JP2005242098A - Method for repeatedly using recording material and regenerating apparatus for recording material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a method for regenerating a recording material and repeatedly using the material by subjecting a recording material on which an image is formed from a color-erasable thermoplastic image forming substance to steps of removing the image forming substance and of erasing colors of the image forming substance. <P>SOLUTION: The method for repeatedly using a recording material is characterized in that: the recording material is regenerated by steps of forming an image from an image forming substance the colors of which are erased by heating, removing the image forming substance from the recording material where the image is formed, and erasing colors by heating the image forming substance on the recording material; and that an image is formed again on the recording material by the above method. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention removes an image forming substance from a recording material on which an image is formed by an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, erases the color, reproduces the recording material, and uses the regenerated recording material again for image formation. The present invention relates to a method for repeatedly using a recording material.
The present invention also relates to an image forming method suitable for repetitive use of the recording material, a recording material reproduction method, a recording material reproduction device, and an electrophotographic toner which is an image forming substance.
In particular, the present invention relates to a method for repeatedly using a recording material using an image forming substance that is decolored by heat, an image forming method, a method for reproducing a recording material, an image removing device on the recording material, and an electrophotographic toner.
Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a display device that repeatedly forms and erases an image on a recording material in addition to the repeated use of the recording material on which an image is formed by electrophotography.

  In recent years, printers, analog copying machines, digital copying machines, and printing machines using electrophotography have become widespread, and paper is used in large quantities. However, since paper that is generally used as a recording material is made from pulp obtained from wood, consuming a large amount of paper leads to felling of the forest and deterioration of the global environment, thus reducing its consumption. It has become a social issue. Furthermore, there is a limit to the landfill location of waste, and waste reduction is a social issue as well.

  In order to cope with these problems, a method of collecting unnecessary information recording paper, disaggregating the collected paper once to a pulp state and reusing it at a paper mill has been conventionally performed. However, in this method, much energy is used for transportation for recovery and pulp regeneration, and further, the rigidity and whiteness decrease, and bleeding occurs when printed. There is also a problem. In addition, in order to produce a high-quality information recording paper with high whiteness, it may be more expensive than using a new raw material. In order to collect and reproduce the recording material on which information is recorded, the recording material on which the information is recorded is distributed outside the company or outside the home, and there is a problem from the viewpoint of maintaining confidentiality and privacy.

As a method for solving the problem of collecting paper once used and recycling it as recycled paper, the recorded material can be reused by removing the image on the recording material once used and regenerating the recorded material. Materials and methods have been proposed.
For example, plastic, metal, non-liquid-permeable paper, ceramics, etc. are used as a recording material, and a heat-fusible image formed on these recording materials is heated with a heat-meltable release member interposed therebetween, and heated. A method for peeling and removing an image is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). Also disclosed is an apparatus that uses an endless belt having a heat-meltable resin on the surface and transfers and removes an image formed by electrophotography on a recording material treated with a release agent (for example, Patent Document 2). See).

In these conventional examples, the image on the recording material is removed using a peeling member having a heat-meltable resin. A method for removing an image on a recording material by transferring an image on the recording material to a peeling member using a peeling member having a heat-melting or thermoplastic resin on the surface is provided on the recording material. Since the adhesion between the image and the peeling member can be improved, this is an effective method for removing an image formed on a recording material having a certain degree of unevenness on the surface.
However, by repeatedly removing the image from the recording material, the image forming material transferred from the recording material accumulates on the peeling member. When the image is repeatedly removed from the recording material, the thermoplastic resin on the peeling member and the thermoplastic image forming substance are substantially mixed due to the thermoplasticity. The image forming substance is usually designed so that its cohesion is relatively large so that hot offset does not occur in the heat fixing apparatus. Therefore, in order to remove the accumulated image forming substance from the peeling member, it is necessary to apply a shear force that is substantially larger than the cohesive force of the transferred image forming substance. If an attempt is made to remove the image forming substance on the image peeling member by applying a shearing force larger than the cohesive force of the image forming substance, the thermoplastic resin is peeled off from the interface of the peeling member with the base material. There are problems such that it is too large and it becomes difficult to convey the peeling member, and a large shearing force is applied to apply the apparatus. Even if a peeling member having a heat-melting resin is used, when an image is formed on a paper called plain paper that is generally used in a printer or a copying machine, the surface of the recording material is recorded due to the unevenness of the surface. It is difficult to remove all of the imaging material on the material. In particular, it is extremely difficult to completely remove the halftone image portion, the image forming material scattered around the image, and the powder image forming material that has entered when performing electrostatic transfer to a concave portion of about 30 μm on the surface of the paper. It is.

  In addition, the paper on which an image is formed by electrophotography is impregnated with a liquid containing water, and the paper and the peeling member are pressed in a heated state in a state where the adhesive force between the paper and the image-forming substance is weakened. A method for peeling and removing a flexible image forming substance is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 3). In this method, since the paper fiber is swollen with a liquid containing water, a shearing force is generated between the image forming substance not swollen with the liquid, and the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the paper is weakened. For this reason, there is an advantage that transfer and peeling can be performed with a relatively weak adhesive force between the peeling member and the image forming substance.

  In the method disclosed in this prior art, since the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the recording material is reduced, the image forming substance can be easily removed. The problem that it is difficult to remove the image forming substance entangled with the fiber is not solved. In addition, in the method of applying the liquid, it is better to use the release member having the above-described heat-meltable or thermoplastic resin on the surface. When a peeling member having a resin on the surface is used, there is a problem similar to the above.

  Further, an apparatus for rubbing and polishing the surface of a recording material with a grindstone in order to reproduce the recording material on which an image is formed by electrophotography is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 4). Even when the image forming substance on the recording material is removed by such a rubbing method, it is difficult to completely remove the image forming substance if the surface of the recording material is uneven. In order to solve this problem, in this conventional example, the surface of the recording material is polished to a depth enough to remove the image, and a dispersion of white pigment is applied to the recording material in order to repair the polished portion. And the method of drying is proposed.

In this conventional method, it is necessary to supply a new supply for repair, and means for uniformly applying the repair agent onto the polished recording material, and drying the applied repair agent. Not only a complicated mechanism such as means is required, but also the solvent is volatilized by drying the restoration agent, which is not preferable in terms of safety.
A method of removing an image by rubbing the surface of a recording material on which an image has been formed by electrophotography with a rubber roller is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 5). In this conventional example, a recording material having a relatively high smoothness such as synthetic paper is used as the recording material. Even if it is rubbed with a member having elasticity such as a rubber roller, it is difficult to completely remove an image from a recording material having irregularities on the order of paper generally used.

As a method for solving these problems, a process of removing an image forming material from a recording material on which an image is formed with a thermoplastic image forming material using a decolorable image forming material and an image Disclosed is a method of regenerating and repeatedly using a recording material by applying a step of erasing a forming substance (see, for example, Patent Document 6).
Also disclosed is an image erasing apparatus provided with a means for irradiating light provided on the downstream side of the peeling means in order to erase the image forming material that is not removed by the peeling means of the image forming substance. 7).

  The methods disclosed in these conventional examples use an image forming material that decolors in response to near infrared rays. Conventionally used image forming materials that are decolorized in response to near-infrared rays are once again thermoplastic when the recorded material is erased by irradiating the image forming materials with near-infrared rays to erase images. When an image is formed with an image-forming substance and heat fixing is performed, there is a problem that a decolored image is likely to be recolored. In addition, due to restrictions on the design of colorant molecules due to the decoloring mechanism, it is difficult to achieve a high image density, and there is also a problem that it is difficult to form a black image and colorize. . Even with toners containing sublimable dyes and pigments that are often used in thermal recording systems, it is relatively difficult to achieve high density images and there are image densities over time, but complete sublimation and decoloration are difficult. There were many.

An image forming substance that contains a color developable compound (leuco dye), a developer and an erasing agent and can be erased by heating is disclosed (for example, see Patent Documents 8 to 10). By using the color erasable image forming substance disclosed in this prior art, the color of the image on the recording material can be almost erased by a simple method of heating.

  However, according to this conventional technique, even when the image forming material is decolored by heating, various problems arise because the image forming material is not removed from the recording material. In other words, when used in electrophotography, the majority of image forming substances are generally composed of a thermoplastic resin, but even when completely decolored, the resin component remains, so a recording material such as paper. The reflection state of the light on the surface and the reflection state of the portion to which the image forming substance is attached are clearly different. That is, the surface of a recording material such as paper is irregularly reflected, whereas a portion where an image forming substance mainly composed of a thermoplastic resin has a lot of light components that are regularly reflected. Therefore, even when the color is completely erased, the information on the recording material can be easily read, which is not preferable in terms of maintaining confidentiality and protecting privacy.

  In addition, since the image forming substance on the recording material is accumulated by repeated use, and most of the image forming substance is a thermoplastic resin, the heat fixing used in a general electrophotographic apparatus is performed. , The probability of generating a jam increases. Furthermore, when the recording material on which the image is formed is heated while being stacked, and the image forming substance is decolored, so-called blocking, in which the image forming substance exhibiting thermoplasticity adheres to the other recording material. This causes a problem that the sheet cannot be reused, or a large number of recording materials are simultaneously conveyed at the time of reuse.

  Further, if the amount of adhesion of the image forming substance to the recording material is reduced in order to solve these problems, there arises a problem that the image density does not increase. Further, when forming a color image, an image is formed by superimposing two or more colors of image forming substances, so that the amount of the image forming substance attached per unit area of the recording material is larger than that of a monochrome image. . In addition, since a color image generally has a higher area ratio than a monochrome image, the rate at which an image forming substance is laminated on a recording material is increased by repeated use. For this reason, in the method using decoloring, there is a problem that the number of times that the color image can be used can be repetitively reduced compared to a monochrome image.

As described above, various electrophotographic recording materials and image removal methods have been proposed for removing an image from a recording material that has been used once, reproducing the image, and reusing it.
However, in any of the conventionally proposed image removal methods, it is difficult to completely remove the image forming substance, and a certain amount of the image forming substance often remains on the recording material. . In particular, it has been difficult to remove the image forming substance on the plain paper with unevenness. Further, if the image forming substance is to be removed satisfactorily, the surface of the paper, which is the recording material, is damaged, and therefore, the number of times that the recording material can be repeatedly used is reduced.
On the other hand, various methods for erasing the image forming material have been proposed. However, when the image forming material is formed in electrophotography, the amount of the image forming material attached to the recording material per unit area is large. Since most of these are made of thermoplastic resin, there is a fundamental problem that an erased image can be read and a jam occurs in the image forming apparatus. In addition, when a color image is formed, there is a disadvantage that the number of times of repeated use decreases.

JP-A-1-297294 JP-A-4-64472 JP-A-7-13383 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-234056 JP-A-6-89068 JP-A-7-181713 JP-A-8-63059 JP-A-5-72800 JP 7-81236 A JP-A-11-212295

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, and as a means for solving the problem, an object on which an image is formed with an erasable and thermoplastic image-forming substance disclosed in Patent Document 6 mentioned above. The recording material is subjected to a process of removing the image forming substance and a process of erasing the image forming substance to improve the method of regenerating and repeatedly using the recording material.
That is, one of the objects of the present invention is to prevent the recording material from being used repeatedly even when the image forming substance on the recording material is not completely removed. That is, the complexity of the configuration of the image removing means associated with the good image removal is avoided, the image is removed by the simple and configured image removing means, the recording material reproducing method having the simple configuration, An object is to provide a recording material reproducing apparatus. For example, even when the image forming substance is peeled and removed using a peeling member made of a plastic film without using a peeling member having a thermoplastic resin on the surface at the time of transfer, it remains on the recording material. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording material reproducing method and a recording material reproducing apparatus in which an image forming substance does not affect the reuse of the recording material.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording material reproduction method and a recording material reproduction apparatus that avoids providing two or more stages of image removal steps in order to remove an image forming substance satisfactorily.
Another object of the present invention is to increase the number of times the recording material can be used repeatedly. In order to remove the image forming substance from the recording material satisfactorily, it is necessary to polish the surface of the recording material as described above or to peel the image forming substance entangled with cellulose fibers together with the fibers. Therefore, the surface of the recording material is damaged, and the number of times it can be used repeatedly is reduced.
Another object of the present invention is to prevent repeated use of a recording material even if plain paper generally used in printers, copying machines, and facsimile machines is used. As described above, in the method of removing an image, it is difficult to completely remove the image when using plain paper with relatively low smoothness.
Another object of the present invention is to form an image of a high quality by electrophotography using an image forming material powder having a small particle diameter, or an image forming material powder having a nearly spherical shape produced by a polymerization method. Even in the case of improving the properties, it is to prevent troubles in repeated use of the recording material.
Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to increase the number of times that a recording material can be used repeatedly even when forming a color image.

  The above-described problems are solved by (1) “a step of forming an image using an image forming substance that is decolored by heating, removing the image forming substance from the recording material on which the image is formed, and the recording target. The recording material is reproduced by performing a step of decoloring by heating the image forming substance on the material, and the image is formed again on the recording material by the above method. Method of use ”, (2)“ A recording material on which an image fixed by heating a thermoplastic image-forming substance is formed and a peeling member exhibiting adhesiveness to the image-forming substance are overlapped to form an image. A step of transferring and removing the image forming substance from the recording material to the peeling member by separating the recording material and the peeling member after pressurizing the forming substance in a heated state; Heating the image-forming substance on the material The recording material according to item (1), wherein the recording material is reproduced by performing a decoloring step, and an image is formed again on the reproduced recording material. Repetitive use method ”, (3)“ the step of removing the image forming substance formed on the recording material by rubbing the surface of the recording material on which the image is formed; Wherein the recording material is reproduced by heating the image forming substance and the image is formed again on the reproduced recording material. The method for repeatedly using the recording material according to 1) ”, (4)“ The recording material on which an image is formed with the thermoplastic image-forming substance, and a peeling member exhibiting adhesiveness to the image-forming substance ” And pressurizing while the image forming substance is heated And then separating the recording material and the peeling member to transfer the image forming substance from the recording material to the peeling member and removing the recording material, and heating the image forming substance to remove the image. When the recording material is reproduced by performing the process of erasing the forming substance, the other forming processes are continuously performed in a state where the image forming substance heated in any of these processes is not cooled to room temperature. The method for repeatedly using a recording material according to item (2), wherein the recording material is reproduced by performing, and an image is formed again on the recording material ”, (5) ) "Item (1) above, wherein a thermoplastic image-forming substance containing a leuco dye, a developer, and a color erasing agent and reacting with the leuco dye and the developer is in a colored state. Thru | or the usage method of the recording material in any one of (4) repeated use (6) “In addition to the leuco dye, the developer and the color erasing agent, a material having an action to weaken the adhesive force to the recording material is contained as an essential component, and the leuco dye reacts with the developer. (7) “The image forming substance on the recording material is a method for repeatedly using the recording material according to the item (5)”, wherein a thermoplastic image forming substance in a colored state is used. When there is no problem in the next image formation or the next recording material reproduction process, the recording material is reproduced only in the decoloring process and the recording material is repeatedly used. (8) “Repeatable usage method of recording material, wherein the image forming substance formed on the recording material is removed by the method according to any one of (6)”, (8) “Same recording Remove the unused state or image of the material before removing the support. The recording material is reproduced only by the color erasing process until the number of occurrences of any of the above items, and any of the above items (1) to (6) is used after the number of times of use after the unused state or image is removed. And (9) “J TAPPI”, wherein the recording material is reproduced by performing the step of removing the image forming substance formed on the recording material by the method described in the above. No. Item (1) to Item (1), wherein an image is formed on a recording material having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less by the 5-B method (Oken smoothness), reproduced, and formed again. This is achieved by the “repeated use method of the recording material according to any one of items (8)”.

  Further, the above-mentioned problem includes (10) “leuco dye, developer and decolorizer of the present invention, which contains, as an essential component, a material having an action of weakening the adhesive force to the recording material. An image forming method characterized by using a thermoplastic image forming material that is in a colored state by reacting with a developer ”, (11)“ J TAPPI No. 5-B method (Oken smoothness) The image forming method according to item (10), wherein the image is recorded on a recording material having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less, and (12) an image on a recording material mainly comprising cellulose fibers. Is achieved by the “image forming method according to item (11)”.

  Further, the above-mentioned problems are solved by (13) “removing an image on a recording material on which an image is formed using an image forming material that is erased by heating, and heating the image forming material. A recording material reproduction method characterized by performing a color erasing step ”, (14)“ a recording material on which an image is formed by thermally fixing an image forming substance having thermoplasticity and image formation ” After superimposing a release member having adhesiveness on the substance, heating and softening the image forming substance on the recording material to bond the image forming substance and the release member, the superimposed recording material and Separating the peeling member, transferring the image forming substance on the recording material to the peeling member to remove the image forming substance on the recording material, and an image on the recording material on which the image is formed By heating the forming material to a temperature at which it can be decolored. And (15) “a recording material on which an image is formed”, wherein the recording material reproducing method according to the item (13) is performed. (A) performing a step of removing the image forming substance formed on the recording material by rubbing the surface and a step of decoloring by heating the image forming substance on the recording material. This is achieved by the “recorded material reproducing method according to item 13)”.

  Furthermore, the above-described problems are solved by (16) “a means for removing an image forming substance on a recording material on which an image is formed, and a heating means for erasing the image forming substance on the recording material. (17) “Adhesive to recording material on which image is formed by thermoplastic and thermodecolorable image forming material and image forming material” Means for superimposing and pressing the release member, means for heating and softening the image forming substance on the recording material, and bonding the image forming substance and the release member, and the superimposed recording material and release member And a means for transferring the image forming substance on the recording material to the peeling member and a means for heating the image forming substance on the recording material to a temperature suitable for the transfer. Recording material reproducing apparatus ”, (18)“ Recorded image on which an image is formed And a means for removing an image forming substance formed on the recording material by rubbing the surface of the material, and a heating means for erasing the image forming substance on the recording material. (Recording Material Reproducing Device), (19) “Means for removing image forming material on recording material, means for heating image forming material on recording material to erase color, removal and heating of image forming material” Input means that can arbitrarily select whether to erase the color, only remove the image-forming substance, or only the heat-erased, and to select only the image removal process or only the heat-erasing in the input means. In such a case, the recording material conveyance path is changed so as to bypass the image removing means or the heating means for erasing the image forming substance, or the recording material removing means or the erasing means is used. In addition The image removing means or the function of heating means for erasing at least part of the image removing means or the image removing means or at least part of the heating means for erasing the recording material is recorded so that the means for performing The recording material reproducing apparatus according to any one of items (16) to (18), characterized in that means for controlling to retract from the conveyance path is provided. A means for removing the substance, a means for heating the image forming substance to erase the color, and a means for detecting the amount of the image forming substance on the recording material. Means to determine whether to remove and heat / decolor, or only to heat / decolor, change the conveyance path of the recording material based on the determined result, Does not work Item (16) to Item (18), characterized in that means for controlling to stop at least a part of the function of the image removing unit or to retract at least a part of the image removing unit is provided. This is achieved by the “recorded material reproducing device according to any of the above”.

  Furthermore, the above-mentioned problems are solved by (21) “Means for removing image forming substances, means for heating image forming substances to decolorize, and recording information on the number of repeated uses of recording materials on recording materials. And means for reading the information recorded by recording the repeated use count information, the repeated use count read by the repeated use count information reading means, or a fixed number of repeated use after the image is removed Up to the number of times, the conveyance path of the recording material is changed so that only heating and decoloring are performed, or at least part of the function of the image removing unit is stopped so that the image forming substance removing unit does not substantially operate, or the image A means for controlling at least a part of the removing means to be evacuated, a state where the number of repeated use read by the repeated use number information reading means is unused Alternatively, there is provided means for controlling the image forming substance so that both the removing means and the image forming substance heating / decoloring means act on the recording material when a certain number of repeated use is reached after the image is removed. This is achieved by the “recorded material reproducing apparatus according to any one of items (16) to (18)”.

  Furthermore, the above-mentioned problem is that the (22) “thermoplastic resin, leuco dye, developer, color erasing agent, and material having an action of weakening the adhesive force to the recording material of the present invention are contained as essential components. "Characterized electrophotographic toner", (23) "The material having an action of weakening the adhesive force to the recording material contains a thermoplastic resin containing an alkyl group having 9 or more carbon atoms or an alkyl group having 6 or more carbon atoms" This is achieved by the electrophotographic toner described in (22) above, which is a phosphorus compound.

The method of repeatedly using a recording material according to claim 1 uses a step of removing the image forming substance and a step of decoloring by heating the image forming substance on the recording material for reproducing the recording material. Therefore, the configuration for removing the image forming material is simple, and even if the image forming material remains on the recording material, the visibility of the remaining image forming material is reduced, so The recording material can be used repeatedly without any trouble. Since the method adopted for this purpose is also a simple method of heating only, the object can be achieved with an inexpensive apparatus. Further, in the method of performing only decoloring, jamming occurs in the image forming apparatus due to accumulation of image forming substances on the recording material by repeated use, or heating / decoloring is performed by loading the recording material. In this case, there is a problem that blocking occurs, but this problem can be solved. Further, in the method of performing only decoloring, there is a problem that information can be read because the image forming substance remains even if the color disappears, but this can be solved.
3. The method of repeatedly using a recording material according to claim 2, wherein the recording material is reproduced by adopting a step of transferring the image onto a peeling member and removing the image. Forming material can be removed. In addition, since the step of heating and decoloring the image forming material on the recording material is also used, the image forming material remaining on the recording material by image removal is decolored, and when the recording material is reused, The remaining image forming substance does not hinder the operation, and the number of times the recording material is repeatedly used can be increased.
In the present invention, when an image is formed on a recording material using a thermoplastic image forming substance, the image forming substance can be preferably fixed by heating. The heating temperature when performing the process of transferring the image forming substance from the recording material to the peeling member depends on the process linear velocity, and the applied pressure during fixing and the contact pressure between the recording material and the peeling member during transfer. However, when viewed in terms of the temperature of the image forming material on the recording material, the temperature is usually 15 ° C. lower than the heating temperature at the time of fixing to 5 ° C. higher than the fixing temperature, specifically 60 to 150 ° C. The temperature is preferably 80 to 130 ° C.
Further, in the process of reproducing the recording material, the heating temperature for erasing the image forming substance is preferably higher than the heat fixing temperature of the image forming substance, and is about 8 ° C. higher than the fixing temperature. It is particularly preferred that The contact pressure between the recording material and the peeling member at the time of transfer is preferably equal to or less than the applied pressure at the time of fixing.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of repeatedly using a recording material, wherein the recording material is reproduced by rubbing the surface of the recording material to remove an image forming material formed on the recording material. Therefore, most of the image forming substance on the recording material can be removed by this process. In addition, since the process of decoloring by heating the image forming substance on the recording material is used in combination, the image forming substance that cannot be removed by rubbing or the image formation that is once removed from the recording material and then reattached Even if the substance is on the recording material, the image forming substance is decolored, so that the remaining image forming substance does not hinder reuse and the image forming substance removing means can be simplified. The number of repeated uses of the recording material can be increased.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the recording material on which the image is formed and the peeling member are superposed, heated and pressurized, and then separated from the recording material and the peeling member. After the image forming substance is transferred from the recording material to the peeling member and removed, the image forming substance remaining on the recording material is heated before the temperature of the image forming substance on the recording material decreases to room temperature. Therefore, since the color can be erased by using the heat used in the transfer / removal of the image forming material, the image forming material can be removed and erased efficiently.
6. The method of repeatedly using a recording material according to claim 5, wherein a thermoplastic image-forming substance containing a leuco dye, a developer, and a color erasing agent, which is in a colored state due to a reaction between the leuco dye and the developer. In order to form an image, the image forming substance on the recording material can be transferred to the peeling member by heating and pressurizing and removed, and the image forming substance can be removed only by heating without applying a decoloring agent. It becomes possible to erase the color, and it is possible to prevent recurrent color even when heated by heat fixing at the time of reuse.
In the method for repeatedly using a recording material according to claim 6, the image forming substance includes, as an essential component, a material having an action of weakening the adhesive force to the recording material in addition to the leuco dye, the developer, and the color erasing agent. Because it contains, it can remove most image-forming substances from recording materials used in general offices and homes without using special recording materials with release agents. The image forming substance remaining on the recording material can be decolored only by heating without applying a decoloring agent.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the method of repeatedly using a recording material, wherein the step of removing the image forming material is performed when the image forming material on the recording material is in an attached state where a failure is predicted to occur in the next image formation. If there is no risk of failure, the recording material is reproduced only by the decoloring process, so that the energy efficiency for reproducing the recording material can be improved without causing any trouble in the reuse of the recording material. Can be raised.
9. The method of repeatedly using a recording material according to claim 8, wherein after the image is removed, the recording material is reproduced only by a decoloring process until the certain number of times is reached, and after the image is removed, the certain number of times is reached. Since the image-forming substance formed on the recording material after use is removed, it is not necessary to determine the image-forming substance adhesion state of the recording material for each recording material or each time it is used repeatedly. Management of material recycling operations becomes easy.
In the method of repeatedly using the recording material according to claim 9, since an image is formed on the recording material having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less, the fixing property of the image forming substance and the writing property to the recording material are ensured. Becomes easier. When paper with low surface smoothness is used, it is difficult to completely remove the image. However, since the erasable image forming material is erased by heating, it is necessary to recycle the regenerated recording material. Can be used.
11. The image forming method according to claim 10, further comprising a leuco dye, a developer, and a color erasing agent as essential components in addition to a leuco dye, a developer, and a color erasing agent. Since a thermoplastic image-forming substance that is in a colored state is used as a result of the reaction, most of the image-forming substance is removed from the recording material without using a special recording material to which a release agent is added. The image forming substance remaining on the recording material can be decolored only by heating without applying a decoloring agent, and the recording material can be repeatedly used.
In the image forming method according to the eleventh aspect, since an image is formed on a recording material having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less, it becomes easy to ensure the fixing property of the image forming substance and the writing property to the recording material. . When paper with low surface smoothness is used, it is difficult to completely remove the image. However, since the image forming substance remaining in the removal process is heated to erase the color, There is no problem with reuse.
In the image forming method according to claim 12, recording is performed on a recording material mainly composed of cellulose fibers by using an image forming substance that can be decolored and has peelability. However, the surface smoothness is low, and it is easy and inexpensive. Even if a recording material mainly composed of cellulose fiber is used, the image-forming substance remaining in the removal process is heated and decolored, so that there is no problem in reusing the regenerated recording material. .
In the recording material reproducing method according to claim 13, since the recording material is reproduced by using the step of removing the image forming substance and the step of erasing by heating the image forming substance on the recording material. Since the structure for removing the image forming material is simple and the visibility of the remaining image forming material is reduced even if the image forming material remains on the recording material, the regenerated recording material The recording material can be used repeatedly without any problem. Since the method adopted for this purpose is also a simple method of heating only, the object can be achieved with an inexpensive apparatus. Further, in the method of performing only decoloring, jamming occurs in the image forming apparatus due to accumulation of image forming substances on the recording material by repeated use, or heating / decoloring is performed by loading the recording material. In this case, there is a problem that blocking occurs, but this problem can be solved. Further, in the method of performing only decoloring, there is a problem that information can be read because the image forming substance remains even if the color disappears, but this can be solved.
In the recording material reproducing method according to the fourteenth aspect, since the step of transferring the image onto the peeling member and removing the image is employed, most of the image forming substance on the recording material can be removed by this step. In addition, since the step of heating and decoloring the image forming material on the recording material is also used, the image forming material remaining on the recording material by image removal is decolored, and when the recording material is reused, The remaining image forming substance does not hinder the operation, and the number of times the recording material is repeatedly used can be increased.
The recording material reproducing method according to claim 15 employs the step of removing the image forming substance formed on the recording material by rubbing the surface of the recording material. Most of the imaging material on the material can be removed. In addition, since the process of decoloring by heating the image forming substance on the recording material is used in combination, the image forming substance that cannot be removed by rubbing or the image formation that is once removed from the recording material and then reattached Even if the substance is on the recording material, the image forming substance is decolored, so that the remaining image forming substance does not hinder reuse and the image forming substance removing means can be simplified. The number of repeated uses of the recording material can be increased.
In the recording material reproducing apparatus according to claim 16, means for removing the image forming substance on the recording material on which the image has been formed and means for erasing by heating the image forming substance on the recording material are used in combination. Therefore, it is assumed that the apparatus configuration for removing the image forming material is simple, and even if the image forming material remains on the recording material, the remaining image forming material is erased, so that the remaining image formation The visibility of the substance is lowered, and the recorded material can be repeatedly used without any trouble. Since the means for erasing is also a simple configuration that only heats, the apparatus can be made inexpensive.
The recording material reproducing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the image forming substance formed on the recording material is heated, overlapped with the peeling member and pressurized, and then separated from the recording material and the peeling member. Since the image forming substance on the recording material is transferred to the peeling member and the image is removed, and the means for heating the image forming substance on the recording material to a temperature higher than the transfer temperature is employed. Most of the image forming material on the recording material can be removed by the image forming material removing means, the remaining image forming material can be erased, and the remaining image forming material does not interfere with the recording material. The number of repeated uses can be increased.
19. The recording material reproducing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein means for removing an image forming substance formed on the recording material by rubbing the surface of the recording material on which an image is formed and image formation on the recording material Since it is used together with a means for decoloring by heating the substance, the apparatus configuration for removing the image forming substance is simplified, and even if the image forming substance remains on the recording material, it remains. Since the image-forming substance is decolored, the visibility of the remaining image-forming substance is reduced, and the re-recorded recording material can be used repeatedly without hindrance, and is present in the recess of the recording material. Even if the image forming material to be removed is not removed by rubbing, the remaining image forming material can be erased, and the remaining image forming material can be prevented from becoming an obstacle to repeated use of the recording material. Damage to the surface of the recording material Since there is no it is possible to increase the repetition number of times of use. Since the means for erasing is also a simple configuration that only heats, the apparatus can be made inexpensive.
20. The recording material reproducing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the image forming substance is removed and heated / erased, only the image forming substance is removed, or only the heating for erasing the image forming substance is performed. The input means can be selected arbitrarily, and the reproduction operation necessary for repeated use of the recording material is selected based on the input information, so that there is no unnecessary operation, and energy is not required. The recording material can be reproduced efficiently and suitable for reuse.
The recording material reproducing apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising means for removing the image forming substance, means for heating and erasing the image forming substance, and means for detecting the adhesion state of the image forming substance on the recording material, Based on the detection result of the adhesion state of the image forming substance, means for determining whether to remove the image forming substance and heating / erasing, or only to perform heat erasing, and based on the determined result, change the conveyance path of the recording material Alternatively, there is provided means for controlling to stop at least part of the function of the image removing unit or to retract at least part of the image removing unit so that the image forming substance removing unit does not substantially operate. Therefore, the user can automatically record the minimum required recording on each recording material without determining whether both the removal of the image forming material and the decoloring of the image forming material by heating are necessary. It is possible to perform the regenerating operation of the timber, energy efficiency, you can play the recorded material to suit the re-use.
In the recording material reproducing apparatus according to claim 21, both the steps of removing the image forming substance and heating / decoloring are performed only when the number of times of repeated use specified for the specific recording material is reached. Since the number of repetitions that do not impede practical use is controlled so that only heating and decoloring are performed, the recording material on which an image is formed is regenerated into a reusable recording material with high energy efficiency. be able to.
23. The electrophotographic toner according to claim 22, wherein the electrophotographic toner contains, as essential components, a thermoplastic resin, a leuco dye, a developer, a color erasing agent, and a material having an action of weakening adhesion to a recording material.
24. The electrophotographic toner according to claim 23, wherein the material having an action of weakening the adhesive force to the recording material is a thermoplastic resin containing an alkyl group having 9 or more carbon atoms or a phosphorus compound containing an alkyl group having 6 or more carbon atoms. The toner for electrophotography according to claim 22.

Hereinafter, a method for repeatedly using a recording material, an image forming method, a method for reproducing a recording material, a reproducing device, and an electrophotographic toner according to the present invention will be described in detail.
1. In the present invention, an image forming material whose color is erased only by heating is used. In order to erase the color by heating, use a colorant in which the color developing compound (leuco dye) and the developer are colored, using a thermally decomposable colorant, and by phase transition of the developer. Decoloring, color forming compound (leuco dye), color developer, image forming substance containing color erasing agent forms image in the state where color developing compound (leuco dye) and color developer are colored There is a way.
The method using only a heat-decomposable color material is poor in stability with a color material that is easily thermally decomposed, and it is difficult to decolorize with a color material with good stability, and a practical color material can be obtained. Have difficulty. In order to prevent re-coloring, it is preferable to use an image forming substance containing a color developing compound (leuco dye), a developer, and a decoloring agent.

The image-forming substance that can be erased by heating that can be used in the present invention is described in more detail.
The image forming substance contains a color developable compound (leuco dye) and a developer. And it is in the color development state by compatibilizing the color developing compound and the developer by heating and melting. An example of a mechanism that causes thermal decoloration is a color developing compound (for example, typically leuco) that has developed a color in a compatible state by using a developer that is easily crystallized and crystallizing the developer by heating. Dye) and the developer are separated and decolorized. Other decoloring mechanisms include adding a color erasing agent to the image forming substance in addition to the color developing compound and the developer, and dissolving the color developing compound or the color developer with the color erasing agent by heating. The color developing compound and the developer are separated and decolored. The decolorizer does not necessarily have a single function as the decolorizer, and a thermoplastic resin that functions as a binder can also have a function as a decolorizer.

As the color developable compound (leuco dye) and the developer, leuco dyes and developers that have been widely used in heat-sensitive recording papers can be used in the present invention.
The color former is itself a colorless or light-colored dye precursor, and is a conventionally known one, such as triphenylmethane phthalide compound, fluoran compound, phenothiazine compound, leucooramine compound, indolinophthalide. System compounds and the like are used.
More specifically, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-hexyl-N-iso-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-hexylamino) fluorane 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-octylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-propylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-propyl-N-methyl) Amino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-isopropyl-N-methylamino) fluorane, 2-anili -3-methyl-6- (Nn-octyl-N-ethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-octyl-N-iso-propylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino -3-methyl-6- (Nn-amyl-Nn-propylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-amyl-Nn-butylamino) fluorane, 2 -Anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-amyl-N-ethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-amyl-N-methylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino -3-methyl-6- (N-iso-amyl-N-ethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-propyl-N-isopropylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3 Methyl-6- (Nn-butyl-Nn-propylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethyl-N-sec-butylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3 -Methyl-6- (Nn-butyl-N-iso-propylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-butyl-N-ethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3 -Methyl-6- (N-isobutyl-N-methylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-tetradecylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl- 6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-dodecylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-decylamino) fluorane, 2-a Nilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-octylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino- 3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-amylamino) fluon, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-N-iso-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl- 6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-butylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-propylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6 (N-cyclohexyl-N-ethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-N-methylamino) ) Fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (dicyclohexylethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexylethyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3 -Methyl-6- (N-cyclohexylethyl-Nn-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (dicyclohexylmethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl) Methyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexylmethyl-Nn-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexylmethyl) -Nn-butylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-cy (Rohexylmethyl-N-cyclohexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (diallylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-octyl-N-allylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-hexyl-N-allylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-amyl-N-allylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino- 3-methyl-6- (N-2-ethoxypropyl-N-ethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (diethoxyethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- ( N-ethoxyethyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethoxyethyl-Nn-amyla) Mino) fluoran, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethoxyethyl-N-iso-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethoxyethyl-Nn-butylamino) ) Fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethoxymethyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethoxymethyl-Nn-amylamino) Fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethoxymethyl-N-iso-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-hexadecylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino -3-methyl-6- (Nn-octylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, -Anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methoxy-6 -(Di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methoxy-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methoxy-6- (Nn-hexyl-N-iso -Amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methoxy-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-ethoxy-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2- Anilino-3-ethoxy-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-ethoxy-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexyl) Amino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-ethoxy-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-ethoxyethyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino -3-Ethoxyethyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-ethoxymethyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-ethoxymethyl-6 (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-ethoxymethyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-3-methoxymethyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl- Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-benzylamino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane 2-benzylamino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-benzylamino-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2- (m -Trichloromethylanilino) -3-methyl-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- (m-trifluoromethylanilino) -3-methyl-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- (m-trifluoromethylanilino) -3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-N-methylamino) fluorane, 2- (2,4-dimethylanilino) -3-methyl-6- (Nn-hexyl-N-iso-amylamino) Fluorane, 2- (2,4-dimethylanilino) -3-methyl-6- (di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 2- (2,4-dimethylanilino) -3 Methyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2- (2,4-dimethylanilino) -3-methyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2- (2,4-dimethylani Lino) -3-methyl-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) -3-methyl-6- (N-ethylanilino) fluorane, 2- (N-methyl-p-toluidino)- 3-methyl-6- (N-propyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (Nn-hexyl-N-iso- Amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (Nn-hexyl-N-ethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6 N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (diethoxyethylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino- 6- (N-ethoxyethyl-N-iso-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (N-ethoxyethyl-Nn-amylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (N-ethoxyethyl-N- n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (Nn-octylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-anilino-6- (Nn- Amylamino) fluorane, 2- (o-chloroanilino) -6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- (o-bromoanilino) -6 -Diethylaminofluorane, 2- (o-chloroanilino) -6-dibutylaminofluorane, 2- (o-fluoroanilino) -6-dibutylaminofluorane, 2- (p-chloroanilino) -6- (Nn- Octylamino) fluorane, 2- (p-chloroanilino) -6- (Nn-palmitylamino) fluorane, 2- (p-chloroanilino) -6- (di-n-octylamino) fluorane, 2- (m -Trifluoromethylanilino) -6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- (p-acetylanilino) -6- (Nn-hexyl-N-iso-hexylamino) fluorane, 2- (p-acetylanilino) ) -6- (Di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 2- (p-acetylanilino) -6- (Nn-hexyl-Nn-amylamino) Fluorane, 2- (p-acetylanilino) -6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2- (p-acetylanilino) -6- (Nn-amyl-Nn-butylamino) fluorane 2- (p-acetylanilino) -6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2- (p-acetylanilino) -6- (N-ethoxyethyl-N-iso-amylamino) ) Fluorane, 2- (p-acetylanilino) -6- (N-ethoxyethyl-Nn-amylamino) fluorane, 2-benzylamino-6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-benzyl Amino-6- (N-methyl-2,4-dimethylanilino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6- (N-ethyl-2,4-dimethylanilino) fluorane, -Benzoylamino-6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2- (o-methoxybenzoylamino) -6- (N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6- (di -N-butylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6- (di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6 -(Nn-hexyl-N-iso-amylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6- (di-n-propylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn -Amylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzyl Amino-6- (N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2- (di-p-methylbenzylamino) -6- (N -Ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-4-methyl-
6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-4-methyl-6- (di-n-propylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-4-methyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-4-methyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-4-methoxy-6- (N-methyl-P-toluidino) fluorane, 2-benzylamino-4 -Methyl-6- (N-ethyl-P-toluidino) fluorane, 2- (α-phenylethylamino) -4-methyl-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- (p-toluidino) -3- (t-butyl ) -6- (N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2- (α-phenylethylamino) -6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2- (o -Methoxycarbonylanilino) -6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-methylamino-6- (N-methylanilino) fluorane, 2-methylamino-6- (N-ethylanilino) fluorane, 2-methylamino-6- (N -Propylanilino) fluorane, 2-ethylamino-6- (N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-methylamino-6- (N-methyl-2,4, -dimethylanilino) fluorane, 2- Ethylamino-6- (N-ethyl-2,4, -dimethylanilino) fluorane, 2-dimethylamino-6- (N-methylanilino) fluorane, 2-dimethylamino-6- (N-ethylanilino) fluorane, 2 -Dimethylamino-6- (N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-dimethylamino-6- (N-ethyl) p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-dipropylamino-6- (N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-dipropylamino-6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-acetylamino-3 -Methyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-acetylamino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-acetylamino-3-methyl-6- (di-n -Hexylamino) fluorane, 2-acetylamino-6- (N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (di-n) -Amylamino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-amylamino) Fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-methylanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-ethylanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-propylanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- ( N-methyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-propyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-amino-6 (N-methyl-p-ethylanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-ethyl-p-ethylanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-propyl-p-ethylanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6 -(N-methyl-2,4-dimethylanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-ethyl-2,4-dimethylanilino) fluorane, 2 -Amino-6- (N-propyl-2,4-dimethylanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-methyl-p-chloroanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-ethyl-p- Chloranilino) fluorane, 2-amino-6- (N-propyll-p-chloroanilino) fluorane, 2-amino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-amino-3-methyl-6 -(Di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-amino-3-methyl-6- (di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-amino-3-methoxy-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-amino-3-methoxy-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-amino-3-methoxy-6- (di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 1-methyl-3 Methyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 1-methyl-3-methyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 1-methyl-3-methyl-6- (di-n-hexylamino) ) Fluorane, 1-methyl-3-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-butylamino) fluorane, 2-methyl-3-methyl-6-dimethylaminofluorane, 2-methyl-6- (di -N-propylamino) fluorane, 2-methyl-6- (di-n-butylamino) fluorane, 2-methyl-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-methyl-6- (di-n- Hexylamino) fluorane, 2-methyl-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-amylamino) fluorane, 3-diethylamino-6- (m-trifluoromethylanilino) fluor 3-methyl-6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 4-methoxy-6- (N-ethyl-p-toluidino) fluorane, 2-cyano-6- (di-n-butylamino) Fluorane, 2-cyano-6- (di-n-amylamino) fluorane, 2-cyano-6- (di-n-hexylamino) fluorane, 2-cyano-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-hexylamino) ) Fluorane, 2-cyano-6- (N-cyclohexyl-Nn-decylamino) fluorane, 2-chloro-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-bromo-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-chloro-6-dipropyl Aminofluorane, 3-chloro-6-cyclohexylaminofluorane, 3-bromo-6-cyclohexylaminofluorane, 2-chloro-6- (N-ethyl-N-isoamylamino) fluorane, 2-chloro-3-methyl-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-anilino-3-chloro-6- Diethylaminofluorane, 2- (o-chloroanilino) -3-chloro-6-cyclohexylaminofluorane, 2- (m-trifluoromethylanilino) -3-chloro-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- (2, 3-dichloroanilino) -3-chloro-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-ethoxyethylamino-3-chloro-6-dibutylaminofluorane, 2-dibenzylamino-4-chloro-6- (N-ethyl-p) -Toluidino) fluoran, 2- (α-phenylethylamino) -4-chloro-6-diethylaminofluora 2- (N-benzyl-p-trifluoromethylanilino) -4-chloro-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6-pyrrolidinofluorane, 2-anilino-3-chloro- 6-pyrrolidinofluorane, 2-anilino-3-methyl-6- (N-ethyl-tetrahydrofurfurylamino) fluorane, 2-mesidino-4 ', 5'-benzo-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- ( m-trifluoromethylanilino) -3-methyl-6-pyrrolidinofluorane, 2- (α-naphthylamino) -3,4-benzo-4′-bromo-6- (N-benzyl-N-cyclohexyl) Amino) fluorane, 2-piperidino-6-diethylaminofluorane, 2- (Nn-propyl-p-trifluoromethylanilino) -6-morpholinofluor 2- (Np-chlorophenyl-p-chloroanilino) -6-pyrrolidinofluorane, 3- (Nn-propyl-m-trifluoromethylanilino) -6-morpholinofluorane, 1 , 2-Benzo-6-diethylaminofluorane, 1,2-benzo-6- (N-ethyl-N-isoamylamino) fluorane, 1,2-benzo-6-dibutylaminofluorane, 1,2-benzo- 6- (N-methyl-N-cyclohexylamino) fluorane, 1,2-benzo-6- (N-ethyl-Nn-octylamino) fluorane, 1,2-benzo-6- (N-ethyl-p -Toluidino) fluorane, 1,2-benzo-6-diallylaminofluorane, 1,2-benzo-6- (N-ethoxyethyl-N-ethylamino) fluorane, benzoleucomet Blue, 2- [3,6-bis (diethylamino)]-6- (O-chloroanilino) xanthylbenzoate lactam, 2- [3,6-bis (diethylamino)]-9- (O-chloroanilino) xanthylbenzoic acid Lactam, 3,3-bis (p-dimethylaminophenyl) -phthalide, 3,3-bis (p-dimethylaminophenyl) -6-dimethylaminophthalide (also known as crystal violet lactone), 3,3-bis (p -Dimethylaminophenyl) -6-diethylaminophthalide, 3,3-bis (p-dimethylaminophenyl) -6-chlorophthalide, 3,3-bis (p-dibutylaminophenyl) phthalide, 3- (2-methoxy- 4-dimethylaminophenyl) -3- (2-hydroxy-4,5-dichlorophenyl) phthalide, 3- (2 -Hydroxy-4-dimethylaminophenyl) -3- (2-methoxy-5-chlorophenyl) phthalide, 3- (2-hydroxy-4-dimethoxyaminophenyl) -3- (2-methoxy-5-chlorophenyl) Phthalide, 3- (2-hydroxy-4-dimethylaminophenyl) -3- (2-methoxy-5-nitrophenyl) phthalide, 3- (2-hydroxy-4-diethylaminophenyl) -3- (2-methoxy-) 5-methylphenyl) phthalide, 3- (2-methoxy-4-dimethylaminophenyl) -3- (2-hydroxy-4-chloro-5-methoxyphenyl) phthalide, 3,6-bis (dimethylamino) fluorene spiro ( 9,3 ')-6'-dimethylaminophthalide, 6'-chloro-8'-methoxy-benzoindolino-spiropyran 6'-bromo-2'-methoxy - benzoin Dori Bruno - can be exemplified spiropyran like.
These color developing compounds can be used alone, but for reasons such as adjustment of color tone and image density, adjustment of electrostatic characteristics, adjustment of decoloring characteristics, and the like, two or more kinds may be used as appropriate. it can.

Specific examples of the developer include p- (dodecylthio) phenol, p- (tetradecylthio) phenol, p- (hexadecylthio) phenol, p- (octadecylthio) phenol, p- (eicosylthio) phenol. , P- (docosylthio) phenol, p- (tetracosylthio) phenol, p- (dodecyloxy) phenol, p- (tetradecyloxy) phenol, p- (hexadecyloxy) phenol, p- (octadecyloxy) phenol , P- (eicosyloxy) phenol, p- (docosyloxy) phenol, p- (tetracosyloxy) phenol, p-dodecylcarbamoylphenol, p-tetradecylcarbamoylphenol, p-hexadecylcarbamoylphenol, p-octadecy Carbamoylphenol, p-eicosylcarbamoylphenol, p-docosylcarbamoylphenol, p-tetracosylcarbamoylphenol, gallic acid hexadecyl ester, gallic acid octadecyl ester, gallic acid eicosyl ester, gallic acid docosyl ester, gallic acid tetra Phenol such as cosyl ester, phenol metal salts, α-hydroxydodecanoic acid, α-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, α-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid, α-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid, α-hydroxypentadecanoic acid, α-hydroxyeicosanoic acid, α-hydroxy Docosanoic acid, α-hydroxytetracosanoic acid, α-hydroxyhexacosanoic acid, α-hydroxyoctacosanoic acid, 2-chlorooctadecanoic acid, heptadecafluorononadecanoic acid, 2-bromide Mohexadecanoic acid, 2-bromoheptadecanoic acid, 2-bromooctadecanoic acid, 2-bromoeicosanoic acid, 2-bromodocosanoic acid, 2-bromotetracosanoic acid, 3-bromooctadecanoic acid, 3-bromoeicosanoic acid, 2 , 3-Dibromooctadecanoic acid, 2-fluorododecanoic acid, 2-fluorotetradecanoic acid, 2-fluorohexadecanoic acid, 2-fluorooctadecanoic acid, 2-fluoroeicosanoic acid, 2-fluorodocosanoic acid, 2-iodohexadecanoic acid 2-iodooctadecanoic acid, 3-iodohexadecanoic acid, 3-iodooctadecanoic acid, perfluorooctadecanoic acid, 2-oxododecanoic acid, 2-oxotetradecanoic acid, 2-oxohexadecanoic acid, 2-oxooctadecanoic acid, 2- Oxoeicosanoic acid, 2-oxotetracosanoic acid, 3 Oxododecanoic acid, 3-oxotetradecanoic acid, 3-oxohexadecanoic acid, 3-oxooctadecanoic acid, 3-oxoeicosanoic acid, 3-oxotetracosanoic acid, 4-oxohexadecanoic acid, 4-oxoheptadecanoic acid, 4 -Oxooctadecanoic acid, 4-oxodocosanoic acid, dodecylmalic acid, tetradecylmalic acid, hexadecylmalic acid, octadecylmalic acid, eicosylmalic acid, docosylmalic acid, tetracosylmalic acid, dodecylthiomalic acid, tetradecylthio Malic acid, hexadecylthiomalic acid, octadecylthiomalic acid, eicosylthiomalic acid, docosylthiomalic acid, tetracosylthiomalic acid, dodecyldithiomalic acid, tetradecyldithiomalic acid, hexadecyldithiomalic acid, octadecyl Dithioline Acid, eicosyldithiomalic acid, docosyldithiomalic acid, tetracosyldithiomalic acid, dodecylbutanedioic acid, tridecylbutanedioic acid, tetradecylbutanedioic acid, pentadecylbutanedioic acid, octadecylbutanedioic acid, ray Cosylbutanedioic acid, docosylbutanedioic acid, 2,3-dihexadecylbutanedioic acid, 2,3-dioctadecylbutanedioic acid, 2-methyl-3-dodecylbutanedioic acid, 2-methyl-3-tetradecylbutane Diacid, 2-methyl-3-hexadecylbutanedioic acid, 2-ethyl-3-dodecylbutanedioic acid, 2-propyl-3-decylbutanedioic acid, 2-octyl-3-hexadecylbutanedioic acid, 2- Tetradecyl-3-octadecylbutanedioic acid, dodecylmalonic acid, tetradecylmalonic acid, hexadecylmalonic acid, octadecylmalonic acid, Eicosylmalonic acid, docosylmalonic acid, tetracosylmalonic acid, didodecylmalonic acid, ditetradecylmalonic acid, dihexadecylmalonic acid, dioctadecylmalonic acid, dieicosylmalonic acid, didocosylmalonic acid, methyloctadecylmalonic acid, Methyleicosylmalonic acid, methyldocosylmalonic acid, methyltetracosylmalonic acid, ethyloctadecylmalonic acid, ethyleicosylmalonic acid, ethyldocosylmalonic acid, ethyltetracosylmalonic acid, 2-dodecyl-pentanedioic acid 2-hexadecyl-pentanedioic acid, 2-octadecyl-pentanedioic acid, 2-eicosyl-pentanedioic acid, 2-docosyl-pentanedioic acid, 2-dodecyl-hexanedioic acid, 2-pentadecyl-hexanedioic acid, 2 -Octadecyl-hexanedioic acid, 2-eicosyl-he Carboxylic acids such as sundioic acid, 2-docosyl-hexanedioic acid, carboxylic acid metal salts, dodecylphosphonic acid, tetradecylphosphonic acid, hexadecylphosphonic acid, octadecylphosphonic acid, eicosylphosphonic acid, docosylphosphonic acid, tetra Examples include organic phosphoric acid compounds such as cosylphosphonic acid, hexacosylphosphonic acid, and octacosylphosphonic acid, and acidic materials such as benzophenone, sulfonic acid, and sulfonate. Preferably used.
These can be used alone, but for reasons such as adjustment of the decoloring characteristics, two or more of them can be mixed and used in some cases.

The image forming material of the present invention is usually fixed on the surface of the recording material by heating at the time of image formation. However, the image forming material exists independently in the background area of the recording material, and particularly the concave portion of the recording material. What is independently present in the inside is often not noticeable even if it is not completely removed. On the other hand, when removing it, it is removed by transferring it to a peeling member and by rubbing with a rubbing member. Sometimes, unlike washing out with a solvent, it tends to be harder to remove than aggregates or aggregates of many particles that contribute to image formation, and this trend is found to be more pronounced than expected. It was.
The thermoplastic resin component, the color developing compound, and the developer compounding ratio in the image forming material of the present invention are 99.7 to 60% by weight of the thermoplastic resin component: the color developing compound + the color developer amount of 0.3 to It is preferably 30% by weight. If the amount is less than 0.3% by weight, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient image density, and the recording material surface may be tagged due to the resin component from the remaining image forming material. Electrostatic development and electrostatic transfer of the developed image to a recording material are often impaired, the heat-resistant storage stability of the image forming material is often deteriorated, and decolorization is difficult. Or the viscoelasticity of the image forming substance becomes unsuitable for thermal fixing, and problems such as hot offsets are likely to occur in the thermal fixing roller. The amount of the developer with respect to the color developable compound is necessary for obtaining the image density, and it is convenient for decoloring to be minimized.

Specific materials for the color erasing agent used in the present invention include polysaccharides such as starch, dextrin, mannan, amylose, glycogen, chitin, pectin, D-glucose, D-mannose, D-galactose, and D-fructose. L-sorbose, L-rhamnose, L-fucose, D-ribodesource, α-D-glucose = pentaacetate, acetoglucose, diacetone-D-glucose, D-glucuronic acid, D-galacturonic acid, D-glucosamine, D -Fructosamine, D-isosaccharide acid, vitamin C, ertrubic acid, trehalose, saccharose, maltose, cellobiose, gentiobiose, lactose, melibiose, raffinose, gentianose, melezitose, stachyose, methyl = α-glucopyranoside, salicin, Sugars such as amygdalin, euxanthic acid, 1,2: 5,6-diisopropylidene-D-mannitol, collagen, takaamylase A, casein, germ glycoprotein, proteins such as ovalbumin, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyridine, Polymer materials such as polyvinyl acetal, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl imidazole, polyvinyl pyrrole, polyvinyl carbazole, cholesterol, lanosterol, lanostadiel, agnosterol, cholestanol, coprostanol, ostrea sterol, actinia sterol, spongosterol, cryonasterol , Cholanic acid, cholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid, lithocholic acid, stigmasterol, α-sitosterol, β-sitosterol, γ-sitostero , Brassicasterol, vitamin D, such as ergosterol and the like.
These can be used alone, but two or more kinds can be mixed and used for reasons such as adjustment of decoloring characteristics, electrostatic characteristics and melt viscosity characteristics.

Also, adjusting the glass transition temperature of thermoplastic components used in image forming materials such as polystyrene resin, styrene-acrylic resin, styrene-butadiene resin, and selecting a color developer having appropriate solubility in resin. Thus, the resin itself can also function as a decoloring agent.
The image-forming substance of the present invention preferably has thermoplasticity. By having thermoplasticity, the image forming substance can be fixed on the recording material by a thermal fixing method used in ordinary electrophotography, and the image forming substance on the recording material can be fixed by thermal transfer to a peeling member. Can be removed. In order to impart thermoplasticity, a known thermoplastic resin is used as an electrophotographic toner material.

That is, as carboxylic acid, terephthalic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, brassylic acid, pyromellitic acid, citraconic acid, glutaconic acid, mesaconic acid One or more of acid, itaconic acid, teraconic acid, phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, hemimellitic acid, merophanic acid, trimesic acid, planitic acid, trimellitic acid, etc. are used. As polyhydric alcohol, bisphenol A, water Bisphenol A, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butanediol, neopentyldiol, hexamethylenediol, heptanediol, octanediol, pentaglycerol, pentaerythritol, cyclohexanediol, cyclopentanediol, pinaco Polyester resin, polystyrene, poly (p-chlorostyrene), polycondensation using one or more of ruthel, glycerin, etherified diphenol, catechol, resorcinol, pyrogallol, benzenetriol, phloroglucinol, benzenetetraol, etc. Polymers of styrene such as polyvinyltoluene and substituted products thereof; styrene-p-chlorostyrene copolymer, styrene-propylene copolymer, styrene-vinyltoluene copolymer, styrene-vinylnaphthalene copolymer, styrene-acrylic acid Methyl copolymer, styrene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-butyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-octyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-methyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-ethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene Butyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-glycidyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-diethylaminopropylacrylate copolymer, styrene-ethylene glycol methacrylate Copolymer, Styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, Styrene-vinyl methyl ketone copolymer, Styrene-butadiene copolymer, Styrene-isoprene copolymer, Styrene-acrylonitrile-indene copolymer, Styrene-maleic acid copolymer Styrene copolymers such as styrene-maleic acid ester copolymer; polymethyl methacrylate, polybutyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene, polypropylene Ren, polyester, epoxy resin, epoxy polyol resin, polyurethane, polyamide, polyvinyl butyral, polyacrylic acid resin, rosin, modified rosin, terpene resin, aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarbon resin, aromatic petroleum resin, etc. .
These resin components are 60 to 99.5% by weight, preferably 80 to 97% by weight, in the image forming substance powder.

In order to obtain good fixing and removal characteristics of the image forming substance, the glass transition point (Tg) of the thermoplastic resin component contained in the image forming substance is important for the melting temperature and the viscoelastic characteristics. When the glass transition point is 40 to 100 ° C., fixing and removal of the image forming substance from the recording material can be performed at a relatively low temperature, and the storage stability of the image forming substance is also good. The glass transition point is more preferably 50 to 70 ° C. As the storage elastic modulus of the thermoplastic resin component, the temperature at which the measurement frequency is 20 Hz is 10000 dyne / cm ² is 80 ° C. or higher, preferably 90 to 160 ° C.

  In addition to the above components, the image forming substance used in the present invention preferably contains a material having an action of weakening the adhesion to the recording material. The image on the recording material can be used without using a special recording material provided with a material that reduces the adhesive force with the image forming substance by including a material having an action of weakening the adhesiveness to the recording material. This is because the forming substance can be removed. In the paper mainly composed of cellulose fiber, which is widely used, when an image forming substance mainly composed of styrene-acrylic resin, polyester resin, or epoxy resin, which is generally used as an electrophotographic toner, is used, In particular, it is difficult to remove the image-forming substance when a liquid that weakens the adhesion between the image-forming substance and the recording material is not applied. By incorporating a material having an action of weakening the adhesion to the recording material into the image forming substance, it is not always necessary to apply a liquid that weakens the adhesive force between the image forming substance and the recording material. Even when the recording material is used, most of the image forming substance can be removed from the recording material. However, when a recording material having a low surface smoothness that is generally used as described later is used, a large amount of material can be obtained by adding a material having an action of weakening the adhesion to the recording material to the image forming substance. Although part of the image forming substance can be removed, it is difficult to remove the image forming substance adhering to the concave portion of the recording material.

As a material having an action of weakening the adhesion to the recording material, a compound having both a hydrophilic group and a hydrophobic group in the structure is suitable. The hydrophilic group plays a role of retaining a compound having an action of weakening adhesiveness at the interface with the recording material when the image forming material is fixed on the recording material, and the hydrophobic group is formed between the image forming material and the recording material. It is thought to act to weaken adhesion.
More specific examples of materials that weaken the adhesion to the recording material include sodium laurate, sodium stearate, sodium oleate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium cetyl sulfate, sodium stearyl sulfate, and oleyl. Sodium sulfate ester, sodium lauryl ether sulfate ester, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, lauryltrimethylammonium chloride, lauryldimethylbenzylammonium chloride, sodium laurylaminopropionate, lauryldimethylbetaine, nonylphenyl polyethylene glycol ether, stearic acid EO adduct, laurin Acid monoglyceride, sorbitan stearate triester, stearyl phosphate, stearyl phosphate ester A surfactant comprising higher alkyl groups such as ether.

  These materials that act to weaken the adhesiveness to the recording material have an effect of reducing the adhesiveness to the recording material by containing 0.1 to 10% by weight in the image forming substance. The method of adding these materials to the image forming substance can be added by kneading with a thermoplastic resin, a color developing compound, a developer, or the like, or only in the vicinity of the surface of the image forming substance ground as an external additive. Can also be granted. When kneaded and added, the addition amount is preferably 3 to 10% by weight, and when added as an external additive, it is preferably 0.1 to 2% by weight. When the addition amount is smaller than this range, the effect of lowering the adhesiveness with the recording material is small, and when commonly used paper is used as the recording material, the image forming substance can be removed from the recording material. It becomes difficult. When the addition amount is larger than this range, the viscoelasticity of the image forming substance becomes unsuitable for heat fixing, and particularly when heat fixing is performed with a heat roller or a heat belt, an offset is likely to occur. In addition, the fixability to the recording material may be excessively lowered.

For the thermoplastic powder image-forming substance according to the present invention, a known material such as a charge control agent, a release material, or an external additive is used as necessary.
Examples of charge control agents include alkoxy amines, quaternary ammonium salts, fluorine activators, salicylic acid metal salts, metal salts of salicylic acid derivatives, and the like, and colorless materials such as those listed here may be used. preferable.
More specifically, E-84 (Orient Chemical, salicylic acid derivative zinc complex), TN-105 (Hodogaya Chemical, salicylic acid derivative zirconium complex), LR-147 (Nippon Carlit, boron complex), FCA-1001N (Fujikura Chemical) , Styrene-sulfonic acid resin) and the like can be cited as negatively chargeable charge control agents, such as P-51 (Orient Chemistry, quaternary ammonium salt), TP-415 (Hodogaya Chemical, quaternary ammonium salt). FCA-201PB (Fujikura Kasei Co., Ltd., styrene-acrylic quaternary ammonium salt resin) and the like can be mentioned as a positively chargeable charge control agent. The addition amount of the charge control agent is preferably 0.1 to 4% by weight, particularly preferably 0.3 to 2% by weight, based on the total weight of the image forming substance.

The external additive is added to assist the fluidity, developability, and chargeability of the image forming substance powder, and is usually added so as to cover the surfaces of the color material and the resin particles. Known external additives include silica, alumina, titanium oxide, barium titanate, magnesium titanate, calcium titanate, strontium titanate, zinc oxide, tin oxide, iron oxide, silica sand, clay, mica, silica ash Stone, diatomaceous earth, chromium oxide, cerium oxide, bengara, antimony trioxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium oxide, barium sulfate, barium carbonate, calcium carbonate, silicon carbide, boron carbide, titanium carbide, zirconium carbide, hafnium carbide, vanadium carbide, Examples thereof include inorganic fine particles such as tantalum carbide, niobium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium carbide, molybdenum carbide, calcium carbide, diamond carbon random, silicon nitride, boron nitride, titanium nitride, zirconium nitride, and zirconium boride. The primary particle diameter of these inorganic fine particles is preferably 2 nm to 500 nm, and particularly preferably 5 nm to 50 nm.
The amount of these inorganic fine particles used in the image forming substance powder is preferably 0.01 to 5% by weight, and particularly preferably 0.01 to 2.0% by weight, based on the entire image forming substance.

As a method for producing the image forming substance of the present invention, a conventional method for producing a toner for electrophotography can be applied. For example, a color former, a developer, a color erasing agent, a binder resin, and an additive as necessary. Etc. can be produced by melt kneading and then pulverizing.
When the image forming substance is used as a powder, by setting the volume average particle size to 3 to 15 μm, good image quality can be obtained, and the image forming substance can be removed from the recording material well. preferable.
In recent years, higher image quality than ever has been required due to advances in electrophotographic technology, higher resolution and colorization of digital electrophotography. In order to meet this requirement, it is preferable to reduce the particle size of the powder used as the image forming substance. In particular, in order to obtain high image quality in a digital image forming apparatus having a resolution of 400 dpi or more, it is preferable to form an image with powder having a volume average particle size of 7.0 μm or less. The image-forming substance powder having a small particle diameter easily enters a gap or a hole structure on the paper surface and makes it very difficult to remove a complete image from the paper. Therefore, in the reproduction of a recording material on which an image is formed with a powder image forming material having a volume average particle size of 7.0 μm or less, according to the present invention, the image forming material removing step and the color erasing by heating the image forming material are performed. It is particularly effective to carry out both the process and the process.

  Also, in recent years, instead of producing powder by conventional pulverization, a polymerization method such as dispersion polymerization or suspension polymerization or a resin component is dissolved and dispersed in a liquid such as water to form fine particles. Manufacturing methods for forming substances are beginning to be used. The image forming material produced by these methods is nearly spherical compared to the image forming material produced by the pulverization method. A nearly spherical powdery image-forming substance can easily enter a gap on the paper surface or a recess such as a hole structure, making it very difficult to remove a complete image from the paper. In the reproduction of a recording material on which an image is formed with an image forming material produced by using a fine particle forming means such as a polymerization method or dispersion, according to the present invention, the image forming material is removed and the image forming material is heated. It is particularly effective to perform both the decoloring step.

  As electrophotographic wet developers, color formers, developers, and decolorizers are kneaded with a binder resin, then mixed with a liquid medium such as petroleum solvents, silicone oils, vegetable oils, etc. It can be manufactured by dispersing. Further, the powder pulverized by the above method can be produced by adding a surfactant, a charge control agent, etc. and dispersing it in a liquid medium.

2. Image Forming Method In principle, the recording material repetitive use method, image forming method, and recording material reproducing method of the present invention include handwriting and thermal transfer methods, ink jet recording methods, and magnetic recording methods in addition to electrophotographic methods. The present invention can also be applied to the case where an image is formed by a known method such as offset printing, gravure printing, letterpress printing, or screen printing. In particular, an image is formed by electrophotography, and in particular, an image is formed by electrophotography employing a heat fixing method in which a thermoplastic image forming material is used and the image forming material is fixed to a recording material by heating. It is preferable because the image forming substance on the recording material can be easily removed by transferring the image forming substance on the recording material to the peeling member. When an image is formed by a thermal transfer method, an ink jet recording method, a printing method, or handwriting, removing the image forming substance generally used in these methods from the recording material is performed. The method of transferring from a material to a peeling member is often more difficult than removing an image forming substance formed by electrophotography. However, methods other than electrophotography can also be used by using recording materials with high smoothness or recording materials with low surface energy, or by removing the images formed on those recording materials by rubbing. It is possible to do.

  As an electrophotographic method for forming an image, in addition to a general electrophotographic method in which a photosensitive member is charged, exposed, developed, and transferred to a recording material, an electrostatic recording method and a toner jet recording method are used. In addition, a photoconductor such as an ion flow recording method may be used, or an electrophotographic method using a screen-like photoconductor may be used. As a heat fixing method in which a thermoplastic image forming material is used to fix the image forming material to the recording material, the image forming material on the recording material is heated by a general roller or belt. In addition, the image forming substance on the photosensitive member or the intermediate transfer belt is heated and fixed to the recording material at the same time as the transfer. The image forming substance is irradiated with light or microwaves to generate heat and fix. A method can also be used.

3. Image Removal Method As an image removal method, a method of rubbing with a blade member, a brush-like member, a grindstone, etc., a method of transferring an image forming substance on a recording material to a peeling member having adhesiveness to an image forming substance, A method of superimposing the formed recording material and the peeling member, heating and pressurizing, separating the recording material and the peeling member, and transferring the image forming substance on the recording material to the peeling member; The method for performing the rubbing and transfer after applying a solvent for dissolving or swelling the image forming substance or a liquid for swelling the surface of the recording material, and a method for performing the rubbing and transfer of the recording material in the solvent for dissolving or swelling the image forming substance Examples thereof include a method of rubbing the surface.
Among these image removing methods, a method of removing the image forming substance on the recording material by rubbing without applying a solvent for dissolving or swelling the image forming substance or a liquid for swelling the surface of the recording material, The recording material on which the image is formed and the peeling member are superposed, heated and pressurized, then the recording material and the peeling member are separated, and the image forming substance on the recording material is transferred to the peeling member. It is preferred to use the method. In order to reduce the adhesion between the image forming substance and the recording material, if a liquid medium mainly composed of water is applied to the recording material, the image forming substance can be easily removed, but the liquid is uniformly applied to the recording material. In order to apply the liquid to the recording material, it is necessary to use a liquid applying means with a complicated structure, or when a large amount of liquid is applied, a regenerated recording material that requires a lot of energy for drying is required. And curl are likely to occur, causing a problem of re-use. Further, when an organic solvent other than water is applied to the recording material, a problem in safety and hygiene occurs when the solvent is removed from the recording material.

  For removal by rubbing, an image is formed using a roller or belt member having an elastic body such as a blade member, a brush-like member, or rubber, an elastic blade, a metal blade, a thermosetting resin blade, or a plastic blade. The surface of the recorded material is rubbed to remove the image forming substance from the recorded material. A preferable method for removing the image-forming substance by rubbing is to rotate a cylindrical blade member having a spiral blade or a disk-shaped member having a blade to contact the surface of the recording material. It is a method by touching. In these methods, by rotating the cylinder or disk at high speed, the shearing force can be concentrated on a minute part of the recording material when the time is divided, so that the surface of the recording material is damaged. And the image forming substance can be removed.

However, in the rubbing method, from the principle, in order to remove the image forming substance adhering to the concave portion of the recording material, the convex portion of the recording material is polished, and the recording material having irregularities on the surface Thus, it is impossible to completely remove the image forming substance without damaging the surface of the recording material. According to the present invention, it is possible to reproduce the recording material without damaging the surface of the recording material by erasing the image forming substance remaining in the concave portion by heat.
In addition, even when a specific recording material with high surface smoothness and low surface energy is used, the image forming substance powder that has become fine powder by rubbing often re-adheres to the recording material. It is difficult to completely remove the material. In the method of removing the image forming material by rubbing, the peeled image forming material is often charged by friction with a blade or the like, and is easily reattached to the recording material. In some cases, the re-attached image forming material is rubbed by a rubbing member such as a blade and enters the concave portion of the recording material again. It is difficult to completely remove the image forming material reattached in this manner and the image forming material that has entered the recess. Therefore, it is preferable to decolorize the image forming material by heating in order to eliminate the obstacle in re-use due to the image forming material to be reattached.

  In particular, when using commonly used paper mainly composed of cellulose fibers having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less with Oken-type smoothness, the image-forming substances adhering to the concave portions of the paper are removed. It is difficult to recycle paper that is free from trouble by reusing it by using both the removal of image-forming substances and decoloring by heating, and repeated compared to the case where only decoloring is performed. You can use more times. By using a recording material having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less with Oken type smoothness, the fixing property of the image forming substance to the recording material is ensured as compared with the case where a smooth recording material is used. Easy to do.

The recording material on which the image is formed and the peeling member are superposed, heated and pressed without applying a liquid for reducing the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming substance, and then the recording material And the peeling member are separated, and the image forming substance on the recording material is transferred to the peeling member, the peeling member that adheres to the image forming substance stronger than the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming substance. It is necessary to use it. Therefore, the type of release member used to transfer the image forming substance depends on the relative strength of the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming substance, the adhesive force between the release member and the image forming substance, and the cohesive force of the image forming substance. It is necessary to select from the relationship.
As the peeling member, a roller or a film made of a metal such as nickel or stainless steel or a polymer material such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, aramid, polyethylene naphthalate, or polyether ether ketone, or a rubber member such as isoprene rubber, butyl rubber, or silicon rubber is used. Among them, those having an active surface excellent in acceptability for an image forming substance having a tendency to self-aggregate due to weak cohesion with a recording material are preferable. A peeling member having a thermoplastic resin for toner or the like on the surface can also be used.
In order to remove an image formed on a recording material such as paper, which is generally used, without using a liquid that reduces the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming material, It is preferable to use an image forming substance that contains a material that lowers the adhesiveness to the recording material and has a lower adhesive force to the recording material than the image forming substance generally used. In addition, the adhesion between the recording material and the image-forming substance can be achieved by using a recording material in which the adhesion of the image-forming substance is reduced by applying a toner repellent agent instead of using the commonly used paper. It is also possible to remove the image forming substance on the recording material without using a liquid that lowers the image quality. By using these image forming materials and recording materials, it is relatively easy to remove most of the image forming materials on the recording materials.

  In the case of using commonly used paper mainly composed of cellulose fibers having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less with Oken type smoothness, an image forming substance is formed with a release member having no thermoplastic resin layer on the surface. Even when trying to transfer and remove, it is difficult to remove the image forming material adhering to the concave portion of the paper or the image forming material forming a low-height image portion such as a halftone image. Similarly, when a liquid that reduces the adhesion between the recording material and the image forming material is applied to the recording material, the height of the image forming material or halftone image adhering to the concave portion of the paper is also low. It is difficult to remove the image forming material forming the image portion. When the image forming substance in the concave portion of the paper and the image forming substance higher than the surface of the paper are connected like the solid image part, the peeling member contacts and adheres to the image forming substance higher than the surface. The image forming substance in the concave portion of the paper can also be transferred to the peeling member by being pulled by the image forming substance adhered to the peeling member. When the image-forming material is separated at a temperature where the image-forming material is thermoplastic without being cooled after the recording material and the peeling member are heated and pressurized, they are present particularly in the recesses of the recording material. The image forming substance is easily pulled off by being pulled by the image forming substance higher than the surface. For this reason, most of the image forming material can be removed from the recording material by the method of transferring the image forming material on the recording material to the peeling member by heating, pressurization, and separation. However, even if a specific recording material is used or the adhesive force between the recording material and the image forming substance is reduced by using a peeling liquid, the image forming substance and the peeling member do not come into contact with each other, so that the image is completely removed. It can't be done.

  In the case of paper mainly composed of cellulose fibers having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less in smoothness, there are many cases where there is an image forming substance formed independently in the recess, and such an image forming substance is Since it is difficult to contact the peeling member, it is not removed. Therefore, by using both the removal of the image forming substance and the color erasing by heating, the paper can be recycled to a paper that does not hinder the reuse, and the number of repeated use can be increased as compared with the case where only the color erasing is performed. .

As described above, in the present invention, the reproduction of the recording material uses the step of removing the image forming substance and the step of decoloring by heating the image forming substance on the recording material. Even if the image forming material remains, the image forming material is heated and decolored to reduce the visibility, so that the regenerated recording material can be repeatedly used without any trouble.
In the method of performing only erasing, the image forming substance accumulates on the recording material by repeated use. For this reason, a jam occurs in the image forming apparatus or the recording material is loaded and heated / erased. In order to cause blocking in this case, the number of repeated uses is limited. However, the method of the present invention can solve these problems. Further, in the method of performing only erasing, there is a problem that the information can be read because the image forming substance remains even if the color disappears, but this can also be solved. Since the method necessary for erasing is also a simple method of heating, the object can be achieved with a small and inexpensive apparatus.

  As described above, the effect of removing the image forming substance and erasing the image forming substance for reproducing the recording material is great, but it is not always necessary to execute both for each repeated use. That is, only when the recording material is repeatedly used by performing only decoloring by heating, and the image forming substance has accumulated in the recording material, and it is predicted that a failure will occur in the next reuse, Execution of the removal of the image forming substance is preferable in that unnecessary operations and energy are not used for reusing the recording material. When a method of removing the image forming material by thermal transfer to the peeling member is employed, particularly when a recording material with high smoothness is used, most of the image forming material on the recording material is removed. Therefore, it is not always necessary to decolor by heating each time it is used repeatedly. In such a case, the image forming material is decolored only when the image forming material is accumulated in the recording material by repeated use and a failure is predicted to occur in the next reuse. It is preferable that unnecessary operations and energy are not used for reusing the recording material.

  When the image forming material is removed by rubbing, the image forming material is relatively likely to remain. Therefore, it is preferable that the image forming material is regenerated only by the decoloring process until the image forming material is accumulated. When the process of erasing only is performed, the color of the image disappears, but the substance forming the image forming substance remains on the recording material as it is. For this reason, the information recorded visually can be read even after the recording material is reproduced. In order to prevent this, it is preferable to remove the image forming substance each time it is repeated. However, by using a recording material having a smoothness exceeding 200 seconds, the recording material is greatly rubbed. Partial imaging material can be removed. In such a case, it is preferable to perform decoloring by heating only when re-adhered image forming substances accumulate due to repeated use, and the number of times that the recording material can be used repeatedly can be increased.

In the present invention, when both the process of removing the image forming substance and the process of erasing the image forming substance by heating are performed for reproducing the recording material, either process may be performed first. It is also possible to set the conditions such that both processes proceed simultaneously by setting the decoloring temperature of the image forming substance in a specific image removal method.
The image forming substance is removed by superimposing a recording material on which an image is formed and a peeling member exhibiting adhesiveness to the image forming substance, pressurizing the image forming substance in a heated state, In the case where the image forming substance is transferred from the recording material to the peeling member by separating the peeling member, the image forming substance on the recording material needs to be heated also in the removal of the image. Therefore, the process of removing the image forming substance and the process of erasing the image forming substance by heating are performed continuously, and the next process is executed before the image forming substance heated in either process is cooled to room temperature. This is preferable because the recording material can be reproduced with a small amount of input energy. After the image forming material on the recording material is decolored by heating, before the image forming material or recording material is cooled to room temperature, the image forming material is transferred to the peeling member by heating, pressurizing and separating operations. It is also preferable to remove the image forming substance. After removing the image forming material by transferring the image forming material to the peeling member by performing heating, pressurizing and separating operations, the image forming material and the recording material are continuously within the time when the temperature does not drop to room temperature. It is also preferable to erase the image forming material remaining on the recording material in the step of removing the image forming material by performing a heat treatment.

  When the image forming material is decolored by heating through a nip between a heating roller and a pressure roller, a change in the gap between the heating roller and the pressure roller is detected, or a recording material is ejected from the nip. By detecting the degree of wrapping around the roller after the arrival, it is possible to predict whether or not a failure will occur in the next image formation. That is, the change in the gap between the rollers while the recording material is passing corresponds to the thickness of the image forming substance accumulated on the recording material, and when this change exceeds a certain value. When reusing, when the heat fixing roller of the image forming apparatus is wound, the heat capacity is insufficient due to the thickness of the image, the fixing is defective, or when reproducing the recording material on which the image is formed, When laminated and heated, there is a problem of blocking or winding around the heat roller. In addition, by detecting the degree of wrapping around the heating roller in the erasing apparatus, when the recording material is used, the wrapping of the image forming apparatus when passing the heating roller at the time of the thermal fixing roller or the next thermal erasing. The degree of stickiness can be predicted. When the image forming material is removed after passing through the nip between the heating roller and the pressure roller and then the image forming material is removed, the adhesion state of the image forming material is detected as described above, and only the color erasing is performed. If it is predicted that a failure will occur when the reproduced recording material is used, the image removal that is not necessarily required for repeated use can be performed by erasing and removing the image forming substance. The process can be omitted and can be performed when image removal is necessary.

  In order to determine whether or not the adhesion state of the image forming substance on the recording material causes a failure in the next image formation or recording material reproduction process, in addition to using the detection means as described above, the recording material Detects the amount of change in the gap between the transport roller pair, and detects how much the image-forming substance is attached to the surface of the recording material using an optical sensor such as a 1x sensor or CCD. You can also It is also possible to predict the occurrence of a failure from the amount of the image forming substance adhering to the recording material by measuring the weight of the recording material.

  The method of reproducing the recording material by only the decoloring process until the predetermined number of times after the image is removed is also an effective method for eliminating unnecessary reproduction operations. In order to manage the repeated use count for each recording material, the repeated use count information is automatically recorded by the image forming apparatus and the recording material reproducing apparatus, and the recorded information is reproduced by the image forming apparatus and the recording material. If the apparatus can detect it, it is not necessary for the user to manage the number of repetitions for each recording material. As an example of managing the number of times of repeated use, for example, when a recording material reproducing device is provided with a means for detecting the number of times of use, and the number of times of use after image removal is less than a certain number of times, Then, only the decoloring process is executed, and when the specified number of times of use is exceeded, the image forming substance removing process and the image forming substance decoloring process are controlled. When only the color erasing process is performed, in addition to the detected information on the number of times of repeated use, information indicating that reproduction by one color erasing has been performed is recorded on the recording material. When both the image forming substance removing step and the image forming substance erasing step are performed, the information is recorded on the recording material, and the number of times of reproduction by only erasing is cleared. In order to record information indicating the number of times of use / reproduction on the recording material, punch holes, print using markers such as inkjet heads, pencils and pens, mark with rubber stamps with continuous holes, etc. There is a way. The repeated use count information does not necessarily need to be visually recognized by the user, and may be detected only by the image forming apparatus or the recording material reproducing apparatus. Therefore, it is not necessary to be visible information, and colorless or white fluorescent ink, It is also possible to record with an infrared absorbing ink, an ultraviolet absorbing ink, or an ink containing a high dielectric constant substance.

  In the above description, as a heating method for erasing the color, a method of processing a recording material for each sheet using a heating roller or a heating belt has been described as an example. As a heating method for decoloring, in addition to the above, a thermal head such as that used in thermal printers and facsimiles, or a method of heating with a plate that can heat a large area at once, such as an iron, is used. A method and a method of blowing hot air are also possible. It is also possible to stack recording materials to be erased in the chamber, and heat the stacked recording materials at once using a heater, a blower, or a heat pipe. Regardless of the heating method described above, the image forming substance is removed and the image forming substance is erased by heating, so that the image forming substance on the recording material can be reused without being completely removed. It can be reproduced on a recording material and the number of repeated use can be improved.

4). Recording Material Reproducing Device The recording material reproducing device of the present invention will be described with a specific example.
FIG. 4 shows a means for pressurizing a recording material on which an image is formed by an image forming substance having thermoplasticity and heat decoloring properties and a peeling member having adhesiveness to the image forming substance, and the recording material Means for heating and softening the image forming material to adhere the image forming material and the peeling member, separating the superimposed recording material and the peeling member, and peeling the image forming material on the recording material A recording material reproducing apparatus provided with means for transferring to a member and means for heating an image forming substance on the recording material to a temperature suitable for the transfer.
FIG. 4 shows a recording material reproducing apparatus constituted as follows. That is, it is stretched between a block (253) made of aluminum having a halogen lamp (254) as a heat source inside, the aluminum block (253), a tension roller (255), and a cleaning backup roller (265). The image peeling member belt (257) made of a metal such as nickel or stainless steel or a polymer material such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, aramid, polyethylene naphthalate, polyetheretherketone, and the conveyed recording material and peeling member are heated. In order to pressurize in the state, the surface has an elastic member such as silicon rubber, fluorine rubber, polyurethane rubber, etc., a pressure roller (256) made of stainless steel, aluminum, iron, etc., image forming material transferred from the recording material Is removed from the peeling member Spiral cleaning blade (258), container (259) for storing image forming material removed from release member, iron, aluminum having halogen heater (302) inside for heating and erasing image forming material A heating roller (301) made of a metal member such as stainless steel, and an elastic member such as silicon rubber, fluorine rubber or polyurethane rubber on the surface to form a nip with the heating roller. A pressure roller (303).

  Between the aluminum block (253) and the pressure roller (256) and between the heating roller (301) and the pressure roller (303), a spring, a hydraulic device, a hydraulic device, a pneumatic device, a weight, etc., not shown The pressure is applied. Further, since the aluminum block (253), the pressure roller (256), the heating roller (301), and the pressure roller (303) are in contact with the thermoplastic image forming material on the recording material in a heated state, The surface is preferably coated with a member having a low surface energy such as a fluorine resin so that the image forming substance does not adhere.

  The recording material (1) having the image forming substance (3) is guided to a recording material conveying means (not shown) and conveyed between the peeling member belt (257) and the pressure roller (256). The The peeling member belt (257) is heated by a halogen lamp (254) in the aluminum block (253). The surface temperature of the aluminum block (253) is detected by temperature detecting means such as a thermistor, thermocouple, platinum resistance, and thermal radiation measuring instrument not shown, and the detected temperature is not shown. The operation of the means (not shown) for changing the supply of electric power to the halogen lamp (254) is controlled by comparing with the set temperature, and the surface temperature is kept constant. The temperature setting range is about 50 to 200 ° C. When an image forming material on a recording material is heated and fixed by a heat roller or a heat belt in an image forming apparatus, it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of hot offset, but in order to peel and transfer the image forming material. Unlike heat fixing, it is necessary to perform transfer in a state where the cohesive force of the image forming substance is stronger. Therefore, in order to remove an image formed with a commonly used electrophotographic toner, the image forming substance is preferably heated to a temperature slightly lower than the heat fixing temperature in the image forming apparatus. More specifically, it is preferable to set so that the image forming substance is heated to 80 to 120 ° C.

The image forming substance on the electrophotographic paper is heated by contact with the heated peeling member, and is applied by a pressure means (not shown) applied between the peeling member belt (257) and the pressure roller (256). The recording material having the image forming substance on the surface and the peeling member are pressurized so that the image forming substance contacts and adheres to the peeling member.
The downstream edge of the pressure roller (256) of the aluminum block (253) has a radius of about 1 to 5 mm, and the image peeling member belt (257) is conveyed along this curvature. Due to the rigidity of the recording material, the recording material and the image peeling member are separated. Instead of curvature separation, separation can also be performed by a separation claw, a separation blade, or an air knife.

When a material that reduces the adhesive strength with the recording material is added to the image forming substance, the adhesion force of the image forming substance to the recording material can be used even if commonly used paper is used as the recording material. Therefore, the adhesive force of the image forming substance to the peeling member can be made stronger than the adhesive force to the recording material by selecting the material of the peeling member. With such a configuration, when the recording material and the image peeling member are separated, the image forming substance on the recording material is transferred to the surface of the peeling member (257), and image formation on the recording material is performed. The substance is peeled off and removed from the recording material.
The image forming material on the peeling member transferred from the recording material is scraped off by a rotating spiral cleaning blade (258) and stored in a container (259) for storing the image forming material.

  The recording material from which most of the image forming material is removed is then conveyed between the heating roller (301) and the pressure roller (303). While passing through the nip formed by the heating roller (301) and the pressure roller (303), the thermally decolorable image forming material remaining in the image forming material removing step is heated and decolored. Similar to the aluminum block (253), the surface temperature of the heating roller (301) is detected and detected by temperature detection means such as a thermistor, thermocouple, platinum resistance, and thermal radiation meter (not shown). The temperature is input to a temperature control means (not shown), and the operation of the means (not shown) for changing the supply of electric power to the halogen lamp (302) is controlled by comparison with the set temperature. Kept constant. The heating temperature is usually set to a temperature higher than that in the image forming substance removing step. As described above, the set temperature in the image forming substance removal step is usually preferably set lower than the temperature set in the heat fixing in the image forming apparatus, but the image forming substance in the heat fixing in the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the temperature for heat decoloration is usually set higher than the heat fixing temperature of the image forming apparatus. More specifically, it is preferable to heat the image forming substance to 100 to 200 ° C., and it is particularly preferable to heat to 120 to 150 ° C.

  Since the distance between the curvature separation portion of the aluminum block (253) and the nip formed by the heating roller (301) and the pressure roller (303) is close to the node, heating is performed to remove the image forming substance. The recorded material is hardly cooled and inserted between nips formed by the heating roller (301) and the pressure roller (303).

  In FIG. 4, a displacement detection sensor (308a) for measuring the thickness of the image is further provided on the recording material transport roller pair (307a) and (307b). A bearing is fixed to the recording material conveying roller (307b). On the other hand, the recording material conveying roller (307a) is urged toward the roller (307b) by a spring or its own weight, but when the recording material passes, the thickness of the recording material and the thickness of the image on the recording material are increased. Accordingly, the bearing is configured in a long hole shape so as to be displaced. As the displacement detection sensor (308a), a differential transformer, a magnetic pole count sensor, a displacement sensor incorporating an optical encoder, or the like can be used. The displacement sensor can be provided not only at one place but also at two or more places in the depth direction of the figure. In order to detect the thickness of the image forming substance on the recording material, the thickness varies depending on the type of paper used. Therefore, the variation width of the thickness is detected based on the thickness of the recording material rather than the absolute value of the displacement. It is preferable.

  In the example of FIG. 4, when the thickness of the image forming substance detected by the displacement detection sensor (308a) is equal to or less than a certain value, the recording material is reproduced only by decoloring by a control means or a retracting means (not shown). Do. That is, when it is determined that the thickness of the image forming substance detected by the displacement detection sensor (308a) is equal to or less than a certain value, the pressure roller (256) is lifted by the avoiding means of the pressure roller (256) (not shown), Simultaneously with the formation of a gap between the aluminum blocks (253), the conveyance of the peeling member (257) and the rotation of the spiral cleaning blade (258) are stopped. On the other hand, when the thickness of the image forming material exceeds a certain value, the image forming material removing operation by transferring the image forming material to the peeling member (257) and the color erasing of the image forming material by heating are performed.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of an apparatus that detects the thickness of the image forming substance by the displacement amount detection sensor (308a) and controls the process, but a user (not shown) removes the image forming substance and removes the image forming substance. Input means for arbitrarily selecting whether to perform the erasing process, and means for controlling to provide means for stopping unnecessary operations or avoiding members based on the input result are provided. . By this control means, when the user sorts the recording material according to the necessary processing and executes the reproducing operation, the control unit controls to prevent the unnecessary recording material reproducing operation from being performed. That is, when the user determines that the process of only the removal of the image forming substance is necessary and inputs that only the process is executed, the heating roller (301) is controlled to stop heating. If the user decides that the process of erasing only the image-forming substance is necessary and inputs that fact, as with the case where the thickness of the image-forming substance is below a certain value, the operation of the image-forming substance removing unit is stopped. Then, the heating of the aluminum block (253) is controlled to be stopped by controlling to retract the member or turning off the power of the halogen lamp (254) in the aluminum block (253). As a result, it is possible to reproduce the recording material with good energy efficiency and no trouble in repeated use.

  In the example of the recording material reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the process of removing the image forming substance by thermal transfer and the process of decoloring by heating are reversed in FIG. Further, the example of FIG. 5 includes a sensor (101) for reading the repeated use number information given to the recording material, and recording means (102a) and (102b) for writing the repeated use number information. . As the sensor (101) that reads information on the number of times of repeated use, a sensor having means for irradiating light onto a portion where information on a recording material is recorded and means for reading reflected light can be used. That is, information on the number of repeated uses recorded on a recording material can be read using a light emitting element such as a photodiode, electroluminescence, or semiconductor laser and a light receiving element such as a photocell or CCD.

  As the recording means (102a) and (102b) for writing the information on the number of times of repeated use, it is possible to print by pressing an impregnated rubber impregnated with rubber. It is also possible to drill holes using a punch. Information can also be recorded by discharging ink from an inkjet recording head. In the case of stamping or punching, it is preferable to record by shifting the position in the depth direction of the figure so as not to overlap the previous stamping. When using a multi-nozzle ink jet head of about 30 to 300 nozzles, if the nozzle row is oriented in the depth direction in the figure, the head position will not be shifted and the recording will not overlap with the previous recording. It becomes easy to do and is preferable. For recording the number-of-uses information by the ink jet head, recording of several dots to several tens of dots is sufficient, and ink is hardly consumed. In addition, when an ink having water as a main medium is used as an ink for recording the number-of-uses information, the medium easily evaporates, so by using the ink used as the main liquid medium having a boiling point of 150 ° C. or higher, Even when the head is not covered with a cap, clogging does not occur, which is preferable.

  The example of FIG. 5 includes a sensor (101) for reading the repeated use count information given to the recording material, and recording means (102a) and (102b) for writing the repeated use count information. By the control means and the retreat means not shown, the recording material is reproduced only by erasing until the number of repeated uses becomes constant. That is, when the number of repeated uses given to the recording material is equal to or less than a certain value, the pressure roller (256) is lifted by the avoiding means of the pressure roller (256) (not shown), and the aluminum block (253) At the same time as the gap is formed, the conveyance of the peeling member (257) and the rotation of the spiral cleaning blade (258) are stopped.

In the recording material reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 5, as in the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, a user (not shown) arbitrarily selects whether to perform the process of removing the image forming substance and erasing the image forming substance. Means and means for stopping unnecessary operations and avoiding members based on the input result are provided. The user can sort the recording material according to the necessary processing by these input means and control means, and can execute the reproducing operation. By doing so, unnecessary operations for reproducing the recording material are reduced, and the recording material can be used repeatedly with high energy efficiency.
That is, when the user determines that the process of only the removal of the image forming substance is necessary and inputs that only the process is executed, the heating roller (301) is controlled to stop heating. When the user decides that the process of erasing only the image-forming substance is necessary and inputs that fact, the operation of the image-forming substance removing unit is stopped, as in the case where the number of repeated use is less than a certain value. Then, control is performed so that the member is retracted, or heating of the aluminum block (253) is stopped by turning off the power of the halogen lamp (254) in the aluminum block (253). The

FIG. 1 shows an example of a recording material reproducing apparatus for removing an image forming substance by rubbing.
In FIG. 1, the image forming substance (3) on the recording material (1) is removed by a rotating spiral blade (310). The spiral blade (310) is a roller in which blades (310b) are formed on several (four in FIG. 2) spiral blade members (310a) as shown in FIG. Spiral blades can be made of steel or ceramics used for blades used in drilling machines or milling machines.

  A thickness is applied between the spiral blade (310) and a backup roller (304) provided with an elastic member such as rubber by a pressing means (not shown), and the spiral blade (310) By rotating, the spiral blade is configured to contact the recording material with a constant width. The spiral blade (310) can remove the image forming substance by rotating in the forward direction or in the reverse direction with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording material. The image forming substance (312) removed from the recording material is collected in the image forming substance collection container (311). When rotating in the forward direction, the roller is rotated so that the speed of the contact surface of the roller with the recording material is higher than the conveying speed of the recording material.

  The image forming substance formed on the recording material having high surface smoothness can be removed even if a straight blade is abutted instead of the spiral blade. However, when the surface smoothness of the recording material is as low as that of commonly used paper and the friction coefficient is large, when a straight blade is used, the frictional force between the recording material and the blade is extremely large. Therefore, it becomes difficult to convey the recording material. The spiral blade is preferable because the area where the recording material and the blade are in contact with each other is small, so that the frictional resistance is small and the recording material can be conveyed.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals (305a), (305b), (306a), and (306b) denote a pair of rollers for conveying a recording material. In order to remove an image forming substance on paper used for general image formation, it is preferable that the recording material is stretched with a certain degree of tension. For this reason, if the drive system is designed so that the linear velocity of the roller pair (306a), (306b) rotates slightly faster than the linear velocity of the rollers (305a), (305b), the image forming substance is easily removed.
The recording material from which the image forming substance has been removed by the spiral blade (310) is conveyed between the heating roller (301) and the pressure roller (303), as in the apparatus of FIG. The heating roller (301) and the pressure roller (303) are configured in the same manner as in FIG. 4, and image formation is performed while passing between the nip formed by the heating roller (301) and the pressure roller (303). The thermally decolorable image forming material remaining in the material removing step is heated and decolored.

  In the example of FIG. 1, as in the recording material reproducing apparatus of FIG. 5, the sensor (101) that reads the repeated use count information given to the recording material and the recording means (102a) for writing the repeated use count information. ), (102b). The recording material is reproduced only by decoloring until the number of repeated uses becomes constant by a control means and a retraction means not shown. That is, when it is determined that the number of repeated uses detected by the sensor (101) that reads the number of times of repeated use is equal to or less than a certain value after the image forming substance removal operation has been performed, the backup roller is operated by an avoiding means (not shown). By lifting (304), a gap is formed between the spiral blade (310) and the backup roller (304), and at the same time, when the spiral blade (310) is used in reverse rotation when removing the image forming substance, the spiral blade Control is performed to stop the rotation of (310). On the other hand, when the thickness of the image forming substance exceeds a certain value, the image forming substance removing operation by the spiral blade (310) and the decoloring of the image forming substance by heating are performed.

  Similar to the recording material reproducing apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the user performs only the removal of the image forming material, only the color erasing of the image forming material, or both the steps of removing and erasing the image forming material. It is also possible to provide input means for selecting whether to perform input and means for controlling the process thereby.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an apparatus for removing the image forming material after the image forming material has been decolored by heating. In FIG. 3, similarly to FIG. 5, a displacement detection sensor (308) for measuring the thickness of the image is provided on the recording material transport roller pair (307a) and (307b).
In the example of FIG. 3, when the thickness of the image forming substance detected by the displacement detection sensor (308) is equal to or less than a certain value, the recording material is reproduced only by decoloring by a control means or a retracting means not shown. Do. That is, when it is determined that the thickness of the image forming substance detected by the displacement detection sensor (308) is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the backup roller (304) is lifted by an avoiding means (not shown), thereby the spiral blade (310 ) And the backup roller (304), and at the same time, when the spiral blade (310) is used in reverse rotation when removing the image forming substance, the spiral blade (310) is controlled to stop rotating. . On the contrary, when the thickness of the image forming material exceeds a certain value, the image forming material removing operation by the spiral blade (310) and the decoloring of the image forming material by heating are performed.

Example 1
The raw materials for the image forming substance were mixed with the following composition, and kneaded while maintaining a temperature of about 100 ° C. with a pressure kneader. After cooling and coarse pulverization, pulverization and classification were performed with a pulverizer and a classifier so that the volume average particle diameter was 6.3 μm.
Thermoplastic resin (decolorant): 70 parts by weight of styrene / butadiene resin
: Styrene / butyl acrylate copolymer 20 parts by weight Coloring compound: 3- (4-Dimethylamino-2-ethoxyphenyl) -3- (1-ethyl-2-methylindol-3-yl) -4-azaphthalide 4 parts by weight Developer: n-propyl chromic acid 2 parts by weight Wax: 3 parts by weight of low molecular weight polypropylene Charge control agent: 1 part by weight of boron compound 0.3 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the obtained powder particles Part of silica and 0.5 parts by weight of titanium oxide, as a material to reduce the adhesion to the recording material, 0.6 parts by weight of stearyl phosphate is added and mixed with a Henschel mixer, and 200 mesh sieve Sieve to obtain an image forming substance powder.
3 parts by weight of the image forming substance powder obtained above and 97 parts by weight of a magnetic carrier were mixed to obtain a developer. The developer thus obtained was filled in a developer unit of Ricoh's digital multifunction peripheral (copier, printer, facsimile) imgio MF 1340, and image formation was performed.
An image having an image occupancy rate of 30% was formed on plain paper having a smoothness of 35 seconds as the paper. The image was clear and the image density was 1.02.

In the recording material reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 4, when the recording material was reproduced under the following conditions, the formed image could not be visually read.
Process linear velocity: 20mm / sec
Transfer / peeling temperature setting: 110 ° C
Peeling member: 150 μm thick polyethylene naphthalate film Pressurized surface pressure for transfer peeling: 20 N / cm ²
Paper / peeling member separation: Curvature separation with a radius of 2 mm Decoloring heating roller temperature: 150 ° C.
Heating / decoloring pressure contact pressure: 20 N / cm ²

When the same image as the first image was formed on the regenerated paper, there was no conveyance trouble in the image forming apparatus, and a clear image was obtained.
The image reproduction cycle for performing both the image formation, the removal of the image forming substance, and the decoloring of the image forming substance was repeated up to 10 times on one side of the paper. In the reproduction, there was no paper conveyance trouble and a clear image was obtained. Further, the image on the paper on which the recording material was reproduced for the 10th time could hardly be decoded.
In this example, the distance from the release transfer unit nip exit to the decoloring heating roller nip entrance was about 55 mm, but the temperature of the recording material at the release transfer unit nip exit was about 104 ° C. The temperature of the recording material at the erasing heating roller nip entrance was about 92 ° C., which was higher than the room temperature of 23 ° C. The temperature of the image forming substance on the recording material was estimated to be about the same as that of the recording material.

Comparative Example 1
In order to prevent the removal of the image forming substance, the manufacturing of the image forming substance, the image formation, and the reproduction of the recording material are performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the heating block temperature of the image removing unit is kept at room temperature. The operation was performed.
The color of the image erased in the first recording material reproduction operation repeatedly used was almost erased. However, by holding the paper diagonally, the information of the formed image could be easily read visually.
In addition, the recording material was reproduced while the heating temperature was kept at room temperature so that the image forming substance was not removed. Otherwise, the image formation and the recording material were reproduced in the same manner as in Example 1. . In the sixth image formation on one side, the recording material was jammed by the heat fixing roller, and the subsequent repetition could not be performed.

Comparative Example 2
As in Example 1, except that the temperature of the heating roller of the erasing portion is kept at room temperature so that the image forming material is not erased, the production of the image forming material, the image formation, and the recording material Playback operation was performed.
In the paper from which the image erased in the first repeated recording material reproduction operation was removed, most of the image forming material was removed, but the halftone image portion remained without being removed. For this reason, character information cannot be read, but part of the pattern information can be read.
Further, in order to prevent the image forming material from being decolored, the recording material is reproduced while the heating roller temperature of the color erasing portion is kept at room temperature. Otherwise, image formation is performed in the same manner as in Example 1. The reproduction of the recording material was repeated. Image formation and recording material reproduction were performed up to the tenth time on one side. There was no paper transport problem in any of the image formation up to the 10th time and the reproduction of the recording material, but the image remained after each repetition, and the image was not perfectly aligned. Only the remaining portion of the image was dark and crushed. For comparison, when the image formation and the reproduction of the recording material were performed up to the 10th time on one side with a different image pattern each time, the remaining image was remarkably used until the second and third repeated use. However, repeated use beyond that became an obstacle to the interpretation of the image on which the remaining image was formed.

Example 2
Except that the recording material reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used, image-forming substances were produced and images were formed in the same manner as in Example 1. That is, both the steps of removing the rubbing of the image forming material with a spiral blade and erasing the image forming material by heating were performed.
In this example, when the recording material was reproduced under the following conditions in the recording material reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the formed image could hardly be read.
Process linear velocity: 15mm / sec
Spiral blade: blade outer system 26mmφ cutlery steel 4-thread blade Spiral blade rotation direction: Reversed rotation with paper conveyance direction 600RPM
Pressurized surface pressure for rubbing: 0.8 N / cm ²
Decoloring heating roller temperature: 140 ° C
Heating / decoloring pressure contact pressure: 20 N / cm ²

Example 3
The recording material reproducing apparatus in FIG. 5 is set so that only the color erasing is performed until the third repetition, and the image removal and the color erasing are performed every fourth repetition from the previous image removal. did. Except for the above conditions, the image forming substance was produced, the image was formed, and the recording material was reproduced in the same manner as in Example 1.
As described above, the removal of the image forming material is repeated every fourth time after the removal of the image forming material, and the image formation and the reproduction of the recording material are performed up to the 15th use on one side. In any of the image formation up to this point and the reproduction of the recording material, there was no trouble in paper conveyance, and a clear image was obtained.

Example 4
In the recording material reproducing apparatus of FIG. 1, the nip between the spiral blade roller and the backup roller is released and rotation of the spiral blade roller is performed so that the image forming material is not rubbed and removed repeatedly until the third time. Was set so that the image forming substance can be removed at the nip between the spiral blade roller and the backup roller so that the image removal is repeated every fourth time from the previous image removal. Except for the above-mentioned conditions, the image forming substance was produced, the image was formed, and the recording material was reproduced in the same manner as in Example 2.
As described above, the removal of the image forming material is repeated every fourth time from the removal of the image forming material, and the image formation and the reproduction of the recording material are performed up to the 10th use on one side. In any of the image formation up to this point and the reproduction of the recording material, there was no trouble in conveyance, and a clear image was obtained.

Example 5
In the recording material reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 4, when the displacement fluctuation range is less than 20 μm with a displacement detecting device comprising a differential transformer provided on the paper feed roller (307a), the image forming substance is removed. In order to prevent the nip formed by the heating block and the pressure roller from being released, the recording material is reproduced, and when the displacement fluctuation range is 20 μm or more, the image forming substance is removed and erased. Except for setting so that both steps of color were performed, the production of the image forming substance, the image formation, and the reproduction of the recording material were repeated in the same manner as in Example 1.
Image formation and recording material reproduction were repeated up to the 15th use on one side, but there were no paper transport problems in any image formation and recording material reproduction up to the 15th, and a clear image was obtained. It was.

  In the example 3, the example 4, and the example 5, the example in which the heating / decoloring is performed using the same apparatus as the image removal is shown. However, when only the heating / decoloring is performed, the recording material is loaded. Only when both the removal of the image forming substance and the decoloring process by heating are performed in the box, there is no use of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 1, and FIG. Obviously, it is equally feasible to use a device that can only remove images only when needed.

It is a figure showing the recording material reproducing | regenerating apparatus of this invention. It is a figure showing a spiral roller. It is another figure showing the recording material reproducing | regenerating apparatus of this invention. It is another figure showing the recording material reproducing | regenerating apparatus of this invention. It is another figure showing the recording material reproducing | regenerating apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording material 3 Image forming substance 101 Sensor 102a, 102b Recording means 253 Block 254 Halogen lamp 255 Tension roller 256 Pressure roller 257 Image peeling member belt 258 Cleaning blade 259 Storage container 260 Image forming substance 265 Cleaning backup roller 301 Heating roller 302 Halogen heater 303 Pressure roller 304 Backup rollers 305a and 305b Recording material conveyance roller pair 306a and 306b Recording material conveyance roller pair 307a and 307b Recording material conveyance roller pair 308a Displacement detection sensor 310 Spiral blade 310a Blade member 310b Blade 311 Collection container 312 Image-forming substance

Claims (23)

Forming an image using an image forming material that is decolored by heating, removing the image forming material from the recording material on which the image is formed, and heating the image forming material on the recording material A method of repeatedly using a recording material, wherein the recording material is reproduced by performing a decoloring step, and an image is formed again on the recording material by the above method. A recording material on which a fixed image is formed by heating an image forming substance having thermoplasticity and a peeling member exhibiting adhesiveness are superposed on the image forming substance, and the image forming substance is heated. After the pressurization, the step of transferring the image forming substance from the recording material to the peeling member and removing it by separating the recording material and the peeling member, and heating the image forming substance on the recording material 2. The recording material according to claim 1, wherein the recording material is reproduced by performing a decoloring step, and an image is formed again on the reproduced recording material. how to use. Removing the image forming substance formed on the recording material by rubbing the surface of the recording material on which an image is formed; and heating the image forming material on the recording material 2. The recording material according to claim 1, wherein the recording material is regenerated by performing the step of erasing the color, and an image is formed again on the regenerated recording material. Method. After the recording material on which an image is formed with the thermoplastic image-forming substance and the peeling member exhibiting adhesiveness to the image-forming substance are superposed and pressed in a state where the image-forming substance is heated Separating the recording material and the peeling member to transfer the image forming substance from the recording material to the peeling member and removing the recording material; and heating the image forming substance to the image forming substance When the recording material is reproduced by performing the process of decoloring the image, the other process is continuously performed in a state where the image forming substance heated in any of these processes is not cooled to room temperature. 3. The method of repeatedly using a recording material according to claim 2, wherein the recording material is reproduced and an image is formed again on the recording material. 5. A thermoplastic image-forming substance containing a leuco dye, a developer, and a color erasing agent, which is in a colored state as a result of a reaction between the leuco dye and the developer. A method of repeatedly using the recording material described in 1. In addition to leuco dyes, developers, and decolorizers, it contains as an essential component a compound that has the effect of weakening the adhesive strength to the recording material. 6. The method of repeatedly using a recording material according to claim 5, wherein a plastic image forming substance is used. When the image forming material on the recording material does not interfere with the next image formation or the next recording material reproduction process, the recording material is reproduced only by the decoloring process and the recording material is repeatedly used. 7. A method of repeatedly using a recording material, wherein the step of removing an image forming substance formed on the recording material is performed by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. With respect to the same recording material, the recording material is reproduced only by the decoloring process up to the number of times after the unused state or image is removed, and after the unused state or image is removed, the recording material is removed. 7. A recording material comprising: a step of removing the image forming substance formed on the recording material and reproducing the recording material by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 after the number of times of use. How to use repeatedly. J TAPPI No. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein an image is formed on a recording material having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less by a 5-B method (Oken smoothness), and is reproduced and formed again. A method of repeatedly using the recording material described in 1. In addition to leuco dyes, developers, and decolorizers, it contains as an essential component a material that has the effect of weakening the adhesive strength to the recording material. An image forming method comprising using a plastic image forming substance. J TAPPI No. The image forming method according to claim 10, wherein an image is recorded on a recording material having a surface smoothness of 60 seconds or less by a 5-B method (Oken smoothness). 12. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein an image is recorded on a recording material mainly composed of cellulose fibers. A process of removing an image and a process of decoloring by heating the image forming substance are performed on a recording material on which an image is formed using an image forming substance that is decolored by heating. A recording material reproducing method. A recording material on which an image is formed by heat-fixing an image-forming material having thermoplasticity and a peeling member having adhesiveness to the image-forming material are superposed, and the image-forming material on the recording material is heated. After softening and adhering the image forming substance and the release member, the overlapped recording material and release member are separated, and the image forming substance on the recording material is transferred to the release member to record the recording material A step of removing the image forming material on the recording material, and a step of erasing the image forming material on the recording material by heating the image forming material on the recording material on which the image is formed to a decolorable temperature. The recording material reproducing method according to claim 13, wherein: A step of removing the image forming substance formed on the recording material by rubbing the surface of the recording material on which the image is formed, and a step of decoloring by heating the image forming substance on the recording material. The recording material reproducing method according to claim 13, wherein the recording material reproducing method is performed. A recording material reproducing apparatus comprising: means for removing an image forming substance on a recording material on which an image is formed; and heating means for erasing the image forming substance on the recording material. Means for superimposing and pressing a recording material on which an image is formed by a thermoplastic and thermodecolorable image-forming material and a peeling member having adhesiveness to the image-forming material, and image formation on the recording material Means for heating and softening the substance to bond the image forming substance and the peeling member, separating the superimposed recording material and the peeling member, and transferring the image forming substance on the recording material to the peeling member And a recording material reproducing apparatus comprising: a heating unit configured to heat the image forming substance on the recording material to a temperature suitable for the transfer. Means for removing the image forming substance formed on the recording material by rubbing the surface of the recording material on which the image is formed, and heating means for erasing the image forming substance on the recording material; A recording material reproducing apparatus comprising: Means for removing the image forming material on the recording material, means for heating the image forming material on the recording material for erasing, removing the image forming material and heating / decoloring, or removing the image forming material Input means that can arbitrarily select whether to perform only the heat erasing or only the heat erasing, and when it is selected that only the image removal process or only the heat erasing is performed in the input means, the conveyance path of the recording material Is changed to bypass the image removing means or the heating means for decoloring the image forming substance, or the image forming substance removing means or the heating means for decoloring is not substantially operated. At least a part of the function of the heating means for stopping the image removing means or the color erasing is stopped, or at least a part of the heating means for removing the image or the color erasing is carried by the recording material. The recording material reproducing apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that a means for controlling so as to retract from the path. There are means for removing the image forming substance, means for heating the image forming substance for decoloring, and means for detecting the amount of the image forming substance on the recording material. Means for determining whether to remove the forming substance and heating / decoloring, or only to perform heating / decoloring, change the recording material conveyance path based on the determined result, or image forming substance removing means 19. A means for controlling to stop at least a part of the function of the image removing means or to retract at least a part of the image removing means so that the image removing means does not substantially operate. The recording material reproducing apparatus according to any one of the above. Means for removing the image forming substance, means for heating the image forming substance for decoloring, means for recording the repeated use number information of the recording material on the recording material, and information recorded by recording the repeated use number information In a state where the repeated use count read by the repeated use count information reading means is not used or the image is removed, the recording is performed so that only heating and decoloring are performed until a certain number of repeated use counts. Means for changing the material conveyance path, or for stopping the function of at least a part of the image removing unit or for retracting at least a part of the image removing unit so that the image forming substance removing unit does not substantially operate. The repeated use count information reading means reads a state where the repeated use count is not used or a certain number of repetitions after the image is removed. 19. A means for controlling the image forming substance so that both the removing means and the image forming substance heating / decoloring means act on the recording material when the number of uses is reached. The recording material reproducing apparatus according to any one of the above. An electrophotographic toner comprising, as essential components, a thermoplastic resin, a leuco dye, a developer, a color erasing agent, and a material having an action of weakening an adhesive force to a recording material. 23. The material having an action of weakening the adhesive force to the recording material is a thermoplastic resin containing an alkyl group having 9 or more carbon atoms or a phosphorus compound containing an alkyl group having 6 or more carbon atoms. The toner for electrophotography as described.

Images