JP2770197B2 - Image forming method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image forming method. The present invention can be embodied as various image forming methods,
For example, it can be used as a color proof image forming method for color proofing in color printing.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as an image forming method, a technique of forming an image by using a colored image forming material having a photosensitive composition containing an o-quinonediazide compound is known. Before actual printing in multicolor printing, a color sheet called a color proof may be used for proof printing. For example, as a colored image forming method for forming an image of this color proof, such a method is used. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-261351 describes that various techniques can be adopted.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

That is, the above publication discloses an example in which a specific o-naphthoquinonediazide compound is used in a color image forming material, and according to this technique, a colored image with improved color reproducibility can be formed. . With this conventional technology,
Although it can be considered that the color turbidity of the colored photosensitive layer due to the photoreceptor is prevented to some extent, this technique has a drawback in developing latitude during image formation.

That is, in a conventional image forming method such as the above-described technique, the performance varies greatly with changes in development conditions. For example, if the development time is changed or the development temperature is changed,
Color reproducibility and other performance problems may occur.

Further, in the conventional image forming method, when an image formed on an image forming material is transferred to a material to be transferred, there is a problem that transferability is poor.

That is, as a photosensitive composition used for an image forming material in the prior art, JP-A-56-501217, JP-A-59-97140
And JP-A-47-41830, describe a photosensitive composition having an o-quinonediazide compound and a novolak-type phenolic resin, and JP-A-62-247348 and JP-A-62-247348.
247349 and 62-291634 describe examples of photosensitive compositions containing a photoacid generator, a compound having at least one bond decomposable by an acid, and a novolak-type phenol resin.

However, in the case of a conventional technique in which a photosensitive material is formed using the above-described photosensitive composition, the image is exposed and developed to obtain an image, and the image is transferred to a transfer-receiving material such as paper, the transfer is performed at a high temperature. Need. Therefore, the material to be transferred, such as paper, or the photosensitive material itself may expand or deform due to heat, which causes a dimensional deviation of the transferred image.

Such dimensional deviation is extremely problematic when used as a color proof for calibration as described above, for example. This is because a dimensional deviation between multicolor images may be caused.

Furthermore, all of the prior arts relate to an image forming method of transferring a formed image such as a colored image to a transfer receiving paper together with a release layer, so that the non-image portion has a gloss and the texture differs from the actual printed matter. There is a problem that.

[Object of the invention]

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, improves the development latitude, and can improve the reproducibility with respect to the development temperature and the fluctuation of the development time. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming method which does not require a dimensional deviation or the like, and can obtain a transfer image obtained by transferring only an image.

[Means and actions for solving the problems]

In the image forming method of the present invention, an image forming material having a photosensitive composition is exposed and developed to form an image portion, and only the image portion is exposed by exposing a non-image portion of a material to be transferred to transfer the transferred image. Wherein the photosensitive composition comprises the following (a) and (b): (a) o-naphthoquinonediazide-4-sulfonic acid or a halide thereof or o-naphthoquinonediazide-5-sulfonic acid or a halogen thereof (Hereinafter referred to as “esterified product according to the present invention” as appropriate) of a carboxylic acid and an addition polymer having a hydroxyl group and a weight average molecular weight Mw of 20,000 or less (b) Vinyl carboxylate polymerization represented by the following general formula to contain: (alkyl group having 1 to 17 carbon atoms R) polymer compound having a unit in a molecular structure (hereinafter suitably referred to as "polymer compound according to the present invention") RCOOCH = CH ₂ By the structure, it is obtained by achieving the object of the present invention.

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

First, the esterified product according to the present invention contained in the photosensitive composition of the image forming material used in the image forming method of the present invention will be described.

Examples of the o-naphthoquinonediazide-4 or 5-sulfonic acid or the halide thereof which form the esterified product include o-naphthoquinonediazide-4-sulfonic acid,
o-naphthoquinonediazide-5-sulfonic acid, 1,2-naphthoquinonediazide-4-sulfonyl chloride, 1,2
-Naphthoquinonediazide-5-sulfonyl chloride.

Further, in order to form the esterified product according to the present invention, o
-A polymer to be reacted with naphthoquinonediazide-4-sulfonic acid or a halide thereof or o-naphthoquinonediazide-5-sulfonic acid or a halide thereof, as an addition polymer having a hydroxyl group and having a weight average molecular weight Mw of 20,000 or less. The following can be mentioned.

That is, as such an addition polymer for forming the esterified product according to the present invention, for example, typically,
Examples include vinyl polymers having a phenolic hydroxyl group. As such a vinyl polymer having a phenolic hydroxyl group, a polymer having a unit having a phenolic hydroxyl group in its molecular structure can be used.

The vinyl polymer having a structural unit having a phenolic hydroxyl group in the molecular structure, which is preferably used, includes a polymer formed by cleavage and polymerization of a carbon-carbon double bond. As such a polymer, a polymer containing at least one structural unit of the following general formulas [I] to [VI] is preferably used.

In the formula, R ¹ and R ² each represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or a carboxyl group, preferably a hydrogen atom. R ³ represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or an alkyl group, preferably a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group such as a methyl group or an ethyl group. R ⁴ represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group, and is preferably a hydrogen atom. A represents an alkylene group which may have a substituent linking a nitrogen atom or an oxygen atom to an aromatic carbon atom, m represents an integer of 0 to 10, and B represents phenylene which may have a substituent. Represents a naphthylene group which may have a group or a substituent. Among these, a copolymer containing at least one structural unit represented by the above general formula [II] can be preferably used.

As the vinyl polymer for forming the ester according to the present invention, those having a copolymer type structure are preferable. In order to constitute such a copolymer, monomer units that can be used in combination with at least one of the structural units represented by each of the general formulas [I] to [VI] include, for example, the following: There is something like that. That is, ethylene, propylene, isobutylene, butadiene,
Ethylenically unsaturated olefins such as isoprene, for example, styrenes such as styrene, α-methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene, and p-chlorostyrene, for example, acrylic acids such as acrylic acid and methacrylic acid, for example, itaconic acid, maleic acid, Unsaturated aliphatic dicarboxylic acids such as maleic anhydride, for example, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, dodecyl acrylate, 2-chloroethyl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, α-chloroacrylic acid Α- such as methyl, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate and ethyl ethacrylate
Esters of methylene aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, for example, nitriles such as acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile, for example, amides such as acrylamide, for example, acrylanilide, p-chloroacrylanilide, m-nitroacrylanilide, m-methoxyacrylanilide, etc. Anilides, for example, vinyl esters such as vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl benzoate, and vinyl acetate; vinyl ethers, for example, methyl vinyl ether, ethyl vinyl ether, isobutyl vinyl ether, β-chloroethyl vinyl ether; vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, vinylidene Cyanide, for example, 1-methyl-1-methoxyethylene, 1,1-dimethoxyethylene, 1,2-dimethoxyethylene, 1,1-dimethoxycarbonylethylene, 1-methyl 1-ethylene derivatives of nitroethylene, etc., such as N- vinyl pyrrole, N- vinyl carbazole, N- vinyl indole, N- vinyl pyrrolidene, N
N-vinyl compounds such as vinylpyrrolidone, and vinyl monomers. These vinyl monomers generally exist in the polymer compound in a structure in which the unsaturated double bond is cleaved.

Among the above monomers, (meth) acrylic acids, esters of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, and nitriles may be used in combination with at least one of the structural units represented by formulas [I] to [VI]. Shows excellent overall performance and is preferred. More preferred are methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, ethyl acrylate and the like.

These monomers may be bonded to the vinyl polymer in either a block or random state.

In the vinyl polymer, the general formulas [I] to [V
I], the content of the structural unit represented by each of 50 to 70
Mol% is preferred, and particularly preferably 10 to 40 mol%.

The above-mentioned polymers may be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds in the photosensitive composition.

The following are typical specific examples of the vinyl polymer preferably used in the present invention. In the compounds exemplified below, Mw represents a weight average molecular weight, and s, k, l, o, m, and n each represent mol% of a structural unit.

As the esterified product according to the present invention, esters obtained from the above-mentioned various addition polymers may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The proportion of the esterified compound according to the present invention in the photosensitive composition,
It is preferably from 5 to 50% by weight, particularly preferably from 10 to 30% by weight.

Next, a polymer compound having a vinyl carboxylate polymerized unit represented by the following general formula in the molecular structure contained in the photosensitive composition of the image forming material used in the image forming method of the present invention will be described.

RCOOCH = CH ₂ where R represents an alkyl group having 1 to 17 carbon atoms.

Any polymer compound having a polymerized unit having the structure as described above can be used arbitrarily, and examples of the vinyl carboxylate monomer for constituting the polymerized unit represented by the general formula include the following. Is preferred. The name and chemical formula are shown together.

Vinyl CH ₃ COOCH = CH ₂ vinyl propionate vinyl CH ₃ CH ₂ COOCH = CH ₂ butyric acid _{CH 3 (CH 2) 2 COOCH} = CH 2 vinyl pivalate _{(CH 3) 3 CCOOCH = CH} 2 caproic acid vinyl CH ₃ ( CH ₂ ) ₄ COOCH = CH ₂ vinyl caprylate CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) ₆ COOCH = CH ₂ vinyl caprate CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) ₈ COOCH = CH ₂ vinyl laurate CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) ₁₀ COOCH = CH ₂ Vinyl myristate CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) ₁₂ COOCH = CH ₂ Vinyl palmitate CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) ₁₄ COOCH = CH ₂ Vinyl stearate CH ₃ (CH ₂ ) ₁₆ COOCH = CH ₂ Vinyl versatate (R ¹¹ and R ¹² are alkyl groups, and the sum of the number of carbon atoms is 7. That is, R ¹¹ + R ¹² = C ₇ H ₁₆ ) In addition, the above R also includes an alkyl group having a substituent, That is, a vinyl ester of a substituted carboxylic acid is also included in the polymerized unit.

The polymer compound may be a polymer obtained by polymerizing one kind of vinyl carboxylate, a polymer obtained by copolymerizing two or more kinds of vinyl carboxylate, or a polymer that can be copolymerized with vinyl carboxylate. The copolymer may be a copolymer having an arbitrary component ratio with the monomer.

Examples of the monomer unit that can be used in combination with the polymerization unit represented by the above general formula include, for example, ethylene, propylene, isobutylene, butadiene, ethylenically unsaturated olefins such as isoprene, for example, styrene, α-methylstyrene, Styrenes such as p-methylstyrene and p-chlorostyrene; for example, acrylic acids such as acrylic acid and methacrylic acid; for example, unsaturated aliphatic dicarboxylic acids such as itaconic acid, maleic acid, and maleic anhydride; for example, diethyl maleate and maleic acid Dibutyl acid, di-2-ethylhexyl maleate, dibutyl fumarate,
Diesters of unsaturated dicarboxylic acids such as di-2-ethylhexyl fumarate, for example, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, dodecyl acrylate, 2-chloroethyl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, Esters of α-methylene aliphatic monocarboxylic acids such as α-methyl chloroacrylate, methyl methacrylate and ethyl methacrylate, for example, nitriles such as acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile, for example, amides such as acrylamide, for example, acrylanilide, p Anilides such as -chloroacrylanilide, m-nitroacrylanilide and m-methoxyacrylanilide, for example, methyl vinyl ether, ethyl vinyl ether, isobutyl vinyl ether, β-chloroethyl vinyl ether, etc. Vinyl ethers, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, vinylidene cyanide, for example, 1-methyl-1-methoxyethylene, 1,1-dimethoxyethylene, 1,2-dimethoxyethylene, 1,1-dimethoxycarbonylethylene, 1-methyl-1 Ethylene derivatives such as -nitroethylene, for example, N-vinylpyrrole, N-vinylcarbazole, N-vinylindole, N-vinylpyrrolidene,
-Vinyl monomers such as N-vinyl compounds such as vinylpyrrolidone. These vinyl and other monomers are generally
It has a structure in which an unsaturated double bond is cleaved and is present in a polymer compound.

Particularly preferred as the polymer compound used in the present invention are those having a vinyl acetate polymerized unit in the molecular structure. Among them, the vinyl acetate polymerization unit is 40-50wt
%, Number average molecular weight (MN) is 1,000 to 100,000
And those having a weight average molecular weight (MW) of 5,000 to 500,000 are preferred.

More preferably, vinyl acetate polymerized units (especially when this is 40
9595 wt%) and vinyl carboxylate polymer units having a longer chain than that of vinyl acetate, preferably having 4 to 17 carbon atoms, particularly vinyl versatate polymer units (in particular,
Polymer compounds having a weight average molecular weight (MN) of 2,000 to 60,000 and a weight average molecular weight (M
Preferably, W) is 10,000 to 150,000.

In this case, as a monomer constituting a polymer compound having a vinyl acetate polymerized unit by copolymerizing with vinyl acetate,
Any monomer can be used as long as it can form a copolymer, and for example, it can be arbitrarily selected from the monomers exemplified above.

Hereinafter, copolymers that can be used as the polymer compound in the present invention are listed by showing their monomer components. However, as a matter of course, the present invention is not limited to the following example.

Vinyl acetate-ethylene vinyl acetate-styrene vinyl acetate-crotonic acid vinyl acetate-maleic acid vinyl acetate-2-ethylhexyl acrylate vinyl acetate-di-2-ethylhexyl maleate vinyl acetate-methyl vinyl ether vinyl acetate-vinyl chloride vinyl acetate-N- Vinyl pyrrolidone vinyl acetate-vinyl propionate vinyl acetate-vinyl pivalate vinyl acetate-vinyl versatate vinyl acetate-vinyl laurate vinyl acetate-vinyl stearate vinyl acetate-vinyl versatate-ethylene vinyl acetate-vinyl versatate-2-ethylhexyl Acrylate vinyl acetate-vinyl versatate-vinyl laurate vinyl acetate-vinyl versatate-crotonic acid vinyl propionate-vinyl versatate propion Vinyl acid-vinyl versatate-crotonic acid pivalic acid-vinyl stearate-maleic acid In the image forming method of the present invention, an image forming material having a photosensitive composition is exposed and developed to form an image area, and the image is formed. The transferred image is obtained by exposing only the non-image portion of the material to be transferred to expose the non-image portion.

In this case, a color image can be formed using a colorant, and for example, it can be used as a color proof.

In this case, the colored photosensitive layer of the colored image forming material is removed imagewise by development following imagewise exposure to form a colored image.

When forming a colored image, a coloring agent is used, for example, a dye or a pigment is added. In particular, when used for color proofing, pigments and dyes that have the same color as the ordinary colors required, that is, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, are required, but other metal powders, white pigments, and fluorescent pigments Also used. When the present invention is applied to a color proof image forming method, many pigments and dyes known in the art, such as those described below, can be used.

 (C.I. means color index).

Victoria Pure Blue (CI 42595) Auramine (CI 41000) Katilon Brilliant Flavin (CI Basic 1
3) Rhodamine 6GCP (CI 45160) Rhodamine B (CI 45170) Safranin OK70: 100 (CI 50240) Erioglaucine X (CI 42080) Fast Black HB (CI 26150) No.1201 Lionol Yellow (CI 21090) Lionol Yellow GRO (CI 21090) Shimura-First Yellow 8GF (CI 21105) Benzidine Yellow 4T-564D (CI 21095) Shimura-Fur Red 4015 (CI 12355) Lionol Red 7B4401 (CI 15830) Fast Gen Blue TGR-L (CI 74160) Lionol Blue SM (CI 26150) Mitsubishi Carbon Black MA-100 Mitsubishi Carbon Black # 30, # 40, # 50 Lionor Blue FG7391G Lionor Blue FG7393G Lionor Blue 700-10FG Lionor Yellow SGR-H Lionor Yellow FGN- H Cyanine Blue KRG Cyanine Blue 4012 Cyanine Blue RS-30 Phthalocyanine Blue 4933GNEP Lionol Blue FG7330 Seika Fast Carmine 1478 Lionol Red 6BFG-4219X No.1206 Lionol Yellow In the present invention, the pigment component of the colored photosensitive layer does not remain in the non-image area after the development of the colored photosensitive layer. Preferred above. Among the above pigments, anionic or cationic pigments are preferable, and for example, a pigment having an inert salt such as sulfonic acid, carboxylic acid, or amine is preferably used. Such a pigment may be obtained by converting the soluble group of a water-soluble dye into an inert salt, or may be lecithin, a metal salt of naphthenic acid, an alkylbenzene sulfonate, a dialkylnaphthalene sulfonate, a mono- or dialkylnaphthalene. Processed anionic or cationic pigments treated with a treating agent such as a sulfonate, mono- or dialkylsulfosuccinate, dialkylphosphate salt, rosinate, or organic amine may be used.

In the method of the present invention, when forming a colored image using a colored image forming material, the colored photosensitive layer of the image forming material,
It may be composed of one layer composed of a colorant, a photosensitive composition and a binder (polymer compound), or may be composed of a colored layer composed of a colorant and a binder and a photosensitive layer composed of a photosensitive composition. 2
It can also be divided into layers. In the case of two layers, either layer may be disposed on the support side.

When a colorant is used, the ratio of the colorant / binder in the colored photosensitive layer can be determined by a method known to those skilled in the art in consideration of the target optical density and the removability of the colored photosensitive layer from a developer. For example, the content of a dye is preferably 5% to 75% by weight, and the content of a pigment is preferably 5% to 90% by weight.

The thickness of the colored photosensitive layer can be determined by a method known to those skilled in the art based on the target optical density, the type of the coloring agent (dye, pigment, carbon black, etc.) used in the colored photosensitive layer and its content. However, within the allowable range, the smaller the thickness of the colored photosensitive layer, the higher the resolution and the better the image quality. Thus, the membrane thickness is preferably usually being used in the range of ^{0.1g / m 2 ~5g / m 2} .

In the practice of the present invention, a plasticity, a coating property improver, and the like may be further added to the photosensitive composition as necessary.

Examples of the plasticizer include various low molecular compounds such as phthalates, triphenyl phosphates and maleates, and examples of the coating improver include surfactants such as a fluorine-based surfactant and ethyl cellulose polyalkylene ether. Nonionic activators and the like.

The support of the image forming material used in the method of the present invention is optional, but a transparent support is preferably used. As the transparent support, a polyester film is preferable, and as the transparent support, a polyester film, particularly, a biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate film is preferable in terms of dimensional stability against water and heat. In addition, an acetate film, a polyvinyl chloride film, a polyethylene film, a polypropylene film, a polyethylene film and the like can be used.

In the image forming method of the present invention, the image forming material comprises:
Usually, after imagewise exposure through a color separation mask or the like, development is performed to form an image.

The image forming material is used in a form for transferring an image to a material to be transferred. At this time, only the image portion is directly transferred and laminated on the material to be transferred from the image obtained on the support. That is, only the colored image layer that substantially forms an image is transferred and laminated.

In this case, the surface of the support may be subjected to a release treatment with an appropriate oil-repellent substance, or the support may be subjected to efficient transfer onto the transfer-receiving surface and easy release of the support after image transfer. It is preferable to provide a release layer thereon.

As such an oil-repellent substance, for example, a silicone resin, a fluorine resin, a fluorine-based surfactant, polyolefin, polyamide, and the like can be used.As the release layer, for example, alcohol-soluble polyamide, alcohol-soluble nylon, styrene and the like can be used. A blend of a partially esterified resin of a copolymer with maleic anhydride and a methoxymethylated nylon, polyvinyl acetate, polyacrylate, a copolymer of polymethyl methacrylate and acrylate,
Polyvinyl chloride, a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyrate, cellulose acetate phthalate, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, polyvinyl alcohol, butyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose,
Carboxymethylcellulose, cyanoethylcellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose hexahydrophthalate, or mixtures thereof can be used.

The thickness of the release layer is preferably in the range of 0.01 μm to 100 μm, particularly preferably in the range of 0.1 μm to 50 μm.

As a particularly preferred embodiment for improving the releasability, an example in which a polypropylene layer or a polyethylene layer thinner than the thickness of the support is provided.

When a polyethylene layer is used, a preferable example thereof is an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, and the ratio of vinyl acetate in the copolymer resin is 5% by weight or less.
The resin preferably has a range of 33%, and the VICAT softening point of the resin is preferably 80 ° C. or lower. In addition, various polymers, supercooled substances, surfactants, and dispersing agents can be added to the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin within a range where the softening point does not substantially exceed 80 ° C.

The method for providing a polypropylene layer or a polyethylene layer on a support is as follows: (1) A solution obtained by dissolving polyvinyl acetate, polyhinyl chloride, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or the like in an organic solvent is used as an adhesive. A so-called dry lamination method in which these adhesives are applied to a support, dried by hot air or heating, and then a polypropylene film or a polyethylene film is laminated and pressed and laminated under heating; (2) ethylene And vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene and acrylate copolymers, polyamide resins, petroleum resins, rosins, waxes, or mixtures thereof as adhesives. While on the support, doctor blade method, roll coating method, gravure method, After coating with Bath roll method or the like,
A so-called hot-melt laminating method in which a polypropylene film or a polyethylene film is immediately laminated and then heated and cooled as necessary, followed by cooling, so-called hot melt laminating method; A so-called extrusion lamination method in which the support is pressed and laminated while the film is in a molten state; (4) a plurality of extruders are used when forming a film to be a support by a melt extrusion method Using, in a single molding with the polypropylene or polyethylene in the molten state,
A so-called co-extrusion method or the like in which a polypropylene layer or a polyethylene layer is formed on a support film can be used.

In the image forming method of the present invention, a developer used for developing the image forming material can be arbitrarily used as long as it has a developing action of developing the material to be processed. Preferably, a developer containing an alkali agent and an anionic surfactant is used.

Examples of usable alkali agents include (1) sodium silicate, potassium silicate, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, sodium or ammonium phosphate dibasic or tribasic, sodium metasilicate, sodium carbonate, ammonia (2) mono, di, or trimethylamine, mono, di, etc.
Or organic amine compounds such as triethylamine, mono- or diisopropylamine, n-butylamine, mono-, di-, or triethanolamine, mono-, di-, or triisopropanolamine, ethyleneimine, ethylenediimine, and the like.

Examples of anionic surfactants that can be used include: (1) higher alcohol sulfates (for example, sodium salt with lauryl alcohol sulfate, ammonium salt of octyl alcohol sulfate, ammonium salt of lauryl alcohol sulfate, secondary sodium alkyl sulfate) (2) aliphatic alcohol phosphate ester salts (for example,
(3) Alkyl aryl sulfonates (for example, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sodium isopropylnaphthalenesulfonate, sodium dinaphthalenesulfonate, sodium metanitrobenzenesulfonate, etc.) 4) Alkyl amide sulfonates (5) Sulfonates of dibasic aliphatic esters (eg, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, dihexyl sodium sulfosuccinate, etc.) (6) Formaldehyde condensate of alkyl naphthalene sulfonate (eg, formaldehyde condensation of sodium dibutyl naphthalene sulfonate) Products).

The alkali agent and the anionic surfactant can be used in any combination.

When the image forming method of the present invention is embodied as, for example, a multicolor image forming method, the following are the basic methods.

That is, a first color image is formed on the first color image forming material, and at least the color image is transferred to a material to be transferred, and the support is peeled off. In addition, the second colored image forming material
After forming the colored image, the second color image is formed on the first color image while registering the second color image formed thereon with the first color image on the material to be transferred. Is transferred and the support is peeled off to obtain a two-color aligned image. Similarly, the colored images of the third color and the fourth color are transferred onto the transfer material to obtain a multicolor image. In some cases, the multicolor image is indirectly transferred onto another material to be transferred,
Sometimes a multicolor image is obtained.

This type of method is disclosed in JP-A-47-41830 and JP-A-59-9.
No. 7140, No. 60-28649 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,113.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, examples of the present invention and comparative examples will be described.

Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but can take various forms.

Example 1 A dispersion of a colored photosensitive composition having the following composition was dried using a wire bar on a polypropylene surface of a support obtained by laminating a 25 μm-thick polypropylene film on a 50 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate film by a dry lamination method. After coating so that the film thickness becomes 1 μm,
After drying, four colored image forming materials were prepared.

Binder polymer (polymer compound according to the present invention) Vinyl acetate-vinyl versatate (80:20 parts by weight) copolymer MN = 22,000 MW = 60,000 Face black: carbon black MA-100 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical) 0.99 g cyan : Cyanine Blue 4920 (Dainichi Seika) 0.55 g Magenta: Seika Fast Carmin 1483 (Dainichi Seika) 0.68 g Yellow: Seika First Yellow H-7705 (Dainichi Seika) 0.68 g A color separation net positive film of each color is superimposed on the polyethylene terephthalate film surface of the colored image forming material, and 50c with a 4kW metal halide lamp
Image exposure was performed for 20 seconds from a distance of m, and development was performed by immersion in the following developer for 30 seconds to form four colored images.

<Developer> Na ₂ CO ₃ 15 g Surfactant (Perox NBL manufactured by Kao Atlas) 50 g Distilled water 1000 g Next, the image surface of the black color image and the art paper are adhered closely.
After passing through a heated pair of nip rolls at a speed of 50 cm / min under a pressure of 5 kg / cm ² , the support was peeled off. Peeling was easily performed, and only the black image portion was transferred onto the art paper.

Subsequently, a colored image was transferred in the order of cyan, magenta, and yellow, whereby a color proofing image of four colors was obtained on art paper.

With respect to the image obtained as described above, the transferability of the colored photosensitive layer and the development latitude were evaluated as described below.

Transferability: It was shown at the lowest transfer temperature at which image transfer was possible. As the temperature is lower, the transfer can be performed at a lower temperature.

Development latitude: The evaluation was made based on the change in the number of clear steps between the above-described standard development conditions (25 ° C., 30 seconds) and the case where the development temperature was increased by 5 ° C. (30 ° C., 30 seconds). The larger the value, the worse the development latitude.

Also, the dimensional deviation was measured. The dimensional deviation indicates the deviation between the register marks at the four corners of the image by the deviation (μm) in each direction of the aroma during transfer (referred to as X direction) and the width direction during transfer (referred to as Y direction). Was. The registration mark is 400mm in the X direction, Y
It is arranged at a distance of 600 mm in the direction.

These results are shown in Table 1 together with the results of other Examples and Comparative Examples.

Also, in this example, only the image portion is transferred, and the finish is
It was very close to the actual printed matter.

Example 2 In Example 1, the following was used as the esterified product according to the present invention. Other than that, an image was formed in exactly the same manner as in Example 1. Table 1 shows the results of the same evaluation as in Example 1.

Esterified product according to the present invention: naphthoquinone-1,2 of exemplified compound (i) (MW = 1000)
-Diazide-4-sulfonic acid ester Comparative Example 1 In Example 1, the following comparative esterified product was used in place of the esterified product according to the present invention. Other than that, it carried out exactly like Example 1. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative esterified product: The same ester as used in Example 1, except that the exemplary compound (b) forming the ester has a weight average molecular weight of
Mw = 28,000.

Comparative Example 2 In Example 1, the following comparative esterified product was used in place of the esterified product according to the present invention. Other than that, it carried out exactly like Example 1. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative esterified product: naphthoquinone-1,2 of resorcinol / acetone condensation resin
A diazide-4-sulfonic acid ester, wherein the resorcin / acetone condensation resin forming the ester has a weight average molecular weight of Mw = 4,000.

Comparative Example 3 In Example 1, the following comparative polymer compound was used as the binder polymer instead of the polymerized product according to the present invention. Other than that, it carried out exactly like Example 1. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative polymer compound: m-cresol novolak resin (Mw = 6,600) The measurement and evaluation results for each of the above Examples and Comparative Examples are shown in Table 1 below.

As understood from Table 1, in Examples 1 and 2 of the present invention, good transfer was achieved even with a relatively low transfer temperature, and the dimensional deviation was small. The development latitude is also good. On the other hand, each comparative example is inferior in these points.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the image forming method of the present invention, the development latitude can be improved, and further, high-temperature heating is not required for image transfer, so that dimensional deviation and the like hardly occur, and transfer of only an image can be performed. Things.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Manabu Watanabe 1 Sakura-cho, Hino-shi, Tokyo Inside Konica Corporation (72) Inventor Toyoyoshi Urano 1000 Kamoshida-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation Inside the research institute (72) Inventor Tetsuya Masuda 1000 Kamoshita-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Mitsubishi Chemical Research Institute (56) References JP-A-3-73953 (JP, A) JP-A-63-2039 (JP) JP-A-63-298337 (JP, A) JP-A-1-169449 (JP, A) JP-A-2-111945 (JP, A) JP-A-3-81771 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03F ^7/ 00-7/18

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An image is formed by exposing and developing an image forming material having a photosensitive composition to form an image portion, and transferring only the image portion by exposing a non-image portion of a material to be transferred to obtain a transfer image. In the formation method, the photosensitive composition may be formed by the following (a) and (b): (a) o-naphthoquinonediazide-4-sulfonic acid or a halide thereof or o-naphthoquinonediazide-5-sulfonic acid or a halide thereof and a hydroxyl group (B) a polymer compound having a carboxylic acid vinyl ester polymerization unit represented by the following general formula in its molecular structure RCOOCH = CH ₂ (R: carbon An image forming method comprising: