JP2003175699A - Intermediate transfer recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intermediate transfer recording medium which eliminates the problem of blocking and which has excellent releasability. <P>SOLUTION: The intermediate transfer recording medium comprises a sheet base having a resin layer, a transparent sheet having a receiving layer laminated on the sheet base so that the resin layer and the transparent sheet are superposed. The resin layer and the transparent sheet are released so that the transparent sheet with the receiving layer is transferred to a material to be transferred. The resin layer has one or more layers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an intermediate transfer recording medium for forming an image on a transfer medium, and more particularly, when the image is formed on the transfer medium using the intermediate transfer recording medium. An intermediate transfer recording medium capable of forming a protective layer on the protective layer and imparting durability to the image, and also capable of transferring the protective layer onto the image accurately and quickly, and an image using the same. It relates to a forming method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various thermal transfer recording methods are known in the prior art. In this method, a thermal transfer recording method in which a colored transfer layer is formed on a base material sheet is performed from the rear side of the thermal transfer sheet. An image is formed by heating the colored transfer layer on the surface of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet by heating it in an image by a head or the like.

This thermal transfer method is roughly classified into a sublimation transfer type and a thermal fusion transfer type, depending on the structure of the colored transfer layer. Both systems are capable of forming full-color images. For example, three or four color thermal transfer sheets of yellow, magenta, cyan and, if necessary, black are prepared, and each color is formed on the surface of the same thermal transfer image receiving sheet. The images are overlaid and transferred by heat to form a full-color image.

Due to the development of various hardware and software related to multimedia, this thermal transfer method can be applied to full color hardware of analog images such as computer graphics, still images by satellite communication, and digital images and video represented by CDROM and others. The market is expanding as a copy system.

The specific applications of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet by this thermal transfer method are various. Typical examples include printing proofs, image output, and CAD / CAN.
Such as design and output of design, various medical analysis equipment such as CT scan and endoscopic camera, output of measuring equipment, and as an alternative to instant photo, as well as ID card, ID card, credit card, etc. It can be used to output facial photographs on cards, composite photographs at amusement facilities such as amusement parks, game centers, museums, and aquariums, and use as commemorative photographs.

With the diversification of applications as described above, there is an increasing demand for forming a thermal transfer image on an arbitrary object, and as one of the demands, an intermediate transfer in which a receptive layer is removably provided on a substrate is provided. A thermal transfer sheet having a dye layer is used to transfer and form a dye image on the receiving layer of the recording medium, and then the intermediate transfer recording medium is heated to transfer the receiving layer onto which the image has been transferred to a transfer target. A transfer method has been proposed (JP-A-62-238791).

When an image is formed by a sublimation transfer type thermal transfer sheet, a gradation image such as a facial photograph can be formed precisely, but unlike an image formed by a normal printing ink, weather resistance, abrasion resistance, There is a problem that durability such as chemical resistance is insufficient.

As a solution, a protective layer heat transfer film having a heat transferable resin layer is superposed on the heat transfer image,
A thermal transfer resin layer having transparency is transferred using a thermal head, a heating roll or the like to form a protective layer on an image.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-41441, a receptive layer is provided on a releasable transparent base material, an image is formed on the receptive layer, and then the transparent base material and It describes an intermediate transfer recording medium having high durability, which is formed by a method of transferring by contacting with a transfer target.

These conventionally proposed intermediate transfer recording media are useful in terms of improving durability, but the problems peculiar to the use of the intermediate transfer recording media have been solved. The current situation is that there are none.

That is, the intermediate transfer recording medium is usually used in a state of being wound into a roll,
In that case, a blocking problem may occur between the sheet substrate side and the transparent sheet side of the medium. In particular, in an intermediate transfer recording medium in which the transparent sheet portion including the receiving layer is subjected to half-cut processing, a portion where an image is not formed is removed from the half-cut processing portion. When rolled into a roll in the removed state, blocking easily occurs between the sheet base material side and the transparent sheet side, which may make it difficult to unwind. Further, in such an intermediate transfer medium, since a wider range is printed than a range to be actually retransferred to an adherend, the outermost surface of the resin layer formed on the sheet base material is required to have releasability from the thermal transfer sheet. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. It does not cause a blocking problem and is excellent in releasability when unwinding, and releasability to a thermal transfer sheet at the time of printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent intermediate transfer recording medium.

[0013]

In order to solve the above problems, an intermediate transfer recording medium according to the present invention comprises a sheet base material provided with a resin layer and a transparent sheet provided with a receiving layer, wherein the resin An intermediate transfer recording medium in which a layer and the transparent sheet are laminated so as to overlap with each other, and the transparent layer with a receiving layer is transferred to a transfer target by peeling between the resin layer and the transparent sheet. The resin layer is composed of one or more layers.

In a preferred embodiment of the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention, the resin layer comprises a polyolefin resin laminated on a sheet substrate by an extrusion coating method, and more preferably the polyolefin resin has a low density. Made of polyethylene.

In the above preferred embodiment, the temperature under the die during extrusion of low density polyethylene can be appropriately selected depending on the apparatus used, but it is usually 300 to 310.
C. or lower is preferable, and more preferably 295.degree. C. or lower.

In another preferred embodiment, the polyolefin resin is medium density polyethylene.

Further, in a preferred aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned resin layer is the first resin layer from the transparent sheet side,
It is composed of two layers of a second resin layer, and the first resin layer is mainly composed of acrylic resin. Also in this case,
The second resin layer is preferably an adhesive layer.

In another preferred aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the resin layer is formed by forming a first resin layer, a second resin layer, and a third resin layer in this order.

Further, in another embodiment of the present invention, the transparent sheet portion including the receiving layer may be subjected to a half cut treatment.

Further, in this case, the non-image forming portion of the transparent sheet including the receiving layer subjected to the half-cut treatment may be removed in advance.

The present invention includes a printing method including a step of printing an area larger than a patch portion for forming an image when using the above-mentioned intermediate transfer recording medium.

As described above, in the intermediate transfer recording medium according to the present invention, the sheet base material provided with the resin layer and the transparent sheet provided with the receiving layer are laminated so that the resin layer and the transparent sheet are overlapped with each other. In the intermediate transfer recording medium in which the transparent sheet having a receiving layer is transferred to the transfer target by peeling between the resin layer and the transparent sheet, the resin layer is composed of one or more layers, Since the resin layer is composed of a polyolefin resin laminated on a sheet base material by an extrusion coating method, even when used in a wound state, without causing a problem of blocking,
In addition, it is possible to provide an intermediate transfer recording medium which has excellent releasability when unwinding and excellent releasability with respect to a thermal transfer sheet during printing.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In an intermediate transfer recording medium according to the present invention, a sheet base material provided with a resin layer and a transparent sheet provided with a receiving layer are laminated so that the resin layer and the transparent sheet are overlapped with each other. An intermediate transfer recording medium in which a transparent sheet having a receiving layer is transferred onto a transfer target by peeling between the resin layer and the transparent sheet, and the resin layer is composed of one or more layers. Is characterized by.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an intermediate transfer recording medium according to the present invention. A long intermediate transfer recording medium 1 has a rectangular shape (the four corners are rounded). ), A region 7 to be transferred to the transfer target is formed, and a removed portion 8 exists with a predetermined width around the outer edge of the region 7, and the region 7 and the removed portion 8 flow. It is repeatedly provided in the direction.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the position shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, in which a sheet base material 4 provided with a resin layer 5 and a transparent sheet 2 provided with a receiving layer 3 are laminated. The intermediate transfer recording medium 1 in which the transparent sheet having the receiving layer is transferred to the transfer target by peeling between the resin layer 5 and the transparent sheet 2.
Then, the transparent sheet 2 part including the receiving layer 3 is subjected to a half-cut 6 treatment of a specific shape, and is removed with a predetermined width around the outer edge of the region 7 to be transferred to the transfer target. Have a part.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the intermediate transfer recording medium according to the present invention, in which an elongated intermediate transfer recording medium 1 is rectangular (with four corners having rounded corners). Area 7 to be transferred to the transfer body is repeatedly formed in the flow direction, and around the outer edge of the area 7,
There is a removed portion 8 with a predetermined width, and the removed portions 8 adjacent to each other are continuously connected in the flow direction by the connecting portion 9, so that the removed portion 8 is removed. Can be performed continuously and efficiently. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the intermediate transfer recording medium according to the present invention, which is a sheet substrate 4 provided with a resin layer 5.
And the receptive layer 3 provided on one surface of the transparent sheet 2, and the other surface of the transparent sheet 2 subjected to the mold release treatment 10 are laminated, and the resin layer 5 and the surface of the mold release treatment 10 are laminated. It is an intermediate transfer recording medium 1 that is peeled off between the receiving layer 3 and the release treatment 1.
The transparent sheet 2 part including the 0 part has a removed portion indicated by 8 with a predetermined width around the outer edge of the region 7 to be transferred to the transferred body by the half cut 6 process.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a continuous winding state of the intermediate transfer recording medium according to the present invention, in which an identification mark 11 for detecting the half-cut 6 processing portion is provided. By detecting the identification mark, a transparent sheet with a receptive layer on which an image is formed is transferred to a transfer target, or by detecting the identification mark, an image is formed on the receptive layer at a predetermined position. It is possible. The detection mark for image formation may be provided separately from the above identification mark.

(Transparent Sheet) In the transparent sheet 2 used in the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention, the transparent sheet portion is cut with the half-cut processed portion as a boundary, and the transparent sheet covers the image forming portion. After transfer, the transparent sheet functions as a protective layer.

The material is not particularly limited as long as it has transparency and durability such as weather resistance, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, etc., for example, 0.5 to 100 μm, preferably 10
Polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of about 40 μm, 1,4-polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate film, polyethylene naphthalate film, polyphenylene sulfide film, polystyrene film, polypropylene film, polysulfone film, aramid film, polycarbonate film,
Examples thereof include polyvinyl alcohol film, cellophane, cellulose derivatives such as cellulose acetate, polyethylene film, polyvinyl chloride film, nylon film, polyimide film, ionomer film and the like.

(Releasing Treatment) A releasing treatment 10 may be applied to the side of the transparent sheet facing the resin layer to facilitate peeling between the resin layer and the transparent sheet.

The release treatment 8 is to provide a release layer on the transparent sheet, and includes waxes, silicone wax, silicone resin, fluororesin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, cellulose derivative resin, and the like. A coating solution containing a copolymer of a resin group is applied by a conventionally known gravure printing method, a screen printing method, a forming means such as a reverse roll coating method using a gravure plate, dried, and formed. You can The thickness of the release layer is about 0.1 to 10 μm in a dry state.

(Receiving Layer) The receiving layer 3 formed on the transparent sheet can be formed directly on the transparent sheet or via a primer layer. The receiving layer 3 is
The constitution of the receiving layer is different due to the difference in each recording method between the thermal fusion transfer recording and the sublimation transfer recording. Further, in the thermal fusion transfer recording, the colored transfer layer can be directly thermally transferred from the thermal transfer sheet to the transparent sheet without providing the receiving layer. The receiving layer for heat-melt transfer recording and sublimation transfer recording has a function of receiving a coloring material transferred from a heat transfer sheet by heating, and particularly in the case of a sublimable dye, at the same time as receiving and developing a color. It is desirable that the dye once received is not sublimated.

A transfer image is formed on a receiving layer by using an intermediate transfer recording medium, and only the image-formed portion is retransferred to a transfer target to form an image. The receiving layer of the present invention It is common to provide transparency so that the image transferred to the transfer target can be clearly observed from above. However, it is also possible to artificially make the receptor layer cloudy or tinted to characterize the retransfer image.

The receiving layer is generally composed mainly of a thermoplastic resin. Examples of the material for forming the receiving layer include polyolefin resins such as polypropylene, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymers, halogenated polymers such as polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl acetate, and polyacryl. Examples include polyester resins such as esters, polystyrene resins, polyamide resins, copolymer resins of olefins such as nylene and propylene with other vinyl monomers, ionomers, cellulose resins such as cellulose diacetate, and polycarbonate resins. Among them, polyester resins, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymers and mixtures thereof are particularly preferable.

In the sublimation transfer recording, a release agent is used in the sublimation transfer recording for the purpose of preventing fusion between the thermal transfer sheet having the colored transfer layer and the receiving layer of the intermediate transfer recording medium or lowering of printing sensitivity during image formation. Can be mixed. As a preferable release agent to be mixed and used, silicone oil,
Phosphate ester-based surfactants, fluorine-based surfactants and the like can be mentioned, and among them, silicone oil is preferable. As the silicone oil, modified silicone oils such as epoxy modified, vinyl modified, alkyl modified, amino modified, carboxyl modified, alcohol modified, fluorine modified, alkylaralkyl polyether modified, epoxy / polyether modified, and polyether modified are desirable.

As the release agent, one type or two or more types are used. Also, the amount of the release agent added is the same as the resin 1 for forming the receiving layer
0.5 to 30 parts by weight is preferable with respect to 00 parts by weight. If the addition amount range is not satisfied, problems such as fusion between the sublimation type thermal transfer sheet and the receiving layer of the intermediate transfer recording medium or reduction in printing sensitivity may occur. By adding such a releasing agent to the receiving layer, the releasing agent bleeds out on the surface of the receiving layer after transfer to form a releasing layer. Further, these release agents may be separately coated on the receiving layer without adding to the receiving layer.

The receptive layer is a dispersion prepared by dissolving a resin obtained by adding the above-mentioned resin and other necessary additives such as a releasing agent on a transparent sheet in a suitable organic solvent, or dispersing it in an organic solvent or water. By a known forming means such as gravure coat, gravure reverse coat, roll coat, etc., and dried,
It is formed.

In forming the above-mentioned receiving layer, the receiving layer may have any thickness, but it is generally 1 to 50 μm in a dry state.
Is the thickness of.

Further, such a receiving layer is preferably a continuous coating, but it may be formed as a discontinuous coating by using a resin emulsion or a water-soluble resin or a resin dispersion liquid. Further, an antistatic agent may be coated on the receiving layer in order to stabilize the transportation of the thermal transfer printer.

(Sheet base material) The sheet base material 4 used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include condenser paper, glassine paper, sulfuric acid paper, or paper with a high degree of size, synthetic paper (polyolefin-based, polystyrene-based). ), Fine paper, art paper, coated paper, cast coated paper, wallpaper,
Backing paper, synthetic resin or emulsion impregnated paper, synthetic rubber latex impregnated paper, synthetic resin internal paper, paperboard, etc., cellulose fiber paper, or polyester, polyacrylate, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyimide, polyetherimide, cellulose derivative, polyethylene,
Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polypropylene, polystyrene, acrylic, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral,
Nylon, polyetheretherketone, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkylvinylnitel, polyvinylfluoride, tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene, tetrafluoroethylene / hexafluoropropylene, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, poly Examples thereof include films of vinylidene fluoride.

The sheet base material preferably has a thickness of 10 μm to 100 μm. If the sheet base material is too thin, the obtained intermediate transfer recording medium loses its so-called stiffness and cannot be conveyed by a thermal transfer printer or curled to the intermediate transfer recording medium. Or wrinkles may occur. On the other hand, if the sheet base material is too thick, the resulting intermediate transfer recording medium becomes too thick, and the force for driving and conveying by the thermal transfer printer becomes too large,
The printer may malfunction or may not be transported properly.

(Resin Layer) The present invention is characterized in that the resin layer 5 provided on the sheet substrate is composed of one or more layers.

In a preferred embodiment of the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention, the resin layer comprises a polyolefin resin laminated on a sheet base material by an extrusion coating method, and more preferably the polyolefin resin has a low density. Made of polyethylene.

Here, in the present invention, the "extrusion coating method" means that a resin pellet or powder is supplied from a hopper and is extruded in a film form from a T-die while being heated and kneaded by a screw so as to be formed on a sheet substrate. It means a coating method including a step of laminating. In addition, this method includes a mode in which two types of or two sheet base materials are extruded to stick the two sheet base materials to each other.

The low density polyethylene preferably used in the present invention has a density of 0.93 g / cm3.
It means the following: The under-die temperature during extrusion of low-density polyethylene may be appropriately selected depending on the apparatus used, but is usually preferably 300 to 310 ° C. or lower, and more preferably 2
It is 95 ° C or lower.

In another preferred embodiment, the polyolefin resin is medium density polyethylene. In this case, medium density polyethylene has a density of 0.93 g /
It means that the content is from cm3 to 0.94 g / cm3.

Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned resin layer is the first resin layer from the transparent sheet side,
It is composed of two layers of a second resin layer, and the first resin layer is mainly composed of acrylic resin. Also in this case,
The second resin layer is preferably an adhesive layer.

In another preferred aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the resin layer is formed by forming a first resin layer, a second resin layer and a third resin layer in this order.

As described above, in the present invention, the EC layer (extrusion coating layer) can be provided on the sheet substrate as the resin layer. The thermoplastic resin forming the EC layer is not particularly adhered to the transparent sheet and is not particularly limited as long as it is a resin having an extrusion (extrusion) processing property. In particular, a polyolefin resin, which has no essential adhesiveness and is excellent in processability, is particularly preferable. Specifically, in addition to LDPE and MDPE as described above, HDPE,
PP resin or the like can be used. Further, by using a mat roll as a cooling roll during extrusion coating of these resins, the mat surface can be transferred to the EC layer surface to form a fine uneven shape, and the EC layer can be formed. It is also possible to add opacity.

An opaque EC layer can be formed by kneading a white pigment such as calcium carbonate or titanium oxide into the above polyolefin resin.

The EC layer does not have to be a single layer and may be formed of two or more layers.

The peel strength from the transparent sheet can be adjusted by the processing temperature at the time of extrusion processing and the resin type.

As described above, at the same time when the EC layer is extruded on the sheet base material, the sheet base material and the transparent sheet can be laminated via the EC layer by so-called EC lamination.

(Primer Layer) When a resin layer is provided on the above-mentioned sheet base material, a primer layer can be provided on the surface of the sheet base material to improve the adhesiveness between the sheet base material and the resin layer. Further, instead of the primer layer, the surface of the sheet base material may be subjected to corona discharge treatment, and the surface of the EC layer on the side of the sheet base material may be subjected to ozone treatment.

The primer layer is made of polyester resin, polyacrylic ester resin, polyvinyl acetate resin,
A polyurethane-based resin, a polyamide-based resin, a polyethylene-based resin, a polypropylene-based resin, or the like may be dissolved or dispersed in a solvent to prepare a coating solution, and the same method as the means for forming the receiving layer may be used.

The thickness of the primer layer is 0.1 in the dry state.
It is about 5 μm.

The above primer layer can be similarly formed between the transparent sheet and the receiving layer.

An appropriate slip layer (not shown) may be provided on the surface of the sheet base material opposite to the side where the resin layer is provided, in order to improve the transportability when feeding the heat transfer printer. As the slip layer, butyral resin, polyacrylic acid ester, polymethacrylic acid ester, polyvinylidene chloride, polyester, polyurethane, polycarbonate, polyvinyl acetate alone or a blend of known resins, various fine particles and silicone etc. What added the lubricant can be used.

The intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention has a constitution in which at least a receiving layer, a transparent sheet, a resin layer and a sheet base material are laminated in this order, and the resin layer and the transparent sheet are releasably bonded together. , The receiving layer surface or the back surface of the sheet substrate,
Alternatively, an antistatic layer may be provided on the outermost surfaces of both surfaces. The antistatic layer dissolves or disperses antistatic agents such as fatty acid esters, sulfuric acid esters, phosphoric acid esters, amides, quaternary ammonium salts, betaines, amino acids, acrylic resins, and ethylene oxide adducts in a solvent. It is possible to apply the formed material to form it. The forming means may be the same as that of the above-mentioned receiving layer. The coating amount of the antistatic layer is preferably 0.001 to 0.1 g / m ² when dried.

An intermediate layer made of various resins can be provided between the base material of the transparent sheet and the receiving layer. However, it is desirable that the intermediate layer has transparency so that the retransfer image can be observed.

By imparting various functions to the intermediate layer, it is possible to add excellent functions to the image receiving sheet. For example, as a resin that imparts cushioning properties, a resin having large elastic deformation or plastic deformation, for example, a polyolefin resin, a vinyl copolymer resin, a polyurethane resin, a polyamide resin, or the like is used to improve the printing sensitivity of the image receiving sheet. It is possible to improve or prevent image roughness.

If necessary, an antistatic agent, an ultraviolet absorber or a fluorescent dye may be added to the intermediate layer. For example, an ultraviolet absorber may be added to the intermediate layer in order to improve the light resistance of the image. Examples of such an ultraviolet absorber include low molecular weight compounds having a melting point of 50 to 150 ° C., for example, benzophenone-based, benzotriazole-based, cyanoacrylate-based, salicylate-based and oxalic acid anilide-based compounds. A fluorescent dye may be added to the intermediate layer for the purpose of imparting security. Examples of such a fluorescent dye include a europium compound, and specifically, n
A europium complex compound such as -tetrabutylanimonium tetra [4,4,4-trifluoro-1- (2-) thienyl) -1,3-butanedionate] europium complex can be preferably used.

(Half Cut) In the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention, the transparent sheet portion including the receiving layer is subjected to the half cut treatment. The method of forming this half cut is
Half-cutting can be performed by inserting the intermediate transfer recording medium between the upper mold with the cutter blade attached and the pedestal to move the upper mold up and down, the cylinder type rotary cutter method, the heat treatment method by the laser processing means, etc. There is no particular limitation as long as it is a method.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram for explaining an example of half-cut processing of the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention. The intermediate transfer medium 1 in which a sheet base material provided with a resin layer and a transparent sheet provided with a receiving layer are laminated is first supplied between an upper die 12 to which a cutter blade 14 is attached and a pedestal 13, and above that. Type 1
2 is moved downward, and the transparent sheet side of the intermediate transfer recording medium 1 on which the receiving layer is provided is cut by the cutter blade 14. In the illustrated example, the region 7 transferred to one unit of the transferred body is processed, the adjacent cutting process is continuously performed, and the cutting process is repeated to perform continuous cutting process. Area 7
It is also possible to perform cutting processing in batches in a plurality of units.

Next, in the cut intermediate processing recording medium 1 described above, a part (8) around the outer edge of the area 7 to be transferred to the transferred body is connected by the peeling roll 15 to the connecting part 9. Then, the transparent sheet provided with the receiving layer is continuously removed of dust and wound up by the dust removing roll 16.

Then, in the intermediate transfer recording medium 1 from which the dust has been removed, a receiving layer is provided at a portion indicated by 8 around the outer edge of the region 7 to be transferred to the transfer body and a connecting portion 9. The provided transparent sheet is removed, and the intermediate transfer recording medium 1 defined in the present invention is manufactured.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, when the transparent sheet side only around the outer edge of the area 7 transferred to the transferred body is removed (when the connecting portion is not provided), as described above. It is not possible to continuously remove debris.In this case, for example, depending on the size of the part to be removed on the transparent sheet side, it is a little smaller than that size, and special debris removal such as vacuum system or adhesive type is possible. The instrument can be used to remove debris.

As described above, in the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention, the transparent sheet portion including the receiving layer is subjected to a half-cut process of a specific shape, that is, a predetermined width around the outer edge of the region to be transferred to the transferred body. By providing a portion where the transparent sheet with the receiving layer is removed, even if the resin layer that was in contact with the transparent sheet is exposed, the exposed portion is partial and the unexposed portion is large, Surrounded by the unexposed part), no blocking occurs at the exposed part.

Further, in the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention, the transparent sheet with the receiving layer having a predetermined width is removed around the outer edge of the area to be transferred to the transferred material.
Even if the printing position is slightly deviated during image formation, the image is printed only in the area transferred to the transfer target body, and the image is not formed at an unnecessary position. Furthermore, when re-transferring the transparent sheet side on which an image is formed to the transfer target, even if the re-transfer position accuracy is not very high (even if the re-transfer position is a little different), unnecessary parts are re-transferred. However, only the regular area is retransferred to the transfer target.

When half-cutting the transparent sheet side including the receiving layer in the intermediate transfer recording medium, when cutting the transparent sheet side, the cut portion is too deep in the depth direction and only the transparent sheet portion is cut. However, if the sheet base material is cut, the entire intermediate transfer recording medium is cut at the cutting portion during conveyance of the printer, and a conveyance trouble is likely to occur. On the other hand, if the cut portion is too shallow in the depth direction and, for example, only the receiving layer is cut and the transparent sheet is not cut, the cut position on the transparent sheet side is different from the regular cutting position when removing and removing the dust. Problems such as cutting at the location.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the depth of the cutting process (half-cut process) is preferably such that it penetrates the receiving layer and the transparent sheet and slightly digs in the thickness direction of the resin layer.

The half-cut treatment of the present invention can be formed in advance on the receiving layer of the intermediate transfer recording medium described above before image formation, and on the image area of the receiving layer of the intermediate transfer recording medium after image formation. In addition, it is also possible to perform half-cut processing.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention, in which a region 7 to be transferred to a rectangular transferred body is transferred to a long intermediate transfer recording medium 1.
Is repeatedly formed in the flow direction, and the removed portion 8 exists with a predetermined width around the outer edge of the region 7,
Further, the removed portions 8 adjacent to each other are continuously connected in the flow direction by the connecting portion 9, whereby scraps can be continuously and efficiently removed. The intermediate transfer recording medium shown in FIG. 7 differs from the intermediate transfer recording medium shown in FIG. 3 in that the removed portions 8 around the outer edge of the area 7 to be transferred to the rectangular transfer body are the end portions in the flow direction and the outer edge is It is located at a position overlapping the edge of the intermediate transfer recording medium itself.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the corners of the area 7 and the connecting portion 9 which are transferred to the rectangular transfer material are right angles, but as shown in FIGS. It is preferable that the corners of the area 7 and the connecting portion 9 that are transferred to are rounded (R is attached) so that the dust on the transparent sheet side is not cut from the right angle when removing dust.

(Identification Mark) The intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention can be provided with an identification mark 11 for detecting the half-cut processing portion.

The shape and color of the identification mark are not limited as long as they can be detected by the detector. The shape may be, for example, a quadrangle as shown in FIG. 5, a round shape, a bar code, or a line shape from the end to the end in the width direction of the intermediate transfer recording medium.

The color of the identification mark may be any color as long as it can be detected by the detector. For example, in the case of a light-transmitting detector, silver or black having a high concealing property can be used.
The color tone of metallic luster having high light reflectivity and the like can be mentioned.

The method of forming the identification mark is such that a hole is penetrated from the front surface to the back surface of the intermediate transfer recording medium, it is formed by gravure printing or offset printing, a vapor deposition film is provided with a transfer foil by hot stamping, or it is adhered to the back surface. It is also possible to attach a vapor deposition film with an agent and it is not limited.

(Image forming method) In the image forming method of the present invention, the intermediate transfer recording medium described above is used, and the transfer layer of the thermal transfer sheet and the receiving layer are superposed so as to be in contact with each other and heated to form the receiving layer. A transfer image is formed, and the image is formed by aligning the surface of the receiving layer and the transfer target so that they are in contact with each other, heating and pressurizing, and retransferring only the region 7 of the image-formed portion to the transfer target. Is.

In this case, when the image-formed portion is heated and pressure-bonded together with the transferred material, the image-formed portion is included in the area to be heated and pressure-bonded, and the area to be heated and pressure-bonded is Even though the area 7 is slightly different in size from the removed portion 8 of the transparent sheet with a receptive layer having a predetermined width around the outer edge of 7, the region 7 is not an independent portion and connected to other portions, The transparent sheet, that is, the image with the protective layer can be accurately and easily transferred to the transfer target.

Using the above-mentioned intermediate transfer recording medium, the transfer layer of the thermal transfer sheet and the receiving layer are superposed so that they are in contact with each other and heated to form a transfer image on the receiving layer, and further an adhesive layer is formed on the receiving layer. It is possible to form an image by transferring the image onto the transfer body by re-transferring only the portion on which the image and the adhesive layer are formed by transferring the image onto the transfer layer, heating and applying pressure so that the surface of the adhesive layer contacts the transfer body. it can.

Regarding transfer of the adhesive layer onto the receiving layer,
The details will be described below.

In order to transfer the adhesive layer onto the receiving layer, for example, an adhesive sheet molded into a film is used, and the adhesive sheet is inserted between the image-receiving surface of the receiving layer and the transferred material and heated. The image receiving layer and the transparent sheet can be bonded to the transfer target by pressure bonding.

Further, by using an adhesive layer transfer sheet having an adhesive layer formed on a release paper, the adhesive layer of the adhesive layer transfer sheet is heated and pressure-bonded onto the image-formed receiving layer to transfer the adhesive layer. be able to.

As the adhesive component used in the above-mentioned adhesive sheet or adhesive layer transfer sheet, thermoplastic synthetic resin, natural resin, rubber, wax or the like can be used. For example,
Cellulose derivatives such as ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate propionate, polystyrene, styrene copolymers such as poly α-methylstyrene, acrylic resins such as polymethyl methacrylate, polyethyl methacrylate, polyethyl acrylate, polyvinyl chloride, poly Vinyl acetate,
Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers, vinyl resins such as polyvinyl butyral, polyester resins, polyamide resins, epoxy resins, polyurethane resins, ionomers,
Synthetic resins such as olefin and ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, rosin as tackifier, rosin-modified maleic acid resin, ester gum, polyisobutylene rubber, butyl rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, butadiene acrylonitrile rubber and other natural resins and synthetic rubber And derivatives thereof. It is preferable to use one kind or two or more kinds of these adhesive components, and to use a material that exhibits adhesiveness by heating.

The thickness of the adhesive layer of the adhesive sheet or the adhesive layer transfer sheet is about 0.1 to 500 μm.

The heating means for transferring the above-mentioned adhesive layer is
A thermal head, a line heater, a heat roll, a hot stamp or the like for forming a transferred image can be used.

A method of forming an image on the intermediate transfer recording medium may be a conventionally known sublimation type thermal transfer system or a thermal fusion type thermal transfer system, for example, a color transfer layer of three colors of yellow, cyan and magenta in a frame sequential manner. A desired full-color image is formed on the receiving layer of the intermediate transfer recording medium by using the thermal transfer sheet thus prepared, by a known thermal transfer printer of a thermal head system or a laser heating system. Then, the transparent sheet including the image-formed receiving layer can be peeled from the sheet base material provided with the resin layer, and transferred and adhered to any transfer target.

The means for transferring the above-mentioned transparent sheet containing the image-formed receiving layer to the transfer medium includes a method such as a thermal head, a line heater, a heat roll or a hot stamp for forming a transferred image.

It is necessary to form a mirror image of the final image on the receptive layer on the intermediate transfer recording medium so that the image on the transferred material finally obtained in the present invention has the correct orientation. is there.

The material to be transferred which is re-transferred by the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention to form an image is not particularly limited.
For example, any sheet such as plain paper, high-quality paper, tracing paper, plastic film, etc., and any shape such as card, postcard, passport, letter paper, report paper, notebook, catalog, cup, case, etc. may be used. .

[0092]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be shown below, but the present invention is not limited to the modes of the following examples.

Example 1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a thickness of 25 μm
On a transparent sheet of a film (“Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.), a receiving layer having the following composition was provided in a dry state in a thickness of 4 μm, and then a PET film having a thickness of 25 μm was used as a support film (“Toray Industries Inc.” These are extruded and laminated by a lamination method using low-density polyethylene (“Mirason 16P” manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (density: 0.923 g / cm ³ , temperature under die: 295 ° C.) by an extrusion lamination method. An intermediate transfer medium was prepared, in which the surface of the support film on which the low-density polyethylene was laminated was subjected to corona treatment, and the transparent sheet was an untreated PET film not coated with the receiving layer. The surface was in contact with low density polyethylene.

Reference Example 1 In Example 1, the temperature under the die during extrusion lamination was changed to 305 ° C. to prepare an intermediate transfer medium.

Reference Example 2 In Example 1, an intermediate transfer medium was prepared by changing the temperature under the die during extrusion lamination to 330 ° C.

Reference Example 3 In Example 1, the resin for extrusion lamination was polypropylene (F329R manufactured by Grand Polymer Co., Ltd.).
A, the temperature under the die was 290 ° C.) to prepare an intermediate transfer recording medium.

Example 2 In Example 1, the resin for extrusion lamination was medium density polyethylene (Sumikasen L5 manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.).
721, density 0.937 g / cm 3, die bottom temperature 320
An intermediate transfer recording medium was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the temperature was changed to ° C.

Example 3 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a thickness of 25 μm
On a transparent sheet of a film (“Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.), a receptive layer having the following composition was provided in a dry state with a thickness of 4 μm, and a first resin containing acrylic as a main component on the side on which the receptive layer is not provided. Layer (acrylic resin / polyester resin / polyethylene WAX = 30 / 0.2 / 2) 1 μm in dry state
And a urethane-based adhesive (Takelac A-969V / Takenate A-5 = 3/1, manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) is further laminated thereon to a thickness of 2.5 μm. 25 μm thick P as a support film
An ET film (“Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) was dry laminated to prepare an intermediate transfer recording medium.

Example 4 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a thickness of 25 μm
On a transparent sheet of a film (“Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.), a receiving layer having the following composition was provided in a dry state in a thickness of 4 μm, and a first resin layer made of an acrylic resin was provided on the surface on which the receiving layer was not provided Are laminated in a dry state to have a thickness of 1 μm,
A second resin layer made of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin was further laminated thereon so as to have a thickness of 1 μm in a dry state, and then a low-density polyethylene having a thickness of 20 μm (“Mirason manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.” was prepared by an extrusion lamination method. 16P "
A 25 μm-thick PET film (“Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) was attached as a support film at a density of 0.923 g / cm ³ and a die temperature of 330 ° C. to prepare an intermediate transfer recording medium.

Reference Example 4 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a thickness of 25 μm
On a transparent sheet of a film (“Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.), a receiving layer having the following composition was provided in a dry state in a thickness of 4 μm, and then a PET film having a thickness of 25 μm was used as a support film (“Toray Industries Inc.” Lumirror ”), a resin layer (NBR resin / carnauba wax = 100/2) is laminated on the support sheet so as to have a thickness of 3 μm in a dry state, and the receiving layer of the transparent sheet is formed by dry lamination. An intermediate transfer recording medium was prepared by laminating the surface on which the layer was not formed and the resin layer together.

(Receptor Layer Coating Liquid Composition) Vinyl Chloride-Vinyl Acetate Copolymer 100 parts by weight (Union Carbide Co., VYHD) Epoxy modified silicone 8 parts by weight (Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., KF-393) Amino Modified silicone 8 parts by weight (KS-343, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (1/1) 400 parts by weight Half-cutting is applied to the non-image forming part of the intermediate transfer recording medium prepared as described above, The part on which the image was not formed was removed to form a continuous roll.

Table 1 below shows the evaluation results of the peeling property and the blocking property.

[0103] The above evaluation criteria are as follows. Peelability evaluation:
The peelability between the transparent sheet and the first resin layer formed on the support sheet was evaluated according to the following criteria. 1: Light 3: Appropriate 5: Heavy Blocking evaluation: After removing a portion which does not form an image, the intermediate transfer recording medium was wound into a roll and left at 40 ° C. for 48 hours, and then the first resin layer and the support. The sticking to the back surface of the sheet was evaluated.

As can be seen from the above results, by adopting the configuration of the present invention, blocking does not occur when the intermediate transfer recording medium is wound into a roll with the portion where the image is not formed being removed. Moreover, the mutually contradictory characteristics that the peelability between the transparent sheet and the resin layer formed on the support sheet when unwinding becomes suitable can be harmoniously achieved.

[0105]

As is apparent from the results of the above embodiments, according to the present invention, the intermediate transfer recording medium solves the problem of blocking, which has been a problem in the past, and has an excellent intermediate transfer property. A recording medium can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of an intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the intermediate transfer recording medium shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view in which the form of the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention shows a continuous winding state.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of half-cut processing of the intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing one embodiment of an intermediate transfer recording medium of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Intermediate transfer machine recording medium 2 transparent sheet 3 Receptive layer 4 sheet base materials 5 resin layers 6 heart cut 7 Area to be transferred to transfer target 8 removed parts

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2H111 AA03 AA15 AA26 AA27 AA52                       AB07 CA03 CA04 CA05 CA11                       CA25 CA30                 3B005 EB01 EC30 FB11 FB23 FB33                       FB37 FC02Z FC04Y FE04                       FE22 FF04 FF06 FG01Y                       FG04X FG08X

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A sheet base material provided with a resin layer and a transparent sheet provided with a receiving layer are laminated so that the resin layer and the transparent sheet are overlapped with each other, and between the resin layer and the transparent sheet. An intermediate transfer recording medium, which is peeled off and a transparent sheet having a receiving layer is transferred to a transfer target, wherein the resin layer comprises one or more layers. 2. The intermediate transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the resin layer comprises a polyolefin resin laminated on a sheet substrate by an extrusion coating method. 3. The intermediate transfer recording medium according to claim 2, wherein the polyolefin resin is low density polyethylene. 4. The intermediate transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the polyolefin resin comprises medium density polyethylene. 5. The resin layer is composed of two layers, a first resin layer and a second resin layer, from the transparent sheet side, and the first resin layer contains an acrylic resin as a main component. Intermediate transfer recording medium. 6. The intermediate transfer recording medium according to claim 6, wherein the second resin layer is an adhesive layer. 7. The intermediate transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the resin layer comprises a first resin layer, a second resin layer and a third resin layer formed in this order. 8. The intermediate transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the transparent sheet portion including the receiving layer is half-cut. 9. The intermediate transfer recording medium according to claim 8, wherein a transparent sheet including a receiving layer that has been subjected to a half-cut treatment is preliminarily removed from an unimaged portion. 10. A printing method comprising using a step of printing an area larger than a patch portion on which an image is formed, when the intermediate transfer recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is used.