JP2018051961A - Image display card, card blank and transfer foil - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image display card on which a displayed image stays even if a thermal transfer ink printed on a surface of the card is worn or separated.SOLUTION: An image display card 100 is obtained by forming an image receiving layer 12 on a surface of a card base body 11, and printing ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, 13B on the image receiving layer. A pigment precursor is blended in part/entirety of the ink layers. A color developer is blended in the image receiving layer. A pigment resultant from a reaction of the pigment precursor and the color developer is generated inside the image receiving layer at a portion where the ink layers abut.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display card such as a magnetic card or an IC card. These cards are widely used for applications such as identification cards, credit cards, and prepaid cards. For example, the identification card may include an identification card for a company or a university, a driver's license card, a bank card, a customer identification card for a department store, an insurance medical card, or the like.

  The present invention improves the durability of display images applied to these various cards.

  These image display cards often print or print individual images specific to each card when the card is issued. For example, in the case of an ID card issued by a company, a display indicating that the card is an ID card, a common image such as a company name and location is printed in advance on the card blank. On the other hand, information about the card user, for example, information such as the user's name, department, face photo, etc. is information specific to each card. I can't leave. For this reason, the individual images relating to these users are usually formed by printing or printing on the card surface when the card is issued.

  As a method for printing or printing such an individual image, a method using a transfer foil is known (Patent Document 1). That is, in this method, as the transfer foil, an easily peelable thermal transfer ink is formed on the base film. Then, this transfer foil is overlaid on the card blank, and by partially heating with a thermal head from the back side of the transfer foil, the heat transferable ink of this heated portion is transferred to the card blank surface to form individual images. .

Japanese Patent No. 4828739

  However, since the individual images formed in this manner are formed by adhering the thermal transfer ink to the card surface, the thermal transfer ink slightly protrudes from the card surface. For this reason, when the card surface is rubbed, the protruding heat transferable ink is worn, and the displayed image is worn. Or when a plasticizer etc. touch, this heat transferable ink will peel from the card | curd surface, and the display image will be lost.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an image display card in which the display image, that is, the individual image printed or printed on the card surface is not lost even when the thermal transfer ink is worn or peeled as described above. The purpose is to provide.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 is an image display card having a card base having an image receiving layer on the surface and an image-like ink layer provided on the image receiving layer.
A part or all of the ink layer contains a dye precursor, the image receiving layer contains a developer that forms a dye by reacting with the dye precursor, and the ink layer The image receiving card is characterized in that the image receiving layer in a region where the abutment contains contains a dye based on a reaction between the dye precursor and the developer.

  Next, the invention according to claim 2 is the image display according to claim 1, wherein the dye is a dye that is transparent to light in the visible region and has an absorption region in the invisible region. Card.

  Next, the invention according to claim 3 is a card blank having an image receiving layer on the surface of the card substrate, the image receiving layer containing a developer that forms a dye by reacting with a dye precursor. It is a card blank characterized by being.

  Next, the invention according to claim 4 is a transfer foil having a transferable ink layer on the transfer foil base material, and the transferable ink layer reacts with a developer to form a dye. The transfer foil is characterized by containing a dye precursor.

  In the present invention, a part or all of the image-like ink layer contains a dye precursor, the image receiving layer contains a developer, and the dye precursor reacts with the developer to produce the dye. Since it is formed, the display image is displayed twice by this pigment and the ink layer.

  Among them, the display image by the ink layer is worn or lost due to wear or the like of the ink layer, but since the image by the dye is formed inside the image receiving layer, it is not lost by the wear or the like of the ink layer. Thus, the durability of the display image can be greatly improved.

FIG. 1 relates to a specific example of an image display card according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view of the card, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a specific example of the card blank of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a specific example of the transfer foil of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 relates to a specific example of an image display card according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view of the card, and FIG.

  As shown in these drawings, the image display card 100 includes a card base 11, an image receiving layer 12, and ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B. The image receiving layer 12 is provided on the surface of the card substrate 11, and thus the card substrate 11 provided with the image receiving layer 12 on the surface is generally supplied as a card blank 1, and an ink layer 13Y is formed on the image receiving layer 12 on the surface of the card blank 1. , 13M, 13C, 13B, the image display card 100 can be manufactured.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the image display card 100 is provided with a common image b in addition to the individual image a. However, the ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B have the individual image a. Ink layers constituting the common image b are not shown in FIG. 1 (b).

The four types of ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B contain colorants having different colors. In this example, the ink layer 13Y has a yellow color, the ink layer 13M has a magenta color, the ink layer 13C has a cyan color, and the ink layer 13B has a black (black) color. In addition to the colorant, at least one of the four types of ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B contains a dye precursor that reacts with the developer to form a dye. ing. On the other hand, the image receiving layer 12 contains a developer that reacts with the dye precursor to form a dye. When an ink layer is formed on the image receiving layer 12 in the form of an image, the dye precursor contained in the ink layer reacts with the developer in the image receiving layer 12 to generate a dye.

  In this example, the dye precursor is contained in the black ink layer 13B. For this reason, the dye is generated in the image receiving layer 12 at the portion in contact with the ink layer 13B, and an image 12B having the same shape as the ink layer 13B is formed inside the image receiving layer 12. Among the individual images a, images with particularly high importance such as card numbers and names are usually composed of a black ink layer 13B, and therefore the black ink layer 13B contains a dye precursor. In this case, this highly important image can be formed inside the image receiving layer 12 and protected from the wear and the like.

  By the way, such a dye precursor and a developer are both known, and many are commercially available. The dye precursor itself may be a dye having a light absorption region, and although it is not strictly a dye per se, it may be widely known under the name of “dye”. An example of such a dye precursor is an azo dye. When the dye precursor is an azo dye, the developer is a coupling agent. Moreover, a leuco dye can also be mentioned as an example of a pigment precursor. When the dye precursor is a leuco dye, a phenol compound or an acidic compound can be used as a developer.

  The dye produced by the reaction between the dye precursor and the developer may be a colored dye having an absorption region in the visible region, transparent to the light in the visible region, and absorbed in the non-visible region. It may be a dye having a region. When this pigment is colored, the image 12B composed of this pigment can be recognized by the naked eye even after the ink layer 13B is worn out. On the other hand, when the pigment is transparent in the visible region, when the ink layer 13B is worn out, the image 12B cannot be recognized by the naked eye, but the image 12B can be detected by detecting light of an appropriate wavelength. For example, in the case where the dye is transparent in the visible region but has an absorption region in the infrared region, when the ink layer 13B is worn out, the card 100 is irradiated with infrared rays, and an infrared camera is used. It is possible to detect the image 12B by photographing. As described above, GREEN118 manufactured by Yamamoto Kasei Co., Ltd. can be cited as an example of a dye precursor that is transparent in the visible region and has an absorption region in the infrared region.

  Next, each component constituting the card of the present invention will be described.

  First, the card base 11 may be composed of an arbitrary plastic sheet. Since the image display card 100 may be three-dimensionally engraved with symbols and characters by embossing, a multilayer sheet made of hard polyvinyl chloride resin or polyester resin (PET-G) is generally used. The thickness is usually about 100 to 700 μm.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an example of a card blank 1 in which an image receiving layer 12 is formed on a card base 11 having a multilayer structure. In this card blank 1, an ink layer 11b constituting the common image b is provided on the surface of the core sheet 111, and an image receiving layer 12 is provided so as to cover the ink layer 11b. As shown in FIG. 1A, the common image b constitutes common information such as a card issuing company. On the other hand, an ink layer 11c constituting the back side image c is provided on the back side of the core sheet 111, and a back side protective layer 112 is provided so as to cover the ink layer 11c. This back-side image c constitutes a common image such as notes on using the card.

The card substrate 11 may be one having a magnetic recording layer such as a magnetic tape. For example, a magnetic tape is stuck on one side of a multilayer sheet made of hard polyvinyl chloride resin or polyester resin.

  In addition, as the card base 11, a card substrate with a built-in IC chip can be used. In the case where a terminal conducting to the IC chip is provided, it is desirable that this terminal is disposed on the back surface side of the card base 11, that is, the surface opposite to the image receiving layer 12. Information can be exchanged by bringing the contact terminal of the reader / writer into contact with this terminal of the card base 11.

  Further, an IC chip having an antenna conducted to the IC chip can be used as the card base 11 of the present invention. In this case, information can be exchanged without contacting the reader / writer.

  Next, as the image receiving layer 12, a resin having a high adhesive strength with both the card base 11 and the ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B as a main component and the developer added thereto can be used. . In order to allow the common image b to be recognized through the image receiving layer 12, the image receiving layer 12 is preferably transparent. Examples of the resin constituting the image receiving layer 12 include acrylic resins, epoxy resins, urethane resins, and the like. The image receiving layer 12 can be formed by blending these resins with a developer and an appropriate additive to form a coating material and applying it to the card substrate 11.

  Next, since the ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B constitute the individual images a, it is desirable to form them by printing or printing using the transfer foil and the thermal head as described above. FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing the transfer foil 2. The transfer foil 2 is provided with ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B on a transfer foil base 21 through a release layer 22 in a surface sequential manner. ing.

  Although any plastic film can be used as the transfer foil substrate 21, a biaxially stretched polyester film is suitable. The release layer 22 is melted by the heating of the thermal head so that the ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, 13B can be easily peeled off from the transfer foil base 3. For example, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, montan It can be composed of waxes such as waxes, higher fatty acids, higher alcohols, higher fatty acid esters and higher fatty acid amines.

  The ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B are thermally transferred to the surface of the image receiving layer 12 of the card blank 1 by heating of the thermal head. A thermal transfer ink mainly composed of a thermal transfer resin and blended with a colorant is used. Can be used. As described above, among the four types of ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B, at least one type of ink layer needs to contain the dye precursor in addition to the colorant. In this example, a dye precursor is blended in the black ink layer 13B. Examples of the thermal transfer resin constituting the main components of the ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B include saturated polyester resins, polyvinyl chloride resins such as polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride-vinyl acetate, polymethyl acrylate, Poly (2-naphthyl acrylate), poly (methyl methacrylate), poly (ethyl methacrylate), poly (t-butyl methacrylate), poly (phenyl methacrylate), copolymers of methyl methacrylate and alkyl methacrylate (wherein the alkyl group has 2 carbon atoms) ˜6), acrylic resins such as polymethylchloroacrylate and acrylic styrene copolymer, and vinyl resins such as polystyrene, polydivinylbenzene, polyvinyltoluene and styrene-butadiene copolymer.

Then, the transfer foil 2 is overlaid on the card blank 1, the thermal head is pressed against the back surface of the transfer foil 2, and the thermal head is heated to generate heat according to the signal, thereby heating the ink layer 13.
It is possible to transfer Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B to the card blank 1 to form the individual image a.

  Note that the individual images a can be formed by a method called an indirect transfer method or a retransfer method. In this method, an intermediate transfer foil is used in addition to the transfer foil 2 and the card blank 1. That is, after the ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B are transferred from the transfer foil 2 to the intermediate transfer foil, the ink layers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B are transferred from the intermediate transfer foil to the card blank 1.

100: Image display card a: Individual image b: Common image c: Back side image 1: Card blank 11: Card base 111: Core sheet 112: Back side protective layer 11b: Ink layer for common image b 11c: For back side image c Ink layer 12: Image receiving layer 12B: Image inside image receiving layer 13Y, 13M, 13C, 13B: Ink layer for individual image a 2: Transfer foil 21: Transfer foil base material 22: Release layer

Claims (4)

In an image display card having a card base having an image receiving layer on the surface and an image-like ink layer provided on the image receiving layer,
A part or all of the ink layer contains a dye precursor, the image receiving layer contains a developer that forms a dye by reacting with the dye precursor, and the ink layer An image display card, wherein the image-receiving layer at a site where the abutment contains contains a dye based on a reaction between the dye precursor and the developer.   The image display card according to claim 1, wherein the dye is a dye that is transparent to light in a visible region and has an absorption region in a non-visible region.   A card blank having an image receiving layer on the surface of a card substrate, wherein the image receiving layer contains a developer that forms a dye by reacting with a dye precursor.   A transfer foil having a transferable ink layer on a transfer foil substrate that is easily peeled off. The transferable ink layer contains a dye precursor that reacts with a developer to form a dye. Transfer foil.

Images