JP7375642B2 - Print manufacturing method and thermal transfer printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a print and a thermal transfer printing device.

Various printing methods have been known in the past, but among them, the dye sublimation thermal transfer method allows the density gradation to be freely adjusted, has excellent reproducibility of intermediate colors and gradations, and can achieve high quality comparable to silver halide photography. Image formation is possible.

The sublimation type thermal transfer method involves overlapping a thermal transfer sheet with a sublimation transfer type color material layer containing a sublimable dye and a thermal transfer image receiving sheet with a receptor layer, and then heating the thermal transfer sheet with a thermal head equipped with a printer. , a print is obtained by transferring the sublimable dye in the sublimation transfer type color material layer to the receiving layer and forming an image. In addition, a protective layer is transferred from a thermal transfer sheet onto the receptor layer of the printed matter produced in this manner to improve the durability of the printed matter.

In recent years, prints obtained by dye-sublimation thermal transfer methods are required to have a wide variety of designs.For example, prints with a high three-dimensional effect are required to express the rarity of the print. There is.

Patent No. 6520364

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method and a thermal transfer printing apparatus for forming a recess in a desired area and manufacturing a print having a high three-dimensional effect.

The method for manufacturing a printed product of the present disclosure includes sandwiching a thermal transfer sheet provided with a coloring material layer and a protective layer, and an image receiving sheet provided with a heat-sensitive recess forming layer and a receiving layer between a thermal head and a platen roll. heating the thermal transfer sheet with the thermal head to transfer coloring material from the thermal transfer sheet to the receptor layer of the image receiving sheet to form an image; heating the thermal transfer sheet with the thermal head; a step of transferring the protective layer from the thermal transfer sheet onto the image on the image-receiving sheet; heating the image-receiving sheet with the thermal head through the used protective layer forming area of the thermal transfer sheet; forming a recess in the recess.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a region where the thermal head heats a used protective layer forming region when forming the recessed portion is a region where the thermal head heats the used protective layer forming region when forming the recessed portion. It is smaller than the area where the thermal head heats the protective layer forming area.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the protective layer is transferred so as to cover the entire surface of the image, the used protective layer forming area is heated in a predetermined pattern, and the recess is formed in an area corresponding to a part of the image. form.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the energy applied by the thermal head when forming the recessed portion is higher than the energy applied by the thermal head when forming the image.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the printing pressure applied by the printing unit including the thermal head and the platen roll when forming the recessed portion is higher than the printing pressure applied by the printing unit when forming the image.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a hologram layer is transferred from the thermal transfer sheet to a region of the image-receiving sheet that becomes a relatively convex portion by forming the recessed portion.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the thickness of the heat-sensitive recess forming layer is 40 μm or more, and the depth of the recess is 5 μm or more.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer includes at least one of a porous film and a hollow particle-containing layer.

The thermal transfer printing device of the present disclosure includes a thermal transfer sheet provided with a coloring material layer and a protective layer, and an image receiving sheet laminated with a heat-sensitive recess forming layer and a receptor layer, which are sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen roll, and The thermal transfer sheet is heated by a thermal head to transfer coloring material from the thermal transfer sheet to the receptor layer of the image-receiving sheet to form an image, and the protective layer is transferred from the thermal transfer sheet onto the image on the image-receiving sheet. The image receiving apparatus includes a printing section for transferring images, and the thermal head heats the image receiving sheet through the used protective layer forming area of the thermal transfer sheet to form recesses in the image receiving sheet.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the energy applied by the thermal head when forming the recessed portion is higher than the energy applied by the thermal head when forming the image.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to form a concave portion in a desired area and produce a printed matter with a high three-dimensional effect.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer printing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a thermal transfer sheet. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an image-receiving sheet. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a heating region in a protective layer forming region. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a step of forming recesses in an image receiving sheet. FIG. 6a is a plan view of the print, and FIG. 6b is a sectional view taken along the line VIb-VIb in FIG. 6a.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer printing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a thermal transfer sheet used in the thermal transfer printing device, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an image receiving sheet.

The thermal transfer printing device includes a thermal transfer sheet 5 in which a yellow dye layer 51 containing a yellow dye, a magenta dye layer 52 containing a magenta dye, a cyan dye layer 53 containing a cyan dye, and a protective layer 54 are sequentially provided on a thermal head 1. The dye is transferred onto the image receiving sheet 7 to print an image, and a protective layer is transferred onto the printed image. The images to be printed are, for example, human images such as facial images, marks, addresses, names, greetings, phrases, and other characters.

A supply section 3 formed by wrapping a thermal transfer sheet 5 is provided on the downstream side of the thermal head 1, and a collection section 4 is provided on the upstream side of the thermal head 1. The thermal transfer sheet 5 fed out from the supply section 3 passes through the thermal head 1, is wound up and collected by the collection section 4.

A rotatable platen roll 2 is provided on the opposite side of the thermal head 1 with the thermal transfer sheet 5 in between. An image printing unit 10 including a thermal head 1 and a platen roll 2 sandwiches an image receiving sheet 7 and a thermal transfer sheet 5, heats the thermal transfer sheet 5, and transfers dye onto the image receiving sheet 7, thereby forming an image.

The thermal transfer sheet 5 has a yellow dye layer 51, a magenta dye layer 52, a cyan dye layer 53, and a protective layer 54 on one side of a base sheet (base sheet 50 in FIG. 5 described later) from the recovery unit 4 side. are formed sequentially. For the yellow dye layer 51, magenta dye layer 52, and cyan dye layer 53, it is preferable to use a material in which a sublimable dye is melted or dispersed in a binder resin. A release layer may be provided on the base sheet (between the base sheet and the protective layer 54).

The protective layer 54 is preferably made of a resin material that is transparent and has adhesive properties, light resistance, and the like. Examples include (meth)acrylic resins, styrene resins, vinyl resins, polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, imide resins, cellulose resins, thermosetting resins, and actinic light-curable resins. The term "actinic light-curable resin" refers to a resin that has been cured by irradiating the active light-curable resin with actinic light. "Active light" means radiation that chemically acts on actinic light-curable resin to promote polymerization, and specifically includes visible light, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, electron beams, alpha rays, and beta rays. rays, gamma rays, etc.

The thickness of the protective layer 54 is preferably 0.1 μm or more and 10 μm or less, more preferably 0.5 μm or more and 5 μm or less. Thereby, the scratch resistance and storage stability of the image can be improved.

As the base material sheet of the thermal transfer sheet 5, a conventionally known material having a certain degree of heat resistance and strength can be used. Examples include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) film, polystyrene (PS) film, polypropylene (PP) film, polycarbonate film, and the like. The thickness of the base sheet is, for example, 0.5 μm or more and 50 μm or less, preferably 2 μm or more and 10 μm or less.

Materials for the release layer on the base sheet include waxes, silicone wax, silicone resin, silicone modified resin, fluororesin, fluorine modified resin, polyvinyl alcohol, acrylic resin, thermally crosslinkable epoxy-amino resin, and thermally crosslinkable resin. Examples include alkyd-amino resins. The thickness of the release layer is generally 0.5 μm or more and 5 μm or less.

The thermal transfer sheet 5 includes a yellow dye layer 51, a magenta dye layer 52, and a cyan dye layer 53, which are dye layers for sublimation transfer, and a color material layer containing a color material such as a pigment or carbon black in plane order. It's okay. Further, the thermal transfer sheet 5 may be provided with a hologram transfer layer.

On the upstream side of the thermal head 1, a rotatable capstan roller 9a for conveying the image receiving sheet 7 and a pinch roller 9b for pressing the image receiving sheet 7 onto the capstan roller 9a are provided.

The image-receiving sheet 7 is unwound from an image-receiving sheet roll 6 around which the image-receiving sheet 7 is wound. The image receiving sheet roll 6 is attached to a winding shaft component (not shown), and when the winding shaft component is rotated (forward rotation/reverse rotation), the image receiving sheet roll 6 rotates and the image receiving sheet 7 is fed out (transported to the downstream side). and winding (transportation to the upstream side).

As shown in FIG. 3, the image receiving sheet 7 includes a base material 71, a heat-sensitive recess forming layer 72, and a receiving layer 73, which are laminated in this order. The heat-sensitive recess forming layer 72 may have a multilayer structure. The image-receiving sheet 7 includes an arbitrary layer such as an adhesive layer between arbitrary layers, for example, between the base material 71 and the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer 72, or between each layer constituting the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer 72 having a multilayer structure. It's okay. Further, a primer layer may be provided between the heat-sensitive recess forming layer 72 and the receiving layer 73.

The image receiving sheet 7 has recesses formed by heating a partial region of the image receiving sheet 7 from the receiving layer 73 side using the thermal head 1 . The depth of the recess (depth h in FIG. 5) is preferably 5 μm or more.

The control device 14 controls the driving of each part of the thermal transfer printing device, and performs printing processing and recess formation processing. In the image printing process, first, the image receiving sheet 7 and the yellow dye layer 51 are aligned, and the thermal head 1 comes into contact with the platen roll 2 via the image receiving sheet 7 and the thermal transfer sheet 5. Next, the capstan roller 9a and the collecting section 4 are rotationally driven, and the image receiving sheet 7 and the thermal transfer sheet 5 are sent to the upstream side. During this time, areas of the yellow dye layer 51 are selectively and sequentially heated by the thermal head 1 based on the image data, and the yellow dye is transferred from the thermal transfer sheet 5 onto the image receiving sheet 7.

After the yellow dye transfer, the thermal head 1 rises and leaves the platen roll 2. Next, the image receiving sheet 7 and the magenta dye layer 52 are aligned. Similar to the sublimation transfer method of yellow dye, magenta dye and cyan dye are sequentially transferred onto the image receiving sheet 7, and an image for one screen is formed on the image receiving sheet 7. Next, the thermal head 1 transfers the protective layer 54 onto the entire surface of the image.

Next, a recess forming process is performed. In the recess formation process, the thermal head 1 heats the image receiving sheet 7 by applying energy higher than that during the printing process (image formation and protective layer transfer) to form recesses in the image receiving sheet 7. For example, the energy applied during the printing process is about 0.1 (mJ/dot), and the energy applied during the depression forming process is greater than 1 times and less than 5 times, preferably 2 times or more, 3 times the energy applied during the printing process. It is less than twice that.

During the recess formation process, a used protective layer forming area on the thermal transfer sheet 5 after the protective layer has been transferred onto the image is placed between the thermal head 1 and the image receiving sheet 7. In the used protective layer forming area, the base sheet 50 (or the release layer if a release layer is provided) of the thermal transfer sheet 5 is exposed. That is, during the recess formation process, thermal energy is applied to the image receiving sheet 7 from the thermal head 1 via the base sheet 50 (and the release layer).

As shown in FIG. 4, the region R2 in which the used protective layer forming region is heated during the recess forming process is the protective layer forming region heated when transferring the protective layer (region R1 to which the protective layer 54 has been transferred, in other words, the It is preferable to make the area slightly smaller than the area where the material sheet 50 is exposed. For example, region R2 is made smaller in circumference than region R1 by about 5 mm. Thereby, the image receiving sheet 7 can be efficiently heated during the recess formation process.

As shown in FIG. 5, by heating the image receiving sheet 7 via the base sheet 50 of the thermal transfer sheet 5 based on predetermined pattern data, the heated portions of the heat-sensitive recess forming layer 12 are depressed, and the heat-sensitive The receiving layer 73 and the protective layer 54 provided on the recess forming layer 12 are also recessed accordingly, and recesses A are formed on the surface.

The image receiving sheet 7 with the recesses A formed thereon is cut at the rear edge of the screen by a cutter 8 (see FIG. 1) provided on the downstream side, thereby producing a print. By adjusting the concave formation areas in the image receiving sheet 7, it is possible to impart a three-dimensional effect to the print and improve the design. For example, by forming recesses in areas other than image areas such as shapes and patterns of characters and figures on the receiving layer 73, a three-dimensional effect can be imparted to these images.

As shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b, by forming recesses A at a plurality of locations, protrusions representing patterns, characters, etc. can be formed on the print P. When the thermal transfer sheet 5 is provided with a hologram transfer layer, the design of the print can be further improved by transferring the hologram layer onto the convex portions.

The recesses A may be formed before transferring the protective layer to the image receiving sheet 7. In this case, after image formation, thermal energy is applied from the thermal head 1 to the image receiving sheet 7 through the used protective layer forming area where the protective layer transferred to the previously produced print was provided to form the recesses A. Form. After forming the recesses A, a protective layer is transferred.

In the recess forming process, the pressure (printing pressure) of the thermal head 1 on the image receiving sheet 7 may be higher than that in the printing process. The pressure applied from the platen roll 2 to the thermal head 1 may be made variable.

Next, each layer included in the image receiving sheet 7 in which recesses are formed by heating will be described.

(Base material)
Examples of the base material include condenser paper, glassine paper, parchment paper, synthetic paper, high-quality paper, art paper, coated paper, uncoated paper, cast coated paper, wallpaper, cellulose fiber paper, synthetic resin internally added paper, lined paper, and Paper base materials such as impregnated paper (synthetic resin impregnated paper, emulsion impregnated paper, synthetic rubber latex impregnated paper), polyolefins such as PET, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), PEN, polyethylene (PE), PP and polymethylpentene, Vinyl resins such as vinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers, (meth)acrylic resins such as polyacrylate, polymethacrylate and polymethylmethacrylate, styrene resins such as PS, polycarbonates, and ionomers. Examples include films made of resin or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as "resin films").

Further, when the base material is a resin film, the resin film may be a stretched film or an unstretched film, but from the viewpoint of mechanical strength, it may be uniaxially or biaxially stretched. It is preferred to use a stretched film.

Note that in the present disclosure, "(meth)acrylic" includes both "acrylic" and "methacrylic". Furthermore, "(meth)acrylate" includes both "acrylate" and "methacrylate."

A laminate of the above-described paper base material or resin film can also be used as the base material. The laminate can be produced by using a dry lamination method, a wet lamination method, an extrusion method, or the like.

From the viewpoint of mechanical strength, the thickness of the base material is preferably 50 μm or more and 500 μm or less, more preferably 75 μm or more and 500 μm or less, and even more preferably 100 μm or more and 500 μm or less.

(Heat-sensitive recess forming layer)
The image receiving sheet of the present disclosure includes a heat-sensitive recess forming layer having a thickness of 40 μm or more. By heating the image-receiving sheet of the present disclosure from the receiving layer side using a thermal head under high-temperature conditions, recesses are formed in the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer, and a high three-dimensional effect can be imparted to the manufactured printed matter. Specifically, by forming recesses in the heat-sensitive recess formation layer, a region that becomes a relatively convex portion is formed, and by forming the recesses so that the convex portions represent patterns, characters, etc., the printed matter is The design quality can be improved.

The structure of the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer is not particularly limited as long as it can satisfy the depth condition of the recesses formed by heating via the base sheet 50 of the thermal transfer sheet 5 described above, but the following may be used. An example of its configuration is shown below.

The heat-sensitive recess forming layer may have a single layer structure or a multilayer structure. The thickness of the heat-sensitive recess forming layer is more preferably 40 μm or more, and even more preferably 80 μm or more. Thereby, the depth of the recessed portion to be formed can be increased, and the ease of forming the recessed portion can be improved. Furthermore, the density of the image formed on the receptor layer can be improved. Further, from the viewpoint of transportability and processing suitability within a thermal transfer printing apparatus, the thickness of the heat-sensitive recess forming layer is preferably 200 μm or less.

The heat-sensitive recess-forming layer is a porous layer that includes at least one of a porous film having microscopic voids therein and a hollow particle-containing layer. Hereinafter, a case where the heat-sensitive recess forming layer is a porous layer will be described. Note that the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer may include both a porous film and a hollow particle-containing layer.

When the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer is a porous layer having a single-layer structure, the porosity thereof is preferably 20% or more and 80% or less, more preferably 30% or more and 60% or less. Thereby, the depth of the recessed portion to be formed can be increased, and the ease of forming the recessed portion can be improved. Furthermore, the density of the image formed on the receptor layer can be improved. Furthermore, the ability to suppress embossing during printing can be improved.

When the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer is a porous layer having a multilayer structure, the porosity of the first heat-sensitive recess-forming layer (the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer disposed closest to the receptor layer) is equal to the porosity of the other heat-sensitive recess-forming layers. It is preferable that it is smaller than the ratio. Thereby, it is possible to improve emboss suppression during printing.

The porosity of the first heat-sensitive recess forming layer is preferably 10% or more and 60% or less, more preferably 20% or more and 50% or less. Thereby, the depth of the recess can be further improved, and the ease of forming the recess can be improved. Furthermore, the ability to suppress embossing during printing can be improved.

The average porosity of the heat-sensitive recess-forming layers other than the first heat-sensitive recess-forming layer is preferably 10% or more and 80% or less, more preferably 20% or more and 80% or less. This facilitates the formation of recesses in the first heat-sensitive recess forming layer and improves the ability to suppress embossing during printing.

In the present disclosure, the porosity is calculated by (1−specific gravity of the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer/specific gravity of the resin material constituting the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer)×100. When the specific gravity of the resin material constituting the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer is unknown, a cross-sectional image of the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer is obtained using a scanning electron microscope (manufactured by Hitachi High-Technology Co., Ltd., trade name: S3400N), and the cross-sectional image is It is calculated by ((b)/(a))×100 from the total area (a) of and the area (b) occupied by voids (holes).

The thickness of the first heat-sensitive recess forming layer is preferably 20 μm or more and 150 μm or less, more preferably 30 μm or more and 130 μm or less, and even more preferably 30 μm or more and 100 μm or less. Thereby, the depth of the recessed portion to be formed can be increased, and the ease of forming the recessed portion can be improved.

The sum of the thicknesses of the heat-sensitive recess-forming layers other than the first heat-sensitive recess-forming layer is preferably 10 μm or more and 180 μm or less, more preferably 20 μm or more and 150 μm or less, and even more preferably 20 μm or more and 130 μm or less. . Thereby, the density of the image formed on the receptor layer can be improved.

Examples of resin materials constituting the porous film include polyolefins such as PE and PP, vinyl resins such as polyvinyl acetate, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers, and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, polyesters such as PET and PBT, Examples include styrene resin and polyamide. From the viewpoint of film smoothness, heat insulation, and cushioning properties, PP is particularly preferred.

The porous film may contain additives within a range that does not impair the properties of the image-receiving sheet, such as plasticizers, fillers, ultraviolet stabilizers, coloring inhibitors, surfactants, optical brighteners, and gloss. Erasing materials, deodorizing materials, flame retardant materials, weather-resistant materials, antistatic materials, thread friction reducing materials, slip materials, antioxidant materials, ion exchange materials, dispersing materials, ultraviolet absorbing materials, and coloring materials such as pigments and dyes. Can be mentioned.

The porous film can be manufactured by a known method, for example, by kneading a mixture of the above resin material and incompatible organic particles or inorganic particles into a film. Moreover, in one embodiment, the porous film can be produced by forming into a film a mixture containing a first resin material and a second resin material having a higher melting point than the first resin material.

Note that the porous film is not limited to the porous film produced by the above method, and any commercially available porous film may be used.

A porous film can be laminated onto a substrate via an adhesive layer. Alternatively, a plurality of porous films may be laminated via an adhesive layer.

The hollow particle-containing layer is a layer containing hollow particles and a binder material. The hollow particles are not particularly limited as long as they can satisfy the depth condition of the recesses formed by heating through the PET film of the image receiving sheet, and even if they are organic hollow particles, Although inorganic hollow particles may be used, organic hollow particles are preferred from the viewpoint of dispersibility. Further, the hollow particles may be expanded particles or non-expanded particles.

The organic hollow particles are made of a resin material, and examples thereof include styrene resins such as crosslinked styrene-acrylic resins, (meth)acrylic resins, phenol resins, fluororesins, polyacrylonitrile, imide resins, and polycarbonates.

In one embodiment, the organic hollow particles can be produced by enclosing a foaming material such as butane gas into resin particles or the like, and heating and foaming the resin particles. Furthermore, in one embodiment, organic hollow particles can also be produced using emulsion polymerization. Note that commercially available organic hollow particles may be used.

Binder materials included in the hollow particle-containing layer include polyurethane, polyester, cellulose resin, vinyl resin, (meth)acrylic resin, polyolefin, styrene resin, phenol resin, fluororesin, polyamide, imide resin, polycarbonate, polyether, and gelatin. and its derivatives, styrene acrylate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene oxide, polyvinylpyrrolidone, pullulan, dextran, dextrin, polyacrylic acid and its salts, agar, κ-carrageenan, λ-carrageenan, ι-carrageenan, casein, xanthene gum, Examples include locust bean gum, alginic acid, and gum arabic.

The hollow particle-containing layer can contain the above-mentioned additives within a range that does not impair the characteristics of the image-receiving sheet of the present disclosure.

The hollow particle-containing layer is prepared by dispersing or dissolving the above materials in an appropriate solvent to obtain a coating solution, which is then coated with a roll coating method, reverse roll coating method, gravure coating method, reverse gravure coating method, bar coating method, or rod coating method. It can be formed by coating on a substrate or the like by a known means such as a coating method to form a coating film, and drying this.

(receptive layer)
The receiving layer is a layer that receives the sublimable dye transferred from the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet and maintains the formed image.

The receptor layer contains a resin material, and the resin material is not limited as long as it is a resin that is easily dyed, and examples thereof include olefin resin, vinyl resin, (meth)acrylic resin, cellulose resin, and ester resin. , amide resin, carbonate resin, styrene resin, urethane resin, and ionomer resin. The receptor layer can contain two or more of the above resin materials.

The content of the resin material in the receptor layer is preferably 80% by mass or more and 98% by mass or less, more preferably 90% by mass or more and 98% by mass or less.

In one embodiment, the receptive layer includes a mold release agent. Thereby, the mold releasability from the thermal transfer sheet can be improved. Examples of mold release agents include solid waxes such as polyethylene wax, amide wax, and Teflon (registered trademark) powder, fluorine-based or phosphate ester surfactants, silicone oil, reactive silicone oil, curable silicone oil, etc. Examples include various modified silicone oils and various silicone resins. Although oily silicone oils can be used as the silicone oil, modified silicone oils are preferred. As the modified silicone oil, amino-modified silicone, epoxy-modified silicone, aralkyl-modified silicone, epoxy-aralkyl-modified silicone, alcohol-modified silicone, vinyl-modified silicone, urethane-modified silicone, etc. can be preferably used, but epoxy-modified silicone, aralkyl-modified silicone, etc. , epoxy-aralkyl modified silicones are particularly preferred. The receptor layer can contain two or more types of the above mold release agents.

The content of the release agent in the receiving layer is preferably 0.5% by mass or more and 20% by mass or less, more preferably 0.5% by mass or more and 10% by mass or less. Thereby, it is possible to improve the releasability from the thermal transfer sheet while maintaining the transparency of the receptor layer.

The receptor layer may contain the above-mentioned additives.

The thickness of the receptor layer is preferably 0.5 μm or more and 20 μm or less, more preferably 1 μm or more and 10 μm or less. Thereby, the density of the image formed on the receptor layer can be improved.

The receptive layer can be prepared by dispersing or dissolving the above materials in an appropriate solvent to obtain a coating solution, which can be coated using a roll coating method, a reverse roll coating method, a gravure coating method, a reverse gravure coating method, a bar coating method, and a rod coating method. It can be formed by coating the heat-sensitive recess-forming layer to form a coating film by a known means such as, and drying the coating film.

(Adhesive layer)
The image receiving sheet of the present disclosure includes an adhesive layer between arbitrary layers. Thereby, the adhesion between layers can be improved.

The adhesive layer includes a resin material. For example, vinyl resins such as polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyolefins such as PE and PP, polyester, polyacrylate, polymethacrylate and polyester Examples include (meth)acrylic resins such as methyl methacrylate, polyol resins, and polyurethanes. Moreover, the adhesive layer may contain the above-mentioned additive.

The thickness of the adhesive layer is, for example, 0.5 μm or more and 10 μm or less. The thickness of the adhesive layer formed between each layer of the heat-sensitive recess forming layer having a multilayer structure is preferably 1 μm or more and 8 μm or less, more preferably 2 μm or more and 5 μm or less. Thereby, the adhesion between the layers can be improved while maintaining the recess forming property in the heat-sensitive recess forming layer.

The adhesive layer can be formed by dispersing or dissolving the above-mentioned material in an appropriate solvent to form a coating solution, applying this on an arbitrary layer, and drying it. As a coating method, known methods such as a roll coating method, a reverse roll coating method, a gravure coating method, a reverse gravure coating method, a bar coating method and a rod coating method can be used. Moreover, in one embodiment, the adhesive layer can be formed by melt-extruding a resin composition containing the above-mentioned material.

1 Thermal head 2 Platen roll 3 Supply section 4 Collection section 5 Thermal transfer sheet 6 Image receiving sheet roll 7 Image receiving sheet 10 Printing section 14 Control device 50 Base sheet 54 Protective layer 71 Base material 72 Heat-sensitive recess forming layer 73 Receptive layer

Claims (10)

A thermal transfer sheet provided with a colorant layer and a protective layer and an image receiving sheet laminated with a heat-sensitive recess forming layer and a receptor layer are sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen roll, and the thermal head heats the thermal transfer sheet. and transferring a coloring material from the thermal transfer sheet to the receiving layer of the image receiving sheet to form an image;
heating the thermal transfer sheet with the thermal head to transfer the protective layer from the thermal transfer sheet onto the image on the image receiving sheet;
heating the image receiving sheet with the thermal head through the used protective layer forming area of the thermal transfer sheet to form a recess in the image receiving sheet;
A method for manufacturing a printed matter, comprising: The area where the thermal head heats the used protective layer forming area when forming the recess is the area where the thermal head heats the used protective layer forming area when transferring the protective layer onto the image formed on the image receiving sheet. 2. The method for manufacturing a print according to claim 1, wherein the area is smaller than the area to be heated. Transferring the protective layer so as to cover the entire surface of the image,
3. The method for manufacturing a printed matter according to claim 1, wherein the used protective layer forming area is heated in a predetermined pattern to form the recessed portion in an area corresponding to a part of the image. 4. The method of manufacturing a printed matter according to claim 1, wherein the energy applied by the thermal head when forming the recessed portion is higher than the energy applied by the thermal head when forming the image. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing pressure applied by the printing unit including the thermal head and the platen roll when forming the recessed portion is higher than the printing pressure applied by the printing unit when forming the image. A method of manufacturing prints. 6. The method for manufacturing a printed matter according to claim 1, wherein a hologram layer is transferred from the thermal transfer sheet to a region of the image receiving sheet that becomes a relatively convex portion by forming the recessed portion. 7. The method for producing a printed matter according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the heat-sensitive recess forming layer is 40 μm or more, and the depth of the recess is 5 μm or more. 8. The method for producing a printed matter according to claim 1, wherein the heat-sensitive recess forming layer includes at least one of a porous film and a hollow particle-containing layer. A thermal transfer sheet provided with a colorant layer and a protective layer and an image receiving sheet laminated with a heat-sensitive recess forming layer and a receptor layer are sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen roll, and the thermal head heats the thermal transfer sheet. a printing unit that transfers a coloring material from the thermal transfer sheet to the receptor layer of the image-receiving sheet to form an image, and transfers the protective layer from the thermal transfer sheet onto the image of the image-receiving sheet;
A thermal transfer printing device, wherein the thermal head heats the image receiving sheet via a used protective layer forming area of the thermal transfer sheet to form a recessed portion in the image receiving sheet. The thermal transfer printing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the energy applied by the thermal head when forming the recessed portion is higher than the energy applied by the thermal head when forming the image.

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