JP2002264591A - Manufacturing method for transfer foil, production unit therefor, and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a forming method for transfer foil image, in which needless scrap material is not produced and hot-stamp can be easily carried out, and a transfer foil production unit suitable for the method. SOLUTION: The transfer foil manufacturing method is to manufacture an image-like transfer foil by detaching unnecessary portion not used for the image from a transfer foil stock roll. Adhesive layers are formed in the fashion of an image on a transfer medium, which transfers unnecessary portions from the transfer foil stock roll so as to transfer the unnecessary portions from the transfer foil stock roll by contacting the transfer medium and the transfer foil stock roll with each other and then remove the adhesive layer and the transferred transfer foil from the transfer medium.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing a transfer foil used in a hot stamping method, and more particularly, to a method and a method for producing a transfer foil in which an image is hot stamped without using a mold. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hot stamping is a decoration method used for packaging materials for foods, medicines, cosmetics, miscellaneous goods, book binding, stationery, automobile interior materials, electric appliance exteriors, leather products, and the like. Usually, a method is employed in which a transfer mold processed into a desired print pattern is heated, and the hot stamping transfer foil is pressed against the medium to be transferred by the heated mold.

A transfer foil for hot stamping is a kind of a so-called thermal transfer material comprising a base material, a release layer, a coloring layer, and an adhesive layer. Unlike a thermal transfer printer ribbon using a thermal head, the transfer foil has a decorative effect. In some cases, a protective layer or an intermediate layer is provided, or a special material is added to each layer, which requires high transfer energy, and it is difficult to form an image by a simple method such as a thermal transfer printer. Was.

Therefore, as described in JP-A-11-198592, an unnecessary portion of an image is extracted with a hot stamping extraction ribbon provided with a heat-resistant layer and a wax layer, and the image is hot-imaged without using a mold. A method of performing stamping has been proposed.

[0005] However, in this method, since a newly extracted ribbon is newly generated as a waste material, there has been a problem that environmental suitability is inferior and running cost is relatively high.

[0006]

That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a transfer foil which can be easily hot-stamped without generating unnecessary waste material. An apparatus and a transfer foil image forming method are provided.

[0007]

The above object has been attained by the following constitution.

(1) A method for producing an image-like transfer foil by extracting unnecessary portions from the transfer foil raw material that are not used for an image, comprising the steps of: An adhesive layer is formed like an image, the transfer medium is brought into contact with the transfer foil raw material, and unnecessary portions are transferred from the transfer foil raw material to the transfer medium, and the adhesive layer and the transfer foil are transferred from the transfer medium. And a method for producing a transfer foil.

(2) A transfer foil manufacturing apparatus for extracting unnecessary portions not used for an image from a transfer foil raw material and manufacturing an image-like transfer foil, which is used repeatedly to transfer unnecessary portions from the transfer foil raw material. A transfer medium, an adhesive layer forming means for forming an adhesive layer imagewise of an unnecessary portion on the transfer medium, and contacting the transfer medium with the adhesive layer formed with the transfer foil raw material to transfer the unnecessary portion to the transfer medium. And a cleaning means for removing the adhesive layer formed on the transfer medium and the transferred transfer foil.

(3) The transfer foil raw material comprises at least a base material, a release layer, a colored layer, and an adhesive layer, and the thickness of the portion excluding the base material is 1 μm or more and 100 μm or less, and The method for producing a transfer foil according to (1), wherein the contacted portion is separated from the interface between the substrate and the release layer.

(4) The method for producing a transfer foil according to (1) or (3), wherein the application of the adhesive layer is performed by an ink jet method.

(5) The transfer foil manufacturing apparatus according to (2), wherein the cleaning means is scraping by a cleaning blade formed of a rubber elastic body.

(6) The image-like transfer foil obtained by the method for producing a transfer foil according to any one of the above (1), (3) and (4) is heated or heated in a flat or roll form on a transfer object. A transfer foil image forming method in which a desired pattern is decorated by pressing with a pressing member.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. The transfer medium for hot stamping of the present invention has a cylindrical shape or an annular belt shape. After transferring an unnecessary image portion from a transfer foil material to the transfer medium, the transfer foil is used as a hot stamp and formed on the transfer medium. The applied adhesive layer and the transfer foil adhered and transferred to the adhesive layer are cleaned by the cleaning means and used repeatedly. As the material used for the transfer medium, various materials such as metal, resin, and rubber can be used.

A known transfer foil for hot stamping can be used as the transfer foil material. Usually, a transfer foil has a release layer, a colored layer, and an adhesive layer formed on a substrate in this order, and the colored layer includes a pigment-containing layer, a vapor-deposited metal layer, and the like. The release layer is intended to improve the adhesiveness of the transfer foil to an object, and the release layer is a layer that facilitates peeling of the part from the base material when heat is applied. [Adhesive Layer Forming Step] The adhesive layer forming step of the present invention is a step of forming a layer having an adhesive force enough to remove the transfer foil like a negative image of a desired pattern. The method for forming the adhesive layer includes the following method.

The adhesive layer contains an adhesive or a pressure-sensitive adhesive as a component, and has a function of removing a portion unnecessary for an image from the substrate in contact with the transfer foil material. Examples of the adhesive include a thermoplastic adhesive, a hot melt adhesive, a rubber adhesive, and the like, preferably a hot melt adhesive, and more preferably an aqueous hot melt adhesive.

The adhesive may contain a tackifier, a wax, a plasticizer, a filler, an antioxidant, and the like, in addition to a thermoplastic resin, a hot melt resin, and a rubber resin, which are main components.

As a method for forming an adhesive layer imagewise, a method for forming an image of a toner containing an adhesive component by electrophotography,
Dissolve the adhesive component in a solvent or melt it with heat to make it liquid, and then use an inkjet method to form an image, or apply a thermoplastic or hot melt adhesive over the entire width of the transfer medium, and use a thermal head to And the like.

Of these, a method of forming an image by an ink jet method is preferred from the viewpoint of simplicity of equipment.

At the point where the adhesive layer comes into contact with the transfer medium, it is preferable to apply pressure by providing a pair of rolls or the like. If necessary, a heat roll or the like may be provided to heat the adhesive layer.

The cleaning step of the present invention includes a step of removing the adhesive layer formed on the transfer medium and the transfer foil that has been removed from the transfer medium. Specifically, for example, a method including applying a liquid containing a solvent that dissolves the adhesive layer onto the transfer medium and scraping off the deposit with a sponge roll, a brush roll, a blade, or the like can be employed.

As the blade, a rubbery elastic body, preferably polyurethane rubber is used. Specifically, a reaction product of polycaprolactone ester and polyisocyanate, a reaction product of adipic acid-based polyester and polyisocyanate, a reaction product of alkanedicarboxylic acid polyester and polyisocyanate, an isocyanate-containing pseudo-prepolymer and a polyol-based curing agent, etc. No. The hardness of the blade is preferably from 40 to 85 ° on a JIS A scale.
The angle at which the blade is installed is preferably set to an angle of 90 to 180 ° when the state in which the tip is oriented in the direction of travel in parallel with the tangent to the transfer medium is 0 °.

As a method of applying a liquid containing a solvent that dissolves the adhesive layer on the transfer medium, a known coating method is used, and examples thereof include a gravure printing method, a screen printing method, a roll coating method, and a nozzle spraying method. Can be

It is preferable to add a surfactant to the liquid containing the solvent for imparting wettability.

[0025]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
However, the present invention is not limited to these.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a transfer foil manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, an adhesive layer 10 based on negative image information is formed on the surface of a transfer medium drum 1 by an ink jet unit 4, and a transfer foil is placed between the transfer medium drum 1 on which the adhesive layer is formed and a pair of rollers 2. The transfer foil corresponding to the adhesive layer formed on the transfer medium drum 1 is pulled out by passing the transfer foil raw material 3 with the 31 side as the transfer medium surface, and the transfer foil base 30 has a positive image. The transfer foil 31 remains, and the transfer foil is used as a hot stamp.

On the other hand, the adhesive layer formed on the transfer medium and the extracted transfer foil are swollen or dissolved by the cleaning agent supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit 5, and are scraped by a scraping blade 6 as a scraping means. And a clean transfer medium surface is formed again and can be reused.

As the scraping means, means such as a scraping wire, a roller or a brush, or a combination thereof may be used in addition to the scraping blades exemplified above.

[0029]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. Transfer Medium Drum The following intermediate layer and protective layer were dip-coated on a cylindrical aluminum drum having a diameter of 15 cm and a cylinder length of 10.16 cm, and dried to obtain a transfer medium drum.

Intermediate layer: polyamide resin (CM-8000 manufactured by Toray Industries) 30 g methanol 1000 ml protective layer: polycarbonate (Panlite TS-2050 manufactured by Teijin Limited) 160 g silicone oil (KF-54 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 0.4 g silicone fine particles Tospearl (volume average particle size: 0.5 μm) (manufactured by Toshiba Silicone Co., Ltd.) 80 g Methylene chloride 1200 ml Transfer foil manufacturing equipment A 300 dpi solid inkjet unit equipped with a heater on the outer periphery of the transfer medium drum (dpi: 2.
(Representing the number of dots per 54 cm) in the width direction according to the cylinder length. The distance between the unit and the roller is
Calculated from the rotation speed of the drum, it was set so as to pass through the paired rollers 3.0 seconds after the ink landed.

A pair of rollers was set so that a pressure of 9.8 × 10 ⁴ Pa was applied to the transfer medium drum. An adhesive cleaning unit having a cleaning liquid supply roll disposed downstream of the pair of rollers was installed, and further downstream of the stainless steel arm, a blade having polyurethane rubber disposed at the tip was installed at an angle of 150 °. As a cleaning solution, a solution prepared by adding 0.1 g of sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate to 1 L of pure water was used, and the supply amount was 20 ml / m ² . Transfer foil raw material A coating solution obtained by dissolving 5 parts (parts by mass, the same applies hereinafter) of paraffin wax in a solvent consisting of 100 parts of petroleum naphtha is applied to a 12 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate film, and then dried and coated to a thickness of 0.3 μm. A release agent layer was formed. Next, polyurethane resin paint (solid content 15%
A coating solution obtained by mixing 6 parts of a natural protein fiber (collagen) with 100 parts of the coating solution was applied and dried to form a protective layer having a thickness of 15 μm. Next, a coating solution obtained by dissolving 100 parts of an acrylic resin-based adhesive (solid content: 40%) in a mixed solvent of 100 parts of methyl ethyl ketone and 100 parts of toluene is applied and dried to form an adhesive layer having a thickness of about 1 μm. The transfer foil raw material was obtained. Transfer foil production Set the water-soluble hot melt adhesive in the ink jet unit, with the adhesive layer side of the transfer foil raw material in contact with the transfer medium drum, and the transfer foil raw material set to be sandwiched between the transfer medium and the roll. Heat and melt at 160 ° C. to form an adhesive layer like a negative image of the desired image pattern, contact the transfer foil at the point of passing through the pair roll, and then apply the cleaning agent supplied from the roll coating unit. , Scraped with a blade. The processing was performed continuously, and the transfer medium was rotated 1000 times to obtain a desired transfer foil.

The transfer foil was transferred to the coated paper by a heat roll at 160 ° C., and a good transfer foil product was obtained over the entire process from the beginning to the end of the treatment.

[0033]

According to the present invention, a transfer foil image which can be easily hot-stamped without generating unnecessary waste material can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a transfer foil manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer medium drum 2 Roller 3 Transfer foil raw material 4 Inkjet unit 5 Cleaning liquid supply unit 6 Scraping blade

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A transfer foil manufacturing method for extracting an unnecessary portion not used for an image from a transfer foil raw material and manufacturing an image-like transfer foil, wherein an image is transferred to a transfer medium for transferring the unnecessary portion from the transfer foil raw material. An adhesive layer is formed in the same manner as above, the transfer medium and the transfer foil raw material are brought into contact with each other, and unnecessary portions are transferred from the transfer foil raw material to the transfer medium. A method for producing a transfer foil, comprising: removing the transfer foil. 2. A transfer foil manufacturing apparatus for extracting an unnecessary portion not used for an image from a transfer foil raw material and manufacturing an image-like transfer foil, which is used repeatedly and transfers an unnecessary portion from the transfer foil raw material. Medium, an adhesive layer forming means for forming an adhesive layer imagewise of an unnecessary portion on the transfer medium, and contacting the transfer medium with the adhesive layer formed with the transfer foil raw material to convert the unnecessary portion to the transfer medium. An apparatus for producing a transfer foil, comprising: a transfer means for transferring; and a cleaning means for removing an adhesive layer formed on a transfer medium and the transferred transfer foil. 3. The transfer foil raw material comprises at least a substrate, a release layer, a colored layer, and an adhesive layer. The thickness of a portion excluding the substrate is 1 μm or more and 100 μm or less, and the transfer foil is in contact with the adhesive layer. The method for producing a transfer foil according to claim 1, wherein the removed portion is separated from an interface between the substrate and the release layer. 4. The method for producing a transfer foil according to claim 1, wherein the application of the adhesive layer is performed by an ink jet method. 5. The transfer foil manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning means is scraping by a cleaning blade formed of a rubber elastic body. 6. An image-like transfer foil obtained by the method for producing a transfer foil according to any one of claims 1, 3, and 4 is pressed against a transfer object by a flat or roll-shaped heating or pressing member, A transfer foil image forming method for decorating a desired pattern.