JPH02145350A - Thermal transfer printing method and thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always obtain a transfer image of high quality by thermally transferring ink at a position not required for printing from a first ribbon having at least a release layer and an ink layer on a base layer to a second ribbon having no ink layer on a base layer. CONSTITUTION:Ink 21B at a position not required for printing an ink layer 21 on the surface of a first ribbon 15 is thermally transferred to a transfer layer 23 of a second ribbon 18 by a thermal head 12. As a result, all ink 21A of the layer 21 remaining on the ribbon 15 as a desired image is thermally transferred from the ribbon 15 to a sheet P by a hot roll 24. Thus, when the ink 21A is thermally transferred to the sheet P, the ink 21A is not pulled by any substance of the ribbon 15, and the end of ink 21C thermally transferred to the sheet P is not pulled to be jumped, but a print of high quality is always obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printing method and a thermal transfer printer that perform printing by melting an ink layer of a ribbon and transferring it to paper using heat generated by a thermal head, and particularly relates to a thermal transfer printer. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printing method and a thermal transfer printer that can always produce good transferred images without being affected by the smoothness of the paper surface.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional ink ribbons used in the aforementioned thermal transfer printers are constructed by laminating an ink layer made of a vehicle mixed with a head material such as carbon black as a colorant on a base layer such as polyethylene terephthalate. was.

Here, the vehicle uses a wax such as paraffin wax or carnauba wax as the main binder material, and uses a thermoplastic resin such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer or polyamide, or a terpene resin as an auxiliary material.
Furthermore, if necessary, a softener such as silicone oil was added.

However, in thermal transfer printing using conventional ink ribbons configured in this way, the ink cohesive force is weak, so if the paper is not smooth, bubbles and bleeding may occur.
There was a risk that the print quality would deteriorate.

In order to improve this kind of deterioration in print quality, it is possible to increase the amount of thermoplastic resin that strengthens the ink cohesive force.As the amount of thermoplastic resin increases, the ink cohesive force increases, resulting in so-called ink bridging. However, adding thermoplastic resin actually strengthens its affinity with the base layer and impedes the ink distance. It was not possible to increase the resin that much.

As a countermeasure to this problem, an ink ribbon 2 has been proposed in which a release layer 4 is interposed between a base layer 3 and an ink layer 5, as shown in FIG. This ink ribbon 2 is made by laminating a release layer 4 made of wax such as amide wax and a softener such as silicone oil as necessary on a base B3 such as polyethylene terephthalate, and on this release layer WA4. The main binder material is a thermoplastic resin such as , ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, or polyamide, and auxiliary materials include waxes such as amide wax and carnauba wax, terpene resin, etc., and if necessary, a flexible material such as silicone oil. The ink layer 5 is formed by laminating an ink layer 5 in which a head material such as carbon black is mixed as a coloring material on a vehicle prepared by adding an agent or the like.

Then, the thermal head 1 is pressed against the base layer 3 of the ink ribbon 2, and the paper P is pressed against the ink layer 5 of the ink ribbon 2, and the ink in the release layer 4 and the ink layer 5 is melted by the heat generated by the thermal head 1. , ink layer 5
The ink in the ink layer 5 is thermally transferred to the paper P by peeling the ink ribbon 2 from the paper P in a state where the affinity of the ink with the paper P is melted and strengthened.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional thermal transfer printing method and thermal transfer printer described above, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. The edges of the transferred ink 5B appear to be curled up, and the outline of the transferred image may become blurred, or there may be chips or bubbles, making it impossible to print with high quality.

The present invention solves the problems in the conventional methods described above, and provides a thermal transfer printing method and method that can always obtain high-quality transferred images without curling up or the like at the edges of the ink of the transferred ink layer. The purpose is to provide a thermal transfer printer.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the thermal transfer printing method according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a first ribbon having at least a release layer and an ink layer on the base layer, and a first ribbon having no ink layer on the base layer. The present invention is characterized in that the ink of the portions of the ink layer not required for printing is thermally transferred to the second ribbon, and the ink of the ink layer remaining on the first ribbon is thermally transferred to the paper for printing.

Further, in the thermal transfer printer according to claim 2, ink is transferred from a portion of the first ribbon having at least a release layer and an ink layer on a base layer that is not necessary for printing the ink layer to a second ribbon having no ink layer. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a thermal head for thermally transferring the ink of the ink layer left on the first ribbon to the paper, and a thermal roll for thermally transferring the ink of the ink layer left on the first ribbon to the paper.

Further, in the thermal transfer printer according to claim 3, the first ribbon having at least a release layer and an ink layer on a base layer uses ink in a portion of the first ribbon that is not necessary for printing with the ink layer on the first ribbon, and ink in a portion of the first ribbon having no ink layer. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a first thermal head for thermally transferring the ink to two ribbons, and a second thermal head for thermally transferring the ink of the ink layer left on the first ribbon to paper.

[For production]

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, from the first ribbon having an ink layer on the surface to the second ribbon having no ink layer,
After thermally transferring the ink in the parts of the ink layer that are not required for printing, the image of the ink left on the first ribbon is transferred to the paper, so the ink of the ink layer left on the first ribbon is thermally transferred to the paper. When printing, all of the ink in the ink layer on the surface of the first ribbon is thermally transferred to the paper, so when the first ribbon and the paper are separated, the ends of the ink in the ink layer that was thermally transferred to the paper are pulled and turned over. There is no climbing and the surface smoothness of the paper is improved! It is possible to always obtain high-quality transferred images without being affected.

(Example) The present invention will be explained below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 indicates a cylindrical platen that is long in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, and a thermal head 12 is disposed so as to be able to reciprocate along the axial direction of the platen 11. Between the thermal head 12 and the platen 11, a first ribbon 15 wound around a reel 13 and a reel 14, and a second ribbon 18 wound around a reel 16 and a reel 17 are mutually connected. They are arranged so that they can travel in the directions indicated by the arrows while being pressed together.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first ribbon 15 has a release layer 20 made of a wax-like material such as amide wax laminated on a base layer 19 made of a material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PETP). is,
Further, on this release layer 20, an ink layer 21 made of a similar polyamide with carbon black added is laminated. Further, the second ribbon 18
As shown in the figure, a transfer layer 23 made of a material having a strong affinity with the ink ff121, such as ethylene cellulose or cellulose acetate, is laminated on a base layer 22 made of the same material as the base layer 19 of the first ribbon 15. has been configured. The ribbons 15 and 18 are arranged between the platen 11 and the thermal head 12.
The ink layer 21 of the first ribbon 15 and the transfer layer 23 of the second ribbon 18 are arranged so as to be in contact with each other.

On the downstream side of the platen 11 in the traveling direction of the first ribbon 15, there is a heat roll 24 and a cylindrical platen 25, which transport the first ribbon 15 and the paper P in pressure contact with each other in the direction of the arrow. They are arranged in contact so that they can rotate in mutually opposite directions so as to be equal in the same direction. The first ribbon 15 is allowed to run so that the ink WIJ 21 comes into contact with the paper P.

Next, a thermal transfer printing method of the present invention, which is performed using the above-described embodiment, will be explained.

4 to 7 are process diagrams showing the procedure for printing by the thermal transfer printing method of the present invention. First, between the platen 11 and the thermal head 12, the ink layer 21 of the first ribbon 15 and the second ribbon In a state where the transfer layer 23 of No. 18 is in pressure contact, the heating element of the thermal head 12 selectively generates heat so that the thermal head 12 transfers the ink to the portions of the ink layer 21 that are not required for printing. The release layer 20 and the ink layer 21 of the ribbon 15 are melted and the ink 2 is applied to the portions of the ink layer 21 that are not required for printing.
1A to adhere to the transfer layer 23 of the second ribbon 18. At this time, the heat generated by the heat generating element of the thermal head 12 is
The temperature is controlled so that the transfer layer 23 of the second ribbon 18 does not melt. Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
and the first ribbon 15 whose affinity with the transfer layer 23 of the second ribbon 18 is increased by peeling off the second ribbon 18 and melting it.
Ink 21 in areas not required for printing of ink layer 21 of
A is thermally transferred to the transfer layer 23 of the second ribbon 18. As a result, ink remained on the first ribbon 15! The image formed by the ink 21B of No. 21 is transferred onto the paper P to obtain a normal transferred image, so that it is formed in the opposite direction to the normal image.

Next, between the heating oil 24 and the platen 25,
Ink 21 of the ink layer 21 left on the first ribbon 15
A is pressed against the paper P, the heat roll 24 is heated to a temperature at which the release layer 20 can be melted, and the ink It! remaining on the release layer 20 is removed. 21 ink 21A is made to adhere to the paper P. after that,
As shown in FIG. 7, the first ribbon 15 and the paper P are separated from each other, and the ink 2 has an increased affinity with the paper P by melting.
1A is thermally transferred to paper P. In this way, desired printing can be performed on the paper P.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the ink 21A is applied to the portions of the ink layer 21 on the surface of the first ribbon 15 that are not required for printing.
The transfer layer 2 of the second ribbon 18 is transferred by the thermal head 12.
As a result, the ink remained on the first ribbon 15 and became the desired image! Since all of the ink 21A of 121 is thermally transferred from the first ribbon 15 to the paper P, the ink 21A is not pulled by any substance on the ribbon 15 when thermally transferring the ink 21A to the paper P. The edges of the ink 21C that have been thermally transferred to the printer are not pulled and thrown up, and high-quality printing can always be performed.

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a second thermal head 27 is used instead of the thermal oven 24 in the first embodiment. At this time, the thermal head that replaces the heat roll 24 may be one that simply heats the first ribbon 15 over almost the entire width direction, or may be used to heat the ink layer 21 formed on the first ribbon 15. It is also possible to generate heat only from the heat generating element in the area corresponding to the ink 21A. In any case, no curling occurs when transferring from the first ribbon to paper P, and
Since any wrinkles that have been formed up to that point are eliminated, a high-quality transferred image can always be obtained.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes can be made as necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to always obtain a high-quality transferred image regardless of the type of paper.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15... First ribbon, 18... Second ribbon, 19° 22... Base layer, 20... Release layer, 21...
- Ink layer, 21A, 21B, 21G... Ink layer,
23... Transfer layer, 24... Heat roll, 27... Thermal head.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a thermal transfer printer, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a first ribbon, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a second ribbon. An enlarged side view of the ribbon, FIGS. 4 to 7 are process diagrams showing printing means of a thermal transfer printing method, FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a thermal transfer printer showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 10 is a process diagram showing a printing means using a conventional thermal transfer printing method.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) From a first ribbon having at least a release layer and an ink layer on the base layer to a second ribbon having no ink layer on the base layer, ink is applied to areas not required for printing with the ink layer. A thermal transfer printing method, characterized in that the ink of the ink layer left on the first ribbon is thermally transferred to paper and printed. 2) a thermal head for thermally transferring ink from a portion of the first ribbon having at least a release layer and an ink layer on the base shoulder that is not required for printing to a second ribbon having no ink layer; A thermal transfer printer comprising: a thermal roll for thermally transferring the ink of the ink layer left on the first ribbon onto paper. 3) a first thermal head for thermally transferring ink from a portion of the first ribbon having at least a release layer and an ink layer on the base layer that is not required for printing to a second ribbon having no ink layer; and a second thermal head for thermally transferring the ink of the ink layer left on the first ribbon onto paper.