JP3571170B2 - Method for printing phosphorescent material, roll for thermal transfer printing therefor, and product thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a transfer method capable of efficiently printing a phosphorescent material on a three-dimensional molded product formed by injection molding or blow molding or a three-dimensional product formed by assembly, such as a video cassette tape, an audio cassette tape, and a disk cassette. The present invention relates to a roll for transfer printing used for printing, a method for printing on a three-dimensional product using the same, and the obtained printed three-dimensional product.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A phosphorescent material that emits light at night or in a dark place has conventionally been kneaded and used in a molding material.
However, in recent years, it has been proposed to directly apply silk screen printing to a product for the purpose of further improving emission luminance, afterglow luminance, and afterglow time (TDK Corporation, Japanese Patent Application No. 08-087136). issue). FIG. 5 shows this example, in which a layer of a phosphorescent material 12 is directly screen-printed on an adherend (three-dimensional product or the like) 11. On the other hand, in offset printing, a printing thickness that satisfies the emission luminance and the afterglow luminance cannot be secured. The pigment of the luminous material has a particle size of about 10 μm to 100 μm. In transfer printing such as offset printing, the transfer thickness of the ink is as thin as about 1 to 5 μm, and the pigment particles of the luminous material do not transfer. The light storage material improves the emission luminance and the afterglow luminance in proportion to the coating thickness and the filling amount. Offset printing is capable of high-speed production but requires high equipment costs. Conversely, silk screen printing is a low-cost, high-versatility printing method.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, silk-screen printing is a versatile but low-production rate, low-production-efficiency printing method at the same time, and at the same time has become a product with high processing costs at the printing maker. Therefore, a possible method is in-house printing, and furthermore, in-line (on-line) printing. However, the current demand for video cassettes in Japan is said to be 10 million volumes, and it is hoped that they will be made cheaper as general consumer materials, and the assembly production efficiency for that purpose is extremely high. It is produced on a production line. Inlining silk screen printing in the production line reduces overall production efficiency and wastes space.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention aims at efficient printing and assembly production of phosphorescent materials. As a method of efficiently printing a phosphorescent material on a three-dimensional product, a continuous or discontinuous substrate is coated with a release agent on the entire surface or a desired portion, or a phosphorescent material is multi-faced on a substrate having a releasing effect. Print. By using a continuous base material and performing multiple imposition, extra movement of a three-dimensional product can be eliminated. Printing of the phosphorescent material is performed by silk screen printing or gravure printing, and drying is performed by heat drying or, in the case of using an ultraviolet curable resin, by UV drying. Further, printing of a color other than the light storage material is performed by gravure printing. Then, finally, a heat sealant is coated on the luminous material and the color printing. After each printing, drying is performed. Gravure printing is suitable for high-speed printing like offset printing, and can reduce printing cost. Further, the phosphorescent material to be printed needs to be adjusted to a viscosity and a transition property suitable for gravure printing. The printed base material is wound into a roll, and aging is performed as necessary. In this state, long-term storage and transportation are possible, and thermal transfer is performed by a thermal transfer device directly connected to a three-dimensional product assembly line such as a video cassette prepared in a separate process. The thermal transfer device is provided with a heater and a heater block at a position facing the gantry, and is configured by a cylinder or the like in which the heater and the heater block operate toward the gantry. The cylinder has a pressure of several kilograms to several tons in the operating direction. This is a very common and inexpensive device as a device structure.
Summarizing the above, the present invention is that a light-storing material is printed on a substrate coated with a release agent or a substrate having a releasing effect, and the heat-sealant is further coated on the printing of the light-storing material. The present invention provides a roll for thermal transfer printing characterized by the following. By using this wound body, efficient luminous material by thermal transfer printing, and preferably further printing of characters, figures, designs, and the like can be rapidly performed on a three-dimensional product such as a tape cassette.
Preferably, white printing is applied between the layers of the phosphorescent material and the heat sealant. Thereby, it is possible to reflect the divergence of the light emitted from the light storage material to the back side, and to enhance the light on the front side.
The printing of the light storage material is gravure printing or silk screen printing, and the transfer method to the adherend is thermal transfer printing, so that efficient printing on a three-dimensional product can be performed.
Furthermore, the present invention uses a luminous ink for gravure printing in which the compounding ratio of the luminous pigment is 50 to 80% by weight, particularly about 60% by weight. As a result, the light storage property is improved or the emission intensity is increased, and at the same time, the printing characteristics are improved.
The present invention also provides a three-dimensional product, wherein a luminous material is applied to a three-dimensional product such as an injection-molded product or a blow-molded product, or a three-dimensionally assembled plastic product and a paper product via a heat sealant. is there.
[0005]
[Action]
The luminous material applied to the three-dimensional product by thermal transfer has an adhesive strength to the adherend more than normal printing by the heat sealing agent, and emits light by absorbing light. Light emission luminance and afterglow time vary depending on the amount of light absorbed. Luminescent materials are used for guide boards such as watches and emergency exits. However, since luminous pigments are expensive and a printing method with low production efficiency, it is difficult to use them in video cassettes and other general consumers. Was. By using the printing method and configuration of the present invention and simply preparing a simple thermal transfer device, it is possible to print a phosphorescent material on a three-dimensional product without reducing the overall production efficiency of a production line such as a video cassette. By applying a phosphorescent material to a part of a three-dimensional product such as a video cassette or a container, the degree of recognition of the video cassette in a dark place is improved, and it is easy to find the video cassette, and the video cassette is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus. The direction is indicated by an arrow using a luminous material, which can be used for improving workability in a dark place.
[0006]
【Example】
(Wound body for thermal transfer printing and its manufacture)
The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a thermal transfer printing sheet constituting a roll 7 for thermal transfer printing according to the present invention, in which a layer of a release agent 2 is formed on the entire surface of a substrate 1 and a predetermined area thereon. Then, a layer of the color ink 3 for displaying characters, symbols, figures, designs, etc. is formed, and a layer of the heat sealant 6 is further formed thereon. A layer of the phosphorescent material 5 is formed in a predetermined area different from the area where the color ink 3 is applied, and a layer of the heat sealant 6 is further formed thereon. The layers of the heat sealant 6 on the color ink 3 and the heat sealant 6 on the phosphorescent material 5 may be formed separately, but are preferably formed simultaneously. The one shown in FIG. 1 constitutes one unit to be transferred to each of an injection-molded product, a blow-molded product, a three-dimensionally assembled plastic product, a paper product, and the like. One formed repeatedly in the longitudinal direction (and also in the width direction in some cases) constitutes the roll 7 for thermal transfer printing of the present invention.
[0007]
A general-purpose polyester film (thickness: 50 μm) having good heat stability is used as the base material 1 and a release agent is coated in a wide state. As a coating method, a gravure printing machine is used. In particular, since there is no need for positioning (such as a registration mark), a coating method using a nozzle or the like is possible, but there is an advantage that it can be performed simultaneously with the next step. In the illustrated example, a layer of the release agent 2 is printed or coated on the substrate 1. Alternatively, a film in which the release agent is directly kneaded into the substrate or a roll paper impregnated with the release agent may be used. It can also be used.
[0008]
As the color ink 3, a color ink commonly used in ordinary gravure printing or the like is used. The layer of the color ink 3 is formed by performing gravure printing of characters and the like in a desired color other than the multi-layered phosphorescent material.
[0009]
As the light storage material 5, a conventionally known N-night light manufactured by Nemoto Chemical Co., Ltd., which absorbs light and emits light for several hours, can be used. The layer of the phosphorescent material 5 is multi-layered like the color ink, and is printed by gravure printing or silk screen printing. The ink for printing the luminous material by gravure printing preferably has a luminous pigment mixed with the ink and has a particle diameter of 50 μm or less, and the compounding ratio is preferably 50 to 80% by weight, and particularly about 60% by weight is the emission luminance. And the most preferable in view of the balance between printability and printability. Further, since the drying of the phosphorescent material is slower than the printing, it is preferably UV drying using a UV curable resin. However, by adjusting the printing speed to a low speed, hot air drying is possible.
[0010]
After the layers of the color ink 3 and the luminous material 5 are printed, the layer of the heat sealant 6 is coated as the same final print on all of the prints and stored as a roll. Preferably, a reflection layer (not shown) containing titanium oxide, calcium carbonate, or the like is formed before forming the layer of the heat sealing agent 6, so that light emitted from the layer of the light storage material is scattered in unnecessary directions. And the light emission intensity and the light storage duration can be improved.
[0011]
If the phosphorescent or other printing or coating residual solvent is high, aging at room temperature of about 40 ° C. for about 24 hours is necessary. The aging time needs to be changed as appropriate, since the aging time varies depending on the base material.
[0012]
As described above, it is possible to apply all the coating or printing to be performed on the substrate by using the high-speed printing function of gravure printing, and it is possible to secure a production efficiency several tens times as compared with silk screen printing. . In addition, shortening the production lead time to accommodate the production system that can supply short-term delivery of small lots of various kinds such as video cassettes and products that are sold without inventory and short-term storage in wound form as inventory. It becomes possible.
[0013]
(Heat transfer printing on three-dimensional products)
As shown in FIG. 4, the obtained roll for thermal transfer printing is transferred by heat and pressure to a three-dimensional product 8 as an adherend by a thermal transfer device directly connected to a production line such as a video cassette. That is, a heater block 9 having a pressing surface of a predetermined shape corresponding to the shape of the upper surface of the three-dimensional product 8 on the lower surface and having a heater 10 therein is disposed in the illustrated heat sealing work section. The three-dimensional product 8 is continuously conveyed to the heat sealing work section by a conveying device, and is positioned at a predetermined position of a pedestal (not shown) below the heater block in alignment with the heater block. At the same time, the thermal transfer printing sheet 7 is continuously pulled out from the thermal transfer printing roll, and is aligned at a predetermined position between the three-dimensional product 8 and the heater block 9 in the illustrated heat sealing work section. At this time, the surface of the heat sealant 6 faces the three-dimensional product 8. Next, the heater block 9 is lowered and pressed with a predetermined pressure to transfer the layer of the color ink 3 and the layer of the phosphorescent material 5 to a predetermined position of the three-dimensional product 8. Finally, the heater block 9 is raised, and then the base material 1 and the release agent 2 are peeled off from the three-dimensional product 8, and the three-dimensional product 8 in which the transferred layer of the ink 3 and the layer of the luminous material 5 are bonded is heat-sealed. Send out from the department. Hereinafter, the same operation is repeated.
[0014]
The transfer temperature and pressure are appropriately adjusted depending on the types of the adhered material and the substrate heat sealant. Conversely, the heat and pressure are kept substantially constant, and the performance of the heat sealant and the release agent is appropriately adjusted. As the heat sealant, a resin of the same material series as the adherend is appropriately mixed. The release agent uses a silicon-based material.
[0015]
The products thus obtained are shown in FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a case in which the three-dimensional product 8 is a video tape cassette, on the back surface of which the printing with the color ink 3 and the layer of the phosphorescent material 5 are formed by thermal transfer printing. In the example of FIG. 4, the three-dimensional product 8 is a product in which a design printing portion and a layer of the luminous material 5 of the same color ink 3 are formed by thermal transfer printing on the surface of a molded product such as a case for storing a video cassette or the like. .
[0016]
【The invention's effect】
By applying a luminous material by thermal transfer, production can be performed without lowering the overall efficiency of a production line such as a video cassette, and the surface of the luminous material on the base material side appears on the surface of the final product. Since this surface is very smooth following the surface of the base material, there is no rough feeling that occurs when the phosphorescent material is directly printed, and not only the quality can be improved, but also a surface that can be written is provided. I can do it. When writing is performed on the surface of the phosphorescent material, it is possible to provide a function that can be distinguished even in a dark place by the contrast between the dark portion of the written location and the light emission of the phosphorescent material. Further, when white printing is performed between the light storage material and the heat sealant, the luminous intensity of the light storage portion is improved by the backlight effect.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a roll for thermal transfer printing of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a video cassette having a luminous material and a color ink layer printed using the thermal transfer printing roll of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a videocassette of a molded product having a phosphorescent material and a color ink layer printed using the roll for thermal transfer printing of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of performing thermal transfer printing on a three-dimensional product using the roll for thermal transfer printing of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a view showing an adherend (three-dimensional product or the like) having a layer of a phosphorescent material according to the related art.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Release agent 3 Color ink 6 Heat sealant 7 Rolled body for thermal transfer printing 8 Solid product, video tape cassette or molded article 9 Heater block 10 Heater

Claims (5)

Release agent print phosphorescent material having a particle size 10μ~50μ on a substrate having a coated substrate or mold release effect, by printing the white-based onto the print of the phosphorescent material of that further heat thereon A roll for thermal transfer printing, which is coated with a sealant. The roll for thermal transfer printing according to claim 1, wherein the printing of the phosphorescent material is gravure printing or silk screen printing, and the transfer to the adherend is thermal transfer printing. The roll for thermal transfer printing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a luminous pigment for gravure printing is used , wherein a blending ratio of the luminous pigment having a particle size of 10 to 50 μ in the ink is 50 to 80% by weight. A three-dimensional body characterized in that an injection-molded article or a blow-molded article, or a three-dimensionally assembled plastic product and a paper product are subjected to white printing and then a luminous material having a particle diameter of 10 to 50 μ via a heat sealant. Product. On a substrate coated with a release agent or on a substrate having a release effect , printing of a phosphorescent material having a particle size of 10 to 50 μm , white printing thereon, and a heat sealant further coated thereon. The base material is pulled out from the roll for thermal transfer printing, and at a predetermined position of a three-dimensional product that is separately conveyed, the phosphorescent material carried on the base material is contacted with the heat sealant so as to contact the three-dimensional product. And transferring the phosphorescent material to the three-dimensional product by applying heat and pressure, and then peeling the base material.

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