JPH02504015A - thermal transfer ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to non-stamped printing, and in particular to machine readable, visually readable images or encoded characters. record the characters on paper or similar recording medium so as to enable manual or reflective reading, or The present invention relates to thermal transfer ribbons used for encoded printing. Thermal transfer ribbon is It can be printed effectively with a signal-generating ink, and it can also be thermally printed with signal-generating ink. It has the advantage of being able to

Background technology The hammer-type printer was a powerful device for increasing the amount of printed information produced. hammer type Printers include dot matrix types, where each print wire is a separate drive. It is driven from the home position to the printing position by the driver. Full hammer type printer Contains character types according to which individual type elements are dry against the ribbon and paper. contact with the platen.

A typical and well-known structure is to transfer some of the ink from the ribbon to the paper. A printing operation is performed to produce an image or mark. Other structures include no-car Some types use bond paper, and are heated by striking the type element or printed wire. The paper is made to tear apart the pusel dye and make marks on the paper. It also contains magnetic particles. The use of printing inks is also well known and may be machine readable in subsequent operations. The law allows encoded characters to be transferred to recording media. using such a method One such encoding system is MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition).

Although the tapping printing method is effective, it has the disadvantage of high noise during printing. have To reduce such noise, use sound absorbers, cushions, or Many attempts have been made to separate printing devices.

In particular, recent advances have been made in printing by heating precise parts of recording media with high currents. Thermal printing that reduces noise has been attracting attention. Strong heating in a small area is The ink is transferred from the bong to the paper. The paper prints in response to heating. Use a thermal type.

The use of different colored inks for thermal printing has also been proposed, and some techniques is used.

Disclosure of invention It is an object of this invention to provide a thermal transfer ribbon suitable for postal applications.

According to this invention, the wax material contains a reddish-orange fluorescent color material. A thermal transfer ribbon having a transfer coating comprising about 20-45% of the transfer coating. of hydrocarbon wax, about 35-65% paraffin wax, and about 5-30% 50-9 containing carnauba wax and about 3-15% acetate copolymer Contains 0% wax, about 5-20% fluorescent dye, and about 5-20% fluorescent dye, and transfer The fluorescence of the image to be imaged is greater than 10 postage meters and 625 ± 25 nanometers. The total color difference (Δ) of the transferred image is determined by the following equation: Do not exceed lO on the lar scale (I (unter (01 or 5cale)) To provide a thermal transfer ribbon.

Δ=VΔ'+ Δa'+ Δb' "L" is the amount of brightness with an error of ±5 “a′ is the amount on the red line axis “b” is the amount of blue-yellow axis BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Thermal transfer according to this invention is particularly suited to and acceptable for postal applications in fluorescent red thermal transfer ribbons. designed to provide transfer marks or images that meet special standards or requirements for It was devised. The fluorescence of the transferred image is 10 pmu (postage meter). unit) is larger. The peak wavelength of fluorescence is 625 ± 25 nm (nanometers). Ru.

The color of the transferred image is reddish-orange, similar to the color of the postage meter. It is controlled so that it falls within the range of color.

The color of the transferred image is Hunter Color when determined at 564.5M square inches. ・Meter (Hunter ColorMeter) L=45. a=62. b =20. L is defined as the amount of brightness, a is the amount of red-line axis, and b is the amount of blue -It is the amount on the yellow axis. A difference of ±5 means that the total color difference (Δ) is Allowed for values of L that do not exceed IO.

Δ=VΔ　′+　Δa−+　Δ゛ Transfer ribbon 20 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is a thin film having a thermally activated coating 24. Smooth tissue paper or polyester type plastic or similar material a base or substrate 22 consisting of a base or substrate 22 comprising a non-magnetic dyes or as raw materials for use in image generation or printing operations such as Contains particles 26. Each character generated on the receiving paper 28 or other recording medium is read by a league generates unique waveforms that are recognized and recognized. Non-magnetic thermal printing principle In the case of thermal or thermal transfer ribbons used only in materials, types or fillers and coloring materials such as pigments.

As previously mentioned, using a thermal printer having a print head element 30 This reduces the noise caused by the printing operation and reduces the generation of images or images on the paper or document 28. increases the reliability of encoded prints. Thermal transfer ribbon 20 has the benefits of thermal transfer Document 28 is imaged or coded printed with non-magnetic signal-generating ink.

Activation of the heating elements of the thermal print head causes an imaging or encoded printing operation. When requested, the dye or dye particles 26 of the ribbon 20 are transferred from the ribbon 20 to the recording medium 281. ; fully transcribed and precisely defined letters 32 to be recognized by the league; Occur. For non-magnetic thermal printing or thermal transfer, the imaging or encoding pre- The print material 26 is completely transferred to the document 26 and is machine readable.

Generates precisely defined characters 32 for visual or reflective reading and recognition.

Figure 3 has a fluorescent thermal transfer coating 36 on about half of the substrate and another color on the other half. 2 is a schematic illustration of a wide substrate 34 having a thermal transfer coating 40 of . Coating 3 6 includes pigments or particles 38 and coating 40 includes pigments or particles 42. base The width of the printing area of the radius or transfer coating 36.40 of the plate 34 is determined by the base or A thermal printer or Different according to other devices. Figure 3 shows fluorescent coating 36 and coatings of other colors. A boundary line 35 is shown to distinguish between the two groups 40 and 40. Of course, coating along line 35 The presence of parts that are not coated, overlapping coatings between coatings 36 and 40, etc. It is understandable that such slight changes may occur unintentionally. be.

Figure 4 shows the area coated with fluorescent thermal transfer coating 46 and the thermal transfer of other colors. 4 is a schematic illustration of a substrate 44 having adjacent portions coated with a photocoating 48; FIG. Ru. Coatings 46,48 are repeated along the length of substrate 44. coate Coating 46 has pigments or particles 50 and coating 48 has pigments or particles 52. have

Figure 5 shows a narrow area coated with fluorescent thermal transfer coating 56 and other colors. a wide section with an adjacent narrow section coated with a thermal transfer coating 58 of 5 is a schematic diagram of a substrate 54. FIG. Coating 56,58 repeats along the length of the substrate coating 56 includes pigments or particles 60 and coating 58 includes pigments or particles 60; includes particles 62. Arrow 64 indicates the direction in which the transfer ribbon moves during the printing operation. .

The thermal transfer ribbon of this invention is produced in a two-stage process, the first stage containing a specific wax emulsion or involves the preparation of the formulation and the second stage involves the preparation of the transfer coating or layer.

Generally, wax adhesive emulsions contain hydrocarbons, paraffin, carnauba, and microcrystals. Wax and ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer and/or aliphatic solvent Use a hydrocarbon resin that is soluble in Wax emulsion is made by combining lrA compound with wax and acetate. Using Tate copolymer and hydrocarbon resin. In other formulations, wax emulsions uses wax and acetate copolymers or hydrocarbon resins.

20% to 5% solids is preferred to meet the requirements of the first stage of this process. Wax adhesive emulsions or formulations may be suitable as described in Table 1 of the Examples below. Contains specific amounts of certain ingredients.

Example: Engineering WB-7 wax 27 169.6 20~45% Paraffin 162 Wax 46 289.3 35-65% Carnauba #3 Wax 20 125.8 5-30% Elvax 4310 ”/ 44.3 3 ~ Is % Mineral 5 spirits -1361,3 1001990,3 (31.6% solids) The non-volatile material of the above formulation is equivalent to 20% to 50% (here Laco lene or VM and P Naptha) and mineral spirits. It can be used instead of Mineral Spirits. wack The emulsion is heated to 60°C while mixing and cooled to room temperature at the end of the first stage. .

The second step of this process involves the preparation of the preferred fluorescent color thermal transfer coating, in which The above wax emulsion was heated to 40-45°C, as seen in Table 2 below. A suitable amount of raw materials is milled in a ball mill, shot mill, sand mill or attritor. Place it in a dispersion device such as , and make a uniform thin dispersion (about 3 to 5 microns in size). Grind for a sufficient period of time, such as about 20 to 40 minutes, to obtain the desired results.

Table 2 Wax emulsion 79.9 1990.3 50-90% (Table 1 from) Red-t range PM Pe-16,349,95-20 N (47x solid) Lithol 5 carlets 12.5 98.1 5 ~ 20 X100,02148,3 % solids 25-50% Example ■ For other fluorescent coatings using different dyes, appropriate amounts of specific raw materials are used. provide fees.

/157(:/162 1 tx 5 0 277.4 35~65% WB-17 wax 30 166.4 20-45 X-lyf J+ '43 'h92 1 3 72.1 5 ~ 20 XElvax 40 W 7 38.8 3~15 XMineral 5 spirits -1313,2 (29,7% solids) Table 2 Wax emulsion 72.7 1,867.9 50-805i (table l from) Red-t range PM', -19,8159,05-20 N (47% solid) Red Toner #8] 97 7.0 53,4 5 ~ 10 'X Calciu A-J-Bonate 8.4 64.1 3-10 %ARC Yellow A] 6N 2. 1 16.0 1-4% 100.0 2160.5 (35°3% solids) Examples ■ Appropriate amounts of certain raw materials for other fluorescent coatings using different dyes. I will provide a.

11'B-71 Fuchs 30 187,6 20-45% Paraffin 162 Wax 50 311.8 35-65% Carnauba A3 Wax 13 80.9 5 ~ 30 XElvax 4310 7 44.0 3 ~ 15 KMineral 5 spirits -1838,5100 2462,8 (25.3% solids) Table 2 Wax emulsion 64.9 2462.8 50-80% (Table 1 from) 10-5C-35-A102 23.1 247.5 15~30! % White pigment 4.6 49.5 1-10 N174’e ・T range 9.2 99.0 5 ~IS %100.0 2858.8 (35.7% solids) Examples ■ of other different fluorescent coatings using hydrocarbon resins and other raw material distributions Provide the appropriate amount of the specific dye for the purpose.

WB-7'h9X 3 0 158.1 20 ~ 45 % Rose 1 in 162’) Te9th 4 0 210,5 35-65 'A Carnauba A3 Wat Kusu 13 68゜2 5-20 X Elva x 40 W 7 37.1 3 ~ 15 % Piccotex-75 1 0 52.9 1~25 KMineral 5pirit s　　　　　-1397,0-1001923,8 Table 2 Wax emulsion 69.9 1923.8 50-80% (table l from) Red-1>ji PM<-su 6.3 47.3 3 ~ 10 XPaliogen 3911 HD 1.3 　　　　9.7　　　1～10　%Lithol　5carle t 12.5 94.1 5-20%10 0.0 2150.0 % Solids 20-50% Paraffin 162 wax is a methane group obtained from the paraffin distillate part of natural petroleum. is a mixture of mainly solid crystalline hydrocarbons, including benzene, ligroin, and warm alcohol. Soluble in alcohol, chloroform, carbon disulfide and olive oil. WB-7 and WB 17 is an oxidized isocyanated hydrocarbon wax. Carnauba #3 is a hard amorphous wax exuded from wax palm leaves, Dissolves in either boiling alcohol or alkali. Earthly ground is irregular geology. It is a natural paraphyte wax that occurs in It has various melting points. Elvax40W, 4310 are ethylene vinyl a It is a cetate copolymer. Piccotex-75 is one of some hydrocarbon resins. is a hard material that can be replaced with styrene copolymer resin. Defined as color stability.

The type or group of microcrystalline wax is wax emulsion. It can be used to inherently higher molecular weight than paraffin wax, it Consists of petroleum waxes with higher melting point and higher viscosity.

In the fluorescent color coating part of this invention, LitholScarlet K- 3700 and L-3700, Paliogen 3911 HD, and 1O-5 C-35-AI02 raw material is a color pigment, white pigment and fire orange are fluorescent. It is a photopigment. The red-orange PM base is a fluorescent dye, Red Toner 18197 is a tonal pigment, and ARC Yellow A16N is a fluorescent pigment. Reflects colors of certain wavelengths, absorbs light of other wavelengths without being luminescent enough to be recognized. Defined as a solid, in fact, pigments are used to impart color to other materials.

The non-volatile material for fluorescent dispersion is controlled to have a suitable viscosity of 25% to 55%. all original The ingredients are carefully weighed and dissolved in mineral spirits using appropriate heat and agitation. can be understood. After completely melting, cool slowly to disperse the viscous wax. A thermally activated transfer coating is prepared.

30-40 gauge capacitor tissue manufactured by Glatz or trademarked My 14-35 gauge polyester fiber from duPont under the lar. The substrate or base 22, which may be a lumen, has a high tensile strength and the substrate coating and Make handling easier. In addition, it reduces the print head operating voltage and reduces burn time. To shorten and extend the life of the thermal print head heating elements. , the properties of the substrate should be such that it has a small thickness and low heat resistance.

Coating 24 is a Mey coating applied to a typical solvent coating material. er) conventional cords such as rods or similar wire-wound doctor bars. coating the substrate 22 using a coating technique, the coating having a thickness of approximately 2.54 to 1.0.16 microns. This coating thickness is 25.5aj equivalent to a coating weight of 9-16 milligrams per coat. The coating is approximately 2 Composed of 5-55% non-volatile materials and maintained at desired temperature throughout the coating process and maintained at viscosity. A temperature of approximately 40-45°C is maintained during the entire coating process. . After the coating has been applied to the substrate, the web of ribbon is heated at 93~93 for about 5~10 seconds. The coating 24 is transferred through a dryer at a temperature of 120° C. to ensure dryness. This ensures adhesion to the substrate 22 that makes up the ribbon 20. Preferably 9-12mm The above coating applied by a Meyer rod on a thick substrate The overall weight translates to a thickness of 12-15 microns. The coating 24 is By varying the range of waxes used in the first stage of processing, Sufficient transfer to the substrate or paper 28 can be achieved at a temperature in the range of 0°C.

The various raw materials used in this invention are listed below.

Materials Supply Former WB-7 and WB-17Ba rec.

Paraffin 162 wax Boler Carnauba #3 wax Ba1d ini & Co, Inc.

Elvax 40W and 4310 wax E, I, duPont Piccote x-75HerculesMeneral 5pirits As hland Chemical Co.

Red orange PM base DaY-Gl.

Red Taner $18197 Paul Llhlich Ka Lucium carbonate Omya ARC Yellow Al6N Day-Gl.

Lithol 5carlet K-3700BASF Paliogen 39 11 HD BASFlo-5C-35-A102 H Ilton-Davis white pigment Day-Gl.

Fire Orange Day-Gl.

Thermal transfer of images using dry ribbons is a fluorescent method for postal identification applications. Allows the formation of light colored marks or images. Fluorescent marks or images are printed on thermal transfer printers. configured by appropriate software control. It's about reading that mark thus represents a bar code or other postal indicia that can be recognized.

If a two-color ribbon is desired, the structure shown in Figure 3 can be used and one ribbon width can be used. One part can be fluorescent, and the other can be red, blue, green, yellow, black, or a mixture thereof. Ru. In Figures 4 and 5, fluorescent colors and other colors or mixed colors are repeated in sequence. Can be arranged.

Brief description of the drawing Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings below.

FIG. 1 shows a ribbon base with a transfer coating containing the raw material according to the invention. Figure 2 shows a thermal element that operates together with the thermal element.

Figure 2 shows a receiving paper with a portion of the coating transferred to the receiving paper in the form of letters. vinegar.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a ribbon base with a coating along its length.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a ribbon base with repeating coatings that vary in arrangement. Ru.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a repeat coating with further sequence changes.

FIG.3 116 and 1 匡g! Investigation report

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. Apply a transfer coating agent containing a reddish orange fluorescent color material to the wax material. a thermal transfer ribbon having a transfer coating of about 20-45% hydrocarbon wax; about 35-65% paraffin wax and about 5-30% carnauba wax. 50% to 90% wax, including about 3% to 15% acetate copolymer; , containing about 5 to 20% fluorescent dye and about 5 to 20% toning dye, to reduce the fluorescence of the transferred image. is greater than 10 postage meter units and has a peak wavelength of 625 ± 25 nanometers. , and the total color difference (Δ) of the transferred image is determined by the Hunter color scale according to the following equation: (HunterColorScale) that does not exceed 10 There are ▲mathematical formulas, chemical formulas, tables, etc.▼ Here, "L" = amount of brightness with error ±5 “a” = amount of red-green axis “b” = amount of blue-yellow axis. 2.564. The color of the transferred image determined in mm2 is determined by Hunter Color Meter. Thermal transfer ribbon according to claim 1, having the values of L=45, a=62 and b=20. . 3. The thermal transfer ribbon according to claim 1, wherein the toning dye is a red dye. 4. The thermal transfer ribbon according to claim 1, wherein the toning dye is a scarlet dye. . 5. The fluorescent dye is a mixture of reddish orange and fire orange dyes. The thermal transfer ribbon according to claim 1. 6. 2. The fluorescent dye according to claim 1, wherein the fluorescent dye is a mixture or an orange and white or yellow dye. Thermal transfer ribbon included. 7. The hydrocarbon wax is an oxidized isocyanated wax. Thermal transfer ribbon according to Item 1. 8. The paraffin wax is a mixture of solid crystalline hydrocarbons, mainly of the methane group. The thermal transfer ribbon according to claim 1. 9. The acetate copolymers are at least a group of wax-compatible ethylenes. Thermal transfer according to claim 1, which is one of vinyl acetate copolymers. ribbon. 10. The transfer coating contains about 3-10% calcium carbonate. The thermal transfer ribbon according to claim 1.