JPH0239824Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording medium in which recording is performed by thermally transferring one or more coloring materials on a base paper to a recording paper.

Prior Art Conventional thermal transfer recording media, that is, thermal transfer paper, are made by individually pre-containing coloring materials of multiple colors (for example, yellow, magenta, and cyan) in a heat-melting binder material. The base paper is manufactured by forming the base paper in advance and sequentially applying binder materials of different colors onto the base paper. During recording, this thermal transfer paper is run close to the recording paper and heated by a thermal head to sequentially melt the color-specific binder materials (hereinafter referred to as inks), which are transferred and adhered from the thermal transfer paper to the recording paper, that is, thermally transferred. Color recording was performed.

However, according to the above conventional example, since the thickness of the ink itself is relatively large including the binder material,
When some of the ink on the same line is thermally transferred to the recording paper, it is likely to be pulled by most of the ink remaining on the thermal transfer paper and remain on the thermal transfer paper, which may result in poor thermal transfer. When the above three color inks (yellow, magenta, cyan) are recorded in layers on the recording paper, each ink is thick as described above, so the overall thickness is also large, causing unevenness on the recording paper surface. It had some disadvantages that I didn't like.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention constitutes a thermal transfer recording medium by sequentially and repeatedly providing a plurality of sets of a binder material part and a coloring material part of one or more colors on a base paper. First, a binder material portion is attached alone onto a recording paper, and then one or more color material portions are thermally transferred onto the binder material portion in a superimposed manner,
The object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording medium that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks.

The configuration for this includes a base material, a heat-meltable binder material part and an adjoining coloring material part of a single color or a plurality of colors arranged on the base material in the longitudinal direction of the base material. The set is repeatedly provided in sequence.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a color printer to which an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording medium according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the thermal transfer recording medium.

In the figure, a color printer 1 has a platen roller 2
and a thermal head 3. The platen roller 2 has a substantially cylindrical shape and rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The thermal head 3 has approximately the same length as the axial length of the platen roller 2, has a large number of heating resistors (not shown) in the axial direction of its upper surface, and is disposed below the platen roller 2 so as to be vertically movable. be done.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a recording paper which reciprocates in the left-right direction in FIG. 1 passing between the platen roller 2 and the thermal head 3.

5 is a thermal transfer paper as a thermal transfer recording medium;
As shown in the figure, coloring materials 7a, 7b, and 7c of three different colors (for example, yellow, magenta, and cyan) are sequentially and repeatedly applied to a base paper 6 such as a polyester film without containing a binder material 8, which will be described later. The coloring materials 7a, 7b, and 7c are pigments or dyes added with a fixative and a solvent such as a drying oil such as tung oil, a semi-drying oil such as soybean oil, or a synthetic drying oil such as dehydrated castor oil, and then applied onto the base paper 6. After that, the solvent was evaporated and fixed on the base paper 6. Here, the drying oil, semi-drying oil, and synthetic drying oil are different from the binder material 8 that is thermally melted or thermally sublimated. In addition, the coloring materials 7a, 7
b, 7c are heat-fusible or heat-sublimable binder materials 8
The ink thickness is 0.5μm to 1.5μm because it does not contain
It can be configured as thin as possible. Reference numeral 8 denotes a binder material, which is applied to each of the three color materials 7a, 7b, and 7c on the base paper 6. Therefore, the thermal transfer paper 5 is formed by sequentially and repeatedly providing a plurality of sets of three color materials 7a to 7c and a binder material 8 on a base paper 6. Each binder material 8 is first applied to the base material 6 with amide wax and carnauba wax (color materials 7a to 7a).
A first binder material 8 such as 7c (which can be well dissolved)
A is applied, and a second binder material 8b such as paraffin wax (in which the coloring materials 7a to 7c cannot be dissolved at all) is further applied in a layered manner on the upper surface thereof.
The thermal transfer paper 5 passes between the thermal head 3 and the recording paper 4 from the lower left in FIG. 1 and travels to the lower right.

Next, the operation of the color printer 1 will be explained. First, the thermal transfer paper 5 runs from the lower left to the upper right in FIG. 1 in synchronization with the recording paper 4 (running to the right in FIG. The position shown) corresponds to the thermal head 3. At this time, all the heat-generating resistors of the thermal head 3 are energized to heat and melt the binder material 8 and begin to transfer and adhere it to the recording paper 4. Since the recording paper 4 and the thermal transfer paper 5 are running synchronously, these 4, 5
When the binder material 8 travels at least the length of the binder material 8, the entire binder material 8 is transferred and adhered to the recording paper 4 on the side of the second binder material 8b such as paraffin wax. When the transfer and adhesion of the binder material 8b is completed, the recording paper 4 is stopped and runs in the opposite direction to the left in FIG. During this time, the thermal transfer paper 5 is stopped.

Next, the recording paper 4 and the thermal transfer paper 5 start running synchronously again to the right in FIG. At this time, only those of the heating resistors of the thermal head 3 corresponding to the recording signal are energized and heated. Therefore, the thermal transfer paper 5
Of the first coloring material 7a, only the portion corresponding to the heat generating portion is heated, and only the portion of the first binder material 8a corresponding to the heat generating portion is similarly heated and melted. Therefore, color material 7
The heated portion a moves away from the base paper 6 of the thermal transfer paper 5 and is transferred to and adheres to the first binder material 8a on the recording paper 4 and is melted, and as a result, the first binder material 8
It is contained in or firmly attached to a and thermally transferred.

As the recording paper 4 and the thermal transfer paper 5 run, the coloring material 7a
Each line is thermally transferred in the same manner one after another, and the thermal transfer of the coloring material 7a over the entire length of the binder material 8 is completed.

Subsequently, the recording paper 4 is returned to the left by the length of the binder material 8, so that the starting end of the binder material 8 corresponds to the second color material 7b, and then thermal transfer is performed in the same manner as in the above case. It will be done. Similarly, the third coloring material 7c is thermally transferred, thereby completing the recording. The binder material 8 indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 indicates its original relative position on the thermal transfer paper 5.

According to the thermal transfer recording of the thermal transfer paper 5, the thickness of the coloring materials 7a, 7b, and 7c on the thermal transfer paper 5 is small because they do not contain a binder material, so that good thermal transfer can be performed without remaining on the thermal transfer paper 5. Done, color material 7
Even if a, 7b, and 7c are recorded overlappingly, the overall thickness is small and the surface of the recording paper is smooth. In addition, the thermal transfer paper 5 has colorants 7a to 7c on one base paper 6.
and a binder material 8, there is no need for a separate special paper for providing the binder material 8, which is convenient for management, and the configuration and operation of the printer 1 can be simplified.

In the above embodiments, the coloring materials 7a, 7b, and 7c are not limited to three types, and may be only one color such as black or white.
Also, it may be of two colors or four or more colors.

Moreover, the binder material 8 is the first and second binder material 8.
Although a and 8b are individually laminated in layers, they are not limited to this and may be a mixture, or only the first binder material 8a may be used.

Effects As described above, according to the thermal transfer recording medium of the present invention, a plurality of sets of a binder material part and a color material part of one or more colors are sequentially and repeatedly provided on a base paper to produce a thermal transfer recording medium. First, the binder material is adhered to the recording paper alone, and then the color material of one or more colors is thermally transferred onto the binder material in a superimposed manner, which has the following advantages. .

Since the thickness of the coloring material portion on the base material is small, even minute coloring material portions can be easily separated and not left on the base material, and good thermal transfer can be performed.

Even when color material parts of multiple colors are thermally transferred in a superimposed manner, the thickness is small, so the recording paper is smooth and a good product can be obtained.

Since both the coloring material part and the binder material part are provided on the same base material, there is no need for separate paper for the binder material part, reducing costs and facilitating management.
The configuration and operation of the printer can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a color printer to which an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording medium according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the thermal transfer recording medium applied to the color printer. 1...Color printer, 2...Platen roller, 3...Thermal head, 4...Recording paper, 5...
...Thermal transfer paper, 6...Base paper, 7a, 7b, 7c
... Coloring material, 8, 8a, 8b ... Binder material.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a base material, a heat-melting binder material part on the base material in the longitudinal direction of the base material, and a heat-melting or heat-melting binder material part of a single color or a plurality of colors adjacent to the base material and constituting the binder material part. A thermal transfer recording medium in which a plurality of sets including a coloring material part that does not contain a sublimable binder material are sequentially and repeatedly provided.