JPH04115993A - Thermal transfer image receiving sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form a mat like writable recording image by adding a fibrous inorg. filler to a dye receiving layer. CONSTITUTION:A thermal transfer image receiving layer consists of a base material film and the dye receiving layer provided to at least one surface thereof. As the base material film, various plastic films or sheets such as synthetic paper (polyolefin or polystyrene type), fine paper, art paper or the like can be used. An especially pref. resin for forming the dye receiving layer is a vinyl type resin or a polyester resin and a fibrous inorg. filler (whisker) is added to the dye receiving layer. As a material pref. as the whisker, a potassium titanate whisker, a zinc oxide whisker or a graphite whisker is designated. The content of the whisker is pref. 1.0-100 pts.wt., pref., 30-60 pts. wt. per 100 pts.wt. of the resin forming the dye receiving layer and the mean length of the whisker is pref. 5-50mum and the mean diameter thereof is pref. 0.1-1mum.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet and a thermal transfer method. The purpose is to provide a thermal transfer method.

(Prior art and its problems) Conventionally, various thermal transfer methods are known, but among them, a thermal transfer sheet is produced by using a sublimable dye as a recording agent and supporting it on a base film such as paper or plastic film. year,
Various methods have been proposed for forming full-color images on paper or plastic films provided with dye-receiving layers.

In this case, the printer's thermal head is used as a heating means, and by heating in an extremely short time, three or four colors can be printed.
A large number of colored dots are transferred to a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, and a full-color image of an original is reproduced using the multicolored colored dots.

The images formed in this way are very clear because the coloring material used is dye, and they have excellent transparency, so the images obtained have excellent intermediate color reproducibility and gradation, and are It is possible to form high-quality images that are similar to images produced by offset printing or gravure printing, and comparable to full-color photographic images.

In the above thermal transfer method, in order to improve the transferability of the dye, both the dye layer and the dye-receiving layer are formed with smooth surfaces so that the thermal transfer sheet and the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet are in good contact with each other. A release agent such as silicone oil is added to or coated on the dye layer and/or the dye-receiving layer so that the rear layer does not adhere by heat fusion.

Therefore, although the obtained transferred image has a characteristic of having excellent surface gloss, it is unsuitable when a matte image is desired, such as a cloth design, and it is not suitable for cases where a matte image is desired, such as a cloth design, and it is also In applications such as transferring a dye-receiving layer to a paper, forming an image on this dye-receiving layer, and printing ordinary characters, etc. on other areas using other means, the image formed will be different from the plain paper area. There is a problem in that the images are significantly different and give a sense of discomfort.

In addition, in such cases, writing may be performed on the image using a pencil or other methods, but there is also the problem that writing is difficult due to the smooth surface and the presence of a release agent.

To solve the above problem, in the dye-receiving layer,
A method of adding so-called matting agents such as kaolin clay, silica, and calcium carbonate is known, but in order to reduce gloss with these matting agents, a large amount is required, and as a result, the dye-receiving layer There are problems in that the dye receptivity of the image is reduced, the reproducibility of dots is reduced, white spots and roughness occur, and the image quality is significantly reduced.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet and a thermal transfer method capable of forming a matte-like and writable recorded image.

(Means for solving problems) The above objects are achieved by the present invention as described below.

That is, the present invention provides a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet in which a dye-receiving layer is formed on at least one surface of a base film,
A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet characterized in that the dye-receiving layer contains a fibrous inorganic filler.

(Function) By containing a fibrous inorganic filler in the dye-receiving layer, a writable matte image can be formed without deteriorating the image quality.

Further, in the thermal transfer method of the present invention, a writable matte image can also be formed by incorporating a fibrous inorganic filler into the dye receiving layer and/or the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet.

(Preferred Embodiments) Next, the present invention will be described in more detail by citing preferred embodiments.

The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention consists of a base film and a dye-receiving layer provided on at least one surface of the base film.

The base film used in the present invention includes synthetic paper (polyolefin type, polystyrene type, etc.), high quality paper, art paper, coated paper, cast coated paper, wallpaper, backing paper, synthetic resin or emulsion impregnated paper, and synthetic rubber latex. Various types of plastic films or sheets such as impregnated paper, synthetic resin-loaded paper, paperboard, cellulose fiber paper, polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polymethacrylate, polycarbonate, etc. can be used, and synthetic resins of these can be used. A white opaque film formed by adding a white pigment or a filler to a resin or a foamed sheet formed by foaming can also be used, but there are no particular limitations.

Furthermore, a laminate made of any combination of the above base films can also be used. Typical examples of laminates include cellulose fiber paper and synthetic paper, or synthetic paper of cellulose fiber paper and plastic film or sheet. The thickness of these base films may be arbitrary (for example, 10 to 30
The thickness is generally about 0 μm.

When the base film as described above has poor adhesion to the dye-receiving layer formed on its surface, it is preferable to subject the surface thereof to a brimer treatment or a corona discharge treatment.

The dye-receiving layer formed on the surface of the base film is for receiving the sublimable dye transferred from the thermal transfer sheet and maintaining the formed image.

Examples of the resin for forming the dye-receiving layer include polyolefin resins such as polypropylene, halogenated polymers such as polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylidene chloride, vinyl polymers such as polyvinyl acetate and polyacrylic ester,
Polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate, polystyrene resins, polyamide resins, copolymer resins of olefins such as ethylene and propylene and other vinyl monomers, ionomers, cellulose resins such as cellulose diacetate, polycarbonates Among them, vinyl resins and polyester resins are particularly preferred.

The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention is prepared by dissolving the above-mentioned resin with necessary additives on at least one side of the above-mentioned base film in an appropriate organic solvent or dispersing it in an organic solvent or water. The dispersion can be prepared by, for example, gravure printing,
The dye-receiving layer is obtained by coating and drying by a forming method such as a screen printing method or a reverse roll coating method using a gravure plate.

When forming the above dye-receiving layer, pigments such as titanium oxide, zinc oxide, kaolin clay, calcium carbonate, finely powdered silica, etc. agent can be added.

The present invention is characterized in that a fibrous inorganic filler (whisker) is added to the dye-receiving layer. Preferred materials for the whiskers include potassium titanate whiskers, zinc oxide whiskers, graphite whiskers, silicon nitride whiskers, and silicon carbide whiskers. The content of these whiskers is preferably 1.0 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the resin forming the dye receiving layer, and the average length of the whiskers is 5 to 50 μm and the average diameter is 0.1 to 1 μm. It is preferable that or,
If necessary, the surface of the whisker may be treated with an amino-based or epoxy-based silane coupling agent, titanate, or the like, or metallized.

The dye-receiving layer formed as described above may have any thickness, but the thickness for boat fishing is 1 to 50 μm. Although such a dye-receiving layer is preferably a continuous coating, it may also be formed as a discontinuous coating using a resin emulsion or resin dispersion.

The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention can basically be used satisfactorily even with the above configuration, but the dye-receiving layer of the present invention contains a release agent in order to provide good releasability from the thermal transfer sheet. It is also possible to contain.

Further, the image receiving sheet of the present invention can be applied to various uses such as heat transfer sheet cards capable of thermal transfer recording, sheets for transparent manuscript preparation, etc. by appropriately selecting the base film.

Furthermore, in the image-receiving sheet of the present invention, a brimer layer or a cushion layer can be provided between the base film and the dye-receiving layer if necessary.In particular, by providing a cushion layer, image information can be improved with less noise during printing. Corresponding images can be transferred and recorded with good reproducibility.

Moreover, a slippery layer can also be provided on the back surface of the base film. As the material of the slipping layer, methacrylate resin such as methyl methacrylate or corresponding acrylate resin,
Examples include vinyl resins such as vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer.

Furthermore, it is also possible to provide a detection mark on the image receiving sheet. The detection mark is extremely convenient when positioning the thermal transfer sheet and the image-receiving sheet, and for example, a detection mark that can be detected by a phototube detection device can be provided by printing on the back side of the base film.

The thermal transfer sheet used when performing thermal transfer using the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention as described above is one in which a dye layer containing a sublimable dye is provided on paper or polyester film, and conventionally known thermal transfer sheets are All can be used as they are in the present invention. At this time, by adding whiskers as described above to the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet, a more excellent matte image can be formed.

Furthermore, as a means for applying thermal energy during thermal transfer, any conventionally known means can be used, such as thermal printers (for example,
By controlling the recording time using a recording device such as -100), 5 to 100 mJ/mrr? By applying a certain amount of thermal energy, the intended purpose can be fully achieved.

(Example) Next, the present invention will be explained in more detail by giving examples and comparative examples. In the text, parts or percentages are based on weight unless otherwise specified.

Example 1 Synthetic paper (Yubo FRG-150, thickness 150 μm, manufactured by Tamago Yuka Co., Ltd.) was used as a base film, and a coating liquid with the following composition was applied to one side of the paper using Bar Coke to give a coating temperature of 10.0 when dried.
g/rrr, was temporarily dried in a dryer, and then dried in an oven at 120° C. for 3 minutes to obtain a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention.

Vinyl chloride/acrylic/styrene copolymer (Denkarac #400, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo ■) 10.0 parts Vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymer (#1000, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo ■) io, o parts Epoxy-modified silicone (X-22-30007, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical ■) 1.2 parts Vinyl-modified silicone (X-62-1212, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical ■) 1.2 parts catalyst (PL-
507, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical ■) 0.48 part potassium titanate whisker (TISMO-D, manufactured by Otsuka Chemical ■)
9.0 parts Methyl ethyl ketone/toluene (weight ratio 1/1) 68.12 parts Example 2 In place of the whiskers in Example 1, 9.0 parts of zinc oxide whiskers were used, and the other conditions were the same as in Example 1. A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention was obtained.

Example 3 In place of the whiskers in Example 1, 9.0 parts of potassium titanate whiskers (TISMO-DIOI, manufactured by Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd.) surface-treated with an amino-based silane coupling agent were used, and the rest was as in Example 1. A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention was obtained in the same manner.

Example 4 In place of the whiskers in Example 1, potassium titanate whiskers (WK-300
A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 9.0 parts of the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet (manufactured by Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd.) were used.

Example 5 A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of the present invention was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a coating liquid having the following composition was used as the receiving layer ink in place of the coating liquid in Example 1.

Polyester resin (Byron 600, manufactured by Toyobo ■)
72 parts vinyl chloride/vinyl acetate copolymer (#1000, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo ■)
10.8 parts epoxy modified silicone (X-22-3000E, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.)
0.45 parts amino-modified silicone (
X-22-3050C1 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical)
0.45 parts potassium titanate whiskers (TISMO-D, manufactured by Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd.)
8.1 part Fluorescent brightener (Uvitex OB, manufactured by Ciba Geigy) 0.09
Part methyl ethyl ketone/toluene (weight ratio 1/1) 73
．． 0 parts Comparative Example 1 A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of a comparative example was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except for the whiskers in Example 1.

Comparative Example 2 A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of a comparative example was obtained in the same manner as in Example 5 except that 10.0 parts of calcium carbonate filler (Hakuenka DD, manufactured by Shiraishi Kogyo@) was used in place of the whiskers in Example 5. .

The thermal transfer image-receiving sheets of the above Examples and Comparative Examples were examined for surface gloss using a crossmeter and further examined for writability, and the results shown in Table 1 below were obtained.

On the other hand, a polyester undercoat layer was provided on one side of a 6 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate film (manufactured by Toshi ■, 6CF53), and a dry coating amount of 1.0 g of an ink composition for forming a heat-resistant slipping layer having the following composition was applied to that side. It was coated and dried using a wire bar so as to have a coating composition of /rrr.

Polyvinyl butyral resin (manufactured by Miki Kagaku ■, S-LEC BX-1) 2.2 parts toluene
354 parts methyl ethyl ketone
53.0 parts Isoocyanate (manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Parnock D-750) 6.8
1.6 parts phosphate ester (manufactured by Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd., Kiki, Pricesurf A-208S) 1.6 parts phosphate ester sodium salt (manufactured by Toho Chemical Co., Ltd., Gafac R)
D720) 0.6 parts talc (manufactured by Nippon Talc ■,
Micro Ace L-1) 0
．． 4 parts Amine-based catalyst (manufactured by Sumitomo Bayer Urethane ■, DesmoRapid PP) 0.02 parts The above film was cured by heating in an oven at 60° C. for 3 hours.

Next, a polyester undercoat layer was provided on the opposite side of the film from the heat-resistant slipping layer, and an ink composition for forming a dye layer having the following composition was applied on top of the undercoat layer so that the dry coating amount was 1.0 g/rd. A dye layer was formed by applying and drying with a wire bar, and a thermal transfer sheet was obtained.

Disperse dye (Kayaset Blue 14, manufactured by Nippon Kayaku ■)
4.55 parts polyvinyl acecool resin (manufactured by Block Chemical Industry ■, S-LEC KS-5
) 3.85 parts Methyl ethyl ketone/toluene (weight ratio 1/1) 91.6 parts The above thermal transfer sheet and the above thermal transfer image-receiving sheets of the present invention and comparative examples were placed so that their respective dye layers and dye-receiving surfaces faced each other. The output is 0.2W using a thermal head.
/dot, pulse width 12m5ec, dot density 6
Printing was performed under the conditions of dots/mm to form a cyan image. This cyan image was evaluated for surface gloss, writability, and image roughness, and the results shown in Table 2 below were obtained.

Example 6 A thermal transfer sheet was prepared in the same manner by adding 0.6 parts of potassium titanate whiskers (TISMO-D, manufactured by Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd.) to the above ink composition for the dye layer, and the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet of Example 1 was prepared. A cyan image was formed in the same manner as above, and the surface gloss, writability, and roughness of the printed image were similarly examined, and the results shown in Table 2 below were obtained.

(Margin below) Reverse 1≦7j Met.

Surface gloss: The surface gloss at 45° irradiation was measured using a gloss meter (Digital Gloss Meter U, manufactured by Toyo Seiki Seisakusho ■).

Writability: ○: Good writability with ballpoint pens and pencils. ×: Difficult to write with ballpoint pens and pencils.

Dot reproducibility: 0. Good reproducibility was obtained with very little white dot and roughness.

○: Good reproduction was obtained with less roughness in white areas.

×: White areas were very rough and good reproduction could not be obtained.

(Effects) According to the present invention as described above, by including whiskers in the dye-receiving layer of a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, a writable matte image can be formed without deteriorating image quality.

Further, in the thermal transfer method of the present invention, a writable matte image can also be formed by incorporating whiskers in the dye-receiving layer and/or the dye layer of the thermal transfer sheet.

Procedure Nefu Seisho (self-motivated) December 13, 1990

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet comprising a dye-receiving layer formed on at least one surface of a base film, wherein the dye-receiving layer contains a fibrous inorganic filler. (2) The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the content of the fibrous inorganic filler is 1.0 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the resin forming the dye-receiving layer. (3) The thermal transfer image-receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the fibrous inorganic filler has an average length of 5 to 50 μm and an average diameter of 0.1 to 1 μm. (4) A thermal transfer sheet with a dye layer formed on one side of the base film is superimposed on a thermal transfer image receiving sheet with a dye receiving layer formed on at least one side of the base film, and an image is formed from the back side of the thermal transfer sheet. A thermal transfer method carried out by applying heat, characterized in that the dye-receiving layer and/or the dye layer contain a fibrous inorganic filler.