JP2009045849A - Image recording material formation method, image recording material manufacturing apparatus, and support member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording material manufacturing method which enables the manufacture of an image recording material having an image in a desired position without causing a position aberration when the image recording material having the image on a gold coin size recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: The image recording material manufacturing method comprises at least the superimposition process for superimposing the support member which supports a metal plate, a transfer member having the image on one side and a recording medium so as to face the one side of the metal plate and a side which is not provided with the image of the transfer member, and face the side provided with the image of the transfer member and a recording medium surface supported by the support member; and the transfer process for transferring the image from the transfer member surface to the recording medium surface by carrying out at least one treatment selected from heat treatment and pressure treatment to the superimposed metal plate, transfer member and recording medium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording body manufacturing apparatus, an image recording body forming method, and a holding body.

Cards with images formed on plastic sheets such as cash cards, employee cards, student cards, individual membership cards, residence cards, various driver's licenses, and various qualification certificates are widely used. In recent years, so-called IC cards having a configuration in which a concave portion is provided in a part of a base material for a card and an IC module on which an IC chip is mounted in the concave portion are arranged.
On the other hand, as an image manufacturing apparatus used for producing a card, a sublimation thermal transfer apparatus is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In this apparatus, the ink applied to the ink donor film is transferred to the intermediate transfer member by the first heating unit to form an ink image, and the ink image transferred to the intermediate transfer member is received by the second heating unit. An image is formed by retransfer to the body.

An image manufacturing apparatus that forms a color image on a plastic sheet or the like by an electrophotographic method instead of a sublimation type thermal transfer method has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Image formation by this apparatus is carried out as follows. First, an image forming material transfer film provided with an image receiving layer on the surface of a substrate is used to form an image on the transfer film by an existing electrophotographic image manufacturing apparatus, and then applied to an image support such as a plastic sheet. By laminating and laminating with heat and pressure, the image forming material transfer film is peeled off, and the image is transferred onto an image support, whereby an electrophotographic image is formed on a plastic sheet.

Furthermore, a method of forming an image by an electrophotographic method on an information card that has been processed into a card shape in advance has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3). In this method, an information card is placed in a recessed portion of a member composed of a support plate having a window hole and a holding sheet that is fixed to the surface of one side of the support plate so as to cover the window hole and forms a recess together with the window hole. After being inserted and adhered, it is supplied to an electrophotographic image recording apparatus and printed on an information card.
In this method, it is assumed that an information card having a thickness of about 0.008 to 0.010 inch (203.2 to 254 μm) is used. The member comprised from is comprised from the material which can let the conventional image manufacturing apparatus pass.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-0667019 JP 2005-227377 A JP-A-7-014633

  The present invention provides an image recording body capable of manufacturing an image recording body in which an image is formed at a desired position without causing a position shift even when manufacturing an image recording body in which an image is formed on a small-sized recording medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method, an image recording body manufacturing apparatus using the manufacturing method, and a holding body used in manufacturing the image recording body.

The above-mentioned subject is achieved by the following present invention. That is,
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a metal plate, a transfer body having an image on one side, and a holding body for holding a recording medium, the one side of the metal plate and the side on which the image of the transfer body is not provided face each other. And a superposition step of superposing the surface of the transfer body on which the image is provided and the surface of the recording medium held by the holding body face each other;
The image is transferred from the surface of the transfer body to the surface of the recording medium by performing at least one process selected from heat treatment and pressure treatment on the superimposed metal plate, the transfer body, and the recording medium. The transfer process
It is an image recording body manufacturing method characterized by having at least.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a metal plate, a transfer body having an image on one side, and a holding body for holding a recording medium, wherein one side of the metal plate and a side on which the image of the transfer body is not provided face each other. And a superimposing unit that superimposes the surface of the transfer body on which the image is provided and the surface of the recording medium held by the holding body,
The image is transferred from the surface of the transfer body to the surface of the recording medium by performing at least one process selected from heat treatment and pressure treatment on the superimposed metal plate, the transfer body, and the recording medium. Transfer means to
It is an image recording body manufacturing apparatus characterized by having at least.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a metal plate, a transfer member having an image on one side, and a recording medium, wherein one side of the metal plate and a side on which the image of the transfer member is not provided face each other, and the transfer An image recording body manufacturing apparatus having a function of performing at least one process selected from a heating process and a pressurizing process in a state where the surface on which a body image is provided and the surface of the recording medium are overlapped with each other Used for
A holding body comprising: a base body having a holding portion for the recording medium; and a fixing member for fixing the base body and the metal plate.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the holder according to claim 3, wherein the metal plate is a magnetic body, and the fixing member is a magnet provided inside the base.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the metal plate is previously curved so as to form a cylindrical surface, and the fixing member fixes a single part of the metal plate and the base body. Item 4. The holding body according to Item 3.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the case of manufacturing an image recording body in which an image is formed on a small-sized recording medium, the recording medium is passed through the heating / pressurizing step. By fixing the transfer body with a metal plate without shifting, it is possible to perform printing with no image shift on a recording medium from a desired position as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided. Further, even when heating and pressurization is performed with an apparatus having a simple configuration such as a pair of heat rolls, the recording medium is cooled while being held by the metal plate, so that a high flatness state is maintained. As described above, it is possible to provide an image recording body manufacturing method capable of obtaining a high-quality recording medium.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image shift from the desired position can be achieved even in the case of manufacturing an image recording body in which an image is formed on a small-sized recording medium, as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided. In addition, it is possible to provide an image recording body manufacturing apparatus that can perform printing without any trouble on a recording medium and can obtain a recording medium with high flatness.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the process of manufacturing an image recording body by the image recording body manufacturing apparatus, an image is formed at a desired position without causing a positional shift, and a recording medium having high flatness is obtained. It is possible to provide a holding body for holding a recording medium that can be obtained.
According to invention of Claim 4, the holding body which can fix the metal plate for fixing with respect to a holding body by simple operation can be provided.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a holding body capable of reliably fixing a fixing metal plate to the holding body with a simple configuration.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an image recording body manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment.
An image recording body manufacturing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a collating device 12 that is an overlapping unit and a transfer device 14 (transfer unit) that is a transfer unit. For example, they are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction.

  The collating device 12 includes a metal plate storage unit 30 that stores the metal plate 20, a transfer body storage unit 32 that is disposed below the metal plate storage unit 30 and stores the transfer body 22 having an image, and a transfer body storage unit. 32, a holding body storage section 34 for storing the holding body 24, a collating means (positioning section) 50 disposed between the holding body storage section 34 and the transfer device 14, and a metal plate storage section A transport path 40 for transporting the metal plate 20 from the sheet 30 to the collating means 50, a transport path 42 for transporting the transfer body 22 from the transfer body storage section 32 to the collating means 50, and a holding body storage section. And a transport path 44 for transporting the holding body 24 from 34 to the collating means 50.

The conveyance paths 40, 42, 44 may be configured by a plate-like member having a smooth surface and a conveyance roll for conveying the metal plate 20, the transfer body 22, and the holding body 24 on the surface. Further, it may be composed of a rotatable endless belt.
These transport paths 40, 42, 44 are transport rolls at a predetermined timing so that the metal plate 20, the transfer body 22, and the holding body 24 are overlapped in the collating means 50 when the image recording body is formed. The belt rotates, and the metal plate 20, the transfer body 22, and the holding body 24 are conveyed from the metal plate storage section 30, the transfer body storage section 32, and the holding body storage section 34 to the collating means 50.

The holder storage unit 34 stores the holder 24 holding the recording medium, and also includes a pick-up roll and a paper feed roll provided in a normal paper feeder, and the paper feed roll and the like rotate. Then, one holding member 24 is conveyed to the collating means 50.
The transfer body storage unit 32 stores a transfer body 22 having an image formed by using a predetermined image using, for example, an electrophotographic system, and also includes a pickup roll and a supply roller provided in a normal sheet feeding device. A paper roll is provided, and a paper feed roll or the like is rotated at a timing immediately after the holding member 24 is discharged to the collating unit 50, and the transfer unit 22 having an image is conveyed to the collating unit 50.
The metal plate storage unit 30 stores the metal plate 20 and is provided with a pick-up roll and a paper feed roll provided in a normal paper feeder, and immediately after the transfer body 22 is discharged to the collating means 50. At this timing, the paper feed roll or the like is rotated, and one metal plate 20 is conveyed to the collating means 50.

The collating means 50 is provided on the lower side in the vertical direction of the transport path 40 on the side where the metal plate 20 is discharged, on the lower side in the vertical direction on the side of the transport path 42 where the transfer body 22 is discharged, and It is provided at the same height as the part to be discharged.
The metal plate 20, the transfer body 22, and the holding body 24 laminated by the collating means 50 are provided so as to be in contact with the remaining two sides so that two orthogonal sides are in contact with the wall surface of the collating means 50. The tampers moved are moved and pressed against the wall surface to be positioned with respect to each other.
The collating means 50 may be provided with a temporary fixing device for temporarily fixing a laminated body including the metal plate 20, the transfer body 22, and the holding body 24.

Next, the transfer device 14 will be described.
As the transfer device 14, for example, a device having a configuration using a pair of endless belts can be used.
The transfer device 14 shown in FIG. 1 has a pair of endless belts 64 arranged in contact with each other so that the outer peripheral surfaces are pressed against each other, and the collating device 12 side so as to stretch each endless belt 64. It has a pair of heating / pressurizing rolls 60 arranged, a pair of stretching rolls 62 arranged on the image recording body discharge section 70 side, and an image recording body discharge section 70.

  The configuration of the transfer device 14 is not limited to the configuration shown in the drawing, and any device having a configuration capable of performing various conventionally known laminating techniques and hot pressing techniques can be used.

Next, the formation process of the image recording body by the image recording body manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
First, in the collating apparatus 12, the holding body 24 is supplied from the holding body storage portion 34 through the conveyance path 44 to the collating means 50 and set to a predetermined position of the collating means 50.
Next, the transfer body 22 having an image is supplied from the transfer body storage portion 32 to the collating means 50 via the conveyance path 42. Here, the transfer body 22 discharged from the conveyance path 42 is supplied to the collating means 50 by its own weight, and is superimposed on the holding body 24. Here, the transfer body 22 discharged from the conveyance path 42 has a surface on which an image is provided facing downward.
Subsequently, the metal plate 20 is supplied from the metal plate storage unit 30 to the collating means 50 via the conveyance path 40. Here, the metal plate 20 discharged from the conveyance path 40 is supplied to the collating means 50 by its own weight and is superimposed on the transfer body 22.
The above is the superposition process in the present invention.

In this superposition process, the transfer body 22 having the image and the holding body 24 so that the image formed on the surface of the transfer body 22 faces a desired position on the surface of the recording medium held by the holding body 24. Overlapping with the position of.
Further, when the metal plate 20 is supplied onto the transfer body 22, the metal plate 20, the transfer body 22, and the holding body 24 are overlaid so that the two sides coincide.

  Next, the laminated body composed of the metal plate 20, the transfer body 22, and the holding body 24, which is superposed by the collating means 50, is temporarily fixed by a temporary fixing device, if necessary. It is conveyed to the transfer device 14 by the illustrated conveying means.

Next, in the transfer device 14, the laminated body composed of the metal plate 20, the transfer body 22, and the holding body 24 is heated and pressurized by passing through a contact portion where the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of endless belts 64 are in contact with each other. By processing, the image is transferred to the surface of the recording medium.
The above is the transfer process in the present invention.

Thereafter, the laminated body that has passed through the contact portion is discharged to the image recording body discharge portion 70.
Subsequently, after the temperature of the laminated body becomes equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature of the recording medium, the metal plate and the transfer body (the entire transfer body or one part of the transfer body excluding the peelable portion such as the image holding layer) are removed from the laminated body. Part) and the recording medium is removed from the holder 24, whereby an image recording body on which an image is formed can be obtained.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, an image is formed on one side of the transfer body 22 by an electrophotographic method, and the image surface of the transfer body 22 is laminated on a recording medium held by the holding body 24 so as to be laminated. The conventional electrophotographic apparatus can be used as an image forming means without greatly remodeling, and a high resolution and high light fast image by an electrophotographic method can be printed on a plastic card with high productivity.

  Next, the metal plate, transfer body, holding body, and recording medium used in the present invention will be described in more detail.

-Metal plate-
Examples of the metal plate in the present invention include carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, copper alloy, magnesium alloy, nickel, etc. Among them, stainless steel and spring steel which are particularly strong in elasticity and less deformed by heating and pressing. Phosphor bronze is desirable.
The thickness of the metal plate is 0.05 mm to 1 mm.
As will be described later, even a magnetic stainless steel or a curved one can be used as a metal plate in the present invention.

-Transcript-
The transfer body in the present invention preferably has a base material and an image holding layer provided on at least one side of the base material. Moreover, the structure which laminated | stacked one or more intermediate | middle layers and the image holding layer in this order on the base material surface as needed may be sufficient. The image is preferably formed on this image holding layer.

Examples of the transfer body include a type that transfers only an image and a transfer body that transfers an image together with a part of members constituting the transfer body.
That is, in the type transfer body that transfers only the image, the image holding layer contains at least the releasable material, and in the transfer process using this transfer body, only the image is transferred from the transfer body to the recording medium. Is done.
Further, the image formed on the image holding layer is not particularly limited as long as it is formed by a known recording method. However, since the image holding layer surface is excellent in releasability, a solid image is formed on the image holding layer surface. An image formed by a method of applying a forming material is preferable, and an image formed by an electrophotographic method is particularly preferable.

  On the other hand, a transfer body of a type that transfers an image together with a part of members constituting the transfer body is adjacent to the image holding layer or one or more layers adjacent to the image holding layer side, and adjacent to the base material or the base material side. The interface with one or more layers to be peeled is peelable. The transfer process using the transfer body is performed by peeling off the image holding layer or one or more layers adjacent to the image holding layer side from the transfer body and transferring the image to the recording medium together with the image.

  The image formed on the image holding layer is not particularly limited as long as it is formed by a known recording method. For example, the image may be an image formed by a method of applying a solid or liquid image forming material to the surface of the image holding layer. In this case, the image is typically formed by an electrophotographic method or an ink jet recording method. Images. Further, when the image holding layer has a function of changing color or coloring by applying an external stimulus such as heat or light, the image is formed by changing the color or coloring of the image holding layer surface by applying an external stimulus. In this case, typically, an image formed by a photosensitive recording method, a thermal recording method, or a photosensitive thermal recording method can be given.

  The two types of transfer bodies described above are known to be used for transferring an image to another member such as a plastic sheet after an image is formed on the surface by electrophotography. Also in the present invention, these known transfer members can be used.

  In addition, the size of the transfer body in the present invention is not particularly limited, but A4 or the like that can be used for image formation in a commercially available image manufacturing apparatus using a known image forming method such as an electrophotographic method or an ink jet method. A standard size such as A3 is preferred.

  In addition, the image formation on the surface of the transfer body is performed so as to correspond to the region where the image on the surface of the recording medium held by the holding body is to be provided. At this time, in order to facilitate alignment between the transfer body and the recording medium held by the holding body, the outline of the recording medium, a line that is slightly outside the outline of the recording medium, and the outline of the recording medium It is desirable that marks or the like indicating the four corners of the outer frame are formed on the surface of the transfer body together with the image portion to be transferred to the recording medium surface.

Hereinafter, a transfer member suitable for forming an image by electrophotography will be described in detail.
In the transfer member suitable for the present invention, the surface resistivity of the image holding layer is 1.0 × at 23 ° C. and 55% RH in order to improve the transferability of the image formed by electrophotography. The range is preferably 10 ⁸ or more and 3.2 × 10 ¹³ Ω or less, and more preferably 1.0 × 10 ⁹ or more and 1.0 × 10 ¹¹ Ω or less.

If the surface resistivity is less than 1.0 × 10 ⁸ Ω, the resistance value of the transfer member used as the image receiver at high temperature and high humidity becomes too low. For this reason, the toner image may be disturbed when an unfixed image (toner image) is transferred to the surface of the transfer member in the electrophotographic apparatus. On the other hand, if the surface resistivity exceeds 3.2 × 10 ¹³ Ω, the resistance value of the transfer member used as the image receiver becomes too high, and the toner image cannot be transferred to the transfer member surface in the electrophotographic apparatus. In some cases, image defects may occur due to transfer defects.

When the image holding layer is provided only on one side of the substrate for the same reason, the surface resistivity at 23 ° C. and 55% RH of the substrate surface on the side where the image holding layer is not provided is The range is preferably 1.0 × 10 ⁸ Ω or more and 1.0 × 10 ¹³ Ω or less, and more preferably 1.0 × 10 ⁹ Ω or more and 1.0 × 10 ¹¹ Ω or less.

  The surface resistivity difference between the front and back surfaces of the transfer body at 23 ° C. and 55% RH is preferably within 4 digits, more preferably within 3 digits. If the surface resistivity difference between the front and back surfaces exceeds 4 digits, toner transfer failure is likely to occur and image deterioration may occur. The difference in surface resistivity within 4 digits means that the difference in common logarithm is within 4 when each surface resistivity is expressed in common logarithm.

  The surface resistivity is measured by a method based on the double ring electrode method in JIS K 6911, and is determined by following the calculation formula presented at the same time. More specifically, a digital ultra-high resistance / microammeter R8340 manufactured by Advantest Co., Ltd. connected to a circular electrode (for example, “HR probe” of Hiresta IP manufactured by Mitsubishi Yuka Co., Ltd.) It calculated | required from the calculation formula prescribed | regulated to JISK6911 based on the electric current value 60 second after by the applied voltage 1000V in the environment of (degreeC) and 55% RH.

In controlling the surface resistivity of the image holding layer within the range of 1.0 × 10 ^{8 to} 1.0 × 10 ¹³ Ω, it is preferable to include a charge control agent in the image holding layer. As the charge control agent, for example, a polymer conductive agent, a surfactant, conductive metal oxide particles, or the like can be used.

Further, since the image holding layer contains a releasable material, an image forming material such as toner can be satisfactorily transferred to the recording medium.
The releasable material is used for an image holding layer for once fixing and fixing the image forming material on the transfer body and releasing the image forming material when it is heat-pressed to the recording medium. Accordingly, it is desirable that the releasable material has adhesion and releasability with respect to toner generally used as an image forming material in electrophotography.

  The releasable material is not particularly limited, and a silicone-based hard coat material can be used. The silicone-based hard coat material may include a condensate resin containing a silane-based composition or a material composed of a mixture of a condensate resin containing the silane-based composition and a colloidal silica dispersion.

  The image holding layer may contain a resin in addition to the releasable material, for example, a polyester resin or a styrene acrylic resin. Since polyester resins and styrene acrylic resins are used as binder resins for toners, fixing the image forming material to the surface of the transfer body is appropriate by including the same resin in the image holding layer. Can be controlled. In addition, as said polyester resin, you may use silicone modified polyester resin, urethane modified polyester resin, acrylic modified polyester, etc. other than general polyester resin, for example.

  Furthermore, in order to improve the adhesiveness with the base material or improve the blocking property, a conventional known resin can be mixed as necessary and used as a resin material constituting the image holding layer. . As this resin material, it is preferable to use polyvinyl acetal resin.

  In order to improve the conveyance of the transfer body in the electrophotographic apparatus, the image holding layer may contain a filler. The volume average particle size of the filler is preferably 0.1 μm or more and 30 μm or less, but considering the image holding layer thickness, it is preferably 1.2 times or more the image holding layer thickness. If it is too large, the filler may be detached from the image holding layer, and the surface of the transfer body is likely to be worn and damaged, and the haze (degree of haze) may further increase.

  As the shape of the filler, spherical particles are generally used, but may be a plate shape, a needle shape, or an indefinite shape. Moreover, as a material which comprises a filler, a well-known resin material and an inorganic material can be utilized.

  Although it does not specifically limit as a base material, A plastic film can be used typically. Among these, polyacetate film, cellulose triacetate film, nylon film, polyester film, polycarbonate film, polysulfone film, polystyrene film, polyphenylene sulfide film, polyphenylene ether film, cyclohexane film, which are light transmissive films that can be used as OHP films. An olefin film, a polypropylene film, a polyimide film, a cellophane, an ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) resin film, or the like can be preferably used. Paper (plain paper, coated paper, etc.), metal (aluminum, etc.), ceramics (alumina, etc.) can also be used.

  The surface of the substrate on which the image holding layer is provided is preferably 1 μm or less in surface roughness (centerline average roughness Ra), and more preferably 0.1 μm or less. When the surface roughness (centerline average roughness Ra) exceeds 1 μm, high glossiness may not be obtained.

  Further, since the thickness of the image holding layer is about 0.1 μm or more and 20 μm or less, the thickness of the transfer body is determined by the thickness of the substrate. For this reason, the thickness of the substrate is preferably in the range of 50 μm to 200 μm, and more preferably in the range of 75 μm to 150 μm. If the thickness is less than 50 μm, a conveyance failure may be caused in the electrophotographic apparatus, and if it exceeds 200 μm, it becomes difficult to transfer the toner image to the surface of the transfer body in the electrophotographic apparatus. An image defect may occur.

-Recording media-
The recording medium used in the present invention is a recording medium capable of forming an image of a small size that cannot be printed by a normal electrophotographic image recording apparatus, such as a card made of paper, metal, ceramic, etc. in addition to a normal plastic card. If there is no particular limitation.

The recording medium can be colored by adding pigments or dyes thereto. Further, the recording medium may be in the form of a film or a plate, or may have a shape having a thickness that is not flexible or has a strength necessary for a recording medium. .
When the recording medium is applied to an IC card or a magnetic card, an IC memory, an antenna, an external terminal, etc. are embedded in advance. Moreover, a magnetic stripe, a hologram, etc. may be printed separately.

As the recording medium, plastic is preferably used, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is more preferably used. The thickness of the plastic is preferably 50 to 5000 μm, more preferably 100 to 1000 μm.
The plastic is preferably opaque and more preferably colored white.
Specific examples of the plastic include vinyl chloride, acetate, cellulose triacetate, nylon, polyester, polycarbonate, polystyrene, polypropylene film, polyimide, and cellophane. Among them, polyester is preferably used. In particular, biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate is preferably used.

When the recording medium is a card, it is needless to say that the shape is not limited to the size specified in JIS X-6302 as an identification card, and various sizes can be used.
Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to a rectangle, but may be a circle, an ellipse, a triangle, a star, or the like as long as it has a shape corresponding to a window hole of a recording medium holding body described later.

-Retainer-
The holder used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of holding the recording medium described above.
Specifically, as the holding body in the present invention, for example, at least one or more card size (size into which the recording medium is fitted) is provided in a standard metal plate such as A4 or A3, Furthermore, it has the structure by which the metal plate for sealing one side of this opening part was affixed. With this configuration, a holding portion (concave portion) of the recording medium is formed on the holding body.
In addition, it is preferable that the surface of the holding unit that is in contact with the transfer body is covered with a releasable material in order to prevent the toner image from adhering in the transfer process (transfer unit).

The total thickness of the metal plate and the releasable material is desirably 1 to 200 μm thinner than the thickness of the card to be printed, and more desirably 10 to 100 μm.
Further, around the holding portion (opening portion) of the recording medium in the holding body, a line slightly outside the holding portion or four corners of the frame slightly outside the holding portion so that the position of the holding portion can be easily specified. It is desirable that a mark or the like indicating this be printed.
Note that the holding body in the present invention can be reused after the recording medium is taken out.

  Moreover, as a holding body in this invention, what is shown by FIG.2 and FIG.3 is used preferably. Here, FIG. 2 is a figure which shows the one aspect | mode of the holding body of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is AA sectional drawing of (a). Moreover, FIG. 3 is a figure which shows another one aspect | mode of the holding body of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is BB sectional drawing of (a).

The holder shown in FIG. 2 uses a stainless steel plate 200. The stainless steel plate 200 has a thickness of 0.65 mm and a size of 297 mm × 210 mm. Six card-shaped openings 206 are provided in the plane, and four openings 208 for insertion of the magnet 210 are provided between the openings 206 and 206, for example. A stainless plate 204 (thickness: 100 μm) is in contact with the entire surface of one surface of the stainless plate 200. The opening 206 of the stainless steel plate 200 and the stainless steel plate 204 form a recording medium holding portion (concave portion).
Further, by inserting a magnet 210 (thickness: 600 μm) into the opening 208 for inserting a magnet, a substrate (substrate having a recording medium holding portion) composed of the stainless steel plate 200 and the stainless steel plate 204 by magnetic force, The metal plate superimposed with the transfer body is fixed. That is, in the holding portion shown in FIG. 2, the magnet 210 inserted into the opening 208 for inserting the magnet 210 is a fixing member. As the magnet of the fixing member, a permanent magnet, a plastic magnet, or the like can be used.
In the holder shown in FIG. 2, a PTFE sheet 202 (thickness: 100 μm) is bonded to the entire area other than the opening 206 on the surface of the stainless steel plate 200 where the recording medium is inserted.
In this aspect, the total thickness of the stainless steel plate 200 and the PTFE sheet 202 is 750 μm.

The holding body shown in FIG. 3 uses a stainless steel plate 200 provided with an opening 206, as in FIG. Further, a stainless steel plate 204 (thickness: 100 μm) is in contact with one surface of the stainless steel plate 200. Furthermore, a PTFE sheet 202 (thickness: 100 μm) is bonded to the entire area other than the opening 206 on the surface of the stainless steel plate 200 where the recording medium is inserted.
Further, the holding body shown in FIG. 3 is a fixing that fixes the end portion of the fixing stainless plate 214 having a curved surface to a base body (base body having a recording medium holding portion) made of the stainless steel plate 200 and the stainless steel plate 204. And a metal fitting 212.
By replacing the fixing stainless steel plate 214 having the curved surface with a metal plate superimposed with the transfer body, the fixing metal fitting 212 becomes a fixing member in the holding portion shown in FIG.

  In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, when the fixing stainless steel plate (metal plate) 214 is fixed by the fixing bracket 212, a force for pressing the recording medium (card) works, so that the card and the transfer body do not shift. Further, since the card after passing through the transfer device is also sandwiched between two stainless steel plates and cooled, the flatness is not deteriorated, and a high-quality recorded card can be obtained.

  Further, by using the holding body shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, since the holding portion (concave) recording medium of the holding body is inserted, the elongation of the recording medium due to heat is suppressed, and the recording medium after printing There is also an effect that there is no dimensional change.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

Example 1
-Image recording device manufacturing equipment-
As the image recording body manufacturing apparatus, the above-described image recording body manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was used. Detailed conditions are described below.

-Recording media-
As a recording medium used for forming a color image, a white PETG (manufactured by Mitsubishi Plastics, Diafix WHI) having a thickness of 760 μm and a size of 85.6 mm × 54 mm previously punched was used. .

-Transcript-
The transfer member used was a two-layer structure comprising a substrate and an image holding layer. As the substrate, a film (Toray Industries, Lumirror T60, thickness: 100 μm, width: 300 mm, length: 5 m) obtained by subjecting one surface of a PET film to a release treatment in advance was used. The image holding layer is composed of 10 parts by mass of a silicone hard coating agent (manufactured by GE Toshiba Silicone, SHC900, solid content 30% by mass) containing an organosilane condensate, a melamine resin, and an alkyd resin, and Pionein B144V (Takemoto as a charge control agent). 0.2 part of oil and fat company) was added to 30 parts by mass of a liquid in which cyclohexanone and methyl ethyl ketone were mixed at a mass ratio of 10:90, and the image holding layer coating liquid sufficiently stirred was dried on one side of the PET film. It formed by apply | coating using a wire bar so that latter thickness might be set to 1 micrometer.
After the above film is cut into a size of 297 mm × 210 mm, the image holding layer side is printed with the reverse side-by-side printing of an A4 size card picture layout on six sides by Fuji Xerox DocuColor 1256GA. did.

-Retainer-
The holding body shown in FIG. 2 was used as the holding body. Six plastic cards 21 as recording media were inserted into six openings (holding portions).

―Metal plate―
As the metal plate, magnetic stainless steel having a thickness of 100 μm and a size of 297 mm × 210 mm was used.

  The transfer body, the holding body, and the metal plate described above were set in the storage units 30, 32, and 34 of the image recording body manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. The temperature of the heating and pressurizing means of the transfer device 14 was 150 ° C. for the roll pair 60, 150 ° C. for the roll pair 62, and the feed rate was 10 mm / s. After fully cooling the laminated body which passed the transfer apparatus 14, the metal plate and the transfer body were peeled, and the card was taken out from the holding body.

(Comparative Example 1)
As the transfer body, the transfer body having the image used in Example 1 was cut so as to correspond to the outline of the portion where the pattern of 85.6 mm × 54 mm size was formed, and the size was 85.6 mm × 54 mm. The thing of was used.
Subsequently, the transfer body and the plastic card were overlapped without using the holder, and the image was formed on the plastic card through the transfer device 14 in the same manner as in Example 1.

-Evaluation-
Table 1 shows the results of evaluating the positional deviation and elongation of the images of the image recording bodies obtained in the above examples and comparative examples, and the flatness of the card.
In addition, the evaluation method and evaluation criteria for the image misalignment, elongation, and card flatness shown in Table 1 are as follows.

-Image misalignment-
The image misregistration was evaluated based on the following criteria for the misregistration between the contour of the image recording medium and the contour of the image.
○: The contour line of the image recording body matches the contour line of the image, and there is no positional deviation.
Δ: Deviation occurs between the contour of the image recording body and the contour of the image, and the maximum width of the blank portion where no image is formed around the image recording body is less than 0.5 mm.
X: Deviation occurs between the contour line of the image recording body and the contour line of the image, and the maximum width of the blank portion where no image is formed around the image recording body is 0.5 mm or more. A practically problematic level.

-Elongation-
The elongation was evaluated based on the following criteria by measuring the maximum elongation in the short side and long side direction of the image recording body obtained with reference to the size of the short side and long side direction of the recording medium with calipers.
○: Maximum elongation is less than 0.1 mm.
Δ: Maximum elongation exceeds 0.1 mm and less than 0.2 mm.
X: A level at which the maximum elongation exceeds 0.2 mm, causing a practical problem.

-Card flatness-
The card flatness was evaluated based on the following criteria by placing a plastic card on which an image was formed on a surface plate, measuring the gap between the four corners of the card and the surface plate with a caliper.
A: The maximum gap between the four corners and the surface plate is less than 0.5 mm.
(Triangle | delta): The clearance gap between four corners and a surface plate is less than 1.0 mm at the maximum.
X: The level of the gap between the four corners and the surface plate is 1.0 mm or more at the maximum, which is a practical problem.

As shown in Table 1, it can be seen that in Example 1, all of image shift, elongation, and card flatness are excellent.
This is because no deviation occurred between the transfer body and the plastic card inserted into the holding body. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, since the holder using the magnetic attraction force between the magnet embedded in the holder and the magnetic stainless steel superimposed on the transfer body is used, while passing through the transfer device, Furthermore, it is because the card could be kept flat until the plastic card cooled after passing.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the image manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the holding body of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows another example of the holding body of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image recording body manufacturing apparatus 12 Collating apparatus 14 Laminating apparatus 20 Metal plate 21 Plastic card (recording medium)
22 Transfer body 24 Holding body 30 Metal plate storage section 32 Transfer body storage section 34 Holding body storage section 50 Collating trays 40, 42, 44 Conveying path 60 A pair of heating / pressure rolls 60
62 Tension roll 64 A pair of endless belts 70 Discharge tray 200 Stainless steel plate (base)
202 PTFE sheet 204 Stainless steel plate (base)
206 opening 208 opening 210 for magnet insertion magnet (fixing member)
212 Fixing bracket (fixing member)
214 Stainless steel plate for fixing (metal plate)

Claims (5)

A metal plate, a transfer body having an image on one side, and a holding body for holding a recording medium, the one side of the metal plate and a side on which the image of the transfer body is not provided face each other, and the image of the transfer body A superimposing step of superimposing the surface provided with the recording medium surface held by the holding body so as to face each other,
The image is transferred from the surface of the transfer body to the surface of the recording medium by performing at least one process selected from heat treatment and pressure treatment on the superimposed metal plate, the transfer body, and the recording medium. The transfer process
An image recording body manufacturing method comprising: A metal plate, a transfer body having an image on one side, and a holding body for holding a recording medium, the one side of the metal plate and a side on which the image of the transfer body is not provided face each other, and the image of the transfer body Superimposing means for superimposing so that the surface provided with the recording medium surface held by the holding body face each other,
The image is transferred from the surface of the transfer body to the surface of the recording medium by performing at least one process selected from heat treatment and pressure treatment on the superimposed metal plate, the transfer body, and the recording medium. Transfer means to
An apparatus for producing an image recording body, comprising: A metal plate, a transfer body having an image on one side, and a recording medium, the one side of the metal plate facing a side where the image of the transfer body is not provided, and a side where the image of the transfer body is provided Used in an image recording body manufacturing apparatus having a function of performing at least one process selected from a heat treatment and a pressure treatment in a state where the recording medium surface and the recording medium surface are overlapped with each other.
A holding body comprising: a base body having a holding portion for the recording medium; and a fixing member for fixing the base body and the metal plate.   The holding body according to claim 3, wherein the metal plate is a magnetic body, and the fixing member is a magnet provided inside the base body.   4. The holding body according to claim 3, wherein the metal plate is curved so as to form a cylindrical surface in advance, and the fixing member fixes the end portion of the metal plate and the base body.

Images