JPH02128896A - Thermal transfer recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a transmission image copy of an overhead projector (OHP) or the like to be easily prepared in a high density high clearly by a method wherein an accepting layer and further a thermal resistant lubricative layer are laminated on a thermal transfer ink layer on a substrate to make monolithic construction. CONSTITUTION:A thermal transfer ink layer 3 of a thermal transfer recording medium 1 uses sublimate dye. Further, when a transmission image copy of an OHP or the like is prepared, a transparent plastic film like a polyester film or the like is used for a substrate 3 of the thermal transfer recording medium 1. An accepting layer 4 corresponds to the accepting layer of a transfer sheet. In the case of a sublimate type using sublimate dye, polyester resin which is high in dyeability is used as this accepting layer 4. Herein, heat resistant resin mixed by silicone resin, fluororesin, etc. as lubricant can be used as a heat resistant lubricative layer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is applicable to high-density thermal transfer images,
The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording medium from which a transparent image can be obtained using a projector (OHP) or the like.

(Prior Art) In recent years, overhead projectors (hereinafter referred to as O
(abbreviated as HP) is frequently used.

With the spread of these OHP systems, various means have been adopted for image forming methods.

Additionally, there is an increasing demand for color images and higher density images. In order to meet these demands, it has become common to process characters and images using personal computers, word processors, etc., and to create transparent image originals such as OHP using various printer devices as output devices.

Among these various types of printers used to create OHP transparent image originals, thermal transfer printers are easy to handle and maintain, make less noise during printing, and produce images with good gradation. It has the following characteristics.

There are two types of thermal transfer type printers: a sublimation type that uses a heat-sublimable dye as a coloring material, and a melting type that uses a heat-melting binder and a pigment as a coloring material.

The principle of printing using these thermal transfer printers is as follows:
A thermal transfer recording sheet, which has a thermal transfer ink layer on one side of the substrate, and a transfer sheet are overlapped, and the thermal transfer ink layer or thermal transfer ink layer of the thermal transfer recording sheet is heated, for example, from the substrate side of the thermal transfer recording sheet by a thermal head of a printer device. The color material inside is thermally transferred to the transfer sheet.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, although the thermal transfer method is attracting attention as it exhibits the great features mentioned above, it still has a particularly big problem when applied to a recording medium having a transparent image such as an OHP. has been done. Unlike when the image is thermally transferred onto a transfer sheet based on paper or synthetic paper with a high degree of whiteness, when it is thermally transferred onto a transparent plastic film used for transmissive image originals such as OHP, the image is recorded once. It is to decrease. Furthermore, a transparent image original such as an OHP whose image is observed using transmitted light requires a much higher density than a normal transfer sheet whose image is observed using reflected light.

Even in the thermal transfer method, in the melting type thermal transfer method, which uses pigment as the coloring material and a low melting point substance such as wax as the binder, the transferred ink layer itself has a low transmittance, making it difficult to obtain clear and high-density transmitted images. difficult.

Although the thermal transfer method has many advantages, it is difficult to create a high-density transparent original such as an OHP using the conventional method.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present inventors have developed a recording medium that can obtain transparent image originals such as OHP, which is becoming widely popular, with high density and clarity, while making full use of the features of conventional thermal transfer printer devices. The development of thermal transfer ink donor sheets (
In conventional recording media (sheets), it corresponds to the transfer sheet)
We believe that if the density of the ink layer itself provided in the image recording medium can be utilized in the image recording medium, the objective can be achieved by providing an ink layer in which the coloring material is dissolved or dispersed at a high concentration.As a result of various studies, we have developed the present invention. completed.

That is, the present invention is characterized by an integrated structure in which a thermal transfer ink layer is provided on a substrate, a receptor layer that receives coloring material from the thermal transfer ink layer, and a heat-resistant slipping layer are laminated in this order on the thermal transfer ink layer. This is a thermal transfer recording medium that performs thermal transfer by heating with a thermal head from the heat-resistant slipping layer side, and after thermal transfer, the receiving layer and the thermal transfer in layer are peeled off between the layers and the substrate side having the ink layer is transferred to the image. It is used as a recording medium.

In the conventional thermal transfer recording method, a coloring material or a thermal transfer ink layer is thermally transferred from a thermal transfer recording sheet (corresponding to the thermal transfer ink acceptor sheet of the present invention) to a receiving sheet (corresponding to the thermal transfer ink donor sheet of the present invention), and this While a sheet serves as an image recording medium, the present invention is a thermal transfer recording medium characterized by an integral structure based on the completely opposite idea. For example, regarding gradation, 0 (edge) gradation OH
In order to obtain transparent parts of transparent images such as P, the maximum thermal energy is applied through the thermal transfer ink acceptor sheet, and most of the coloring material in the ink layer of the thermal transfer ink donor sheet is thermally transferred, making it colorless and transparent. On the other hand, in order to obtain a transparent image portion such as an OHP image having the highest density, it is possible to obtain it by not applying thermal energy, that is, by using the ink layer itself as it is without transferring the coloring material. In this way,
A high-density image recording medium, which could not be achieved using conventional techniques, can now be achieved by using the thermal transfer ink layer itself containing a coloring material.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention. In the figure, 2 indicates the base of the thermal transfer recording medium 1, 3 indicates the thermal transfer ink layer, 4 indicates the receiving layer that receives the coloring material from the thermal transfer ink layer, and 5 indicates the heat-resistant slipping layer.

In the case of a sublimation type thermal transfer ink layer 3 using a sublimable dye, the thermal transfer ink layer 3 of the thermal transfer recording medium 1 increases the transfer efficiency of the coloring material and lowers the residual rate of the coloring material in the ink layer after the coloring material is transferred. ,
In order to increase transparency and obtain clear images, it is desirable for the ink layer to have a high concentration and a thin thickness. Usually, the thickness of the ink layer is preferably 0.1 to 10 μm, particularly 0.1 to 1 μm. It is important to include as much coloring material as possible in such a thin ink layer.

Further, as the substrate 3 of the thermal transfer recording medium 1, a transparent plastic film such as a polyester film is used when creating a transparent image original such as an OHP. usually,
A thickness of 50 to 125 μm is used.

The receptor layer 4 corresponds to the receptor layer of a transfer sheet in conventional thermal transfer recording. As this receptor layer 4,
In the case of a sublimation type using a sublimable dye, a polyester resin with high dyeability is used. The thickness is usually 2
-50um, especially 2-10um is preferred. of course,
The thinner the thickness including this heat-resistant slipping layer, the higher the resolution and the higher the sensitivity.

Here, as the heat-resistant slipping layer, a mixture of a heat-resistant resin and a lubricant such as a silicone resin or a fluororesin can be used. The thickness is usually 01 to 5 μm, preferably 0.1 to 2 μm.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

A thermal transfer recording medium 1 having the structure shown in FIG. 1 was prepared by the following method.

[Thermal Transfer Ink Layer] The following ink composition was coated on one side of a polyester film having a thickness of 100 μm as the substrate 2 so that the thickness after drying was 1 μm.

Ink Kaya Set Blue 14 5 parts by weight (manufactured by Nippon Kakuwa) Byron-5001 parts by weight (manufactured by Toyobo, linear saturated polyester resin) BL-141
Hanging part (Tansui Kagaku Co., Ltd., polyvinyl butyral) Methyl ethyl ketone 40 parts by weight Toluene 40 parts by weight cyclohexanone
10 parts by weight of the following receptor layer composition was coated onto this cyan ink composition at a predetermined thickness so that the thickness after drying was 5 μm.

11115 l Byron-20015 parts by weight (manufactured by Toyobo, linear saturated polyester resin) Byron-3
0010 Heavy machinery department (manufactured by Toyobo, linear saturated polyester resin) Byron-5
005 monomer part (manufactured by Toyobo, linear saturated polyester tree [11) KS-8
412 parts by weight (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical, silicone oil) Brilliant-15004 parts by weight (calcium carbonate, manufactured by Shiraishi Calcium) Methyl ethyl ketone 32 parts by weight Toluene 32 parts by weight 1. This receptor layer composition contains silicone oil as a release agent in the receptor layer, but the release agent may be provided as a release layer between the receptor layer and the ink layer.

The results of recording in Examples using the thermal transfer recording medium 1 thus obtained, the cyan ink composition was provided on a 6 μm thick polyester film, and the receptor layer composition was roughly placed on a 100 μm thick polyester film. Table 1 shows the results of recording in a comparative example using a conventional thermal transfer recording sheet and a thermal transfer sheet.

Table 1 1) Transmission density was measured using Macbeth S meter TD-914.

Rate 2) Reflection density was measured using a Macbeth densitometer RD-918 on a white synthetic paper placed below.

As can be seen from this table, compared to the comparative example using a conventional thermal transfer recording sheet, the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention makes it possible to obtain a transparent image recording medium such as an OHP having a higher density.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the thermal transfer recording medium according to the present invention can directly maintain the high density, sharpness, and transparency properties of the thermal transfer ink layer, especially in the thermal dye sublimation transfer method. It is possible to leave it on the top and use it. As a result, O
Transparent image manuscripts such as HP can be easily created with high density and high clarity, and can be provided that can be greatly utilized in presentations such as conferences, education, and lectures.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Thermal transfer recording medium, 2... Substrate, 3... Thermal transfer ink layer, 4... Receiving layer, 5... Heat-resistant slipping layer, 6
...Thermal head. Patent Applicant: Japan Victor Co., Ltd. Representative Kakiki
Kunio

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A thermal transfer recording characterized by an integrated structure in which a thermal transfer ink layer is provided on a substrate, a receptor layer that receives coloring material from the thermal transfer ink layer, and a heat-resistant slipping layer are laminated in this order on the thermal transfer ink layer. Medium. (2) A thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 1, characterized in that a release layer is provided between the receptor layer and the thermal transfer ink layer.