JPH0234390A - End mark forming method for thermal transfer recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To lower the possibility of deformation, such as wrinkling, of a recording medium by a method wherein a sheet material capable of receiving a thermal transfer layer is brought into close contact with the thermal transfer layer, and a heated body having the shape of an end mark is brought into close contact with the sheet material to remove partially the thermal transfer layer at a terminal end part of the recording medium. CONSTITUTION:A sheet material 2 capable of receiving a thermal transfer layer 4 of a thermal transfer recording medium 3 is brought into close contact with the layer 4 st a terminal end part of the medium 3, and a metallic die 1 having the shape of an end mark is brought into close contact with the sheet material 2, thereby removing partially the layer 4 at the terminal end part of the medium 3. With the end mark thus formed on the recording medium 3, a force exerted on the medium 3 at the time of releasing is reduced, and the possibility of deformation such as wrinkling of the medium 3 is lowered. In addition, the quantity of heat given to the medium 3 is so small that a base film 5 of the medium 3 is hardly deformed. Further, the construction is simpler than the conventional constructions, and a long marking can be easily obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording medium used for thermal transfer recording in which characters and images are recorded by a transfer method using a thermal helad. Concerning how to create an end mark for detecting.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, three methods have been used to detect the end of thermal transfer recording. The first method is to attach a colored or transparent film different from that of the recording medium to the end of the recording medium, the second method is to apply ink different from the color of the medium to the end of the recording medium, and the third method is to is a method of partially removing hot-melt ink at the end of the medium.

The first of these methods is reliable in terms of detection, but the manufacturing process involves joining a film different from the recording medium, making the work complicated and causing problems at the joining part. In the second method, the application and drying during the ink application process reduces workability, especially efficiency, and the applied detection ink may be trapped in the thermal head, etc. The problem was that it was easy to cause trouble.

Regarding the third method, make sure to use hot-melt ink.
There is no way to effectively remove it, and it has not been put to practical use.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> The present invention provides a reliable and effective method for partially removing hot-melt ink, which is the third method among the above-mentioned conventional techniques. That is.

The problem with partially removing heat-fusible ink is that it can be effectively removed without causing distortion, wrinkles, etc. on thin substrates such as heat-sensitive recording media. For this purpose, the inventor of the present invention has investigated methods such as using adhesive tape and removing the end mark by transferring it to another object by heating. When removing hot-melt ink by heating,
By not bringing the heating object into direct contact with the thermal transfer recording medium, but by bringing the heating object into close contact with the thermal transfer layer through a sheet material that can receive the thermal transfer layer, it is possible to reliably and without deformation or other effects on the recording medium. It turns out that there is less to give.

That is, the present invention provides a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium comprising at least a heat-sensitive transfer layer containing a heat-melting composition as a main component on one side of a base material. A heat-sensitive transfer recording medium characterized in that the heat-sensitive transfer layer at the end portion of the medium is partially removed by closely contacting a layer-receptive sheet material and a heating object in the shape of an end mark from above. This is an end mark creation method.

The thermal transfer layer receptive sheet material used in the present invention includes:
For example, a thin polyester film coated with hot-melt ink and, if necessary, an anti-sticking layer provided on the opposite side to the side coated with the hot-melt ink is used.

<Effects of the Invention> The method of transferring the thermofusible composition on the recording medium to another material using heat requires less force when peeling the recording medium than the method of physically peeling it off using an adhesive tape or the like at room temperature. It is less likely to cause deformation such as wrinkles on the recording medium, and the amount of heat given to the recording medium is lower than that of a method in which a heated mold or the like is applied from the back side of the recording medium to transfer the hot melt composition on the surface to other materials. There is less deformation of the base film of the recording medium.

Furthermore, the structure is simpler than the conventional method in which a heating object and ink-receiving paper are placed between the recording medium, and long markings can be easily formed.

<Example> A heat-sensitive transfer recording medium consisting of a polyester film with a thickness of 5.7 μm, the surface of which was coated with a heat-melting coloring composition having a melting point of 65° C. to a thickness of 3.5 μm to form a heat-sensitive transfer layer. At the end, an end mark area was formed by removing the heat-sensitive transfer layer over a length of 20 m to 1 m using the following three methods.

<First method> As shown in Fig. 1, the thermal transfer recording medium (3) is stacked on a smooth plate (6) with the thermal transfer layer (4) facing upward, and a weight of 40 g is placed on top of the thermal transfer recording medium (3). /rrf thin paper (2) was stacked, and then a metal mold (1) heated to 150° C. was applied for 3 seconds at a pressure of 500 g/nf, and then the thin paper and metal mold were separated.

<Second method> As shown in Figure 2, a weight of 4゜g is placed on a smooth plate (6).
/nT thin paper (2) was stacked, a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium (3) was stacked on top of it with the heat-sensitive transfer layer (4) facing downward, and a metal mold was heated to 150°C from above the polyester film (5). After applying (1) for 3 seconds at a pressure of 500 g/TIT, the thin paper and metal mold were separated.

Third method> As shown in Figure 3, a thermal transfer recording medium (3) is stacked on a smooth plate (6) with its thermal transfer layer (4) facing upward, and a width layer is placed on top of it. 20 ■ Adhesive tape (7) with a length of 1 m is attached, and after applying a pressure of 500 g/nf, the adhesive tape is peeled off.

As a result of experiments using the above three methods, the second method caused significant thermal deformation of the polyester film (5), and the third method resulted in many wrinkles occurring when the adhesive tape was peeled off, resulting in defective products in both cases. However, the first method did not cause any deformation of the polyester film, and the width of the polyester film was 20 mg*
The heat-sensitive transfer layer in the end mark area with a length of 1 m could be removed cleanly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the method of the present invention in which heat and pressure is applied from the thin paper side, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a method in which heat and pressure is applied from the polyester film side, and Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a method using adhesive tape. It is an explanatory diagram. (1)...Metal type (2)...Thin paper (3)...Thermal transfer recording medium (4)...Thermal transfer layer (5)...Polyester film (6)...
・Smooth plate (7)...Adhesive tape patent application Hito Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. Representative Kazuo Suzuki Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium comprising at least a heat-sensitive transfer layer containing a heat-melting composition as a main component on one side of a base material, a heat-transfer layer-receptive sheet is provided on the heat-sensitive transfer layer at the end portion of the medium. A method for creating an end mark for a thermal transfer recording medium, characterized in that the thermal transfer layer at the end of the medium is partially removed by bringing materials into close contact with each other and a heating object in the shape of an end mark is brought into close contact with the material.