JP2013184434A - Printing method and printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce members used until a substrate to be printed is transfer-printed, thus contributing to improve print quality and reduce a manufacturing load.SOLUTION: A printing method, in which an ink layer 107 is partially disposed on an ink-peelable transfer substrate 101A surface and only the ink layer disposed on an image pattern formation-schedule part 115 on the transfer substrate surface is selectively transferred onto a substrate 108 to be printed, includes: first processes (a) and (b) of removing ink peelability other than the image pattern formation-schedule part with respect to an ink-peelable transfer substrate surface; second processes (c) and (d) of disposing the ink layer on an area for covering the image pattern formation-schedule part of the ink-peelable transfer substrate surface; a third process of preliminarily drying the ink layer; and fourth processes (e) and (f) of causing the ink layer formed on the ink-peelable transfer substrate surface to contact with the surface of the substrate to be printed and transferring only the ink of the image pattern formation-schedule part.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing technique for transferring and forming a high-definition pattern on a substrate.

In recent years, there are very many products around us that use technology to produce thin films in fine pattern shapes. As an example of its use, a computer is frequently used for a memory, a liquid crystal display, a hard disk drive, as well as a central processing unit.
Similarly, a technique for patterning a thin film with high definition is one of techniques that are constantly required and developed regardless of the field, and various methods have been developed.

  When a liquid is deposited to form a fine pattern with a thickness of several μm or less, many kinds of methods such as a photolithography method, an inkjet method, and a printing method are often used properly. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages and has features and problems.

  For example, the photolithography method has been developed in various ways and has a feature that a very high-definition pattern can be formed. However, the manufacturing apparatus becomes large and the cost increases. On the other hand, in the inkjet method, the manufacturing apparatus itself is simple and the cost is very low. However, since the basis of the formation method is pattern formation by laminating droplets, the types of patterns that can be formed and the pattern accuracy are limited by the influence of interfacial tension. Limited. Although the printing method is inferior to the inkjet method, it does not require a large-scale manufacturing apparatus, and can also form a high-definition pattern similar to the photolithography method. As a new method of forming a high-definition pattern that can be substituted for the photolithography method, Development is in progress.

  Among the printing methods described above, the reverse printing method, which is a kind of offset printing, is suitable for printing a high-definition pattern. In the reverse printing method, after removing the non-image pattern by pressing the relief printing surface with the image pattern as a recess on the surface of the ink coating film that has been preliminarily dried on the ink-peeling substrate, the ink peeling property is removed. In this method, the image pattern remaining on the substrate is pressed against the substrate to be printed and transferred. In particular, in a manufacturing process for forming a high-definition pattern typified by a color filter, a reversal printing method using an ink-releasable film as a transfer blanket has been considered (see Patent Document 1) and is continuously stable. Technology that can be manufactured can be provided. Instead of the conventional blanket made of silicone rubber or silicone resin, by using a transparent ink peelable film base as a blanket, the influence from the ink-containing solvent is reduced and continuous printing stability is secured. It has the feature of facilitating alignment with a substrate to be printed through a transparent film.

  In order to form a thin film with high definition, the reversal printing method using an ink-releasable film is a very effective printing method, but the reversal requires that more members be used before transfer printing on the substrate to be printed. It does not solve the disadvantages of printing methods in general. The more members that are used, the more disadvantageous it is with respect to foreign matter, and the accuracy and management method of the members directly affects the quality. In addition, processing and procurement of the member itself is a heavy load. The above-described problem has a great influence particularly because it is necessary to make and supply a relief plate which is a member for removing a non-image pattern.

  In addition, in the case of patterning that paints multiple color patterns represented by color filters, it is necessary to repeat the printing process for each color pattern, so that the manufacturing process becomes long, and a coater or printing machine is required for each color pattern Therefore, a high initial cost for manufacturing equipment is a big problem.

JP 2008-105400 A

  The present invention is proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to use an ink releasable film as a transfer blanket when patterning a thin film with high definition. By taking advantage of the reversal printing method and reducing the number of members used until transfer printing is performed on the substrate to be printed, the influence of the members on the transfer print quality is reduced, and the processing and procurement of the members themselves It is to provide printing technology that reduces the load.

  As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the invention described in claim 1 is characterized in that an ink layer is partially provided on the surface of an ink-peeling transfer substrate, and an image pattern formation scheduled portion on the surface of the transfer substrate is This is a printing method in which only the provided ink layer is selectively transferred onto the substrate to be printed, while leaving the ink releasability of the image pattern formation planned portion on the surface of the ink releasable transfer substrate, A first step of removing ink peelability other than the image pattern formation scheduled portion, a second step of providing an ink layer in a region covering the image pattern formation planned portion of the surface of the ink peelable transfer substrate, and an ink layer A third step of pre-drying the ink, and a fourth step of bringing the ink layer formed on the surface of the substrate for ink-peelable transfer into contact with the surface of the substrate to be printed and transferring only the ink in the image pattern formation scheduled portion And a process. A printing method.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the printing method according to claim 1, wherein the transfer substrate is a transparent resin film substrate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the first step comprises an exposure step using an exposure mask that selectively shields the image pattern formation scheduled portion and selectively transmits the portion other than the image pattern formation planned portion. The printing method according to claim 1 or 2.

  The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the first step irradiates light by bringing an exposure mask into contact with the back surface of the ink-peeling transfer substrate. The printing method according to any one of the above.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that in the first step, the exposure mask is irradiated with light at an interval of 100 μm to 500 μm from the front surface or the back surface of the ink releasable transfer substrate. The printing method according to claim 1.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the printing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second step provides an ink layer using an ink jet method.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the printing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second step simultaneously provides ink layers of a plurality of colors using an ink jet method. .

  In the invention according to claim 8, an ink layer is partially provided on the surface of the ink peelable film substrate, and only the ink layer provided on the image pattern formation planned portion on the film substrate surface is selectively selected. A printing apparatus for transferring onto a substrate to be printed, and selectively irradiating light onto the surface of the ink-releasable film substrate using an exposure mask, thereby removing the ink at the image pattern formation scheduled portion. A light irradiation part excluding the ink peelability other than the image pattern formation scheduled part, and an ink coating part that provides an ink layer in a region covering the image pattern formation scheduled part on the surface of the ink peelable film base, The ink drying part for pre-drying the ink layer and the ink layer formed on the surface of the ink-releasable film substrate are brought into contact with the surface of the substrate to be printed to transfer only the ink in the image pattern formation scheduled part. A printing unit, a printing apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the light irradiating unit can irradiate light by bringing an exposure mask into contact with the back surface of the ink-peeling film substrate. is there.

  The invention according to claim 10 is characterized in that the light irradiation part can irradiate the exposure mask from the front surface or the back surface of the ink-peeling film substrate with an interval of 100 μm to 500 μm. The printing apparatus according to 8 or 9.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the printing according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the ink coating part comprises an inkjet head and an ink layer is provided in a predetermined area. Device.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the ink coating unit includes a plurality of sets of ink jet heads, and a plurality of color ink layers are simultaneously provided in a predetermined region. The printing apparatus according to any one of 11.

  The present invention makes it possible to perform selective transfer in a later process by removing the ink peelability other than the image pattern formation scheduled portion in advance from the surface of the ink peelable transfer substrate, thereby transferring the ink peelability. By providing an ink layer in the area covering the image pattern formation planned portion of the substrate surface for supply, supplying the ink that becomes the image pattern without shortage, and by pre-drying the ink layer, for transferring the area having releasability Ink transfer from the substrate is guaranteed, and finally the ink layer formed on the surface of the substrate for transferring ink is brought into contact with the surface of the substrate to be printed to transfer only the ink in the image pattern formation scheduled portion. Therefore, it is possible to provide a printing technique that does not use a relief plate, which is an important member of conventional reverse printing. For this reason, the burden of procuring a letterpress member that requires a plate making process is reduced. In addition, regarding the resolution, the separation of the peelable region and the non-peelable region on the surface of the transfer substrate is dominant, so that the required accuracy for ink supply can be relaxed, and patterning is directly performed on the substrate to be printed. Rather than higher resolution.

  In addition, according to claim 2 of the present invention, by using a transparent ink peelable film base material as a transfer base material, the influence from the ink-containing solvent can be reduced to ensure continuous printing stability. The alignment with the substrate to be printed can be easily made highly accurate through the transparent film.

Further, according to any one of claims 3 to 5 of the present invention or according to any one of claims 8 to 10 of the present invention, with respect to the surface of the ink-peelable transfer substrate, other than the image pattern formation planned portion. Ink releasability can be easily removed in advance, and the ink releasable region of the image pattern formation scheduled portion and the ink non-removable region of the image pattern non-formation scheduled portion can be divided into regions with high accuracy.
In particular, according to claim 4 or claim 9, since the light is irradiated from the back surface of the ink-peelable film base material in contact with the exposure mask on which the image pattern is drawn, the influence of light diffraction is reduced. Thus, highly accurate patterning with high reproducibility is possible.
In particular, according to claim 5 or claim 10, the exposure mask on which the image pattern is drawn is irradiated with light at an interval of 100 μm to 500 μm from the front surface or the back surface of the ink peelable film substrate. Further, it is possible to prevent pattern loss due to adhesion of foreign matter from the front surface or the back surface of the ink peelable film substrate. The reason for defining the interval is that when the interval is less than 100 μm, there is a high possibility of foreign matter adhering, and when the interval exceeds 500 μm, the resolution of the pattern deteriorates.

According to claim 6 or 7 of the present invention, or claim 11 or 12 of the present invention, ink supply that does not necessarily require high-precision positioning or application area limitation can be easily performed by an ink jet method. Therefore, the manufacturing process or the manufacturing apparatus can be simplified.
In particular, according to the seventh aspect or the twelfth aspect, since ink layers of a plurality of colors can be provided simultaneously by using an ink jet method, this is a case of patterning in which a plurality of color patterns are separately applied as represented by a color filter. However, it is not necessary to repeat the printing process for each color pattern, and batch formation is possible. Accordingly, the manufacturing process can be shortened and implemented with a small number of manufacturing apparatuses, which is effective for improving the quality of products and reducing costs.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the image pattern manufacturing process by the printing method of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the printing apparatus of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of an image pattern manufacturing process according to the printing method of the present invention. In the present invention, an ink layer is partially provided on the surface of an ink releasable transfer substrate, and only the ink layer provided on the image pattern formation scheduled portion on the surface of the transfer substrate is selectively transferred onto the substrate to be printed. It is the printing method to transfer, Comprising: It can implement according to the process shown in the following examples.
In the first step shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the image pattern formation scheduled portion 115 remains on the surface of the film substrate 101 used as the ink-peelable transfer substrate and the ink-peelable property is left. Then, by removing the ink peelability of the image negative pattern portion 105 other than the image pattern formation scheduled portion, the film base material 101A after modification is obtained. In this example, the image negative pattern portion 105 that has been irradiated with light is removed by irradiating parallel light from a light source 104 through an exposure mask 103 whose image pattern is shielded from light on a film substrate 101 placed on a stage 102. The film base 101 </ b> A is modified to the peeling portion and retains the ink peelability of the image pattern formation scheduled portion 115 that is not irradiated with light.

In the first step of the present invention, the ink-peelable transfer base material is selectively irradiated with light through an exposure mask using the transparent film base material of this example. In the case of a method in which the surface is modified to distinguish between the ink peelable region and the ink non-peelable region, there are the following two methods as the main methods of light irradiation.
One method is to irradiate light from the back surface of an ink-peelable film substrate by bringing an exposure mask that is selectively light-shielded by drawing an image pattern. In this method, the influence of light diffraction is reduced, and highly accurate patterning with high reproducibility is possible.
Another method is to irradiate light with an interval of 100 μm to 500 μm from an exposure mask on which an image pattern is drawn and selectively shielded from the front surface or the back surface of the ink peelable film substrate. In this method, since the exposure mask is used in a non-contact state, pattern loss due to adhesion of foreign substances from the front or back surface of the ink-peelable film substrate can be prevented. The reason for defining the interval is that when the interval is less than 100 μm, there is a high possibility of foreign matter adhering, and when the interval exceeds 500 μm, the resolution of the pattern deteriorates.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D, for example, the ink coating part 106 covers the ink peeling part of the image pattern formation scheduled part 115 selectively provided on the ink peelable film substrate 101 </ b> A. A second step of providing the ink layer 107 in the region and a third step of predrying the ink layer 107 continue. As shown in FIG. 1D, the edge portion of the ink layer 107 can be subjected to rough patterning by an ink jet method so as to cover the image negative pattern portion 105 as a non-peeling portion.

  In the second step of providing the ink layer 107 in a region covering the ink peeling portion of the image pattern formation scheduled portion 115 on the surface of the ink-peelable transfer substrate, when an ink jet method is used, a plurality of color ink layers are simultaneously formed. Can be provided. A plurality of ink jet heads of the ink jet coating unit 106 are arranged at predetermined intervals as necessary to form one unit, and a predetermined region is applied with specific ink by appropriately discharging droplets. However, if a plurality of sets of such units are arranged in parallel and each unit is operated so as to apply different types of ink to predetermined areas, respectively, a plurality of color ink layers can be obtained. Can be provided simultaneously.

Next, the fourth step shown in FIGS. 1E and 1F will be described. An ink layer 107 formed on the surface of a film substrate 101A used as an ink-peelable transfer substrate is placed in correspondence with a predetermined surface position of the substrate to be printed 108, and then uniformly printed by a roller 113A. Is applied to the surface of the substrate to be printed, and then the film substrate 101A and the substrate 108 to be printed are peeled off, whereby only the ink on the image pattern formation planned portion 115 is used as the image pattern 107A. Transfer to 108. Since the image pattern formation scheduled portion 115 is selectively left with ink releasability, the above-described transfer is possible, whereas the image pattern formation planned portion 115 is changed to non-removability in the first step except for the image pattern formation planned portion. The edge portion of the ink layer 107 applied to the finished image negative pattern portion 105 is not transferred, and the surplus pattern 107B remains in the image negative pattern portion 105 of the film base 101A.
Through the above steps, an image pattern can be formed by the printing method of the present invention.

  As a base material of the film substrate 101 which is an ink-peelable transfer substrate used in the above printing method, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethersulfone, cycloolefin polymer, polyimide, nylon, aramid, polycarbonate, A film such as polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, or triacetyl cellulose can be appropriately selected in accordance with the light to be irradiated. If it is a base material with a small linear expansion coefficient, the influence by heat can be suppressed. Moreover, if it is a base material with a low water-vapor-permeation rate, the influence by humidity can be suppressed. Further, by using a light-transmitting substrate, alignment can be facilitated during pattern superposition. These film base materials can be supplied by a long winding roll. As above-mentioned, it is suitable when implementing the method of this invention that the base material for transcription | transfer is a transparent resin film base material which is hard to receive to the influence of a heat | fever and humidity.

  Further, in order to impart ink releasability, a release agent represented by silicone oil and silicone varnish can be applied to the surface of the base material. These silicone-based coatings usually have low adhesion to the film substrate, but thermosetting or UV-curable acrylic resins and epoxy resins that have high adhesion to the substrate from the bottom of the silicone layer on the outermost surface. This can be improved by providing a resin layer such as an anchor layer on the base material in advance.

It is desirable that the film substrate, which is an ink releasable transfer substrate, also has a suitable ink receptivity and at the same time a complete ink releasability of the ink once received. Specifically, as the release agent, various molecular weights of dimethylpolysiloxane, other methylhydrogen polysiloxanes, methylphenyl silicone oil, methyl chlorinated phenyl silicone oil, or the co-polymerization of these polysiloxanes with organic compounds. Denatured ones such as coalescence can be used.

  Moreover, in order to control the peelability of an ink peelable film base material by irradiating light, a photopolymerization initiator may be added. As a photoinitiator, it can select suitably according to the hardening means by light.

  Specific examples of the photopolymerization initiator include acetophenone, benzophenone, anthraquinone, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetone, 3-methylacetophenone, 4-chlorobenzophenone, 4,4-diaminobenzophenone, benzoinpropyl ether, benzoinethyl. Examples include ether and benzyl dimethyl ketal.

  The light source is not particularly limited as long as it emits light having an effective wavelength for initiating polymerization. However, it is desirable to use a light source having a small gap and a point light source as much as possible to produce parallel light by an optical system. . This is because when the distance between the electrodes becomes wider due to the effect of increasing the output or the like, the intensity of the normal distribution becomes broad and the energy loss in the integrator lens increases.

  Preliminary drying is performed after an ink layer is formed by ink jetting on an ink peelable film substrate. For this preliminary drying, natural drying, cold / hot air drying, microwave irradiation, reduced pressure drying, or the like can be used, and radiation such as ultraviolet rays or electron beams can also be used.

  The purpose of this preliminary drying is to increase the viscosity, thixotropy and brittleness of the ink liquid film. When drying by preliminary drying is insufficient, when the ink layer 107 provided in the image pattern formation scheduled portion 115 on the surface of the film base material for transfer is pressed against the substrate to be printed 108 and peeled in a later step, The ink liquid film is disturbed and torn at the boundary of the pattern where the ink film is not peeled off, and the shape defect of the image pattern 107A occurs. On the other hand, when the preliminary drying of the ink layer is excessive, the tackiness of the surface of the ink layer 107 is lost, and the ink is not transferred to the printing substrate 108. Therefore, although the drying state is adjusted by the drying time and the atmospheric temperature depending on the composition of the ink to be used, a state in which 0.5% by weight to 4% by weight of the solvent remains in the predried ink layer is preferable. As in the case of a batch transfer resist called a so-called dry film, if the residual solvent amount is in the order of ppm, it is excessive as pre-drying, and the ink layer 107 is formed due to a problem that the ink is not transferred or excessive press against the substrate 108 to be printed. Since there is a problem that it partially peels off and causes foreign matter, it is not suitable as a condition for the pre-dried ink layer.

  As the substrate to be printed in the printing method of the present invention, various materials can be applied. For example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethersulfone, cycloolefin polymer, polyimide, nylon, Films and sheets of aramid, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, triacetyl cellulose and the like can also be used.

  As the ink material, an image pattern forming material in which a solvent is dissolved or dispersed can be used. For example, when forming a color pattern (transparent colored resin layer) or black matrix (black resin layer) composed of red, green, and blue used for a color filter by the production method of the present invention, the pigment component and the resin component are contained in a solvent. By dissolving and dispersing, ink can be obtained.

Examples of the pigment include the following pigments that can be used in red, green, and blue colors. The type of pigment is a color index (CI) No. It shows with. First, as red pigments, 97, 122, 123, 149, 168, 177, 180, 192, 208, 209, 2
15 and the like, 7, 36 and the like as the green pigment, and 15, 15: 1, 15: 3, 15: 6, 22, 60, 64 and the like as the blue pigment. Examples of black pigments include carbon black and titanium black. Further, in order to improve the color adjustment of these red, green and blue pigments and the fluidity of the ink, the following pigments can be added in necessary amounts.

  Besides red, green, and blue, for example, yellow pigments such as 17, 83, 109, 110, and 128, purple pigments such as 19, 23, and white pigments such as 18, 21, 27, and 28, etc. Examples of the orange pigment include 38 and 43. In addition to the simple substance, the pigment may be a pigment dispersion in which the pigment is previously dispersed in a dispersant or an organic solvent. Moreover, as a black pigment used for a black matrix, carbon black or titanium black is used alone or in combination.

  As the resin component of the ink, one or more selected from the group consisting of a polyester resin, an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin, a melamine resin, and a benzoguanamine resin is used. As the solvent, an ester solvent, an alcohol solvent, an ether solvent, a hydrocarbon solvent, or the like is used. As ester solvents, propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, ethoxyethyl propionate, as alcohol solvents, 1-butanol, 3methoxy-3methyl-1butanol, 1-hexanol, 1,3 butanediol, 1-pentanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 4-methyl-2-pentanol, ether solvents such as propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monoethyl ether, propylene glycol tertiary butyl ether, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol butyl ether, ethylene Glycol ethyl ether, ethylene glycol methyl ether, diethylene glycol butyl ether, diethylene glycol ethyl ether, hydrocarbon As a system solvent, Solvesso 100, Solvesso 150 (trade name, manufactured by Exxon Chemical Co., Ltd.).

  When an organic light emitting layer is formed in an organic EL element, for example, an ink is obtained by dissolving and dispersing a polymer light emitting material such as polyphenylene vinylene (PPV) in an aromatic organic solvent such as toluene or xylene as a solvent. In addition, when wiring is formed on a circuit substrate, ink is obtained by dissolving and dispersing a metal fine particle dispersion such as gold, silver, copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, rhodium in water, alcohol, or glycol solvent. . Moreover, surfactant, antioxidant, a viscosity modifier, a ultraviolet absorber, a leveling agent, etc. may be added to these inks as needed. The ink of the present invention is not limited to these.

Next, an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a printing apparatus for carrying out the above-described printing method of the present invention.
In this example, a long film substrate is used as an ink releasable transfer substrate, and a light irradiation technique is used in the first step except for the ink releasability other than the image pattern formation planned portion, and the image pattern formation planned portion An ink jet method is used in the second step of providing an ink layer in a region covering the film.

  In the present invention, an ink layer is partially provided on the surface of the ink-peelable film substrate 101, and only the ink layer provided in the image pattern formation scheduled portion on the film substrate surface is selectively printed on the substrate 108 to be printed. This is a printing apparatus for transferring upward, and selectively irradiates light onto the surface of the ink-releasable film substrate using the exposure mask 103, thereby leaving the ink releasability of the image pattern formation scheduled portion. In addition, the light irradiation part 111 excluding the ink peelability other than the image pattern formation planned part, and the ink jet coating part 106 which provides an ink layer in a region covering the image pattern formation planned part on the surface of the ink peelable film base. An ink coating part, an ink drying part 112 for pre-drying the ink layer, and an ink layer formed on the surface of the ink-peeling film substrate, contacting the surface of the substrate to be printed, A transfer printing unit 113 for transferring only the ink of the image pattern to be formed unit is a printing apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a long film substrate 101 with ink releasability, a substrate to be printed 108, a film substrate unwinding unit 109 that controls the conveyance of the ink releasable film substrate, The entire printing apparatus can be controlled by the transport system including the take-up unit 110. The light irradiation unit 111 is selectively irradiated with light through a stage 102 for fixing and adsorbing an ink-peelable film substrate, and an exposure mask 103 for shielding the image portion and transmitting the non-image portion. The transfer printing unit 113 is provided with a roller 113A for operating the transfer mechanism. Further, the substrate to be printed 108 is not particularly limited, but may be in the form of a sheet or film, and a supply system to the transfer printing unit 113 is separately prepared in consideration of materials such as glass and plastic. be able to.

  The transport system having the film base unwinding unit 109 and the film base unwinding unit 110 includes a motor for controlling the rotation and tension to provide a driving force for transporting the ink-peelable film base 101. The original film width to be mounted is easily selected from 100 mm to 1000 mm, but is selected in consideration of the practicality of the pattern and the transfer position accuracy. In addition to the above-described components, the tension control of the ink-peelable film substrate can be adjusted by installing a nip portion in the transport system and holding the film substrate. As the nip portion, an adsorption nip formed mainly by air adsorption holes provided in the transport roll is used.

  In the transport system, when the time difference required in each step is eased and a buffer for continuously transporting the film substrate is provided, continuous transport can be performed. It is preferable to carry the necessary length for each process.

  The light irradiation unit 111 includes an optical system necessary for the exposure mask 103 and the light source 104, and the exposure mask 103 in which the image portion is shielded from the upper side (or the lower side) of the ink peelable film base 101. By irradiating light from the light source 104 via, only the image negative pattern portion is irradiated with light to obtain a modified film substrate 101A. The exposure gap between the ink-peeling film substrate 101 and the exposure mask 103 whose image portion is shielded from light may be provided with a gap in order to prevent defects such as the occurrence of mask defects due to the inclusion of foreign matter. As the exposure gap, it is desirable that the exposure mask can be irradiated with light at an interval of 100 μm to 500 μm from the front surface or the back surface of the film substrate. In order to increase the resolution, the ink-peelable film substrate 101 may be brought into contact with the exposure mask 103 from the back surface of the film substrate. In addition, regarding the resolution, the part depending on the optical system is large. Therefore, it is desirable that the distribution of the lamp bright line of the light source 104, the material of the mirror system thereof, and the collimation half angle due to the shape and size of the integrator lens, etc. be performed under appropriate conditions.

  The inkjet coating unit 106 includes a movable stage and an inkjet coating apparatus that applies ink to a modified ink-peelable film substrate 101A that is positioned and provided on the movable stage. The movable stage can be driven by a ball screw, linear motor, etc., and can be made of metal or stone, but can reciprocate at least horizontally. It is desirable that the ink peelable film substrate 101 can be adsorbed. In order to prevent unevenness of the surface due to adsorption, a method of providing adsorption holes only near the edge of the film or a method of using an adsorption surface using a porous material can be selected.

A well-known thing can be used for an inkjet coating apparatus, By providing the inkjet droplet discharge head, an ink layer can be provided in a predetermined area | region. The ink jet head system may be any one of a thermal system, a bubble system, an electrostatic actuator system, a piezo system, and the like. As for the scanning method, parallel scanning and tilt scanning can be selected according to the situation.

  Note that a plurality of ink jet droplet discharge heads are arranged at a predetermined interval as necessary to form a single unit, and a predetermined region is made of a specific ink by appropriately discharging droplets. If a plurality of such units are arranged in parallel, and each unit is arranged and operated so as to apply different types of ink to predetermined areas, a plurality of color inks can be applied. Layers can be provided simultaneously.

  The ink drying unit 112 is installed to dry the ink patterned on the ink-peelable film base 101A by the inkjet coating unit 106, such as a hot plate, oven, hot air, reduced pressure drying, ultraviolet irradiation, etc. A drying apparatus can be provided.

  The transfer printing unit 113 is provided with a movable stage, and is formed on a modified film substrate 101A that is selectively imparted with ink peelability on a substrate to be printed 108 adsorbed on the movable stage. The image pattern 107A is transferred by bringing the ink layer 107 into contact and peeling.

  When performing transfer that requires alignment on the printing substrate 108, the fact that the ink-peeling film substrate 101A is transparent is used. A part of the pattern obtained on the film substrate 101A, a mark pattern for alignment, and an alignment pattern provided in advance on the substrate to be printed 108 are recognized with a transmission image by a microscope camera, and each pattern is recognized. Coordinate data can be acquired from the image that has been recognized, and the transfer stage can be corrected by operating the movable stage.

  The microscope camera for performing the image recognition may be either an optical microscope or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) microscope, but either an autofocus or an electrically controllable manual focus control mechanism, or its Those having both functions and having an interface for outputting to an external monitor or an image processing apparatus for position correction for observing the acquired image are preferable.

  In addition, when the printing substrate 108 is a plastic substrate, a heating controllable heater is installed inside the operation stage and a heating / cooling mechanism for circulating hot water is provided, and the printing substrate 108 is fixed by a plurality of chucks. Further, by adding a mechanism for pulling the substrate to be printed, it is possible to perform alignment with higher accuracy.

  The transfer printing unit 113 is provided with a roller 113A on a movable stage. Materials such as rubber, metal, and plastic can be used as the roller outer periphery material. At this time, it is desirable to use a roller having a small radius of curvature so as to follow the unevenness of the minute ink film.

  From the substrate to be printed 108 fixed on the movable stage installed in the transfer printing unit 113 and the ink-removable film substrate 101A installed with a slight gap, installed in the transfer printing unit 113 as well. The pressed roller 113A is pressed, printing pressure is applied while rotating the roller 113A along with the movement of the movable stage, and then the ink peelable film substrate 101A is peeled off from the substrate to be printed 108 to transfer the image pattern. be able to.

Next, examples of the present invention will be described.
With the printing method of the present invention, a square pattern of RGB color filters was produced on a PEN film. As an example, a red ink for a color filter was prepared as follows. A mixture having the following composition was stirred and mixed uniformly, then dispersed with a sand mill for 5 hours using glass beads having a diameter of 1 mm, and further filtered with a 5 μm filter to obtain a red pigment dispersion.
・ Red pigment:
C. I. Pigment Red 254 (“Ilgar Forred B-CF” manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemicals) 18 parts by mass C.I. I. Pigment Red 177 (“Chromophthal Red A2B” manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemicals) 2 parts by mass • Acrylic varnish (solid content 20%) 108 parts by mass

Thereafter, a mixture having the following composition was stirred and mixed to be uniform, and then filtered through a 5 μm filter to obtain a red colored ink.
-100 parts by weight of the above dispersion-900 parts by weight of Dialomer SP-7128 (manufactured by Dainichi Seika Kogyo Co., Ltd.)-18 parts by weight of photoinitiator: Darocur 1173 (manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemicals)

  As an ink peelable film substrate, a film obtained by adding a photopolymerization initiator to a peelable silicone on a polyethylene terephthalate film having a substrate thickness of 100 μm, and applying and drying to a thickness of 10 μm was used.

  First, an ink peelable film substrate was fed out and conveyed to a light irradiation part. The exposure mask used in the light irradiation part was designed to aim for a square pattern with an image pattern of 80 μm □ to be shielded from light and a space of 30 μm with an adjacent pattern. The optical system is a general optical system using a heat ray cut filter, an integration lens, a reflecting mirror, and a collimator lens, and a light source with a mercury lamp output of 2 kW was used. The negative pattern portion was irradiated with light on the condition that the collimation half angle was 2 °, and the exposure gap between the exposure mask and the ink peelable film substrate was 200 μm from the film substrate surface.

  Next, in the inkjet coating part, patterning was simultaneously performed on the image pattern formation scheduled part on the ink-peelable film substrate using the RGB three-color inks including the red coloring ink. Patterning was performed with a coating width of 250 mm, a coating length of 200 mm, and a film thickness of 5.0 μm by scanning several times using an inkjet head having a width of 50 mm.

  The ink-releasable film substrate that has been subjected to coating patterning by inkjet is transported to a transfer printing section through a preliminary drying step by drying under reduced pressure. Thereafter, the ink peelable film substrate and the substrate to be printed are bonded together with a rubber roller, and then the RGB image pattern is transferred to the substrate to be printed by peeling the ink peelable film substrate from the substrate to be printed. I did it. By this step, only the image pattern of the area of the ink peelable film substrate that was not irradiated with light was transferred to the substrate to be printed, and the RGB square pattern was printed with high accuracy as designed.

101 ... Film substrate 101A ... Film substrate (after modification)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 ... Stage 103 ... Exposure mask 104 ... Light source 105 ... Image negative pattern part 106 ... Inkjet coating part 107 ... Ink layer 107A ... Image pattern 107B ... Excess Pattern 108 ... Printed substrate 109 ... Film substrate unwinding unit 110 ... Film substrate winding unit 111 ... Light irradiation unit 112 ... Ink drying unit 113 ... Transfer printing unit 113A... Roller 115... Image pattern formation scheduled portion

Claims (12)

A printing method in which an ink layer is partially provided on the surface of an ink releasable transfer substrate, and only the ink layer provided on the image pattern formation scheduled portion on the surface of the transfer substrate is selectively transferred onto the substrate to be printed Because
A first step of leaving the ink releasability of the image pattern formation planned portion on the surface of the ink releasable transfer substrate and excluding the ink releasability other than the image pattern formation planned portion;
A second step of providing an ink layer in a region covering the image pattern formation scheduled portion of the surface of the ink-peeling transfer substrate;
A third step of pre-drying the ink layer;
A fourth step of bringing the ink layer formed on the surface of the substrate for ink-peelable transfer into contact with the surface of the substrate to be printed and transferring only the ink of the image pattern formation scheduled portion;
A printing method comprising the steps of:   The printing method according to claim 1, wherein the transfer substrate is a transparent resin film substrate.   3. The first process includes an exposure process using an exposure mask that selectively shields an image pattern formation scheduled portion and selectively transmits a portion other than the image pattern formation scheduled portion. 4. Printing method.   The printing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first step irradiates light by bringing an exposure mask into contact with the back surface of the ink-peelable transfer substrate.   The first step irradiates the exposure mask with light at an interval of 100 μm to 500 μm from the front surface or the back surface of the ink releasable transfer substrate. Printing method.   The printing method according to claim 1, wherein the second step provides an ink layer using an inkjet method.   The printing method according to claim 1, wherein the second step simultaneously provides ink layers of a plurality of colors using an ink jet method. A printing device that provides an ink layer partially on the surface of an ink-peeling film substrate, and selectively transfers only the ink layer provided on the image pattern formation planned portion of the film substrate surface onto the substrate to be printed. There,
By selectively irradiating light onto the surface of the ink-peeling film substrate using an exposure mask, the ink-peeling property of the image pattern formation planned part remains and the ink peeling of the part other than the image pattern formation planned part is performed. Light irradiator excluding sex,
An ink coating portion for providing an ink layer in a region covering the image pattern formation scheduled portion on the surface of the ink-peeling film substrate;
An ink drying section for pre-drying the ink layer;
A transfer printing unit for bringing the ink layer formed on the surface of the ink-peeling film substrate into contact with the surface of the substrate to be printed and transferring only the ink of the image pattern formation scheduled portion;
A printing apparatus comprising:   The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the light irradiation unit can irradiate light by bringing an exposure mask into contact with the back surface of the ink peelable film substrate.   10. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the light irradiation unit can irradiate the exposure mask from the front surface or the back surface of the ink-peeling film substrate with an interval of 100 μm to 500 μm.   The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the ink coating unit includes an inkjet head, and an ink layer is provided in a predetermined region.   The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the ink coating unit includes a plurality of sets of inkjet heads, and a plurality of color ink layers are simultaneously provided in a predetermined region.