JP2666373B2 - Printing method - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink recording medium that converts an electric signal into thermal energy, transfers an ink image to a transfer material and performs print recording, and a print recording method using the same. About.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when recording an image corresponding to a predetermined digital image signal on a recording medium, for example, plain paper, a recording method using a thermal transfer recording medium such as an ink donor film is widely known.

Such recording methods include, for example, 1) a thermal head transfer method (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-84735) and 2) an energization transfer method in which the ink layer is energized (Journal of the Institute of Image Electrophotography, Vol. 1, 1982).
1, No. 1, p3-9), 3) Energizing thermal transfer recording system using a print recording medium in which a heating layer and a return electrode are provided on a medium resistance ink support (JP-A-56-93585), 4) There has been proposed an energized thermal transfer recording method in which a return electrode is provided on the same side as the needle electrode, a current path to the return electrode is formed in the heat generating layer of the print recording medium, and heat generated in the heat generating layer is used.

Among these recording methods, the energized thermal transfer recording methods 3) and 4) have the advantages that the printing speed is relatively high, there is no need to impart conductivity to the ink, and the degree of freedom in selecting the ink material is high. There are various proposals. However, in such an energized thermal transfer recording method, since the ink support does not have anisotropic conductivity, the dots spread, the leak current is large, the energy efficiency is poor, or the applied current is twice the heating layer. To pass, a lot of energy loss occurs, and since the sliding contact is performed twice by the needle electrode and the return electrode, a large heat loss due to the contact resistance also occurs. There is a drawback that the conductive layer in the print recording medium requires a certain amount of resistance, and heat loss in the conductive layer increases.

In order to solve this drawback, an anisotropic conductive layer composed of a conductive isolated pattern is provided on the heating resistor layer, an ink recording medium in which the support layer is an anisotropic conductive layer, or a conductive layer on both side edges. It has been proposed to perform printing by using an ink recording medium which is exposed to form a side end electrode portion and contact a conductive sliding member or a conductive roll with the side end electrode portion.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Incidentally, an ink obtained by laminating an anisotropic conductive layer, a heating resistor layer that generates heat by input of an electric signal corresponding to an image signal, a conductive layer, an ink release layer, and a heat-meltable ink layer. When performing print recording using a recording medium, in order to obtain a print record of sufficient quality, a frictionless and stable friction between the print recording head sliding on the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer and the anisotropic conductive layer. It is necessary that a dynamic contact be made. However, in the conventional print recording method, abrasion is severe between the print recording head and the anisotropic conductive layer, and often a discharge phenomenon occurs. As a result, the surface of the ink recording medium is damaged,
There is a problem that a printed image with noise is formed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems in the related art.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a print recording method in which the amount of wear between a print recording head and an ink recording medium is small, and therefore, the recording method can be used for a long time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a print recording method in which a discharge phenomenon does not occur between a print recording head and an ink recording medium.

Another object of the present invention is to enable repetitive printing and recording,
An object of the present invention is to provide a print recording method capable of high-speed printing, high-density energy input, reproduction of a high-quality color image, and recording of a multi-tone, robust image.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides an ink recording medium in which an anisotropic conductive layer, a heating resistor layer that generates heat by input of an electric signal, a conductive layer, an ink release layer, and a heat-meltable ink layer are sequentially laminated. A heat-fusible ink layer of the anisotropic conductive layer in a printing portion, and applying a signal current according to an image from the anisotropic conductive layer side to transfer the ink onto the transfer material; A solid lubricant is uniformly applied to the surface of the substrate at an application amount of 10 mg / cm ² or less, and a signal current is applied.

In the present invention, the application of the solid lubricant may be performed by directly pressing the solid lubricant on the ink recording medium, or by rotating a roll made of the solid lubricant on the ink recording medium in a pressed state. You may. Alternatively, it may be performed using an application brush. It is preferable to use an application brush because a small amount of solid lubricant can be applied uniformly.

Examples of the solid lubricant used in the present invention include various waxes, fluorine resins, carbon black, silicone resins, molybdenum disulfide, zinc stearate, lead stearate, lead oleate, copper palmitate, zinc palmitate and the like. I can give it.

In the present invention, the application amount of these solid lubricants is 10 mg / c
It is necessary that m ² or less. If the amount of application is larger than this, the contact resistance increases, causing heat generation failure, and a high quality printed image cannot be obtained.

Next, the ink recording medium used in the present invention will be described.

The anisotropic conductive layer has a function of reducing an energizing loss due to energizing resistance during energizing in the thickness direction, and also reducing heat loss and damage due to contact resistance between the needle electrode and the surface of the ink recording medium. It may be a conductive isolated pattern layer made of electrodes, or a layer in which a conductive path made of a conductive substance such as metal powder or conductive ceramic particles is formed in an insulating material such as ceramic or synthetic resin. There may be.

In the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention, when the anisotropic conductive layer is a layer composed of a conductive isolated pattern, the heating resistor layer may have a function as a support, and the anisotropic conductive pattern is not a conductive isolated pattern. In the case of a conductive layer, the anisotropic conductive layer itself may have a function as a support, and a thin-film heating resistor layer may be formed on one surface thereof.

The heating resistor layer is a layer for generating electric current from the anisotropic conductive layer by Joule heat, melting the ink and transferring the ink to a transfer material.For example, a conductive material such as carbon or metal powder is dispersed. Conductive layer made of heat-resistant resin (polyimide resin, polyimide amide resin, silicone resin, fluorine resin, epoxy resin, etc.), high resistance material such as ZrO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , SiO ₂ and Ti, Al, A thin film or the like formed using a conductive material such as Ta, Cu, Au, and Zr is used. The volume specific product resistance of the heating resistor layer is preferably set in the range of 10 ^-2 to 10 ² Ω · cm, and its film thickness is preferably set in the range of 1000 to 500 μm. Those in this range have excellent characteristics in film deposition stability, film adhesion, and the like.

The conductive layer diffuses the current flowing into the heating resistor layer,
An electrode to be refluxed, having a volume resistivity of 10 ^-1
It is composed of a material of Ω · cm or less, and is formed by vapor deposition, sputtering or other thin film forming methods. The film thickness is
It is preferable to set the thickness in the range of 500 to 5 μm, especially 100
The range of 0 ° to 2000 ° is preferable in terms of heat leakage and necessary conductive characteristics.

The ink release layer is a thin film having a function of low surface energy, and basically has a critical surface tension of a value lower than the surface energy of the recording paper, that is, the transfer material. For example, if the transfer material is plain paper, the critical surface tension
It is a thin layer of 40 dynes / cm or less, preferably 38 dynes / cm or less. The thickness of the ink release layer itself is 500Å to 6μm
It is preferable to set the thickness as thin as possible in the range of energy transfer efficiency. As a material constituting the ink release layer, for example, a thermosetting silicone resin, a fluorine-containing resin, or the like can be used.

The heat-meltable ink layer provided on the ink release layer,
A resin obtained by dispersing a known dye or pigment such as carbon black in a thermoplastic resin having a melting point of 140 ° C. or lower is used. The thickness of the hot-melt ink layer is preferably set in the range of 1 to 15 μm.

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining one embodiment of the print recording method of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an ink recording medium, which is composed of an anisotropic conductive layer 11, a heating resistor layer 12, a conductive layer 13, an ink release layer 14, and a heat-meltable ink layer 15.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a print recording head which is configured to slide on the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer of the ink recording medium. Reference numeral 3 denotes a transfer material, which is pressed by a back pressure roller 4 to the heat-meltable ink layer of the ink recording medium. Reference numeral 5 denotes an application brush, which is disposed so as to be in contact with the solid lubricant 6.

The ink recording medium 1 is conveyed to a printing unit by a driving unit (not shown), and a solid lubricant 6 is uniformly applied to the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer by an application brush 5 disposed in front of the printing unit.

The ink recording medium conveyed to the printing unit comes into contact with the print recording head 2 in a sliding state, and an image signal is input to the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer 11 of the ink recording medium 1. The signal current flows from the anisotropic conductive layer to the conductive layer via the heating resistor layer, and is connected to a ground or a bias power supply through a branch electrode circuit (not shown). At that time, electric-energy conversion is performed in the heating resistor layer, and the generated thermal energy propagates through the conductive layer and the ink peeling layer to the heat-meltable ink layer, and the heat-meltable ink according to the input signal. Is melted and transferred onto the recording paper.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic configuration diagrams for explaining another embodiment of the print recording method of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the solid lubricant 6 is applied directly to the surface of the ink recording medium by pressure contact, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the solid lubricant roll 61 composed of the solid lubricant is pressed against the ink recording medium. And apply a solid lubricant.

In the present invention, a predetermined amount of solid lubricant is uniformly applied to the surface of the ink recording medium before being conveyed to the printing unit.
Therefore, the ink recording medium conveyed to the printing section has a thin layer of solid lubricant formed on the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer. Acts to reduce wear. or,
The generation of electric discharge between the print recording head and the anisotropic conductive layer is suppressed, and therefore, the electric conduction phenomenon due to the dynamic contact of the print recording head acts to be stabilized.

Examples Next, the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

Example 1 Cr was deposited on one side of a carbon-dispersed conductive polyimide film having a volume resistivity of 6 Ω · cm and a thickness of 35 μm by a DC sputtering method to form a 4,000-mm-thick Cr layer. Next, a photoresist is formed on this Cr layer, and 90 ° C.
For 8 minutes to form a 1.2 μm-thick resist film. This resist film was exposed through a mask having a rectangular pattern of 15 μm square at a pitch of 20 μm on the entire surface, developed, and then heated in an oven at 110 ° C. for 15 minutes in an N ₂ atmosphere to cure the resist film. Next, etching was performed using dilute hydrochloric acid in the presence of zinc particles to remove Cr in the portion without the photoresist film. After sufficiently washing with water, the resist film was placed in an acetone bath and subjected to ultrasonic waves to remove the resist film, thereby completing an anisotropic conductive layer composed of a conductive pattern.

Next, Al was deposited on the other surface of the conductive polyimide film by a vacuum evaporation method to form a conductive layer having a thickness of 2000 mm. A thermosetting silicone resin was applied on the conductive layer, and was heated and cured at 150 ° C. for 1 hour to form an ink release layer having a thickness of 0.3 μm and a critical surface tension of 32 dynes / cm. Both ends of the obtained film were bonded to form an endless belt. An endless belt-shaped ink recording medium was formed by forming a 7 μm-thick colored heat-meltable ink layer mainly composed of a thermoplastic resin having a melting point of 95 ° C. on the ink release layer.

Using the above-mentioned ink recording medium, print recording was performed as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the ink recording medium 1 is conveyed by conveyance rolls 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d, and the solid lubricant 6 is uniformly applied on the ink recording medium by the application brush 5. Next, in the printing unit, a signal is input from the stylus head 22 to print on the recording paper 26 from the paper roll 25. After the print recording is completed, the ink recording medium 1 is reproduced by depositing the powdery heat-meltable ink by the powder supply unit 23 and then homogenizing the ink by the leveling unit 24, and one printing cycle is completed. I do.

First, between the ink leveling process and the printing unit, a wire diameter of 0.4 mm
A brush roll having a length of 20 mm and an outer diameter of 60 mm made of 20,000 brushes / inch square was disposed such that the distance between the center of the brush roll and the anisotropic conductive layer was 20 mm. In addition, a block of zinc stearate (300 mm × 20 mm × 20 mm) was disposed so as to be in contact with the brush roll for 1 minute for every 10 minutes of the printing operation. That is, the zinc stearate block is moved at a distance of 27 mm from the center of the brush roll and at a distance of 30 mm from the ink recording medium so as to be perpendicular to the center of the brush roll (a plane parallel to the tangential direction). It was provided as follows.

The brush roll was rotated at a speed of 10 rpm to make contact with the zinc stearate block and the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer, and zinc stearate was applied to the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer. The coating amount of zinc stearate was between ^{2mg / cm 2 ~5mg / cm 2} .

Next, an electric signal having a pulse width of 400 μs and an electric current of 21 mA was applied to the anisotropic conductive layer by pressure from a stylus head of 8 / mm, and printing was recorded on a recording paper in contact with the back pressure roll.

After the printing, the heat-fusible ink was supplied to the ink recording medium after the transfer of the ink, and the colored heat-fusible ink layer was leveled, temporarily fixed, and reproduced.

Repeat the above printing cycle 1,000 times, 5,000 times and
When printing was performed 10,000 times, a good printed image was obtained in each case. No significant change was observed on the surface of the ink recording medium even after the printing cycle was repeated 10,000 times or more.

Comparative Example 1 Using the same ink recording medium as in Example 1, print recording was performed in the same manner. However, the application of zinc stearate was not performed. When the printing cycle was repeated, no change was observed on the surface of the ink recording medium after 1,000 printings, but a change in the chromium isolated pattern was observed after 5,000 printings. Energization damage during recording can now be seen.

Example 2 Using the same ink recording medium as in Example 1, print recording was performed in the same manner. However, a solid lubricant was applied as follows in place of the application of zinc stearate. That is, a 30 mm diameter wax roll composed of 30% by weight of carbon black and 70% by weight of a wax material is pressed against the entire width of the ink recording medium, and rotated at a speed 5% faster than the transport speed of the ink recording medium, to thereby obtain a solid lubricant. To 4 mg / cm ²
Was applied at the application amount. When the printing cycle was repeatedly performed in this state, no change was observed on the recording medium surface after 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 operations, and a good printed image was obtained.

Comparative Example 2 Using the same ink recording medium as in Example 2, print recording was performed in the same manner. However, when the pressing pressure of the wax roll was increased and the rotation speed was set to twice the speed of the ink recording medium, the applied amount of the solid lubricant on the surface of the ink recording medium was 15 mg / cm ² . In this state, print cycle 1
When the test was repeated 000 times, the resistance at the time of printing and recording increased by 50%, and a thin line portion was cut in the printed image and printing unevenness occurred.

Effects of the Invention In the present invention, before being conveyed to the printing section, a predetermined amount of liquid lubricant is applied to the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer, and then a signal current is applied. Wear due to friction between the two is reduced. In addition, discharge between the print head and the anisotropic conductive layer can be suppressed, and signal noise can be reduced. Therefore, the energization phenomenon due to the dynamic contact of the print recording head is also stabilized, and the energization /
Discharge damage is reduced, and the life can be extended. Further, according to the present invention, high-speed printing and high-density energy input are possible, a high-quality color image can be reproduced, and a multi-tone, robust image can be recorded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining one embodiment of the print recording method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining another embodiment of the print recording method of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining still another embodiment of the print recording method of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print recording process to which the present invention is applied. 1 ... Ink recording medium, 2 ... Print recording head, 3 ...
Transfer material, 4 ... Back pressure roll, 5 ... Applying brush, 6
... solid lubricant, 11 ... anisotropic conductive layer, 12 ... heating resistor layer, 13 ... conductive layer, 14 ... ink release layer, 15 ... hot-melt ink layer, 21a-d ... transport Roll, 22: Stylus head, 23: Powder supply unit, 24: Surface adjustment unit, 25: Paper roll, 26: Recording paper, 61: Solid lubricant roll.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heat-fusible ink layer of an ink recording medium comprising an anisotropic conductive layer, a heat-generating resistor layer that generates heat upon input of an electric signal, a conductive layer, an ink release layer, and a heat-fusible ink layer. In the printing portion, in contact with the transfer material in the printing portion, and applying a signal current according to the image from the anisotropic conductive layer side to transfer the ink on the transfer material, the solid lubricant on the surface of the anisotropic conductive layer Is applied uniformly at a coating amount of 10 mg / cm ² or less, and a signal current is applied. 2. The print recording method according to claim 1, wherein the application of the solid lubricant is performed using an application brush.