JP2973030B2 - Thermal transfer recording material - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a heat-sensitive transfer recording material.
For example, the present invention relates to a heat-sensitive transfer recording material capable of forming a clear image on an image receiving material by transferring a coloring material by heat generated by irradiation of light energy with a laser or the like.

[Background of the Invention]

As a method for obtaining a color hard copy, a color recording technique using ink jet, electrophotography, thermal transfer, or the like has been studied.

Among them, the thermal transfer method has advantages such as easiness of operation and maintenance, downsizing of the apparatus and cost reduction, and low running cost.

In this thermal transfer method, a transfer sheet (also referred to as a thermal transfer material) having a heat-fusible ink layer on a support is heated by a thermal head, and the ink is transferred onto a transfer-receiving sheet (also referred to as an image receiving material). And a transfer sheet having an ink layer containing a heat-diffusible dye (including a sublimable dye) on a support, which is heated by a thermal head.
There are two types of thermal diffusion transfer system (including a sublimation transfer system) for transferring the thermal diffusible dye to a transfer-receiving sheet, and the thermal diffusion transfer system is based on a change in thermal energy of a thermal head. Since the gradation of the image can be controlled by changing the transfer amount of the dye, it is advantageous for full-color printing.

Conventionally, as a method for heating a thermal transfer recording material, a method using a heating element such as a thermal head is generally used, but a method using a laser as a thermal energy source is also known.

In a method using a laser, when a thermal transfer recording material is exposed to a laser beam, the laser beam is converted into thermal energy, and the color material near the exposed portion is heated, and the color material corresponding to the heating is thermally transferred. Thus, an image is formed in the image receiving material.

The image forming method by this method is described in British Patent 2,08.
3,726A and JP-A-2-2074.

In this method, a thermal transfer recording material contains a substance that strongly absorbs a laser wavelength (laser absorbing substance), and this laser absorbing substance absorbs light energy and efficiently converts it to heat energy.

As the laser absorbing material, carbon or a specific infrared absorbing dye is used.

However, when carbon is used, since carbon is added as fine particles, there is a problem that aggregation of carbon particles is apt to occur, and therefore, the quality of an image due to transfer of a coloring material is liable to be deteriorated.

When an infrared absorbing cyanine dye described in JP-A-2-2074 is used, the stability of the infrared absorbing dye itself is poor. For example, there is a problem that the concentration of the infrared absorbing dye is reduced due to the above, and the recording sensitivity of the thermal transfer recording material by the laser beam may be deteriorated.

Further, carbon has a problem that the carbon itself is transferred to the image receiving material and the quality of the image is deteriorated.

[Object of the invention]

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of a heat-sensitive transfer recording material for performing image recording using light, for example, a laser beam.

[Configuration of the invention]

The object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer material having a color material layer containing a color material that can be transferred by heat, wherein the color material layer and / or a layer adjacent to the color material layer is represented by the following general formula [I]. This is achieved by a heat-sensitive transfer recording material characterized by containing the compound represented by the formula (1).

In the formula, R ₁ is an alkyl group, cycloalkyl group, aryl group, alkenyl group, aralkyl group, alkylthio group, arylthio group, carbamoyl group, alkoxycarbonyl group, aryloxycarbonyl group, acyl group, amino group, nitro group or polymer Represents a residue, R ₂ is a hydrogen atom,
Represents a monovalent substituent or a polymer residue, R ₃ represents a hydrogen atom or a monovalent substituent R ₄ , R ₅ represents an aliphatic group which may have a substituent, R ₄ and R ₅ , R ₃ and R ₄ , or R ₃ and R ₅ may combine with each other to form a ring.

X is a cyano group or (R ₁₀ and R ₁₁ represent an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group or a hydrogen atom).

 n represents an integer of 1 to 4.

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

In the general formula (I), R ₁ represents an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, an alkenyl group, an aralkyl group, an alkylthio group, an arylthio group, a carbamoyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, an acyl group, an amino group, R ₂ and R ₃ represent a hydrogen atom or a monovalent substituent, and R ₁ and R ₂ represent a polymer residue. The alkyl group for R ₁ represents, for example, a methyl group, an ethyl group, an isopropyl group, or an n-butyl group; the cycloalkyl group represents, for example, a cyclopentyl group or a cyclohexyl group; the aryl group represents, for example, a phenyl group; Represents, for example, a 2-propenyl group, an aralkyl group represents, for example, a benzyl group or a 2-phenethyl group, an alkylthio group represents, for example, a methylthio group, an ethylthio group, an n-butylthio group, and an arylthio group represents, for example, a phenylthio group. A carbamoyl group represents, for example, a methylcarbamoyl group or an ethylcarbamoyl group; an alkoxycarbonyl group represents, for example, a methoxycarbonyl group or an ethoxycarbonyl group;
An aryloxycarbonyl group represents, for example, a phenoxycarbonyl group, and an acyl group represents, for example, an acetyl group,
An amino group represents, for example, a methylamino group, an ethylamino group, or a dimethylamino group. Examples of the monovalent substituent for R ₂ and R ₃ include a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom (for example, a chlorine atom and a fluorine atom), an alkyl group (for example, a methyl group, an ethyl group, an isopropyl group and an n-butyl group), A cycloalkyl group (such as a cyclopentyl group or a cyclohexyl group), an aryl group (such as a phenyl group), an alkenyl group (such as a 2-propenyl group), an aralkyl group (such as a benzyl group or a 2-phenethyl group),
Alkoxy group (for example, methoxy group, ethoxy group, isopropoxy group, n-butoxy group, etc.), aryloxy group (for example, phenoxy group, etc.), cyano group, acylamino group (for example, acetylamino group, propionylamino group, etc.), alkylthio Groups (eg, methylthio, ethylthio, n-butylthio, etc.), arylthio groups (eg, phenylthio, etc.), sulfonylamino groups (eg, methanesulfonylamino, benzenesulfonylamino, etc.), ureido groups (eg, 3-
A methylureido group, a 3,3-dimethylureido group, a 1,3-dimethylureido group, a carbamoyl group (eg, a methylcarbamoyl group, an ethylcarbamoyl group, a dimethylcarbamoyl group, etc.), a sulfamoyl group (eg, an ethylsulfamoyl group, Dimethylsulfamoyl group, etc.), alkoxycarbonyl group (eg, methoxycarbonyl group, ethoxycarbonyl group, etc.), aryloxycarbonyl group (eg, phenoxycarbonyl group, etc.), sulfonyl group (eg, methanesulfonyl group, butanesulfonyl group, phenylsulfonyl group) And the like, an acyl group (eg, an acetyl group, a propanoyl group, a butyroyl group, etc.), an amino group (eg, a methylamino group, an ethylamino group, a dimethylamino group), and a nitro group.

When it is a polymer residue, the compound represented by the general formula [I] is preferably a polymer containing a monomer unit represented by the following general formula [M].

[In the formula, R ₆ represents an alkyl group or a hydrogen atom, and L represents a divalent linking group (eg, —NH—, —O—, —NHCO—).

R ₄ and R ₅ are an aliphatic group having 7 to 8 carbon atoms, particularly an alkyl group having _{1 to 8} carbon atoms (eg, methyl, ethyl, n-butyl, n-
Octyl, etc.), which may be further substituted.

Examples of the substituent include an alkoxy group (eg, ethoxy, butoxy), a sulfonylamino group (eg, methanesulfonylamino, benzenesulfonylamino), a hydroxy group,
Examples include a halogen atom (for example, a chlorine atom and a fluorine atom). Specific examples of the compounds represented by formulas [I] and [M] are shown below.

The compound represented by the general formula [I] is synthesized according to the synthesis method described in Chemistry Letters 1761 (1987).

The coloring material contained in the coloring material layer of the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention is selected according to the type of the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention, that is, the hot-melt transfer system or the sublimation transfer system. The heat-sensitive transfer recording material is preferably of a sublimation transfer system. Therefore, as a coloring material, a heat diffusing dye (sublimation dye) is preferable. For example, as a cyan dye, JP-A-59-78896 and JP-A-59-227948. No., No. 60-24996, No.
No. 60-53563, No. 60-130735, No. 60-131292, No. 60
No. 239289, No. 61-19396, No. 51-22993, No. 61-31
No. 292, No. 61-31467, No. 61-35994, No. 61-49893
Nos. 61-148269, 62-191191, 63-91288
And naphthoquinone dyes, anthraquinone dyes, and azomethine dyes described in JP-A Nos. 63-91287 and 63-290793.

As magenta dyes, JP-A-59-78896 and JP-A-6-78896
No. 0-30392, JP-A-60-30394, JP-A-60-25395,
JP-A-61-262190, JP-A-63-5992, JP-A-63-20
No. 5,288, JP-A-64-159, JP-A-64-63194, and the like, and anthraquinone dyes, azo dyes, and azomethine dyes.

As yellow dyes, JP-A-59-78896, JP-A-6-78896
0-27594, JP-A-60-31560, JP-A-60-53565,
Examples thereof include methine dyes, azo dyes, quinophthalone dyes and anthrisothiazole dyes described in JP-A-61-12394 and JP-A-63-122594.

As the dye, particularly preferred are azomethine dyes and phenols obtained by a coupling reaction between a compound having an open-chain or closed-type active methylene group and an oxidized p-phenylenediamine derivative or an oxidized p-aminophenol derivative. Or naphthol derivative and p-
An indoaniline dye obtained by a coupling reaction with an oxidized form of a phenylenediamine derivative or an oxidized form of a p-aminophenol derivative. In the case of these dyes, high sensitivity and good color reproducibility are achieved particularly in the constitution of the present invention.

Also, a chelatable dye represented by the following general formula [II] or [III] can be preferably used.

[Wherein, X ₁ represents a group of atoms necessary to complete an aromatic carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring in which at least one ring is composed of 5 to 7 atoms; At least one of the carbon atoms adjacent to the bond is (a) a nitrogen atom, or (b) a carbon atom substituted with a nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur atom, and X ₂ has at least one ring G represents a group of atoms necessary to complete an aromatic carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring composed of 5 to 7 atoms, and G represents a chelating group. ] [Wherein, X ₁ has the same meaning as defined in formula [II], Z ₁ represents an electron withdrawing group, and Z ₂ represents an alkyl group or an aryl group. In a thermal transfer recording material using a chelatable dye represented by the general formula (II) or (III), the dye reacts with a metal ion added to an image receiving layer of an image receiving material to form a chelate dye. By forming, an image having excellent fixability and weather resistance can be obtained.

As a binder which is one component forming the colorant layer in the present invention, cellulose-based, polyacrylic acid-based, polyvinyl alcohol-based, water-soluble polymer such as polyvinylpyrrolidone-based, acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polysulfone, Examples thereof include polymers soluble in organic solvents such as polyether sulfone, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, nitrocellulose, and ethyl cellulose.

Further, as the layer adjacent to the color material layer in the present invention,
Examples include a layer provided between the color material layer and the support (undercoat layer) and a layer provided above the color material layer (protective layer).

Examples of the undercoat layer include an adhesive layer provided for the purpose of enhancing the adhesion between the color material layer and the support, and a diffusion prevention layer provided for preventing the diffusion of the color material toward the support.

These layers are composed mainly of the polymer forming the binder, and various additives (for example, a release agent, an adhesive, a heat-fusible substance, etc.) are added as necessary.

In the case of a diffusion preventing layer, gelatin is preferably used in addition to the binder.

In the present invention, the colorant layer and / or a layer adjacent to the colorant layer is provided with the general formula [I] of the present invention.
The compound represented by is contained.

Whatever the layer, the amount of the compound represented by the general formula [I] used in the present invention is usually
It is 0.01 to 10 g per 1 m ^{2 of the} support, more preferably 0.05 to 10 g.
5.0 g. The amount of the dye used is usually
The amount is 0.05 to 5 g, and more preferably 0.1 to 2.0 g, per 1 m ² .

The amount of the binder used for the color material layer and the layer adjacent to the color material layer is usually 0.1 g to 50 g, preferably 0.2 to 5 g per 1 m ^{2 of} the support.

The thickness of the color material layer is 0.1 μm to 5 μm in dry film thickness.
m, preferably 0.5 to 3 μm.

In the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention, the coloring material is formed on a support.

Any material may be used as the support as long as it has good dimensional stability and can withstand heat during recording with a thermal head.
Thin paper such as condenser paper or glassine paper, or a heat-resistant plastic film such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, or polycarbonate can be used.

The thickness of the support is preferably from 2 to 30 μm, and the support may have an undercoat layer for the purpose of improving adhesion with a binder or transferring a dye to the support, or preventing dyeing. Good.

Further, a slipping layer may be provided on the back surface of the support (the side opposite to the ink layer) for the purpose of preventing the head from sticking to the support.

The coloring material layer is prepared by dissolving or dispersing one or more of the coloring materials in a solvent together with a binder in the form of fine particles to prepare a coloring material layer-containing coating material containing the coloring material. It is obtained by applying a coating material on a support and drying.

When a polymer soluble in an organic solvent is used as the binder, the polymer may be used in the form of a latex dispersion as well as being dissolved in the organic solvent.

As a solvent for preparing a paint for forming a color material layer,
Water, alcohols (eg, ethanol, propanol), cellosolves (eg, methylcellosolve), esters (eg, ethyl acetate), aromatics (eg, toluene, xylene, chlorobenzene), ketones (eg, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone), Examples include ethers (eg, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane), chlorinated solvents (eg, chloroform, trichloroethylene), and the like.

The dye thus obtained is applied on a support using a bar coater, roll coater, reverse roll coater, knife coater, rod coater, air doctor coater, screen printing, gravure printing, or the like.

The heat-sensitive transfer recording material of the present invention basically has a structure in which a colorant layer comprising a compound represented by the general formula [I] of the present invention, a dye and a binder is provided on a support. A color material layer comprising a dye and a binder is provided thereon, and a structure comprising a layer containing the compound represented by the general formula [I] of the present invention is further laminated on the color material layer, or a support. On top, a color material layer containing a color material and a binder and a layer adjacent to the color material layer are formed, and both layers contain a compound represented by the general formula [I]. However, on the color material layer,
It may have a heat-fusible layer containing a heat-fusible compound as described in JP-A-59-106,997.

As the heat-fusible compound, a colorless or white compound having a melting point of 65 to 130 ° C. is preferably used, for example, carnauba wax, beeswax, waxes such as candeli wax, stearic acid, higher fatty acids such as behenic acid, Examples thereof include alcohols such as xylitol, amides such as acetamide and benzoamide, and ureas such as phenylurea and diethylurea.

In addition, these heat-meltable layers may contain a polymer such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinylbutyral, and saturated polyester in order to enhance the retention of the heat-meltable compound.

The heat-sensitive transfer recording material of the present invention can form a single-color image by including a kind of urea in the color material layer. However, when recording a full-color image, a cyan color material containing a cyan dye is used. It is preferable that a total of three layers, a layer, a magenta color material layer containing a magenta dye, and a yellow color material layer containing a yellow dye, are sequentially and repeatedly applied on the same surface of the support. Even in such a case, the three layers contain the compound represented by the general formula [I].

If necessary, a yellow color material layer, a magenta color material layer,
A color material layer containing a black image forming substance in addition to the cyan color material layer,
A total of four layers may be sequentially and repeatedly applied on the same surface of the support.

Using the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention, an image can be formed as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, when an image receiving material 3 having an image receiving substrate 1 and an image receiving layer 2 is used, and a heat-sensitive transfer recording material 6 is composed of a support 4 and a color material layer 5, from the support 4 side For example, when irradiated with light corresponding to image information, for example, a laser beam, the compound represented by the general formula [I] in the color material layer 5 converts the light energy of the laser beam into heat energy and generates heat. The dye in the color material 5 is diffused and transferred to the image receiving material 3, and an image is formed in the image receiving layer 2 by the dye compound.

The image receiving base can be generally formed of paper, a plastic film, or a paper-plastic film composite. The image receiving layer is formed of one or more polymer layers such as a polyester resin, a polyvinyl chloride resin, a copolymer resin of vinyl chloride and another monomer (for example, vinyl acetate), polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and polycarbonate. can do.

The image receiving layer may contain a basic compound and / or a mordant.

The basic compound is not particularly limited, but an inorganic or organic basic compound is used, and examples thereof include calcium carbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium acetate, and alkylamine.

As the mordant, a compound having a tertiary amino group,
Compounds having a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group and compounds having these quaternary cation groups are included.

Further, the image receiving layer may contain a releasing agent such as silicone oil, an antioxidant, and an image stabilizer such as a UV absorber, if necessary.

Further, when the coloring material layer contains a sublimable dye represented by the general formula [II] or a sublimable dye represented by the general formula, metal ions are added to the image receiving material or to the heat fusible layer. It is desirable to be present.

Examples of the metal ion include divalent and polyvalent metals belonging to Groups I to XIII of the periodic table.
Al, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sn, Ti and Zn are preferred, and Ni, Cu, Cr, Co and Zn are particularly preferred.

Examples of the compound that supplies these metal ions (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a metal source) include an inorganic or organic salt of the metal and a complex of the metal, and among them, an organic acid salt and a complex are preferable.

Specific examples include Ni ²⁺ , Cu ²⁺ , Cr ² , ⁺ Co ²⁺ and Zn ²⁺
And lower acids such as acetic acid and acetic acid, salts of higher fatty acids such as stearic acid, and salts of aromatic carboxylic acids such as benzoic acid and salicylic acid.

Further, a complex represented by the following general formula can also be preferably used.

_{[M '(Q 1) (} Q 2) m (Q 3) n] p + (W -) p where in the above formula, M' is a metal ion, preferably N
^{i 2+, Cu 2+, Cr 2+} , Co 2+, represent Zn ^2.

Q ₁ , Q ₂ and Q ₃ each represent a coordination compound capable of coordinating with the metal ion represented by M ′, and may be the same or different.

These coordination compounds can be selected, for example, from the coordination compounds described in Chelate Chemistry (5) (Nankodo).

W represents an organic anion, and specific examples include a tetraphenylboron anion and an alkylbenzenesulfonic acid anion.

l represents an integer of 1, 2 or 3, m represents 1, 2 or 0, and n represents 1 or 0, and these are those in which the complex represented by the above general formula is tetradentate or hexadentate. Or the number of ligands of Q ₁ , Q ₂ , Q ₃ .

 p represents 1 or 2, but is preferably 2.

When p is 2, the coordination groups of the coordination compounds represented by Q ₁ , Q ₂ and Q ₃ are not anionized.

In addition to the above, JP-B-36-11535, JP-A-55-482
Complex compounds described in Nos. 10 and 55-129346 can also be used as the metal source.

The addition amount of the metal source is usually to an image-receiving material or the thermally fusible layer is preferably ^{0.2~20g / m 2, 1~10g / m} 2
Is more preferred.

Next, an example of a suitable image receiving material is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the image receiving material is such that a polyethylene layer 11a, 11b is laminated on both sides of a paper 10, and a polyethylene layer 11a is formed on one side thereof.
In addition, it has a configuration in which a polyvinyl chloride layer 12 as an image receiving layer is further laminated.

Further, as another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the thermal transfer recording medium is provided with a color material layer formed of a binder as a color material on a support, and the color material layer is further provided adjacent to the color material layer. When a layer containing the compound represented by the formula is provided, when a laser beam corresponding to, for example, image information is irradiated from the support side, the compound represented by the general formula [I] contained in the coloring material layer Converts the light energy of the laser light into heat energy and generates heat, and the generated heat causes the dye in the color material layer to diffuse and transfer to the image receiving material, thereby forming an image of the dye compound in the image receiving layer.

Further, as another embodiment of the thermal transfer recording material, as shown in FIG. 3, a thermal fusible layer 9 is provided on the surface of the color material layer 5 on which the thermal transfer recording material 7 is provided on the surface of the support 4. When the color material layer contains the compound represented by the formula (I), when the support is irradiated with a laser beam according to, for example, image information, the compound contained in the color material layer The compound represented by the formula [I] converts light energy of laser light into heat energy and generates heat.
The dye in the color material layer 5 diffuses and transfers to the heat-meltable layer 9, and then the heat-meltable substance 9a containing the dye transfers to the image receiving material 13 by cohesive failure or interface peeling.

When the thermal transfer recording material shown in FIG. 3 is used, the image receiving material is not particularly limited as long as the material can hold the peeled heat-fusible layer. It may be an image receiving material used for a thermal transfer recording material having a color material layer on a support (shown in FIG. 1 as an example). May be adopted.

As described in detail above, in the present invention, the compound represented by the general formula [I] converts light energy corresponding to image information into heat energy, and diffuses a dye into the image receiving material by the converted heat energy. Forming an image on the surface of the image receiving material by moving, or melting the layer in which the dye is present by the converted thermal energy, transferring the molten layer containing the dye to the image receiving material by cohesive failure or interface destruction, Thus, an image is formed.

〔Example〕

Example 1 <Preparation of Thermal Transfer Recording Material> On a 100 μm polyethylene terephthalate base undercoated with gelatin, a coating solution having the following composition was applied so that the coating weight of the dye was 1.0 g / m ^2. To prepare a heat-sensitive transfer recording material-1.

Cyan dye (below) 5 g Compound (I-1) of the present invention 3 g Nitrocellulose resin 8 g Methyl ethyl ketone 200 ml <Preparation of image receiving material> Polyvinyl chloride (coated amount: 10 g / m ² ) is coated on a paper support laminated with polyethylene (including white pigment (titanium dioxide) and bluing agent on the side coated with polyvinyl chloride). Thus, an image receiving material was prepared.

The image receiving layer has a polyester modified silicone of 0.15 g / m ^2.
Was included.

The image receiving material was wound on the drum, and the image receiving layer surface of the image receiving material was superimposed on the color material layer surface of the thermal transfer recording material-1, and the thermal transfer recording material-1 was wound. The drum was rotated at 160 rpm with respect to this material. Then, a laser beam of 830 nm was irradiated with a spot diameter of 40 μm and an exposure time of 5 msec to transfer the cyan dye onto the image receiving material.

The irradiation energy was about 45 microwatts / μm ² .

 A cyan image having a density of 1.89 was obtained on the image receiving material.

(Comparative Examples 1 to 3) From the heat-sensitive transfer recording material-1 to the compound I-1 of the present invention.
Comparative Thermal Transfer Recording Material-A (Comparative Example 1) formed in the same manner as Thermal Transfer Recording Material-1 except that was excluded, and carbon was added as an infrared absorbing compound instead of compound I-1 of the present invention. Comparative thermal transfer recording material-B (Comparative Example 2) formed in the same manner as the thermal transfer recording material-1 except for the following, and as an infrared absorbing compound, the following infrared absorbing dye was used instead of the compound I-1 of the present invention. Thermal transfer recording material except for the addition
Comparative Thermal Transfer Recording Material-C (Comparative Example 3) was prepared in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1 (the amount of the infrared absorbing dye added was the same as in Compound I-1).

A cyan image was formed on these comparative heat-sensitive transfer recording materials in the same manner as in the case of the heat-sensitive transfer recording material-1. However, almost no transfer image was obtained with the comparative heat-sensitive transfer material-A. With Material-B, only a transfer image with a density of 1.24 having unevenness was obtained. Further, in Comparative Thermal Transfer Recording Material-C, an image having a density (1.79) was obtained.

On the other hand, the thermal transfer recording material-1 and the comparative thermal transfer recording material-C were allowed to stand at 77 ° C. and a relative humidity of 50 ° C. for 3 days to evaluate the storability of the materials.

When the thermal transfer recording material-1 after storage and the comparative thermal transfer recording material-C were subjected to image recording under the same conditions as above, a cyan image having a density of 1.86 was obtained with the thermal transfer recording material-1. The density of recording material-C is 1.
Dropped to 04.

This is presumed to be due to the fact that the infrared absorbing dye was decomposed in the comparative thermal transfer recording material-C during storage, the infrared density was reduced, and the thermal energy conversion efficiency of laser light was reduced. On the other hand, in the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention, a good image can be obtained by laser recording, and the storage stability is also good.

Example 2 Instead of compound I-1 in thermal transfer recording material-1, compounds I-3, I-4, I-6 and I-1 of the present invention were used.
Thermal transfer recording materials-2 to -8 which were the same as the thermal transfer recording material-1 were prepared except that 3, I-14 was used (the amount of addition was equimolar to the compound I-1). When image recording was performed on these heat-sensitive transfer recording materials in the same manner as in Example 1, a cyan image substantially similar to that of the heat-sensitive transfer recording material-1 could be obtained.

Example 3 The following dyes (a), (b), (c) and (d) were used in place of the cyan dye of the thermal transfer recording material-1,
Thermal transfer recording material same as thermal transfer recording material-1-11 to -14
It was created. An image was formed on the obtained thermal transfer recording materials -11 to -14 in the same manner as in Example 1.

The thermal transfer recording material-13, thermal transfer recording material-14
The image receiving material for ( ¹ ) further contains the following compound (metal source-added amount 5 g / m ² ) in the image receiving layer.

Metal source _{[Ni (NH 2 CH 2 CONH} 2) 3] 2+ [(C 6 H 5) 4 B] 2 - With respect to the thermal transfer recording materials -11 to -14, yellow or magenta images having the following densities were obtained.

Thermal transfer recording material Hue -11 Yellow 1.77 -12 Magenta 1.98 -13 Yellow 1.86 -14 Magenta 1.99 That is, if the material of the present invention is used, yellow, magenta and cyan images can be obtained. can get.

The thermal transfer recording material-13, thermal transfer recording material-14
The image obtained in the above was excellent in image fixability as compared with the other images.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a thermal transfer recording material capable of forming a clear image with good fixability and preservability on an image receiving material by irradiating light according to image information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of image formation using a thermal transfer recording material in the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image receiving material,
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the principle of image formation in the embodiment of the thermal transfer recording material of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image receiving base, 2 ... Image receiving layer, 3 ... Image receiving material, 4 ...
... Support, 5 ... Color material layer, 6,7 ... Thermal transfer recording material, 9 ... Heat-fusible layer, 10 ...
paper.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41M 5/38-5/40 CA (STN) REGISTRY (STN)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A thermal transfer material having a color material layer containing a color material that can be transferred by heat, wherein the color material layer and / or a layer adjacent to the color material layer is represented by the following general formula [I]. A heat-sensitive transfer recording material containing a compound. Wherein R ₁ is an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, an alkenyl group, an aralkyl group, an alkylthio group, an arylthio group, a carbamoyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, an acyl group, an amino group, a nitro group or Represents a polymer residue, R ₂ is a hydrogen atom,
Represents a monovalent substituent or a polymer residue, R ₃ represents a hydrogen atom or a monovalent substituent R ₄ , R ₅ represents an aliphatic group which may have a substituent, R ₄ and R ₅ , R ₃ and R ₄ , or R ₃ and R ₅ may combine with each other to form a ring. X represents a cyano group or a _{-CON (R 10) (R 11} ), - COOR 10, -C
OR ₁₀ (R ₁₀ and R ₁₁ represent an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group or a hydrogen atom). n represents an integer of 1 to 4. ]