JP2791980B2 - Card manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a card manufacturing method capable of forming various images without forming a special dye-receiving layer on the surface of a card substrate.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, many cards such as an identification card, a driver's license, and a membership card are used, and these cards record various kinds of information that clarify the identity of the owner. Especially in the case of an ID card, a face photograph is the most important.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The classic method of giving a face photograph to various cards is to attach the face photograph to a predetermined portion of the card base material using an adhesive. The method has the drawback that the operation is very complicated and that the surface of the card becomes uneven and loses smoothness.

As a method for solving the above-mentioned disadvantages of the method of attaching a face photograph, an image forming method using a sublimation transfer method has been developed.

In this sublimation transfer method, a sublimation-type thermal transfer sheet provided with a layer containing a dye that sublimates and transfers by heat on the surface of a substrate film and a card substrate are superimposed, and the card is heated by a thermal head from the back of the sublimation transfer sheet. This is a method of reproducing a face photograph on a base material, and has the advantage that it can be performed with a simple thermal transfer printer.

However, when the above-described sublimation transfer method is used,
The card substrate is required to have a sufficient dyeing property for the sublimable dye.

On the other hand, most of the conventional card base materials do not have sufficient dyeing properties for sublimable dyes, so that an image cannot be formed as it is. As a method for solving such a drawback, a method has been performed in which a polyester resin layer having good dyeability of a sublimable dye is previously formed as a dye receiving layer on the surface of a card base material. The formation of the dye receiving layer is not only complicated, but also has a drawback that the card base material is liable to cause curling and peeling of the dye receiving layer.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a card which can immediately form an image such as a face photograph by a sublimation transfer method without having to previously provide a dye receiving layer.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The above object has been achieved by the present invention described below.

That is, the first invention of the present invention relates to a method for heat transfer of at least a dye receiving surface to a surface of a card substrate mainly comprising polyvinyl chloride containing 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of a resin. Lay a thermal transfer sheet using a dye
A method for manufacturing a card, comprising forming a gradation image on the card base material surface using a thermal head,
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a composite thermal transfer sheet having a heat transferable dye layer and a hot-melt ink layer provided on a substrate film in a plane-sequential manner on the surface of the card substrate is provided. A method for manufacturing a card, which comprises forming a gradation image composed of a dye and a monotone image composed of a hot-melt ink on the surface of a card, and a third invention provides a method for producing a card having a heat transfer property on the surface of the card base material. A composite thermal transfer sheet having a dye layer, a hot-melt type ink layer and a transferable protective layer provided on a substrate film in a plane-sequential manner is superimposed, and a thermal head is used to form a gradation image of the dye on the surface of the card substrate and heat fusion. A method for producing a card, comprising forming a monotone image made of a non-reactive ink and transferring a protective layer to an arbitrary image surface using a thermal head.

(Action) By forming at least the dye receiving surface of the dye receiving sheet mainly composed of a polyvinyl chloride resin with polyvinyl chloride containing a specific amount of a plasticizer, the dye receiving sheet is left as it is without forming any dye receiving layer. Thus, an arbitrary image can be easily formed by the sublimation transfer method.

(Preferred Embodiment) Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments.

In the present invention, the polyvinyl chloride resin itself used for forming the dye receiving sheet may be a known one.

In the present invention, in preparing a useful dye receiving sheet for card bases and the like from polyvinyl chloride according to a conventional method, at least the dye receiving surface contains 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of polyvinyl chloride. As a result, it has been found that the dye receiving surface has a sufficient dyeing property for a sublimable dye.

Examples of the plasticizer used in the present invention include dibutyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate, di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, dinonyl phthalate, dilauryl phthalate,
Butyl lauryl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate, di (2-ethylhexyl) adipate, di (2-ethylhexyl) sebacate
-Ethylhexyl), tricresyl phosphate, tri (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate, polyethylene glycol esters, epoxy fatty acid esters and the like can be used.

The use amount of these plasticizers is 0.1 to 10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of polyvinyl chloride forming the dye receiving surface, and a particularly preferred range is 3 to 5 parts by weight. If the amount of the plasticizer is too small, the dyeing property for the sublimable dye is insufficient, while if too large, the rigidity of the dye-receiving surface becomes insufficient and the dye-receiving surface becomes soft, and the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet is directly transferred during thermal transfer. It is not preferable because abnormal transfer occurs, and bleeding occurs in the printed image during storage, and a clear image cannot be obtained.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned plasticizer, 0.1 to 5 parts by weight of a lubricant per 100 parts by weight of polyvinyl chloride forming the dye-receiving surface is contained, so that a relatively large amount of the plasticizer is used. For example, even if it is included in polyvinyl chloride at a ratio of 5 to 10 parts by weight, there is no blocking of the thermal transfer sheet at the time of transfer, and the dyeing ability of the obtained dye receiving surface with a sublimable dye is further improved. I found it.

As such a lubricant, any conventionally known lubricant such as fatty acid, fatty acid amide, wax, paraffin and the like can be used. If the amount of these lubricants is too small, the effect of the addition will be ineffective, and if the amount is too large, the resulting dye-receiving surface will be undesirably rough. The use of these lubricants not only improves the dyeability of the sublimable dye, but also reduces the fusion between the sublimation-type thermal transfer sheet and the dye-receiving surface even when a relatively high temperature is used during sublimation transfer. ,
Higher density images can be formed more efficiently.

The dye receiving surface of the dye receiving sheet as described above has a further appropriate softening point, for example, 70 ° C. or less in JIS K 6734, preferably 50 ° C.
It is preferable to prepare the composition so as to have a softening point of from 70 to 70 ° C. These softening points can be adjusted by the amounts of the above-mentioned plasticizers and lubricants. When the softening point exceeds 70 ° C., the dyeing properties of the dye are insufficient, so that a high-density image cannot be formed, and embossing becomes difficult. Bleeding occurs, and the image preservability becomes insufficient.

The main components of the dye receiving surface of the dye receiving sheet of the present invention are as described above. Of course, in the present invention, a color pigment, a white pigment, an extender, a filler, an ultraviolet absorber, an antistatic agent, and a heat stable Agents, antioxidants, optical brighteners and the like can also be used arbitrarily.

The dye receiving sheet of the present invention is obtained by blending the necessary components as described above, and forming this blend into a sheet having a thickness of, for example, about 0.05 to 1 mm by a known forming method such as a calendering method or an extrusion method. The present invention encompasses both the sheet obtained before and the so-called card size cutting and the card size cutting.

1 and 2 show the basic form of a preferred dye receiving sheet 1 of the present invention, which has a thickness of about 0.1.
1 to 1 mm sheet. A dye layer 2 of a known sublimation type thermal transfer sheet A is superposed on the surface of the dye receiving sheet 1 and heated from a back surface of the sublimation type thermal transfer sheet A by a thermal head 3 or the like, so that the dye receiving sheet 1 A desired image 4 is formed on the surface. Of course, such a dye-receiving sheet has a necessary embossed pattern 5 on its surface in advance.
Or other printed patterns 6 may be formed in advance, or
These embossments 5 and printed patterns 6 may be provided after sublimation transfer.

In particular, the image formed by the method of the present invention is different from the conventional photographic image attached, and can be directly embossed on the image surface, so that it is more excellent in anti-counterfeiting properties.

Further, it is a matter of course that the transparent protective layer 7 may be formed on the entire surface or a part of the surface for improving the durability of these images.

The example shown in FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a dye receiving sheet 11 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the dye receiving sheet 11 has a plurality of polyvinyl chloride sheets (3 in this example).
Center core 12 containing white pigment
(For example, it is a white hard polyvinyl chloride resin having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.8 mm, and is not limited to the polyvinyl chloride resin.)
A transparent polyvinyl chloride layer 13,1 on at least one side of
3 'is laminated. By laminating a plurality of polyvinyl chloride sheets in this manner, the curl of the dye receiving sheet can be favorably prevented during image formation or at other times. Good anti-curl properties can be obtained by laminating layers 13.13 '. Also, by making at least the dye receiving surface a transparent layer 13, the depth of the image, good three-dimensional appearance,
Furthermore, since it does not contain a pigment, it has a good luster and does not feel grainy.

At least one of the transparent layers 13, 13 '(the dye receiving surface) contains a specific amount of a plasticizer (and a lubricant) as described above, and has good dyeing properties with respect to the dye. In this example, the center core 12 does not necessarily need to contain a predetermined amount of plasticizer, and the center core 12 and the transparent layer 13.1
Various print patterns 4 can be formed in advance between the print patterns 3 ′. Further, in this example, the center core 12 is made of the transparent layers 13, 1
Although sandwiched by 3 ', these transparent layers may be on one side only.

Although the characteristic portion of the dye receiving sheet of the present invention has been described above, when the dye receiving sheet of the present invention is used as a card substrate, other recording on the surface in advance or afterwards, for example, a magnetic recording layer, Optical memory, signature, IC memory, barcode, etc. can be provided.

Next, the card manufacturing method of the present invention using the dye receiving sheet as a card base will be described.

The method of the present invention is basically the same as that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. However, when a card is formed using a sublimable thermal transfer sheet, formation of a gradation image such as a face photograph or scenery is performed. Is easy and beautiful, but there is a problem that images such as characters and symbols such as barcodes have insufficient density and sharpness, and that OCR characters and barcodes readable by infrared rays cannot be formed.

In the present invention, such a disadvantage can be solved by using a thermal transfer sheet of a molten ink transfer type in addition to a sublimation type thermal transfer sheet.

The configurations of the sublimation type thermal transfer sheet and the fusion type thermal transfer sheet are the same as those of the sublimation type thermal transfer sheet and the fusion type thermal transfer sheet of the composite thermal transfer sheet of a preferred embodiment described later, respectively, and thus description thereof is omitted here. I do.

The above two types of thermal transfer sheets may be different from each other, but this method has a problem that the operation is complicated. Therefore, a sublimation type thermal transfer layer is formed on one continuous base film. It is preferable to use a thermal transfer sheet provided with a thermal transfer layer of a molten ink transfer type in a plane sequence. According to such a composite thermal transfer sheet, a gradation image such as a face photograph and a monotone image such as characters and symbols can be simultaneously and satisfactorily formed. The configuration of the composite thermal transfer sheet is also the same as the configuration of the composite thermal transfer sheet including a protective layer described later, and thus the details are omitted.

Further, even when the composite type thermal transfer sheet is used, there is a problem that the durability of an image is insufficient in applications requiring various durability, particularly, friction resistance, such as an ID card. Then, such a problem can be solved by laminating a transparent protective layer on the surface of the image as shown in FIG. Lamination of the protective layer can be performed by applying and drying a transparent paint, laminating a transparent film, and further using a thermal transfer sheet for the protective layer. The configuration of the protective layer thermal transfer sheet is also the same as that of the protective layer portion of the composite thermal transfer sheet described later, and the description is omitted here.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, on a substrate film,
By using a thermal transfer sheet having at least one color sublimable dye layer, at least one color heat-fusible ink layer and a release protection layer in a face-sequential manner, a gradation image, a monotonic image and a transparent protection layer can be formed. They can be formed from the same thermal transfer sheet.

Next, a particularly preferred embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of a thermal transfer sheet in the case of a preferred embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a plan view thereof.

The composite thermal transfer sheet of this embodiment has a sublimation dye layer 2Y, 2M, and 2C composed of yellow, magenta and cyan hue regions on a base film 1, a black heat-fusible ink layer 3 and a release protection layer 4. Are formed face-sequentially.

First, the common part will be described. As the base film 1 of the composite thermal transfer sheet, the same base film as used in the conventional thermal transfer sheet can be used as it is, and other types can be used. There is no particular limitation.

Specific examples of preferred base film 1 include, for example,
Thin paper such as glassine paper, condenser paper, and paraffin paper is useful.In addition, for example, polyester, polypropylene, cellophane, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, nylon, polyimide, polyvinylidene chloride, ionomer, etc. Or a base film in which these are combined with the above-mentioned paper. The thickness of the substrate film 1 can be appropriately changed depending on the material so that the strength and heat resistance are appropriate, but the thickness is preferably 3 to 100 μm.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a back layer, which has a function of preventing adhesion of a thermal head of a printer. This layer 6 is also unnecessary when the heat resistance and the slip property of the base film 1 are good.

Reference numeral 7 denotes an adhesion improving layer, which has an effect of improving the adhesion of the sublimable dye layer 2 and the release layer 5 to the base film 1.

The adhesion improving layer 7 is composed of the release protective layer 4 and the base film 1.
Has the effect of improving the adhesiveness of the release protection layer 4 and improving the breakage of the foil. If the adhesion between the base film 1 and the release protective layer 4 is poor without providing the layer 7, the protective layer 4 other than the heated portion is peeled off together with the protective layer 4 in the heated portion during thermal transfer, and the foil is cut. Gets worse.

As the adhesion improving layer 7, the base film 1 and the dye layer 2,
Any material may be used as long as the adhesion between the release layer 5 and the release protective layer 4 is further enhanced. For example, a polyurethane resin, an acrylic polyol resin, a vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, or the like may be used alone or as a mixture and dried. Form. If necessary, a reactive curing agent such as polyisocyanate may be added, and a titanate or silane coupling agent may be used. Further, if necessary, two or more layers may be laminated.

Reference numerals 8, 8 'denote a heat-sensitive adhesive layer, which has an effect of facilitating the transfer of the hot-melt ink layer 3 and / or the release protective layer 4 to the dye receiving sheet.

Since the dye receiving sheet is made of polyvinyl chloride, the heat-sensitive adhesive layers 8, 8 'have good adhesive properties with vinyl chloride resin, such as acrylic resin, vinyl chloride resin, and vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate. Copolymer resin, acrylic /
Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, polyester resin,
It is preferably formed to a thickness of about 0.5 to 10 μm by applying and drying a solution of a resin having good adhesiveness when heated, such as a polyamide resin.

Among these resins, those having good adhesiveness to vinyl chloride resin and good foil breakage include vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, acrylic / vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, acrylic resin and polyamide resin. is there.

 Next, each thermal transfer layer will be described.

The dye layer 2 is a layer in which a sublimable dye is carried on the base film 1 (adhesion improving layer 7) with an optional binder resin.

As the dye to be used, any dye conventionally used in a sublimation type thermal transfer sheet can be effectively used in the present invention, and is not particularly limited. For example, some preferred dyes include, as red dyes, MS Red G, Macr
olex Red Violet R, Ceres Red 7B, Samaron Red HBS
L, SK Rubin SEGL and the like, and as the yellow dye, Holon Brilliant Yellow S-6GL, PTY-52,
Macrolex Yellow S-6G and the like, and as the blue dye, Kayaset Blue 714, Waxolin Blue AP-FW, Holon Brilliant Blue SR, MS Blue
100, Daito Blue No. 1 and the like.

As a binder for supporting the dye as described above,
Any of the conventionally known ones can be used, and preferred examples thereof include ethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, ethylhydroxycellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, methylcellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose resins such as cellulose acetate butyrate, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyvinyl acetate. And vinyl-based resins such as polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and polyacrylamide. Among them, polyvinyl acetal and polyvinyl butyral are particularly preferred from the viewpoint of heat resistance and heat transfer property of the dye.

The dye layer 2 is basically formed from the above materials,
In addition, various conventionally known additives can be included as needed.

Such a dye layer 2 is preferably prepared by adding the above-mentioned dye, binder resin and other optional components in an appropriate solvent and dissolving or dispersing each component to prepare an ink for forming a dye layer. It is formed on the base film 1 by printing and drying by a method or the like.

Of course, the printing may be performed in a single color, but for the purpose of the present invention, a multicolor printing of three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan or four colors including black is preferable so that a color image can be formed.

The dye layer 2 thus formed has a thickness of 0.2 to 5.0 μm,
It is preferably about 0.4 to 2.0 μm thick, and the dye in the dye layer 2 is present in an amount of 5 to 90% by weight, preferably 10 to 70% by weight of the weight of the dye layer. is there.

The hot-melt ink layer 3 is formed adjacent to the dye layer 2 from an ink containing necessary materials.

The ink for forming the hot-melt ink layer comprises a colorant and a vehicle, and may further contain various additives as necessary. As the colorant, among organic or inorganic pigments or dyes, those having good properties as a recording material, for example, having a sufficient coloring density, light,
Those which do not discolor by heat, temperature, etc. are preferred. As the colorant, cyan, magenta, yellow and the like can be used, but for the purpose of the present invention, a black colorant capable of printing clear characters and symbols at high density is preferable.

As the vehicle, a mixture of wax as a main component, and other components such as a wax and a derivative of a drying oil, a resin, a mineral oil, cellulose, and rubber is used. Representative examples of the wax include microcrystalline wax, carnauba wax, and paraffin wax. Furthermore, various waxes such as Fischer-Tropsch wax, various low molecular weight polyethylene, wood wax, beeswax, spermaceti, Ibota wax, wool wax, shellac wax, candelilla wax, petrolactam, partially modified wax, fatty acid ester, fatty acid amide, etc. Used.

However, it is more preferable to use the following resin binder from the viewpoints of adhesion to a polyvinyl chloride dye receiving sheet and scratch resistance.

Acrylic resin Acrylic resin + chlorinated rubber Acrylic resin + vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin Acrylic resin + cellulose resin Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin On base film 1 or on release layer 5 previously provided thereon Examples of the method for forming the hot-melt ink layer 3 include a method of applying the ink by hot lacquer coating, gravure coating, gravure reverse coating, roll coating, and other various means in addition to hot melt coating.
The thickness of the ink layer to be formed should be determined so as to balance the required density with the thermal sensitivity. For example, the thickness of the ink layer is usually preferably in the range of about 0.2 to 10 μm.

Prior to the formation of the heat-meltable ink layer, it is preferable to form a release layer 5 on the surface of the adhesion improving layer 7 of the base film 1 in order to facilitate the release of the ink layer. Such a release layer 5 is made of waxes, silicone wax,
It is formed from a release agent such as a silicone resin, a fluorine resin, an acrylic resin, a cellulose resin, a vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin, or a nitrified cotton resin. The forming method may be the same as the method for forming the sublimable dye layer or the hot-melt ink layer, and the thickness of about 0.1 to 5 μm is sufficient. If a matte print or matte protective layer is desired after transfer, the release layer 5 can be made to contain various particles to form a matte surface.

The layers 5 to 8 are not essential in the present invention, but when the adhesion improving layer 7 is provided, the release layer 5 is preferably provided.

On the adhesion improving layer 7, a release protective layer 4 made of a wax-containing transparent resin layer and a heat-sensitive adhesive layer 8 'are provided so as to be peelable.

The release protection layer 4 provided on the adhesion improving layer 7 is preferably formed from a mixture of a transparent resin and wax.

Examples of the transparent resin include a polyester resin, a polystyrene resin, an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin, a modified cellulose resin, a polyvinyl acetal resin, a silicone resin, a fluorine resin, and the like. Particularly preferred are an acrylic resin, a silicone resin, and a fluorine resin. . These resins have excellent transparency and form a relatively tough film.
In addition, film breakage during transfer is sufficient. However, since the lubricity is insufficient, it is easily damaged by surface friction. In the present invention, the lubricity of the protective layer 4 is improved by mixing wax with these transparent resins.

Representative examples of the wax used in the present invention include microcrystalline wax, carnauba wax, and paraffin wax. Furthermore, various waxes such as Fischer-Tropsch wax, various low molecular weight polyethylenes, wood wax, beeswax, spermaceti, Ibota wax, wool wax, shellac wax, candelilla wax, petrolactam, partially modified wax, fatty acid ester, fatty acid amide and the like are used. Can be

The amount of the wax used is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 20 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the transparent resin. If the amount of the wax is too small, the abrasion resistance of the protective layer 4 becomes insufficient. In addition, the durability and transparency of the protective layer 4 become insufficient, which is not preferable.

The method of mixing the transparent resin and the wax is not particularly limited, such as a method of melting and mixing the two, and a method of dissolving and mixing the two in a suitable organic solvent that dissolves both.

It is particularly preferable to use a transparent resin as a dispersion (or an emulsion), while using wax as a solution or a dispersion (an emulsion), and to mix both. After using such a dispersion liquid (emulsion liquid) and applying it to a base film, drying is performed at a relatively low temperature to form a film so that at least a part of these resin particles remains. The coating thus formed has a rough surface due to the remaining resin particles and is partially cloudy, but the surface becomes smooth by heat and pressure during thermal transfer and can be transferred as a transparent coating.

Examples of a method for forming the peeling protective layer 4 include a method of applying and drying an ink composed of the above resin and wax by a gravure coat, a gravure reverse coat, a roll coat, and other various means.

When the release protection layer 4 is formed from a mixed dispersion of a resin and wax, drying after coating can be performed at a temperature lower than the melting point of the resin particles, for example, at a relatively low temperature of about 50 to 100 ° C. preferable. By drying at such a temperature, the film is formed with the resin particles remaining, so that the film breakage of the protective layer 4 during thermal transfer is significantly improved, and the smoothness of the protective layer is maintained.

In addition, substantially transparent inorganic or organic fine particles can be mixed in the release protective layer 4. By mixing such fine particles, it is possible to further improve the breaking of the foil and the abrasion resistance of the peeling protective layer. Further, the surface gloss of the protective layer 4 can be suppressed, and a matte surface can be obtained. Preferred examples of such fine particles include those having relatively high transparency such as silica, Teflon powder and nylon powder. The addition amount of these fine particles is preferably 1 to 30% by weight based on the resin of the protective layer 4. If the amount is too large, the transparency and durability of the protective layer will be reduced.

The release protective layer 4 and / or the heat-sensitive adhesive layer 8 'may contain additives such as an ultraviolet absorber, an antioxidant, and a fluorescent whitening agent to improve the gloss of various images to be coated. Light resistance, weather resistance, whiteness and the like can be improved.

The image to be protected by using the thermal transfer sheet including the protective layer as described above is, for example, a gradation image formed on the dye receiving sheet by a sublimation type thermal transfer method or a symbol such as a character or a barcode by a fused ink type thermal transfer method. Monotonic images are preferred, but not limited to these images. Particularly when applied to a sublimation transfer image, the protective layer of the image is formed, and the dye forming the image is recolored by heat during transfer, so that the image is further sharpened. There is.

The composite thermal transfer sheet is provided as described above, but the forming method is not limited to these methods, and the forming order of the sublimable dye layer, the heat-meltable ink layer, the release protective layer, and the like is not particularly limited. Further, the sublimable dye layer, the hot-melt ink layer, and the release protection layer may be provided in a pattern at a specific position of the base film corresponding to a place where a transfer image of the transfer-receiving material is to be formed. As shown in FIG. 7, the sublimable dye layer 2, the heat-meltable ink layer 3, and the release protective layer 4 can be applied to specific positions corresponding to the portions of the material to be transferred where the transfer images are to be formed. By doing so, the background of the dye receiving sheet can be prevented, and the unused portions of these layers can be removed, which is economical.

An example of manufacturing a card using the composite thermal transfer sheet is described in Fifth.
This will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet is provided on the surface of the card substrate 9.
2Y are superimposed, and a yellow image 2Y is transferred by a thermal printer operating according to a color separation signal. Similarly, the desired color image 10 is formed by transferring the magenta image 2M and the cyan image 2C to the same area.

Next, using the heat-fusible ink layer 3,
Print symbol 3 etc. Further, the protective layer 4 is transferred onto the color image 10 and / or the image 3 such as a character using the transfer protective layer 4 to form the protective layer 4. Thus, a desired card is obtained.

In the above transfer, the thermal printer may be set separately (preferably continuously) for sublimation transfer, for hot-melt ink transfer, and for protection layer transfer. The printing energy may be appropriately adjusted by each of the printers.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment using the composite thermal transfer sheet, the present invention is not limited to this example, and it is natural that the gradation image, the monotonic image, and the protective layer may be formed separately. is there.

(Effects) According to the present invention as described above, a specific amount of a plasticizer (and a lubricant) is applied to the dye receiving surface of the polyvinyl chloride dye receiving sheet.
, It is not necessary to form any special dye receiving layer on the surface, and any image can be formed by the sublimation transfer method, eliminating the complexity of attaching a face photograph and forming the dye receiving layer. Was done.

In a preferred embodiment, by forming the dye receiving sheet into a laminated type, excellent images can be formed and curling can be effectively prevented.

Further, according to the method of the present invention, a card can be easily provided, a gradation image and a minor image can be simultaneously formed, and a transparent protective layer can be easily applied to these images.

(Examples) Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples and comparative examples. In the description, parts and% are based on weight unless otherwise specified.

Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 According to the compositions shown in Table 1 below, the dye receiving sheets (white card base material) of the present invention and comparative examples (thickness 0.2 mm, size 10 × 2)
0 cm).

Three-color inks each containing a three-color sublimable dye having the following composition were prepared.

Yellow ink Disperse dye (Macrolex Yellow 6G, manufactured by Bayer AG, CI
Disperse Yellow 201) 5.5 parts Polyvinyl butyral resin (ESREC BX-1, manufactured by Sekisui Chemical) 4.5 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (1/1 by weight) 89.0 parts Magenta ink Magenta disperse dye (CIDisperse Red 6)
Same as yellow ink except that 0) was used.

Cyan Ink Dye (CISolvent Blue 63)
Same as yellow ink except using.

A heat-resistant slip layer (1 μm thick) is formed on the back surface of the ink composition by a gravure coating method, and an adhesion improving layer (0.5 μm thick) made of polyurethane resin is formed on the surface.
m) On the surface of the 4.5 μm-thick polyester film on which is formed, repeatedly apply and dry to a width of 15 cm in the order of yellow, magenta and cyan, respectively, so that the application amount becomes about 3 g / m ^2. Thus, a thermal transfer sheet including three color sublimable dye layers was formed.

Laminating the sublimation heat transfer sheet on the surface of the card substrate, applying thermal energy with a thermal head connected to an electrical signal obtained by color separation of the face photograph, cyan, magenta and yellow in order of sublimation transfer, A full color face photograph was formed.

Next, an ink for a release layer having the following composition was applied to the surface of the same polyester film as described above by a gravure coating method at a ratio of 1 g / m ^{2 on} a solid content basis, and dried to form a release layer.

Release layer ink Acrylic resin 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Next, apply and dry the following ink by gravure coating method so that the coating amount is about 3 g / m ² on the surface of the release layer, and heat-melt A heat transfer type heat transfer sheet was prepared by forming a water-soluble ink layer.

Hot-melt ink Acrylic / vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin 20 parts Carbon black 10 parts Toluene 35 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 35 parts And symbol images such as barcodes.

The color density, clarity, and blocking state of the transfer sheet at the time of sublimation transfer were examined for the face photographs of the cards of the present invention and the comparative examples obtained above, and the results in Table 2 below were obtained.

Examples 8 to 14 and Comparative Examples 4 to 6 White card base cores (0.2 m thick)
m, size 30 × 30 cm).

Polyvinyl chloride (polymerization degree: 800) compound containing about 10% of additives such as stabilizers 100 parts White pigment (titanium oxide) 15 parts Next, a transparent sheet (0.15 m thick) having the composition shown in Table 3 below
m) was prepared and thermocompression bonded to both sides of the white core to prepare card base materials of Examples and Comparative Examples.

When a gradation image and a monotone transfer image were formed on the surface of the card substrate in the same manner as in Example 1 and the same performance was examined, the same results as in Table 2 were obtained.

Examples 15 to 19 and Comparative Examples 7 to 8 A white card base core (having a thickness of 670 μm) was prepared according to the following composition.
m, size 30 × 30 cm).

Polyvinyl chloride (degree of polymerization: 800) compound containing about 10% of additives such as stabilizers 100 parts White pigment (titanium oxide) 15 parts Next, a transparent sheet having a softening temperature (JIS K 6734) shown in Table 4 below (Thickness: 60 μm), and thermocompression-bonded to both sides of the white core to prepare card base materials of Examples and Comparative Examples. Tone and monotone images were formed on the respective card base surfaces in the same manner as in Example 1. Was formed, and the performance was examined in the same manner. The results shown in Table 4 below were obtained.

Example 20 A release protective layer having the following composition was formed on the surface of a 4.5 μm-thick polyester film having a heat-resistant slip layer formed on the back surface and an adhesion improving layer (thickness 0.1 μm) made of a polyester resin formed on the surface. It was applied and dried by a gravure coating method at a ratio of 4 g / m ² on a solid content basis using an ink for use to form a release protective layer.

Ink for release protection layer Acrylic resin (BR-83, manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.) 20 parts Polyethylene wax 1 part Methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts Toluene 50 parts Next, on the surface of the release protection layer, an adhesive layer ink of the following composition Was applied and dried at a rate of 1 g / m ² on a solid basis to form an adhesive layer, thereby forming a protective layer thermal transfer sheet.

Adhesive layer ink Acrylic / vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer (HS-32G, manufactured by Showa Ink Co., Ltd.) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Next, in Example 1, using the above protective layer thermal transfer sheet. The protective layer was transferred to the surface of the image of the card by a thermal transfer method.

Example 21 A protective layer thermal transfer sheet was prepared by using the following inks in place of the release protective layer and the adhesive layer of Example 20, respectively, and was similarly transferred to the surface of the image of the card obtained in Example 1 by thermal transfer. The protective layer was transferred.

Ink for release protective layer (dry coating amount 2 g / m ²⁾ Acrylic resin (Mitsubishi Rayon Co., BR-85) 20 parts Polyethylene wax 1 part finely-divided silica (Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., R-972) 1 part Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Ink for adhesive layer (coating amount 1 g / m ² ) Nylon resin (FS175, manufactured by Toa Gosei Chemical Co., Ltd.) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Comparative Example 9 Example 20 The following ink was used in place of the release protective layer to form a protective layer. A protective layer thermal transfer sheet of a comparative example was prepared without forming an adhesive layer. Similarly, the image of the card obtained in Example 1 was obtained. The protective layer was transferred to the surface of the substrate by a thermal transfer method.

Ink for release protective layer (coating amount 4 g / m ² ) Polyvinyl butyral resin (Eslec BX-1 manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts Toluene 50 parts Comparative Example 10 The release protective layer of Example 20 and A protective layer and an adhesive layer were formed by using the following inks instead of the adhesive layer to prepare a protective layer thermal transfer sheet of Comparative Example, and a thermal transfer method was similarly applied to the surface of the image of the card obtained in Example 1. Was used to transfer the protective layer.

Ink for release protective layer (coating amount 4g / m ² when dried) Polystyrene resin (manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo KK, TP-SX30
1) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts Toluene 50 parts Adhesive layer ink (coating amount 1 g / m ² when dried) Ethylene / ethyl acrylate resin (Mitsui DuPont Polychemical Co., Ltd., A-704) 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Comparative Example 11 The card of Example 1 without a protective layer.

The transferability of the protective layer and the abrasion resistance of the obtained images in Examples 20 to 21 and Comparative Examples 9 to 11 were evaluated, and the results shown in Table 5 below were obtained.

Example 22 A three-color ink containing the same sublimable dye as used in Example 1 was prepared, and this ink composition was subjected to a gravure coating method to form a heat-resistant slip layer (thickness: 1 μm) on the back surface and to form a surface on the surface. A 6.0 μm thick polyester film (trade name “Lumirror” manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) on which an adhesion improving layer (0.5 μm thick) made of a polyurethane resin is formed. On the surface), and repeatedly apply and dry to a width of 15 cm in the order of yellow, magenta and cyan in order of 3 g / m ² to obtain a three-color sublimable dye layer. Was formed. The above three colors were set as one set, and a space of 30 cm was provided between each set.

Next, with a width of 15 cm adjacent to the one set of dye layers,
The same hot-melt ink as used in Example 1 was applied by a gravure coating method and dried to form a hot-melt ink layer so that the coating amount was about 0.5 g / m ² .

Next, the following ink was applied to an uncoated portion (15 cm in width) of the base film at a ratio of 1 g / m ^{2 on} a solid content basis and dried to form a transferable protective layer.

Separation protective layer ink Acrylic resin 20 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 50 parts Toluene 50 parts Polyethylene wax 1 part Next, on the surface of the above-mentioned heat-meltable ink layer and transferable protective layer, an ink of the following composition at a ratio of 3 g / m ^{2 based} on solid content. To form an adhesive layer, thereby obtaining a composite thermal transfer sheet including a sublimation dye layer, a fusible ink layer and a protective layer.

Ink for adhesive layer Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer 10 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 100 parts Toluene 100 parts Polyvinyl chloride (degree of polymerization 800) compound containing about 10% of additives such as stabilizers 100 parts, white pigment (titanium oxide) A) a sublimation dye layer of the composite thermal transfer film on the surface of a card base comprising 10 parts and 0.5 part of a plasticizer (DOP);
Apply thermal energy with a thermal head connected to the electrical signal obtained by color separation of the face photo to form a full-color face photo, and then transfer and form characters and symbols using a heat-meltable ink layer and further protect The transferable protective layer was transferred to each image portion using the layer, and a card having a face photograph and various necessary information was obtained.

When the surface of the card was rubbed 100 times with gauze impregnated with isopropyl alcohol, the gauze did not contaminate at all. On the other hand, when the protective layer was not transferred, the gauze was significantly contaminated with blackish brown.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 3 are diagrams schematically illustrating a cross section of the dye receiving sheet of the present invention and a cross section after image formation, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a composite thermal transfer film used in the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a card prepared by the present invention, FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a composite thermal transfer of another example. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the film. In FIG. 7, the sublimable dye layer 2, the hot-melt ink layer 3, and the transferable protective layer are separately applied to specific positions corresponding to the portions where the transfer image of the transfer material is to be formed. Here is an example. 1 to 3: A: Sublimation thermal transfer sheet 1: Dye receiving card (card base) 2: Dye layer 3: Thermal head 4: Transfer image 5: Embossed pattern 6: Printing pattern 7: Transparent protective layer 11: Dye receiving Sheet (card base material) 12: Center core 13, 13 ': Transparent layer FIGS. 4 to 7: 1: Base film 2: Sublimable dye layer 3: Hot-melt ink layer 4: Protective layer 5: Release layer 6 : Back layer 7: Adhesion improving layer 8: Thermal adhesive layer 9: Card base material 10: Color image

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-220395 (JP, A) JP-A-63-9574 (JP, A) JP-A-59-127798 (JP, A) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B42D 15/10 501 B41M 5/38

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A thermal transfer method using a heat transferable dye on the surface of a card base material whose main component is polyvinyl chloride containing at least 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of a resin. A method for manufacturing a card, comprising stacking sheets and forming a gradation image on the surface of the card base using a thermal head. 2. A heat-transferable dye layer and a heat-fusible dye layer on at least the surface of a card base material whose main component is polyvinyl chloride containing 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of a resin. Forming a tone image composed of a dye and a monotone image composed of a hot-melt ink on the surface of the card substrate using a thermal head by superimposing a composite thermal transfer sheet provided with a mold ink layer on a substrate film in a plane-sequential manner. A method for manufacturing a card, comprising: 3. A heat-transferable dye layer and a heat-melting dye layer on at least a surface of a card base material whose main component is polyvinyl chloride containing 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of a resin. A composite thermal transfer sheet in which a mold ink layer and a transferable protective layer are provided face-to-face on a base film, and using a thermal head, a tone image composed of a dye and a monotone composed of a heat-meltable ink are formed on the card substrate surface using a thermal head. A method for manufacturing a card, comprising forming an image and transferring a protective layer to an arbitrary image surface using a thermal head.