JP3123001B2 - Method for producing composite thermal transfer sheet and image forming method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the production of a composite thermal transfer sheet .
It relates to a method and an image forming method, and more particularly relates to a composite thermal transfer sheet manufacturing method and an image forming method which is capable of forming a high-quality color images by a thermal transfer method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various thermal transfer methods are known. Among them, a sublimable dye is used as a recording agent, and this is carried on a base film such as paper or plastic film to form a thermal transfer sheet. There have been proposed methods of forming various full-color images on an image receiving sheet such as paper or plastic film provided with a layer. In this case, a thermal head of a printer is used as a heating means, and a large number of color dots of three or four colors are transferred to the image receiving sheet by heating for a very short time, and a full-color image of an original is formed by the multicolored dots. That is to reproduce.

[0003]

The image-receiving sheet on which an image can be formed by the above-mentioned method is limited to a dye-dyeable plastic sheet or a paper provided with a dye-receiving layer in advance. Has a problem that an image cannot be formed directly. Of course, even if it is a general plain paper, if the receiving layer is formed on the surface, an image can be formed, but this is generally costly.
It is difficult to apply to general ready-made image receiving sheets such as memos, stationery, report paper, and the like. As a method for solving such a problem, when an image is to be formed on a ready-made image receiving sheet such as plain paper, as a method of easily forming a dye receiving layer only on a necessary portion, a receiving layer transfer sheet is used. It is known (see, for example, JP-A-62-264994). As a method for further simplifying the operation, yellow, cyan, magenta and, if necessary, black dye layers are sequentially formed on the surface of the long base film, and a transfer receiving layer is further formed on the same base film surface. A composite thermal transfer sheet is provided, in which a receiving layer is first transferred to an image receiving sheet, and subsequently, a dye of each color is transferred to the receiving layer to form a full-color image. Further, protection for protecting the formed dye image is known. A composite thermal transfer sheet further provided with layers in a sequential manner has also been proposed.

However, in the case of manufacturing a composite thermal transfer sheet including the above-described protective layer, there is a problem that a large number of printing times (coating times) are required to form each layer, and the manufacturing cost is increased. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, to reduce the manufacturing cost, and to provide a method and an image forming method for a composite thermal transfer sheet capable of forming a high-quality color image regardless of the type of image receiving sheet. Is to provide a way.

[0005]

The above object is achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention is the production of a composite thermal transfer sheet and one color on one side of the elongate base material film or a plurality of colors dye layer peelable transfer dye-receiving layer of the transcription protective layer surface sequentially provided In the method, the receiving layer and the inversion
Printable protective layer and printable form from the same resin in the same process
A method for producing a composite thermal transfer sheet .

[0006]

By printing the dye-receiving layer and the protective layer from substantially the same resin in the same step, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost. In an image formed by such a thermal transfer sheet, the receiving layer and the protective layer are made of the same resin, and therefore, there is no delamination between the receiving layer and the protective layer later. Further, the printer does not need to detect and adjust the distinction between the receiving layer and the protective layer during image formation.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments. The composite thermal transfer sheet obtained according to the present invention has a dye layer 2 of one color or a plurality of colors on one surface of a long base film 1, as schematically shown in the cross section of FIG. For example, yellow (2Y), magenta (2
M), cyan (2C) and optionally black (B
k) A dye layer 2 (not shown), a transferable dye receiving layer 3 (and an adhesive layer 4 provided on the surface thereof), and a transferable protective layer 5 (and an adhesive layer 4 provided on the surface thereof) are provided in order. The receiving layer and the protective layer are formed from substantially the same resin in the same process.
It is characterized by being formed by printing , and more preferably, each of the adhesive layers 4 is also formed of the same adhesive. FIG.
Another embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a case where an intermediate layer 6 is provided between the dye receiving layer 3 and the adhesive layer 4 in FIG. 1. In this case as well, the receiving layer and the protective layer (preferably the adhesive layer ) Are formed from substantially the same resin. The intermediate layer 6 may be formed from the same resin as the protective layer. 7 is a heat-resistant lubricating layer for the thermal head. Another embodiment shown in Figure 3, the dye-receiving layer region and a protective layer region bisected respectively 2, one as a protective layer region is an example in which the other receiving layer area, in this way Also, use the same resin
By performing printing and forming in the same process, it is not necessary to increase the number of printing or coating processes.

As the substrate film used in the present invention, the same substrate film as used in the conventional thermal transfer sheet can be used as it is, and other substrates can be used without any particular limitation. Specific examples of the preferred base film include, for example, thin paper such as glassine paper, condenser paper, and paraffin paper, polyester, polypropylene, cellophane, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, nylon, polyimide, and polyvinylidene chloride. And a base film in which these are combined with a plastic such as an ionomer or the above-mentioned paper. The thickness of the base film can be appropriately changed depending on the material so that the strength and heat resistance are appropriate, but the thickness is
Preferably, it is 3 to 100 μm.

The dye layer formed on the surface of the substrate film as described above is a layer in which the dye is carried by an optional binder resin. As the dye to be used, any dye conventionally used in a thermal transfer sheet can be effectively used in the present invention, and is not particularly limited. For example, some preferred dyes include red dyes such as MS Red G, Macrole
x Red Violet R, Ceres Red7B, Samaron Red HBSL, R
esolin RedF3BS, etc., and as the yellow dye, holon brilliant yellow 6GL, PTY-52, Macrolex Yellow 6G, etc., and as the blue dye, Kayaset Blue 714, Waxolin Blue AP- FW,
Holon Brilliant Blue SR, MS Blue 100 and the like.

As the binder resin for supporting the dye as described above, any conventionally known binder resin can be used. Preferred examples thereof include ethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, ethylhydroxycellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, methylcellulose and acetate. Cellulose resins such as cellulose and cellulose acetate butyrate,
Polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl resins such as polyacrylamide, polyester and the like, among these, cellulose,
Acetal type, butyral type, polyester type and the like are preferred from the viewpoint of heat resistance, dye transferability and the like.

The dye layer may further contain, if necessary, various conventionally known additives. Such a dye layer,
Preferably, the above-mentioned sublimable dye, binder resin and other optional components are added to an appropriate solvent to dissolve or disperse each component to prepare a dye layer-forming paint or ink. To form a film by applying and drying the film sequentially. The dye layer thus formed has a thickness of 0.2-5.
0 μm, preferably about 0.4 to 2.0 μm, and the sublimable dye in the dye layer is 5 to 5 weight of the dye layer.
Suitably it is present in an amount of 90% by weight, preferably 10-70% by weight. The dye receiving layer formed on the surface of the base film is for receiving the sublimable dye transferred from the thermal transfer sheet after transferring to an arbitrary image receiving sheet and maintaining the formed image.

The dye receiving layer (and the protective layer) is provided on the dye layer in a plane-sequential manner. The relationship with the dye layer is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one unit is generally in the order of a receiving layer (protective layer) → Y → M → C → Bk → protective layer (receptive layer). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, FIG.
Or another example. The dyes of each hue are usually provided on the same area, but the receiving layer (or protective layer) must be transferred twice or more depending on the type of the material to be transferred and the durability required for the image. May be required, so that it can be formed in a larger area. Prior to the formation of the receiving layer (protective layer), it is preferable to form a release layer (not shown) on the surface of the base film. Such a release layer is formed from a release agent such as a wax, a silicone wax, a silicone resin, a fluorine resin, and an acrylic resin. The method of formation may be the same as the method of forming the receiving layer described below,
A thickness of about 0.5 to 5 μm is sufficient. If a matte receiving layer is desired after transfer, the release layer may be made into a matte surface by incorporating various particles in the release layer or by using a base film having the release layer side surface matted. Of course, if the above-mentioned base film has an appropriate peeling property, it is not necessary to form a release layer.

Examples of resins for forming the dye receiving layer and the protective layer include polyolefin resins such as polypropylene, halogenated polymers such as polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinylidene chloride, and the like. Vinyl polymers such as vinyl acetate and polyacrylic ester, polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate, polystyrene resins, polyamide resins, copolymer resins of olefins such as ethylene and propylene with other vinyl monomers, ionomers And cellulose-based resins such as cellulose diacetate, and polycarbonate. Particularly preferred are vinyl-based resins and polyester-based resins. Preferred release agents to be used by mixing with the above resin include silicone oil, phosphate ester-based surfactant, fluorine-based surfactant and the like, and silicone oil is preferred. As the silicone oil, a modified silicone oil such as epoxy-modified, alkyl-modified, amino-modified, carboxyl-modified, alcohol-modified, fluorine-modified, alkylaralkyl-polyether-modified, epoxy / polyether-modified, or polyether-modified is preferred.

One or more release agents are used. The amount of the release agent is preferably 0.5 to 30 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the resin for forming the dye receiving layer (protective layer). If the addition amount is not satisfied, problems such as fusion of the thermal transfer sheet and the dye receiving layer or reduction in printing sensitivity may occur. By adding such a releasing agent to the dye receiving layer, the releasing agent bleeds out on the surface of the receiving layer after transfer to form a releasing layer. The receiving layer (protective layer) is formed by dissolving a resin obtained by adding a necessary additive such as a releasing agent to one surface of the above-mentioned base film in an appropriate organic solvent, or It is formed by applying and drying a dispersion dispersed in water or water by a forming means such as a gravure printing method, a screen printing method, or a reverse roll coating method using a gravure plate.

The dye receiving layer (protective layer) formed as described above may have any thickness, but generally has a thickness of 1 to 10 μm. Further, such a dye receiving layer (protective layer) is preferably a continuous coating, but may be formed as a discontinuous coating using a resin emulsion or a resin dispersion.
Further, it is preferable to provide an adhesive layer on the surface of the receiving layer (protective layer) in order to improve the transferability of these layers. These adhesive layers are formed, for example, by applying and drying a solution of a resin having good adhesiveness when heated, such as a polyamide resin, an acrylic resin, a vinyl chloride resin, a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, and a polyester resin. Preferably, it is formed to a thickness of about 0.5 to 10 μm.

Further, in the present invention, an intermediate layer 6 can be provided between the receiving layer and the adhesive layer as shown in FIG. Examples of the material constituting the intermediate layer include polyurethane resin, acrylic resin, polyethylene resin, butadiene rubber, and epoxy resin. The thickness of the intermediate layer is preferably about 2 to 10 μm. The method for forming the intermediate layer may be the same as that for the receiving layer. The adhesive layer and the intermediate layer may contain a white pigment, a fluorescent whitening agent and / or air bubbles. These white pigments and fluorescent whitening agents are used to improve the whiteness of the receiving layer after transfer, or to mask the pale yellow color of the recording material paper. Has the function of giving As a method of incorporating these additives, a white pigment or the like may be included in the coating liquid used when forming each layer. In this case, the protective layer must be transparent or translucent. Using the receiving layer transfer sheet as described above, the image receiving sheet for transferring the receiving layer and forming an image is not particularly limited. For example, plain paper, woodfree paper, tracing paper,
Any sheet such as plastic film may be used.
The shape may be any of cards, postcards, passports, stationery, report paper, notebooks, catalogs, etc., and is particularly applicable to plain paper having a rough surface and rough paper.

The transfer method of the receiving layer and the protective layer is performed by heating at a temperature at which the receiving layer or the adhesive layer is activated, such as a general printer having a thermal head for thermal transfer, a hot stamper for a transfer foil, a hot roll, or the like. Any possible heating and pressing means may be used. As a method for forming an image, any conventionally known means can be used. For example, a thermal printer (for example, a video printer VY-100 manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.) can be used.
The intended purpose can be sufficiently achieved by applying a thermal energy of about 5 to 100 mJ / mm ² by controlling the recording time with a recording device such as that described above.

[0018]

Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples and comparative examples. In the following description, parts and% are based on weight unless otherwise specified. Example 1 A heat-resistant lubricating layer was formed on the back surface, and the other surface was release-treated. A release-treated surface of a 4.5 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate film (manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.)
m formed a receiving layer (and an adhesive layer) and a protective layer (and an adhesive layer). 2. The receiving layer and the protective layer are obtained by drying a coating solution for the receiving layer (protective layer) having the following composition with a bar coater.
0 g / m ^2, and after pre-drying with a drier, drying in an oven at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes to form
The adhesive layer was formed in the same manner as described above by using the following adhesive solution, and applied and dried on the receiving layer surface and the protective layer surface at a rate of 3.0 g / m ² when dried.

Coating composition for receptor layer (protective layer) 100 parts vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin (1000 GKT, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo) Amino-modified silicone (X-22-343, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 3 parts Epoxy Modified silicone (KF-393, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) 3 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (weight ratio 1/1) 500 parts Coating liquid composition for adhesive layer Acrylic resin (BR-106, manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon) 100 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (Weight ratio 1/1) 300 parts Subsequently, an ink for a dye layer having the following composition was prepared, and the surface of the base film on which the receiving layer was not formed had a dry coating amount of 1.0 g / m ² with a width of 30 cm each. The resultant was applied and dried by a gravure coater to obtain a composite thermal transfer sheet of the present invention.

Ink composition for dye layer : Disperse dye (Kayaset Blue 714, manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) 4.0 parts Ethyl hydroxycellulose (manufactured by Hercules) 5.0 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (weight ratio 1/1) 80.0 parts Dioxane 10.0 parts In the same manner, the yellow thermal transfer sheet was treated with a yellow disperse dye (Macrolex Yellow 6G, manufactured by Bayer AG, CIDispe).
rse Yellow 201) and a magenta thermal transfer sheet was formed using a magenta disperse dye (CIDisperse Red 60). Example 2 In Example 1, the following intermediate layer coating solution was applied on the surface of the receiving layer at a rate of ² g / m ² and dried to form a white intermediate layer. Was obtained. Intermediate layer coating solution composition Acrylic resin (BR-106, manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon) 100 parts Titanium oxide (JEMCO Ltd., TCA888) 50 parts Methyl ethyl ketone / toluene (1/1 by weight) 400 parts of

Example 3 The receiving layer surface of the composite thermal transfer sheet of Example 1 was superimposed on a postcard, and using a thermal head, output 1 W / dot, pulse width 0.3 to 0.45 msec., Dot density 3 The receiving layer is transferred over the entire surface under the condition of dots / mm. Subsequently, a yellow signal obtained by color separation of the original is printed on the surface of the receiving layer, and a yellow dye layer is formed to form a yellow image. did. Further, a magenta dye was similarly transferred to the image area obtained above by a magenta signal, and a cyan dye was further transferred by a similar cyan signal to form a full-color image. Further, a protective layer was transferred to the image surface. Example 4 In Example 1, a receiving layer was formed to have a width of 90 cm, and the receiving layer was transferred twice in Example 3 using this composite thermal transfer sheet. Other than that, an image was formed in the same manner as in Example 3. Example 5 An image was formed in the same manner as in Example 3 except that the heat transfer sheet of Example 2 was used in Example 3. Example 6 The thermal transfer sheet of the present invention was formed in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the intermediate layer was formed without using titanium oxide in Example 2, and an image was formed in the same manner as in Example 3 using this. . Example 7 In Example 2, each layer was formed as shown in FIG. 3 to obtain a thermal transfer sheet of the present invention. Using this, an image was formed in the same manner as in Example 3. Comparative Example 1 In the same manner as in Example 3, except that the protective layer was not transferred. Comparative Example 2 Same as Example 3 except that the receiving layer and the protective layer in Example 2 were formed of different resins, and the respective adhesive layers were formed of thermal transfer sheets formed of different adhesives. An image was formed.

The number of coatings during the production of the thermal transfer sheet used above and the clarity and oil resistance of the obtained image were examined. The results shown in Table 1 below were obtained.

[Table 1]

[0023]

According to the present invention as described above, by forming the dye receiving layer and the protective layer (and the respective adhesive layers) by printing in the same step, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost. In an image formed by such a thermal transfer sheet, the receiving layer and the protective layer are made of the same resin, and therefore, there is no delamination between the receiving layer and the protective layer later. Further, the printer does not need to detect and adjust the distinction between the receiving layer and the protective layer during image formation.

[0024]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a composite thermal transfer sheet obtained by the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a composite thermal transfer sheet obtained according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of a composite thermal transfer sheet obtained by the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: base film 2: dye layer 3: dye receiving layer 4: adhesive layer 5: protective layer 6: intermediate layer 7: heat-resistant lubricating layer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-17089 (JP, A) JP-A-1-160682 (JP, A) JP-A-64-87390 (JP, A) JP-A-4- 320895 (JP, A) JP-A-4-197790 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41M 5/38-5/40

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A one surface in one color or multiple colors peelable transfer dye-receiving layer and the transcription protective layer and the surface sequentially set the dye layer of the elongate base material film Keru production of a composite heat transfer sheet Method
In the above, the receiving layer and the transferable protective layer are substantially the same.
Printed from the same resin in the same process
A method for producing a composite thermal transfer sheet. 2. The receiving layer and the protective layer are identical.
3. The method for producing a composite thermal transfer sheet according to item 1 . 3. The transferable receiving layer includes an intermediate layer and an adhesive layer, and at least one of these layers contains at least one selected from the group consisting of a white pigment, a fluorescent whitening agent and air bubbles. A method for producing the composite thermal transfer sheet according to claim 1.
Law. 4. The composite thermal transfer sheet according to claim 3, wherein the intermediate layer and the protective layer are formed from substantially the same resin .
Production method. 5. Using a thermal transfer sheets obtained at to claim 1, the receiving layer with respect to the transfer material, an image forming method which comprises causing sequentially transfer dye image and a protective layer.