JPH0313391A - Thermal transfer material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To impart a high density transfer recording image having sharpness and free from missing transfer even to a material to be recorded low in surface smoothness and to make lift-off erasure possible by successively providing the first ink layer dividing printing at its interface or divided internally at the time of printing and the second layer having selective printing/correction function corresponding to temp. on a support. CONSTITUTION:A thermal transfer material 1 is formed by successively providing the first ink layer 3 and the second ink layer 4 on a support 2. The second ink layer 4 has transfer properties substantially at 90 deg.C and has no transfer properties substantially at 40 deg.C. The first ink layer 3 is divided at the interface with the support 2 or divided internally at the time of printing due to heating and pref. has function making the second ink layer 4 easy to transfer to a material to be recorded. Therefore, the first ink layer 3 pref. has an ink composition low in flocculation force at the time of heating and becoming high in adhesion in a heat non-applied part or in a cooled state after the application of heat. The first ink layer 3 contains wax as the first component and a water- soluble resin is used especially pref. as the second component of said layer 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Good! 1. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer material used for thermal transfer recording,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a thermal transfer material that provides a recorded image that has good print quality and that can be lifted off and erased not only on a recording medium with a high surface smoothness but also on a recording medium with a low surface smoothness.

! In addition to the general characteristics of thermal recording, such as the device used is lightweight, compact, noiseless, and has excellent operability and maintainability, thermal transfer recording does not require colored processed paper, and It is characterized by excellent durability of recorded images,
Widely used recently.

This heat-sensitive transfer recording generally uses a heat-sensitive transfer material in which a heat-transferable ink layer formed by dispersing a colorant in a heat-melting material is coated on a sheet-like support. By superimposing the thermally transferable ink layer on the recording medium such as paper so that it is in contact with the recording medium, and applying heat from the support side of the thermal transfer material using a thermal head to transfer the melted ink layer to the recording medium. , to form a transferred recorded image on a recording medium according to the shape of heat supply.

However, even in such a thermal transfer recording method, there are still some points to be improved.

The first point is that the quality of transferred recorded images on recording materials such as paper with low surface smoothness is poor.

The second point is that a transferred recorded image obtained by a thermal transfer recording method cannot be easily erased even if it is due to printing errors.

As a general means of erasing erroneous records, there is the use of concealing paints that have become widely used in recent years, and thermal transfer recording methods also contain concealing colorants that are almost the same color as the recording material. A method has already been proposed in which a heat-sensitive transfer material having a heat-sensitive transfer ink layer is used to cover erroneously recorded areas with the transfer ink layer. However, in the method of coating with a transfer ink layer, the colors of the recording medium and the obscuring colorant are not completely the same, and the erased area is raised by coating with the ink layer, making it easier to distinguish the erased area, which is preferable in terms of appearance. However, as another erasing means, a method has been proposed in which an erroneously recorded image formed on a recording medium is adhesively peeled off using a heat-sensitive adhesive tape, that is, a lift-off erasing method.

However, these erasing methods require both a thermal transfer material to form a transferred recorded image on the recording medium and an erasing sheet to erase the transferred recorded image, and thermal transfer printers require a This method requires a tape switching mechanism, which has the disadvantage that the structure of the printer device becomes complicated and large.

As a method to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks, a self-collecting thermal transfer material has been proposed, in which the thermal transfer material that transfers the recorded image onto the recording paper is used as it is, and it is not possible to perform lift-off erasure. Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-74368 discloses a heat-sensitive laminate capable of both recording and erasing by means of an active layer containing a dye on a resistive support. That is, this active layer is constructed so that it develops adhesive force when heated to a temperature lower than the heating temperature during recording, so that the transferred recorded image can be erased by peeling it off.

Furthermore, JP-A-61-23992 proposes a thermal transfer material consisting of a coloring agent, a binder agent, and a thermal adhesive material having a higher softening point than the binder agent on a support. It has been disclosed that recording is performed using a thermal head with low thermal energy, and that erroneously recorded images are peeled off and erased by applying higher thermal energy than during recording.

However, no thermal transfer material has been obtained that can provide a transferred recorded image of good recording quality to a recording medium with low surface smoothness and also satisfies the above-mentioned self-collection effect, and its development is desired. There is. In particular, when a conventional self-collecting thermal transfer material is applied to a recording medium with low smoothness, only the erroneously recorded image in the image area of the recording medium can be peeled off, and the recorded image in the concave areas may not be able to be peeled off. This has the drawback that the erasure tends to be incomplete.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 156993/1989 discloses a self-collecting ribbon having a separation layer with a relatively low melt viscosity. However, materials that do not change in quality during storage and have low melt viscosity generally tend to be hard and brittle.
Therefore, during lift-off erasing, defects such as the entire ink layer peeling off from the base material are likely to occur.As a result, the latitude of usage conditions such as applied energy is narrow, and erasing is likely to be incomplete. . In order to eliminate printing errors, it is necessary to use a component with a relatively high melt viscosity in the separation layer, which increases the force required to separate the thermal transfer material and the recording medium during printing. Printing on a recording medium with low surface smoothness is likely to cause defects.

The present applicant has proposed a self-collecting ribbon that can print well on recording paper with low smoothness (Japanese Patent Application No. 62-299046), but it is desired that the correction performance of such a ribbon be further improved. was. However, it is difficult to simultaneously satisfy the above-mentioned improvement of printing quality on low-smooth recording media and good self-collection characteristics in one thermal transfer material, depending on the actual recording conditions such as heat application conditions or peeling conditions. It's not always easy, partly because of the relationship.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and while maintaining various thermal transfer performances, it can be used not only for recording media with good surface smoothness, but also for recording media with low surface smoothness. A thermal transfer material that provides a transferred recorded image with high density, good sharpness, and no transfer defects even when the thermal transfer material is used, and furthermore, the transferred recorded image obtained by the thermal transfer material can be lifted off using the thermal transfer material. An object of the present invention is to provide a heat-sensitive transfer material that can be erased.

As a result of intensive research, the inventors successively provided two
In order to obtain good self-collection properties with two ink layers (first and second ink Fl), it is necessary not only for the second ink layer to exhibit specific transferability at two specific temperatures, but also for other ink layers to exhibit good self-collection properties. It has been found that it is essential that one ink layer contains two specific components that have different functions during heating/cooling.

The thermal transfer material of the present invention is based on the above knowledge,
More specifically, at least a first ink layer and a second ink layer are sequentially provided on a support from the support side, the second ink layer having substantially transferability at 90°C, A layer having substantially no transferability at ℃,
Further, the first ink layer is characterized in that it contains a wax component and an adhesive component.

In the present invention, a thermal transfer material having the above structure is used, the second ink layer is superimposed on the recording medium so as to be in contact with the recording medium, and the thermal transfer material is formed into a pattern to be recorded by a thermal recording head. By peeling the thermal transfer material from the recording medium immediately after heating (that is, before the strength of the first ink layer becomes sufficiently strong), recording can be performed by separating the material inside or at the interface of the first ink layer. Moreover, after the thermal transfer material is brought into contact with the recorded printing pattern and heated by a thermal recording head, the thermal transfer material is peeled off from the recording medium after the first ink layer becomes sufficiently strong. It becomes possible to erase the pattern that has been created.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings as necessary. In the following description, "%" expressed as a quantitative ratio is used.
” and “parts” are based on weight unless otherwise specified.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view in the thickness direction showing a basic aspect of the heat-sensitive transfer material of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a thermal transfer material 1 of the present invention includes a first ink layer 3 and a second ink layer on a support 2.
Ink layers 4 are sequentially provided.

In the thermal transfer material of the present invention, the second ink layer has a 90%
It is necessary to have substantially transferability at 40°C and substantially no transferability at 40°C.

Here, the presence or absence of transferability of the second ink layer at the above temperature can be easily confirmed, for example, by the following means.

That is, the thermal transfer material 1 and (for example, Beck smoothness 2
00 seconds) with a recording medium made of plain paper, and the thermal transfer material 1
The second ink layer 4 is superimposed so as to be in contact with the recording medium, and the second ink layer 4 is placed on the recording medium 1 from the support 2 side to the thermal transfer material 1 in a pattern (for example, solid printing) using a thermal head in the same manner as in a normal thermal transfer recording method. Apply heat to. After applying heat, the thermal transfer material 1 and the plain paper were not separated and were placed in a tensile strength tester (Tensilon RTM-100, manufactured by Toyo Baldwin) equipped with a constant temperature bath that can control the temperature from -60 to +270°C. Load so that the peeling angle is 180 degrees. When peeling the thermal transfer material 1 and plain paper at a speed of 300 m m / sec using the above test machine, if the environmental temperature (temperature of the constant temperature bath) is 90°C, the plain paper used as the recording medium On the other hand, when the environmental temperature is 40°C, both the first ink FJ3 and the second ink layer 4 are substantially transferred to the recording medium. In this case, if the second ink layer contains a colorant, an image with the color tone of the second ink can be obtained at an environmental temperature of 90°C, and an image with the color tone of the second ink can be obtained at an environmental temperature of 40°C. Since an image of the color tone of the second ink is not substantially obtained, it is easily confirmed whether or not the second ink layer has transferability.

In the present invention, when evaluating the transferability of the second ink layer, only consideration is given to whether or not the second ink layer is substantially transferred to the recording medium, and the form of peeling between the ink layers ( For example, whether the peeling position is at the support or at the exact boundary between the second ink layer and the first ink layer;
Alternatively, the extent to which the first ink layer remains on the heat-sensitive transfer material after transfer is not considered in evaluating the transferability of the second ink.

The thermal transfer material 1 of the present invention can be used at a specific temperature (
90°C and 40°C), which indicates a certain transferability of the second ink layer, but these temperatures of 90°C to 40°C are used only to define the characteristics of the thermal transfer material 1 itself. It is a temperature, and does not define the actual usage conditions (thermal transfer recording or erasing) of the thermal transfer material.

Hereinafter, the structure of each part of the thermal transfer material 1 of the present invention having the above characteristics will be explained.

As the support 2, conventionally known films and papers can be used as they are, such as films of relatively heat-resistant plastics such as polyester, polycarbonate, triacetylcellulose, polyamide, polyimide, cellophane, or parchment paper. , condenser paper, etc. can be suitably used.

In addition, when using a thermal head as a means for applying heat to a thermal transfer material, the surface of the support that comes into contact with the thermal head may be made of silicone resin, fluororesin, polyimide resin, epoxy resin, phenol resin, melamine resin, nitrocellulose, etc. The heat resistance of the support can be improved by providing a heat-resistant protective layer made of the like, or it is also possible to use a support material that could not be used conventionally.

The thickness of the support 2 is preferably about 1 to 15 μm when considering a thermal head as a heat source during thermal transfer, but it is preferable to use a heat source such as a laser beam that can selectively heat the thermal transferable ink layer. There are no particular restrictions in this case.

Next, the first ink layer 3 provided on the support 2 will be explained. This first ink rfJ3 may have a function of dividing at the interface with the support 2 or inside the ink layer 3 during printing by heating, and making it easier for the second ink layer 4 to roll onto the recording medium. preferred, however;
It is preferable that the non-heated portion of the first ink layer 3 firmly adheres to the support 2 and the second ink 4 to prevent the second ink I14 from being transferred to the recording medium. The contrast between the heated area and the non-heated area has a particularly large effect on the "cutting" of the transferred recorded image.

This first ink layer 3 is a layer provided between the support 2 and the second ink layer 4, and is preferably formed by coating.In the thermal transfer material 1 of the present invention, this first ink layer The reason why 3 is provided is as follows.

In other words, the support 2 used in the thermal transfer material 1 is usually required to have properties above a certain level, such as heat resistance, tensile strength, elongation, and tear strength, and plastic films are used for boat fishing. It will be done. The plastic film is uniaxially or biaxially stretched in order to satisfy the above characteristics,
The molecular chains of the film are oriented in a certain direction. As a result, even if the above-mentioned properties are improved to a satisfactory level, other properties required of a support for a thermal transfer material may deteriorate. For example, when a polyester film is used as the support 2, the adhesiveness of the surface of the support to the ink layer may be reduced. If an ink layer is formed using a component mainly consisting of an abrasive material with sharp melting properties and melt viscosity, such as wax component), defects such as ink peeling are extremely likely to occur. In such a case, the first
If the ink 1133 of 341 having a component (wax) and a second component (adhesive component) is formed by coating, the molecular chains in the coating film exist randomly, so that the second ink layer 4 and the support 2 ( This improves adhesion with plastic films (for example, plastic films) and avoids defects such as ink peeling.

As the first ink layer 3, it is preferable to use an ink layer whose cohesive force decreases due to softening upon heating, but whose adhesion to the support 2 does not decrease. Further, it is preferable that the first ink layer 3 has a certain degree of flexibility so that the second ink N4 can properly follow the unevenness of the erroneously recorded image and come into sufficient contact with it.

Therefore, it is preferable that the first ink layer 3 has an ink composition that has a low cohesive force when heated, and has a high adhesion force in the non-heat-applied portion or after cooling after heat is applied.

In the present invention, the first ink layer 3 contains wax as a first component. The wax component is preferably one or a mixture of two or more of natural waxes and their derivatives, synthetic waxes, and petroleum waxes. On the other hand, this first ink 113 includes an adhesive component as a second component.

As a result, in the first ink layer 3, the first component imparts a reduction in cohesive force during heating, while the second component provides
Adhesive force is provided between the first ink layer 3 and the support 2 (and the second ink layer 4) in the non-heat-applied portion or after cooling after heat application.

The first component (Fuchs) constituting the first ink layer 3 is:
The second ink I'i! is preferably one that sharply melts when heated or whose adhesive strength decreases at the interface with the support 2 or the second ink [4]. I4 usually has a high cohesive force when heated, and further contains a relatively large amount of thermoplastic resin as described below. Therefore, from the above-mentioned sharp melt property or adhesive property at the ink layer interface, the first component is
It is preferable to use a wax having a melting point of 50°C or higher and a melt viscosity of 500 cps (centipoise) or lower at 150°C. Examples of natural waxes include carnauba wax, candelilla wax, rice wax, and wood wax. Vegetable waxes such as: mineral waxes such as ceresin wax and montan wax; and derivatives thereof; examples of derivatives of montan wax include acid wax, ester wax, partially saponified ester wax, and the like. Petroleum waxes include paraffin wax and microcrystalline wax. On the other hand, synthetic waxes such as polyethylene wax and Fischer-Tropsch wax can be used. These waxes are preferably used alone or in a mixture of 2 f1 or more so as to satisfy the above melting point and melt viscosity.

In particular, the wax component has a melt viscosity of 2 at 150°C.
00 cps or less, more preferably 100 cps or less. Carnauba wax and paraffin wax are extremely suitable in view of the above conditions and sharp melt properties.

Next, the adhesive component, which is the second component contained in the first ink layer 3, will be explained. This adhesive component is preferably a thermoplastic resin having a glass transition temperature of 140°C to 30°C, more preferably 130°C to 15°C. This thermoplastic resin is composed of a mixture of multiple types of thermoplastic resins. In this case, the glass transition temperature TgM of such a mixture of thermoplastic resins is
When defined as +T g n Temperature, W
is the total weight of the thermoplastic resin mixture (W-Σ W'l), W
l is the weight of one (i-th) thermoplastic resin constituting the thermoplastic resin mixture.

In other words, even when the thermoplastic resin is a mixture of multiple types of resins, if the glass transition temperature of the mixture is defined as in the above formula (A), the mixture of thermoplastic resins can be It can be thought of as a structured thermoplastic.

When the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin is higher than 30° C., flexibility is lost and the adhesion between the first ink layer 3 and the support 2 is reduced. *If the glass transition temperature is lower than 140° C., the viscosity will be excessive and the handling of the thermal transfer material will be difficult.

Furthermore, if a cohesive rupture occurs within the first ink layer 3 when the thermal transfer material is separated from the recording medium when erasing an erroneously recorded image, not only will the erroneously recorded image not be able to be peeled off and erased. A transferred image is further formed (reverse transfer) in the area to be erased.For this reason, the first ink layer 3 preferably has a high cohesive force after being heated and cooled. In order to increase the concentration, the weight average molecular weight of the thermoplastic resin contained in the first ink layer 3 is preferably 10,000 or more, more preferably 50,000 or more. The weight average molecular weight here refers to the value measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography). Also, if the thermoplastic resin is a mixture of multiple resins, the weight average molecular weight is the value measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography). Refers to the weight average molecular weight as a whole.

Examples of the adhesive component or adhesive component used in the first ink layer 3 include polyvinyl acetate resin such as vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, acrylic resin, or styrene-butadiene rubber,
Elastomers such as isoprene rubber can be used. Furthermore, petroleum-based resins, phenolic resins, melamine-based resins, urea-based resins, and polystyrene-based resins may be mixed as appropriate.
Fillers such as titanium oxide, clay, zinc white, and alumina hydrate, plasticizers, stabilizers, and the like can also be appropriately mixed and used.

As the second component, a water-soluble resin is particularly preferably used. Preferred examples of this water-soluble resin include polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, ethyl cellulose, and the like. This water-soluble resin has a first component of 100%
This water-soluble resin, which is preferably contained in an amount of 0.05 parts to 20 parts, more preferably 0.1 to 10 parts, is effective in a relatively small amount and prevents cohesive failure of the first component. The advantage is that there is less fear.

In addition, titanium oxide, clay,
Fillers such as zinc and alumina hydrate, plasticizers, stabilizers, etc. can also be appropriately mixed and used.

The content ratio of the first component and the second component in the first ink layer 3 is as follows, when the total weight of these components is 10 parts.
Wax) component/second (adhesive) component concentration is preferably from 9/1 to 3/7, more preferably from 7/3 to 4/6.
If the ratio of the components exceeds 9 parts, it becomes difficult to develop sufficient adhesion between the first ink layer 3 and the support 2. On the other hand, if the content of component 1 is less than 3 parts, cohesive failure during printing is less likely to occur and transfer defects are more likely to occur.

The first ink layer 3 containing the first and second components has a melting temperature of 60°C to 120°C and a melt viscosity of 1 at 150°C.
It is preferable that it is 0.03 cps or less.

Next, the structure of the second ink layer 4 provided on the first ink layer 3 described above will be explained.

This second ink 11I4 has a function of providing a transferred image that can be lifted off and erased even on a recording medium with low smoothness, and contains a heat-melting material, and in addition to this, a colorant is added as necessary. , other components such as dispersants, plasticizers, oils, and fillers may be included.

The heat-melt material should be 70% or more (based on the total weight of the binder) to provide scratch resistance for printing without deformation even on recording materials with low smoothness. Transfer recorded images with excellent properties can be obtained.

Further, the melting temperature of the second ink layer measured by a differential scanning calorimeter (OSC) is not particularly limited, but is preferably 50° C. or more and 200° C. or less. If this melting temperature exceeds 200°C, it is undesirable because the types of supports will be severely limited due to the heat resistance of the support, and the durability of the thermal head will deteriorate. If the temperature is less than 50° C., even if a resin-based heat-melting material is used, problems such as staining of the non-printed area of the recording medium are likely to occur, so this is not very preferable.

The thermofusible materials contained in the second ink layer 4 include polyolefin resins, polyamide resins, polyester resins, epoxy resins, polyurethane resins, polyacrylic resins, polyvinyl chloride resins, and cellulose resins. Preferred examples include resins, polyvinyl alcohol resins, petroleum resins, phenol resins, polystyrene resins, vinyl acetate resins, natural rubber, elastomers such as styrene-butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, and chloroprene rubber, polyisobutylene, and polybutene. used.

It is preferable that these resins account for 70% or more of the binder of the second ink layer 4.

Other natural waxes other than resins such as spermaceti wax, beeswax, lanolin, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, montan wax, ceresin wax, etc.; petroleum waxes such as paraffin wax and microcrystalline wax; oxidized waxes, ester waxes, Fischer-Tropsch waxes, etc. Synthetic waxes such as wax; higher fatty acids such as lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, and behenic acid; higher alcohols such as stearyl alcohol and behenyl alcohol; esters such as sucrose fatty acid ester and sorbitan fatty acid ester; oleyl Amides such as amides; or plasticizers, oils such as mineral oils and vegetable oils may be appropriately mixed;
It is preferable to adjust the amount to less than 100%.

As the colorant, various dyes and pigments widely used in the fields of printing and recording are used.The content of the colorant is in the range of 3 to 60% of the total of the first and second ink layers. Appropriate. Further, if necessary, additives such as a dispersant or a filler made of fine metal powder, non-metallic fine powder, metal oxide, etc. may be added to the second ink layer 4.

The layer structure of the second ink layer 4 includes the above-mentioned hot melt material,
It is not particularly limited to a single layer structure containing a colorant, a dispersant, a plasticizer, a filler, etc.

More specifically, the second ink layer 4 may be functionally separated into 21 il layers: a layer that has the function of developing adhesive force to the recording medium when heated by the thermal head, and a layer that has the coloring function. Alternatively, if further functions are added, a layered structure of three or more layers may be used.

When the second ink layer 4 has a two-layer structure as shown in FIG.
First ink layer 3 and second ink layer 41 in order from the support 2 side.
, and a third ink layer 42 provided as necessary), the second ink N41 preferably has a coloring function and a function of controlling the film strength immediately after heat application and the subsequent change in film strength over time. It is preferable that the third ink FI 42 has the function of controlling the adhesion of the heat application portion to the paper and the film strength immediately after heat application and the change in film strength over time, similar to the first ink layer.

Control of the film strength immediately after heat application (that is, during printing) can be achieved by appropriately changing the composition, cohesive force, molecular weight, etc. of the materials from the material group described above. In order to obtain good transferability, it is desirable that the cohesive force and molecular weight are high.Also, in order to control the change in film strength over time after applying heat, it is necessary to This can be achieved by appropriately changing the degree of cohesion, cohesive force, molecular weight, etc. In particular, it is desirable to use an ink with a high degree of crystallinity and take advantage of the delay time for recrystallization, especially for the second ink layer 41 and the third ink Ji14.
2 includes polymer materials containing olefin as a main component, such as low molecular weight polyethylene oxide, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, and ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer. It is preferable to use a polymer, an ethylene-acrylic acid ester copolymer, etc., a polyamide, a polyester, etc. as the main component.

Specific examples of colorants that can be used in the thermal transfer material of the present invention include carbon black, nigrosine dye, lamp black, Sudan black SM, and Fast Yellow 01.
Benzidine Yellow Pigment Niro India First Orange, Irgazine Red, Paranitroaniline Red, Toluidine Red, Carmine FB,
Permanent Bordeaux FRR, Pigment Orange R1 Resole Red 2G, Lake Red C10-Damine FB, Rhodamine B Lake, Methyl Violet B Lake, Phthalocyanine Blue Pigment Blue Brilliant Green B1 Phthalocyanine Green, Oil Yellow GG, Zapon・First two rows 〇〇C,
Kayaset Y963, Kayaset YG, Sumiblast・
Yellow G, Zapon First Orange RR, Oil Scarlet, Sumiblast Orange G1 Orazole Brown G, Pomegranate First Scarlet CG, Eisensubiron Red BEH, Oil Pink OP1
Victorian Blue F4R, First Gen Blue 50
07, 1f of known dyes and pigments such as Sudan Blue Oil Peacock Blue! Or two or more types can be used.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second ink rf! When I4 has a 2N configuration, the colorant is preferably contained in the second ink layer 41;
may be included.

Even when the second ink layer 4 has a two-layer structure, the content of the colorant is preferably in the range of 3 to 60% based on the entire first, second, and third ink layers, and this content is less than 3%. If it is less, the density of the transferred recorded image will be low, and if it is more than 60%, the transferability of the ink layer will be reduced.

The second ink r@41 is made of a heat-melting material and a colorant,
Contains dispersants, plasticizers, fillers, etc. as necessary.
The material of the second ink layer 4 having a one-layer structure mentioned above can be used as is.

The third ink layer 42 is made of a material with strong adhesive strength to the recording medium, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyisobutylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer. Polyamide, polyester, polyurethane or acrylic heat-sensitive adhesives; Also styrene blocks such as styrene-isobutylene, styrene-butadiene, styrene-ethylene-butylene, etc. Substances such as polymers may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Additionally, tackifiers such as alicyclic hydrocarbons, terpenes, and rosins, fillers such as talc and calcium carbonate, and stabilizers such as antioxidants may be added.

In order to obtain the thermal transfer material 1 of the present invention, for example, the above-mentioned heat-melting material and colorants and additives added as necessary may be melt-kneaded using a dispersion device such as an attritor, or an appropriate The mixture is kneaded with a suitable solvent to obtain a heat-melting ink or an ink in the form of a solution or dispersion corresponding to each ink layer. Next, the thermal transfer material 1 is obtained by sequentially applying these inks onto the support 2 using an applicator or a Meyer bar, and drying as required.

The thickness of the first ink layer 3 and the second ink layer 4 is each 0.5
A range of ~10 μm is preferable, and even when the second ink layer 4 is functionally separated into two or more layers, the above range is preferable for each layer. Further, the total thickness of the first and second ink layers is preferably 2 to 20 μm, and more preferably 3 to 15 μm.

Next, one aspect of the recording and erasing method using the thermal transfer material of the present invention will be described, taking as an example the case where the thermal transfer material 1 having the structure shown in FIG. 1 is used.

Referring to FIG. 3, the second ink layer 4 of the thermal transfer material 1 is brought into contact with a recording medium 6 made of paper or the like, and the heat generated by the thermal recording head 7 is applied to the thermal transfer material 1 from the support 2 side. Thermal energy is applied from the element 8 in a pattern. This results in
The second ink layer 4 exhibits adhesive force to the recording medium 6 and is transferred onto the recording medium 6 with appropriate film strength.

Further, at this time, the heat-applied portion of the first ink N3 sharply melts and becomes semi-liquid or liquid, and the melt viscosity decreases, making cohesive failure extremely likely.

However, since the non-heat-applied portion of the first ink layer 3 does not melt, it maintains a high cohesive force and maintains strong adhesion between the support 2 and the second ink layer 4. As a result, the contrast in adhesive strength between the heat-applied area and the non-heat-applied area of the first ink layer 3 becomes extremely clear, and the resulting transferred image 5 is "broken".
will improve.

It is preferable that the first ink layer 3 has sharp-melt properties as described above, since it allows other types of heating energy to be applied.

Next, the erasing method will be explained. Referring to FIG. 4, the area where the transferred recorded image 5 formed on the recording medium 6 and the second ink layer 4 of the thermal transfer material 1 are brought into contact with each other and corresponds to the transferred recorded image 5 of the thermal transfer material 1 Alternatively, thermal energy is applied from the heating element 8 of the thermal recording head 7 to the expanded area from the support 2 side. As a result, the second ink layer 4 of the thermal transfer material 1 develops adhesive force in the same manner as during recording, and
It is adhered to the transferred recorded image 5 above. The cohesive force of the first ink layer 3 of the heat-sensitive transfer material 1 decreases, but when erasing the recorded image 5, for example, the peeling control member 9 is used to change the peeling position as shown in FIG. More specifically, using the member 9, the strength of the first ink layer 3 (i.e., the adhesive force between the support 2 and the second ink J14)
After recovery, the recording medium 6 and the thermal transfer material 1 may be separated.

When the strength of the first ink N3 is recovered in this way, the adhesive force between the second ink layer 4 and the transferred recorded image 5 also increases, so that lift-off erasure of the transferred recorded image 5 is performed using the Maekita thermal transfer material 1. is achieved.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples.

<Ink 1> Ink 1 was obtained by stirring. This ink 1 was applied onto a support made of a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 6 μm using an applicator to obtain a first ink layer having a thickness of 11 m.

Ink 2> Amount of dispersion, composition of resin, melt index (MI
) indicates the value for solid content.) The components of the above formulation were uniformly mixed using a propeller type stirrer to obtain Ink 2. This ink 2 was applied onto the first ink layer using an applicator and dried with hot air at 60°C for 1 minute to form a second ink layer with a thickness of 3° to 5 μm, as shown in FIG. A thermal transfer material (I) having the following configuration was obtained.

A thermal transfer material (II) was obtained in the same manner as the thermal transfer material (r) of Example 1, except that the first ink layer was formed using ink 3>.

A thermal transfer material (III) was obtained in the same manner as in the thermal transfer material (1) of Example 1, except that the first ink layer was formed using the large JC1 ink 4>.

OB Ink 5> was mixed to obtain Ink 5. This ink 5 was applied onto the second ink layer of the thermal transfer material (1) obtained in Example 1 using an applicator, and dried with hot air at 60° C. for 1 minute.
A third ink layer with a layer thickness of 2 μm is provided, and '! A thermal transfer material (rV) having the structure shown in Fig. J2 was obtained.

Ink 6 was obtained by mixing with Ink 6. Ink 1 used in Example 1
Except that this ink 6 was used instead of , it was coated on the support using an applicator, and dried for 1 minute in hot air drying at 60 ° C. to form a first ink layer with a thickness of 1.5 μm. A thermal transfer material (V) was obtained in the same manner as the thermal transfer material (I) of Example 1.

<Ink 7> A thermal transfer material (Vl) was prepared in the same manner as the thermal transfer material (1) of Example 1, except that the first ink layer was formed using ink 7 obtained by mixing the components. Obtained.

Heat-sensitive transfer material (■) was prepared in the same manner as the heat-sensitive transfer material (1) of Example 1, except that the first ink layer was formed using Ink 8.
I got it.

Thermal transfer material (■) was prepared in the same manner as the thermal transfer material (1) of Example 1, except that the first ink layer was formed using ink 9.
I got it.

LLIL Yuku Ink 10>1 The same process as the thermal transfer material <1) of Example 1 was performed except that the first ink layer was formed using polyvinyl alcohol aqueous ink 10.
IX) was obtained.

Next, the thermal transfer material (1)-' obtained in the above Examples and Comparative Examples
(EX) was cut into 8mm width pieces, each made by Canon Co., Ltd.
The recording medium was bond paper with low smoothness (Beck smoothness: 10).
second) and highly smooth thermal transfer paper (Beck smoothness 200)
Recording and evaluation of lift-off erasure were performed using

In the typewriter 5P400X, a heating heater is built into the base portion of the thermal recording head for the purpose of heating the thermal transfer material above room temperature prior to the recording operation, but in this evaluation C, the heater is not activated. I tried not to.

In addition, for lift-off erasure, the correction function was evaluated by loading the same thermal transfer material used in the recording section into the thermal correction tape storage section of the 5P400X.

The above evaluation results are shown in the table below.

2...Support 3...First ink layer 4.41...Second ink layer 42...Third ink layer 5...Transfer recorded image 6...Recorded object 7... Thermal recording head 8: representative diagram of heating elements: FIG. 5. In the thermal transfer materials (1) to (IX), printing on the thermal transfer paper was all good.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is a first ink layer on the support that separates the print at the interface or inside during printing, and a selective printing/correction function depending on the temperature. 6. A thermal transfer material in which a second ink layer is sequentially provided is provided.6 If the thermal transfer material of the present invention is used, printing quality can be achieved not only on recording media with high smoothness but also on recording media with low smoothness. A good transfer image can be obtained, and the same thermal transfer material can be used to perform good off-off erasing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are schematic cross-sectional views in the thickness direction showing examples of the layer structure of the thermal transfer material of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the thermal transfer recording method using the thermal transfer material of the present invention. cross section,
FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic sectional views showing an embodiment of the foot-off erasing method using the thermal transfer material of the present invention. 1...Thermal transfer material, Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. At least a first ink layer and a second ink layer are sequentially provided on a support from the support side, and the second ink layer has substantially no transferability at 90°C. A thermal transfer material, wherein the first ink layer contains a wax component and an adhesive component. 2. The thermal transfer material according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive component is a water-soluble resin.