JPH01257089A - Image recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide practicality in a continuous process or the like as well by subjecting a color forming layer provided on a transparent support to thermal recording, and conducting thermal transfer recording in a different hue. CONSTITUTION:A thermal recording material 10 comprises two different transparent thermal color forming layers (an M coloring matter layer 204 and a C coloring matter layer 206) on one side of a transparent support 202. The upper, M coloring matter layer 204 is heated by a recording head 208 to develop a color. In this case, the quantity of heat is so controlled as not to affect the lower, C coloring matter layer 206. Next, the layer 204 developed into the color is irradiated with rays of a wavelength of 400nm from a light source 210, thereby fixing the layer 204. Then, the C coloring matter layer 206 is heated by the head 208. In this case, the M coloring matter layer 204 previously fixed is not changed by the heat treatment of the C coloring matter layer 206. Subsequently, a transfer ribbon 212 is disposed between the head 208 and the recording material 10, and a Y coloring matter 212A applied to the ribbon 212 is transferred onto the material 10 by the head 208.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an image recording method in which an image is recorded by heat-treating a heat-sensitive recording material in which a transparent support is provided with a transparent heat-sensitive coloring layer that develops color in a predetermined hue. Regarding recording methods.

[Prior art]

Currently, as a method of recording images on recording paper using heat,
The thermal transfer recording method and the thermal recording method are well known. In the thermal transfer recording method, a transfer ribbon coated with dye is placed between a thermal head heated to a predetermined temperature and recording paper, and the dye on the transfer ribbon is transferred to the recording material by heat treatment of the thermal head. be. The thermal recording method uses a thermal recording material in which a color forming agent and a color developer are coated on a support such as paper or synthetic paper, and records by a process of heating the thermal recording material with a thermal head.

These recording methods are: 1) No development is required, 2) If the support is paper, the quality of the paper is the same as or close to that of regular paper, 2) It is easy to handle, and 2) The color density is high in the case of thermal recording. ,
It has the following advantages: (1) The recording device is simple and inexpensive; (2) It makes less noise during recording than dot printers, etc., and has rapidly become popular in the field of black-and-white facsimiles and printers in recent years.

Furthermore, in the recording field, with the rapid development of the information industry, there is an increasing demand for easily obtaining color hard copies from information equipment terminals such as computers and facsimiles.

However, in order to achieve multiple colors, in the case of a transfer recording method, multiple transfer ribbon cassettes of different dyes are installed together, which increases the size of the device and requires a mechanism to make each transfer ribbon cassette correspond to a thermal head. becomes complicated,
In addition, there is a problem that the transfer ribbon is consumed a lot, leading to an increase in cost.On the other hand, in the case of thermal recording method,
Incorporating coloring mechanisms according to the number of colors on the same support,
Since it is necessary to control and operate each coloring mechanism, there has been no satisfactory solution in terms of color hue and color separation, despite many efforts made in the past.

Incidentally, as a support for a heat-sensitive recording material, an opaque support such as paper or synthetic paper is usually used. This is due to the purpose of simply reading a colored image as a reflected image from one side.

In addition, as an example of applying a transparent support as a support for a heat-sensitive recording material, Japanese Patent Publication No. 40-20151, Japanese Patent Application No. 60-60
No. 68875 and Japanese Patent Application No. 60-184483 (the purpose of which is to obtain a high-contrast image or a high-quality image with excellent gloss by viewing a thermally recorded image from the side of a transparent support). In addition, on both sides of the transparent support,
An invention has also been proposed in which heat-sensitive recording layers each having a different color hue are provided to obtain a two-color or multi-color image (JP-A-49-114431, JP-A-50-3640, JP-A-Sho 60- (See Publication No. 4092).

However, since the heat-sensitive color forming layer is simply a solid state dispersion of the color forming component and the color developing component, the color forming layer itself becomes substantially opaque due to light confusion. It is not possible to obtain a multicolor image with clear color separation. Furthermore, in the invention described in JP-A No. 60-4092, there is a description that each component is dissolved and applied to the same layer in order to improve the transparency of the heat-sensitive coloring layer, but in this case, Color development of each component easily occurs even before printing, resulting in so-called fog. Therefore, the number of possible color divisions is small, and the material is essentially unsatisfactory as a multicolor recording material.

Here, the present applicant has developed a multicolor thermosensitive film that can obtain better thermosensitive color images than ever before by providing coloring layers that are substantially transparent and that develop different hues on both sides of a transparent support. Patent application No. 61-80787 to propose recording materials
No., Patent Application No. 1988-88196, Patent Application No. 1982-754
No. 09).

According to this, it is possible to obtain a multicolor image with excellent hue, excellent color separation property, and good image storage stability, which could not be obtained conventionally depending on the thermal recording method. Further, the obtained image can be a transmission image or a reflection image. In addition, there are fewer parts than thermal transfer recording methods, and there are no consumables such as transfer ribbons.

Since such thermosensitive recording paper has coloring layers on both sides, it is necessary to heat both sides with a thermal head.

In addition, if multiple color-forming layers are provided on one side, the top layer (the layer closest to the surface) is heated and colored at a level that does not heat the other layers, and this color-forming layer is fixed and other layers are heated. It is necessary to heat-treat the coloring layer. The basic image recording procedure will be explained below with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5(A), the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is provided with a magenta dye layer (hereinafter referred to as M dye layer) 104 on one side of a polyester film (hereinafter referred to as PET) 102, which is a support for the heat-sensitive recording material 10. A yellow dye layer (hereinafter referred to as Y dye layer) 106 is provided on the dye layer 104. A cyan dye layer (hereinafter referred to as C dye layer) 108 is provided on the other side of the support, and is entirely transparent. There is.

Note that the Y dye layer 106 is of a light-fixing type, and is a layer that does not change even when heated after being irradiated with light having a wavelength of 400 nm from the light source 109. A recording head 110 is disposed above the heat-sensitive recording material 10.

First, in FIG. 5(A), the Y dye layer 106 is heat-treated using a thermal heater 110. In this case, the amount of heat applied to the M dye layer 104 under the Y dye layer 106 is such that the heat does not cause color development.

As a result, only the Y dye layer 106 develops color.

Next, in FIG. 5(B), from the Y dye layer side 106 to 40
Light with a wavelength of approximately 0 nm is irradiated. As a result, the Y dye layer 106 is fixed, and there is no change in color during subsequent heating.

In FIG. 5(C), the M dye layer 104 is heat-treated with a larger amount of heat than when the Y dye layer 106 is heated. As a result, the M dye layer 104 develops color.

Next, in FIG. 5(D), the thermosensitive recording paper 10 is turned over, and in FIG. 5(E), the C dye layer 108 is heat-treated. Further, when another recording head 112 (see the imaginary line in FIG. 5(A)) is provided below the heat-sensitive recording material 10, the heat treatment is performed in that state. In this case, PET
The C dye layer 108 develops color by being heated with an amount of heat that does not affect the M dye layer 104 provided with lO2 in between.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, as a condition for automatically processing such image recording procedures, it is necessary to record the same image separately for each hue and accurately position the thermal recording paper in order to reproduce the colors. It is difficult to perform high-speed processing like the thermal transfer recording method. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5A, if recording heads 110 and 112 are arranged on both sides of the heat-sensitive photosensitive material 10, the reversing operation of the heat-sensitive recording paper becomes unnecessary, but the number of parts increases and the device Since it is also large in size, it is unpractical and undesirable.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention aims to obtain an image recording method that combines practicality such as high-speed processing by processing a coloring layer provided on a transparent support by thermal recording and further recording different hues by thermal transfer. is the purpose.

[Means to solve the problem]

The image recording method according to the present invention is an image recording method in which an image is recorded by heat-treating a heat-sensitive recording material provided with a transparent heat-sensitive coloring layer that develops a color in a predetermined hue on a transparent support, It is characterized in that a dye different from the predetermined hue is recorded on the material by thermal transfer.

[Effect]

The image recording procedure of the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIG.

Incidentally, in explaining the present invention, as the heat-sensitive recording material 10, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a transparent support 202 is used.
Two different types of transparent thermosensitive coloring layers (an M dye layer 204 and a C dye layer 206 in order from the top layer) are laminated on one side of the photoreceptor. Note that the M dye layer 204 uses a light-fixing type which has the property of not being changed by heat after being irradiated with light (wavelength: 400 nm).

As shown in FIG. 1(A), first, the upper M dye layer 2
04 is heated by the recording head 208 to develop color.

In this case, only the M dye layer 204 can be colored by applying a heat amount that does not affect the C dye layer 206 below.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1(B), a light beam with a wavelength of 400 nm is irradiated onto the colored M dye layer 204 using a light source 210. As a result, the M dye layer 204 is fixed.

As shown in FIG. 1C, after the heat treatment and fixing treatment of the M dye layer 204 are completed, the C dye layer 206, which is the lower layer, is then heated by the recording head 208. In this case, the amount of heat is higher than that during the heat treatment of the M dye layer 204, and the C dye layer 206 can be reliably colored.

In this case, the M dye layer 204 is fixed and will not be changed by the heat treatment of the C dye layer 206.

The above is the heat-sensitive recording process, and by using one of the dyes as a photofixing type as described above, layers of different dyes can be laminated.

Next, the thermal transfer recording step is as shown in FIG. 1(D).
A transfer ribbon 212 is arranged between the recording head 208 and the heat-sensitive recording material 10, and the Y dye 212A applied to the transfer ribbon 212 is transferred to the heat-sensitive recording material 10 by the recording head 208.
Transfer to.

As shown by imaginary lines in FIG. 1(D), the transfer ribbon 212 has both ends in the longitudinal direction connected to the ribbon cassette 2.
The paper is wound up in layers around conveyor rollers 216 and 218 provided at 14, and is configured to be drawn out sequentially from one roller 216 to the other roller 218.

As a result, three colors of dyes are recorded on the heat-sensitive recording material 10, and a color hard copy can be obtained.

In the present invention, when using a heat-sensitive recording material in which a transparent heat-sensitive coloring layer is provided on one side of a transparent support, a different hue is recorded by thermal transfer in addition to the hue of the transparent heat-sensitive coloring layer by heat-sensitive recording. By doing so, there is no need to apply a transparent thermosensitive coloring layer to the other side of the transparent support,
The image recording process shown in the prior art (see FIG. 5) can be simplified. Furthermore, compared to a method in which all hues are thermally transferred, the amount of ribbon used can be reduced.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 shows a schematic structure of an image recording apparatus according to this embodiment.

One side of the thermosensitive recording material 10 is housed in a magazine 12, and is wound up in layers on a winding roll 14 within the magazine 12. The intermediate portion of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is pulled out from an outlet 16 provided in the magazine 12, and is held between a pair of conveyance rollers 18. The conveyance roller 18 is a driver 20
The heat-sensitive recording material 10 is rotated by the driving force of arrow C in FIG.
It is designed to be transported in the direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 has a structure in which an M dye layer 204 and a C dye layer 206 are provided on one side of a support (hereinafter referred to in FIG. 1). (numbers also apply to examples).

In this embodiment, PETlO2 is used as the support 202, and the entire support is transparent.

A cutter 22 is installed downstream of the conveyance roller 18, and the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is cut into desired lengths by the driving force of a driver 24. The cut heat-sensitive recording material 10 is further conveyed while being sandwiched between a pair of conveyance rollers 26 driven by the driving force of a driver 25, and guided to a heating processing section 28.

The heat processing section 28 includes a support drum 30 and a line-type thermal head 32, and the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is heated by the thermal head 32 while being wound around the support drum 30. There is. The support drum 30 is formed of a metallic cylindrical body 34, and an elastic body 36 is wound around the outer periphery of the support drum 30. The support drum 30 is
It is designed to be rotated at a constant speed in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2 by the driving force of a driver 38, and has the role of sequentially aligning the thermal recording material 10 wound around this support drum 30 with the thermal head 32. .

One end of the thermal head 32 is supported by an apparatus frame (not shown) via a shaft 40, and is rotated about this shaft 40 by the driving force of a driver 41 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 2 and in the opposite direction. A heating element 42 disposed on the other side is brought into contact with and separated from the heat-sensitive recording material 10 wound around the support drum 30. An image signal is output from the control device 45 to the heating element 42 when it comes into contact with the heat-sensitive recording material 10, and an image is formed on the heat-sensitive recording material 10 by generating heat according to the image signal 100 (thermal recording). .

The heat-sensitive recording material 10 conveyed to the heat treatment section 28 by the conveyance roller 26 is guided in its conveyance direction by a guide plate 44, and the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is guided in the conveyance direction by a guide plate 44.
6 to a recessed portion 48 forming a part of the recessed portion 6. A latch pawl 52, which together with the concave portion 48 constitutes a holding portion, is pivotally supported in the concave portion 48 via a shaft 50 arranged parallel to the rotation axis of the support drum 30. This latch claw 5
2 is a thermosensitive recording material 1 guided by a guide plate 44
When one end of 0 is accommodated in the concave portion 48, the driver 49
It has the role of holding one end of the heat-sensitive recording material by rotating in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 via the shaft 50 with the driving force of. When the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is held by the latch pawl 52, it is sequentially wound around the outer periphery of the support drum 30 as the support drum 300 rotates.

The timing at which the latch claw 52 holds the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is determined by a limit switch 54 provided in the middle of the transport path of the heat-sensitive recording material 10. That is, when the heat-sensitive recording material 10 reaches the position of the limit switch 54, the actuator 56 of the limit switch 54 interferes with the heat-sensitive recording material 10 and switches the contact point. In this embodiment, the limit switch 54 is A normally oven type is applied, and it is turned on when it comes into contact with the heat-sensitive recording material 10). The on (high level) and off (low level) signals from the limit switch 54 are supplied to the control device 45, and the control device 45 sends the heat sensitive recording material 10 for a predetermined time (at least After the tip of the latch 10 hits the back of the concave portion 48), the latch pawl 52 is operated (rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2). As a result, the relative position between the heat-sensitive recording material 10 and the support drum 30 is always constant in the state in which it is held by the latch claw 52, and accurate positioning is achieved.

Idle rollers 58, 60, 62 are disposed at a plurality of locations (three locations in this embodiment) on the outer periphery of the support drum 30, and the support drum 30 and the idle rollers 58, 60, 62 move the heat-sensitive recording material 10. is wound tightly around the outer periphery of the support drum 30. Further, a light source 64 connected to the control device 45 via a driver 63 is disposed on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the support drum 30 at the heating position of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 by the thermal head 32 (
(between the idle roller 60 and the idle roller 62), the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is irradiated with light. The wavelength of this light is 400 nm, and is used for fixing the M dye layer 204 (see FIG. 1) of the heat-sensitive recording material 10. That is, in this embodiment, the support drum 30 is rotated three times in succession after starting rotation, and during the first rotation of the heat-sensitive recording material 10, the M dye layer 204 is heated by the thermal head 32. Processing is performed, and fixing is performed immediately after this processing.

During the 300th rotation of the support drum, that is, at the second rotation, M
C color patch layer 206 (first
(see figure) is heat treated. The amount of heat generated by the heating element 42 is set to be "weak" during the first rotation of the support drum 30, has no effect on the lower M dye layer 104, and is set to "strong" during the second rotation. control device W14
5.

A transfer ribbon cassette 214, as shown in FIG. . Both ends of the transfer ribbon 212 are wound up in layers around rollers 216 and 218 disposed inside the transfer ribbon cassette 214, respectively.
The rollers are sequentially pulled out from one roller 216 to the other roller 218 by the driving force of a drive means (not shown). The transfer ribbon cassette 214 is supported by a bracket 73, and this bracket 73 is moved in the direction of the rotation axis of the rollers 216 and 218 by the driving force of the driver 74.
The exposed transfer ribbon 212 can be moved in the direction of arrow E in FIG.
A structure capable of taking a first position between the heating element 42 of No. 2 and the heat-sensitive recording material 10 (position shown in imaginary line in Fig. 2) and a second position (position shown in solid line in Fig. 2) that does not interfere with the movement locus of the recording unit. It becomes. Here, the transfer ribbon cassette 214 is held in the second position until the second rotation of the support drum 30, and is moved to the first position in the third rotation (in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 2).
The Y dye 212A applied to the transfer ribbon 212 is transferred to the heat-sensitive recording material 10 by the heating element 42 (thermal transfer recording).

After the transfer process of the Y dye 212A is completed, the holding section 46 releases the holding of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 when it passes the guide plate 66, so that the heat-sensitive recording material 10
is guided between a guide plate 76 and a guide plate 78, and is led to a take-out tray 81 by a pair of general feed rollers 80.

The control device 45 includes a CPU 82, a RAM 84, and a ROM 86.
, a human power port 88, an output port 90, and a bus 92 such as a data bus or a control bus connecting these ports. A start switch 96 is connected to the input boat 88, and when the start switch 96 is operated, the drawing operation of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 from the magazine 12 is started, and a series of heating treatments are performed. In addition, input port 88
A signal line 98 from the limit switch 54 is connected to.

At the output port 90, a cutter 22, a support drum 30, a thermal head 32, a latch claw 52, a light source 64, a bracket 73, and a conveyance roller 18, 26 are connected to a driver 24, respectively.
．． 38, 41, 49, 63, 74, 20, and 25, and their respective drives are controlled. Further, a signal line 100 that supplies the image signal to the thermal head 32 is also connected to the output port 90 .

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below with reference to the heat treatment explanatory diagram in FIG. 3 and the control flowchart in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 3(A), the heat-sensitive recording material 10 (see the solid line position in FIG. 3(A)) is guided to the guide plate 44 by the driving force of the conveying roller 18 (see FIG. 2), and is guided to step 150, the thermosensitive recording material 10 is conveyed by a predetermined amount at the third
When it reaches the position indicated by the imaginary line in Figure (A), it comes into contact with the actuator 56 of the limit switch 54. Here, in step 152, it is determined whether or not the limit switch 54 is turned on, and when the limit switch 54 is turned on, a high level signal is input to the input port 88.

In the next step 154, it is determined whether or not a predetermined period of time has elapsed since this high level signal was input manually.If the determination is affirmative, the latch pawl 52 moves in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 3(B). (Step 1)
56) During this predetermined time, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is accommodated in the recess 48 of the support drum 30, and its leading end is held by the latch claw 52.

As shown in FIG. 3(C), when the leading end of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is held by the latch claw 52, step 15
At 8, the support drum 30 starts rotating in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3(C) (first rotation). next step 160
The following thermal recording processing control is performed. That is, when the holding part 46 passes the heating element 42 of the thermal head 32, a drive signal is output from the output port 90 via the driver 41, and the thermal head 32 moves in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3(C) about the shaft 40. The heating element 42 contacts the heat-sensitive recording material 10. As a result, the support drum 30 is rotated with the heating element 42 in contact with the heat-sensitive recording material 10,
An image signal is output to the heating element 42 in accordance with this rotation.

The heating element 42 is set to have a "weak" heat quantity, and heats the heat-sensitive recording material 10 in response to this image signal, thereby increasing the temperature of the M dye layer 2.
Colors only 04. When the heat treatment by the heating element 42 is completed, the thermal head 32 is rotated about the shaft 40 in the opposite direction of arrow C in FIG. 3(C), and the heating element 42 is separated from the heat-sensitive recording material 10.

When the holding part 46 passes the idle roller 60, light with a wavelength of 400 nm is directed to the image surface of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 from the light source 6.
It is irradiated from 4. As a result, the M dye layer 204 is fixed and remains unchanged even if it is heated thereafter.

When the rotation of the support drum 3001 is completed by <ff%, the rotation proceeds to the second rotation, and the C dye layer 206 is heated. That is, the amount of heat for the heat treatment by the heating element 42 is switched to "strong", the same process as that for heating the M dye layer 204 is performed, and the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is heated in accordance with the image signal, Only the dye layer 206 is colored. In this case, since the M dye in the upper layer is fixed, it does not change. Further, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is mounted on a support drum 30.
Since there is no change in the relative position between the M dye and the C dye, images of the M dye and the C dye can be accurately colored without causing color shift. The heat-sensitive recording material 10 after the heat treatment of the C dye layer 206 passes through the irradiation position of the light source 64;
4 is for fixing the M dye layer 204, so
It doesn't matter if it's lit or turned off,
Preferably, the lights should be turned off to save energy.

As shown in FIG. 3(D), when the support drum 30 rotates twice and the thermal recording process for the M dye layer 204 and the C dye layer 206 is completed, the following thermal transfer recording process control is performed in step 162. .

That is, the transfer ribbon 21 held in the second position
4 is moved to the first position by moving in the axial direction of the rollers 216 and 218 via the bracket 73. As a result, the transfer ribbon 212 is interposed between the heating element 42 and the heat-sensitive recording material 10, and in this state, the support drum 30 is
Move to rotating eyes.

As shown in FIG. 3(E), when the holding part 46 passes the heating element 42, the thermal recording material 10 is moved to the thermal head 3.
2 is rotated in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3(E), the heating element 42 comes into contact with the heat-sensitive recording material 10 via the transfer ribbon, and heat treatment is performed based on the image signal output from the output boat 90.

As a result, the Y dye is thermally transferred. That's step 1
62 and the next step 16
4 simultaneously with the rotation of the thermal head 32 in the opposite direction of arrow C after the heating process by the heating element 42 is completed.

As shown in FIG. 3(F), when a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the heating element 42 of the thermal head 32 is separated from the heat-sensitive recording material 10, in step 164), the holding part 46 passes through the guide plate 66, and in step 166 At this point, the holding part 46 releases the heat-sensitive recording material 10, and the supporting drum 3
0 is conveyed between the guide plate 76 and the guide plate 78 according to the rotation. The thermosensitive recording material 10 between the guide plate 76 and the guide plate 78 is held between the conveyance rollers 80, and is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the conveyance rollers 80 in step 168, and sent out to the take-out tray 81, where - sheets of thermal recording material are conveyed by the conveyance rollers 80. The heating treatment of the recording material is completed and a color hard copy can be obtained.

As described above, in this embodiment, since an image is obtained by thermal transfer of one of the three colors, the amount of transfer ribbon consumed is reduced compared to a conventional image recording device that obtains an image by thermal transfer of all three colors. can be done. Further, because of this, only one transfer ribbon cassette is required, the mounting space for the transfer ribbon cassette can be reduced, and the entire apparatus can be downsized.

Note that since the Y dye was used for recording by thermal transfer, even if there is a slight positional deviation from other dyes, it is not noticeable compared to other dyes, and a good image can be obtained.

Furthermore, if a white mount is attached to the thermal transfer side edge of the heat-sensitive recording material used in this example and used as a reflection image from the opposite side, the transfer surface can be protected and the Image deterioration can also be prevented.

Furthermore, since the Y dye layer 212A becomes the bottom layer, the color tone of the image is not disturbed by yellow having a strong covering power.

Further, in this embodiment, three colors of dyes were used, but the same effect can be obtained even in the case of two-color laminate, in which black is used for thermal recording and red is used for thermal transfer recording.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is placed on the support drum 3.
Although the heat-sensitive recording process or the heat-transfer recording process was performed by winding the heat-sensitive recording material around 0, the present invention is not limited to such an apparatus, and the heat-sensitive recording material may be conveyed flatly.

Further, an optical sensor is disposed between the heating element 42 and the idle roller 58, and the elastic body 36 is made white, and the heating element 42 records an M dye coloring marker on the film surface after recording the M dye. By detecting the marker with an optical sensor before recording, color shift between the M dye and the C dye can be eliminated.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the image recording method according to the present invention can combine practicality such as continuous processing by processing the coloring layer provided on the transparent support by thermal recording and further thermal transfer recording of different hues. It has this excellent effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1(A) to (D) are explanatory diagrams showing the image recording method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 3(A) to (F) 4 is a control flowchart, and FIGS. 5(A) to 5(E) are explanatory diagrams showing the basic coloring process of a multicolor thermosensitive recording material. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Thermal recording material, 28... Heat processing part, 32... Thermal head, 45... Control device, 94... Microcomputer, 214... Transfer ribbon cassette.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An image recording method in which an image is recorded by heat-treating a heat-sensitive recording material having a transparent support provided with a transparent heat-sensitive coloring layer that develops a color in a predetermined hue, the heat-sensitive recording material having the predetermined hue. An image recording method characterized by recording a dye different from that by thermal transfer.