JPH01113279A - Formation of transparent printed matter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain steadily and easily a transparent printed matter excellent in clearness of recorded images, ink absorption properties and transparency, by a method wherein a transparentizing treatment of an ink transport layer is carried out in at least two steps after recording on a specified recording material by use of an ink. CONSTITUTION:A transparentizing treatment of a recording material having at least an ink transport layer and an ink-maintaining layer may be carried out by a heating method, a pressing method, a heating and pressing method or the like, and it is essential to carry out the transparentizing in at least two steps. In general, satisfactory transparentization can be achieved under the conditions of a temperature of about 70-200 deg.C and a period of time of about 0.5-30min. However, a transparent printed matter transparentized in the first step has minute ruggedness at the surface of the transparentized ink transport layer, and irregular reflection of light by the minutely rugged surface impairs transparency. Therefore, satisfactory smoothening can be achieved under the conditions of a temperature of 50-200 deg.C, a linear pressure of 1-200kg and a period of time of about 0.5-30min.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a method for producing a translucent print using a recording liquid (hereinafter referred to as ink), and particularly to improving the clarity of a recorded image, ink absorption and This invention relates to a method for producing a translucent print that has poor translucency.

(Prior Art) In recent years, with the spread of overhead projectors (OIIP) and the like, the need for prints for observing transmitted light has increased, and inkjet methods have become popular as a method for forming such prints. It is being used.

The formation of such a transparent print is usually performed using a highly transparent recording material, such as a plastic film, as the recording material.

On the other hand, the inkjet method usually uses water-based ink, so if the plastic film described above is used as is, the ink absorption and ink fixation will be insufficient.
Unable to form a satisfactory image.

For this purpose, it is common to form a translucent ink absorbing layer on one or both sides of a plastic film, which is made of a water-soluble or hydrophilic polymer, and is capable of quickly absorbing water-based ink and regulating γi.

However, as inkjet systems become faster, full color, and have higher image quality, such ink absorbing layers are no longer able to provide sufficient support.

In order to solve these problems, a porous ink absorbing layer (opaque layer) consisting mainly of resin particles and a binder is provided on a transparent curtain as a recording material, and the porous ink absorbing layer is made transparent after recording. Recording materials and recording methods have been proposed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 53-027426, No. 53-027426,
No. 050744, No. 5B-099694, No. 59-178288, No. 59-178288, No. 59-178290, No. 59-17829
Publication No. 1, Publication No. 59-196285, Publication No. 59-20
No. 1891, No. 59-204591, No. 59
-204592 publication, 62-170382 publication,
(See 62-170383 and 62-183380).

However, although these recording materials have excellent ink absorption properties, after the porous ink absorption layer is made transparent, the dye in the recording area may partially aggregate, and the adhesion between the recording area and the transparent substrate may deteriorate. The problem arose that there was a lack of

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the inventors of the present invention
Publication No. 83383 is characterized in that a recording material having a liquid-permeable surface layer and an ink retaining layer includes a step of recording from the surface side of the recording material and a step of making the surface layer transparent. We proposed a method for creating translucent prints. This proposal has significantly improved the color development of the recorded area and the adhesion of the recorded area after it has been made transparent.

However, in the above proposal, there is no detailed description of the process of making the ink transport layer transparent, making it difficult to routinely and easily produce translucent prints with excellent translucency. Ta.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide particularly excellent translucency and to improve the clarity of recorded images. The object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a translucent print having excellent resolution and optical density.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing translucent prints that are excellent in ink receptivity, water resistance, light resistance, storage stability, etc. of recorded images.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for regularly and easily producing translucent prints with excellent translucency.

(Means for solving problems) The above object is achieved by the present invention as follows.

That is, the present invention provides a transparent method that includes a step of performing a transparent treatment on the ink transport layer after recording with ink on a recording material having at least an ink transport layer and an ink retention layer having liquid permeability. The present invention is a method for producing a translucent print, characterized in that the transparentization treatment consists of two or more steps.

(Function) After recording with ink on a specific recording material, the ink transport layer is transparentized in two or more steps, resulting in excellent clarity, ink absorption, and translucency of the recorded image. Transparent printed matter can be constantly and easily provided.

(Preferred Embodiments) Next, the present invention will be described in more detail by citing preferred embodiments.

The recording material used in the present invention includes, for example, JP-A No. 6
Those described in No. 2-140879 and No. 62-183383 are preferably used.

As the recording method used in the present invention, it is preferable to use a conventionally known inkjet recording device or pen plotter, but other methods include fountain pens, ballpoint pens, felt pens,
Examples include methods using recording devices and recording devices that use ink containing a recording agent, such as ink mist and other various types of printing.

The ink used for recording can be a conventionally known water-based and/or oil-based ink, but the viscosity of the ink must be adjusted so that it can quickly penetrate into the ink transport layer and be absorbed and captured by the ink retention layer. must be 500 cps or less. Preferably, the viscosity is 100 cps
Hereinafter, it is preferably 50 cps or less.

Furthermore, water-based inks are preferable in consideration of safety against fire, resistance to environmental contamination, and the like.

Further, as the recording agent contained in the ink, conventionally known coloring agents such as dyes and pigments and/or materials having color-developing properties can be used. For example, as the recording agent used in inkjet recording, water-soluble dyes such as direct dyes, basic dyes, reactive dyes, and food colorings are preferred.

In the present invention, methods for making a recording material having at least an ink transport layer and an ink holding layer transparent after recording with ink include a heating method, a pressurizing method, and a heating and pressurizing method. Although a method of using them in combination may be mentioned, it is essential that the transparentizing step be performed in two or more steps.

The recording material used in the present invention can be made transparent by softening and melting the ink transport layer to eliminate the porous structure.

However, the ink transport layer used in the present invention has a porous structure and many voids exist within the ink transport layer, so heating and pressure are used in combination to make the ink transport layer transparent. If the ink is made transparent in one step (using a commonly used laminator, etc.), heating and pressure are applied at the same time, and the ink transport layer becomes transparent (film formation) before the voids in the ink transport layer completely disappear. This may cause the ink transport layer to become uneven.
A problem arises in that air bubbles remain within the coating. This is particularly noticeable when the porous ink transport layer is thick, or in a recording area where the ink solvent, especially a solvent that tends to foam when heated, such as water, remains in the recording material.

Therefore, in the first step of the transparentization treatment, it is preferable that at least the ink transport layer side is heated in an open state without being in close contact with a heating device or the like. By doing so, the ink transport layer is melted only by heat without being directly applied with external pressure, loses its porosity, and leaves no air bubbles. Further, even in the recording area where the ink solvent remains, by heating in an open state, the solvent quickly evaporates, and no air bubbles remain due to foaming of the solvent.

The first step of transparentizing treatment by heating the recorded image formed on the porous ink absorbing layer as described above can be carried out as long as the method does not directly contact the recording surface with a heating element, high temperature body, or heat source. Any method may be used, and preferred methods include, for example, heating using radiation such as infrared rays, laser light, electron beams, and microwaves, and hot air heating. For example, if the heating treatment is performed from the back side (the side that is not the recording side) of the recording material, a method in which a solid high-temperature body such as a heat roll or a high-temperature liquid is brought into contact may be used.
Alternatively, a combination of the above methods may be used as long as the high temperature body does not come into direct contact with the recording surface.

By the method described above, a recorded image formed on a recording material such as a surface is heated, but the conditions for this heating are such that the ink transport layer, which is the recording surface, is melted or softened, and the entire recording material is heated. The temperature and time required to make the ink transparent are sufficient, and cannot be determined unconditionally depending on the type of material forming the ink transport layer, the thickness of the layer, the distance between the recording surface and the heating element, etc.; Approximately 0.5 at a temperature of approximately 70 to 200°C
Sufficient transparency can be achieved under conditions of about 30 minutes.

As mentioned above, the translucent print made transparent in the first step of the transparency treatment itself has some degree of translucency, but there are minute irregularities on the surface of the ink transport layer that has been made transparent. The original translucency is obstructed by the diffused reflection of that light. Therefore, in order to create a translucent print with better translucency, a second step of transparency treatment is required.

In the second step of the transparentization treatment, it is preferable to smooth the surface of the ink transport layer that has been made transparent in the first step, thereby smoothing out minute irregularities on the surface of the ink transport layer that occurred during the first step of transparency. This makes it possible to create translucent prints with even better translucency.

As long as the second step of the transparent treatment of the translucent printed matter made transparent in the first step as described above is a method for smoothing the surface of the ink transport layer made transparent in the first step, The above method may be used, or a method using a combination of heating and pressurization using a generally commercially available laminator or the like may be used.

By the method described above, the surface of the ink transport layer made transparent in the first step is smoothed.As for the heating and/or pressurizing conditions in this second step, - the ink made transparent in the first step is The temperature, pressure, and time that soften or melt the surface of the ink transport layer and smooth the surface of the ink transport layer may be used. I can't really decide, but-
Numerically speaking, the temperature is 50 to 200℃, and the pressure is linear pressure.
Sufficient smoothing can be achieved under the conditions of about 200g to 200g and about 0.5 to 30 minutes.

Further, at this time, it is preferable to perform lil-type treatment on the portion directly following the ink transport layer so as not to impede the smoothness of the ink transport layer.

It should be noted that the transparentizing process in the present invention may be functionally independent, and may be integrated as a transparentizing apparatus.

That is, it is sufficient to have equipment for performing the first step and the second step in the same device, and such a device is preferable from the viewpoint of operability and the like.

(Examples) Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described based on Examples. Note that % or parts in the text are based on weight unless otherwise specified.

Example 1 Transparent polyethylene terephthalate film (thickness 10
Using a bar coater to obtain a dry film thickness of 5 μm, the following composition A was applied onto this base material using a bar coater, and dried in a drying oven at 140° C. for 3 minutes. did.

A-cation modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA C-31
8-2A, manufactured by Kuraray, 10% aqueous solution) 100 parts maleic anhydride/isobutylene copolymer (isopan 110
, manufactured by Kuraray, 10% aqueous solution) 2 parts Water-soluble melamine (Sumimar M-3011, manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical, 10% aqueous solution) 4 parts Furthermore, the following composition B was added on top of it with a bar so that the dry film thickness was 30 μm. It was coated with a coater and dried in a drying oven at 70°C for 7 minutes.

B - Thermoplastic elastomer resin emulsion (Chemivar A
-100, manufactured by Mikata Petrochemical Industries, solid content 40%)
100 parts ionomer resin emulsion (to Chemivar S-+00: manufactured by Mikata Petrochemical Industries, Ltd.)
Solid content 40%) 10 parts Surfactant (Perex 0T-P: manufactured by Kao, solid content 7
0%) 0.5 part The recording material thus obtained was white and opaque.

Canon's PJ-1080 for the above recording material.
A: An image was recorded using BOLD (double-strike) at a recording density of 96 DPI (dots per inch) using an inkjet printer. Immediately after recording, the ink transport layer was left in a drying oven at 100°C for 1 minute (the surface of the ink transport layer was open S), and then the surface of the ink transport layer was heated and pressurized using an iron (Teflon-treated surface, surface temperature 130°C). A translucent print was obtained.

The translucent prints thus obtained were tested and evaluated in accordance with the following method to determine whether they were sufficiently suitable for the purpose of the present invention, and the results shown in Table 1 below were obtained. Incidentally, each evaluation item in Table 1 was measured according to the following method.

(1) The ink fixation time was measured by leaving the recording material after recording at room temperature and touching the recorded image with a finger, and measuring the time taken for the ink to dry and stop adhering to the finger.

(2) The linear transmittance of the non-recorded area of the translucent print after the transparentization treatment was measured using a υV-200 spectrophotometer (Shimadzu Corporation (IIJ)
The distance from the sample to the light-receiving window was kept at about 9 cm, and the spectral transmittance was measured using the following formula.

T=Y/Y, If there were no bubbles in the ink transport layer after the transparent treatment, or if there were only a few bubbles and no visible bubbles, O1 if there were a large number of bubbles and they were extremely conspicuous, it was rated as ×.

(4) The image evaluation of the translucent printed matter after the transparent treatment was determined by projecting it onto a screen using an OHP (overhead projector) as a representative optical device and visually observing it. Both the recording area and the recording area are bright and there is no distortion in the image.
And so.

Example 2 Immediately after recording on the recording material of Example 1, it was left in a drying oven at IOOO°C for 1 minute (with the ink transport layer surface open), and then the release treated surface of the release paper and the ink transport of the recording material Laminate the layers using a laminator (MS Lamivet L-23 manufactured by Meiko Shokai)
The release paper and the recording material were separated from the material that came out through 0) to obtain a translucent printed matter.

Example 3 Immediately after recording on the recording material of Example 1, the recording material was placed on a heat roll (surface temperature 150° C., conveyance speed 9.5 mm/sec) so as to come into contact with the ink transport layer of the recording material on the opposite side. and fixing roller (conveying speed 10 men/sec
A translucent print was obtained using a roller with a surface temperature of 120° C., a roller linear pressure of 40 g, and a Teflon-treated roller surface. Note that the ink transport layer was conveyed so that the surface of the roller was in contact with the surface of the roller.

Comparative Example 1 A translucent print was obtained by omitting the second step of the transparency treatment in Example 1.

Comparative Example 2 A translucent print was obtained by omitting the first step of the transparency treatment in Example 2.

Comparative Example 3 A transparent print was obtained in the same manner as in Example 3, except that the surface of the fixing roller in Example 3 was not treated with Teflon.

In addition, the above-mentioned Examples 2 and 3 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 were evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1, and the results were summarized in the following
Shown in the table.

Table 1 Media fixation time 1 second or less 1 second or less 1 second or less Linear transmittance 76% 77% 72% Air bubbles remaining O
Q □ Image evaluation OO○ Ink fixing time 1 second or less 1 second or less 1 second or less Linear transmittance 62% 68% 60% bubbles remaining ○
× ×Image evaluation × ×
× (Effects) According to the present invention as described above, transparent prints with excellent translucency can be regularly and easily obtained without any air bubbles being mixed into the ink transport layer after transparency.

Further, in the present invention, the porosity of the ink transport layer disappears due to the transparency treatment, so that the water resistance, weather resistance, storage stability, etc. of the recorded image are significantly improved.

Patent applicant: Canon Co., Ltd. Agent: Patent Attorney Yoshi 1) Hiroshi Katsuki

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A translucent printed object that includes a step of performing a transparent treatment on the ink transport layer after recording with a recording liquid on a recording material having at least a liquid-permeable ink transport layer and an ink holding layer. A method for producing a translucent print, characterized in that the transparency treatment comprises two or more steps. (2) The method for producing a translucent printed matter according to claim (1), wherein the transparentization treatment is a heat treatment or a heating and pressure treatment. (3) The method for producing a translucent printed matter according to claim (1), wherein the first step of the transparentization treatment is to heat at least the ink transport layer in an open state.