JP2011174969A - Printed material, image fixing sheet and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image fixing sheet and a printed material providing high image quality, sufficient image visibility and excellent pencil writing property, to provide an image forming method for forming the printed material, and to provide an image forming method for obtaining high image quality of a formed printed material while achieving energy saving and obtaining sufficient image visibility as well as excellent pencil writing property. <P>SOLUTION: The printed material includes an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer, the image fixing sheet being stacked on an image support substrate with the toner holding material layer in contact with the image support substrate, and has a toner image formed of toner particles, held by the toner holding material layer of the image fixing sheet. The outer surface of the surface protective layer constituting the image fixing sheet has an arithmetic average roughness Ra of 0.07 to 1.0 μm. The image fixing sheet has a transmission density of not more than 0.15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printed material in which an image fixing sheet holding a toner image is laminated on an image supporting substrate, an image fixing sheet, and an image forming method for forming the printed material.

  In recent years, energy conservation in various fields has been studied from the viewpoint of preventing global warming, and in the electrophotographic image forming method, the energy required for fixing is fixed by fixing only by pressure without using heat. For example, a method for reducing the image quality (for example, see Patent Document 1), a method for reusing an image supporting base material (for example, see Patent Document 2), and the like have been proposed.

  However, these methods have a problem that the toner particles cannot be reused because the toner particles are irreversibly deformed.

  In order to improve such a problem, a method of providing a concave portion on the surface of the image supporting substrate and fixing the toner particles by electrostatically adhering them in the surface (for example, refer to Patent Document 3) or shape memory property There has been proposed a method using toner particles made of a resin having a characteristic (for example, see Patent Document 4).

However, depending on the method using the image support substrate provided with the recesses, the toner particles are inevitably detached, and the toner particles are contaminated by the detached toner particles, and the toner particles made of a resin having shape memory properties are used. Has a problem that high image quality cannot be obtained due to light scattering on the surface of the toner particles.
Thus, conventionally, there has been no image forming method that can achieve high image quality in the printed matter while energy saving is achieved by reusing the image forming material.

  On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-319194 discloses an image forming method capable of obtaining a printed product with high image quality while achieving energy saving by reusing the image forming material. However, there is a problem that excellent pencil writing property cannot be obtained.

JP-A-6-242627 JP 2003-5435 A Japanese Patent No. 4085505 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-142834

The present invention has been made on the basis of the circumstances as described above, and an object thereof is to obtain high image quality and to obtain excellent pencil writing properties while obtaining sufficient image visibility. An object of the present invention is to provide a fixed sheet and a printed material, and an image forming method for forming the fixed sheet and the printed material.
Another object of the present invention is to form an image that provides high image quality to a printed matter that is formed while achieving energy savings, and provides excellent pencil writing properties while obtaining sufficient image visibility. It is to provide a method.

In the printed matter of the present invention, an image fixing sheet composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is laminated on an image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. A printed image in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on the toner holding material layer of the image fixing sheet,
The arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer constituting the image fixing sheet is 0.07 to 1.0 μm, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet is 0.15 or less. .

The image fixing sheet of the present invention is an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer,
The arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer is 0.07 to 1.0 μm, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet is 0.15 or less,
On the image supporting substrate, the toner holding material layer is laminated so as to be in contact with the image supporting substrate, and a printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on the toner holding material layer is formed. It is used for an image forming method.

In the image forming method of the present invention, an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is placed on an image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed product in which toner images formed by toner particles are held on a toner holding material layer of the image fixing sheet,
The arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer constituting the image fixing sheet is 0.07 to 1.0 μm, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet is 0.15 or less. .

  The image forming method of the present invention is characterized in that a printed matter is obtained using toner containing toner particles separated from the printed matter obtained by the above-described image forming method.

In the image forming method of the present invention, an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is provided on an image supporting substrate, and the toner holding material layer contacts the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed material in which toner images formed by toner particles are held on a toner holding material layer of the image fixing sheet,
The toner particles constituting the toner image are toner particles separated from a printed matter obtained by the image forming method.

In the image forming method of the present invention, an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is provided on an image supporting substrate, and the toner holding material layer contacts the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed material in which toner images formed by toner particles are held on a toner holding material layer of the image fixing sheet,
The image fixing sheet is obtained by an image fixing sheet separated from a print obtained by the image forming method.

In the image forming method of the present invention, an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is provided on an image supporting substrate, and the toner holding material layer contacts the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed material in which toner images formed by toner particles are held on a toner holding material layer of the image fixing sheet,
The surface protective layer is a surface protective layer separated from a printed material obtained by the image forming method.

In the image forming method of the present invention, an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is provided on an image supporting substrate, and the toner holding material layer contacts the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed material in which toner images formed by toner particles are held on a toner holding material layer of the image fixing sheet,
The toner holding material layer is obtained by a toner holding material that forms a toner holding material layer separated from a printed matter obtained by the image forming method.

  The image forming method of the present invention is characterized in that a printed matter is obtained using an image supporting substrate separated from the printed matter obtained by the above-described image forming method.

In the image forming method of the present invention, an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is provided on an image supporting substrate, and the toner holding material layer contacts the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed material in which toner images formed by toner particles are held on a toner holding material layer of the image fixing sheet,
The image supporting substrate is separated from a printed matter obtained by the above image forming method.

  According to the printed matter of the present invention, basically, the toner image is held on the toner holding material layer, and further, the surface protective layer is coated on the toner holding material layer. Thus, there is no difference in height level between the image area and the non-image area, and therefore the image quality is high, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet on the toner image is within a specific low range and Since the arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer of the image fixing sheet is in a specific range, excellent pencil writing property can be obtained while sufficient image visibility is obtained.

  According to the image forming method of the present invention, basically, the toner image can be fixed to the image supporting substrate without applying heat, so that energy saving can be achieved. Since the toner is held on the holding material layer and the surface protective layer is further coated on the toner holding material layer, the surface becomes highly uniform, and the height level difference between the image portion and the non-image portion is different. Therefore, the image fixing sheet has a high image quality, the transmission density of the image fixing sheet on the toner image is in a specific low range, and the arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer of the image fixing sheet is Since it is set as the specific range, it is possible to obtain a printed matter in which excellent pencil writing property is obtained while sufficient image visibility is obtained.

  Further, according to the method of reusing the toner particles and / or the image fixing sheet and / or the image supporting substrate separated from the printed matter obtained by the image forming method of the present invention, great energy saving is achieved as a whole. .

1A and 1B are schematic diagrams for explaining an image forming method according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a state in which a toner image is formed on an image support substrate, and FIG. FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating a state in which the image fixing sheet is superimposed, and FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating a state in which the toner image is carried and fixed on the image support base material. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining an image forming method according to a second embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a diagram showing a state where a toner image is formed on a photoconductor, and (b) is an image fixing method. FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a state where a toner image is held on a toner holding material layer of a sheet, and FIG. 5C is a diagram showing a state where a toner image is carried and fixed on an image support base material.

  Hereinafter, the printed matter, the image fixing sheet and the image forming method of the present invention will be described in detail.

<First Embodiment>
In the image forming method according to the first embodiment of the present invention, an image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is provided on an image supporting substrate, and the toner holding material layer is an image supporting substrate. A method of forming a printed product in which a toner image formed by toner particles is held on a toner holding material layer of an image fixing sheet, wherein the printed image is laminated in contact with the material. The arithmetic average roughness Ra of the surface is set to a specific range, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet is set to a specific low range.

Specifically, in the image forming method of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, a toner image T electrostatically formed with toner particles on a photosensitive member K is converted into an image supporting base. Then, the image fixing sheet 12 having the toner holding material layer 15 laminated on the one surface of the surface protective layer 13 is transferred onto the image supporting substrate 11 on which the toner image T is formed. The toner image T is superimposed on the toner holding material layer 15 so that the toner image T is embedded in the toner holding material layer 15, and the toner image T is held on the toner holding material layer 15. The toner image T is fixed to the support substrate 11 to form the image portion Q. This fixing does not require heating, but may be heat-treated at a low temperature, for example, about 60 to 80 ° C. in order to obtain a high-quality printed matter.
The external force applied to embed the toner image T differs depending on the mechanical strength of the toner particles constituting the toner image T and the type of the toner holding material constituting the toner holding material layer 15, for example, 1.00. It can be set as the force of the magnitude | size of * 10 < ³ > -1.00 * 10 < ⁸ > Pa.
The external force for burying the toner particles in the toner holding material layer 15 includes, for example, an electrostatic force applied by an appropriate transfer device, a pressing force for pressing the image fixing sheet 12 against the image supporting substrate 11, and a combination thereof. It is done.

In the image forming method of the present invention, the particle shape degree of the toner particles used for forming the toner image T is A, and the particle shape degree of the toner particles constituting the toner image T held on the toner holding material layer is B. It is preferable that the following relational expression (I) is satisfied.
Relational expression (I): 1.0 ≧ B / A ≧ 0.9
Here, the particle shape degree of the toner particles is expressed by (minimum diameter of the projected image / maximum diameter of the projected image).
(B / A) indicating the degree of change in the particle shape of the toner particles before being used for forming the toner image T and after being held on the toner holding material layer 15 is within the range of the relational expression (I). A high-quality print can be formed by a small external force, that is, by a small amount of energy. On the other hand, when (B / A) indicating the degree of change in particle shape is less than 0.9, a large amount of energy is required to obtain the printed matter P, which is not preferable because the environmental load is large. .

  Specifically, the particle shape degree A of the toner particles used for the formation of the toner image T is specifically determined by peeling off the toner image T electrostatically formed on the photosensitive member K, and using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) “ JSM-7401F ”(manufactured by JEOL Ltd.), and an image with a magnification of 2,000 times is taken into a“ Luzex image analyzer ”(manufactured by Nireco). The maximum diameter and the minimum diameter are measured, a particle shape degree obtained by dividing the maximum diameter by the minimum diameter is obtained, and an average value of the particle shape degrees of 100 toner particles is calculated.

  Further, the particle shape degree B of the toner particles after being held by the toner holding material layer 15 is specifically determined by using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) of a cross section of the printed matter P obtained by this image forming method. Observed with “JEM-1400” (manufactured by JEOL Ltd.), an image with a magnification of 2,000 times is taken into a “Luzex image analyzer” (manufactured by Nireco), and for each individual toner particle, a projected image of the particle. Is obtained by measuring the maximum diameter and the minimum diameter of the toner, determining the particle shape by dividing the maximum diameter by the minimum diameter, and calculating the average value of the particle shape for 100 toner particles. .

  Specifically, the particle shape degree A used for forming the toner image T is preferably 0.40 to 1.00, and more preferably 0.60 to 1.00. Further, the particle shape degree B of the toner particles after being held on the toner holding material layer 15 is preferably 0.40 to 1.00, more preferably 0.60 to 1.00. is there.

The relational expression (I) can be achieved, for example, by using toner particles having a 10% deformation strength of 1 to 100 MPa (hereinafter also referred to as “hard toner particles”).
This 10% deformation strength is a value measured in a compression test mode using a micro compression tester “MCT-W201” (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation).

In the image forming method of the present invention, the toner particles are not limited to using hard toner particles, but have a recovery rate of 70% or more and have elastic and / or shape memory properties (hereinafter referred to as “elastic toner particles”). May also be used.
By using elastic toner particles having such a restoration rate, even when the toner particles are deformed and held in the toner holding material layer 15, it is necessary to separate from the toner holding material layer 15 as described later. By performing the restoration process accordingly, reusable toner particles that exhibit the same behavior as the initial toner particles can be obtained.
The restoration rate of the elastic toner particles is a value measured in a load / unload test mode using a micro compression tester “DUH-W201S” (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation).

  According to the image forming method as described above, basically, the toner image T can be fixed to the image supporting substrate 11 without applying heat, so that energy saving can be achieved. Since the image T is held on the toner holding material layer 15 and the surface protective layer 13 is further coated on the toner holding material layer 15, the surface thereof is in a highly uniform state, and the image portion Q, the non-image portion, The image fixing sheet 12 has a high image quality, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet 12 on the toner image T is within a specific low range, and the surface protection of the image fixing sheet 12 Since the arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the layer 13 is in a specific range, it is possible to obtain a printed matter P that provides excellent pencil writing properties while obtaining sufficient image visibility.

[Printed matter]
In the printed matter P of the present invention, an image fixing sheet 12 composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer 15 and a surface protective layer 13 is formed on an image supporting substrate 11, and the toner holding material layer 15 is formed on the image supporting substrate 11. A toner image T formed by toner particles is held on the toner holding material layer 15 of the image fixing sheet 12 and is laminated in contact with the outer surface of the surface protective layer 13 constituting the image fixing sheet 12. The arithmetic average roughness Ra is 0.07 to 1.0 μm, preferably 0.07 to 0.5 μm, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet 12 is 0.15 or less, preferably 0.10 or less. Preferably it is 0.05 or less.

[Arithmetic mean roughness Ra]
When the arithmetic average roughness Ra is in the above range, excellent pencil writing property can be obtained while sufficient image visibility is obtained. On the other hand, when the arithmetic average roughness Ra is less than 0.07 μm, excellent pencil writing property cannot be obtained. Further, when the arithmetic average roughness Ra exceeds 1.0 μm, the image density of the image portion in the printed matter obtained by increasing the transmission density is lowered, so that the contrast is lowered and a stepwise density change is recognized. Therefore, sufficient image visibility cannot be obtained.

Arithmetic average roughness Ra is obtained by extracting a portion of measurement length lr from the roughness curve in the direction of the center line, setting the center line direction of the extracted portion as the X axis and the direction perpendicular to the X axis as the Y axis. When the height curve is y = F (x), it is an average value of absolute values of F (X) at the reference length lr, and is defined as a value given by the following formula (1). Specifically, it is measured according to JIS B 0601: 2001.

[Transmission density]
The transmission density represents the transmittance T as a common logarithm, and is represented by the formula: transmission density D = log (1 / T).
When the transmission density of the image fixing sheet 12 is 0.15 or less, the image density of the image portion Q in the obtained printed matter P is high, and excellent contrast is obtained, and sufficient image visibility is obtained. Is obtained. On the other hand, when the transmission density of the image fixing sheet 12 exceeds 0.15, the obtained printed matter is covered with the whole because the image density of the non-image portion is high, and the contrast is also lowered. It does not have a good image visibility.

[Image fixing sheet]
The image fixing sheet 12 in the printed matter P of the present invention is obtained by laminating a toner holding material layer 15 on a surface protective layer 13.
The image fixing sheet 12 may be one in which, for example, an undercoat layer or another functional layer is interposed between the surface protective layer 13 and the toner holding material layer 15.

[Surface protective layer]
Examples of the material constituting the surface protective layer 13 include film materials made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS), and organic materials such as polystyrene resin, acrylic resin, and polyester resin. Examples include a cured product of a solution for forming a surface protective layer such as a solvent-soluble resin, a photocuring agent, a thermosetting agent, and a moisture curing agent. Further, as the surface protective layer forming solution, a solution having the same composition as the toner holding material can be used.

  The pencil hardness of the surface of the surface protective layer 13 is preferably H or higher, more preferably 3H or higher.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the thickness of the surface protective layer 13 is 10-200 micrometers, More preferably, it is 25-100 micrometers.

[Method for forming image fixing sheet]
The image fixing sheet 12 is formed by (1) forming a surface protective layer 13 on one surface of the film material by, for example, a roughness treatment described later, and then forming a toner holding material layer on the other surface of the surface protective layer 13. 15 is obtained.
(2) Also, for example, a surface protective layer forming solution is applied on one side of a release paper made of polypropylene (PP) paper, and cured to form a surface protective layer base, and then the surface protective layer base is formed. The toner holding material layer 15 is formed thereon, and then the release paper is peeled off from the base of the surface protective layer, and the surface protective layer 13 is subjected to a roughness treatment described later on the outer surface of the base of the surface protective layer. Can also be obtained.

  Examples of the method for curing the coating layer of the surface protective layer forming solution include a curing method using light, heat, steam and the like.

[Roughness treatment]
Roughness treatment to make the arithmetic average roughness Ra in a specific range includes mechanical surface treatment such as sandblast treatment, organic fine particles made of polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl alcohol, polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, Apply a matting agent coating solution in which a matting agent consisting of inorganic fine particles consisting of silica, glass powder, alkaline earth metal or carbonate such as cadmium and zinc, and calcium carbonate is mixed with a base solution such as gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol and cellulose ester. And drying treatment.
In the treatment for applying and drying the matting agent coating solution, the coating amount of the matting agent coating solution varies depending on the size of the fine particles constituting the matting agent, the concentration of the matting agent coating solution, and the like. It is preferably 0.0 g / m ² .

  Although the transmission density of the image fixing sheet 12 is increased by performing the roughness process, in the present invention, it is preferable that the increase in the transmission density due to the roughness process is suppressed to a range of 0.04 or less. .

[Toner retention material layer]
In the present invention, the toner holding material layer 15 is preferably made of a toner holding material that does not have fluidity in a state where no external force is applied, and that develops a fluid state when the external force is applied. . Specifically, for example, it can be made of a toner holding material having a thixotropic property that is in a gel state in a normal state and changes into a sol state by applying an external force.
In particular, the toner holding material has fluidity (hereinafter, also referred to as “specific fluidity”) such that when the toner particles are buried by an external force, the degree of change in the particle shape is suppressed to a small level. It is preferable.
The specific fluidity specifically refers to a material having a penetration of 30 or more measured according to JIS K2207 in a state where an external force for embedding toner particles is applied. As the holding material, the higher the penetration, the better.
By using a material having such a specific fluidity, the toner image T formed by electrostatically adhering each toner particle on the photoconductor K is maintained in the electrostatic charge in each toner particle. The toner holding material layer 15 can be buried in the state.

  Further, as the toner holding material for forming the toner holding material layer 15, a material that is incompatible with a resin constituting the toner particles (hereinafter also referred to as “toner resin”) can be appropriately selected. Further, a material having high affinity with toner particles is preferable.

  As the toner holding material for forming the toner holding material layer 15, a toner holding material layer used for another image formation is formed by using a toner holding material obtained through a separation process described later as an image forming material. A material that can be reused as a material to do is preferable.

Examples of the toner holding material for forming the toner holding material layer 15 include silicone-based, acrylic-based, vinyl-based, urethane-based resins, elastomers, rubbers, gels and sols thereof with organic solvents and oils, and aqueous emulsions thereof. Or water-soluble polymers, and gels or sols of these and aqueous solvents can be used.
Specifically, the silicone resins include dimethylsiloxane, diphenylsiloxane, methylvinylsiloxane, methylphenylsiloxane, fluorosiloxane, trifluorosiloxane, trifluoropropylsiloxane, chloromethylsiloxane, cyanoethylsiloxane, polyether siloxane, fluoro Examples thereof include polyether siloxane and aminosiloxane.
Examples of acrylic resins include 2-ethylhexyl acrylate and n-butyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, acrylamide derivatives, hydroxyethyl acrylate, and glycidyl acrylate. Examples include polymers.
Examples of vinyl resins include polyvinyl acetate, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, acrylic-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl butyral, phenol-vinyl butyral copolymer, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and polyvinyl chloride. Is mentioned.
Examples of urethane resins include polyurethane prepolymers obtained by reacting polyols and polyisocyanates. Examples of polyols include 1,2-polybutadiene polyol, 1,4-polybutadiene polyol, and poly (pentadiene / butadiene) polyol. , Poly (butadiene / styrene) polyol, poly (butadiene / acrylonitrile) polyol, etc., and polyisocyanates include diphenylmethane diisocyanate, tolylene diisocyanate, naphthalene diisocyanate, polymethylene polyphenyl isocyanate, xylylene diisocyanate, lysine diisocyanate, hexamethylene. Diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, methylene bis (cyclohexyl isocyanate), etc.
Further, as water-soluble polymers, natural polymer polysaccharides such as xanthan gum, carrageenan, pullulan, furseleran, curdlan, gelatin, collagen, etc .; sodium alginate, calcium alginate natural low molecular polysaccharide; polyacrylic acid; sodium polyacrylate A mixture of polyvinyl alcohol and the like with a solvent such as water, methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, and glycerin;

  The thickness of the toner holding material layer 15 is set in relation to the thickness of the toner image T to be held, for example, 1 to 500 μm.

(Image support substrate)
As the image supporting substrate 11 constituting the printed matter P of the present invention, an appropriate one can be used. For example, plain paper, fine paper, art paper or coated paper from thin paper to thick paper is applied. Examples include printing paper, commercially available Japanese paper and postcard paper, polypropylene synthetic paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) film, polyimide film, and cloth.
Among these, those having a high strength, whose performance is not impaired even if the reuse through the separation process described later is repeated many times, for example, 10 times or more, are particularly preferable, and such reuse can be repeated many times. Preferred examples of the image supporting substrate 11 include plain plain paper (thick paper), art paper, coated paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) film, and polyimide film.

[Toner particles]
The toner particles that form the toner image T according to the printed matter P of the present invention contain, for example, at least a resin, and further contain a colorant, a charge control agent, magnetic powder, a release agent, and the like as desired. be able to. Such an aggregate of toner particles is hereinafter referred to as toner.
Hereinafter, unused toner particles will be described.

[Method for producing toner particles]
A method for producing such toner particles is not particularly limited, and a pulverization method, an emulsion dispersion method, a suspension polymerization method, a dispersion polymerization method, an emulsion polymerization method, an emulsion polymerization aggregation method, and other known methods. And so on.

[Toner resin]
When the toner particles are produced by a pulverization method, an emulsification dispersion method, etc., as the toner resin, styrene resin, (meth) acrylic resin, styrene- (meth) acrylic copolymer resin, olefin resin, etc. Various known resins such as vinyl resin, polyester resin, polyamide resin, polycarbonate resin, polyether, polyvinyl acetate resin, polysulfone, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, and urea resin can be used. These can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  On the other hand, when the toner particles are produced by a suspension polymerization method, a dispersion polymerization method, an emulsion polymerization method, an emulsion polymerization aggregation method, etc., as a polymerizable monomer for obtaining a toner resin, for example, styrene, o-methyl Styrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene, α-methylstyrene, p-chlorostyrene, 3,4-dichlorostyrene, p-phenylstyrene, p-ethylstyrene, 2,4-dimethylstyrene, p-tert- Styrene or styrene derivatives such as butyl styrene, pn-hexyl styrene, pn-octyl styrene, pn-nonyl styrene, pn-decyl styrene, pn-dodecyl styrene; methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid Ethyl, n-butyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, methacrylate Methacrylic acid ester derivatives such as t-butyl acid, n-octyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, stearyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate; methyl acrylate, Acrylics such as ethyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, t-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, n-octyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, stearyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, etc. Acid ester derivatives; olefins such as ethylene, propylene, and isobutylene; vinyl halides such as vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, vinyl bromide, vinyl fluoride, and vinylidene fluoride; Vinyl esters such as vinyl pionate, vinyl acetate and vinyl benzoate; vinyl ethers such as vinyl methyl ether and vinyl ethyl ether; vinyl ketones such as vinyl methyl ketone, vinyl ethyl ketone and vinyl hexyl ketone; N-vinyl carbazole, N -N-vinyl compounds such as vinyl indole and N-vinyl pyrrolidone; vinyl compounds such as vinyl naphthalene and vinyl pyridine; vinyl monomers such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid derivatives such as acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile and acrylamide Can be mentioned. These vinyl monomers can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

Moreover, it is preferable to use combining what has an ionic dissociation group as a polymerizable monomer. The polymerizable monomer having an ionic dissociation group has, for example, a substituent such as a carboxyl group, a sulfonic acid group, and a phosphoric acid group as a constituent group, and specifically includes acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic acid. Acid, itaconic acid, cinnamic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid monoalkyl ester, itaconic acid monoalkyl ester, styrene sulfonic acid, allyl sulfosuccinic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid, acid phosphooxyethyl methacrylate And 3-chloro-2-acid phosphooxypropyl methacrylate.
Furthermore, as a polymerizable monomer, divinylbenzene, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate, neopentyl A resin having a crosslinked structure can also be obtained using polyfunctional vinyls such as glycol diacrylate.

  Elastic toner particles can be obtained by using a material exhibiting at least elasticity and / or shape memory as a toner resin.

Examples of the toner resin exhibiting shape memory properties include polymer materials such as elastomers having shape memory properties.
Examples of the elastomer having shape memory include a cross-linked shape memory elastomer that is physically or chemically cross-linked, and a network-type shape memory elastomer in which a network polymer and a phase change polymer are mixed.
Specific examples of elastomers having shape memory include monomers such as norbornene, styrene, butadiene, isoprene, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, ethylene, propylene, acrylic acid, isofluorone diisocyanate, oxypropylene glycol, and peroxyketals. , Hindered phenol, benzoyl peroxide, 1,4-butanediol, ethylene glycol and other cross-linking agents, polynobornene, polyurethane, polyisoprene, polyethylene, styrene -Cross-linked shape memory polymer such as butadiene copolymer, network polymer such as epoxy resin, phenol resin, acrylic resin, polyester, melanin resin and polycaprolactone, polyvinyl chloride, Polystyrene, polybutylene succinate, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, etc. polyphenylenesulfide network shape memory polymer mixed phase transition polymers such as de the like.

In addition, examples of the toner resin exhibiting elasticity include materials exhibiting elasticity such as an elastomer having rubber elasticity.
Examples of the elastomer having rubber elasticity include rubbers such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber, and thermoplastic elastomers having an alloy structure of a resin and a rubber that flows at a high temperature but prevents plastic deformation at a normal temperature and gives a reinforcing effect to the rubber. Is mentioned.
Specific examples of the elastomer having rubber elasticity include, for example, natural rubber mainly composed of cis-polyisoprene, natural gutta percha mainly composed of trans-polyisoprene, acrylic acid, butyl acrylate, 1,3-butadiene, 2 -Chloro-1,3-butadiene, acrylonitrile, isoprene, chloroprene, styrene, α-methylstyrene, p-chlorostyrene, isobutylene, hexamethylsiloxane, tetrafluoroethylene, isocyanate, oxypropylene glycol, epihydrin, ethylene, propylene, etc. Acrylic rubber with addition polymerization and copolymerization of monomers; acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, urethane rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, chloroprene rubber, silicone rubber, rubber Synthetic rubber such as lenbutadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, fluorine rubber, polyisobutylene rubber, methacrylic acid-butadiene copolymer, acrylic acid-butadiene copolymer, methyl methacrylate-butadiene copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer , Styrene-isoprene copolymer, styrene-ethylenebutylene copolymer, styrene-ethylenepropylene copolymer, styrene-isobutylene copolymer, methyl vinyl ketone-butadiene copolymer, olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPO, TPV) , Vinyl chloride thermoplastic elastomer (TPVC), amide thermoplastic elastomer, ester thermoplastic elastomer, urethane thermoplastic elastomer, and the like.

[Colorant]
When the toner particles are configured to contain a colorant, organic or inorganic pigments of various colors as exemplified below can be used as the colorant.
That is, examples of black pigments include carbon black, copper oxide, manganese dioxide, aniline black, activated carbon, nonmagnetic ferrite, magnetic ferrite, and magnetite.
Yellow pigments include yellow lead, zinc yellow, cadmium yellow, yellow iron oxide, mineral fast yellow, nickel titanium yellow, navel yellow, naphthol yellow S, Hansa Yellow G, Hansa Yellow 10G, Benzidine Yellow G, Benzidine Yellow GR, Examples include quinoline yellow lake, permanent yellow NCG, and tartrazine lake.
Examples of the orange pigment include red chrome yellow, molybdenum orange, permanent orange GTR, pyrazolone orange, vulcan orange, indanthrene brilliant orange RK, benzidine orange G, and indanthrene brilliant orange GK.
Red pigments include quinacridone, bengara, cadmium red, red lead, mercury sulfide, cadmium, permanent red 4R, risol red, pyrazolone red, watching red, calcium salt, lake red C, lake red D, brilliant carmine 6B, eosin Rake, Rondamin Lake B, Alizarin Lake, Brilliant Carmine 3B and the like.
Examples of purple pigments include manganese purple, fast violet B, and methyl violet lake.
Examples of blue pigments include bitumen, cobalt blue, alkali blue lake, victodia blue lake, metal phthalocyanine blue, metal-free phthalocyanine blue, phthalocyanine blue partially chlorinated, first sky blue, and induslen blue BC.
Examples of the green pigment include chrome green, chromium oxide, pigment green B, micalite green lake, final yellow green G, and the like.
Examples of white pigments include zinc white, titanium oxide, antimony white, and zinc sulfide.
Examples of extender pigments include barite powder, barium carbonate, clay, silica, white carbon, talc, and alumina white.
These pigments can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The addition amount of the colorant is preferably 0.5 to 20 parts by mass, more preferably 2 to 10 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the toner resin.

[Magnetic powder]
When the toner particles are configured to contain magnetic powder, for example, magnetite, γ-hematite, or various ferrites can be used as the magnetic powder.
The addition amount of the magnetic powder is preferably 10 to 500 parts by mass, more preferably 20 to 200 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the toner resin.

[Charge control agent]
Further, in the case where the toner particles are configured to contain a charge control agent, the charge control agent is not particularly limited as long as it is a substance that can give positive or negative charge by frictional charging, and there are various known ones. Can be used. Specifically, as the positive charge control agent, for example, a nigrosine dye such as “Nigrosine Base EX” (manufactured by Orient Chemical Industries), “quaternary ammonium salt P-51” (manufactured by Orient Chemical Industries), “ Quaternary ammonium salts such as “Copy Charge PX VP435” (manufactured by Hoechst Japan), alkoxylated amines, alkylamides, molybdate chelate pigments, and imidazole compounds such as “PLZ1001” (manufactured by Shikoku Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd.) Examples of the negative charge control agent include “Bontron S-22” (manufactured by Orient Chemical Industries), “Bontron S-34” (manufactured by Orient Chemical Industries), and “Bontron E-81” (Orient Chemical Industries). Manufactured by Co., Ltd.), “Bontron E-84” (manufactured by Orient Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), “Spiron Black TRH” Metal complexes such as (Hodogaya Chemical Industries, Ltd.), thioindigo pigments, quaternary ammonium salts such as “Copy Charge NX VP434” (Hoechst Japan), “Bontron E-89” (Orient Chemical Industries) And boron compounds such as “LR147” (manufactured by Nippon Carlit), fluorine compounds such as magnesium fluoride and carbon fluoride, and the like. In addition to the metal complexes used as negative charge control agents, oxycarboxylic acid metal complexes, dicarboxylic acid metal complexes, amino acid metal complexes, diketone metal complexes, diamine metal complexes, azo group-containing benzene-benzene derivatives Those having various structures such as a skeletal metal body and an azo group-containing benzene-naphthalene derivative skeleton metal complex can be used.
As described above, the toner particles are configured to contain the charge control agent, whereby the chargeability of the toner is improved.

  The addition amount of the charge control agent is preferably 0.01 to 30 parts by mass, more preferably 0.1 to 10 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the toner resin.

〔Release agent〕
Further, when the toner particles are configured to contain a release agent, various known waxes can be used as the release agent. As the wax, it is particularly preferable to use a polyolefin-based wax such as low molecular weight polypropylene, polyethylene, or oxidized polypropylene or polyethylene.

  The addition amount of the release agent is preferably 0.1 to 30 parts by mass, more preferably 1 to 10 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the toner resin.

[Particle size of toner particles]
The toner particles preferably have a volume-based median diameter of 3 to 8 μm. When the volume-based median diameter is 3 to 8 μm, the reproducibility of fine lines and high image quality of photographic images can be achieved, and the amount of toner consumption can be reduced compared to the case of using a large particle size toner. be able to.

  The volume-based median diameter of toner particles is measured and calculated using a measuring device in which a computer system equipped with data processing software “Software V3.51” is connected to “Coulter Multisizer 3” (manufactured by Beckman Coulter). It is what is done. Specifically, 0.02 g of toner is added to 20 mL of a surfactant solution (for example, a surfactant solution in which a neutral detergent containing a surfactant component is diluted 10-fold with pure water for the purpose of dispersing the toner). Then, ultrasonic dispersion was performed for 1 minute to prepare a toner dispersion, and this toner dispersion was placed in a beaker containing “ISOTON II” (manufactured by Beckman Coulter) in a sample stand. Pipette until the indicated concentration is 8%. Here, a reproducible measurement value can be obtained by setting the concentration range. In the measurement apparatus, the measurement particle count is 25000, the aperture diameter is 50 μm, the frequency value is calculated by dividing the measurement range of 1 to 30 μm into 256, and the volume integrated fraction is 50 % Particle diameter is defined as the volume-based median diameter.

[Average circularity of toner particles]
The above toner particles preferably have an average circularity represented by the following formula (S) of 0.700 to 1.000, more preferably 0.850 to 1.000.
Formula (S): Average circularity = circumference of circle obtained from equivalent circle diameter / perimeter of particle projection image

(External additive)
The above toner particles can constitute the toner as it is, but in order to improve fluidity, chargeability, cleaning properties, etc., the toner particles are provided with a so-called post-treatment agent, a fluidizing agent and a cleaning aid. The toner may be constituted by adding external additives such as the above.
As the post-treatment agent, for example, inorganic oxide fine particles composed of silica fine particles, alumina fine particles, titanium oxide fine particles, etc., inorganic stearate compound fine particles such as aluminum stearate fine particles, zinc stearate fine particles, or strontium titanate, titanium Inorganic titanic acid compound fine particles such as zinc acid are listed. These can be used individually by 1 type or in combination of 2 or more types.
These inorganic fine particles are preferably subjected to surface treatment with a silane coupling agent, a titanium coupling agent, a higher fatty acid, silicone oil or the like in order to improve heat-resistant storage stability and environmental stability.
The total amount of these various external additives added is 0.05 to 5 parts by mass, preferably 0.1 to 3 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the toner particles. In addition, various external additives may be used in combination.

(Developer)
The toner as described above can be used for image formation as a magnetic or non-magnetic one-component developer, but may be mixed with a carrier and used as a two-component developer. When the toner is used for image formation as a one-component developer, a non-magnetic one-component developer or a magnetic one-component developer containing about 0.1 to 0.5 μm of magnetic particles in the toner can be mentioned. Any of them can be used. In addition, when the toner is used for image formation as a two-component developer, the carrier is a conventionally known material such as a metal such as iron, ferrite, or magnetite, or an alloy of such a metal with a metal such as aluminum or lead. Magnetic particles can be used, and ferrite particles are particularly preferable. As the carrier, a coated carrier in which the surface of magnetic particles is coated with a coating agent such as a resin, a resin-dispersed carrier in which a magnetic fine powder is dispersed in a binder resin, or the like may be used.

  According to the above printed matter, basically, the toner image T is held on the toner holding material layer 15, and the surface holding layer 13 is further coated on the toner holding material layer 15, so that the surface thereof is uniform. In the high state, there is no difference in height level between the image portion Q and the non-image portion, and thus the image quality is high, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet 12 on the toner image T is particularly low. Since the arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer 13 of the image fixing sheet 12 is set to a specific range, excellent pencil writing properties can be obtained while obtaining sufficient image visibility. can get.

[Reuse of toner particles]
From the printed matter P obtained by the image forming method of the present invention, toner particles are separated through a separation treatment, and a toner containing the separated toner particles (hereinafter also referred to as “reuse toner”) is an image. It is preferable that a printed material can be obtained by being reused as a forming material. Although the kind of the specific image forming method is not limited, it is particularly preferable that the method is used for the specific image forming method described above.
By alternately repeating the above-described specific image forming method and toner particle separation processing, a reuse system that achieves energy saving can be obtained.

In this reuse system, the particle shape degree of the toner particles used for forming the toner image constituting one printed matter P is A, and the particle shape degree of the separated toner particles from the one printed matter P is C. Sometimes, it is preferable to satisfy the following relational expression (II).
Relational expression (II): 1.0 ≧ C / A ≧ 0.9

  Reusable toner is constituted by the fact that (C / A), which indicates the degree of change in the particle shape of the toner particles before being subjected to toner image formation and after separation processing, is within the range of the above relational expression (II). Since the toner particles exhibit the same behavior as the initial toner particles, they can be used again in the above specific image forming method. On the other hand, when (C / A) indicating the degree of change in particle shape is less than 0.9, the toner particles constituting the reuse toner may behave differently from the initial toner particles. It becomes difficult to use it again in the specific image forming method.

  Specifically, the particle shape degree C of the toner particles constituting the reusable toner is determined by separating the toner particles from one printed matter P by performing an appropriate separation process, and using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) “JSM-”. 7401F ”(manufactured by JEOL Ltd.), an image with a magnification of 2,000 times is taken into a“ Luzex image analyzer ”(manufactured by Nireco), and each individual toner particle has a maximum projected image diameter. The minimum particle diameter is measured, the particle shape degree obtained by dividing the maximum diameter by the minimum diameter is obtained, and the average value of the particle shape degree for 100 toner particles is calculated.

  Specifically, the particle shape C of the toner particles constituting the reuse toner is preferably 0.40 to 1.00, more preferably 0.60 to 1.00.

The toner particles for reuse can be dissolved or swollen by the toner holding material forming the toner holding material layer 15 and the toner holding state in which the toner image T is held in the separation processing liquid that does not dissolve the toner particles. It is obtained by immersing the material layer 15. The object to be immersed in the separation processing liquid is peeled off from the printed matter P or the image fixing sheet 12 in a state where the toner image T is held, or peeled off from the image supporting base 11. In addition, the toner protective material layer 15 in a state in which the toner image T is held with the surface protective layer 13 peeled off is obtained.
Further, when the toner particles for reuse are those having magnetism as the toner particles, the surface opposite to the surface where the toner holding material layer 15 of the image supporting substrate 11 is in contact with the printed material P. A magnetic force is applied from (the lower surface in FIG. 1C), the image fixing sheet 12 is peeled while the toner image T is held on the image supporting base 11, and then the magnetic force is released to release the toner. After separating the image fixing sheet 12 in a state in which the toner image T is held from the printed material P, and separating the toner particles and the image fixing sheet 12 by applying a magnetic force. It can be obtained also by the method of making it.

[Separation treatment solution]
As the separation treatment liquid in which the toner holding material can be dissolved or swollen and the toner particles are not dissolved, when the toner holding material forming the toner holding material layer 15 is dissolved and swollen in water, for example, Examples thereof include water, methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, glycerin, and mixtures thereof.
When the toner holding material forming the toner holding material layer 15 is dissolved or swelled in an organic solvent or oil, for example, toluene, xylene, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, methylene chloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1, 1,2-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, chloroform, monochlorobenzene, dichloroethylidene, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, dimethyl silicone oil, methyl phenyl silicone oil, methyl hydrogen silicone oil, amino-modified silicone oil, commercially available Examples of the solubilizer “e-clean 21 RG201” (manufactured by Kaneko Chemical Co., Ltd.), “Dynasolve 180”, “Dynasolve 225”, “Dynasolve 711” (hereinafter, “Dynaloy”) are not particularly limited. Yes.
In order to enhance the affinity with the toner particles, the toner holding material for forming the toner holding material layer 15, the surface protective layer 13, the image supporting base material 11, etc., a surfactant is added to the separation treatment liquid. Also good.

  The toner particles and the toner holding material separation treatment liquid solution separated in the state of being immersed in the separation treatment liquid can be collected, for example, by applying to a centrifuge.

In the case where the separated toner particles are those to which an external additive has been added before separation, for example, a reusable toner can be obtained by adding a sufficient amount of the external additive to a predetermined amount.
Further, for example, when the toner particles are manufactured using a material having shape memory property as a toner resin and the shape thereof is deformed, the shape is restored to the recovered deformed toner particles. After performing the separation process for performing an appropriate restoration process, a toner for reuse can be obtained by adding a short amount of external additive up to the desired amount.

  The external additive attached to the separated toner particles can be quantified by, for example, a fluorescent X-ray analyzer. Specifically, it can be measured by a fluorescent X-ray analyzer “XRF-1700” (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation).

A reusable toner containing the separated toner particles as described above, and the energy required for forming the printed matter P (N) of the printed matter P (N) obtained by using toner particles granulated from raw materials. The difference between the print P (R) obtained and the energy required for forming the print P (R) is substantially from the initial granulation energy required to granulate toner particles from the raw material. This is a size obtained by subtracting a subtotal (hereinafter referred to as “processing energy related to reuse”) of energy related to separation processing or energy related to addition of a shortage of external additives.
Since the processing energy related to reuse is extremely small compared to the initial granulation energy, a large energy saving is achieved.

[Reuse of image fixing sheet]
In the recycling system, an image fixing sheet is separated from one printed matter P by a separation process, and the separated image fixing sheet (hereinafter also referred to as “reuse image fixing sheet”). It is preferable that a printed material can be obtained by being reused as an image forming material. In particular, it is preferably used for the specific image forming method described above.
By alternately repeating the above-described specific image forming method and the image fixing sheet separation process, a reuse system that achieves energy saving can be obtained.

The reusable image fixing sheet is immersed and swollen in a separation treatment liquid that can swell the toner holding material forming the toner holding material layer 15, and the constituent materials other than the surface protective layer 13 and the toner holding material and the separation treatment are used. It is obtained by removing the liquid and allowing it to stand. The object to be immersed in the separation processing liquid is the printed material P or the image fixing sheet 12 in a state where the toner image T is peeled off from the image supporting substrate 11.
In addition, when toner particles having magnetic properties are used, the surface opposite to the surface on which the toner holding material layer 15 of the image supporting substrate 11 is in contact with the printed matter P (in FIG. 1C). It can also be obtained by applying a magnetic force from the lower surface and peeling off the image fixing sheet 12 while the toner image T is held on the image supporting base material 11. Further, the image fixing sheet 12 in a state where the toner image T is held from the printed matter P is peeled off, and then the toner particles are separated from the image fixing sheet 12 by applying a magnetic force and allowed to stand still. it can.

The energy required for forming the printed matter P (N) of the printed matter P (N) obtained by using the initial image fixing sheet manufactured from the raw material, and the reused image fixing sheet collected as described above. The difference between the print product P (R) obtained by using the image and the energy required for forming the print product P (R) is substantially equal to the initial production required for producing the initial image fixing sheet from the raw material. It is the magnitude obtained by subtracting the energy related to the separation process from the energy.
Since the energy related to the separation process is extremely small compared with the initial production energy, a large energy saving is achieved.

[Reuse of surface protective layer]
In the recycling system, the surface protective layer is separated from one printed matter P through a separation process, and this separated surface protective layer (hereinafter also referred to as “reusable surface protective layer”). It is preferable that a printed material can be obtained by being reused as an image forming material. In particular, it is preferably used for the specific image forming method described above. In this recycling system, it is preferable from the viewpoint of energy saving that the surface protective layer is reused 10 times or more.
By alternately repeating the above-described specific image forming method and the image protective layer separation process, a reuse system that achieves energy saving can be obtained.

The reusable surface protective layer is obtained by peeling directly from the toner holding material layer 15 holding the toner image T.
Further, it can also be obtained by immersing the image fixing sheet 12 in a separation treatment liquid in which the toner holding material can be dissolved or swollen and the surface protective layer is not dissolved. The object to be immersed in the separation processing liquid is peeled off from the printed matter P or the image fixing sheet 12 in a state where the toner image T is held, or peeled off from the image supporting base 11. And the image fixing sheet 12 in a state where the toner particles are separated.

The energy required for the formation of the printed matter P (N) of the printed matter P (N) obtained by using the initial surface protective layer produced from the raw material, and the reused protective surface layer recovered as described above The difference between the print product P (R) obtained by using the energy required for the formation of the print product P (R) is substantially the initial production required for producing the initial surface protective layer from the raw material. It is the magnitude obtained by subtracting the energy related to the separation process from the energy.
Since the energy related to the separation process is extremely small compared with the initial production energy, a large energy saving is achieved.

[Reuse of toner holding material layer]
In the recycling system, the toner holding material for forming the toner holding material layer 15 is separated from the one printed matter P through the separation process, and the separated toner holding material (hereinafter, “separated toner holding”) is separated. The material is also reused as an image forming material to form a new toner holding material layer (hereinafter also referred to as “reuse toner holding material layer”), and the specific image forming method described above. It is preferable to be used for.
By alternately repeating the above-described specific image forming method and the toner holding material layer separation process, a reuse system that achieves energy saving can be obtained.

The reusable toner holding material layer is a toner that can be dissolved by being immersed in a separation treatment solution that can dissolve the toner holding material forming the toner holding material layer 15 and that does not dissolve other constituent materials. It is obtained by removing the separation treatment liquid from the separation treatment solution solution of the holding material to obtain a separated toner holding material, and using this to form a layer. The object to be immersed in the separation processing liquid is peeled off from the printed matter P or the image fixing sheet 12 in a state where the toner image T is held, or peeled off from the image supporting base 11. And the image fixing sheet 12 in a state where the toner particles are separated.
Alternatively, the toner holding material forming the toner holding material layer 15 may be swollen by immersing it in a separation treatment liquid that can be swollen, and other constituent materials and the separation treatment liquid may be removed and left still. can get.
Further, a magnetic force is applied to the toner holding material layer 15 in a state where the toner image T is held to remove the toner particles, and the solid toner holding material layer from which the toner particles have been removed is melted to use the layer. It can also be obtained by forming it or by allowing the solid toner holding material layer from which the toner particles have been removed to stand.

[Reuse of image support substrate]
Further, in the recycling system, an image supporting substrate is separated from one printed matter P by a separation process, and this separated image supporting substrate (hereinafter also referred to as “reusable image supporting substrate”). .) Can be reused as an image forming material to obtain a printed matter. In particular, it is preferably used for the specific image forming method described above. In this recycling system, it is preferable that the image supporting substrate is reused 10 times or more from the viewpoint of energy saving.
By alternately repeating the above-described specific image forming method and the image supporting base material separation process, a reuse system that achieves energy saving can be obtained.

The reusable image supporting substrate is obtained by directly peeling the image fixing sheet 12 on which the toner image T is held.
Further, by immersing the printed matter P or a material from which the surface protective layer 13 has been peeled off from the printed matter P in a separation treatment solution that can dissolve or swell the toner holding material and not the image supporting substrate. Is also obtained.

The energy required for the formation of the printed matter P (N) of the printed matter P (N) obtained using the initial image supporting substrate manufactured from the raw material, and the reused image support collected as described above. The difference between the print P (R) obtained using the substrate and the energy required for the formation of the print P (R) is substantially required to produce the initial image supporting substrate from the raw material. It is the magnitude obtained by subtracting the energy related to the separation process from the initial production energy.
Since the energy related to the separation process is extremely small compared with the initial production energy, a large energy saving is achieved.

  Reusable toner and / or reusable image fixing sheet containing the separated toner particles separated from the obtained printed matter P as described above (reusable toner holding material layer and / or reusable surface protective layer) ) And / or a method using a reusable image support substrate as a whole achieves significant energy savings.

<Second Embodiment>
In the image forming method according to the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the toner image T is buried in the toner holding material layer 15 of the image fixing sheet 12 by an external force. Then, the image fixing sheet 12 in a state where the toner image T is held is superposed on the toner holding material layer 15 in contact with the image supporting base material 11, whereby the toner image T on the image supporting base material 11 is overlapped. Except that fixing is performed, the method has the same requirements as those in the first embodiment.
According to such an image forming method, an effect similar to that of the image forming method of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described above, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above examples, and various modifications can be made.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[Preparation Examples 1 to 10 of Image Fixing Sheet]
(Surface protection layer production example 1)
A transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film base having a thickness of 30 μm was used as the surface protective layer [1].

(Production Examples 2 to 5 of the surface protective layer)
A gelatin coating solution containing 1 mg, 7 mg, 10 mg, and 100 mg of a matting agent made of polymethyl methacrylate having an area average particle diameter of 7 μm on the back surface of a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film base having a thickness of 30 μm, respectively, The surface protective layers [2] to [5] were prepared by uniformly coating the gelatin coating solution so that the amount of the gelatin coating solution was 0.95 g / m ² and drying.

(Surface protection layer preparation examples 6 to 10)
Surface protection layers [6] to [10] were prepared by subjecting the back surface of a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film base having a thickness of 30 μm to a sandblast treatment so as to have an arithmetic average roughness Ra shown in Table 1.

(Formation Examples 1 to 10 of Toner Holding Material Layer)
A silicone gel “SE1891H” (manufactured by Dow Corning Toray) is applied on the surface (untreated surface) of the surface protective layers [1] to [10] with a bar coater, and then cured to give a thickness of 50 μm. By forming a flexible toner holding material layer having a penetration of 45, image fixing sheets [1] to [10] were produced.

[Production Example 11 of Image Fixing Sheet]
Applying silicone gel “SE1891H” (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning) on one side of polypropylene (PP) paper with a bar coater, and then fully curing it, hard surface protection with a thickness of 20 μm and a penetration of 1 After the layer was formed, silicone gel “SE1891H” was further applied and cured to form a flexible toner holding material layer having a thickness of 50 μm and a penetration of 45 on the surface protective layer. The PP sheet was peeled from the surface protective layer to obtain an image fixing sheet [11].

[Production Examples 12 to 15 of Image Fixing Sheet]
An image fixing sheet was obtained in the same manner as in Preparation Example 11 of the image fixing sheet. On this surface protective layer, a matting agent composed of polymethyl methacrylate having an area average particle diameter of 7 μm was respectively added at 1 mg, 7 mg, 10 mg, Image fixing sheets [12] to [15] were prepared by uniformly applying the gelatin coating solution added with 100 mg so that the amount of gelatin coating solution was 0.95 g / m ² and drying.

  Arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surfaces of the image fixing sheets [1] to [15] is based on JIS B 0601: 2001, using a surface roughness meter “Surfcom 1400D” (manufactured by Tosei Engineering Co., Ltd.). The measurement was performed under the measurement conditions of a cutoff wavelength of 0.08 mm, an evaluation length of 2.5 mm, a measurement magnification of × 10K, and a measurement speed of 0.15 mm / sec. The results are shown in Table 1.

  Further, for the image fixing sheets [1] to [15], the visual density was measured using a densitometer “X-rite 310TR” (manufactured by X-rite) to calculate the transmission density. The results are shown in Table 1.

[Examples 1 to 8 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7: Preparation Examples 1 to 15 of Initial Prints]
Paper [A] "J Paper" (manufactured by Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Inc.) (image support substrate), and "bizhub C 253" (manufactured by Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.) with the fixing device removed, support this model was formed with a commercial developer, after the toner adhesion amount to transfer the toner image comprising a step image to increase 0g / m ² ~10g / m ² and stepwise respectively, on the paper (a), the The image fixing sheets [1] to [15] are superimposed on the state where the toner holding material layer is in contact with the toner image, and then passed through the above-described fixing device without being heated and pressed, thereby making the paper [A] Initial prints [1] to [15] were obtained in which an image fixing sheet holding a toner image was laminated.
The prints [2] to [4], [7], [8], [12] to [14] relate to the present invention, and the prints [1], [5], [6] , [9] to [11], [15] are for comparison.

(Image visibility)
With respect to the obtained prints [1] to [15], the reflection density of the step image and the non-image part relating to each toner adhesion amount was measured using a reflection densitometer “RD-918” (manufactured by Macbeth), The maximum image density (the reflection density of the step image having the maximum reflection density−the reflection density of the J paper) and the minimum image density (the reflection density of the non-image area−the reflection density of the J paper) were measured. The results are shown in Table 1.
When the maximum image density is less than 0.8, it is determined that sufficient image image visibility cannot be obtained because the contrast is lowered and it is difficult to recognize the stepwise density change. In addition, even when the minimum image density is 0.15 or more, it is judged that sufficient image visibility cannot be obtained because the fog of the non-image part is conspicuous and it becomes difficult to discriminate the low density image part. .

[Pencil writing]
Specific characters, symbols and the like were written on the surface of the obtained prints [1] to [15] using a pencil lead of HB and 0.3 mm, and the writing property was evaluated according to the following criteria. The results are shown in Table 1. If the level is 1 or 2, it is determined that there is no practical problem. If the level is 3 or 4, it is determined that the level is not practical.
Level 1: Smooth writing is possible, and no blurring of characters, symbols, etc. occurs.
Level 2: Slight resistance to writing is recognized, but no blurring of characters, symbols, etc. occurs.
Level 3: Resistance is felt in writing, and blurring of characters, symbols, etc. occurs in some places.
Level 4: Writing is impossible at all.

[Separation Examples 1 to 10]
The prints [1] to [10] are separated from the paper [A] by separating the image fixing sheets [1] to [10] holding the toner image, and the image fixing holding the toner image is performed. The sheets [1] to [10] are immersed in methylene chloride and subjected to ultrasonic waves to separate and recover the surface protective layers [1] to [10], and then the toner particles and the silicone are separated by a centrifuge. Separated and recovered into gel methylene chloride. The recovery rate of the toner particles from the respective prints [1] to [10] was in the range of 94 to 97% in terms of mass.
The amount of the external additive in the toner by the collected separated toner particles is quantified with a fluorescent X-ray analyzer, and a short amount of external additive from the initial toner is added and mixed by a Henschel mixer. By doing so, reusable toners [1-2] to [10-2] were obtained, and by further mixing with carriers, reusable developers [1-2] to [10-2] were obtained.
Further, the paper [A] separated by peeling was used as a reuse paper [A-2].
Further, by distilling methylene chloride from the methylene chloride solution of the silicone gel, a silicone gel (separated toner holding material) is obtained, and this is separated and collected on the surface protective layers [1] to [10] with a bar coater. Coating was performed to prepare image fixing sheets [1-2] to [10-2] on which a flexible reuse toner holding material layer having a thickness of 50 μm and a penetration of 45 was formed.

[Preparation Examples 1-10 of Reproduced Prints]
Using the image fixing sheets [1-2] to [10-2], the reuse paper [A-2], and the reuse developers [1-2] to [10-2], respectively, Reproduced printed materials [1-2] to [10-2] were obtained in the same manner as the printed materials [1] to [10]. The reproduced printed materials [1-2] to [10-2] were not visually different from each other in image quality as compared with the initial printed materials [1] to [10].

[Separation Examples 11 to 15]
The prints [11] to [15] are separated from the paper [A] by separating the image fixing sheets [11] to [15] holding the toner image, and the image fixing holding the toner image is performed. The sheets [11] to [15] were immersed in water and subjected to ultrasonic waves to separate them into toner particles and image fixing sheets [11] to [15], dried and collected. The recovery rate of the toner particles from the respective prints [11] to [15] was in the range of 94 to 97% in terms of mass.
The amount of the external additive in the toner by the collected separated toner particles is quantified with a fluorescent X-ray analyzer, and a short amount of external additive from the initial toner is added and mixed by a Henschel mixer. Thus, reusable toners [11-2] to [15-2] were obtained, and by further mixing with a carrier, reusable developers [11-2] to [15-2] were obtained.
Also, the paper [A] separated by peeling is used as a reuse paper [A-2], and the image fixing sheets [11] to [15] are reused image fixing sheets [11-2] to [15-2], respectively. It was.

[Preparation Examples 11 to 15 of Reproduced Prints]
Using the image fixing sheets [11-2] to [15-2], the reuse paper [A-2], and the reuse developers [11-2] to [15-2], respectively, Reproduced prints [11-2] to [15-2] were obtained in the same manner as the prints [11] to [15]. The reproduced printed materials [11-2] to [15-2] were not visually different in image quality from the initial printed materials [11] to [15], respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image support body 11 Image support base material 12 Image fixing sheet 13 Surface protective layer 15 Toner holding material layer K Photoconductor P Printed matter Q Image part T Toner image

Claims (10)

An image fixing sheet composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is laminated on the image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. A printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on a toner holding material layer,
The arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer constituting the image fixing sheet is 0.07 to 1.0 μm, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet is 0.15 or less. Prints. An image fixing sheet comprising a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer,
The arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer is 0.07 to 1.0 μm, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet is 0.15 or less,
On the image supporting substrate, the toner holding material layer is laminated so as to be in contact with the image supporting substrate, and a printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on the toner holding material layer is formed. An image fixing sheet for use in an image forming method. An image fixing sheet composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is laminated on the image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on a toner holding material layer,
The arithmetic average roughness Ra of the outer surface of the surface protective layer constituting the image fixing sheet is 0.07 to 1.0 μm, and the transmission density of the image fixing sheet is 0.15 or less. Image forming method.   An image forming method, wherein a printed matter is obtained using toner containing toner particles separated from the printed matter obtained by the image forming method according to claim 3. An image fixing sheet composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is laminated on the image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on a toner holding material layer,
An image forming method, wherein the toner particles constituting the toner image are toner particles separated from a printed matter obtained by the image forming method according to claim 3. An image fixing sheet composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is laminated on the image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on a toner holding material layer,
An image forming method, wherein the image fixing sheet is obtained by an image fixing sheet separated from a printed matter obtained by the image forming method according to claim 3. An image fixing sheet composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is laminated on the image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on a toner holding material layer,
An image forming method, wherein the surface protective layer is a surface protective layer separated from a printed matter obtained by the image forming method according to claim 3. An image fixing sheet composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is laminated on the image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on a toner holding material layer,
4. The image forming method according to claim 3, wherein the toner holding material layer is obtained by a toner holding material that forms a toner holding material layer separated from a printed matter obtained by the image forming method according to claim 3. .   An image forming method, comprising: obtaining an image using an image supporting substrate separated from the image obtained by the image forming method according to claim 3. An image fixing sheet composed of a laminate of a toner holding material layer and a surface protective layer is laminated on the image supporting substrate so that the toner holding material layer is in contact with the image supporting substrate. An image forming method for forming a printed matter in which a toner image formed of toner particles is held on a toner holding material layer,
The image forming method according to claim 3, wherein the image supporting substrate is separated from a printed matter obtained by the image forming method according to claim 3.

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