JP3241248B2 - Thermal transfer recording device with thermal transfer recording medium reproduction mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording medium which is a recording medium in a thermal transfer recording apparatus used as an output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a word processor and a facsimile, and more particularly to a used thermal transfer recording medium. The present invention relates to a recording apparatus having a reproducing mechanism using a recording material for thermal transfer so that it can be used a plurality of times by reproducing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, various printers are used as output terminal devices of information processing apparatuses such as word processors, facsimile machines, computers, and the like. Various methods have been proposed. Among these, the thermal transfer method is more widely used than ever, and at present the melt thermal transfer recording method is the mainstream from the viewpoint of price.

The conventional thermal transfer recording medium of the thermal transfer system has to be discarded by one-time use, and there is a problem in that the running cost required for printing becomes extremely high in consideration of the running cost. Therefore, in order to provide a thermal transfer recording material that can be used multiple times and a thermal transfer recording medium using the same, a method for reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium with a simple configuration can be used. In addition, playback devices have been researched and developed in recent years.

A thermal transfer recording material containing a photopolymerizable monomer or a photopolymerizable polymer, a colorant and a low melting point resin or wax is applied on a base material or applied to a defective ink portion of a thermal transfer recording medium used for a recording operation. Irradiation with light, particularly ultraviolet rays, causes a polymerization reaction to cure the thermal transfer recording material, thereby forming or reproducing a solid ink layer.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus having a conventional thermal transfer recording medium reproducing mechanism therein.

In the thermal transfer recording apparatus main body 21, an endless ink ribbon 1 'as a thermal transfer recording medium in which an ink layer made of a thermal transfer recording material is formed on an endless base film having both ends connected. Are kept in tension by a pair of guide rollers 20, 20, a pressure roller 23, which is pressed against the recording material supply roller 12 with the ink ribbon 1 ′, and a thermal head 4.
The ink ribbon 1 'is configured to be transferred at a constant speed by a drive mechanism (not shown).

A platen roller 16 for holding and transporting the recording paper 5 used for print recording is provided in the main body 21. The endless ink ribbon 1 'is held by the Roller 16
, So that desired print recording is performed.

A recording material tank 18 is disposed in the thermal transfer recording apparatus main body 21, and the recording material tank 18 is filled with a liquid thermal transfer recording material. The recording material tank 18 is provided with a recording material supply roller 12 that is rotationally driven by a driving unit (not shown). The recording material supply roller 12 is rotationally driven to thereby transfer heat in the recording material tank 18. The recording material adheres to the outer peripheral surface and is pumped up.

The surface of the ink ribbon 1 ′ is pressed against the recording material supply roller 12, and an ink layer formed by curing the recording material formed on the ink ribbon 1 ′ comes into contact with the recording material supply roller 12. Will be done. In the vicinity of the recording material supply roller 12, there is provided a film thickness control device 7 composed of a blade for uniformly controlling the film thickness of the thermal transfer recording material applied to the ink ribbon 1 'by the recording material supply roller 12. I have.

A guide roller 17 and a cleaning roller 9 are disposed on the left and right with an interval therebetween. The ink ribbon 1 'is adapted to travel in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise) in the drawing, so that the ink ribbon 1' comes into contact with the cleaning roller 9 after coming into contact with the recording material supply roller 12. Has become.

An ultraviolet ray irradiator 8 for curing the thermal transfer recording material applied to the ink ribbon 1 ′ is opposed to the base material of the ink ribbon 1 ′ between the recording material supply roller 12 and the cleaning roller 9. It is located inside 1 '. Further, a heating device 10 for annealing the thermal transfer recording material on the ink ribbon 1 ′ faces the thermal transfer recording material on the ink ribbon 1 ′ downstream of the cleaning roller 9 in the running direction of the ink ribbon 1 ′. Are arranged as follows.

[0012]

Although it depends on the type, shape and surface condition of the pigment serving as the colorant contained in the thermal transfer recording material, ultraviolet curing using an opaque color pigment generally requires no curing. In comparison, there is a problem that the curing speed becomes slow because the behavior of the ultraviolet rays changes.

At the time of ultraviolet curing, since the reaction is usually performed in an air (oxygen) atmosphere, the radical polymerization reaction is inhibited by oxygen, and the surface curing is slower than in the ink, so that the complete curing speed is slow.

In general, ultraviolet curable ink is a composition having a high viscosity, so that radicals hardly move, and the addition of a thermoplastic material such as wax for thermal transfer ink further exacerbates this problem. As the curing speed slows down.

Therefore, as a means for completely curing in a short time, there is a method of increasing the intensity of ultraviolet rays. However, this requires a lamp with a high power supply. Along with this, there arises a problem of heat dissipation due to the increase in cost and the increase in size of the lamp.

As another means for completely curing in a short time,
There is a method in which radical polymerization is performed in an inert gas such as nitrogen. However, the use of an inert atmosphere increases the cost, and its practical use is limited.

Further, since the surface curing speed is low, the photopolymerizable monomer remains in an uncured state in the surface layer, and causes a problem of volatilization of the photopolymerizable monomer upon annealing and a problem of contamination upon thermal transfer.

The slower curing of the thermal transfer recording material as described above means that the reproduction speed of the thermal transfer recording medium becomes slower, and as a result, the processing speed of the recording apparatus becomes slower.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. At the same time as the printing operation, the ink layer reproduction speed by ultraviolet curing is increased with a simple structure to reproduce a once used thermal transfer recording medium. Is what you do. As described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer recording apparatus provided with a reproducing mechanism for reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium faster.

[0020]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer recording apparatus, comprising:
A mechanism for printing using the thermal transfer recording medium, and a driving unit for running the thermal transfer recording medium while printing is performed, and as a means for reproducing the used thermal transfer recording medium that has contributed to printing, the thermal transfer recording material is heated. Mechanism and the heat transfer
The thermal transfer recording is performed so that the thickness of the recording medium is uniform.
A mechanism for applying the material on the thermal transfer recording medium, the thermal
While the recording material is heated, the heat transfer recording medium is
Only the thermal transfer recording material applied to the damaged portion, or
Mark the whole of the fabric by said thermal transfer recording material, have a mechanism for hard <br/> by light irradiation, a cured the thermal transfer recording material
Character .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer recording apparatus, comprising: a mechanism for printing using a thermal transfer recording medium; and a driving unit for running the thermal transfer recording medium while printing.
As means for reproducing the used thermal transfer recording medium that has contributed to printing, the thickness of the thermal transfer recording medium becomes uniform.
As described above , a mechanism for applying the thermal transfer recording material on the thermal transfer recording medium , a mechanism for making the surface of the applied thermal transfer recording material an anaerobic atmosphere, and under an anaerobic atmosphere ,
The thermal transfer recording material applied to a defective portion of the thermal transfer recording medium
Material only, or the whole of the applied thermal transfer recording material
And possess a mechanism that is cured by light irradiation, it was precured
It is characterized in that the thermal transfer recording material is printed .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer recording apparatus, comprising: a mechanism for printing using a thermal transfer recording medium; and a driving unit for running the thermal transfer recording medium while printing.
As a means for reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium of spent that contributed to printing, a mechanism for heating the thermal transfer recording material, wherein
The thermal transfer is performed so that the thickness of the thermal transfer recording medium is uniform.
A mechanism for applying a recording material onto the thermal transfer recording medium , a mechanism for making the surface of the applied thermal transfer recording material an anaerobic atmosphere, and the thermal recording material is heated under an anaerobic atmosphere.
Before being applied to the defective portion of the thermal transfer recording medium
The thermal transfer recording material alone or the applied thermal transfer
It has a mechanism to cure the entire recording material by light irradiation.
And printing the cured thermal transfer recording material .

[0023]

[Function] By heating the thermal transfer recording material,
In general, since the viscosity of a high-viscosity ultraviolet-curable ink (thermal transfer recording material) decreases, radicals, which are an ultraviolet-curing reaction factor, are likely to move. The curing speed is faster than when no heat is applied.

Further, in an anaerobic atmosphere, since the inhibition of oxygen which hinders a radical reaction disappears, the curing speed is higher than in an aerobic atmosphere.

Further, when the thermal transfer recording material is heated and the thermal transfer recording material is cured by ultraviolet light in an anaerobic atmosphere, the above-mentioned individual effects are exhibited, and the curing speed is further increased.

[0026]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording medium will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1E, the thermal transfer recording medium 1
Is an ink layer 1 made of a recording material for thermal transfer on a substrate 1a.
b is formed in a laminated manner.
The thermal transfer recording material constituting b contains, as a main component, an ultraviolet curable resin which is cured by irradiating ultraviolet light as light, and optionally contains about 0 to 10% of an ultraviolet absorber, a coloring agent, and other trace additives. It is a blended composition.

The UV-curable resin is mainly composed of three components: a photopolymerizable prepolymer, a photopolymerizable monomer, and a photoinitiator, and the photopolymerizable prepolymer contained therein is usually 0 to 99% by weight. And is an important component that forms the skeleton of the resin.

The photopolymerizable polymer is a polymer which is further polymerized by a photochemical action, and is sometimes called a photopolymerizable unsaturated polymer or a photopolymerizable oligomer.

The photopolymerizable monomer plays a role of a diluent for the photopolymerizable prepolymer. Usually, the photopolymerizable monomer is added in an amount of 0 to 99 parts by weight to ensure practical workability of the ink and to irradiate ultraviolet rays. Occasionally, due to the action of the terminal functional group, it itself participates in the polymerization reaction. This polymerization reactive monomer is a monofunctional monomer depending on the number of functional groups,
It can be classified as a polyfunctional monomer. In particular, the polyfunctional monomer plays a role of a crosslinking agent that forms a bridge between polymers.

The photoinitiator absorbs ultraviolet rays and triggers the polymerization reaction.

The recording material for thermal transfer forming the ink layer 1b in the present embodiment includes, in addition to the three components described above,
Further, additives such as a sensitizer, a pigment, a filler, a leveling agent, and a viscoelasticity modifier are added as required.

The schematic configuration diagram shown in FIG. 2 is such that a recording mechanism for reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium is provided inside the main body, so that printing and recording of the thermal transfer recording medium once used for the recording operation are simultaneously performed to replace the ink ribbon cassette. This is an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording apparatus which can be used for a long time or continuously without performing the recording.

In the thermal transfer recording apparatus main body 21, an endless ink ribbon 1 'as a thermal transfer recording medium having an ink layer formed on an endless base film having both ends connected thereto is provided with a pair of guide rollers. The thermal head 4 is maintained in a tensioned state by the thermal head 4, the pressing roller 23, which presses the recording medium supply roller 12 with the ink ribbon 1 ′ pressed against the recording material supply roller 12. The ink ribbon 1 'is configured to be transferred at a constant speed by a drive mechanism (not shown). As a material of the base film, it is desirable to use polyimide or polyamide having high heat resistance and high mechanical abrasion so as to withstand long-term use.

Further, a platen roller 16 for holding and transporting the recording paper 5 used for print recording is disposed in the thermal transfer recording apparatus main body 21, and the endless ink ribbon 1 ′ is moved by the thermal head 4. A desired print recording is performed by being pressed against the platen roller 16.

A heating type recording material tank 25 is disposed in the thermal transfer recording apparatus main body 21, and the heating type recording material tank 25 is filled with a liquid thermal transfer recording material. The heating type recording material tank 25 is provided with a recording material supply roller 12 which is rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown). The thermal transfer recording material in the tank 25 is attached to the outer peripheral surface and is pumped up.

The surface of the ink ribbon 1 ′ is brought into pressure contact with the recording material supply roller 12, and an ink layer formed by curing the recording material formed on the ink ribbon 1 ′ is brought into contact with the recording material supply roller 12. Will be. In the vicinity of the recording material supply roller 12, there is provided a film thickness control device 7 composed of a blade for uniformly controlling the film thickness of the thermal transfer recording material applied to the ink ribbon 1 'by the recording material supply roller 12. I have.

A guide roller 17 and a cleaning roller 9 are disposed on the left and right with an interval therebetween. The ink ribbon 1 'runs in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise) in the figure.

An ultraviolet irradiator 8 for curing the thermal transfer recording material applied to the ink ribbon 1 ′ is positioned between the recording material supply roller 12 and the cleaning roller 9 so as to face the base material of the ink ribbon 1 ′. It is located inside 1 '. An anaerobic device 27 is provided on the opposite side of the ultraviolet irradiator 8 so as to sandwich the ink ribbon 1 '. Further, a heating device 10 for annealing the thermal transfer recording material on the ink ribbon 1 ′ faces the thermal transfer recording material on the ink ribbon 1 ′ downstream of the cleaning roller 9 in the running direction of the ink ribbon 1 ′. Are arranged as follows.

Next, the operation of the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the above embodiment will be described.

The recording paper 5 is conveyed between the thermal head 4 and the platen roller 16, and the endless ink ribbon 1 'located between the platen roller 16 and the thermal head 4 by the thermal head 4 as in a normal thermal transfer recording apparatus.
Is thermally transferred to the recording paper 5 to perform desired print recording.

By transferring the ink, the ink ribbon 1 '
The ink deficient portion generated in the above step moves to a position facing the recording material supply roller 12 by the transfer of the ink ribbon 1 ′, and the heating inside the heating type recording material tank 25 pumped by the recording material supply roller 12 at this position. The applied thermal transfer recording material is applied over the entire surface. After the film thickness of the thermal transfer recording material applied at the position facing the film thickness control device 7 is controlled to be constant, the surface of the thermal transfer recording medium is isolated from the air atmosphere by the anaerobic device 27, and at the same time, by the ultraviolet irradiator 8 Ultraviolet rays are irradiated from the back side, and the recording material for thermal transfer applied to the defective portion of the ink is cured, whereby the ink layer is reproduced.

The thermal transfer recording material applied to the surface of the ink ribbon 1 ′, except for the ink deficient portion, that is, the excess material which has been applied to the place where the ink layer remains and has not been cured by the irradiation of ultraviolet rays, is cleaned by the cleaning roller 9. Then, by removing the boundary between the ink layer reproduced by the annealing treatment by the heating device 10 and the remaining ink layer, a series of thermal transfer recording medium reproducing steps is completed, and the reproduced image is reproduced. The ink ribbon 1 'is transferred to a position facing the thermal head 4 and is used again for printing.

Next, the reproduction process of the above-mentioned thermal transfer recording medium will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1A, a thermal transfer recording medium 1 such as a used ink ribbon or an ink sheet has an unprinted ink layer 1b remaining on a substrate 1a. Substrate 1a between the ink layers 1b and 1b
Above, an ink deficient portion 1c is formed because the ink layer is transferred and recorded on the recording paper.

In order to regenerate the used thermal transfer recording medium 1 as shown in FIG. 1A so that it can be used again, the coating ink 2 which is the thermal transfer recording material having the above-described configuration is heated by the heating type recording material tank 25. Then, the heated recording material for thermal transfer is applied to the entire surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 including the ink deficient portion 1c by a roller or the like.

Thereafter, the film thickness of the coating ink 2 is made uniform by moving the film thickness control device 7 such as a knife or a blade (FIG. 1B). Here, the application ink 2 to be applied
Is ideal as long as the thickness of the ink deficient portion 1c is equal to that of the ink deficient portion 1c. However, even if the ink adheres to the surface of the untransferred ink layer 1b remaining on the base material 1a. There is no particular problem because there is a cleaning step described later.

In the step shown in FIG. 1 (C), the entire surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 on which the coating ink 2 is applied, is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the transparent base material 1a side, that is, the back side by the ultraviolet irradiator 8. . As a light source of the ultraviolet irradiator 8,
For example, a low-pressure or high-pressure mercury lamp, a mercury xenon, a metal halide lamp or the like that emits ultraviolet light is used. During this ultraviolet irradiation, the front side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1
It is isolated from the air atmosphere by the anaerobic device 27.

Even by this ultraviolet irradiation, the untransferred remaining ink layer 1b has already been cured, so that there is no change, and the coating ink 2 applied on the untransferred ink layer 1b is irradiated. Ink layer 1 to which ultraviolet rays have not been transferred
Since it is blocked by b and does not penetrate to the surface, it does not cause a polymerization reaction by ultraviolet rays and maintains a liquid state.
On the other hand, the applied ink 2 applied to the ink deficient portion 1c is irradiated with the ultraviolet light transmitted through the light-transmissive base material 1a, so that a polymerization reaction occurs and the resin is cured to be reproduced as the ink layer 2a. As described above, it is possible to only cure the applied ink 2 existing in the ink defective portion 1c.

In the cleaning step shown in FIG.
Excess uncured ink 2b which has not been cured without reacting in the ultraviolet irradiation step shown in FIG. 1 (C) is wiped off by the cleaning roller 9 and removed, thereby completing one cycle of the regeneration step.

In particular, when reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium 1 for performing high-definition printing, the annealing step (FIG. 1)
(E)) can be further added. The boundary portion 3 between the remaining ink layer 1b and the newly regenerated ink layer 2a is further restored, and a heating annealing process is performed from the surface side of the ink layer 1b using a heating device 10 such as a halogen lamp. By additionally adding an annealing step, the ink layer at the boundary portion 3 is made compatible to make the boundary portion 3 disappear. As a means for performing this heat annealing treatment, a contact heating method using a thermal head or the like can be used in addition to the above-described non-contact heating method using a halogen lamp light source.

This annealing step is effective as a means to be used together when extremely high-definition printing of a photographic image or the like is required. In the case of ordinary character printing or the like, there is no problem even if it is omitted.

Next, a specific example of the above-described method for reproducing a thermal transfer recording medium will be described.

A coloring agent is added to an ultraviolet curable ink obtained by adding neopentyl glycol diacrylate (65 parts by weight) as an ultraviolet curable resin, hydroxypropyl methacrylate (30 parts by weight), and an acetophenone-based compound (5 parts by weight) as a photoreaction initiator. As carbon black (20 parts by weight) and paraffin wax (30
Parts by weight) to prepare an ink as a thermal transfer recording material.

The prepared ink was put into a heatable ink reservoir, and the surface of the 3.5 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate film manufactured by Teijin Co., Ltd. was subjected to a back treatment with a solution of Cymac US350 / methyl ethyl ketone manufactured by Toagosei Chemical Co., Ltd. at 50 ° C. After gravure coating the ink heated to
A 10mm thick plate-like fluororesin is stuck on the coating surface,
Center wavelength 365 nm, 20 mW / cm2 from PET back
The entire surface was irradiated with ultraviolet rays for 15 seconds to cure the ink, thereby producing an ink ribbon as a thermal transfer recording medium. When this ink ribbon was attached to a thermal transfer printer (resolution: 400 dpi) manufactured by Star Seimitsu Co., and printing was performed, an image having an image density of 1.2 and good edge reproducibility was obtained.

Thereafter, the used ink ribbon was set in a reproducing apparatus, and the ink having the composition described above was applied and irradiated with ultraviolet rays by the above-described method and procedure, thereby reproducing the defective ink portion. Since the ink used in this embodiment does not require an organic solvent after irradiation with ultraviolet light, a felt cleaner including a cleaning roller having a surface made of felt is used as a cleaning device, and the felt cleaner is immersed in a small amount of an organic solvent. Thus, unnecessary unreacted ink adhering to portions other than the ink deficient portion is cleaned, but in the case of this embodiment, a dry cleaning method that does not use an organic solvent can be applied.

When the thus reproduced ink ribbon was mounted on the printer and printing was performed again, an image having an image density of 1.1 which is comparable to the previous one and having good edge reproducibility was obtained. Was.

Next, a thermal transfer printer having a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing mechanism will be described with reference to FIG.

Since the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the description of the same configuration as that of FIG.
Only the configuration different from the above will be described.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning roller as shown in FIG. 2 is not used, but a guide roller 17 which presses against the guide roller 20 is provided instead. The recording material tank 18 is not a heating type but a simple tank, and is filled with a liquid thermal transfer recording material. Instead, a heating device 26 is arranged downstream of the recording material supply roller 12 for heating the thermal transfer recording material.

An anaerobic device 27 is disposed between the heating device 26 and the guide roller 17 so as to face the ink layer of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 outside the thermal transfer recording medium 1. A vessel 8 is provided.

Next, the operation of the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the above embodiment will be described.

After the printing and recording, the ink deficient portion generated in the ink ribbon 1 ′ by the transfer of the ink is moved to a position facing the recording material supply roller 12 by the transfer of the ink ribbon 1 ′. Recording material tank 18 pumped by the recording material supply roller 12
The thermal transfer recording material in the inside is applied over the entire surface. After the film thickness of the thermal transfer recording material applied at a position facing the film thickness control device 7 is controlled to be constant, the thermal transfer recording material passes over the heating device 26 and is heated.

The surface of the thermal transfer recording medium is isolated from the air atmosphere by the anaerobic device 27, and at the same time, ultraviolet rays are radiated from the surface side through the anaerobic device 27 by the ultraviolet irradiator 8 to be applied to the ink defective portion and the ink layer. The ink layer is reproduced by the cured thermal transfer recording material being cured.

Thereafter, the boundary between the ink layer regenerated by the annealing treatment by the heating device 10 and the remaining ink layer is eliminated, thereby completing a series of thermal transfer recording medium regenerating steps. The ribbon 1 'is transferred to a position facing the thermal head 4 and is used again for printing.

Next, the process of reproducing the above-mentioned thermal transfer recording medium will be described with reference to FIG.

A coating ink 2, which is a recording material for thermal transfer, is applied to the entire surface of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 including the ink deficient portion 1c. At this time, the coating ink 2 is not heated. Thereafter, the thickness of the coating ink 2 is made uniform by moving the film thickness control device 7 (FIG. 4B), and the coating ink 2 is heated by the thermal transfer recording medium 1 passing over the heating device 26. (FIG. 4C).

In the step shown in FIG. 4D, the front side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 is isolated from the air atmosphere by an anaerobic device 27, and the anaerobic device 27 transmits ultraviolet light. . The ink layer 1b side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 on which the coating ink 2 is entirely applied, that is, the front side, is transmitted through the anaerobic device by an ultraviolet irradiator 8,
The whole surface is irradiated with ultraviolet rays.

As described above, by applying the ultraviolet irradiation from the ink layer 1b side of the thermal transfer recording medium 1, all of the applied thermal transfer recording material can be cured. Therefore,
A cleaning step for removing excess thermal transfer recording material is not required.

In particular, when reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium 1 for performing high-definition printing, the annealing step (FIG. 4)
(E)) can be further added.

Next, a specific example of the above-described thermal transfer recording medium reproducing method will be described.

Carbon black (20 parts by weight) as a colorant in an ultraviolet curable ink containing hydroxyethyl acrylate (95 parts by weight) as an ultraviolet curable resin and an acetophenone compound (5 parts by weight) as a photoreaction initiator.
Further, paraffin wax (30 parts by weight) was added as a thermoplastic agent to prepare an ink as a thermal transfer recording material.

The prepared ink was put into a coating solution pan, and the back surface was treated with a solution of Cymac US350 / methyl ethyl ketone manufactured by Toagosei Kagaku Co., Ltd.
After applying gravure coating to the surface of a polyethylene terephthalate film, the coating film was fixed on a sheet heating element heated to 75 ° C., and the ink surface was further coated to a thickness of 100 μm.
m cellulose triacetate film,
Center wavelength 365nm, 20mW / cm2 from PET surface
For 10 seconds to cure the ink, thereby producing an ink ribbon as a thermal transfer recording medium. When this ink ribbon was attached to a thermal transfer printer (resolution: 400 dpi) manufactured by Star Seimitsu Co., and printing was performed, an image having an image density of 1.1 and good edge reproducibility was obtained.

After that, the ink defective portion was reproduced in the same manner as in the first embodiment. When the reproduced ink ribbon was attached to the printer and printing was performed, an image having an image density of 1.1 which was comparable to the previous one and having good edge reproducibility was obtained.

As described above, the mechanism for heating the thermal transfer recording material heats the thermal transfer recording material in the heating type recording material tank described in FIG. 2 or uses the heating device described in FIG. Some types of heating devices include, for example, applying hot air to the ink or passing the ink over a planar heating element.

The anaerobic mechanism is based on a device for bringing a plate-like material such as plastic, metal or glass into close contact with the ink surface. Alternatively, this can be achieved by a device that brings a rotatable endless plastic film or metal film and the ink surface into surface or line contact with each other, or a device that makes a platen-shaped metal and ink surface come into line contact with each other.
The ultraviolet lamp includes at least one lamp, and diffuses or condenses ultraviolet light.

Further, the anaerobic device can be made of the above-mentioned materials and shapes which transmit ultraviolet rays as used in the embodiment in FIG.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer having a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing mechanism, similarly to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. The examples shown in the examples differ depending on the combination of the heating method of the thermal transfer recording material and the anaerobic device.

The above-described thermal transfer recording apparatus has been described using the conventional example (FIG. 7) as a prototype. However, the thermal transfer recording medium is not limited to an endless ink ribbon. A reverse operation or the like is also possible.

[0081]

According to the present invention, the thermal transfer recording material can be cured more quickly by a mechanism for heating the thermal transfer recording material or a mechanism for making the thermal transfer recording medium anaerobic when irradiated with ultraviolet rays. Thereby, it is possible to provide a thermal transfer recording apparatus provided with a reproducing mechanism for reproducing the thermal transfer recording medium after printing at the same time as printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thermal transfer recording medium for describing a reproducing step by a reproducing mechanism of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus provided with a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer recording device provided with a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the thermal transfer recording medium for describing a reproducing process by the reproducing mechanism of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus including a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus provided with a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus equipped with a thermal transfer recording medium reproducing mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermal transfer recording medium 1 'Endless ink ribbon 1a Base material 1b Ink layer 1c Ink deficient part 2 Coated ink 2a Cured ink part 2b Uncured ink part 3 Boundary part 4 Thermal head 5 Recording paper 7 Film thickness control device 8 Ultraviolet irradiation device 9 Cleaning roller 10 Heating device 12 Recording material supply roller 16 Platen roller 17 Guide roller 18 Recording material tank 20 Guide roller 21 Apparatus main body 23 Pressure contact roller 25 Heatable recording material tank 26 Heating device 27 Anaerobic device

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mechanism for printing using a thermal transfer recording medium, and a drive unit for running the thermal transfer recording medium while printing, and a thermal transfer unit for reproducing the used thermal transfer recording medium that has contributed to printing. A mechanism for heating the recording material, and a heat transfer recording medium having a uniform thickness.
A mechanism for applying the thermal transfer recording material onto the thermal transfer recording medium , and wherein the thermal recording material is heated,
The thermal transfer recording material applied to a defective portion of the thermal transfer recording medium
Material only, or the whole of the applied thermal transfer recording material
And possess a mechanism that is cured by light irradiation, it was precured
A thermal transfer recording apparatus for printing a thermal transfer recording material . 2. A mechanism for printing by using a thermal transfer recording medium, and a driving unit for running the thermal transfer recording medium while printing, wherein the means for reproducing the used thermal transfer recording medium that has contributed to printing includes: Thermal transfer recording medium thickness
The thermal transfer recording material is subjected to the thermal transfer so that
A mechanism for applying on the recording medium , a mechanism for making the surface of the applied thermal transfer recording material an anaerobic atmosphere, and under an anaerobic atmosphere, the mechanism applied to the defective portion of the thermal transfer recording medium.
Thermal transfer recording material alone or the coated thermal transfer recording material
A mechanism for curing the entire recording material by light irradiation
And printing the cured thermal transfer recording material . 3. A mechanism for printing by using a thermal transfer recording medium, and a drive unit for running the thermal transfer recording medium while printing, and a means for reproducing the used thermal transfer recording medium that has contributed to printing by thermal transfer. A mechanism for heating the recording material, and a heat transfer recording medium having a uniform thickness.
A mechanism for applying the thermal transfer recording material onto the thermal transfer recording medium; a mechanism for setting the surface of the applied thermal transfer recording material to an anaerobic atmosphere ;
While the material is heated, the defective portion of the thermal transfer recording medium
Only the thermal transfer recording material applied to the
Whole, possess a mechanism that is cured by light irradiation, the cured thermal transfer recording apparatus, characterized in that printing <br/> the thermal transfer recording material of the thermal transfer recording material. 4. After printing using the thermal transfer recording medium, the printing is performed so that the thickness of the thermal transfer recording medium becomes uniform.
After applying the thermal transfer recording material on the thermal transfer recording medium, the thermal transfer recording material applied to the defective portion of the thermal transfer recording medium is applied.
Photographic recording material alone or coated thermal transfer recording material
4. The heat transfer recording material is heated after the entire material is cured by light irradiation .
The thermal transfer recording device according to any one of the above.