferred to various display plates whenever necessary, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the embodiment described above, the display panel using a metal plate as an object to be transferred has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other parts not using a metal plate. In such a case, a color image can be transferred directly to the molding surface using the transfer film sheet.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By forming a transfer film sheet on which a color image of a sublimable dye is transferred from a transfer paper on which a color image has been applied under a constant heating and pressurization, it is possible to stock the original color tone for a long period of time. became. For this reason, a transfer film sheet can be prepared and stored in a lump, and can be transferred to various display panels or the like as needed, so that manufacturing costs can be reduced.

Further, since the transfer film sheet is a glossy and smooth surface sheet, the surface of the display panel can be finely finished without damaging the surface when the receiving layer is pressed.

The transfer film sheet has a thickness of 25 to
Since the thickness is in the range of 50 μm, the sublimable dye can be held sufficiently inside, and the sublimable dye can quickly penetrate into the receptor layer even when heated and pressed.

Further, since the transfer is performed after the upper surface of the receiving layer is polished and finished to a smooth surface, it is possible to transfer a color image without unevenness.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the surface polishing work for removing the paper pattern traces of the transfer paper and the reheating work for eliminating the dot-like traces, which are required in the conventional transfer method. As a result, production costs can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of a transfer film sheet of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a method of forming the transfer film sheet shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a transfer method using the transfer film sheet shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the display panel formed by the transfer method shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a conventional transfer method.

6 is a cross-sectional view of a display plate on which a color image is formed with a sublimable dye in the transfer method shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display board 2 Metal substrate 3 Reception layer 3a Upper surface 21 Transfer film sheet 22 Film sheet main body 23 Color image 23A Color image

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A transfer film sheet obtained by transferring a color image of a transfer paper formed with a sublimable dye ink onto a transparent film sheet under heat and pressure. 2. The transparent film sheet according to claim 2, wherein
2. The transfer film sheet according to claim 1, having a thickness of 0 [mu] m. 3. The transparent film sheet is a film sheet formed of one or more resins selected from polyethylene resin, polycarbonate resin, nitrocellulose resin, nitrofuron resin, acrylic resin and polypropylene resin. The transfer film sheet according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A method for transferring a color image of a transfer paper formed by a sublimable dye ink to an object under heat and pressure, wherein the transfer paper is formed into a transparent film sheet under heat and pressure. Transfer the color image, place the film sheet on which the color image is transferred on the transfer object on which the receiving layer is formed,
A method for transferring a color image, wherein the film sheet is transferred to an object by heating and pressing. 5. The color image transfer method according to claim 4, wherein the surface of said receiving layer is polished to a smooth surface.